“Daddy doesn’t hafta work. He’s a stay-at-home Momma-daddy.”
Oh boy. He didn’t know how his husband was going to take that one. He glanced over his shoulder at Early. “Are you coming to sit, honey?”
“I am.” Early didn’t respond to the boys, just sat with them and drank his coffee. “We’re going to be heading over to deal with things, and let the boys hang with my Momma. You need anything from town?”
“No, I’m fine, thank you. Plenty to do around here. It’s good that you’re here for them though.”
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else. I’ll be back to help this evening, and you can let me know what you need from me.” Early offered Demming a tired smile. “I’m going to have to know which horse we’re riding his boots out on.”
Demming gave him a short nod. “Bucky, I think. Rick was the last one to ride the old man before we turned him out. I’ll clean him up today.”
“Okay. Good deal. Thank you.” Early nodded once. “Uncle Rick would be pleased as all get out.”
“He would.” Demming cleared his throat, finished off his coffee and stood. “I better get back at it.” Demming dropped a hand to Early’s shoulder. “Let’s take a walk, you and me, sometime before you head back up to Denver.”
“You know it. I’ll be here until the reading of the will, one way or the other. We’ll chat.”
“Thank you for breakfast, that was a treat.” Demming gave him and the boys a wave and slipped out the kitchen door.
“Who is he, Daddy?”
“He’s Uncle Rick’s foreman. He runs the ranch. This place is too big for one man, you know?” Early picked his biscuit apart. “Uncle Rick built this house in the Seventies, huh? That’s why there’s all the bare wood.”
“It’s pretty amazing.”
“It’s kind of old, isn’t it?” Jayden shrugged.
“It is. That’s why it’s so amazing. This is a one-of-a-kind place. Eight bedrooms, eight baths, hot tub. I used to love the guest house. I pretended it was mine when I was a little boy.”
Eight bedrooms was huge. “I don’t know how you take care of a place like this. Demming can’t do it alone that’s for sure.”
Jaxson got up with his plate and Early pointed to the sink. “Scrape your plates, dishes in the sink please. And then go wash up. Clean hands, clean faces.”
“Yes, sir, Mister Daddy, sir!” Jayden saluted, and the boys were off and running, so excited to explore.
“I’ll do the dishes real quick, and we’ll load up.” Early kissed his cheek.
“I can help, you cooked.” He scooped up dishes and took them to the sink, then started to clean out the coffee maker. “You okay?”
“As okay as I can be, I guess. I’m not looking forward to this next bit, but—like everything else, it’ll heal.” Early sighed softly and shook his head.
“Just take it a day at a time, right?” Connor kissed Early’s shoulder, then took a dishtowel out of a drawer. He’d only been here a handful of times, but nothing changed about this place. He knew where everything was. “We’ve got this.”
“We do. I want to show the boys all around before we go home. Show them the guest house, the barns?”
“Of course. They’d love that. We have plenty of time.” And once the house moved on to someone else, it was hard to know if they’d be staying here again or not. He finished drying dishes while Early put them away and the kitchen was spotless in no time.
“Thank you, babe. I’m glad you’re here. Seriously.” Early pulled him into a kiss.
He gave back as good as he got. Early was always beautiful to him, whether he was doing dishes or in bed. “I love you, cowboy I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“I know. I’m a lucky fucker.” Early’s smile warmed him up. “I’ll buy you jalapeno poppers at the brewpub this afternoon.”
“Oh, now you’ve made the trip worth it.” He gave Early a wink as the boys came rushing back in. “Let’s see.” He inspected hands. “Teeth all brushed?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Clean undies.”