Jason disembarked at the dock in town, instead of riding the boat up the river. He had expected everyone (his brothers) to be waiting for him in town, after he'd wired them when he left the city.

"Where are my brothers?" he asked Lottie, as he entered her place and ordered a beer.

She laughed. "You may ask. No one has seen hide nor hair of them since the day after you left. They bought up all the eggs and bread in the store and took off for the mountain. Well, except Swede; he took your telegram up to them. Said he delivered it to Jeremy, who wouldn't even open the door."

"That doesn't sound like Jeremy. Not for the last couple of years, that is. But if he was feeling bashful again, Josh should have answered the door."

"Maybe he was taking a walk."

"They haven't been back to town, at all? I'd have expected Josh to be in and out."

"So did I, but if he did, he was sneaking around in the wee hours, and never took or shared anything, not even a hello or goodbye."

"Strange." Jason finished his beer. "I'd better get up there and see what they've been doing."

"If I hadn't thought they were fine, I'd have been up there myself, Jason. You know that. Especially after Swede's report. No doubt they've just been enjoying not having you know their every move."

Jason grinned. "Lottie, that's what I'm afraid of. Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be on me when they no longer need me?"

They both laughed, and after sliding her a coin, Jason picked up his suitcase and headed for the livery, changed his mind, and started walking. It felt good to stretch his legs, to be able to take long steps, and to actually be getting somewhere. It might be a long walk, but it would be a good one.

Jeremy was sitting at the table with his back to the door when he heard Jason's steps on the porch and the door opening.

Oh dear.

"Aren't you going to say 'hello'?" Jason asked, putting down his suitcase.

Jeremy held up one hand in a wait-a-minute gesture, and concentrated on the plant he was repotting.

Jason walked over behind him, and frowned down at the top of his head. "You aren't supposed to do that at the table."

Jeremy shrugged, keeping his head down.

Jason shook his head, poured himself a cup of coffee and seated himself across the table from his youngest brother, watching him silently. He was annoyed that Jeremy wasn't welcoming him home. And, if he was honest, a little hurt by it. Maybe more than a little.

Jeremy carefully (slowly) finished his task and began just as carefully cleaning up after himself. He had spread a cloth over the table, and newspapers over the cloth, to keep from making much of a mess, so it was tricky to make the job last very long. Jeremy's eyes kept sliding over to his brother, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Or how to say it.

Jeremy washed his hands thoroughly and wandered back to the table, coming to a stop beside Jason.

"Aren't you even going to look at me?" Jason asked gently, concealing alarm at Jeremy's actions.

Jeremy stood there frozen.

Jason turned in his chair and lifted the boy's chin with his hand.

He gasped. The boy was pale, with black circles under his bloodshot eyes.

"Have you been sick? Or crying?" he demanded. "And where is Josh? How can he leave you like this?" Jason was examining the boy's eyes.

Jeremy shook his head. "Not sick. T-tired. C-can't sleep v-very m-much."

"Where is Joshua?" Jason repeated. Patiently, by sheer willpower.

Jeremy shrugged.

"Jeremy."

"D-d-didn't s-say. J-just w-went." Jeremy made a going away gesture.

"How long has he been gone? I can't believe he'd just –"

Josh breezed through the his hands full of withered leaves. "I found the minty things for your eye salve, Jer–. Oh, Hello, Jason, I see you finally came back. What took you so long?" He put the plants down and brought down the mortar and pestle. "Start crushing. These are dead and alive enough, right?"

Jeremy was looking at Josh, faintly smiling. He nodded, and went to work, standing at the table beside Jason.

"Where were you?" Jason demanded of Josh. "Why haven't you been to town?"

Jeremy waved the leaves at Jason.

Josh looked at Jason like he was crazy. "Getting weeds for Jeremy, what's it look like?"

"If Jeremy's not well, why didn't you take him into town? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

"No!" Jeremy blurted.

"In January? Are you crazy? That'd be enough to MAKE him sick."

"What were you planning to do if he was?"

Josh sucked in a long breath and puffed it out. "Go and get somebody, whattaya think? Don't you trust me, Jason?"

"The way you were acting when I left? No."

"Shame on you then." Josh took the mortar from Jeremy and put it on the stove. "Looks juicy enough to me, little brother. Do you agree?"

Jeremy looked fully at Josh and smiled before nodding.

Damn, Jason thought. They were getting to not needing – or wanting – him faster than he had expected. Still, it WAS good that they would take care of one another. He mustn't lose sight of that.

"What's wrong with his eyes?"

"They're all bloodshot and swollen."

"I can see that!"

Joshua and Jeremy exchanged a look at their older brother's exasperation, and they both chuckled.

Josh shook his head at Jason. "We're not sure, are we, Jeremy? Some kind of weeds, probably, since he's been playing with them." Josh waved at the row of pots Jeremy had lined up on the countertop.

"Not p-playing," Jeremy objected, but he looked at Josh approvingly and with admiration. "S-sometimes stuff in w-winter acts d-different, that's something could've growed in the f-firewood. W-we had some s-s-snow ,las' w-week. Or it c-could jus' b-be because I c-can't stay asleep and my eyes look and look even when it's d-dark."

"Hmmph." Something didn't feel right, Jason thought. It didn't feel right, and it didn't sit right; but there wasn't anything identifiably wrong, not with their words, or the way they were getting along. He'd expected them to stay in town, of course, but there wasn't any reason why they needed to. (He hoped.)

Josh and Jeremy looked at one another and Josh winked at Jeremy.

Jason finished his coffee and went to unpack his suitcase, glancing suspiciously at his brothers as they huddled together working, talking and whispering, and laughing while they started fixing a late lunch/early supper.

"You're going to bed after we eat," Josh told Jeremy. "I'm gonna put some of that salve we're making in your eyes and rub it on a bandage and blindfold you. You'll have one less thing to worry about now that we're all – together. Again."

Jason was sure Josh had started to say something else, but he let it pass.

"K-kay," Jeremy agreed meekly, which was almost suspicious of itself. "I d-didn't d-do the d-dishes from last night or this m-morning."

"It looks like you haven't done them for a week. I'll clean up after you this time."

"S-sometimes we use a l-lot of d-dishes."

"Sometimes," Josh agreed, rubbing Jeremy's head. "Peel some potatoes and slice 'em."

"I'm g-glad you're here to d-do some c-cooking tonight."

Josh laughed, maybe a bit too loudly. "You're the one who wanted the experience."

"Yeah I did." Jeremy added something to the ointment they were making and stirred it in. "It's 'bout ready to s-set, Josh."

"Well, put it aside."

Jeremy moved it to a shelf, and went and stood close to Josh. "He k-keeps looking at us." Jeremy spoke in a low voice.

"He's surprised to see how grown up we are," Josh replied, naturally. "That, or he's waiting for us to start squabbling."

"Let's don' d-do that t'night."

"Fine by me. Tell you what, just slice the potatoes. No need to peel 'em."

Jeremy nodded.

Jason made himself comfortable and kept his eye on his brothers. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't completely ignore the idea that they really had been growing up all this time and he just hadn't seen it until they spent some time apart. Things like that did happen, he knew.

Maybe that was the conspiracy he suspected. They were acting or showing off that they were becoming men, and men to be proud of.

Except for the Jeremy not sleeping part. That wasn't usual. But it could be. Natural, that was. Wakeful nights were part of growing older.

Jason shook his head, again, just as the boys called him to supper.