Just then Casper and Charlie pulled up with Cal following behind them in his truck.
"Now"s as good a time as any to talk to them."
"You plan to pull Casper aside afterward?"
"Nope. He done what he done. Ain"t no reason to hide it."
f.u.c.k. This day just got better and better.
As soon as Casper, Charlie and Cal were out of their vehicles, their dad said, "Meetin" in the dining room."
Carson felt his brothers" curious gazes but he focused on Cord. "Come on, son, and leave the rocks. We"re goin" inside."
"Don"t wanna!"
I know how you feel, kid.
He held his hand out and Cord took it.
Once they were seated at the table, their father zeroed in on Casper. "What kind of fool are you? Man named Patrick Tellman paid me a visit today, informing me that you knocked up his daughter, Joan."
Casper"s face turned bright red and for a second Carson worried his brother was about to have a stroke. "She"s pregnant?"
"So it seems. She swears you"re the only man she"s ever been with."
"She says she was a virgin, but I don"t see how that could be. She"s one of those women who"ll do anything in bed. And I mean anything. She had to learn that kinky s.h.i.t someplace."
"How long have you been dating her?"
"I never dated her," Casper shot back.
"Fine. How long have you have been proddin" her?"
"I met her five months ago. But I ain"t been with her for over a month and a half."
"You just f.u.c.ked her when you felt like it and walked away?"
Casper glared. "I wouldn"t be the first man to take what was offered."
"You"ll be the last man when it comes to her."
"What are you talkin" about?"
"You"re doin" the right thing for once in your life and marryin" her." He looked at Cal. "Seems you"re the only one who hasn"t impregnated a woman, so let that be a lesson to you to keep your G.o.dd.a.m.ned pants zipped."
Carson shot Charlie a questioning look and Charlie seemed equally confused.
But Casper interrupted before Charlie could speak. "You can"t make me marry her."
"Yes, I can. You will take her as your wife or you"re out."
"Out. Out of what? Out of favor?" He aimed his glower at Carson. "Too f.u.c.kin" late for that."
"I"ll kick you out of the house. You"re off the ranch and on your own. Since I own your truck, pay your wages and you"ve been livin" in my house your whole life, you got a lot to lose by thinkin" you can get around this. I"m done putting up with your laziness and lies. It"s time you own up to your responsibilities, Casper."
"So I"m bein" punished."
Yeah, some punishment. By being a f.u.c.k up you"re giving him a house and land of his own? Maybe I oughta f.u.c.k up.
"Since you"ll soon have a wife and a child, you"re movin" down to the Ingalls place. Charlie will eventually live down that way too, but for now he"ll be makin" the drive every day from here."
Charlie stood. "This is bulls.h.i.t. What"d I do? Nothin". Now you"re sendin" me thirty miles away?"
"Like I told Casper. Your options are to do what you"re expected to or you"re out."
"Yeah, yeah, I get you"ve got the biggest set of b.a.l.l.s in the McKay family. But I also know why Casper is such a big p.r.i.c.k. He gets it from you." Charlie left.
Carson"s eyes met Cal"s. Charlie had been in a funk since his jailbait girlfriend had suddenly moved away a few months ago. With the way Charlie talked, they half-expected to show up one morning and find him gone. Their youngest brother was the smartest of the lot. He owned his truck so he did have the means to leave if he so chose.
"You got anything to add?" their dad asked Cal.
"Just the same thing that me"n Carson have brought up several times. Dividing the land so we"re each workin" our own section. The way it sets now it"s not equal pay for equal work."
"You just had to get a shot in at me, didn"t you?" Casper demanded. "You act like I don"t do nothin" around here."
"You do about half as much work as Carson, get paid the same and he has a wife and kid to support," Cal snapped. "That ain"t a shot, that"s the honest truth."
"Enough," their father said. "Only thing that"s changing is Casper is getting married and movin" out."
Carson looked at his son, wearing secondhand clothes, and swallowed his pride. "So this ain"t the time to ask for a pay raise?"
"Not when I just bought the Ingalls place."
"Even if we have a good year?"
"Depends. A bonus might be in order, but you know any profits pay off existing debt and then what"s left goes in the expansion fund. It"s about the long term and the future."
Think before you speak.
But Carson couldn"t hold it in. "So in the short term, I have three mouths to feed, plus soon a fourth, on the same salary you"re payin" yourself and your single sons. Think on the fairness of how we"re raising beef for other folks to eat, while your grandkids and the future of this ranch are eatin" canned beans and powdered milk because that"s the only food I can afford to buy for my family." He glanced down at Cord. His lip quivered and his blue eyes were enormous with fear. Great. Now he"d scared his son. He picked the boy up and nuzzled his cheek. "It"s okay. Let"s go home to Mama."
Carson had made it to his truck when he heard Cal say, "Wait up."
He opened the pa.s.senger door and set Cord on the seat. "Stay down, okay?"
""Kay."
Then he faced his twin. "What?"
"Is it really that rough for you and Carolyn?"
He felt his cheeks heat and he looked away. "Yeah."
"Dammit, Ca.r.s.e, why didn"t you say something?"
"Because it"s embarra.s.sing. I put off askin" him and now I see I shoulda kept my mouth shut. Jesus. I hate that I d.a.m.n near begged for a few extra bucks and he didn"t even consider it." Carson closed his eyes. "Casper f.u.c.ks up, knocks up a chick that he doesn"t even like and he gets a house? I don"t know where Casper gets the idea I"m the favorite child because from where I"m sittin" in my cramped trailer? He is."
