It was a painfully long day. They changed planes twice and it was late in the day--even with traveling west and chasing the sun--when they finally touched down in Ontario, California. Epi had to be helped to stand, he’d grown so stiff from sitting in one place for so long and the change in pressure and weather had made all his joints ache. Before he had to ask, Nick had moved to help and together they finally left a plane without having to get on another one right away.

“I’m too young to feel this old.” He bitched as he got his crutches under him.

“You steady?”

“Yeah.”

Nick nodded and moved to gather their bags from the overhead storage. First class was allowed to exit the plane first but he wasn’t going to rush Epi to move faster than he was able. He had offered to get out one of Epi’s pain pills but the slender man had clenched his jaw and refused. He regretted not forcing the issue when he saw the poorly hidden pain on Epi’s face as they stood waiting for the flight crew to deliver his wheelchair. When it finally arrived, Epi almost collapsed into it.

“It seems I’ve another reason to hate traveling.” He groaned and held the crutches close. “Which sibling do you think drew the short stick and had to come get us?”

“I doubt it was like that.”

Epi just snorted a little. He tried to hide the wince of pain his wrist shot across his nerves when he started to wheel himself forward. Either he didn’t hide it well or Nick just knew because before he could get any forward progress started Nick was pushing him. Generally he would have snapped out a protest but he was too tired and in too much pain to worry about his pride.

“Oh it wasn’t drawn straws, it’s Jerry. He’s my oldest brother.” Epi nodded with his chin to a man standing just on the other side of security.

Nick spotted him right away. His hair was as dark as Epi’s but cut short and in a tidy, professional way. He saw similarities, they had the same nose and forehead but their jawlines were different. While Epi was burned down to slender, lean muscles from illness and rehab, Nick had seen him at his prime in the vacation videos. He’d never been a overly solid man but his oldest brother was built like a linebacker. He was tall and broad and now carried a good extra fifty pounds of padding. Not that he was really fat, just solid and thick while Epi had been slender and lean.

The solitary man spotted them and waved. Epi raised a hand in greeting but his smile was forced and fake. “His wife left him last year and she has the kids this year. Don’t ask him about it, apparently he was so broken up about it he couldn’t come see me in the hospital.”

The bitterness didn’t surprise Nick, what surprised him was that Epi hadn’t spoken of his siblings for good or ill in all the months they’d known each other and here, on the verge of meeting them, he suddenly was willing to say something. “I won’t say a word.” He agreed just before they got into ear shot.

“Hell, Epi, you look like shit. Long flight?”

“Yeah it took forever.”

“Well, its good you came, Mom’s been worried you wouldn’t show up.”

“I’m here.” He smiled again. “Jerry this is my friend Nick Kern, Nick, my oldest brother Jerry.”  

Nick offered his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah and you too. Glad you could come.” Jerry took the offered hand but his eyes drifted down to where his youngest brother was now sitting in a wheelchair. “Car’s out in the lot, its like an hour to the cabin do you need to…”

Nick could feel Epi’s frustration at a tone that would have been better used to ask a small child if they had to piss than a man. “Just need to get the luggage.”

“Right, sorry. Weather’s good at least. It’s supposed to storm tomorrow but that’ll just get us some fresh powder. Guess you aren’t up to skiing again, huh Epi?”

“I’m still working on walking without falling down.”

“Maybe next year.” His brother added too quickly on their way to baggage claim. “How about you, Nick? You ski?”

“No, never been. I used to surf, badly but that was years ago.”

“You were a surfer?” Epi turned to glance up at Nick and tried to picture him in a wetsuit.

“Long time ago.”

“Bet you’d pick up snowboarding well. We’ll have to take you out on the slopes.”

Go out skiing when Epi had to stay home, Nick shook his head. “I’m fine.”

They retrieved their bags, Nick pulling them from the belt without waiting for Jerry to help, with little fuss. With the other man’s help, they didn’t need to get a luggage cart this time but it was still a challenge to juggle everything. Nick got them through the door and followed the now silent Jerry out to the parking lot where he knew there was trouble before he had to look up.

“An Escalade? Really, Jerry.”

“What? It’s a smooth ride. The red is a custom color too, you won’t see this baby on every street corner.”

“Thank god for small favors.” Epi muttered and struggled his way to his feet.

It didn’t take much with Jerry’s help to get the luggage into the large car along with Epi’s folded up wheelchair. Only Epi hadn’t gotten in, he stood in front of the car door frowning as his brother hurried around to the driver’s side to get in.

“Never occurred to him that I’m not going to be able to get in.”

“We’ll get you in, how’s the knee? Which leg is more stable?” He opened the passenger side door. “Lead with that one, get a grip on the door frame there.”

Nick’s hands slid around Epi’s waist, circled his hips with a casual strength he’d gotten used to. “You’re going to lift me aren’t you?”

“Just lead with the most stable leg and use your arms to get pulled in. Ready?”

Nick’s voice was as warm behind him as his hands were around his waist. He nodded in agreement but all Epi wanted to do was go home and curl up on his sofa to watch some bad movie with Nick on the far end of the couch with him. “I can try.”

“Up you go…” Nick warned as he physically lifted Epi up the foot and a half or so to the running board under the car door. Epi, for a change, listened and got his most stable leg, his artificial one Nick noted, solidly placed and used his arms to haul him further up and inside. With a groan Epi plopped his ass into the comfortable car seat and made sure everything he wanted to keep attached to his body was inside the car.

