to wear that night laid out on the bathroom counter when he’d left for this meeting.
New big sister.
Joy ran through Duke at the idea of becoming a father again. He sure did love his little girl and the tiny family he and Zona were building.
“Come on, boys,” Daddy said. “Daylight’s burning.”
An hour later, Duke jammed on the brakes as he approached the house. Zona came running down the steps, Shiloh in her arms, and Duke jumped from the truck, laughing.
“I can’t believe it,” his wife said, meeting him halfway down the sidewalk and holding him tight. “What happened? What changed his mind?” She pulled back, pure wonder and plenty of anxiety in her expression. Duke caught hints of gratitude and relief too, and while they didn’t need the money or this ranch at all, they’d both wanted it.
“I think it was just having these conversations,” he said. “I don’t think Daddy knew how badly I wanted Rhinehart. I think he thought I didn’t want it.” He took Shiloh from Zona and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Mornin’, baby.” She looked like Zona had just woken her, with a crease on her cheek from her sheet or blanket still impressed on her face.
“Dad,” Shiloh said, smiling as if she’d just recognized him. “Egg.”
“Yes, Mama said she’d make eggs.”
“Come on,” Zona said. “Tell me everything.” She started up the walk toward the house.
“We met.” Duke followed her, his heartbeat still vibrating in his chest in weird ways. “Daddy’s not feeling really well. I’m going to call the doctor today and get an appointment. He wants me to go with him.”
Zona paused, her foot on the bottom step of the case that went up to the porch. “You’re kidding.”
“I think he’s…changing,” Duke said. “I think he’s finally realizing that he’s sixty-four years old, and he’s not going to be around forever.” He went up the steps, saying, “Especially if he doesn’t take care of himself.”
He’d seen his dad smash his thumb with a hammer and stay out on the ranch. He’d once sliced a good five-inch-long gash on his arm and didn’t even go to the hospital. His father was as tough as nails and as stubborn as a mule, and that combination didn’t bode well for him as he aged. “Abby said he needed to go to the doctor, and I think he listens to her the best.”
He certainly hadn’t been listening to Duke until their big blow-out last fall. He’d come along in steps since then, and Duke had to give his dad credit for that. It was incredibly hard to change, as Duke well knew, and his dad had needed some time.
“Anyway, he started the meeting by saying he was going to step back slowly over the next nine months. He’d like to be almost non-existent on the ranch by the end of the year. To do that, he needs a foreman.” Duke opened the door and went inside, holding it for Zona to walk through. The house smelled like coffee and sugar, and he took a deep breath of it.
He took a moment to lean down and kiss his wife. “Then he just sat there. My heart was going so fast.” He gave her smile. “And then, it was just like heaven opened, and all this light poured into my mind. And I thought—tell him—tell him right now that you want the job. So I did. I don’t even remember thinking of the words. I just opened my mouth, and I said, ‘I’ll do it, Daddy. I want to be foreman of Rhinehart Ranch.’”
“What did Dawson say?” Zona asked, her voice awed and hushed. She closed the door behind her and met his eyes again. “Anything?”
“I don’t think Dawson wants the ranch or the responsibility,” Duke said. “I really don’t.” He went into the kitchen and started buckling Shiloh into her highchair. “I looked at him, and I asked him, right up front. What do you want? He said he’d rather have me run it.”
Zona took a pan from the hanging rack over the island. “Wow. What has been the point of these meetings then?”
Duke didn’t know how to answer that. “I think everyone just needed time. Dawson’s been told his whole life what he’s going to do and what he has to be. He’s just like I was at that age. He’s trying to figure out what he wants and who he is.”
“Mm.” Zona started cracking eggs into a bowl. “And Abby?”
“Daddy says Abby doesn’t care