“Oh, Grandma invited Mr. Casbon.”
Jake choked on his laugh. “Our neighbor, Mr. Casbon? The one who lives for Grandma’s smiles? Well, this should be interesting.”
“That’s an understatement,” Travis
muttered, entering the kitchen.
“Good to see you changed your pants, bro.”
Travis glared. “At least I can change my clothes. You, on the other hand, are stuck with that wonderful personality.”
Jake clenched his fist. His brother smiled.
Kacey entered. “Well, I think my hair looks the shiniest it’s ever looked. Thanks, Trav. I owe it all to you.” She winked.
Travis rolled his eyes. “Yes, and my balls are—”
“Travis!” Bets almost screamed. “We’re going to have company any minute. Could you all at least try to act your age? Goodness, Jake, you’ve been groomed to take over the company, act like it! Travis, you’ve owned that ranch of yours for years, by all that is holy, be mature!”
“You own a ranch?” Kacey asked. He watched the exchange. Travis shifted his feet as if uncomfortable, then cleared his throat.
“Yes, a small one. No big deal.”
“Oh, that’s rich.” Bets laughed. “You own one of the largest ranches on the west coast, but if you want to pretend it’s small, I guess that’s your prerogative.”
It was a new feeling, being ignored, but Jake was interested to see how Kacey would respond. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter.
“But, you said you were a ranch hand.”
Jake laughed. “Him? A ranch hand? Babe, he’s no more a ranch hand than I’m a janitor.”
“But…” Kacey’s brow furrowed.
“It’s no big deal.” Travis shrugged and began filling the glasses with water.
Kacey turned to Jake. “Any other family secrets?”
Probably not the best time to tell her that his grandmother was manipulating all of them.
“Um…” Jake shoved his hands in his pockets. “Travis used to have a crush on you? At least that’s what I assumed, considering he stuttered every time he was around any female.”
Travis froze. “Yeah, rewind to about an hour ago, and you’ll see how she reacted to that certain piece of information.”
Jake chuckled. “So that’s what started the fight. I see…”
Kacey looked angry all over again, so Jake decided to make it better. Slowly he walked to where she stood. “Kace, I’m sure it upset you, but what you don’t know is that even though he did some awful things… Emphasis on awful—”
“Thanks, Jake.”
“No problem.” He smirked. “He’s also the reason that your sixteenth birthday party was a success.”
“What do you mean?” Her shoulders relaxed.
“Well…” Jake put his arm around her tiny frame. “This one over here, the one with the stutter, was so angry that your boyfriend at the time didn’t show up, that he begged Dad to call in a favor.”
“What favor?”
Travis glanced at them nervously and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Jake. It was a long time ago.”