Chapter Thirty-Three

James

 

Pedro tapped me on the shoulder, motioning towards a car coming up the lane as I turned.

“Fuck my Tuesday,” I growled as I squinted towards the sun to make out Jill in the passenger seat of gold Buick.

“Who’s that, boss?” Pedro asked.

“Jill,” I sneered.

Kyle was finished loading up the truck as Jill pulled up with her mystery driver. He stood there, frozen in his spot as I was in mine. I slapped Pedro on his back, sending him on his way. I didn’t need them watching whatever chaos was about to ensue.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, boss,” Pedro smiled nervously as he left me standing outside the barn alone.

The air was thick with heat, glazing my eyes with sweat as I stared towards the gold car. A man stepped out, tall, thin, with dark hair and matching mustache that should’ve been shaved when disco died. He waved to me like I fuckin’ knew who the hell he was. I didn’t.

Jill stepped out of the car, her red hair burning her head like the sun to my eyes. She was dressed to the nines, of course, her heels higher than the pedestal she sat on, and her white suit as out of place on the ranch as she was.

I grabbed a beer from the cooler near my feet, my sixth one that day. She talked to the man; whatever they said, I couldn’t hear. Going over to greet them wasn’t in my plans, so I stood there, leaning against the outside barn wall, just watching.

Her laughter screeched my ears like an owl’s talons, scratching, digging, irritating and painful. As she approached with the mystery man in tow, she smiled, happily. I thought about shoving her smug face in the dirt, grinding it in Queen’s fresh pile of manure not yet shoveled from the stall, or better yet, stomping her into the compost pile I’d been working on for months.

“James, I didn’t know you’d be here,” Jill cooed as she stood herself right in front of me, too close. The state of Texas was too close.

“I live here,” I smirked, and took a large swig of my beer.

My eyes glared towards the man. He dressed in a tight dress shirt, one so thin you could see his undershirt through the material. His shape wasn’t that which should be displayed in such a tight shirt, but there he stood, pot-bellied, love-handled, and awkward as he tried unsuccessfully to break eye contact with me.

My tongue pushed the inside of my jaw, bulging my cheek with each push. I quickly worked phlegm from my throat with a quick growl, spit it towards the man’s brown leather shoes, and then changed my piercing glare towards Jill, the real thorn in my side.

“Well, we won’t get in your way,” she hissed.

“What exactly are you doing here?” I demanded.

“This is Robert. He will be listing the property. I thought it was a good idea to get it on the market quickly,” she declared.

“I bet you did,” I jabbed.

Jill’s eyes rolled as her lips puckered into a tight asshole shape. I spit again, this time towards her feet, barely missing her white heels, designer no doubt. She quickly stepped back, gasped, and then turned in haste. I watched her round ass bounce against the thin material of her suit as she walked away, her camera in hand, aiming and clicking in every direction, click, click, click.

“It’s good to meet you,” Robert extended his hand towards mine.

I didn’t respond. I took another swig of my beer.

“The market is not great right now, but I think with the right approach, we can find a buyer willing to pay the asking price,” Robert babbled.

“I’m afraid you may have more trouble than you realize; see, this town, the people in it, they aren’t too keen on having someone new come in, possibly trying to change things,” I maintained.

“I see,” Robert stammered.

“I’m not sure you do see, Robert,” I chuckled as I finished off my beer.

“Well, regardless, I’ll do my best to get top dollar for the place,” he gushed.

I watched his beady little eyes shifting back and forth as I stared at him, his forehead start to bead up with sweat, and his cheap toupee flop over his head as the wind picked up.

“Doesn’t matter to me; I’m leaving soon, and the money doesn’t come my way,” I smirked.

The awkward man fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable by his misunderstanding. Somehow, Jill neglected to fill him in on the details of the sale. I chuckled as he nervously checked over his shoulder, looking towards Jill like he expected her to save him. She was far too busy snapping pictures and seeing dollar signs through the camera lens to notice Robert’s discomfort.

“Hell no!” I shouted towards Jill as she took her first step up the porch steps to my house.

“I need to get pictures of the inside,” she insisted, continuing her strut towards my front door.

“I’m afraid if you take one more step towards that door, my streak of never hitting a woman will be over,” I threatened.

She stopped, her eyes rolling again like a bratty teenager’s. My fists clenched so tight, my fingers dug into my palms, sinking into the calloused flesh. My eyes locked onto hers as I stopped my stride towards her, still, waiting for her to make a move. A part of me wanted her to defy me and put her hand on the doorknob. I knew I’d never hit a woman, and never wanted to, but I also knew this time I did want to, and there was a damn good chance I would. What did I have to lose? She’d already taken my home, my future, my dreams, everything I ever loved. Even Evelyn would be out of my life after all this was said and done. She wouldn’t have any use for a man without a purpose, without some type of future to share. My pain had caused me to shut down, hide out, and there was no doubt in my mind that after almost a week of distance, her pain had turned to anger. It was better for her to be angry. I couldn’t stand to think of her in pain, especially knowing I caused the pain.

“Whatever,” Jill breathed, turning to walk down from the porch.

“You can go inside once I’m gone,” I snarled.

“I’m afraid that’s not how this works, James. The thirty days are a legality, but that can be fixed with one call to the judge, so consider it more of a courtesy. The ranch will be listed tomorrow morning, and if any interested parties should decide to come inspect the place, they will go wherever they please,” she chortled.

