Remembering he hadn’t spoken with Morgan about the Yellowstone plan, Jackson strode to his truck and started for home.
Back at the ranch he found his daughter in the barn, grooming her horse. The stallion had been a gift for her eleventh birthday and she’d named him the Black. He watched unnoticed for a few minutes, her blond braid swinging with each swipe of the body brush. Morgan’s hands were small, so she compensated with a firm grip and shorter swipes. Her face wasn’t angry, more sad and puzzled at the moment, though that changed as soon as he said her name.
“Morgan.”
She looked up and her chin rose instantly. “Yeah?”
“I want to discuss something we might be doing in the next week or two. Alex is uncomfortable about meeting me, so I thought a camping trip might break the ice. It would be us, Alex, his mom and sister, and maybe Mr. and Mrs. Garrison. If Alex agrees, we’d go to Yellowstone. How does that sound?”
She shrugged. “Whatever.”
Weariness went through Jackson. How was he supposed to get through to her? He’d been a rebellious, reckless teenager himself, but somehow, this was different.
“Morgan, anger isn’t getting us anywhere. We need to talk. You suddenly have a brother. How do you feel about that?”
Tossing the body brush aside, she patted her horse’s neck. “It’s no big deal.”
No big deal, as if it hadn’t turned his world inside out. But he couldn’t expect his fifteen-year-old daughter to appreciate what it was like to be in his shoes. He didn’t even want her to understand. It wasn’t just because of Alex, it was seeing Kayla again. Though she reminded him of his youthful mistakes, she also reminded him of how it felt to be young and wild with desire.
“Actually, it is a big deal,” he said with more patience than he felt. “It changes our family structure, for one thing.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. “You mean he’s gonna live with us?”
“I doubt Alex is interested in that,” Jackson returned quickly. “He’s got a good home and we’re still strangers. Nonetheless, he’s a member of the family and that changes things.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you’ll get what you want from him.”
“What do you mean by that?”
She put a saddle pad on the Black’s back. “Nothing. I’m going for a ride.”
Jackson lifted the saddle for her and tightened the girth, trying to act as if everything was normal. “Have a good time. We can talk more this evening,” he said as she tucked the satellite phone into her saddlebag and mounted.
“Whatever.”
She rode out of the barn and Jackson headed to the storage room at the back, thinking it was a good thing kids started out as babies. If they were born as teenagers, no family would ever have more than one, and the human race would dwindle to nothing.
His shoulders slumped. However aggravating Morgan tried to be, he loved his little girl with all his heart. Something was going on with her, and it hurt that he couldn’t get at the problem.
Then a stray thought crossed his mind. If the trip to Yellowstone came together, Morgan would inevitably spend time in Kayla Anderson’s company. Kayla might be able to pick up on something and give him a few pointers. After all, Morgan was essentially growing up without a mother and might relate to another woman.
Yet almost as soon as the idea formed, Jackson dismissed it. Kayla had shown concern for Morgan when she’d tried to keep the news about Alex from leaking out accidentally, but that didn’t mean she wanted to bother with someone else’s rebellious kid. She had her own children to worry about.
Jackson unlocked the cabinets and started removing camping equipment. The sleeping bags had been cleaned after the last time they were used and stored in tight plastic, so they should be fine. There was a good propane cookstove and full set of camp cookware, along with ice chests and sturdy lockers for food.
Assuming the Garrisons went on the trip, they’d probably need three tents, one for the older couple, one for Kayla and the girls, and a third for him and Alex. In view of their age, he should buy camp cots for the Garrisons.
It was easier to focus on organizing the prospective trip than to dwell on parenting an angry teenager, while trying to convince another one to even meet him. He still wanted to believe Kayla was simply stonewalling when it came to Alex, but that excuse was wearing thin.
* * *
KAYLA TRIED TO decide if considering Jackson’s suggestion had been wise, but there was no way to be sure. When she got back to the house, her grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of iced tea, so she poured one for herself and joined her.