Common Ground

Wrapping his arms tightly around Katie, Jay smiles, although traces of tears might be found in his eyes. "Hey, you..." 

Dad. She still always called him Dad, and every time, it made Jay's heart feel warm. After everything, it wouldn't have been surprising if she'd rejected him completely, perhaps accepting him only as an uncle. But she did more than that. She'd forgiven him, and she'd let him retain his status as "one" of her dads. 

"Mmm, I've missed you so much." 

Turning with her, he keeps his arm slung over her shoulders and looks at Hunter curiously. A friend, huh? Jeff had told him before leaving, what Trent had said on the phone - that Katie was going through a rough patch and that she'd broken up with Jason. It was somehow interesting that she had a male friend with her now. Jay wondered if Hunter was somehow intertwined into the problems back in Nevada, or if he was just someone who thought a visit to a ranch would be cool.

"Hi, Hunter. Nice to meet you." Jay extends his hand. 

Listening to Katie, Hunter quirks an eyebrow. Dad? This was... wait... but Jeff... ohhh, so this was the guy Katie had been raised with until finding out later he was an uncle. It was quite the little web to wrap his mind around, but it was making a little more sense now. 

He accepts the handshake with a nod. "Nice to meet you too."

"Staying long?"

"Ah, well..." Hunter glances at Katie then back to Jay. "I suppose you might say I'm a guy who doesn't like planning all that much." 

Jay chuckles. "In other words, you have no idea."

"Yes." Hunter nods, grinning. "Yes, that's about right." 

"Well, there's not a finer place to be, I'll guarantee that." Jay gives Katie's shoulders a squeeze before kissing the top of her head and smiling down at her. "I gotta go throw my stuff in one of the bunkhouses. I'm gonna stick around for a few days." 

Having been concentrating hard on his work to keep his mind off more unpleasant things, Misty's knocking yanks Jason's attention from the computer screen. He looks up quickly, startled, even though he shouldn't be. 

The invite, though, makes him smile and he nods. "That sounds like fun. I can grill some hamburgers or something, if you want. As a matter of fact, I have to go to the store after work anyway - I can pick up some meat." 

In one sense, it felt kind of odd to be so casual with Misty and doing so much with her lately. For so long, she'd had her own life, and of course wouldn't be hanging out with Jason, being married to Carson. But now that it was all different, they'd sort of... found each other. And in another sense, it felt good. They had some common ground here, whether it was negative or not. And one thing Jason knew for sure - thinking of Katie upset him. Thinking of Misty made him feel good. 

He thinks for a moment, unsure how much meat to get though. "Just you and me, or Alec too?"