Now I could dump her in the compost pile without further reason, her attitude enough to justify my actions by anyone’s means. My nostrils flared, pushing hot breath down onto my tightened lips. There was no way in hell I was staying here with her gallivanting around the place, traipsing every Tom, Dick, and Harry through my home, my barns, my garage. My chest tightened as I realized it wasn’t my home, my barns, or my garage. The only thing I had to take with me was my clothes, my computer, and my truck. If I could stop her from entering the barn to take inventory, I’d take Queen and Gulliver with me as well.

Robert had taken over the pictures, now standing in the field aiming his camera towards the house.

“You know what, Jill…do whatever the fuck you want to; I couldn’t give a shit less. But, you should be really proud of the way you’ve disrespected your dad once again,” I growled.

Her freckled skin wrinkled around her nose as her eyes squinted in my direction. The sun was at my back, a painful hot pile of fire to stare at this time of day, giving me great pleasure to know she suffered discomfort in her efforts to glare at me.

“Say what you will, James, because dear dead daddy meant as much to me as you do,” she sneered.

I chuckled at the sad excuse for a woman in front of me, shaking my head in disgust as I moved towards where she stood. She flinched as I got close, but wouldn’t move from her spot. She was a tough bitch, that was clear, but added with her uninteresting appearance, growing fat ass from sitting on it all day long, and her cold heart, I got some comfort in knowing she’d live a life without love, maybe not alone since she had money, but without love. She was incapable of loving anyone, or being loved if she truly didn’t care for Martin Jasper, her father. He was a good man. He loved his children, but he wasn’t in the game of handing things over to people who weren’t deserving, no matter who they were.

“Have a good life, Jill,” I smiled, offering up pity in my tone.

“Robert, install the lockbox and let’s go. I want to get this listed tonight,” Jill scolded towards the realtor that she’d brought along.

I watched him nervously nod, and then head to his gold Buick. He shuffled things around in the back seat, and then emerged holding a square silver box.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It has a key to the house, so any realtor can show the property once it’s listed,” Jill smirked.

I wanted to punch that smile right off her face.

“They can get into my house?” I rebuked.

“It’s not your house anymore, James,” she gushed.

Robert quickly moved past me, nervously galloping up the steps to my front door. I watched as he placed the keypad box on the handle, locking a key inside.

“Let’s go, Robert,” Jill ordered, rushing him from my porch.

“It was good to meet you; sorry about the misunderstanding, and-uh, s-sorry about all this,” Robert lamented as he tried to extend his hand one more time.

I nodded, not accepting his handshake for a second time. He quickly scurried away, like a little squirrel chasing after a nut, the queen nut at that.

As soon as they pulled out, I locked up, grunting at the box that was in my way now, and jumped in my truck. My first instinct was to drown my sorrows at the pub, drinking so much that maybe I’d call Evelyn again to come get me, only this time I was certain she wouldn’t.

Instead of beer, I decided to drive through town, looking at options for places to rent in the area. I didn’t really want to stay, to be close enough to watch the fate of the ranch, but I’d need to be, at least for now, if I wanted to find a place for my horses, and wanted to keep Pedro and Kyle working until the place was sold.

I laughed as I thought about giving them a huge bonus and severance package before the financials were no longer in my hands. That would burn Jill’s fat ass cheeks for sure.

I pulled my truck over in front of a rundown white house. It was small, possibly only one bedroom, but it was all I needed. The paint was chipped, the short sidewalk that led to the front porch was cracked, and several posts from the railing on the porch were missing. It was ugly. It was old. It was a hell hole.

A sign in the front yard with a realtors name and number made that hell hole the best option I had for finding a cheap place to stay. It was close enough to the pub that I could walk, and without a ranch or any type of work to keep me busy, the pub was most likely going to be my new residence anyway.

I dialed the number, figuring the office would be closed, and readied myself to leave a voicemail as an elderly woman answered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be open,” I stammered.

“We are usually closed, but I stayed behind to finish up some paperwork. What can I help you with?” the woman’s voice chirped cheerfully into my ear.

I gave her the address of the house that I’d parked in front of, and her cheerfulness increased tenfold. It was obviously a dump, and I was certain no one was beating down their door to buy the place.

“I’ll head that way now,” she exclaimed far too eagerly.

We hung up, and I sat there in my truck, staring at the worn out house, aching in my heart, sick in my belly, and feeling sorry for myself knowing that I would have to move from the ranch, the only home I’d ever known, to that ugly house.

Before I could change my mind, a car pulled up behind my truck, and a woman with bluish-black hair emerged. I greeted her as she rattled the keys in her hand.

“Let’s check it out,” she smiled.

The inside was as bad as the out, but the furniture was still intact and came with the place. That was a plus since I wasn’t allowed to take anything from the ranch, not even the bed I’d slept on since I was a teenager.

She gave me the price, which surprisingly was lower than I’d expected, even for that dump. I had enough in my account to buy it outright, not having to worry about a mortgage payment for a while.

I thought about my other options, living in an apartment complex with people above, below and beside me, leaving my horses behind since I didn’t have a trailer, skipping out on Pedro and Kyle to leave town now, or staying at the ranch while Jill pranced around on her high horse with potential buyers shoving their noses up my ass.

“I’ll take it,” I blurted.

A quick shake and she was out in her car gathering papers for me to sign. Sickness filled my gut as I signed my name, wrote a check for the down payment and set the date for closing. Since it was on the market so long, or the fact it was a dump, or possibly that I was paying cash for the place, she said she could have the closing done in the morning, and have me moved in right after. Fuck.