The Brothers Winchester Book Three:The Only One-Part Three
Chapter Three
“So what are our options?” Dean asked.
Ash Lindberg, the family attorney shuffled the papers in front of him for a few seconds, never meeting Dean's gaze directly. “Well...” he started and then trailed off.
“Ash.” Sam asked. “What's going on?”
Dean had called Ash and almost demanded a meeting this afternoon to talk about Adam and his unexpected arrival. Though it was Ash's father that was John's original attorney, the last few years the younger Lindberg had handled more and more of the Winchester's business. If Dean hadn't been so preoccupied with his own growing anger about Adam's appearance he might have noticed the pregnant pause that had preceded Ash's agreement that they come down to his office to talk about it.
“Well, you know my dad and your dad had a lot of business back in the day right?” Dean nodded quickly, impatient for him to get to the point. “Well a lot of the papers I still haven't gone through since there hasn't been much call for it...” he paused and both brothers nodded. “...but when you called I went through some of them and I found something.” And he stopped.
“Something?” Sam asked, trying to cut off the impending explosion that was inevitable from Dean.
Ash nodded. “Something you ain't gonna like.” he said motioning towards Dean.
“I am going to like it less if I have to drag it out of you Ash.” Dean said through clenched teeth.
The lawyer gulped and grabbed a stack of papers from the pile. “Your dad had some papers drawn up about 17 years ago, papers involving heirs and the future of the farm.”
Dean leaned forward, his face a careful portrait of barely held rage. “In English.”
“He drew up a contract with a Kate Milligan back in 1996, he gave her five thousand dollars and she signed away all rights for her son in regards to being an actual heir of John Winchester.”
“You're kidding.” Sam said so shocked he didn't even have the presence of mind to translate to Dean.
“I am going to start shooting someone if they don't start speaking fucking English...” Dean threatened.
“He's our brother.” Sam said quickly, his face ashen in shock. He looked over to Dean. “Dad had her sign away Adam's rights to be a Winchester, if he ever came back and tried to say he owned a part of the farm or whatever.” Dean blinked twice as Sam caught his breath. “He's not lying Dean, he's our brother.”
Dean sat silent for several seconds, as his mind tried to absorb this news in a way that didn't involve strangling someone with his bare hands.
“So you have any clothes that need to be thrown in the wash?” Chace asked, poking his head into the spare room.
Adam looked up from the book he had been thumbing through since breakfast. Sam had offered his own bookshelf when he had seen Adam looking at the collection of books with a hungry look on his face. He had grabbed a Issac Asimov book and had been devouring it all afternoon. Putting the book down he nodded. “Yeah but I'm wearing most of it...” and he stopped realizing how pathetic that sounded.
Chace realized and put his laundry basket down in a flash. “Come on dumbass.” he said grabbing Adam's arm and practically dragged him upstairs to his room. Once they were in the room Chace let him go and opened his closet doors. “Ok, you look like you're my size or so...little skinnier I think.” he said giving Adam a critical eye before turning back to his clothes. “Here, here, and this, and oh this is good.” he said pulling a few shirts, some jeans a sweatshirt and more out of the closet and tossed it into Adam's arms. “It gets as cold in a few months and I don't wear this any more...” he said pulling out a dark brown leather jacket with a wool collar. “What size shoes you wear?”
“Wait a minute...” Adam tried to protest but Chace moved next to him and lined his foot up next to Adam's.
“I'm a ten and a half...you're a little smaller...I'd say 9 or nine and a half?” Chace asked. Adam nodded automatically and Chace began to dig through his closet again. “I was nine or so until about a year a a half...pissed Dean off cause I had to buy all new shoes..here they are.” He pulled out a pair of nice black boots as well as what looked like a pretty pricey pair of basketball shoes. “Try those on, big is good, small would suck.”
Adam just stood there for a moment before he asked. “You're giving me all this?”
Chace cocked his head. “Yeah, why you don't like them?” he made a movement back to the closet. “You want to look at the other stuff?”
“NO!” Adam called out, causing Chace to freeze and look back. “I mean these are...I meant...” he took a deep breath. “You don't have to do this. I'm not a charity case.” he turned and put the clothes on the corner of Chace's bed. “You don't have to give your stuff away cause you feel sorry for me.”
He turned to leave and Chace grabbed his shoulder and made him turn around. “This isn't charity, this is what family does. I have, you need. So I don't feel sorry for you I just don't want to see you wearing those lame ass jeans for the few months.” he cracked a grin. “I can't wear the shoes, why should they sit in my closet doing nothing?” He saw Adam shift under his gaze, uncomfortable with the attention. “This is not me feeling sorry for you, this is me trying to be a brother.”
Adam looked up, his eyes were a bit teary. “Brother?”
Chace nodded. “That and those clothes reek.” he said cracking a grin. “Come on, try them on.”
