Running
Away to Home
By Chris Owen
When Hound told the Boss he was leaving the ranch,
the man just nodded and thanked him for the two weeks notice.
"Most either just don't show up or tell me
the night before that they're moving on. That's how I know the
good from the bad when it's time to rehire." The Boss smiled
at him and said, "Not that I needed you to give me notice
to know that you'll always be welcome back, Kevin. Let me know
if you're ever in need of work, hear?"
Hound smiled and nodded, happy that he was appreciated.
He'd really liked working the spread, had spent a good year
there. He was going to miss the land and the men, was going
to miss Lego nights and Elias bitching about... well, about
everything.
He didn't tell the others until Jake finally asked
him what was wrong one night at supper.
"Nothing," Hound said, staring at his
plate. Then he made the mistake of looking up and meeting blue
eyes and Jake was looking at him all worried, and that just
wasn't right. "I'm leaving," he admitted.
Elias looked at him and didn't say anything for
a long moment, letting Jake ask the question.
"Where're you going?" Jake still sounded
concerned, but he didn't look so worried; his posture had eased
a bit and he was eating again.
"North," he said. He picked at his food
for a couple of minutes and told them that his brother's painting
and sculpting was taking off, that Alex needed his help. "Gonna
go up and help build his studio. Stay until winter and see if
I like it up there. If it's too cold, or I hate it, I'll just
head back down the coast, maybe see Florida or something."
Jake nodded. "Couldn't get me off this land,
but yeah, I can see trying something new. Good to be near your
family, too."
Elias agreed with that, anyway. "Family can
be a damn good thing, Hound. Besides, not like you have ties
here. Good to see some of the country before you settle down."
Tornado didn't say a word.
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