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As Things Change - Part XXIV Rex and Lauren return to the lounge after getting something to eat. They are waiting for Asa to arrive when the pilot walks up to them. “I’m so glad you’re back.”   Rex looks up at him. “Are we cleared for takeoff?”   “I’m afraid there’s been a problem. Have you spoken to Bo?”   “Not today, no. Why?”   The pilot takes a deep breath. “I received a call from Nigel. It seems Asa passed away. I don’t have all the details but I believe it happened this morning. He’s asked me to fly to Texas to pick the family up but I’m not going to be able to get down there today. The small airstrip has closed because of the storm and DFW cannot accommodate us for the same reason.”   Lauren is shocked. “Asa died? I can’t believe it.”   Rex shakes his head. “Always thought he was too ornery to die. Thanks for letting us know.”   “Of course. I’ll get your luggage off the plane. I’ll only be a minute.”   The pilot hurries off as Rex turns to Lauren. “Bo is going to be devastated.”   “Should we call them?”   Rex pulls out his cell as Lauren holds him, watching as he dials and waits. He snaps the phone shut. “Out of range. I’ll try again later.”   The pilot approaches with their luggage. “I’m very sorry you had to wait all day.”   Rex takes the bags from him. “It’s not your fault. Please call us and let us know when the Buchanans will be arriving tomorrow. We’d like to meet them.”   “Of course.” The pilot tips his hat. “Have a good evening.”   Rex turns to Lauren as he walks away. “Let’s go home. We’ll try to get a hold of Bo and see if they need anything.”     Nora sits in the chair, staring at the phone in her hand, oblivious to the tears running down her cheeks. She finally takes a deep breath. “I have to get Matthew back here. And I have to find Bo.” She stares off into space. “Bo…” A sense of dread overtakes her as she remembers how Bo deals with death – especially unexpected death. This was going to crush him. Realizing she doesn’t have time to process all those memories at the moment, she dials Matthew’s cell and puts the phone to her ear.   Matt is watching a movie in the cabin with Blake and Stefi. He pulls his cell out of his pocket when he hears it chime and rolls his eyes when he sees the caller ID. “Hi, Mom.”   “Matthew? Can you hear me?”   “Yeah, the storm is letting up a bit, but it’s still raining. We’re inside. You don’t have to call every 5 minutes…”   “Matthew, I need you to come back to the house immediately.”   “What are you talking about? We’re safe from the storm, Mom.”   “This isn't about the storm. I need you to come back NOW.”   “What’s wrong?”   ] “I’ll explain when you get here, just ask Blake to drive you back.”   “Are you okay? You sound funny.”   “Matthew, please. Don’t ask questions, just come back. I just need you to come back.”   He sighs. “Okay, okay. I’ll come back. It will take a couple hours. It’s a long drive in this weather.”   “That’s fine, Matthew. Just get back as soon as you can. Be safe. I love you.”   “Love you too. See you soon.” Matthew flips his phone shut and turns to Blake. “I need you to take me back to the main house. My mom is really upset about something.”   Sully walks up to him. “What happened?”   Matt shrugs. “I don’t know. She was just freaking out about me going back to the house. I’m sorry.”   Sully shakes his head. “It’s okay, kid. We’ll bring your horse back when the weather breaks.” He turns to Blake. “You boys go on back. And take Stefi too.”   Matt goes to gather his gear. “Thanks, Sully. I’m really sorry about this.”   Blake and Stefi grab their stuff and they head for the door, bracing themselves against the rain as they sprint to the Jeep.     Nora hangs up and makes her way to the mud room. She pulls on galoshes and an oversized rain slicker. She leaves the house and makes her way to the barn, sloshing through the standing water, her head bent against the whipping winds. She walks into the first barn and finds it empty. She turns and heads back out in the rain, making her way to the nearby barn. She stops inside the doorway and allows her eyes to adjust to the light. She sees Bo and Chuck working at the far end of the barn. She pushes back the hood of her slicker and makes her way toward the men. Bo stops what he’s doing when he sees her approach. “Well, well. I thought you were boycotting the barns? And that’s quite an outfit.”   She walks closer, swallowing hard. “I need to talk to you, Bo.”   