Ten
Derrick
“Hey, Derrick, Logan, Skyler,” Kyle greeted everyone, a slight smile on his face as he settled down to the breakfast table a few mornings after the wedding. He pressed a light, easy kiss to Malcolm’s cheek, and Derrick fought down an unwelcome surge of envy at how simple and uncomplicated their relationship was.
Part of him wanted something like that. Mostly, of course, he wanted to be a doctor. He wanted to focus on getting his education finished, and then, maybe, when he was established, he could think of romance. Still, he couldn’t deny that Kyle and Malcolm being so sweet with each other didn’t make him just a little bit jealous.
Of course, the two of them, Malcolm and Kyle, had been through the fire. They had started off as adversaries and only fallen in love against their will. Derrick had only seen some of it, but he had heard the rest.
Maybe if there was hope for Malcolm and Kyle, there was hope for him, too. Not with Logan, of course, but someday, he would be over Logan. No, really. He would. And then he would be through medical school, and then, maybe …
“What’s up?” Logan asked, and Derrick pulled himself back together. Kyle was looking at them all with an expectant expression on his face, and it was only then that Derrick realized that Kyle hadn’t just been greeting them. He had something that he wanted to say.
“We’re going on our honeymoon in a few days,” Malcolm said casually, and Derrick blinked at him.
“Wait, hold on,” he protested. “Last I heard, you guys were going to be too busy to go for at least a few months. Isn’t this sort of sudden?” There was a feeling of something like panic which took him by surprise. Malcolm couldn’t go. Malcolm was what was holding this place together, and he had been, really, for years. It had been John, their father, when they had all been children, but gradually, over the years, it had switched to Malcolm.
Malcolm not being on the ranch felt weird—even just the thought of it. It was as though it had just been announced that Shakespeare was going to be appearing as an MMA fighter or something. It just felt wrong.
“There was a last minute deal. I found it online,” Kyle explained. “And we could both use a break. We were talking, Mal and I, and we realized that neither of us has had a vacation of any sort in years.”
“Maybe more like a decade,” Malcolm added, and Derrick fought back a wince. He was very aware that the reason that Malcolm hadn’t been able to rest was that Derrick and the rest of his brothers had bailed as soon as they could, just assuming that Malcolm would do all of it himself.
“Yeah. Right. Since before I went to University,” Kyle agreed. “So we’re going. While we’re gone, we were hoping that you could help us out. Watch the ranch while we’re in Europe.”
Derrick’s mind whirled. That was a lot to ask, wasn’t it? He’d never had to do anything like that before, and he had no idea how he was going to manage that.
“What about Craig?” he asked abruptly. Craig was older than Derrick. Although maybe not more suited, he had to admit, since the whole time that Derrick had been away at school, Craig had been away in the military.
“Craig has other stuff he’s doing,” Malcolm said, and even if his voice was carefully neutral, Derrick got the distinct idea that he didn’t quite approve. Then again, that wasn’t much of a surprise, since Malcolm seemed to think the only decision that was worth making was the one where people stayed on the ranch.
“Are you just asking Derrick or are you asking me, too?” Logan asked, and when Derrick dared to sneak a look over at the other man, he saw that his jaw was clenched and his eyes were steely. He, too, wasn’t happy with Derrick being asked, obviously.
“All of you,” Kyle announced gently, and as he did, he reached out and touched Skyler, who had been silent up until now, on the shoulder. “You, too, Sky.”
“Why me?” Skyler asked, obviously surprised. Honestly, Derrick was, too. If there was anyone at the table who was an outsider, it was Skyler. He was nice enough, as far as Derrick could tell, but he was also from far away just as much as Kyle was. And he didn’t have the benefit of being married to Malcolm.
Malcolm had never been the most accepting person in the world. But he had obviously taken to Skyler more than Derrick had known. Although Derrick really should have figured that out, he supposed, by how Malcolm had let Skyler take over the finances. That was a big sign of trust, from someone who really didn’t trust that easily.
“You’re the money guy,” Malcolm explained. “And you might be able to keep these idiots in line.”
Logan cracked up while Derrick rolled his eyes. Skyler just looked faintly baffled by the whole exchange, but then, he hadn’t grown up on this ranch and didn’t fully get their dynamic.
“Takes one to know one,” Logan shot back, and Derrick sighed, even as a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“Grow up,” he suggested, not that he had a lot of hope on that account. “I guess I’ll help out. Someone’s got to make sure that the ranch doesn’t fall down around our ears while Logan’s busy being a dork.”
“Thanks, bro.” Malcolm reached over and patted Derrick on the shoulder, and that was when he realized just how neatly he had been managed there. Like it or not, Malcolm was probably the only person in the world who really, fully knew Derrick. And it sort of pissed him off, even as he found himself glowing because his brother, for the first time in years, seemed to approve of him.
But that meant that he was stuck with Logan, managing the ranch together, while Malcolm and Kyle were on their honeymoon. The enormity of the situation gradually sank in as his friends and family settled down to eat their breakfasts. He had been trying so hard to stay away from Logan. Working closely with him to keep the ranch going wasn’t the same thing.
“How long are you guys going to be gone?” Derrick demanded suddenly, not really loving the panic that he heard in his own voice. No one else seemed to notice, though, although Skyler was giving him a thoughtful look all of a sudden.
That was fine, though. Skyler was a man who knew how to keep his mouth shut, that much was readily apparent.
“A month,” Kyle said, looking at Malcolm with that same sappy, adoring, loving look on his handsome face. There could be no doubt that these two were deeply, hopelessly, in love.
“Yeah. We’ll be home before December starts,” Malcolm agreed, and Derrick had to fight off a helpless little groan. A month. Of working closely with Logan. Every single day.