“Thanks.” He whispered to Nick as he turned to shut the door.

Nick just nodded with a small smile before finding his way into the back seat.

 

It was dark out but there was little doubt to Nick that they were leaving the smaller towns and heading up into the mountains. Yes, he had heard of Big Bear and when he’d lived in California had even been invited to go with some friends for a weekend. He’d never gone, the prices had been too high and he’d never been a big ski fan. It had felt swanky and wealthy and not really his thing.

Now he wondered if he should have gone. The mountains were dark but even at night he could tell they were beautiful. He may have been born and raised in the rolling farm communities in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains but some part of his soul felt called to the backwoods with its old strong trees and steep features. The fancy car rolled through the night in silence, the headlights setting snow banks and plowed roads alight.

“I think he’s asleep.” Jerry finally said in a soft voice from the driver’s seat. “You’re pretty quiet, you out too?”

“No.” Nick shifted over so the older man could see him in the rear view mirror. “Ride’s smooth enough and he’s exhausted. Generally he won’t relax in a car.”

“I’d heard he’d been having a rough time of it.”

“He’ll be fine.” Nick reassured because if Epi had wanted his brothers to know about his panic attacks and ongoing struggles with mobility, he would have told them. “How far do we have to go?”

“Huh? Oh, little ways yet, may as well settle in and relax. I’ll wake you when we get there. Hauling Epi around has to have worn you out.”

Nick nodded and settled back into his seat but he didn’t fall asleep. He let the smooth motion of the expensive car sooth him from the near frantic motion of holiday traveling. His forehead rested against the cool window glass and he watched the snow and trees slip by outside.

After what felt like more than an hour they finally turned off the main road to a smaller, private paved driveway. Only it was so long and so nicely paved it may as well have been another small side road. The trees were thicker here and the distant lights of other homes and places quickly faded away. The driveway widened out to a long parking area that already had several cars parked there. Nick’s mind drifted over the makes and models and figured the cheapest one still was worth twice his smaller, simple sedan.

If the cars hadn’t sunk in Epi’s family’s financial situation, the house made it painfully obvious. It was huge and sat in the middle of a clearing in the surrounding woods. When Epi had said it was his family’s country home and casually called it the cabin while on the plane, Nick had thought of a cabin. Something simple and homey like the hunting cabin the men of his family co-owned to use as a base during deer season.

What sat before them wasn’t a log cabin or even a log home, it was a log mansion. Support structures of stone matched the beautiful stone foundations and all of it was surrounded by beautiful log beams. Nick counted no less than five porches and balconies along the front and warm light glowed out from almost two story tall arching glass windows.

“Wow…” He whispered as Jerry but the car in park and Epi startled awake.

“Yeah, Mom went a little overboard when she had it built. She wanted it to be big enough for all of us but most of the year it’s just rented out.”

“How many square feet?”

“Not counting the decks? About ten thousand square feet. There’s a caretaker’s cottage down that way and a tool shed garage too plus the decks.”

“Mom’s idea of getting a space to get us all together is one so large we can get lost in and never seen from again.” Epi added as he rubbed at his eyes.

“Let me get your chair.” Jerry nodded but ignored his brother’s acidic comment.

“I’m okay, I can make it in. Just needed it to get through the airports and when I don’t have my leg on.” Some sick part of Epi liked how his brother winced at the reminder that one of his legs was really gone. “I’ll need it brought in though.”

“I can get your things to your room. Why don’t you two go on in?”  Jerry retreated from the car and for a moment left Nick and Epi alone.

“I fell asleep.”

“It’s been a tough day.”

“Damned fuck-you-mobile rides like a sofa.”

That made Nick chuckle silently to himself. “Yeah. Let’s get you out and inside.” He opened his door and the smell of clean snow and fresh ponderosa pine hit him like a fist. It was wonderful but Nick didn’t linger. Epi already had his door open and was impatiently sliding from his car seat. “Easy.” Nick warned and hurried over to get his hands around the slender man’s waist.

“Wouldn’t want to fall…” Epi complained but he let Nick half pick him up and easy him to the ground below.

Nick grinned. “Nearest hospital looks to be a ways away.” The grin fled when he caught Epi’s eyes, his hands around the man’s waist, their bodies a little too close together. He firmly told his libido that Epi was off limits and stepped back. “Can you balance?”

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine. He hurt everywhere and now was a little lightheaded from the smell of crisp pine trees and Nick’s cologne. It made him dizzy and he blamed it on still being half asleep and still exhausted. He felt a little bad that his brother was going to haul his wheelchair and luggage inside and Nick was carrying their smaller bags and his laptop while all he had to do was simply walk to the door. He felt less bad when the first steps proved how stiff his joints had become and how difficult and painful it was going to be to get inside. With a sigh and a clenched jaw, he started on his way.

 Even with some of the luggage, Jerry made it to the door ahead of them. He pulled it open and light and warmth spilled out into the cold night. “Hey, guess who I found?”

There were calls of greeting from inside and as Nick stepped into the grand living room he thought maybe, just maybe, Epi had been wrong and things weren’t going to be so bad.

Inside the large, vaulted ceiling living room was a tree just as big to match. There was several boxes nearby that made it clear the tree was fake, a nice fake but a fake. Nick wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t seen the box. Around the base of the tree were more boxes opened to revel dozens of types of garland and ornaments. Most were already on the tree bus the final touches were still in the works. It had obviously been a family affair from the glasses of wine and soda sitting around.

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