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It was true. Like his father, Dwight North, before him, Duke was a champion rodeo clown. Just as fearless and — arguably — just as dumb as his dad.
“You were my hero, too,” Trent added, holding his glass up. “And even though I thought I wanted to live a completely different life, when you called me and asked to work on the ranch, there was no way I could turn you down.”
Chuck stood, offering his own tumbler full of water to the toast. He tried to think of something cheerful to say. Some incandescent, hilarious memory of his wonderful father. It’s what Dad would have wanted. But he couldn’t. “Dad, I just plain fucking miss you.” He wished his dad were here. He wished his mom were here.
He wished he was somewhere else entirely.
The North brothers looked at each other, then clinked their glasses together.
Sensing the feeling of gloom, Trent said, “Come on, boys. This isn’t merely a celebration of Dad’s life.” He pushed his thick glasses up his nose. “We’re celebrating the sale of this place. We’re celebrating a chance to finally move on.”
That was true enough. Theywerebeing given an opportunity. Rosy Pastures — a ranching conglomerate in Northern Montana, was offering to buy Littlecreek Ranch, debts and all.
And there were a ton of debts.
While their parents had been around, money had been flowing in — mostly because of their mother’s shrewd accounting and excellent negotiating. There had been so much money that bills always got paid, in spite of the generous salaries that Dwight gave out, and the extravagant building projects he’d indulged in.
After Dwight died, though, things had gotten sloppy. Very sloppy. The spending continued, but the revenue plummeted. Their mom was suffering terribly, and she just hadn’t been up to the task of working.
Everything fell apart.
Unpaid grain bills. Utility bills. Veterinary expenses. Everything piled up, and before too long, things were looking disastrous. Then, Martha died too. People said it was heartbreak, but the brothers knew that her liver was just as broken as her heart. After that, getting the ranch back on track became impossible.
Chuck sighed, slumping in his chair. “It still don’t feel right to me. It’s not what Mom and Dad would have wanted.” He sipped his water.
“But it’s what we need,” Duke countered. “You’re not honestly telling me you want to stay here, are you?”
“Not like this,” Chuck admitted. “We used to be so happy here.”
“Used tobeing the operative term,“ Trent added somberly.
“All it needs is a little elbow grease,” Chuck said. “Get Mom’s field cropping again so we don’t need to buy so much feed, cut some better deals with suppliers.”
“I don’t want to do it,” Duke said.
“No. All you want to do is die like Dad.” There was anger in Chuck’s reply, and he regretted saying it instantly. But there was truth in it.
The reason that Dwight had been able to afford to buy Littlecreek Ranch in the first place was because he’d won a record prize at the National Finals Rodeo in 2008. He’d barely escaped with his life that season, suffering an ugly fall from a ferocious bull in the final ride of the year.
After that, he’d vowed never to compete again.
But when a sponsor had offered him a cool million bucks to enter the 2018 competition, he’d broken his word and gone into the competition as the oldest cowboy to ever compete. It was a decision that had cost him his life.
Now, Duke wanted to enter next year’s competition in his father’s memory.
“Chuck,” Duke said, flexing his fist, “if you weren’t my brother, I swear I’d have killed you by now.”
“Duke, if I weren’t your brother I swear you’d have killedyourselfby now,“ Chuck replied.
“Well, you may have a point there,” Duke admitted.
“Boys,” Trent said looking at his watch, “shall I fetch the contract? Do y’all feel like signing the ranch away and finally moving on with our lives?” Obviously, Rosy Pastures were offering well under market value for the place. With the debts and the disrepair, it was understandable. Split three ways, though, it was peanuts.
“Go get it,” Duke said.
After their dad died, the North boys had made a pact.
Look after Mom.