He looks at her closely, setting aside his pitchfork. “What’s wrong, honey? You look like you’re about to pass out. Are you okay?”   Chuck sees the look on her face. “I’ll give you two some privacy.” Before either of them can respond, Chuck walks off to the far end of the barn.   Bo doesn’t take his eyes off Nora, standing directly in front of her, putting his hands on her arms to steady her. “What is it? Is it Matthew?”   She shakes her head. “Matthew is fine. He’s on his way back from the fields. I already called him…”   “Okay, Matthew is fine. Are you sick?”   She slowly shakes her head again. When she finally looks up at him, he can see the devastation in her eyes. “It’s Asa…” she says quietly.   “What about him? Is the flight delayed because of the weather? I figured it might be since they should have been here by now.”   “No, Bo. Renee called…” She stops as she chokes back tears.   Bo gets a sinking feeling. “What did Renee say?”   “It was hard to hear because we had a bad connection, but… Asa had a heart attack, Bo. He didn’t make it.” Her voice breaks up as she begins to sob. “I’m so sorry. I’m so…” She pulls him into a tight hug. “I know how much he means to you…”   Bo holds her close, trying to process what she just told him. “Asa died?” She nods, her head tight against his chest. “When did this happen?”   She pulls back slightly. “I didn’t get details. I’m sorry. The line was bad and Renee just told us to come home as soon as possible.”   “Maybe you didn’t hear her right since the connection…” He stops when he sees Nora shaking her head. “Maybe he just had a heart attack and they had to rush him to the hospital…”   “I’m so sorry, Bo. I heard her say he died.”   Bo lets her go and walks over to sit on a small bench outside one of the stalls. The horse inside sticks her head over the gate, hoping for a treat. Bo pays her no mind as he stares straight ahead. Nora gives him a minute and then takes a deep breath, going to sit beside him. “Talk to me, Bo.”   He takes her hand, intertwining their fingers. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m okay, Nora. I just need a minute to process this.”   She nods. “I understand.” She turns and looks in his eyes. “I love you.”   He smiles at her sadly. “I know.” He leans in and kisses her softly. “I love you, too.”   They sit for a while, silently listening to the rain pattering on the roof of the barn and the horses moving about in their stalls. Nora waits for him to speak, holding tightly to his hand to maintain contact. He finally stands, putting his arm around her as she rises with him. “Let’s go inside. We have phone calls to make and we’ll wait for Matthew.”   She nods. “Okay. I’m sure you want to talk to Renee. We need to make arrangements to fly home. Renee said something about the plane but I couldn’t understand what she was saying.”   Bo shakes his head. “The pilot won’t get in to the airstrip in this weather. We’ll probably have to book out of DFW first thing tomorrow. I’ll take care of it.”   They slowly walk out of the barn arm in arm, ignoring the continuing rainfall. They enter the mud room and strip off the wet gear, making their way to the kitchen. Nora pulls away. “I’ll make us some coffee.”   “That would be nice. I’m going to go try to call Renee.”   “Of course.”   Bo heads into the study, closing the door behind him. He sits behind the desk with a heavy sigh, staring at a picture of Asa and Renee that hangs on the wall.     Matt is looking out the window as Blake drives them back. “Any idea why your mother wanted us back?”   Matt shrugs. “None. Mom gets a little crazy sometimes but I don’t think that’s it this time. She sounded upset.”   “I hope she’s okay.”   “My dad is there if she needs anything. He’s usually pretty good at calming her down. He’s had lots of practice.”   Blake looks at his watch. “We should be back in less than an hour. Asa should be there by now, if his plane didn’t get delayed by the storm.”   “I can’t wait to show him my riding skills.”   Blake nods. “You’ve gotten pretty good. You held your own on the roundup yesterday.”   “Thanks. It was fun. It will be cool to show Grandpa what I’ve learned and to rub it in to Rex.”   Stefi pipes up from the back seat. “Who’s Rex?”   Matt looks back at her. “My dad’s partner, but he thinks he’s part of the family. He treats me like a little brother and keeps my parents from ragging me too much.”   Stefi nods. “Sounds like a nice guy. Is he a city boy like you?”   