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the truck and squinting into the sun.

"Can I ask you something?" Candanoza said, standing next to him and pulling out his own keys.

Jake nodded, glancing back into the school to see if Jacob was coming yet. "Sure."

"Just thinking about these days. Me and Nick's mom, we both work. Can't really take time off to

make sure he's not sleeping all day and playing video games."

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Jake nodded again, not really sure what that had to do with him. He could understand where Can-

danoza was coming from; he had no intention of letting Jacob laze about.

"Need an extra hand out at your place?" Candanoza asked, apparently serious.

Jake considered it for a moment, turning the idea over in his head. If he had to, he could keep the

boys apart. If he wanted to, he could shove them both into the barn and make them muck stalls.

"Always need another hand," he said slowly. "He know his way around a barn? Ride?"

Candanoza damn near grinned at him. "He can ride. He can rake stalls. He can lift shit until his

arms fall off."

Jake smirked. They were on the same page. "We start early," he said. "Probably too early for you to drop him off. But I can have one of my hands pick him up on his way out in the mornings; got two

that live in town. Bring him home for supper."

Candanoza nodded, the smile breaking free. "Perfect. School work, too."

"Before breakfast." Jake felt himself smile as well, but had to wipe it away as Jacob came out, loaded down with his book bag and a few extra folders. "Truck's over there," he said, handing him the keys.

Jacob nodded, but said nothing. He took the keys and walked away, shoulders hunched from the

books and what Jake suspected was a mix of embarrassment, lingering anger, and general dejec-

tion.

Jake watched him go and shook his head. It was going to be a long ride home. "I'll call you to-

night," he said to Candanoza. "Let you know who's going to pick him up and what time. I'll warn you though, it'll be around six."

"He'll be ready," Candanoza said firmly, gesturing to Nick as he came out of the school as laden down as Jacob had been. "He might not be happy about it, but he'll be ready."

Nick looked at them both, his gaze a mere flicker over Jake. There was shame there, and a healthy

dose of it, too, and Jake couldn't quite make himself be unhappy about that. "Ready for what?"

Nick asked.

"You're spending your suspension working for Mr. Taggart," Candanoza said, one hand on Nick's shoulder as he guided him away. "Think of it as character building."

Jake missed Nick's reply but he caught the smile Candanoza threw back at him. "Talk to you to-

night," he said.

Jake nodded and headed for the truck. Tor was possibly going to have a fit. Maybe two.

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"You did what?" Tor yelled, slamming the front door closed and stepping out on the porch.

"Easy," Jake said under his breath as Jacob flinched.

Tor gave him a hard look and took a deep breath. "All right. Okay. Calmly. You got in a fight. And got suspended. Why?"

Jacob's misery was almost palpable and Jake took a breath with him as Jacob's eyes filled for a

moment. "He was calling you guys faggots and saying all kinds of horrible things. Laughing. So I

hit him."

Tor's back stiffened and he looked at Jake, who nodded. "Shit," Tor muttered, pushing a hand

through his hair.

"Go on in the house," Jake said softly. "Get a start on your homework, have something to eat. I'll be in after I talk to Tor."

Jacob nodded but didn't move. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking down. "I just… I couldn't." His voice cracked and Jake pulled him into a rough hug.

"Shh," Jake said into his hair. "Go on in. It'll be okay."

Jacob nodded and pulled away, reluctance betrayed by the way he managed to both move and lean

into Jake at the same time. "Sorry," he said again. He went into the house, closing the door gently behind himself.

Jake and Tor looked at each other for a long moment and Jake sighed. "I don't know. I just don't. I mean, I can understand, but… shit."

Tor nodded and leaned on the post by the steps. "Between what James did, filling his head with

crap, and what he's been going through, it must be a mess in his head."

Jake looked out across the yard glumly. "The other kid has a nice shiner. His father's pretty upset, embarrassed. Seems like a good guy."

"Kids pick up this stuff from more places than home," Tor said with a nod.

Jake took a quick breath. "Don't flip out at me, okay?"

