Chapter 23

Asher had been in town for about two weeks when he had a meeting scheduled with the horse ranches his parent’s owned on the edge of town. He wanted to notify them now that his father was gone he was going to be their new landlord. He also wanted to assure them that he didn’t have any plans to sell the ranches so they could do business as usual. On his way out of town he stopped by Mia’s house. He knocked on the door and waited. A few moments went by and Axel pulled open the door. He looked surprised, but thankfully, not annoyed.

Asher smiled at his son. He looked so much like Mia to him. “Hey.”

“Hey. Mom’s not here. She went to work already.”

“That’s okay. I actually came by to see you.” Axel looked pleasantly surprised and then caught himself and changed the look on his face back to bored and disinterested. Asher suppressed a smile and said, “I have to go out to the edge of the county and talk to a couple of the ranchers who rent land from us. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me?”

Asher and Axel had broken the ice over the past couple of weeks, but things between them were still slightly uncomfortable. Asher had never been around kids, teenagers, at least not since he had been one himself. He was however, willing to do whatever it took to get them to a place where they could have a regular father and son relationship, or as regular as it could be when you considered all of the years they had missed out on. There was nothing he could do to get those years back, but he was determined to make everyone they had together from here on out count.

Axel didn’t look sure. Asher appreciated that the boy was nervous about being alone with him simply because he didn’t know what to say. He appreciated that as hard as it was for him, it had to be even harder for Axel. If he said no, Asher would understand. “Okay,” he finally said. “Let me get my shoes.”

“Do you ride?” Asher asked him.

“Horses?”

Asher smiled. “Yes, horses. If there is something else you’d like to ride, like a Harley or a jet ski, we can work up to that.”

Axel grinned. “Yeah, I ride. I haven’t for a while, but I guess it’s like riding a bike, huh?”

“I hope so,” Asher said with a grin. “I haven’t had a chance to get on a horse in years. I miss it. Grab your boots and we’ll take a ride while we’re out there.” Axel put on his boots and the two men headed out to the ranch. When they got to the first one Asher told Axel as they got out of the truck, “This was my mother’s favourite property. It’s where I learned to ride.”

“Cool. Grandpa told me that Grandma loved horses.”

“She did. If it had been convenient, I think she would have insisted we live out here. It would have been too much for them though to operate a working ranch and still keep up with all of the other work in town they had to do.”

“They have a lot of horses,” Axel said, looking out towards the front pasture.

“They do. I spoke to the owner the other day and he says they have thirty Arabians and another twenty or so Mustangs they bought in Texas and plan to tame and breed. Maybe one of these days if you’d like, you could pick one out and I’ll buy you your own.”

As they walked up towards the big ranch house Axel said, “Grandpa taught me how to ride. He used to take me up to the mountains camping every year and we would pack in and out.”

Asher felt another pang in his chest for one more thing he had missed. “Your grandpa was a great rider. He did some rodeo stuff when he was younger,” he told Axel. He used to love to sit and listen to the stories when his father was in the mood to tell them.

“Cool, he never told me that,” Axel said.

Asher smiled as he thought about his dad. He missed him. “He wasn’t ever one to talk about himself much. I used to have to beg him to tell me stories. He left the bragging up to Mom.” They reached the front door of the house and Asher knocked. A few seconds later it was pulled open by a middle-aged man dressed in a cowboy shirt, jeans and boots.

“Asher Fury, I presume?”

“That’s me. Are you Randy Harper?”

“Guilty,” the older man said. “You look like your old man. He was a good guy. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Asher said, “This is my son, Axel.”

Axel held his hand out and the older man shook it. “Come on in. My wife Lucille is frosting a cake she made for us.”

They followed Randy through a western style living room and hallway into a gourmet kitchen. Asher remembered his mother remodelling this home and the one on the neighbouring ranch. She put a lot of time and money into them both. She was the kind of landlord that people prayed for. Randy’s wife, Lucille, looked up from her cake as the men walked in. “Gentlemen, this is my lovely wife, Lucille. This is Asher and Axel Fury.” Asher looked at his son. He didn’t correct Randy on the last name. For some reason that made Asher happy. The men greeted Lucille and they all took a seat at the table. Lucille fussed over them, pouring them coffee and insisting they all have a large piece of chocolate cake. When everyone was settled in Asher said, “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.”

