Page 13 of The Unbuttoned Ranger
“Bacon stores well.” He made Sharp a heaping plate of eggs, toast and the aforementioned bacon.“Now sit and eat.”
Sharp sat and forked up some eggs.
His father joined him but didn’t dig in right away.
Sharp asked,“Something the matter?”
“What’s your plan, son?”
“In regard to cleaning my plate?”
“The Rangers. I know you’ve dedicated yourself to the cause, but maybe it’s time…” Bradley let his words trail off.
That wasn’t a discussion he wanted to get into so early in the morning.“I think I’ll start working on painting the outer buildings. It’s been years since they’ve been slapped with a brush. I’ll also grab the supplies to build a fence between your land and Piper’s.”
“You’re too worried about things that don’t matter,” Bradley said around a mouthful of bacon.
“Pa, you’re too nice. Piper can’t keep her cows contained and they destroy your garden every year. You barely have enough to sell at the farmer’s market. Maybe if the vegetables weren’t being smashed and destroyed you might eat healthier.”
Bradley snorted.“Piper lost her husband and her son. She’s been battling her own health issues too.”
“I have all the compassion in the world that Piper lost her husband and son in a freak farming accident, but that’s been almost twenty years ago.”
“There’s a thing called peaceful neighbors. If we all started barking over everything, we’d find our situations unbearable. Have you forgotten your roots, son? I taught you how to be good to people.” He seemed miffed.
“Whatever you say.” Sharp finished off his eggs and started on the bacon.
“Look,” Bradley had lost some of his firmness.“Build the fence if you like. Do whatever you see fit here because this is all going to be yours one day.”
Sharp chuckled.“Is that your way to get me to retire from the Rangers?”
“I’m trying to get you to live your life before you wake up one day and you’re my age. A man can want to see his son happy, can’t he?”
“Yes, that’s acceptable. I’ll work on finding a wife and having some kids.” He was partly teasing. He took his dish to the sink and washed it, then placed it in the strainer.“I’m going to pull the old truck out of the barn and take it a spin. Need anything from town?”
“We’re good. Plenty of bacon left,” Bradley said nonchalantly.
“Yeah, we’re golden.” Sharp didn’t bother with a lecture.
On the way to the door, he grabbed his cell and keys out of the wooden dish. Once he stepped outside, he turned on his phone. No service. He already knew that.
He looked at his watch and increased his pace toward the barn. His team had scheduled a conference call for that morning, and he needed to check in to ensure everyone was on task.
At the barn, he opened the double doors, and one came off the rail, so he noted it on his growing to-do list. He pulled the tarp off the old, rusted truck that should have been laid to rest long ago, but he didn’t have the heart to send it to the scrapyard. At the ripe age of sixteen he’d put a lot of miles on the old Ford and had nicknamed her “Old Faithful”.
Settling into the driver’s seat, he patted the dashboard lovingly.“Don’t let me down, girl.” He turned the key, and it rumbled alive. He smiled proudly.“I knew I could count on you.”He gripped the smooth steering wheel and reversed out of the driveway. Every time he came back to town to visit he made sure he got the old girl a tune-up and some attention.
Once he hit the road, he rolled the windows down and turned up the radio. There was a different feeling listening to classic country in the old beat-up truck that’d seen a lot of back roads.
As he reached the bend, he checked his phone. Still no service.
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He felt out of the loop and didn’t like that much. Only because he wondered what was happening with the men who shot him and his team. Otherwise, being back in Fin’s Creek with spotty service didn’t bother him at all. He’d gotten used to the phone not being readily available during his time in the military, and even these days because he relied on a two-way radio more than his phone.
Sharp pressed the gas and the truck picked up speed.
He missed this. A lot.
Chapter Seven