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Tor tilted his head at him. "What?"

With an inward cringe Jake said, "I'm letting the kid Jacob was fighting with work his suspension

here. I'll get Tommy or Fred to pick him up in the morning."

Tor stared at him. "Are you nuts?"

Jake shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe. His father didn't want him slacking off for three days, and we can use the help. Maybe it'll help, if he comes out here and sees we're just like everyone else."

"And maybe Jacob and him will get into it again and everything will go to hell."

Jake turned to look Tor in the eye. "So we keep them apart. Fuck, Tor, I'm doing the best I can,

here. Don't give me shit for this, back me up."

"Hey, I'm on your side," Tor said, but his eyes sparked. "Just don't know if this is such a great idea.

What's this kid's name?'

"Nick Candanoza," Jake snapped.

Tor gave him a hard look. "This Nick's got some ideas I don't particularly agree with, is all, and I don't like inviting that into my home."

"You think I do?" Jake looked back at the yard again. "This ain't for us, Tor. I won't fight Jacob's battles for him, but I don't want him fighting ours, either. Maybe this can turn it around. One more

person growing up knowing we aren't evil because of what we do in the privacy of our own home."

"Our home," Tor repeated. "So help me, if this kid makes trouble on our land, I don't know what I'll do."

"You'll hold your tongue and we'll talk to his parents and he can spend the rest of his suspension away from here," Jake said firmly.

Tor laughed, the sound rough and sharp. "You parenting me now, Taggart?"

"Do I have to? I think I have enough going on with the one in the house."

"Fuck." Tor shook his head and stepped off the porch. "I'm going back to work. You do what you have to. I just hope this works the way you think."

Jake watched him go, hoping right along with Tor. He had no idea if it would or not. With a sigh,

he turned and went into the house, the silence oppressive and laden with his own upset and Jacob's

anxiety.

They hadn't really talked much on the drive home, Jake unsure what to say and Jacob clearly will-

ing to put off any discussion for as long as possible. Not that Jake could blame him.

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He went into the kitchen and found Jacob sitting at the table, his unopened books piled up in front

of him. "Did you eat?" he asked, going to the fridge.

"Are you really mad?" Jacob asked, his voice low.

Jake thought about that as he got out some leftover chicken. "I'm upset," he said, reaching for the bread. "I understand why you did it, but I don't like it. Don't like that it happened at all, don't like that you had to hear anything like that. Pissed off that you got in trouble at school."

There was a long silence from the table and Jake looked over to see Jacob staring at the table top. "I don't know what else I could have done," he whispered. "I was just so mad."

Jake nodded. "It's hard, I know." God, did he know. He'd never been able to walk away, either. "It's done," he said firmly, starting to slice up the chicken. "Now we just have to deal with the aftermath. And you have to get it set in your head that if it happens again, and it might, that you let it

go. I don't want you getting in trouble for this shit. Doesn't solve anything at all, Jacob. People are going to think what they think, and punching them isn't going to change their minds."

"I know," Jacob said in a small voice. "What's going to happen?"

Jake built a sandwich and put it on a plate. "Well, Nick's coming out here. His dad didn't want him sleeping in and taking it easy, so he's going to pitch in and help out around the ranch. So are you.

School work, ranching… this isn't a vacation, and you'll both know it."

Jacob nodded. "Thanks," he said when Jake passed him the sandwich. "You going to make us work together?"

Jake shrugged. "We'll see how it goes. Depends on how the two of you act. I won't put up with shit from either of you, and Nick won't be spouting off while he's here. If he does… well, he'll be going

home and I think his dad will be harder on him than I could be."

Jacob ate for a few moments. "He's… he never said anything before. I knew he didn't like me

much, but he's never been like he was today."

Jake shrugged. "Sometimes people just say shit, not getting what it does to people. Showing off,

talking crap. Pushing for the sake of pushing. I don't know."

"It sucks," Jacob said succinctly.