“Are you kidding? We appreciate you and your folks so much. This is the nicest ranch either of us have ever lived or worked on. We love it here and we hope to retire here someday.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Asher said, “I’m hoping that we can work together as well as you and my parents did. I’m not planning on selling the ranches, but I don’t plan on living on them either. I’d like for you to stay and continue working it, if that’s what you want to do.”

Lucille looked like she was going to cry. She took Asher’s hands in her own and said, “Oh thank you so much. We’ve put so much of ourselves into this land, and those horses out there are my babies. I can’t even fathom living in town again and not being able to ride every day.” Her voice cracked and she stopped there. Asher smiled at her and said,

“Every notation my father and before that my mother made about this place over the years was positive. Thank you both for taking such good care of the house and the land. When we drove up I noticed you’ve added another stable and you’ve done a lot of work to the barn too.”

Randy looked puffed up with pride. “My brother and I built those stables and completely remodelled the barn.”

“They look great,” Asher told him, “As far as the contract goes, we’re going to stay with the same terms unless you all have anything you’d like to add or change.”

“No,” Randy said, “That’s perfect. It’s a good contract. I have some friends that rent from the Proctors. They’re running them in the ground raising the rents constantly. I feel so damned bad for them. One couple had to sell everything they have and now they live in an apartment in town. It’s a damned shame.”

Asher felt a surge of anger towards the Proctors. Once he had his business all settled, he had to get together with Dean’s father and Mia’s father and decide what to do about them. He nodded at Randy and said, “From what I hear, they’ve been creating a lot of chaos around here. I hope we can put our heads together as a community and figure out what to do about that.”

Randy curled his lip. “Damned community is all afraid of them.”

“With good reason,” Lucille interrupted, “Bad things happen to those who go against them.”

“I guess,” Randy grumbled.

“I have one favour to ask you,” Asher said, changing the subject.

“Anything,” Randy said.

“I was wondering if Axel and I might take a ride while we’re here.”

“Hell yes!”

“Randall!” Lucille chastised him.

Randy looked at Asher and said, “Sorry.”

Asher laughed. “It’s fine. Are the horses you’d like us to take out in the stables?”

“Yes, in the stable closest to the house and so are the saddles and all of the tack. Demon is in stall one and stall two is Lightning. Those are my two best Arabians. They love to be ridden.”

Asher and Axel thanked the couple again and the couple profusely thanked them in return. The stables were a ways away from the house so they drove down in the truck. When they got there Asher and Axel found the saddles and tack and Asher took Demon out of his stall. He brushed and pet the horse, talking to him as he saddled him up. Axel saddled the one called Lightning. When Asher was finished with his own, he helped Axel finish his up. As he double-checked the cinch, Axel raised an eyebrow and said,

“I can saddle a horse. I’m not a kid.”

It shouldn’t have, but it caught him off guard. They’d been getting along so well, and he thought that he had just been being protective. He hadn’t thought about what that might look like to his son, who wasn’t used to his overprotectiveness. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you are a kid.” Axel still seemed upset as he climbed on his horse. Asher mounted his and they started out the door of the stable and along a riding path.

It was a beautiful day and they were surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. Asher couldn’t help but notice that his son still didn’t look happy. “Axel, if there’s anything you want to say to me, don’t be afraid to just say it, okay? I know that you were cheated and I accept responsibility for that. I really don’t mean to treat you like a kid. I’ve just never been around any kids, teenagers.”

“You didn’t know.” It was said in a low tone, almost a mumble.

“I didn’t know? You mean about you?”

“Yeah, I know that you didn’t know about me when you left. Mom told me that she didn’t find out about me until later. That’s what I keep telling myself every time the anger comes back. I don’t really have a right to be mad. You didn’t know.”

“Well as much as I’m glad you know that and you don’t think I’m the type of guy who would abandon my child, I understand that didn’t change the situation. You still grew up without a father. You still got cheated and you still have a right to be angry.”

