Hometown Boy part II
They rode back to the stables in silence. Duke wrestled with the past in his head. Scarlett decided to wait for a more private time to breech the subject. Drew had learned from past experience that her half-brother was best left alone in certain situations, and this was definitely one of those times. Duke felt confident that he could rely on her to keep out of it.
Brother and sister dismounted at the stable and lead their mounts inside, leaving Scarlett at the door to figure things out for herself. Wrapped up in memories and Wally's rub-down, Duke forgot completely about her until Drew's voice brought him back to the present.
"Here, Scarlett. I'll groom her if you put the saddle away."
He turned to see them working together over the post-ride chores. Scarlett grabbed the saddle and bridle from a nearby rail and hefted it awkwardly into the tack room. Drew grabbed a brush and curry-comb and set to work on Misty's flanks. The mare regarded him with soulful eyes. They seemed to look at him with pity and more than a little recrimintation. Duke snorted and turned back to finish up with Wally. The stallion was giving him the same look.
"Dammit. Fuck." Duke cursed under his breath as he leaned over to pick the rocks out of his horse's hooves. "Why do you guys have to be so God-damned soulful all the time?" Wally responded by reaching over and nibbling his hair. "Stupid horse," he stood and patted him lovingly, "you're not supposed to be able to make me feel this guilty." He lead the Fresian back to his stall and gave him an extra measure of oats. The soft thunk of a nearby stall door announced that Drew had done likewise with Misty. Duke waited until the crunching of footsteps on the dirt path told him his sister had left the barn, and went to find Scarlett.
She was still in the tackroom, leaning against an empty saddle tree. At first he thought she might be crying, but saw as he moved closer that she had been lost in thought. It made sense. Scarlett wasn't one to burst into tears over mere harsh words.
"Sorry, Red. That was more dramatic than I like being."
"I'll say. Surprising, too. You never talk about your father."
"No. It's not something I like to discuss much."
Scarlett caught the implied warning and let the subject drop. "Well, maybe later." The smell of ribs drifted through the door, making Duke's stomach rumble. Scarlett smiled, "Mmmmmm. You mentioned something earlier about a mess of ribs?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Duke grinned back at her, "and from the smell of it, supper's ready. Shall we?" he offered her his arm.
She laughed, "Why Sargent Hauser, you are a gentleman after all!" She slid her arm through his and together they walked towards the house.
"Yeah, well. Just don't tell anyone."
Duke belched as discreetly as possible into his napkin. "Pardon"
"Eew." Jennifer grimaced.
"Yeah, Duke. Really." Drew's face was covered with a layer of barbecue sauce. Duke wondered how she could have gotten it in her eyebrows.
"I said pardon', ladies. You'll just have to excuse me."
"I should say so," Drew shook her finger at him accusingly, "I could do better than that!" To demonstrate, she let out a thunderous belch. Duke applauded. Cute kid.
Jennifer wasn't so impressed, "Drew, that was one hundred percent disgusting. Mother, how can you let her get away with that?"
"I didn't say I did, dear. Jack?"
"Drew, you've just earned KP for the week. You can start tonight." Jack dispensed judgement from the head of the table.
"But it's Jennifer's turn!"
"Not anymore. Your sister has abstained from serenading us at the table in quite such a fashion," Jack dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin.
"Duke did it first," Drew muttered darkly.
"Your brother managed to excuse himself afterwards. Besides, he's an adult."
"Yeah, and you can't push him around anymore." Drew addressed her plate.
"Three weeks."
"Mom!"
"Don't look to me, young lady. You know better than to talk back to your father." Jane stacked her plate with Scarlett's and lay the dirty flatware on top.
"Duke!" Drew looked desperate.
"I'd get started if I were you, Rabbit." Duke pushed his chair back, "Tell you what-because I sounded the first horn, allbeit somewhat more quietly, I'll give you a hand. You wash, I'll clear."
Defeated in from all corners, Drew slid off her chair and stormed off into the kitchen, stopping to glare at Jennifer on the way. "Morphodite."
Jennifer got up and pushed her chair in, "I'll not grace that with a reply, Drucilla."
"That's not my name and you know it!"
