Ruth Sally Tracy, née Hooper, was not stupid. No sir, not by a long shot. She'd been the first to go to college at only 15, much against her parents' wishes. She'd joined the USAF as a medic-in-training and flown with them for five years, seeing the world in both its glory and its depravity.

No one had been more surprised than herself when she'd returned home in the middle of her stint and agreed to marry the oldest brother of her best friend.

It had not been an easy life at first. Kansas had both opposite ends of the weather spectrum for several years resulting in them barely scraping by. She lost several babies before managing to carry one to term.

Jefferson Grant Tracy had been their miracle child. His birth seemed to precipitate a change in their fortunes. By the time he was eight the Tracy Farm was one of the biggest in the county.

She knew that Grant and she had spoiled the boy, but they made sure they were also firm and fair.

So it came as quite a surprise when they realised Jeff didn't act as expected.

He was charismatic. His best friend Lee Taylor followed him around like a puppy, and it gave Jeff confidence. But as he grew older the reports from school began to highlight concerns with his behaviour.

'Inability to take responsibility for his actions.'

'Manipulative and dishonest.'

'Very good at twisting words to suit his purpose.'

They had consulted with the school recommended psychiatrist, who told them Jeff had the beginnings of a narcissistic personality disorder but that with careful treatment he could grow up to be 'normal'.

It had caused quite a reaction from Grant. Her gentle giant had been so upset by the use of the word 'normal' it had taken her a while to talk him round to seeing it hadn't been meant like that. But it had. They both knew it deep down.

No one could give a reason why their son could possibly have a 'personality disorder' but after much research all they could really do was love him and set boundaries as was normal for children and hope it would be enough.

When he began attending high school there had been a short rough patch as Jeff adjusted but afterwards he just seemed to soar, both academically and socially, and Ruth and Grant heaved a sigh of relief.

There were tears on their part when he also left home early, bound for college and USAF too, but ever with an eye on NASA. He kept them informed of milestones and they celebrated his achievements.

Little things niggled. Friends would say how he'd treated their child in school. Jeff would occasionally say something that just didn't sound…right.

And as he became well-known in the USAF - which Ruth (as Sally) - still had contacts with, and moved up to NASA and became a household name, they began to worry that Jeff would be taken advantage of. A hick country boy playing in the rich leagues?

So when Jeff arrived on their doorstep, woman and child in tow, Ruth feared the worst had already happened.

That somehow their clever son had been hoodwinked by a-a-a *hussy*.

'Please, come in and sit down, child, and tell me about yourself.'

Lucy tentatively smiled as Jeff steered her into a rather formal-looking room. There was a fireplace, laid but unlit, bracketed by two couches in a dark green. The walls were stark, the only hanging picture was the older couple's wedding photo. She hoped Jeff would stay with her, maybe even light the fire since it was a little chilly, but he parked her wheelchair beside the couch, bent and kissed his Ma's cheek and left.

It felt like Lucy was under examination. She shifted, suddenly self-conscious of her injuries and that this woman was supposed to be caring for her but hadn't even known she was coming.

Ruth, seeing how uncomfortable the girl was felt her heart soften. She didn't know why her son had decided to bring the pair here, but she couldn't fail to see the evidence of recent injuries on both adult and child. A car accident of some sort she surmised. She hoped it hadn't been Jeff's fault, but it seemed unlikely. He'd all but ignored them both since arriving. There would be time to find out about the pair later, but for now the medic in her was taking over.

'Would you like a rest before dinner?'

'Oh, I - er - I don't want to impose.'

'Nonsense, child. We have a downstairs room where you can rest for a couple hours. It's clear that you need a rest, and I'm sure your boy will be happy to join you.'

'Thank you, that would be nice.'

'Good. Jeff?'

Raising her voice slightly, sure that Jeff would be nearby, Ruth was pleased to see she'd been right. He appeared with a tray of cups – a coffee for himself and tea for her and a glass of water for the girl – Lucy. She needed to get the name right.

'Jeff, settle Lucy in the downstairs room for now, please. And while I sort out dinner perhaps you can find out where your father has gone with her son.'

'Yes, Ma.'

He smiled at both women before taking charge of the wheelchair and pushing Lucy next door. This room was much more homely. A small bed – not quite a single but smaller than a double – took up one wall, with a tallboy in one corner and a dressing table in the other. Pastel yellows coloured the walls and matching curtains, with a spray of deep yellow-orange sunflowers hand painted onto the middle of the wall above the bed.

Jeff helped her to settle on the bed. Lucy really was tired, she almost dropped off immediately, but she worried where Scott was and how he was doing. He hadn't looked good before, and she was desperate to get him checked over.

