Away from this Ranch

Considering all his options, Garret nodded slowly. He'd go in tomorrow. He'd cooperate. Unfortunately though, even if Reese really was on his side, someone else had still targeted him, and used Sapphire in the process, and that didn't feel good at all.

Lost in thought, he looked up quickly, processing what Nate had said about supper. He chuckled and nodded again. "Okay. I'll be there." The family had gotten in late from their vacation, and he'd left too early in the morning to see Maggie, so he had yet to even talk to her. He might not tell anyone but... while there were parts of being alone he'd enjoyed this past week, he'd missed the smiles... the conversation... the family.

It wasn't long before Laura had supper on the table. She'd baked some chicken, made a potato casserole, and cooked some broccoli. She didn't always cook like this, but she'd wanted a nice meal after being home again. And, in the back of her mind, she wanted to make sure Garret had a good meal, too. She'd left him some meals in the freezer, but only a few of them were gone, so she knew he hadn't been eating regular meals while by himself. 

After getting Brain settled in his high chair, and making sure Nate and Maggie were there, she hollered down the hallway. "Garret... supper!" 

He'd just been lying on his back staring at the ceiling since Nate had left, trying to sort through everything happening at the Elite. Hearing the call for supper, a slight smile crept onto his lips and he got up. Entering the dining room, he came up behind Maggie and ruffled her hair. "You decided to come back after all," he teased. 


Hal pursed his lips and nodded. There was tension between the Elite staff and the FBI, but he really didn't think Kirk and Adison would do this either. "Maybe we should just watch them so we can say we did, and rule them out. I think you're right about them, but... if it's not one of the Elite, and not one of the FBI, then what on earth is going on?" It was so confusing. They'd never dealt with something like this before that he could remember. Thinking anyone here could be a traitor was... well, unthinkable. "I'll tell Ty to keep an extra eye out too, just in case anything fishy happens after hours. Other than Aaron, that is." He gave her a wry grin. He still didn't think Aaron could be trusted at night but he trusted Sam, so he didn't say anything more on the matter. 

"Well..." He sighed and glanced at his watch. "As much as I'd love to keep staring at footage... I think I'm gonna call it a day."


Clint sighed deeply and nodded. "I know... I'm sorry. I just... can't seem to get any traction lately." He took another bite of his tuna melt, savoring its taste. "Soon as I can just... spend my days away from this ranch, I'll feel better." At least that's what he thought, anyway. It wasn't his little family he was trying to get away from... it was this place. He felt trapped with no way out, and it was just getting worse. And now the whole Wes thing had gotten even messier, and he wanted to shed that entire thing. But he just couldn't be done with it until he could walk away from the garage for good. Not being here during the days would make it easier. 


The walk had been nice, even if Jason was even more tired now. Mentally though, the fresh air had been a good idea, and it had been nice to just spend a little time alone with Katie, too. Tonight, they at supper as a family instead of going up to the main house. So it was Wes and Cindy, Kaylee, Katie and Jason, and Jeff also came over. The atmosphere was warm and peaceful, in spite of everything going on.

Kaylee was thrilled to have her big brother around, and although it was obvious she sensed something wasn't right, she was still all smiles, gaining as much attention as possible by babbling half-sentences, banging her plate, and making sure she threw her napkin at Jason every so often to make sure he wasn't forgetting about her. As she did it again, Jeff laughed. "I'd say she's got your number."

Jason grinned and rolled his eyes. "Apparently so." Although Katie sat across from him, his legs were long enough that he tapped her leg teasingly, just making sure she was still smiling. She looked so tired tonight, and he felt badly.