Page 1 of Doing Life

Chapter One

“Matty.”

“No, I don’t wanna talk about it.” Matt had talked and talked and talked and listened and listened and listened, and he and his brother’s husband Rory were going to tie it up if that son of a bitch so much as breathed on him.

Though it was Luke, his brother, who was all over his ass right now.

“Matty, you have to understand?—”

“I do not. We are at capacity. I am not building anymore on. Not without more help.” He knew this whole soldiers rehabbing at the ranch was Luke’s baby. He knew that doing for his fellow wounded warriors was Luke’s life mission. He knew that, but it didn’t matter when it came to his land.

He was still the oldest twin.

This was still his ranch.

And he was not going to do this. He just was not going to give in to Luke’s wild ideas. Not this time.

“We’ve got the funding. We can put in an aquatic therapy center, and we don’t need much. Just another?—”

“Just another what? Lulu, how many soldiers you going to put out here?” He had no quarrel with the guys. Even the ones with severe issues had been polite. Respectful. But it was about the resources.

Luke whipped around in his wheelchair and stared at Matt. “As many as I have to. You know that.”

Matt held his hands up. “Okay. Okay, I hear you, but there’s only so much infrastructure. You’re talking about sewage and water and electricity, and I think we have to really discuss this. Maybe we have some of these guys stay in town or stay in B&Bs or something.” He was fairly sure there were no B&Bs in town, but something had to give. “Maybe the VA can do some kind of a barrack situation to where they’re staying in town, where they’re on city water and on city sewage with trash service.”

Luke kind of blinked at him a second, and Matt crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not an asshole, you know. I’m trying to be a steward to the land, Luke. Not just a help to the soldiers. You got your calling, I got mine, and you’re overtaxing the land.”

Luke took a deep breath, nostrils flaring, then he blew it out. “Okay. Okay, you’ve got a point.”

Well, that was unexpected. It wasn’t often that Luke actually thought Matt had a point. “So what are you going to do about it?” he asked.

“I like your idea about finding a place in town. That’s way more Rory’s speed, but there’s got to be a place where we can put the guys, you know, some old house. Or a couple old ranch houses where we can have three or four guys who stay while they’re in therapy. We have to make them accessible, sure, but those places are already in town. They’re already built.”

Matt nodded. That was better. That was so much better. Rory, Luke’s hubby, was a legal guy and did real estate. So hewould know what kind of properties he could pick up for a song and remodel.

That meant fewer people living out here. He wouldn’t mind having the swimming pool, so long as he didn’t have to clean it.

Or deal with it.

Or have to dig it.

And it was fenced so that his critters didn’t get in it.

Although the idea of a bunch of his geese getting in Lulu’s pool kind of amused the living fuck out of him.

He wouldn’t bring that up though. He was on a roll.

His twin shot him a grateful smile. “That’s a good idea, Matty. Seriously. Thank you for listening.”

“Don’t get fucking weird, man. I don’t need that.” Rory had made Luke all touchy-feely, and it was strange and unnatural.

“I’ll get Rory on finding houses, and we’ll go that direction. I think that’s a great deal.”

“You do you, Boo. You got anything else? I got horses that need training.”

“Grumpy old fucker.”

Matt rolled his eyes and carefully and slowly stuck one of his middle fingers up in the air, expressing his concern in the best way he knew how.

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