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Buddy woke early again, his last day at the reunion, and wandered toward the ranch house in search of coffee. As he approached the back porch, he spotted a tall, shaggy-haired Asian slouched against the wall by the door, steaming cup held in both hands. He remembered the man from last night -- he'd stood out among the predominantly blond Michaels -- but couldn't put a name to him. It was possible he'd never heard it.
"Hi," he offered a little awkwardly as he climbed the steps.
"'Lo," the younger man replied with a half-smile. "Buddy, right?"
"Uh-huh." Buddy could smell the tea in the cup. He leaned against the porch support. "Any chance of coffee?"
"Katie's making some now. I'm Dinh."
"Dinh." No, he'd have remembered a name like that. "Uh -- Katie's your wife, right?"
Dinh -- who was in his mid-twenties -- threw back his head and laughed. "Sorry," he gasped a moment later, "but Katie's my grandfather's sister -- our grandfathers', I should say."
Buddy shook his head slightly. "Our grandfather's?" he objected. "I thought Scott was my only first cousin?"
"S'right," Dinh agreed, sipping his tea. "Forgot you haven't exactly had time to memorize the family tree. I'd advise it, at least back two generations. Made my first reunion a hell of a lot easier."
Buddy just frowned at him, and Dinh continued after a moment.
"Our grandfathers were brothers," he explained. "Your grandfather, the unlamented Jake, was my grandfather, Robbie's, older brother. We're second-cousins-once-removed." He took another swallow of tea. "Lessee, Murphy said you met him a while ago, right?"
Buddy nodded.
"Murphy's my father's younger brother. Make a little more sense now?"
"Sort of," Buddy agreed. "So that'd make your name Michaels, too, right?"
"Nguyen-Michaels," Dinh corrected him. "I'm another -- ah -- 'accidental' addition to the family tree. My father was based in Saigon for a while, y'see."
"Ah." The guy had nerve, Buddy had to give him that. In the most tactful way possible, he'd just declared them fellow-bastards -- and Buddy found himself liking the guy for it. "So, what do you do for a living?" he asked, edging closer to the door and a cup of his own. Desert mornings could be brisk.
"I fix planes." Dinh straightened casually from his slouch and reached for the doorknob. "C'mon inside; coffee should be ready by now."
The big, square ranch kitchen was steamy-warm after the cold outside, and redolent with the odors of fresh coffee and frying bacon. A tall, dark-haired beauty was cutting biscuits at the counter and smiled at them impartially. A short, plump, grandmotherly woman was standing at the big stove, turning bacon with a fork. She glanced over her shoulder as the two men entered.
"Morning," she smiled. "Dinh, would you reach that pan of biscuits out of the oven for me, please?" As Dinh complied with a grin, she turned to the older man. "You're Buddy, of course. We didn't have a chance to meet yesterday. I'm Katie Travis, your grandfather Jake's sister. This is my daughter-in-law, Caitlin."
Buddy murmured a hello, and felt a faint pang of regret that the beautiful Mrs. Travis was already taken. Dinh nudged him aside and turned the biscuits out onto a plate on the long center table.
"These spoken for, Cait?"
The blue-eyed vision grinned and rubbed her nose with the back of one hand, leaving a streak of flour behind. "Help yourself. You will, anyway. There's jam, if you want it," she added to Buddy. "And may I offer you some coffee?"
Five minutes, several biscuits, and two cups later, Buddy asked, "So, cousin, what airline do you work for?"
"Huh?" Dinh popped the last bite of his third biscuit into his mouth and frowned slightly.
"Well," Buddy explained, "you said you fixed planes -- or are you career military?"
It sounded like a reasonable enough question to him, but Dinh choked on the biscuit, and Buddy heard Cait chuckle behind him.
"What'd I say?"
"I'm sorry," Cait smiled. "It's just that the thought of Dinh in the military -- well, it's not likely, that's all." She leaned forward and patted Dinh between the shoulders.
His cousin gulped tea and shook his head. "Damn straight," he agreed vehemently. "I'd starve first." Cait snorted, and Buddy waited patiently for an explanation. "I don't work for anybody," Dinh continued. "I own a company that restores antique aircraft. We also make a nice line of antique reproductions for the home-builder." He grinned. "Don't suppose you'd be interested in a nice little Sopwith Triplane? Buyer signed a contract to accept it assembled, then declared bankruptcy three days before we could deliver."
"I don't think so."
Dinh shrugged and reached for another biscuit. "Never hurts to ask. Could've given you a test-flight; I flew her in from Barstow yesterday."
Before Buddy could think of a reply, the kitchen door swung open and a small army of children poured in, calling loudly for this or that. Dinh caught his eye, and the two young men adjourned to the porch once again.
"I don't suppose you know who all those kids belong to?" Buddy asked.
"Only about half of 'em." The pilot chuckled. "Don't worry, nobody expects you to remember all of us at once. They're pretty good about giving us late-joiners a chance to catch up. I still get people wrong after ten of these things, and no one seems to mind much."
"Ten?"
"Yeah. We've got a lot in common, actually." Dinh leaned against the wall again. "My dad didn't know about me, either." He sipped from his cup. "Now I think about it, they found you because of a letter old Jake tucked in a box, right?"
"Right...."
"Well, they found me the same way; an old letter someone stuffed into a box. Only I was sixteen, and didn't have anybody to regret leaving behind." He smiled reminiscently. "For an orphan who'd spent six years bouncing from one lousy foster home to another, discovering the Michaels clan was like a dream come true, y'know?"
Buddy nodded, realizing anew how lucky he'd been to have Mike and Kitty Ragland raising him. "I've only been here two days, and this place already feels like home," he admitted.
"That's Cait, and her husband. Andy's an expert at making people feel welcome," Dinh told him. "How much longer you gonna be staying?"
"My plane leaves early this afternoon. I've got to get back to work."
"Too bad. The Travises always throw a good party."
The door to the kitchen swung open. Two thirteen-year-old girls in jeans and leather jackets burst through and accosted the Vietnamese.
"Dinh! C'mon, we're going for a ride!" the taller of the two insisted, latching onto one lanky arm and pulling the startled man toward the steps.
"Yeah!" her companion agreed, jumping off the porch and waving the suitcase-style basket she clutched in one hand. "We're going to that spring Kevin told us about last night for a breakfast picnic."
"So, what do you need me for?" Dinh objected, leaning back against the pull with a half-amused, half-alarmed expression.
"You know we aren't allowed to take out the horses without an adult along!" the taller blond reminded him. "C'mon, big brother, it'll be fun!"
"I'm talking to Buddy, Amy," he protested unconvincingly as he was dragged down the steps. "Why don't you ask Kevin? He knows where the spring is, after all."
"He's still asleep!" The other girl grabbed his free arm.
"Besides," Amy added with a grin, "Kevin'd turn it into a collecting trip for a paper on molds 'n' funguses or something. 'Licia and me just want to ride! Please?"
Dinh gave vent to an obviously theatrical groan and called laughingly over his shoulder, "Tell 'em I was kidnaped, will you, cousin? And send out a search party if we aren't back by lunch!"
"Sure thing!" Buddy promised, and watched as the two giggling girls dragged the pilot toward the barn. Yes, he'd definitely have to come back next year....