Breaking the Rules (1st in Breaking Series)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"I don't want that gun in my home. Leave it on the porch," Jacob ordered as he rose from the table when Brody and Elizabeth walked in. Brody looked down at the revolver on his hip and shook his head, "I only take my gun off for one thing and it sure ain't sitting here talking to you."

Jacob crossed his arms over his chest, "That's the rules here. No revolvers in the house," he repeated in a no nonsense tone of voice.

Brody stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and leaned his weight on his good leg, "I ain't leaving the gun on the porch and I sure as hell ain't standing out in the cold."

"Brody..." Jacob warned but Brody cut him off.

"What damn good is this gun gonna do me if I leave it on the porch? If there's one thing the life I've led has taught me, it's to keep my gun with me all the time."

Thomas stepped into the house and Brody looked at him to see that he had indeed removed his gun from his holster, "Where the hell is your gun, Thomas?! Don't tell me you let him talk you into not wearing it in here! You've been supposed to be looking out for my wife all these months! What the hell were you gonna do if something bad happened? Ask the thieves, attackers or murderers to wait just a minute while you go and get it?!" Thomas looked from Jacob to Brody and wondered which man he should listen to... He quickly determined that Brody was scarier and he stepped back out long enough to grab his gun.

"I give up, Brody," Jacob said as he flopped himself back down in the kitchen chair. "Come on in and sit down so we can talk."

***

"So how is that you are alive when your wife thought you were dead?" Jacob asked once everyone was eating supper.

"A man found me and patched me up," Brody replied simply.

"And what took you so long to come look for your wife?" Jacob asked with annoyance. Knowing Brody he'd been too busy doing his own thing to give any thought to his wife.

"I thought Elizabeth was dead. The men that shot me had a gun to her head and just before I lost consciousness, I heard a gunshot. I had given her mama's necklace and the man that found me also found that necklace in a pool of blood."

Jacob looked at Elizabeth and saw that she was indeed wearing his mama's old necklace, "That still doesn't explain what you've been doing for six months or what you came back here for," he said looking back at his brother.

Brody shoved a big bite of fried potatoes into his mouth, "I thought my wife had been murdered by a bunch of bastards in a plot to steal her ranch... I think what I was doing for those six months should be pretty self explanatory." he growled with an indifferent shrug, "As far as coming back here, I guess I thought coming home might help me deal with losing her."

Brody felt Elizabeth's hand squeeze his thigh in comfort and he lowered his hand beneath the table and took her hand in his. Silence fell over the table as only the sound of silverware scraping against plates and people chewing filled the air.

Finally Susie spoke up, "Where did you get that scar?" she asked quietly, pointing at Brody's cheek.

"The war," Brody replied simply. He wished he could tell the girls apart but it had been too long since he'd seen them.

"We know that!" Sally exclaimed. "But how?!"

"Don't worry about it," Jacob scolded. "He obviously doesn't want to talk about it." Susie lowered her eyes back down to her plate looking ashamed as Sally glared at her oldest brother and an angry blush covered her cheeks.