Disclaimer: Castle and all of its characters belong to Andrew W. Marlowe, Terri Edda Miller, and ABC Studio Productions. "He's Mine" belongs to Rodney Atkins.
"He's mine, that one.
Got a wild-haired side and then some.
It's no surprise what he's done,
He's every last bit of my old man's son.
I'll take the blame and claim him every time.
Yeah, man, he's mine and he'll always be
The best thing that ever happened to me.
You can't turn it off like electricity,
I love him unconditionally,
Yeah, man, he's mine."
~ "He's Mine" Rodney Atkins
"Well, that's definitely going to leave a mark, son." Rick muttered, pressing the bag of frozen peas back to Kevin's eye. The bruise had darkened significantly on the drive home from the fair grounds, and it looked as though someone had drawn colored the area around his eye with a Sharpie.
His son winced but kept the bag tightly pressed against his face and shrugged. He was still clad in his rodeo attire, dust still clinging to his jeans. His black felt cowboy hat was pulled down tightly on his head, shadowing the bruising and bloodied lip he sported.
"He deserved it." Kevin muttered, his stubborn fifteen year old streak showing. He crossed his free arm over his chest defiantly and Rick couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm not saying that you're wrong, Kevin, but you still need to learn to control your anger. Things do get a bit tense around the circuit, but you have to get used to it."
"Dad, he was making fun of Tio Javi for being gay. What was I supposed to do? Just let him sit there and talk?" Kevin threw his hands up in the air and scooted off the tailgate, pacing angrily in front of the barn.
"No, but you can get in some serious trouble for this. They can disqualify you for the year. Especially since the kid you thumped was the comissioner's son." Rick slid off the tailgate as well and reached out to place his hand on Kevin's shoulder, stopping him from pacing. "Like I told you, I'm not saying that you're wrong."
"Really? Cause that's kinda what it sounds like you're saying."
"You stuck up for your family, and I'm damned proud of you for that. You are an amazing young man, Kevin, and Javier is going to be grateful. Your Uncle Kevin would be so proud of you, and you definitely live up to your name. I'm proud to be able to call you my son." A grin broke across Kevin's face as Rick pulled him into a tight hug.
"I love you, Dad." He whispered into the creases of Rick's denim shirt.
"I love you too, son." Rick replied with a smile. "Always."
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Much love,
J. Rook
