Page 109 of Tracking Wolfe

A rush of affection filled me so full, I almost wept. “Hey. I missed you.”

Lennon’s eyes widened in surprise. “Likewise. Where the hell you been?”

I inhaled deeply, recognizing the familiar mix of cow, hay, and my brother. It smelled a little bit like home in a strange way. “You name it, feels like. But I’m here now. I want you to come with me tonight to the Spring Sling.”

He blinked but nodded. “You talked to the dads yet? They’re gonna have to meet us there. Plane’s running late.”

We moved into the mudroom while he yanked off his boots and stripped down to a tank top and his boxer briefs before tossing his clothes in the nearby washer and padding back toward his bedroom.

“Rosie here?” I asked as I followed him.

“Nah. She headed into town already to help out. Avery’s got a booth set up for her paintings, and Maddox Sullivan’s got one for his photos. Rosie’s offered to help them both. The artists’ booths open at five.”

I asked if he’d help me return the car to the airstrip before we went to the festival, and he agreed. While he disappeared into his room for a shower, I waited for him in the living room.

There were family photos here, too. Ones of us all on Lennon’s ranch. Some of us when we were little. One of Papa singing on a big stage somewhere with his long hair and bright eyes. In that one, you could barely make out Dad in the wings, waiting patiently offstage the way he always did.

I pulled that one off the shelf and sat down on a nearby chair to stare at it.

“Amazing we had such a normal childhood, considering,” Lennon said as he wandered back into the room a few minutes later, fully dressed but still running a hand towel through his wet hair.

“Normal?” I said with a laugh. “We had a private plane and vacationed with royals.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but we also played board games. Argued about whose turn it was to do the dishes. Swam on the swim team.”

“I hated swim team,” I murmured.

“Pretty sure Dad only made us do it because Papa was scared we’d drown unless we became strong swimmers.”

I glanced over at him. “You hated being in the spotlight, didn’t you? It’s why you moved here.”

Lennon frowned. “I moved here because I wanted to live on a ranch. Work with animals. Get away from the city.”

I waited for the rest of it, the resentment or regret, but he surprised me with a wave of his hand toward the big picture windows that looked out on the pinks and oranges of the incredible Montana sunset. “I wouldn’t be living my dream if it weren’t for Papa’s music career. I owe all of this to Jude Marian’s stardom.”

“And your hard work,” I protested.

He nodded. “Absolutely. But all the hard work in the world wouldn’t have gotten me a cattle ranch without the trust fund I got from Papa’s record sales. And I’m grateful every day for the way his talent and hard work inspired me to do what I love.”

I looked at him blankly, while inside, I was having a mental seismic shift. Another seismic shift.

Was it possible I’d been looking at this wrong, too?

What if people pointing to my father as the reason for my success was a good thing?

Because it was absolutely true that if I’d been raised by a Jude and Derek Marian who were schoolteachers in Omaha, there wasn’t a chance in hell I would’ve developed my music talent enough to find the success I had as Fletcher Coe. And if I hadn’t grown up hearing my dad pour his heart into his lyrics and watching him struggle to craft a perfect harmony, I wouldn’t have known that effort was just as important as raw talent.

My success was partially because of my father’s… and that was a feature and not a bug. Not something to be ashamed of, but something to be grateful for. Something to proclaim from the rooftops.

“Whoa,” I said as the world shifted around me.

“You okay, Wolfie?”

Lennon moved over and put his large hand in my hair, tilting my head back so he could squint into my face. “You look a little pale. You want a sandwich before we go?”

I laughed, the sound loose and strange in my throat. “I’m okay. Or I will be soon. But you should know… I’m in love with Trace Bishop,” I said.

He shot me a confused look. “Uh… yeah, and I own a cow or two. We sharing understatements of the year? What’s happening right now?”