Jennifer smiled and left the dining room. Drew stopped herself from saying what could have possibly kept her washing dishes until college and stomped into the kitchen.
Duke got up to clear the table, chuckling, "Great being home. You don't get entertainment like this back on base. Well," he stopped and stood thoughtfully, plate and glass in hand, "I take that back. I deal with stuff like that all the time. This time, though, it was someone else's problem. That makes it fun." He piled grabbed a few more plates, hefted the pile, and backed through the swinging door.
Jack laughed aloud and ran his fingers through his silvering hair, "The hardest part of parenting is keeping a straight face."
Scarlett smiled, "I can imagine. My brothers and I must have driven my father crazy, but when he talks about it, he laughs himself to tears."
"The boys were almost as bad," Jane wiped a few crumbs into her hand and brushed them into a glass, "Conrad was so much older, they really didn't have much in common. I don't think I really ever heard them fight much, though until Vincent turned sixteen."
"Oh, they argued," Jack's eye twinkled as he rested his chin on his knuckles, "It never really lasted long. Conrad would just pick Vince up whenever he was too much of a problem and toss him somewhere convenient. That was usually the end of it. It's just that eventually, Vince got to big to throw so easily. Things got a bit more noticeable then." He laughed. "Fortunately, by then Conrad was old enough to not get into it so often. Besides, he was out of the house before then, really."
"Was it hard, such an age gap between Duke and the others?" Scarlet asked. "Not to pry, but other people's families are always more interesting than your own."
"Oh, It's not prying. I know what you mean," Jane patted her husband's arm and smiled with the memories, "actually Conrad has helped a lot, when he's able. It's more like having a third parent around now and again. They listen to him when we don't seem to get through. Add to that the fact that he still loves horsing around with them in ways we can't. Sometimes, I wish he were here more often. I really do."
"Me too," Duke came back through the door and began grabbing empty glasses. He kissed his mother on the cheek.
"You do, dear?"
"Of course. Absolutely. Naturally. What am I agreeing to?"
"You don't know?" Jane looked up at her son. His shirt was soaked. "Why are you all wet?"
"Just trying to stay part of the conversation. It's water. Drew's a madwoman with that sprayer."
Jack chuckled, "Just make sure she mops the floor up. This isn't supposed to be fun for her."
"Yes sir. No fun." Duke backed again through the door and into the kitchen.
"He and Drew seem to get along well. Better than with Falcon." Scarlett nodded towards the door.
"She's his favorite. He can baby her, and she worships him. The boys have never been on the same page. When Vincent got older, he was very angry at his brother a lot of the time. After Vietnam, Conrad wasn't the same, and Vincent was old enough to notice the change. But he wasn't old enough to really understand it. It wasn't easy to watch his older brother go through such a nightmare. Conrad withdrew from all of us for a long time to figure things out. Vincent wanted the same boisterous big brother he had always idolized, and that just wasn't there. Conrad was too different. Vincent couldn't understand why, not until recently. I think, for a long time, he blamed Conrad. Then again, I always thought perhaps Conrad resented Vincent."
"Why?"
"He got the childhood Conrad never had. It was very hard on him when his father died. Jack's always done the best he could to support him, but it's just not the same. Conrad just had to grow up faster. It was a terrifying thing for a little boy to have to go through." Duke had come through the swinging door unnoticed and stood quietly listening to this last revelation. He found himself caught between wanting to spill his gut and the need to shut them all up. Instead, he slipped back through and listened from the other side.
Jack put his hand over his wife's lovingly. "He was a good kid and never seemed to let it bother him."
Jane smile grew tight, "oh, but I think it did bother him. I think it bothered him a lot. Vietnam made it harder-it nearly broke him. Conrad survived, and is a very strong man; but I doubt he sleeps through most nights. I wouldn't change my life for a minute, but I often wonder what things would be like today if Sebastian were still alive. I know Conrad does as well." A tear ran down the side of her face. Jack stood up and moved behind her to rest his hands on her shoulders. Jane leaned he head back against him, "It's OK, dear. Remembering keeps him alive to me, in some way."
Scarlett couldn't help but be curious, "Do you mind if I ask what happened?"
