Chapter Twenty-Nine

James

 

The sun rose from the water like a blazing ball. The fire I’d made the night before was gone, but the coals were still fiery orange as I poked them from inside my open tent.

I stared up at the sky, remembering all the nights I’d counted the stars while making my plans to build here by the lake. Those dreams were crushed with one swift slam of the gavel.

“I’m sorry, Jasper,” I spoke to the heavens while fighting back tears.

The ranch had been my life, and my future for so long, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. As much as it hurt to know I’d have to walk away in thirty-days, it hurt worse knowing I let old man Jasper down. He’d taken me in, gave me a job, a place to live, a place to call home. I knew he gave this ranch to me because I’d keep it going, that I’d care for it just as he did. His kids would sell it, either all to the highest bidder, or piece by piece if they thought it would earn them more.

My fingers slid through the grass blades, realizing there was a chance the very spot I touched could one day be a parking lot. The town would be enraged if anything other than a ranch stood on this land, but the chance of finding a rancher willing to spend what the kids would ask for the land would be damn near impossible. Things were tough, and people were barely making ends meet, and a ranch was much more work than most thought them to be worth. Fuck, how could I let this happen?

Evelyn’s face flashed through my mind, the look of total surprise when the case was ruled. I knew she’d worked her ass off trying to stay a step ahead of the kids, but somehow still ended up two steps behind. All that work, and for free. I was going to pay her back, even if she did already have a hefty bank account.

Jill’s screech of delight rang through my head as I pushed it into my hands. Where am I going to go? I had no idea.

I stood, stomped on the fire until the hot coals fell apart beneath my feet. I ground them into the earth, and then shoveled fresh earth atop them to ensure they were completely out.

The sun was out of the water, high in the sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, and the air was already warm. It was going to be a beautiful day, but it would soon be destroyed for Pedro once I told him the news. It was already destroyed for me.

I packed up my tent and stared at the spot where I’d spent so many hours planning my dream home. The master bedroom facing the lake so I could watch the sun rise each morning, the large windows that would allow natural light inside. Shiny hardwood floors throughout the house, except the kitchen and baths where Italian tiles would be placed to match the countertops. The dream was hard to let go of as I walked my mind through the imaginary home I’d built. I saw myself and Evelyn snuggling under a shared blanket on the balcony of the master bedroom, sipping a beer and watching the moon dance on the water. I pictured myself grilling steaks on the side deck while Evelyn worked in the garden on the side of the house, planting strawberries, carrots for the horses, and sweet potatoes to keep us healthy. It was gone. Everything was gone.

Queen sneered and blew through her nostrils until they flared as I loaded the tent onto her back. I pulled myself up onto her, leaning in to stroke her long gray neck.

“It’ll be okay, girl,” I whispered in her ear as I loosened the reigns and let her take the lead back to the barn.

I knew the judge said personal possessions, and that meant clothes, computer, and other small items, but Queen was mine, and I wasn’t going to let her go with the ranch. It would mean I’d have to ask someone to board her, possibly Gulliver too if I could sneak him out.

Queen wasn’t in a hurry to get to the barn, her slow gallop giving time for the sun to heat my back.

As Queen approached the barn, my heart grew heavy. Pedro and Kyle waved in my direction, neither of which appeared to have heard the outcome of the case. I stopped Queen by the barn door where they stood and climbed down to greet them. The look on my face must’ve given the news away as Pedro quickly lost his smile, and Kyle kicked at the ground beneath him as he headed towards the truck.

“How this could happen?” Pedro asked, his broken English usually funny to me, but today, nothing could make me chuckle.

I shrugged.

“I have thirty-days from yesterday to vacate the place,” I sighed.

“Where you goin’?” Pedro asked.

“I have no fuckin’ idea,” I admitted.

The old man shook his head, mumbled something under his breath, and then cleared his throat. I knew he was fighting back tears as I had, his emotions written all over his face.

“We work?” Pedro asked, his voice cracking as he spoke.

“Yup. We’ll get this place in tip-top shape. Hopefully someone will see its potential,” I smiled.

Pedro perked up a little as he yelled at Kyle to come back over. At least he would have work for thirty more days, and after that, possibly someone would want the ranch as is, and they would keep him on.

“We need to take inventory of the place. We have to have a complete list of everything, animals, equipment, feed, everything,” I instructed.

I went into the house to grab fresh notepads and noticed my phone sitting next to my laptop. I turned it on, watched the voicemail notifications flooding in and dropped it back onto the desk. I didn’t want to listen to the voicemails right now. There was no need to rehash the day in court, go over all the details, scratch our heads together, or to hear the ‘I’m sorry’ that I was certain was on there. It was over. They won. I lost. There was a lot of work to do to get this place in order before potential buyers started browsing.

I met Pedro and Kyle back outside the barn and handed them each a notepad and pen. We spit up the barns for each of us to inventory and make to-do lists of any repairs that were needed, and then agreed to meet in the garage to finish up together. I may be losing my home, but the ranch is more than just that. It was Kyle and Pedro’s livelihood, home to an assortment of different animals, and distributor of fresh, top-quality meat. I wasn’t going to just walk away. I was going to make the place shine before I was forced out.