Near Denial

Sparky couldn't remember when he'd felt this warm. It was an inner warmth, close to his heart. There was no real embarrassment, but rather a sense of peace.

Smiling as she takes his hand, he knows that he hadn't overstepped any bounds and was glad. He didn't have to ask to see that she was not opposed to his attention, even if for now they had more important things to do. "Okay. Come on."

He gives her hand a little squeeze and leads her down to the stack of hay so they could start feeding. And for once, he didn't mind taking it easy.


Before they knew it, morning was slowly passing by and breakfast was on. Some people might think it was strange the way the way the ranch was run... the way the families functioned and got together, only sometimes eating separately. When visitors were there, they were usually served first before the ranch families and hands ate. But this time of year when there were few or no guests, every mealtime was fellowship time. During the busy seasons, they had kitchen help, but in the winter, Becky and Rosalyn did much of the cooking, along with help from Wendy, Angel or Rosetta when they could. Jade helped sometimes too, though most of the time, she could be found in the barn instead, helping with chores. Becky had recruited Annie this morning too, and it was always a joy to cook for the gang. It was simply... family.

This morning was the first Sparky ate with everyone since getting sick, so the welcome for him was warm. It was also the first time in a long time that he didn't choose to sit in his usual corner. Today he sat with his sister on one side and Faith on the other. And it felt good.

"Feeling better then?" Luke inquires from across the table.

"Yeah." Sparky nods before taking a sip of his coffee. "Didn't have much of a choice. A man's got to get better when he's got a nurse as good as I had."

Luke looks at Faith and grins. "You must be pretty hardy to go up against a sick Henson. Last time this guy got sick he threw a lamp at his nurse."

Sparky smirks at him. "That was what? Twenty years ago? Twenty-one? You've got too good a memory."


Scott laughs at Dalton's comment about him eating anything, and puts his arms up to flex his biceps, which couldn't even be seen under his jacket. "That's right... I'm a growing boy, ya know."

Joining in the small talk and enjoying the pizza too, Scott waits on Hope to say anything about getting down to business. He didn't know yet what exactly had happened, and he and Dalton could still get in very hot water, let alone jeopardize Bree and JT.

Finally when Hope brings out the pictures, Scott quirks an eyebrow. "Hmm... looks like our buddy got himself in some trouble last night. I thought I saw something on the news about it this morning."

A quick glances is thrown to Dalton and he meets his friend's gaze. He really wasn't sure what to do now. There was an awful lot riding on this, and secrecy had been vital to Gunner and JT's success.

Keeping his eyes on the pictures, Scott takes a sip of his pop, letting Hope talk. Quirking a grin, he chuckles. "What? You think we had something to do with this? Breaking into a mental facility?" He shakes his head. "Reese would have a cow and we'd get thrown in there with some nice straight jackets."

Leaning back in his seat, he turns just a little to study Hope for a moment. "See... thing is... no proof exists of anything. Did you know that if someone has enough money, they can pull enough strings to get anyone taken to the loony bin? And no one can even prove it?" He smirks. "And you think I'd risk a stupid move like trying to help someone out of there? I could end up in there legitimately, with proof."

"Refill?"

Scott looks up quickly and grins. "Well, the cook himself. To what do we owe this visit?"

Carson chuckles and shakes his head. "It's called Thirteen and Aerith both having the day off. How's everybody doing?"

"Oh, we're fine."

Carson spies the pictures and lifts an eyebrow as he picks up empty glasses to refill with pop. "Working lunch?"

"You could say that."

"I see." Carson can feel a bit of stress at the table and wonders about it, but also senses that he was not being invited into this conversation. "I'll be right back with your drinks."

Scott waits until he's gone before looking back to Hope. "Not to change the subject, but I gotta go pay the R/M ranch a visit here soon and pick up some of TJY's equipment that was left there for Mick. I was thinking about going in the next couple days. You're welcome to come along if you can take the time off. I know you and Rosetta go a ways back. I could pull a few strings and get a TJY jet too so we won't have to drive it." He shrugs. "Up to you."