"Of course not. It's perfectly natural to wonder. It's part of what made Conrad who he is-"
Duke's gut drove him into the dining room to interrupt, "I promised you a ride on the bike, Red. Why don't we go into town for a nightcap? Drew can finish without me."
Sure, Duke." Scarlett looked up guiltily.
"Should I make up a bed for Scarlett while you're out, dear? Or will that not be necessary?"
Duke reddened quickly. Jack raised his eyebrows in amusement and recited "Six foot two he stood from the ground. Weighed two hundred and thirty five pounds. Saw this giant of a man brought down by love."
"Don't worry about it, Jane. I'm sure Duke will make room for me." He looked at her, surprised.
"Yeah..well..of course. I meanNaturally. Plenty of room. We'll need extra pillows, I guess, and ahhhhhhh. Why don't we go on that ride now?" he made his escape to the garage. Scarlett waved as he towed her by the hand out of the room.
Jane stood up and kissed her husband. He grinned at her, "Yes ma'am. Hardest part's keeping a straight face."
Duke opened the door to the garage and paused. It was a chilly night, "Do you have your jacket, Red?"
"Sure, it's in my bag. I was hoping you'd get me on the beast sometime soon. I couldn't find my helmet, though." They walked towards a canvas shroud in the back.
"You left it strapped to the sissy bar. Last road trip, it came home with me. Matter of fact, I just left it strapped there, hoping some hot redhead would ask me for a ride." Duke
"Any takers?"
"An irish setter chased me about a block a few days ago."
Scarlett laughed "Was it hot?"
"She was panting, anyway. I'm told I have that effect on women." Duke grinned at her as he walked around the bike and back to the shelves where he kept his gear. Helmets, gloves, boots, and even a hook for his jacket. Too dark for glasses-he'd have to risk the bugs. Better grab a bandana.
"Yeah, you can be pretty tiring sometimes, Hauser." Scarlett chuckled.
His eyes twinkled merrily, "I'll tire you out later. Go grab your jacket we can get going." He watched her jog back into the house. Hot damn. It was a nice sight. Some boys in the bar would be jealous tonight. The thought of having Scarlett all to himself for the rest of the evening put Duke back in better spirits. He carefully uncovered the bike and stowed the canvas on the shelf. Siting on a nearby stool, he changed out of his sneakers and into well-worn leather boots that would protect his feet from the rough road and hot pipes. It was almost time for a new pair. He slid into his black jacket and went to inspect the bike.
Scarlett flounced back into the garage-jacket already on. "How do I look?"
"Shoot, I'd better bring me a gun to keep em off you." Duke nodded approvingly.
"You think? I decided to change into another pair of jeans and a different shirt. These go better with the jacket."
"Those go better with everything. Give me a three-sixty."
Scarlett twirled. Her hair, tied back in its habitual ponytail, swung jauntily over her shoulder. Duke stood up and caught her in his arms.
"Too cute for words-decent ones, anyways. Ready to go?"
Scarlett caught sight of the bike and gasped, "You repainted it! It's gorgeous!"
Duke swelled with pride, "Yeah, well, she was getting a bit faded, and I figured why not? So I took a chunk of my savings and went for the airbrush job. I've got a friend close by who owed me one and gave me a break on the price. You really like it?"
Scarlett ran a finger slowly over the gas tank, tracing the outline of the electric blue and purple flames that licked the gleaming black base. "It's like a whole new bike."
"In a way." He unstrapped her helmet from the sissy bar and tossed it to her, "Ready to go?"
Scarlett buckled the helmet under her chin and gave him a thumbs up. Duke swung his leg over the saddle, slid the key in the ingnition and hefted the bike upright. Pulling the choke, he flicked the engine kill switch to on' and pushed the starter button. The bike roared into life. He waited a minute and pushed the choke back in. The engine settled to a rumbling purr. Steadying the bike with both legs, Duke buckled on his own helmet and pulled on his gloves. He turned to Scarlett.
"Jump on, Red."
She swung on behind him and wrapped both arms firmly around his waist. Putting the bike into gear, he rode out of the garage and into the night.