Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run 6)

Now, though, Harrison was flexing his muscle. And it was a lot of muscle.

“Dad,” Zane whispered. He shook his head.

“Your granddaddy wanted you to have it, wanted you to know you had a place, no matter what.”

“What about Annie?”

“He left a significant cash inheritance for her. And I’ll do the same when I pass. She and Mark used it to set up her vet business. But the ranch follows the Garrett name.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Harrison sighed and leaned back in the chair. “I wanted you to live the life you wanted, Z. Texas held more bad memories for you than good. Becky was gone, Beverly wouldn’t leave you alone, and I knew here was the last place you wanted to be. But if you’d found out, you would have dropped it all and come back here, no matter how miserable it made you in the end, simply because it was your granddaddy’s doing.”

Zane inhaled sharply, trying to swallow down the swell of emotion. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

“Well. Now you know. The Garrett Ranch, and the Garrett name, are yours to do with what you will. The envelope’s got copies of all the legal paperwork, banking information and so on, but there’s really nothing you have to do. Beverly and I got it all set up to sustain itself and then some. I just need a few new hands, is all. Just like Cody.”

Zane laughed in surprise at his father’s rueful words.

Harrison winced. “Too soon?”

“Probably.”

“Ah, well. Three-quarters of profits are folded back into operations, the other quarter splits into three accounts: one for Annie, one for Sadie, and one for you to do whatever you want with.”

They sat in silence for long minutes while Zane tried to let it sink in.

“What about you, Dad?” he finally asked.

“What about me?”

“If the Garrett Ranch is mine, and Mother is . . . what do you have?” Zane was sure there were more questions to ask, but that one loomed large.

Harrison waved a hand. “What do I need when I’m running the place anyway? I got a son and daughter who love me. I got a grandbaby whose eyelashes are going to take over the world someday. And I have my horses.” He leaned forward and covered Zane’s hand with his own. “Don’t worry about me, Z.”

Zane laughed despite himself. “And I thought I was a stubborn ass.”

“You come by it honest.” Harrison sighed and patted Zane’s hand a couple times, and then glanced up at the loft. Zane could hear the topic change coming a mile away. Harrison met his eyes and smiled. “You hang onto him with everything you’ve got. Not every man gets a second chance.”

Zane eyes strayed to the loft, where Ty probably still lay sprawled on the bed. Zane smiled as the warmth of contentment spread through him. “I know.”

They lucked into plane tickets that took a short hop from Austin to Houston, and then carried on in a single leg to Charleston, West Virginia. Zane even upgraded himself and Ty into first class.

They both looked like they’d been dragged behind a tractor, and trudging through the airport in Houston didn’t help either of them. As they sat waiting for the connection, they watched the local news about the heroic tiger outside of Austin and sank lower in their seats. After the news story was over, the man beside Ty joked about his bandages, asking him if he’d been mauled by a tiger too.

Ty managed a smile as the stranger chuckled, then gave Zane a look that said if they didn’t move he was going to end up with blood on his hands.

The rest of the flight home was uneventful. It was dark and quiet as Zane drove up the last mountain road before they got to the Grady’s winding driveway.

Ty kept glancing over at him, as if he wanted to ask if he was okay but already knew the answer. He gave Zane directions instead. Zane pulled the rental beside the old truck in the gravel driveway and turned off the car. They sat in the darkness, the engine clicking as the silence settled over them.

Ty cleared his throat. “Should we tell them about the shooting and violence and tigers, or just stick to the basics?”

Zane rubbed his thigh. He could feel bruises and strained muscles all over his body, little bangs and cuts that you never noticed when you were scrambling for dear life. Ty looked and probably felt even worse. Zane sighed and pointed at Ty’s brand new cast and the sling he now wore because of the gunshot to his shoulder. “They’ll figure it out anyway.”

“Alrighty,” Ty said. He unbuckled, but stopped and glanced at Zane again before getting out of the car. “Tell me something, Zane.”

Zane stared at him in the darkness, wallowing in the relief of simply being with Ty. “Anything.”

“Was it you or Mark who shot me?”

Zane bit his lip, trying not to smile. “Totally Mark.”

Ty narrowed his eyes. Then he smiled and leaned over for a quick kiss. Zane couldn’t help but laugh. He had a feeling Ty knew he was lying. It was one lie he didn’t mind paying for later.

Ty lingered over the kiss for another moment, then pressed their foreheads together. Calm settled over Zane, and then Ty pulled away and slid out of the car. As soon as the car door shut, the porch light came on and the front door of the house opened.

Zane waited for the anxiety to strike, but it never came. He was happy to be here, and the relief was overwhelming. Even the uneasiness between himself and Earl didn’t register as important anymore.

He opened the door to climb out of the car, stifling a groan as the stitches in his thigh pulled.

Earl stood on the top step. “You boys look like something the cat dragged in.”

“The cat jokes lost their luster a while ago, Dad.”

“Not ’round here they didn’t.”

“Wait ’til he hears about the tiger,” Zane muttered.

Ty laughed, not even trying to stop himself. Zane grinned, falling victim to Ty’s infectious laughter and beginning to chuckle. Suddenly, it all seemed funny.

Ty was still snickering as he trudged up the steps. Earl offered his hand to Ty in greeting, but Ty bypassed it and hugged his father instead. Earl looked shocked for a moment, but he hastily returned it, gingerly patting Ty on the back at first, and then truly embracing his son.

Zane merely smiled as he watched. Mara came out just as Ty let Earl go, and she shouldered past Earl and pulled Ty into another hug. Ty gave a pitiful cry as she grabbed his arm.

“Oh my good gracious, what happened?” She took Ty’s face in her hands, then turned her sharp eyes to Zane. “You too! What did you do to yourselves?”