Page 29 of Leading the Blind
“You want me to tell him no?” Bax would, even if they did need to strategize.
“No. No, I just… I’m just being a bitch. No worries.”
“You know I will. Hell, Dillon might call it off for a few days. Gramps is tired.” Bax could see it in every inch of the man. The weight of the world was on him.
“We’ll see. Dill is good for him. Keeps him in line.” Jason rocked Benji slowly.
Bax sat on the porch steps, looking at the babies. “You ever want any?”
“Any what? Clowns?”
“No. God. Kids, Mini. Did you ever think on it?”
Jason shook his head. “Nope. I only ever thought about you.”
He had to smile at that. “Took us long enough.”
“It did. Took me damn near dying.”
He reached over to put his hand on Jason’s arm. “We had shit timing, but I got you now.” They had this conversation a lot, but he wasn’t gonna complain. They both needed reassurance right now.
“And you’re fixin’ to keep me.”
“I so am. You think you’ll get a dog?” He meant a seeing-eye one, but kept it neutral in case someone was nearby.
“I think so. I want to. I want to be useful, you know? I mean, shit, Bax. I ain’t got no skills.”
“Sure you do, Mini.” Most of them required a man to see, but they had people to help teach Jason. Bax had looked it up online.
“You heard of many blind ranchers?”
“Nope, but that don’t mean nothin’. People lie all the time.”
“True, that. We’ll reckon it, one way or the ‘tother.”
“We always do.” Lovers or not, they’d been two heads better than one for years. Neither one of them was worth a plug nickel alone.
Jason beamed at him. “Yessir, we do.”
Benji stirred. “Unca Jason? Did I sleeps on you?”
“You did, man! We napped together.”
“Oh, good! Momma might yell, though. Naps this late make me stay up.”
Jason chuckled softly and hugged Benji. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
“Okay. Are you hungry? I saved you a bag of Ruffles.”
“You know how I feel about my chips, little man.”
“I’ll go get them!” Benji eased off Jason’s lap. He was always so careful.
“Lord have mercy. The babies okay, Bax?”
“Sleeping the sleep of the righteous.”
“What do they look like?”
