Page 5 of Head Above Water
“Why didn’t you tell me? Does Willard know?” The questions came quickly, but he stifled them as he tried to keep from upsetting his mother. “What does ‘we don’t know’ mean?”
She went into the kitchen, and Bryce followed her. She sat at the table, and he poured two cups of coffee from the pot that was always going. It was a ranch, after all, and it ran on coffee, lots of it. “He’s been really tired lately, losing weight, and his stomach has been bothering him, but you know your father—he didn’t want to go to the doctor. I made him an appointment anyway. I took him two weeks ago, and then last week, they did a scopedown his throat and found nothing. But the blood tests didn’t come back good. So I took him last Friday….”
“When you said you were going to town for lunch?” he pressed, and she nodded. “You should have been honest with us.” Now wonder Dad had been giving Bryce more and more freedom to run the ranch. Bryce should have known that his father was ill when he started stepping back. This land had been in his father’s family for generations, and his father would never just give up control unless he had to.
“The doctor ordered some more imaging and a bunch of additional blood tests,” she added.
“Mom.” He set down his mug and took her hands. “What are they afraid of?”
She lowered her gaze. “They think he might have pancreatic cancer.” She said the words really softly, and Bryce gasped. “He’s been slowing down a lot lately. They aren’t sure, and we didn’t want to upset you boys for nothing….”
“Mom, this has been going on for weeks.”
She nodded, and tears ran down her cheeks. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you and Willard, and I thought it would be easier if I had some real answers. But we don’t… not yet.” She sighed and pushed the mug away.
Bryce could understand what she was saying, but he still felt he deserved to know. “Mom, Dad can’t keep doing the things he was, and someone is going to need to step up and run this place. Danny is a great foreman, but….” Bryce knew exactly what this meant, and he could already feel some of the weight of the land and history falling onto his shoulders. He had always figured that he would need to take over running the business at some point, but his father was still young, and Bryce thought he’d have more time.
“You are going to have to do more and more of what your father did. I can help you with that part of things, but I can’t run the cattle operation and take care of your father.”
“I know,” Bryce said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything.”
Which was a lot easier said than done.
ChapterThree
The followingweek was a hard one with plenty to do. “You coming into town with us? It’s Saturday, and all the guys are going to have some fun. You should come too.” Dusty was one of those guys who was always just too happy. At first, Hazard had steered clear of him, if only because he wasn’t sure what the guy’s deal was, but Dusty genuinely had that happy puppy disposition.
Hazard leaned against the handle of the pitchfork. Sometimes, he felt like there was an old man inside his young body.
“Yeah, you should come,” Hank called as he approached with a group of other hands all dressed and ready to go. “Put the pitchfork away, put on a fresh shirt, and come on. We’ll wait for you. I could always use a new wingman.” He smiled a dazzling smile, and Hazard rolled his eyes and set the pitchfork inside the door, out of the way.
“What you need is to check your ego so your head will fit through the door,” Hazard said flatly, and the other guys hooted, razzing Hank for the burn. “Give me a minute.” He strode inside and to the small set of rooms off the house that he shared with his mother.
“Going to town?” she asked from her chair in front of the television as he kicked off his boots, leaving them near the door.
“Yeah,” he said. “Do you need anything?”
She shook her head. “Just don’t get drunk and wake me up when you come home.”
Hazard continued to his room. “When have I ever?” He pulled off his shirt and checked himself in the mirror, addingfresh deodorant and fingering his short hair before shrugging into a clean shirt and putting on his nicest boots. Then he strode out, kissed his mom on the cheek, and wished her a good night.
“You okay?” She seemed tired and a little pale.
“I’m fine. Go have a good time.” She smiled slightly, and Hazard let it go. Something was worrying her, but whatever it was would wait until she was ready to talk or the issue passed on its own.
He left and joined the guys in the yard. They hopped into trucks, with Hazard driving his own and Dusty and Joiner riding along.
“I just want to cut loose tonight and get lucky,” Joiner said, rubbing his hands. “It’s been a long week.” He hated any lack of sound and tended to talk just to fill the space.
“They usually are, and if they aren’t, you ain’t working hard enough.”
Hazard kept his attention on the road rather than on their banter.
“Have any of you seen Mr. Lyle this week?” Joiner asked, like he hadn’t heard what Dusty said. “Apparently, he’s been sick. The missus took him to the doctor. She didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Then how come you do?” Hazard asked. Joiner tended to gossip because he always needed something to talk about. He swore if Joiner stopped talking, the words would get all backed up, and his head would explode.
“I saw him coming home, and he looked really pale and sickly. I offered to help get him inside, and she told me to keep it to myself.”