'Jeff, can you check on Scott please? I didn't like his colour earlier, and I want him to get checked over soon. Please?'

'Don't worry, Pa will look after him. Ma will take you both to the clinic after dinner. In the meantime, Ma is right – you need to rest. I'll bring Scott in as soon as I find them.'

'Thank you.'

He bent and kissed her cheek and pulled the covers over her, turning at the door to see she'd already dropped off to sleep. That went better than he thought it would, although Jeff had hoped to avoid the third degree completely by letting Ma grill Lucy instead. He'd stayed by the door listening and knew that chat hadn't happened. Jeff tried to sneak out the kitchen but was pulled up by that tone of voice that told him he better not refuse:

'Jefferson. A word.'

Ah. So he wasn't going to get out of it…Well, he was used to his Mother's tactics by now, so squaring his shoulders he entered the room with a smile on his face.

'Ma.'

'Please explain why you have brought an injured woman and her child to see us without so much as a mention to us.'

Jeff took the seat opposite and sank down while Ruth looked on. There was a distinct look of smugness about her boy, and she began to think that maybe she had misjudged the situation.

'Lucy and her son Scott have been involved in a car accident. They need a place to rest up, somewhere quiet so they can heal and I immediately thought of home.'

'I see. And why did you not call us in advance? You know your father and I would always help a friend of yours out but I do hate surprises.'

'Things just happened so fast I quite forgot that I hadn't told you.'

She looked at him again, closer. He wasn't lying, but she could tell there was more here than what he was saying. What was it he was *not* saying? Jeff could be as tight-lipped as anything when he wanted to be.

'Well, she's welcome to stay, of course. I think that I'll run them both down to the clinic after dinner. Neither of them have good colour.'

'I think that's wise, Ma. Scott fell over on the plane and hurt his arm again this morning.'

'Ok, then I definitely will. I'll see about turning out the guest bedroom for them both. I assume you are not staying.'

Ruth tried to hide the bitterness there. Jeff had his own life to lead, and if she felt like he was dumping a problem on their doorstep and then swanning off to his own life, well, that was a problem she had, not Jeff. But then he surprised her completely.

'No, Ma. I've taken a week off work and I'll be here for that, providing you and Pa don't mind.'

'Of course we don't mind. It will be great to have you around.'

'And don't worry about turning down the guest room. I'll do it while you're at the clinic.'

She got up, patting Jeff's cheek as she passed. There was still more information to come, but she'd get what Jeff was willing to share over the course of the week. Ruth ignored the eyeroll and left to get on with the meal.

Jeff followed his Ma to the kitchen, then outside to find his Pa and the boy. He needed to remember to call him by his name, his parents were sharp cookies, and he knew his Ma had more questions to ask.

He wondered when would be a good time to tell them he was married. Maybe over dinner an opportunity would present itself. Or maybe he should do it now, before the first time they ate as a complete family. No – he'd wait and see how dinner panned out before saying anything.

Meanwhile, Grant had picked Scott up and sat him on his shoulders and had taken the child over to see the horses. Kids loved animals, and he knew the two ponies they still kept adored children.

He had been right. He'd taken Scott off his shoulders before entering the barn, holding the boy's good hand tightly. The child had been wide-eyed and open-mouthed on seeing the dappled grey pony, and she had nuzzled his hair to Scott's delight. He had squealed which had caused Grant to laugh, and he had given Scott an apple to feed her with. Lady would be fine with apples, but he made sure to remember to tell Scott he couldn't feed the other horses with apples as it would cause major digestive issues with them.

Scott had grinned as he had done what he was told, holding his hand flat and allowing the horse to eat the apple off his palm. He'd never met a horse before, and when Mister Grant had said he could teach Scott to ride them he'd squealed again and thrown his arms around the man's legs. Scott looked up with a thoughtful expression, his head slightly tilted to one side, and Grant looked down with a smile of his own.

'Mister Grant, are you my Daddy's Daddy?'

'That depends, Scott. Is Jeff your Daddy?'

'Yes. Mamma said so.'

'Well, in that case – yes, I am your Daddy's Daddy. That makes me your Grandpa.'

'Grandpa?'

'Yes, Scott. You can call me Grandpa.'

'Grandpa.'

Scott tried the word out several times, holding Grant's hand as the two left the stables to head down the farm to the pond. Grant listened as the boy chatted, too fast to really understand everything Scott was saying but managing to nod in the right places. 'Grandpa' was liberally sprinkled in and it warmed Grant's heart.