"I"ll give you some of my salary if it helps. I just spend the extra on stupid s.h.i.t anyway."
Between his frustration and his brother"s kindness, he might just break down. He took in a deep breath and let it out before he patted Cal on the back. "Thanks. I mean it. But I can"t take your money."
"Carson-"
"But I will let you buy me a bottle or two of whiskey if you promise to drink it with me when I drown my sorrows about bein" broke."
"That I can do."
"Gotta get home and check on my wife."
Cord had sacked out by the time Carson pulled up to the trailer. He carried the boy inside and placed him in the crib-boots and all.
Carolyn was stretched out on the bed in their room, a washrag over her eyes, a package of saltines on the dresser next to a c.o.ke.
He perched on the edge of the bed. "Hey, sugar. How you feelin"?"
"A little less like dog p.o.o.p than I did when you left."
"Sorry. What can I do?"
She lowered the cloth from her eyes. "Where"s Cord?"
"Sleepin" off a drunk on the tractor. That boy needs to learn how to hold his whiskey."
"Funny."
"He crashed." Carson slipped off his boots and crawled up next to her. "C"mere. I need to hold you." He tucked her under his arm and she rested the side of her face on his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. Within a few minutes the world of the McKay ranch faded. She gave that to him. Calmness. Softness. She was the one thing in the world that was completely his.
"Carson, sweetheart, what"s wrong?"
Money is tight, my father is a controlling a.s.s, I"m p.i.s.sed off at Casper, money is tight, I"m worried about you with this pregnancy and have I mentioned money is tight?
But he couldn"t-wouldn"t-add extra stress on her. He"d sworn to her on the day they married he"d spend his life making her happy, and taking care of her, so he"d keep his worries to himself.
"Nothin". Everything is as it should be when we"re together like this."
"I agree. But you"re not telling me everything. So start talking, cowboy."
Where to start? "Looks like you"ll be getting a sister-in-law in the next couple weeks. I"d say she"s lucky since she"ll be movin" into a real house down on the new south section of the McKay Ranch and not a s.h.i.thole trailer, but the fact of it is, she"ll still be married to my a.s.shole brother Casper no matter where they live, so maybe she ain"t as lucky as she seems. I just wish..."
Carolyn sat up.
Carson kept his eyes closed. Then he felt her straddling him and her hands landed on his chest.
"You wish what? That I hadn"t gotten pregnant again?"
His eyes flew open and he put a protective hand over her belly. "G.o.d no. I love that we"re adding to our family."
"You wish we were moving to that ranch house you showed me? Because to be honest? I"m happy we"re staying here. This is our home. It"s small but it"s ours. I love my garden spot. I can drop Cord off at Agnes"s place whenever I have work to finish for Maxine."
"I wish I was makin" enough money that you didn"t have to take those jobs. It feels like I"m failing to support you and our family."
She slammed her hands down by his head on the mattress so they were eye to eye. "It falls on both of us to provide for our family. I won"t watch you kill yourself while I"m sitting here twiddling my thumbs whenever Cord naps. Doing piece work keeps me sane, keeps my skills fresh. I imagine things will get busier with a new baby, but I don"t ever want to hear you say you don"t support this family. You love me. You love our son. You work hard. You make me happy. If that"s not support I don"t know what is."
"Caro-"
"You listen to me. Everything I want-everything I need is right here. With you. It does not matter where we live. It matters how we live when we"re together."
Maybe her pregnancy hormones were contagious because her sweet, heartfelt words made him misty-eyed. "I love you. So d.a.m.n much."
"Show me." She swept her lips over his in that not-so-innocent way that he craved. "You needed to hold me? I need this."
"You sure?" He stroked the swell of her belly. "You were sick-"
"Hours ago. I brushed my teeth, washed myself up and I need your mouth and your hands on me."
Instant erection.
Carolyn shed her blouse and oh yeah, she hadn"t worn a bra. Her t.i.ts were enormous during pregnancy.
"Gimme."
"Huh-uh. Take it if you want it."
So she wanted to make him work for it? Fine by him. He jackknifed and nestled his face in her cleavage. He slid his hands down her naked back and beneath the waistband of her pajama bottoms. His fingertips connected with more bare skin-no underwear either. He started his a.s.sault on her nipples. Softly sucking on the rigid tips, using his teeth, then backing off to rub his face against that abundant flesh and not giving her nipples any attention at all. He followed her a.s.s crack to the wet opening of her c.u.n.t, slipping two fingers into her from behind.
"Carson."
He grabbed her hand and placed it over her mound. "You want it, sugar, take it."
She tightened her other hand on his shoulder, letting her head fall back as she rubbed that spot. Her hair swayed, teasing his forearm as she b.u.mped her hips forward.
"s.e.xy f.u.c.kin" woman. That"s it."
Carson plunged his fingers into her p.u.s.s.y, sucking her nipple, then easing back to lightly flick it the same way he did when his mouth was on her c.l.i.t.
The woman was so in tune with satisfying her s.e.xual needs, her body so responsive to his, that it wasn"t long before goose b.u.mps beaded across her skin. She released a tiny whimper, the one that drove him insane because he knew she was about to come. He loved watching her get off.
Her fingers began to move faster on her c.l.i.t. When he felt the first spasm, he shoved his fingers deep, moving his mouth to her other nipple, sucking it in tandem with the pulsing of her p.u.s.s.y muscles around his fingers.