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“You’re selling to the Jeffries?” Joe sounded shocked.
“I am.”
“But after all this time…” Joe wailed.
“I offered it to Mr. Harvey first, but he couldn’t take on any more work he said, but we have cooked up a plan that is gonna make this whole valley very happy.” Lee smiled at them.
Lily stared at him. “What’d you do, daddy?”
He glanced at her; the first one to call him daddy and it was Lily. He wanted to reach over and hug her for that, but he merely smiled, not wanting to embarrass her.
“I sold the water rights to Mr. Harvey and he’s giving the water to the valley,” Lee announced, winking at Lily.
“Oh, Lee.” Hattie brought the biscuits to the table and everyone grabbed one. “That’s wonderful.”
“I thought so too. At last, everyone will be happy again and maybe the fighting will stop once and for all.” Lee grabbed two biscuits. “Especially once we are gone.”
“I hate you havin’ to sell though.” Hattie sat beside him now.
“It’s okay. We’re going to a much better place, anyway.” Lee chuckled.
“Tell us about Texas, daddy,” Daisy cried.
Lee glanced at Daisy and then Lily. Violet was waiting for him to say something.
“Well, it’s a big place, full of lots of trees and ponds and places to run and play. That’s what,” Lee answered. “No one wi
ll bother us there and we’ll be very happy. We’ll have some very good friends there too. Their names are Chase Rivers and Katherine Rivers.”
“Chase Rivers? That’s a strange name, daddy,” Violet said.
“Yes honey, it’s an Indian name, a Shawnee Indian name. Chase is a very good friend of mine. He saved my life once. I’ll never forget that.”
“I can’t wait to meet them,” Hattie said. She grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed.
Joe smiled from across the table.
Then Lee told them about Frank. He left out the ugly words Frank had used to goad him into fighting.
Joe nodded. “So, it’s over now…”
“Let’s hope so. But I had to kill Frank. Not something I really wanted to do, but there was no choice.” Lee sighed heavily. “He left me none.”
Everyone stared at him.
“It came to that, huh?” Joe asked.
“‘Fraid so. I took him back to his father,” Lee told them.
“How’d the old man take it?” Joe asked.
“‘Bout like you’d expect. He don’t want to see me anymore. He’s leavin’ the money at the bank and he wants me out of this town and his life,” Lee said quietly.
“Did you mean to kill him, daddy?” Daisy asked.
“Well darlin’, sometimes it can’t be helped no matter what you do,” Lee tried to explain.
“Was it a fair fight?” Lily asked.