Jake nodded. "Yep. It does." He gestured to Jacob's pile of books. "Get some work done and come on out to the yard. I'm going to go see what we can find for you to do. And I need to talk to Tor."

Jacob grimaced. "He's mad."

"Oh, yeah," Jake agreed. "But not at you."

Jacob sighed and took another bite of his sandwich. "Okay. I'll be out in a while."

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Jake stepped back and nodded sharply, not really looking forward to the next couple of days, or

talking to Tor about it all. He hoped that after Tor cooled off a bit he'd let things lie, but he sus-

pected not.

Shaking his head to himself, he headed out the back door and went to the stable, walking slowly.

He could hear the radio in there turned up loud, and voices talking over it, at least three. He stepped in, nodding to Elias, who was going over what looked like a receipt with Tor, and waved Fred over

to him.

"Need a favor," Jake said, taking Fred outside, away from the radio blaring.

"Sure, what's up?"

Jake quickly explained what had happened and asked if he'd mind bringing a passenger out in the

mornings and back with him at supper. By the time he'd gotten to the part about Nick Candanoza's

dad wanting his boy to work, Fred was grinning. "I can do that," he said with a nod. "Want me to put the fear of God in him, too?"

Jake blinked and shook his head. "Shit, no. Not that I wouldn't want to give him a shake if I was

fifteen, but I'm not and you aren't either. None of that, all right?"

Fred sighed, still grinning. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Call me at home tonight and tell me the address. Oh, and let them know it'll be just before six and I don't have time to hang around waiting."

Jake snorted. "I think Candanoza will have the kid outside waiting on you. He was kind of un-

happy."

"Good," Fred said, kicking at the dirt. "Suppose you want us to keep our opinions to ourselves around Jacob?"

"I'd appreciate it," Jake said. "Won't help any if he starts thinking anyone approves of him fighting."

Fred nodded again and slapped his thigh with his gloves. "You're the boss."

Jake grinned. "I am. Don't suppose Tor's calmed down any?"

"Not a lot," Fred admitted. "He's the boss, too, and I kind of want to get back to work, you know?

He's a little cranky at the moment."

"Great," Jake said under his breath but not in the least surprised. "Think I'll go check the survey pegs for the new corral. Kind of… stay out of his way for an hour or so."

"Good plan," Fred said, grinning again. "Maybe if you feed him well at supper he'll be in a better mood."

"Maybe," Jake said, though he doubted it. Tor wasn't going to settle until they'd cooled their tempers and talked reasonably.

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It was going to be a long day.

***

Jake rolled over and looked at the clock. "God, I hope so. It's after midnight." He'd been lying there for an hour, waiting for sleep to come, but it seemed as far off as it had when he'd gone to bed. It

didn't help that Tor had been damn close to cheerful all evening. It made him nervous.

"What are you thinking about?" Tor asked, an arm slipping around Jake's waist.

"What do you think?" Jake knew he sounded surly, but that was how he felt; his back was starting to ache from keeping it all inside.

"I think you're going over a huge fucking lists of 'what if' and second-guessing absolutely every-

thing. Stop it."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Right. Just stop. Like that'll change anything. Like that'll keep shit like this from happening again, like no one will ever say things to Jacob again. Like it'll change the fact that

living with us makes him a target."

"Hush, now," Tor said quietly, shifting beside him. "You're getting too worked up."

Jake gritted his teeth. "I hate this."

"I know. It sucks. But you said it yourself; you can't fight his battles for him. All we can do is raise him to know right from wrong. Fighting is wrong, I think he's got that sorted out. If it happens

again, we'll deal with it again. And again."

"But it shouldn't happen at all," Jake said, staring into the dark. "He shouldn't have to pay for what we are."

"No, he shouldn't. And neither should we. Come on, you're sounding like you’re ashamed of us,

and I know that ain't right."

Startled, Jake rolled over to face him. "No," he insisted. "Not that. There's nothing to be ashamed of. I just… I'm wondering if we're actually doing him any favors."

"Because living with Cath and having the stress of her traveling would be better? Because letting