Adam wiped his eyes and moved over to the clothes, marveling that there must be close to four hundred dollars of clothes piled up there. He slipped his own shirt off his back and went to reach for the sweatshirt when he heard Chace stifle a gasp behind him.
And he realized he had forgotten his back was to Chace.
“Who did that?” Chace asked in a hushed tone.
Adam spun around, throwing the sweatshirt over his head in a flash. “No one, it was an accident.” he said grabbing the clothes and leaning over to grasp the shoes. “Thanks for all this.” he said brushing past Chace and down the stairs.
Leaving Chace to wonder, how the world did all those scars end up on his back?
Dean was silent on the drive home.
Sam in no way was afraid of his older brother and his rotten moods. He had seen Dean in just about every level of anger a person could imagine and not once had Sam ever been worried that he would raise a hand to him with the intention of harm him. But Sam was no fool and knew that no one should poke an angry bear, no matter how long they had known them. What Ash had showed them at the very least proved John knew Adam's mother but even that was proof of the teenager's claim in it's own way.
Dean was hurting, and it was dad's fault again Sam reasoned. Too many times in the past year Dean's faith in the man had been kicked in the balls. Every time Dean seemed to get his feet under him on the type of person his father had been, something new came along and knocked them out from under him, leaving him looking more the fool for trusting him.
“You hungry?” Sam asked, wondering if Dean was in the mood to feel better or just wanted to simmer in his own anger some more.
Dean said nothing as he kept both hands on the wheel and his eyes forward.
“Dean, I asked if you...”
“I'm fine Sam.” he snapped without looking.
“Yeah that sounded fine to me.” Sam said under his breath as he looked out the passenger window, wishing there were more fast food places around here since HE could do with some food even if grumpy was fine.
They drove another few miles when the truck began to slow and Sam noticed they were pulling into the 6th street diner. Sam looked over and saw Dean's grin on his profile. I know you too well, we don't stop and you'll start eating trash and empty beer cans after awhile.”
Sam shook his head as he smiled. “I'm not a goat jerk.”
“Says you bitch.” Dean said pulling into a parking space and shifting into park. Sam's hand was on the door handle but he stopped when he noticed Dean was just sitting behind the wheel, staring off. Sam took his hand off and sat back, waiting for whatever it was that Dean wanted to say to come out. “I remember the first time you told be about Susie I didn't believe you.” Sam looked into the diner windows and saw the attractive older woman who used to shamelessly flirt with their dad. “I thought there was no way he would dishonor the memory of mom like that.” He turned to Sam and asked. “Do you remember what you said when I told you that?”
Sam smiled and nodded. “I said 'You do know he is human right?' You didn't like that answer if I remember.”
Dean nodded as he leaned forward on the wheel, watching her serve her table's order. “And you were right, he was just human.”
Sam moved over and out his arm around Dean's shoulder. “You know this isn't all that bad right?”
Dean looked over at him. “Are you serious?”
Sam nodded. “He didn't cheat on mom, if anything it was before he married Ellen since Adam looks about Chace's age. We both knew he traveled a lot back then.”
“It's still wrong Sam.” Dean said bitterly.
“Why?”
Dean looked up at him, his eyes quivering as he fought back tears. “He made her sign that paper saying Adam wasn't a Winchester. He took that kid's birthright away from him for five grand. Why would he do that? What kind of person makes someone sign a fucking piece of paper like that?”
Sam wished he had an answer for the question...but he had been wondering the same thing ever since they left Ash's.
Chace went downstairs looking for Adam everywhere.
He wasn't in the guest room, the kitchen or the living room. He saw the back screen door half open and he made his way to the backyard towards the barn. As he came around the corner he found him standing in front of their horse Impala, one hand up on her nose as he spoke gently to her. Chace moved into the barn slowly, she was a great horse but she did not take kindly to strangers in general.
Yet here she was, allowing him to stroke her nose as if they had been fast friends for years now. “She's kinda skittish.” Chace said in a low voice as he came up on him.
“She's beautiful.” Adam said ignoring the warning altogether.
“Yeah she's been a little down since dad...our dad died.” Chace said going over to the fridge and pulling out an apple.
“How did he...you know?” Adam asked as Chace handed him the piece of fruit.
“Car accident.” Chace said, remembering that horrible night when Sam had called and told him their dad was gone and he needed to get to the hospital now.
They both watched the horse eat the apple in silence for a few minutes. Adam turned to Chace and asked. “Did he...I mean was it fast?”
Chace nodded, feeling the lump in his throat as he thought about that day he had spent so long running from. “They said he died instantly...it was a semi and...” and his voice broke.
Adam moved towards him, his arms encircling Chace as the he began to cry. “I wish you knew him...” he wailed as the pain he had been running from overwhelmed him. He had hidden in booze, weed guys, girls...whatever numbed the pain for the time. But he had never stopped and just admitted...his father was dead.
And he was gone forever.
This time Adam held Chace as he broke down and cried for the first time in a year...both of them mourning a father they barely knew.
To be continued...