Wrapping Up(9)

He put his hand over the phone. “Just give me a minute.”

“You want me to take John back?”

He smiled. “Yeah, if you don’t mind. Do me a favor and don’t mention that it was because I was on the phone. I don’t need anyone in my business.” Conner was being nasty, but his secretiveness made me more curious.

“Sure thing. You should have invited her to dinner.”

Conner shook his head, but kept his hand over the phone. “Yeah, it’s not like that. Can we talk about it later?”

I walked away shaking my head. “Yeah, see you then.”

I wasn’t so much worried about Conner using drugs, but this mysterious relationship could be because the person he was seeing was using them. I needed to make sure my cousin wasn’t making a big mistake and getting himself into trouble.

When I got back to the Gator the two guys were talking about the deer on the camera. “Looks like he’s stayin’ awhile. Let’s go check on everyone else then head back.”

Now, Ty’s dad was no fool. The man knew how to hunt anything. He and my father would go all over the place on hunting trips.

A few years back he took us to South Africa. It was wild and amazing and something I don’t think any of us will ever forget. There was also the part where they eat fish for breakfast, which is something my Kentucky family could never imagine doing. Besides the fish, we met the nicest families and they welcomed us into their homes. Like our family business, taking people on guided hunts was their business. They had other employees, but it was mostly run by family. At night we would sit out at the campfire and they would tell stories until it was time for bed. You want to talk about drinkers, well they could drink us all under the table and keep on trucking. I didn’t know what the secret was, but they knew it.

My uncle was leaning against a tree as we approached him. He gave us a nod and started walking in our direction. “I’m all set out here. Where’s the lovebirds? You seen them yet?”

“We saved them for last. Figured you might want to catch a ride with us instead.” I didn’t have to say out loud what I thought Ty and Miranda were doing. They had twins at home, it would only be natural for them to savor every second they had alone.

He laughed and jumped right on the back. “Sounds like a better idea than seeing my son with his pants around his ankles.”

We skipped going in the direction of Ty and Miranda’s spots and headed back. I expected them to take a while, but after we texted them that we were all together, they came out of the woods about five minutes after us. Conner finally showed up an hour later and seemed to be in rare form. He was uneasy and was trying to avoid me at all costs.

We all grabbed a plate of hot food and warmed our stomachs with some homemade turkey soup. I didn’t know about my wife, but I loved having my family together in my house. I’d built it for this very reason and seeing my own children filling it, just made me light up inside.

I know she did it to make it easier on us, but my mother and Ty’s parents went up to the main house and Karen and John went back to her place. Savanna’s parents went on a walk together, while Conner, Ty, Miranda and the kids sat around with us. It was crazy how much those boys looked like their father. What made it more crazy was how Ty had ran his mouth about having super sperm. It turned out, he did. Us Mitchell boys produced some fine looking children, if I do say so myself.

As we sat there relaxing, I knew it was only a matter of time before my cousin started up with his bantering. I was thankful he waited until the girls went into the kitchen. “So, how does it feel to have knocked up your wife again. Two kids in diapers sucks donkey dick.”

I let out a cackle and noticed Conner trying to avoid contact with me. “Unlike you, I don’t worry about the diaper part. In fact, if my wife wants eleven kids, she can have them.”

I should have kept my mouth shut, but of course, I had forgotten for a brief moment, who I was talking to. “Eleven kids? Do you have any idea how saggy her tits will be? Oh my God, Dude, they will be flat pancakes and sag to her knees. She won’t even have to wear underwear, cause they will cover up her….”

I held up my hands, silently pleading for him to stop. “Seriously? Don’t go there. My wife will kick my ass if I have to kick your ass before dinner tomorrow.”

“No need to kick anyone’s ass, not that you could, but I’m just stating the truth.” He cocked his eyebrow and chuckled. When one of his boys started to cry, Ty got right up and met his wife halfway there. I turned around to watch them fighting over who was going to take their son, who according to the colored shirt, was Jax.