Guthrie had just finished feeding the sheep when Crane called to him from the back corral.

"Guthrie, can you hang around up here in case Evan needs help? He's working that bay now."

Guthrie looked around, "Where is everybody?"

"Brian said there was a problem with the plumbing, so Adam and Daniel went to check it out. And I need to meet Molly, so..." He looked hopefully at Guthrie.

Guthrie wasn't quite finished with his chores, but Evan shouldn't be working alone. A young horse was unpredictable and could accidently squash him. Guthrie shrugged, "Sure, go on."

"Okay. Tell Adam we'll drop the Jeep off on our way home. Thanks, shortstuff!" Crane flicked the bill on Guthrie's cap before he jogged over to the Jeep. Guthrie rolled his eyes. It'd been a while since he'd been 'shortstuff.' He'd finally caught up with the rest of them in height which was kinda cool, but old nicknames apparently never died.

He walked up to the corral as Evan loved on the colt some more. Even though Guthrie knew to expect it, he was still amazed that Evan could get any animal on the planet to trust him. Just beat everything. After a second, Evan started sliding the reins and ropes around easily. The colt was paying attention, but Evan was so casual about it that the animal didn't shy or even blink. Evan gently rubbed the ropes around his head, mane, nose, breast, back, and rump. On, off, across, behind, in front, under, showing the colt there was nothing to be afraid of, and the ropes wouldn't hurt him. Then Evan was petting and rubbing again, reminding him that he was being good and doing well.

A loud clang up at the house caught Guthrie's attention, but a quick snort pulled him back around to see Evan standing away as the colt jerked and bucked a little. Finally, the animal quieted and slowly eased back in.

"What happened?"

"The noise startled him. He's all right." Evan ran his hand over the colt's poll and ears while his voice was stayed gentle and soft. "He's a good boy; he sure is. Just a little young and still learning that he doesn't have to be scared of everything." He glanced at Guthrie. "You finished up?"

Guthrie looked back to the barn and shrugged slightly. "Almost."

"I'm about done here if you want to get back to it."

"That's okay. I can wait."

Evan tossed him an annoyed glance. "Git! I'll come help soon as I get this guy back in the pasture."

Guthrie eyed him skeptically. "Five minutes. You're not there in five minutes, I'm coming back."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n." Evan's teasing grin was a mile wide even as he continued petting the big bay.

Guthrie checked his watch and glared at his idiot brother before heading back to the barn. Four minutes and thirty-two seconds after he started bottle feeding a rejected calf, Evan came in and started measuring out feed for the family horses.

"How was school?"

"Okay. I heard Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox are getting a divorce."

Evan eyed him through the doorway of the stall. "She teaches English, and he's…wood shop?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Going through a divorce while teaching at the same school? That's gonna be hard."

"Mm-hmm."

Evan blew out a breath. Then, "How's the team shaping up?"

Guthrie didn't want to talk about basketball now either, but Evan had asked about the team, not how Guthrie was doing. "I think we're gonna be pretty good. A new guy just transferred in, and he's really terrific."

"That sounds promising."

"Yeah."

The calf was sucking the bottle dry…and Evan hadn't said anything else. Guthrie glanced up to find him staring. "What?"

"I don't know. Just…you all right?" Evan was looking at him curiously.

Trapped, Guthrie tried not to betray himself. "Yeah." Hopefully lighthearted.

Evan nodded slightly as he kept observing Guthrie. "Uh-huh." Like he didn't believe him.

Guthrie was glad the calf was finished as it gave him an excuse to move away, and he headed to the pump to wash out the bottle and nipple. Something he'd said or done must've pinged Evan's big brother radar. Guthrie was gonna have to watch himself if he didn't want to talk about basketball.

He put the bottle and nipple on the shelf in the barn. When he turned around, he startled when he found Evan standing just a couple feet behind him. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Evan tried to bite down on his grin. "Sorry."

Guthrie didn't think he looked sorry at all.

Evan got serious, "Listen, I know Daniel says I don't know how to keep my trap shut, but that's not true. I can keep a secret."

Guthrie eyed him, wondering where he was going with this. "And…?"

Evan shrugged, "Just saying I'm here if you need me. I mean, I'm not Adam or Brian or Crane, so my big brother advice won't be as good. But if you didn't exactly want to bring them into it…"

Guthrie fought the grin threatening to break out. "I'll keep it in mind."

Evan frowned, obviously disappointed in his big-brother performance. "Okay."

Guthrie appreciated the effort and threw an arm over Evan's shoulders. "Let's go see what the guys have done to the kitchen. This might be our last chance to eat if they've killed the water."

Evan's arm stretched around Guthrie's back. "Well, it's still working down here. We can always come back."

An idea came to Guthrie, "Or…we can invade Crane and Molly! They're not even home tonight to kick us out!"

"Ding-ding-ding! Winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah!"

SB4SB

Well, the water in the house wasn't dead, but the sink in the kitchen was off limits. Discussion at the dinner table meandered around what they'd found…and not found. And there seemed to be an undercurrent between Adam and Brian that Guthrie wasn't sure of. Everything just felt a little…off.

About half way through supper, Ford came in. "Hey, everybody!"

"Ford! Welcome home!" was the general chorus of greeting.

He pulled up Crane's empty chair since it was the easiest to add in. "This looks great, Hannah!"

She grinned as the helpings on his plate multiplied. "Aren't you eating up at that school?"

He shrugged, "Occasionally. But it's never as good as yours."

She grasped Ford's chin affectionately with one hand, "Did you know you're my favorite?"

Guthrie laughed, "You told me I was your favorite, Hannah!"

"And me!"

"I thought I was!"

Adam cleared his throat. "I think it's pretty clear that I'm her favorite."

They all cracked up as Hannah scrunched her nose and smiled at Adam.

Ford glanced at the kitchen floor where tools were scattered in front of the open cabinet under the sink. "Guthrie, did one of your science experiments go bad?"

Guthrie shook his head. "I'm not taking credit. I was outside when that happened." He looked at Daniel, Adam, and Brian significantly.

Brian looked at Ford, "There's a problem in the line somewhere. We just haven't found it yet." Sounded a little ticked off.

Ford looked a little disturbed. "How 'bout the bathroom?"

The silence around the table was pretty loud. Adam finally broke it, "Haven't looked that far. At the moment, it's okay." His glance at Brian seemed frustrated.

Hannah looked around the table plaintively. "Any idea when we'll know what's wrong?"

The stare-down between Adam and Brian was long and intense till Adam glanced over at Daniel, "We'll get on it first thing in the morning, honey."

"You know how fast the laundry's gonna pile up around here? And the dishes?"

Ford looked dismayed, "It's the washing machine? I brought a whole bag of laundry."

Daniel held up his hands in surrender, "I know, I know. We'll fix it, don't worry."