Axel nodded. “I guess what I still don’t understand is, I knew Grandpa well and I know my Mom. You say you love her and you loved her then. So why did you leave them?”

Asher went over in his head a million times what he was going to say here but when the time came, it wasn’t as easy as what he had practiced. Mia was the only living person who knew the absolute truth. Axel deserved it as well. He took a breath. “My Mom and I were really close, did Grandpa tell you that?”

Axel nodded. “Yeah, he and my mom made excuses for you by saying you couldn’t deal with her death and Uncle Travis’. That doesn’t make sense to me though because you left so many more people behind, people that could have helped you get through it.”

“That’s true. I wish I’d been mature enough at the time to realize that. When it all happened, I was feeling completely overwhelmed. I did something the day my mom died that I couldn’t forgive myself for, and then your Uncle Travis died too. My father was angry with me and I thought your mother hated me.” Asher started from the beginning and Axel listened as his father told the story. He told him about what he had done to his mother, or for her. Asher could see the boy wince or frown every now and then. When he finished talking Axel was silent for a long time. He finally reigned in his horse and came to a complete stop. Looking at his father he said, “I can’t imagine losing Mom. I might go off the deep end if that ever happened. I don’t know if I’d be able to do what you did.”

“Nobody ever knows what they are capable of, I guess, until faced with that situation. I still struggle with it. I have never been able to decide if it was the right thing or not. But, she begged me to put her out of her misery.”

“I think if it was the difference between my mom suffering horribly and being at peace, I would like to think I’d be strong enough to do it too. I hope to God it never comes to that with Mom though. Like I said, I can’t even stand to think about losing her. I’m sorry you had to go through that with Grandma.”

Asher’s heart was suddenly so full that his chest hurt. Axel was telling him that he didn’t think he was a horrible person for doing what he did. Mia told him the same thing. His father forgave him before he died. Those three people were the only ones that he needed forgiveness from. For the first time in seventeen years he felt like he could actually forgive himself.

“Thank you for saying that. You can’t have any idea how much it means to me. I wish so badly that your grandmother could have met you. You remind me a lot of her, and I will do my best to remember that you’re not a kid. You’re as mature as any grown man I’ve ever known.”

“Thanks,” Axel said, “Race you to the end of the road.” Before Asher could respond, Axel had clicked at his horse and taken off. Asher laughed and took off after him. Axel got to the end of the road long before his father. He had a cocky grin on his face when Asher got there.

“You cheat like your mother,” Asher told him with a grin.

“You don’t ever want to play Monopoly with both of us.”

Asher laughed. “Thank you for today, Axel. I hope we can have a lot more like it.”

Axel took a deep breath and said, “I’ve been hurt and angry for a long time. Mostly because I just couldn’t understand any of it. I do feel better knowing the truth about what happened. It might take me a while to get used to all of this, but just so you know, I’m glad you’re back.”

Asher was speechless. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised at his son’s level of maturity. He had been raised by Mia and she was the smartest, kindest, most forgiving person he had ever known. Axel really was a lot like Lily too. Asher wasn’t sure if he had a right to be, but he was damned proud of the boy…man. They finished their ride back with small talk. Asher talked to Axel about the types of horses on the ranch and which one he might like. Axel told him a little more about himself and the activities he was involved with in school. By the time they got back to the stables Asher’s feeling that everything was going to be okay was magnified by a thousand.

Axel slid off his horse in front of its stall and as Asher dismounted he said, “Are you going to stay?”

It took Asher a second to realize Axel was talking about him staying with them. He smiled at his son and said, “The only way anyone could get me away from you and your mother now is if they killed me. I’m here for the long haul, son, and I am so happy about that.”

Axel grinned. God, he looked so much like Mia. Asher turned to un-cinch the saddle and he felt his son slap him on the back. “That’s good to know…Dad.” Asher had to keep his back to him for a few seconds to fight back the tears he felt welling in his eyes. When he was sure he had pulled himself together he turned around and looked at his son.

“Dad. I like that, a lot.” Axel grunted as Asher wrapped him up in a hug. He better get used to it, Asher thought. He had seventeen years of them to make up for.