Part 3

They stood on the porch as their father hugged Finn. His duffel bag had been packed for the last week, and he'd been waiting for this day anxiously. He was attending a 5-day rodeo clinic in Colorado, and he’d been bouncing with energy for the last few days.

“Come on, we need to get going or you’ll miss your ride,” Blair said.

Their father let go of Finn reluctantly. “Listen to your instructors and do what they tell you to do. I don’t need a half-broken son coming back to us.”

“I will, Dad,” Finn said, his grin so big, his cheeks had to be hurting.

“We’ll miss you,” Eden said, as she hugged him next. “Go show them what you’re made of.”

Colt and Dylan patted him on the back. “Show them how a Fitzgerald does it.”

Ten minutes later, Blair finally drove down the dirt road toward town and shook his head. “Don’t go acting like you’ve done this before. Bull riding is dangerous.”

“I know, Blair, that’s why I’m going to the training camp. They teach us technique and safety tips, and all these guys are former bull riders.”

“Still, be careful,” he said.

Another fifteen minutes later, he watched as Finn got in the ranch truck with Cam McPherson, his eyes bright with happiness and excitement. He waved one last time as the truck drove away and he sighed. Finn had been dreaming about rodeo and bull riding since he was ten. He wanted his brother to be happy, but the idea of bull riding made his skin crawl.

The entire way home he was plagued by images of Finn’s broken body lying in the dirt, a large bull trampling him, and he shuddered. He slowed the truck when he drove past Madeline’s house and he smiled when he saw her sitting on the porch with a book in her hands. She looked up, smiled, and waved as he drove past.

Back at the ranch, he parked the truck at the side of the barn and took the reins of his horse. Billy, the old ranch hand, gave him a nod and chewed on a stalk of grass. “Your Poppa said to tell you that the eastern boundary fence needs to be checked.”

Billy had worked on their ranch since before Asher was born and the man had to be near retirement age, but he still kept going and most days, Blair wondered if the man ever stopped. He was always busy with something, but he had taught all five of the boys everything they knew.

“Thanks, Billy,” Blair said and set off down the field.

He spent the day under the hot sun, mending the fence and checking the boundary. They couldn’t afford to lose any cattle. They weren’t rich, but they survived. They never went to bed hungry, but they weren’t living in the lap of luxury either. Still, they never had to go without anything they needed.

By the time he was finished, the sun was setting and he knew he was already late for dinner. Racing across the open field on Black Moon’s back, the wind whipped through his hair, the sweat cooling on his face. It was a freeing, exhilarating feeling, his heart thundering in his chest by the time he reached the barn. He unsaddled his horse, rubbed him down and fed him.

By the time he was showered and headed back downstairs, everyone was just finishing up dinner. He sat down without a word, the day’s exhaustion catching up with him. He dug into his food, aware that everyone was looking at him.

“Asher called,” his father said. “He was sorry to miss you.”

“How is he?”

“He sounds okay. Says he’s been pulled aside for sniper training, whatever that entails.”

Blair nodded his head. They watched the news and read the papers, so they were all aware of how dire things were over there. They prayed every night for Asher and his friends, all the men and women deployed overseas. There were too many of them coming home in caskets. It was one of his biggest fears, losing his brother to someone’s bullet.

“He’s always been a good shot with the rifle, it kinda makes sense,” Blair said.

Thomas just nodded his head and looked intently at Blair. “You look beat, boy.”

“Billy had me up at the eastern fence all day,” he said.

“Don’t push it too hard. You don’t need to kill yourself mending fences,” Thomas said.

Blair chuckled. “I won’t, Dad.”

“Well, something’s gotta give. You’ve been eating dinner and going straight to bed for the last week. It feels like we hardly ever see you anymore,” Eden said.

“Unless…” Colt gave him a sly smile.

“Unless what?” Dylan looked confused and Blair shook his head.

“Why don’t you take on Asher’s duties tomorrow and then we’ll see how tired you are,” Blair challenged.

“You don’t have to be mean about it,” Colt said.

Thomas grinned. “That sounds like a fine plan to me.”

“Aww, come on, Pops. I have that thing tomorrow,” Colt said, trying to look the picture of innocence but failing completely.

“What thing?” Blair goaded him. “Sitting on your behind and watching the ranch hands do the actual work?”

“I work!”

“Yeah, on my patience,” Thomas finished and they all laughed as Colt grumbled something under his breath.

“I’ll come out with you tomorrow, Blair,” Dylan offered. “We can all do a little more so it’s not just on you.”

“You’re a good boy, Dylan,” Thomas said with a smile.

Eden cleared her throat. “Pierce Romwell asked me to the movies on Friday night.”

All three brothers’ heads snapped in her direction, but it was Blair who spoke up first. “No.”

“What do you mean, no? You can’t tell me what to do!”

“You’re fifteen and Pierce is sixteen… just, no.”

“It’s just the movies!”

“Movies, my ass,” Blair said. “I bet he said he’ll pick you up in his fancy new car and drive you to the movies, right?”

Eden looked down briefly but didn’t answer him. That told Blair all he needed to know. Everyone else had stayed quiet and were watching their standoff intently.

“I know Pierce, Eden. He’s not the kind of boy you want to go to the movies with. He’ll ruin your reputation whether you do anything or not. You’re too young to get involved with a boy, especially someone like him.”

Eden glared at him for a few seconds, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine.”

“Blair’s right, Eden, I’ve heard stories from the horse’s mouth about his dates with girls,” Colt added.

“I already said it’s fine. I won’t go,” she said, her tone a little more resigned.