Matt laughs. “Oh, you could say that. Rex has zero skills with horses. I can’t wait to see him in the pen trying to master it.”   Blake chuckles. “We can teach him – if he wants to learn.”   “I don’t know if he’ll go near a horse. But I can’t give him too much grief. He really is a cool guy. And I have to cut him some slack because he took me driving before I left Llanview when my dad wouldn’t.”   “Did you tell your dad that?”   “Nope. It’s our secret, so don’t mention it.”   Blake smiles at him. “No problem.”   Nora is in the kitchen working on the coffee when Chuck walks in, taking his hat off. “Is everything okay?”   Nora looks at him, slowly shaking her head. “It’s Asa. Renee called to tell me he died this morning.”   “Oh, heavens. Asa? I always thought he’d be around forever.”   Nora gives him a small smile. “So did I. Bo is in shock and we have to tell Matthew. He’s going to be devastated. He adores his grandpa.”   “He was a giant of a man. We’re going to miss him around here. I’ll start notifying the hands. We’ll keep the ranch running smoothly, you have my word on that.”   “We know, Chuck. I’m sure Asa wouldn’t want it any other way.”   “You let me know about funeral arrangements. The men will want to pay their respects.”   “I will, Chuck. Thank you.”   Chuck puts his hat back on. “You let me know if you folks need anything.” He tips his hat as he walks out of the kitchen.   Bo picks up the phone and slowly dials. He puts the receiver to his ear and waits. Nigel answers on the second ring. “Hey, Nigel. How are you?”   “Mr. Buchanan, I am so sorry for your loss.”   “It’s your loss too, Nigel. You’re a member of the family.”   “Yes, Sir. It’s a sad day indeed.”   “Yes it is. Can I talk to Renee?”   “Of course. One moment.”   Renee comes on the line. “Bo, darlin’. I’m glad Nora heard me, we had such a terrible connection.”   “Yes, she told me. How are you doing?”   “Honestly, I’m still in shock.”   “Me too. Can you tell me what happened?”   Renee sits in a chair, grabbing a tissue from a nearby table. “He was fine this morning. So excited about our trip to the ranch. I had some last-minute details to attend to at the Palace before our departure. Asa was doing conference calls in his study while Nigel was coordinating the luggage and transportation to the airport. He was only alone for a couple hours. Nigel found him when it was time to leave to pick me up for the airport…”   Bo slowly shakes his head. “I’m so sorry I’m not there, Renee.”   “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything to prevent this. It was a normal day. I think he would have preferred to go this way – no fuss and no hospitals.”   Bo smiles softly. “You’re probably right.”   “How is Matthew taking the news?”   “We haven’t told him yet. He was out on the ranch doing roundup. He’s on his way back now.”   “He’s going to be devastated. Remind him how much Asa loved him.” “I will, Renee.”   “And you too, Bo. Even if he rarely said it, he felt it. And he was so proud of you.”   “Thanks for saying that. I spoke to the pilot and he can’t get the plane down here to pick us up because of the storm, so we’re taking a commercial flight out in the morning. If you want me to take care of any of the arrangements…”   “No, no, darlin’. Asa was very specific about what he wanted. Nigel has already set that in motion. You just come back safely and we’ll talk tomorrow.”   “Okay, Renee. Take care. See you soon.”   Nora walks in with the coffee as Bo hangs up. “How is Renee taking it?”   Bo takes the mug from her. “She sounds okay.”   Nora softly runs her hand through his hair, looking in his eyes. “And how are you?”   He smiles up at her, putting his arm around her waist. “I’m okay too. I’m sad, obviously, but he had a long life. Renee said he probably would have wanted it this way – with a minimum of fuss. And I think she’s right.”   “Probably. He wouldn’t have had much patience with all of us parading into a hospital room to say good bye.”   “No, but a little warning might have been nice. I’m worried about how Matt is going to take this.”   “So am I. He worshipped his grandpa and he was so excited for Asa to see him ride. It’s going to be a shock for him.”   “Yes, but we’re going to be here to help him through it.” He looks at her seriously. “And I will, Red. I’m not going to fall apart on you.”   She leans down and kisses him gently. “I know. We’ll all help each other.”   He gets up. “Deal. Let’s go wait for our son. He should be here soon.”   TBC