02-05-2018, 03:42 PM
The next morning, Jay sat at the kitchen table nursing a warm cup of coffee in the palms of his hands. The skin under his eyes was stretched thin, his shoulders drooped. The last few hours of sleep wasnt exactly restful. That, and, they needed to be on the road again soon. Another day, another herd to keep alive. The water troughs would all be frozen over. The feed would need put out. Wind screens would need fixed. Jay sighed. It was already past 7 am and dad wasn't home yet. As he had possession of the only working truck, he was going no where.
A quarter after, Jay was refilling the cup when the rumble of an engine drew close. Dad labored out of the truck looking well-rested and spritely when he came through the back door. Jay was leaning against the kitchen counter when they locked eyes.
"Mornin' son. Didn't see the pickup. Thought you'd be out and gone already."
he grumbled, clearly not expecting to find his kid waiting for him. Mom and Cayli were already warned to stay out of this.
Jay calmly took a sip of coffee. "That's right. It is morning. And you're just now getting home. Where you been?"
Might as well give his dad a chance to explain. Not that the same courtesy would have been extended if circumstances were reversed.
Dad stripped himself of his outer layer coats and left the boots in the corner. A puddle of water pooled on the linoleum where he tossed them. "Just ran an errand,"
he mumbled.
Liar. Jay nodded. His chest tightened.
"So where'd you park the pickup?"
He asked as he rummaged through the cabinets for a clean cup.
"Out in the north east pastures,"
Jay replied as his grip tightened on the mug.
"Huh?"
Dad shot a confused look over his shoulder.
"Yeah about a minute after you drove out of sight. The transmission died and I couldn't get the fucker to get into gear. Since I couldn't get a hold of you and you didn't think to check and see if I made it home alright, I was forced to abandon it on the slope, walk home. It was a good walk. Saw some wildlife. Killed a pack of coyotes. Pretty sure I have permanent nerve damage in some toes. And over all was pretty worried about freezing to death. All because you went to fucking Trade Winds, left mom and Cayli home alone and acting like you have money to burn."
Dad's face was ashen. Jay forced his own emotions into that special place in the back of his mind that he went during an operation. If he didn't, he'd kill him. And as he really didn't want to kill his dad, it was best to go operator mode.
"Oh god son. I -- I dont know what to say."
He looked ill. Though whether he almost cost his son his life or because he'd been caught, Jay couldn't guess.
"Time to come clean. Tell me how bad things are, and I'll do my damndest to fix it. But first we all have to get through this weather spell. Before we lose any more assets. I'll be damned if I let a single head freeze to death now."
He downed the rest of his coffee and left to go get dressed. There was another hard day ahead of them. This time, they'd be sharing a truck until a tow could get out there.
Edited by Jay Carpenter, Feb 5 2018, 03:44 PM.
A quarter after, Jay was refilling the cup when the rumble of an engine drew close. Dad labored out of the truck looking well-rested and spritely when he came through the back door. Jay was leaning against the kitchen counter when they locked eyes.
"Mornin' son. Didn't see the pickup. Thought you'd be out and gone already."
he grumbled, clearly not expecting to find his kid waiting for him. Mom and Cayli were already warned to stay out of this.
Jay calmly took a sip of coffee. "That's right. It is morning. And you're just now getting home. Where you been?"
Might as well give his dad a chance to explain. Not that the same courtesy would have been extended if circumstances were reversed.
Dad stripped himself of his outer layer coats and left the boots in the corner. A puddle of water pooled on the linoleum where he tossed them. "Just ran an errand,"
he mumbled.
Liar. Jay nodded. His chest tightened.
"So where'd you park the pickup?"
He asked as he rummaged through the cabinets for a clean cup.
"Out in the north east pastures,"
Jay replied as his grip tightened on the mug.
"Huh?"
Dad shot a confused look over his shoulder.
"Yeah about a minute after you drove out of sight. The transmission died and I couldn't get the fucker to get into gear. Since I couldn't get a hold of you and you didn't think to check and see if I made it home alright, I was forced to abandon it on the slope, walk home. It was a good walk. Saw some wildlife. Killed a pack of coyotes. Pretty sure I have permanent nerve damage in some toes. And over all was pretty worried about freezing to death. All because you went to fucking Trade Winds, left mom and Cayli home alone and acting like you have money to burn."
Dad's face was ashen. Jay forced his own emotions into that special place in the back of his mind that he went during an operation. If he didn't, he'd kill him. And as he really didn't want to kill his dad, it was best to go operator mode.
"Oh god son. I -- I dont know what to say."
He looked ill. Though whether he almost cost his son his life or because he'd been caught, Jay couldn't guess.
"Time to come clean. Tell me how bad things are, and I'll do my damndest to fix it. But first we all have to get through this weather spell. Before we lose any more assets. I'll be damned if I let a single head freeze to death now."
He downed the rest of his coffee and left to go get dressed. There was another hard day ahead of them. This time, they'd be sharing a truck until a tow could get out there.
Edited by Jay Carpenter, Feb 5 2018, 03:44 PM.
Only darkness shows you the light.