Jade automatically leans into Dan as he puts his arm around her, a small grin on her face. She'd never say no to his warm comfort.
Craning her neck to look up at him, she gives his lips a little kiss. "I'd like that."
Nuzzling into him a little more, she wraps her arms around him. "I don't deserve a boyfriend like you, ya know that? You're too sweet."
"Hey... yo... Sparky, you alright?" Jim waves a hand in front of his brother's face.
"Hmm?" Sparky snaps to reality, straightening from leaning on his pitchfork. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
Jim sighs a little, hearing the irritation in Sparky's tone. "Look... I don't wanna fight, alright?"
"Me neither. I just... I'm sorry about everything, and that we can't agree."
"It's not that we can't agree, we're just worried about you and we care." Jim's shoulders droop a little. "I'm sorry we...I... jumped on you before. I could have handled it differently." He searches Sparky's eyes, knowing why he was on edge. "How serious is it?"
"Don't really know." Sparky shrugs. "Depends on what the doctor says today and... she told me she'd have to have surgery... and that's always risky."
Jim nods and gives Sparky's shoulder a pat. "It'll all work out."
"I know." But that didn't mean Faith would survive. Sparky purses his lips tightly. "You gonna stand in my way?"
"I don't think so." Jim folds his arms and sighs. "Just... promise me you'll be careful."
Sparky runs his hands along his pitchfork. "Do you really think I'm... I'm not?"
Jim shrugs. "Who am I to say? I know I came across with a strong opinion, and maybe my feelings haven't changed. But I hope you prove me wrong. You deserve to be happy."
Sparky watches as his brother walks away, then takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Maybe the tension with his siblings would eventually dissolve. For now though, his mind was as far away as town was from the ranch. He just wanted to know what the doctor said, but he'd have to wait until Faith got back first.
Miles scoots out from under his car, squinting at Ryan's question. "He done you wrong or something?"
"Miles," Jed chides. "None of your beeswax."
"Well she started it!"
Jed smirks and saunters over, cleaning a wrench with an old rag. He glances to Ryan and shrugs. "Yeah, he's been a little odd... odder than normal that is. Darrel doesn't seem to be worried about it though. Which is strange in it self, come to think of it."
"Yeah." Ron hollers from the car he's working on. "If I missed as much work as him lately, Darrel would can my rear."
Jed grins a little and looks back to Ryan. "I don't think it's anything to worry about. I mean... this is Leo. A little strange, but solid enough." He chuckles. "Besides, last I knew, he couldn't get enough of you."
"Yo, Ry!" Darrel yells from the office. "Telephone!"
It was Eli. He'd accidentally dialed the shop instead of Ryan's cell phone, but decided to wait. He could hear Darrel yelling for her, and leans against the car as the gas pump ticks away. Hearing his sister get on the other end, he covers one ear from the passing traffic. "Hey, Speedy, yeah, um, Leo just called me. Said he had something come up and he'd be late tonight. Apparently he wants us to go in the center auditorium without him and get our seats."
Eli rolls his eyes, annoyance in his tone. "If this is some setup to get me to some foofoo musical while he sits back and laughs, he is so dead."
Kip trails behind Karla, staying out of the way and letting her sift through what she could. Setting his hands on his hip, he sighs, looking around at the devastation. It was a sad sight, even for someone who hadn't lived here.
Glancing over in time to see Karla find the bandanna, Kip's stomach does a flip. Rin had been a beautiful dog that Kip had started to befriend. He liked animals, and knowing that Rin had died in the fire... it made him sadder than he'd like to admit.
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