“No need for a paternity test,” Robert declared, scrubbing his hand over his jaw. “You’re my son. I know it. I’ve watched you grow up from afar. And every day I regret not insisting on being part of your life.”
Ira considered Robert’s words and Ken’s reaction. “I think I’m going to insist on it. I’ll pay for the test myself. The results will remove all doubt that I’m a scammer. At least I hope they will.” Everyone around him still appeared shell shocked. Understandable. He needed to reassure them.
“I’ll say it again. I’m not looking for an inheritance. I do not want part of the ranch. Yes, I want to work here and learn what my father’s life is all about. Getting to know my family is my entire purpose in being in Coyote Creek.” He took a deep breath. “I saved most of my money while in the military, I inherited money from my mother and from her father. I also still have the money Robert sent to support me. I have money.” He didn’t want to be boastful. “I’m not bragging, I’m just saying that as long as I have a half decent job, I’m good. I have no designs on the Bar 3.”
“You’re my son and by God, when I die, you’ll inherit your share.” Robert thumped his fist on the counter. His cheeks were flushed, but he still looked pale.
“Are you okay?” Ira asked.
“I’m fine. I’m just angry.”
“Sit down, dear,” Sue urged Robert, grabbing his elbow and leading him to a chair. “You don’t have the all clear from your cardiologist yet. Take it easy. All this is so stressful. Sit.” The last word was an order, not a request.
“Dang it, woman. Stop pestering me. I’m fine.” He brushed her aside, but his frustration appeared tempered with caring.
Sue shook her head. “Ira, you need to know Robert has a heart condition. He’s to be taking it easy with the heavy chores, eating better, and walking more. Until he’s gets the all-clear from the cardiologist, everyone else, including you needs to step up.”
“Woman, stop worrying. The boy has heart problems of his own.”
“What?” Sue abandoned Robert and rushed to Ira’s side. “Are you okay? Are you fit for heavy work you’ve been doing? What do we need to know?”
Around them, people mumbled under their breaths as their gazes jumped from speaker to speaker like they were watching a tennis match.
“It’s nothing. I was involved in a skirmish during my last deployment. I was shot in the chest. The damage was minor and is completely healed. One shot nicked my heart. The other barely grazed me. I only told Robert because, as my father, he has a right to know. I don’t like to talk about it, so please forget you heard anything.”
“Is that the truth?” Beth asked, her face lined with concern. “We don’t want you to overdo it if you have health problems.”
Her concern was, in a nutshell, why he didn’t tell people. Knowing he’d been shot changed him from man to invalid. The irony of the word invalid wasn’t lost on him. One tiny snippet of knowledge and he became in-valid. Ira sighed and a long-held anger inside him snapped.
“It was enough to get me drummed out of the service. Honorably. But my injury won’t, doesn’t, interfere with a normal life. I promise there’s nothing to worry about. Would you like me to have my doctor send you my medical records?” His frustration made him lash out.
He swallowed hard. “Sorry. That was rude and inappropriate. This situation is entirely too stressful. I had hoped things would go easier when you all found out.”
Beth slipped her arms around his waist. “Welcome to the family, bro. Get used to the nagging, fighting, and snarking. Brace yourself for love that shows up as interference and pestering. Eventually, you’ll adapt.”
“He hopes,” Riley put in. “In the interest of transparency, I would prefer a DNA test, but if you and Dad are okay without one, I’ll survive.” He thrust his hand toward Ira. “Welcome to the family.”
“Daisy, say hi to your new Uncle Ira,” Trisha suggested.
“Hi,” Daisy said shyly. “Can I go play now? This is boring.”
Her honest appraisal of the situation broke the tension in the room. Ira chuckled as did Robert and Sue. Riley and Trisha looked chagrined.
“Sure thing, Daisy,” Riley said. “Don’t go far if you want to go for a horse ride later.”
“’K.” She scampered off.
Sue clapped her hands. “Right. Who’s ready for breakfast?”
Slowly, over breakfast, the entire story came out. Ira’s mother’s cancer and confession that his father was not dead, but was in fact, alive and well and making a very healthy living as a rancher. Robert shared his own secret scheme to keep an eye on Ira by watching him at school and occasionally at sports. He produced a jump drive of video footage and still images of Ira as he grew up. With all the evidence, it would be hard for anyone to doubt his claim to be a Flint. Too bad Ken wasn’t there to see it all and hear the stories.
Sadness and anger battled for supremacy in Ira’s heart. He’d lost a brother he didn’t even know yet. His natural optimism told him there was hope Ken would eventually come around, but for the moment, he was discouraged.