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Tor snorted but in a few minutes his breathing evened out and Jake smiled. Tor was pretty good at
doing what he was told, even if it had taken years to train him.
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Chris Owen
Chapter Twenty Seven
The two weeks between coming home and the day Jacob finally got his cast taken off were a mix
of emotions and changes. The cast itself caused problems because with it on, Jacob was more an
observer than a participant in his own life, tagging along with various people as they went about
their business and trying to figure out what his chores would be when he could finally do them. On
the other hand, he told Jake and Tor, it was good because it gave him a chance to get to know some
people and see things before he had to actually do anything.
Two weeks was a long time, though, and Jacob was as itchy to get to the good stuff, as he called it,
as anyone else. Not that anyone minded Jacob riding along in the trucks or wandering around the
barns, but it would be nice when he could help out instead of just watch.
Jake was pleased that his men seemed to go out of their way to make Jacob feel at home. Elias had
come right to the house, first thing, and dragged Jacob off to the bunkhouse to meet everyone, and
then disappeared with him into the stables. It didn't matter that Jake had already taken Jacob to
meet the horses; in fact, Jake kind of suspected that anytime he lost track of Jacob he'd be found
right there, loving on the animals.
There were a couple of trips into town to see the doctor about Jacob's arm, and one to the lawyer's
office as well. Jake made sure to stop in at a few places on the way home, and to point out the high
school. Jacob seemed to take heart a little then, relaxing a bit when he found out it was a consoli-
dated school. Three other schools fed into it, so he would simply be one of many new faces. Likely,
he wouldn't even be the only one who had just moved into the area.
Jake spent the two weeks rushing like mad and trying to find a balance between getting caught up
with his ranch and trying to make Jacob feel at home. Tor stood back for a while, letting Jake do as
he pleased and helping out when Jake said, but even Jake wasn't surprised when he found himself
invited out to the porch for a quiet talk the night before Jacob's cast was to come off.
"You've got to calm down, cowboy," Tor said, sitting back on the railing. "You're going to drive us
all shit crazy."
Jake rolled his eyes. "I'm not that bad."
Tor smiled at him and shook his head. "Jake, you're turning yourself in circles and it's not as funny
as it was at the beginning. Relax a little, let things take their time. It'll all settle down."
"I just& " Jake waved his hand at the yard. "We're coming on a busy time and I want to make sure
he's in okay. That he knows everyone and can find things--"
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Natural Disaster
"You can't make a home by pointing out where the feed is," Tor said slowly. "If he can't find some-
thing, there's a lot of folks around he can ask. And that's how he'll get to know them, Jake. By liv-
ing here, and working here, and growing up here."
Jake fixed Tor with a suspicious look and moved closer to him. "When are you going to go back to
being an arrogant, stubborn pain in my ass? It's getting a little creepy the way you're on top of all
this."
Tor just grinned at him.
Jake had to concede over the next few days that Tor'd had a point, though. He backed off a little, let
Jacob explore more, and spent more time out on River. There were some odd moments, times when
Jacob was sullen and a little withdrawn, but going out to the stables seemed to help that. Even
mucking out stalls, now that he had the cast off, seemed to make Jacob happy. He was, of course,
far happier to actually groom the animals, but as long as he had access to the stable, he seemed
okay.
He wasn't as fast to figure out some of the other chores, but Jake didn't much care; as long as the
bathroom was clean and the dishes got done, that was good enough for him. Frankly, three men
sharing a house meant that it wasn't the neatest place ever, and none of them really cared much. He
did, however, draw the line at dishes vanishing into Jacob's room and made sure that came to an
end.
Jake wasn't sure what to think the morning Jacob came down to breakfast with a cardboard box in
his arms. He looked a little restless, his glance darting all over the room as he set the box down on
the table.
"What've you got there?" Tor asked as he buttered toast.
"Just some stuff," Jacob said, a little too casually. Tor's eyes flicked up to him as Jacob set the box
down on the table, still favoring his arm. He held it stiffly, like he hadn't quite gotten used to the
cast being gone yet.
Jake poured coffee for himself and Tor, waiting to see if Jacob would take the next step and actu-
ally open the box. He hadn't by the time Jake got to the table with the mugs, but then Jacob sighed
and reached for the folded over flaps.
"I was talking to Tommy," Jacob said quietly. "Well, he was talking to me. He's moving to his own
apartment, you know? Talking about packing and unpacking--I think he was trying to make me feel
better."
Jake nodded and sat down, letting Jacob go at his own pace.
"And I got thinking& " Jacob stared into the box, his voice getting even quieter. "I mean, I have all
my stuff here and all& "
Tor nodded and reached for his mug. "It's your home, kid. You don't have to ask permission to have
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Chris Owen
things around."
"But these are& special things," Jacob whispered. "They& well, some of them are pretty dumb."
"No such thing," Jake said seriously. "Are you going to show us?"
Jacob shrugged. "I guess."
It was still a few seconds before he took anything out, though, and when he did the first item was a
pottery mug, obviously hand turned and painted, and clearly something meant for a serious coffee
drinker, by its size. "This was her favorite."
Jake glanced at Tor and nodded. "It's real nice," he said slowly. "Should we make sure not to put it
in the dishwasher?"
"She always did," Jacob said with a blink. "It's just& it was hers."
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