Inside, though, Grant was upset about how he had found out his only child had a child of his own, but he didn't know the circumstances and he would not say anything until Jeff did. Jeff was a Tracy through and through, and that came with a side of temper that could flare in a moment. He himself was the exception – it took Grant far too long to get annoyed, something that Ruthie had complained about on multiple occasions, especially with regard to their former neighbour. There had been no tears when Jeff had bought the farmer out and turned some of the fields into an airstrip.

Speak of the devil…He laughed inside at that thought as Jeff hailed them, jogging over. Grant was surprised that Scott didn't immediately let go of his hand, but then Jeff barely acknowledged the child.

'Pa, everything alright?'

'Fine, son. I've just shown Scott the horses and thought I'd take him down to the pond.'

'Nice. Nice. His Mother wants him back at the house for a rest before Ma serves up an early dinner. They've had a very busy day.'

Grant looked down at Scott. The child may not have rushed over to his father, but the sheen of adoration was clear in his eyes. He chuckled to himself again before kneeling down in front of him.

'Scott, we're going to head back to the house now. Your Ma wants you. You see the house there? I want to see how long it takes you to run there.'

'Ok, Grandpa.'

Scott's eyes had lit up at the challenge. If there was one thing Scott loved to do almost as much as flying it was running. He set off at a pace, not noticing the adults stop.

Jeff, on hearing Scott's words, sighed. He guessed the conversation was going to be now rather than later. But to his surprise, and gratitude, his Pa laid a hand on his shoulder.

'Son, I can't say I'm not upset that we have a grandchild we knew nothing about, but this is your family and your story. I'll not say anything to your Ma – yet. Just don't keep her in the dark for long, she's going to be upset enough anyway.'

'Thanks, Pa. I'll tell her before dinner. In fact, why don't we all have that conversation once Scott is in with Lucy?'

'That sounds like a good plan, Son.'

By the time they had ambled back to the house Scott was impatiently hopping from foot to foot. He wasted no time in asking both adults if they had been watching how fast he ran, and he positively beamed when Grant had said yes, he'd run faster than a jet plane.

That last turn of speed spent the remainder of Scott's energy, and by the time the adults had led the child to his Mom he was dead on his feet. Lucy didn't stir at all as Scott snuggled carefully into her side.

Grant and Jeff joined Ruth in the kitchen. She didn't stop working, rolling out pastry for one of her famous pies as the room begun to fill with the scent of cooking meat and vegetables.

Jeff sat at the table while his Pa went on to make coffee for them both and a tea for his Ma, and for just a moment he allowed affection for his parents and their never-changing-ness to wash over him. Sometimes, in the darkest nights, he'd missed them, or rather, their no-nonsense wisdom. He'd drawn on that several times to work out what to do in his early days. He didn't need it now.

Ruth finished lining the dish with pastry and filled the cavity with the apples she'd just prepared, sprinkling over the spices and extra sugar before laying the lid on, cutting the top and pushing the vent in. Then she joined her men at the table. They drank in silence for a moment, but Ruth knew her son. He needed to tell them something and he wasn't sure how to broach the subject.

'Well, Jeff. Your father and I are eager to learn how you know Lucy and her son.'

Jeff took a long drink while he thought about how to answer, but the truth was the best way was always the blunt truth. His parent's appreciated honest speaking folk. He took a breath.

'Lucy and I met just before I went on the Mars mission, Ma.'

'You never mentioned her before.'

'No – I kinda lost touch with her, what with so long away.'

'I see. And now?'

'She and her son were involved in a car accident and I was contacted.'

Ruth pursed her lips. She could tell that Jeff was leaving out something important, something she could guess at, but she needed him to say it rather than speculate and get it spectacularly wrong. She hadn't needed to look at her husband to know that whatever it was, Grant already knew. He didn't seem too happy either.

'She needs a place to heal, they both do, so I offered to bring them here. They won't be any bother on the farm and I'll be here too.'

'But Jeff, why you?'

'What do you mean, Ma?'

'Why did they contact you?'

There was a pause while Jeff took another sip before he answered.

'Because Scott is mine and my name was on the birth certificate.'

Ruth put her cup down carefully. She was a medic, had delivered countless babies after her Air Force career led to the local hospital. She knew that for a man to be named on a birth certificate certain processes needed to be accomplished, that Jeff would have had to have been involved from the beginning. The fact that he didn't know – for despite everything Jeff would surely have said something – spoke volumes.

She didn't like the implications of…wrongdoing involved in the child's birth and the way his mother had handled everything. If it was one thing Ruth hated it was dishonestly.

She thought about the injured woman and child asleep next door and frowned. Sure that Jeff would know the answer, she asked the question on her mind.

'Are you sure he's yours?'