AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elliott nodded. “Going back almost forty years, I guess. That was when he came to this valley and put together that ranch of his. I met him shortly after. Your uncle kept to himself a lot of the time, but if someone needed help, he was always there. We had a fire here maybe ten years ago. It took out one of the barns. Your uncle was here the next day to help clear away the mess so we could rebuild. He and Russell were close. They used to fish together a lot of the time.”
“Did it bother you that Mack was gay? Once my folks figured it out, I never saw him again.”
Elliott narrowed his eyes. “What a man does in his own home is up to him. I never judged him, and when Russell told us that he liked bulls instead of cows, Mack was there to help him.”
Russell nodded. “We all knew. At least I did. And when I got old enough to realize that I was gay too, Mack and I went fishing, and he told me the facts of gay cowboy life.” Rafe leaned closer. “He said that you don’t rub your business in other people’s noses, and you don’t talk about it or go marching in parades. But he also said that when I met the right person, that I needed to hold on to them. And if push came to shove, I had to be prepared to fight for the life I wanted. He told me that people will respect you if you did that, no matter what side of your bread you buttered.” Russell smiled.
Rafe nodded. “Do you know if Mack ever found someone?” Those letters had gotten him thinking. They were kind, gentle, but filled with heart if you read between the lines—love letters written by someone who was afraid of being caught.
Russell only shrugged, but Elliott nodded. “I think he did, some time ago. He started going into Denver every few weeks for a couple days. But then he just stopped.” He shook his head. “The only reason I know this is because he’d asked if we’d look after things while he was gone.” Elliott’s eyes glazed over, and he seemed to lose himself in memories. “That was about twenty years ago. Why do you ask?”
The timing matched the letters. “My God,” Rafe said as the pieces finally came together. “Twenty years ago. That was when everything changed for my family—the year I was twelve.” He sighed as a clearer picture of what had happened—a broader one than he had known—came into focus. “Did either of you ever meet any of his friends?”
Russell leaned forward. “You found something,” he probed.
Rafe found himself nodding before he could really think about it. “Maybe. But I think you’re right,” he said to Elliott, “and it’s very possible it didn’t end well.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. In trying to dig up parts of my uncle’s life, I seem to have gotten a little buried myself.”
He sipped the drink and hoped they let the subject drop. He wasn’t really ready to talk about it yet—not until he’d learned more. “I really appreciate the invitation to dinner,” Rafe said. “But more than that, I want to thank you both for all the help you gave me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. If there’s ever something I can do to help you, just let me know.”
Elliott leaned forward. “There is,” he said plainly. “Don’t fucking sell your place.”
Rafe met his gaze. “To anyone other than you?” he asked. There had been too many people inquiring about his land, and it was time he found out where people stood.
“If you want to sell, I’d hope you’d come to us.” Elliott smiled. “But you should keep it. Land remembers. I know it sounds dumb to you kids, but it has a memory, and your uncle put his blood and sweat into that place. It was his life, and he built it out of nothing at all. The entire ranch was nearly bone-dry when your uncle bought it. There was only a fork in a stream for water, and that Mack had to haul up every last drop.”
“What happened?” Rafe asked, because that certainly wasn’t the way things were now.
“Freak of nature,” Russell said. “I remember that winter because Dad made me play inside the whole time—at least, it seemed that way. Avalanches happen up in the mountains, and that winter we had a ton of snow. I loved being outside. The snow was piled up everywhere, and I used to sneak out whenever I could, building forts and pummeling the ranch hands with snowballs.” For a second Russell looked just like that naughty kid again. It was a shame Rafe had never visited his uncle’s ranch in the winter. He and Russell could have been hellions together.
“An avalanche started high up, bringing down snow, then rock and debris. It was a real mess. Nearly took out Mendeltom’s house. It stopped maybe a hundred feet away.” There was a little delight in Elliott’s eyes. Rafe could understand; he was not a fan of either the guy either.
“At least it didn’t take out his home,” Rafe said.
“True, but it did something worse. It dammed up the water flow and created a small lake in the spring. When the water broke through, it created a new channel that left the old one high and dry. So the water now ran on Mack’s property the way it does now. Mendeltom accused Mack of stealing his water and actually sued to try and get it back.” Elliott rolled his eyes. “Didn’t work. The courts laughed at the old jackass and sent him on his way. After that, Mendeltom did everything he could to convince your uncle to sell. For a while there I thought he was actually trying to drive him out. Mack got the police involved, and the harassment stopped.”
“So Uncle Mack’s place went from being small and hardscrabble to prosperous and having a lot of potential almost overnight.”
Elliott nodded. “Mendeltom even went as far as to say that your uncle started the avalanche.” Elliott finished the martini and set his glass aside. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. No fool would do that. An avalanche could take out half the valley if it happened just right.” As if to punctuate his point, flakes of snow began to fall, fluttering down to the ground. “It’s about fucking time.”
“Dad….”
“We need snow, and the weatherman said we were going to get some. It’s not too cold, and the wind is staying away, so a good snow will do us good. And it will help us come next summer.” Elliott leaned forward. “Mendeltom and his kid don’t get it, but everything is related. The snow we complain about in the winter feeds the streams and small lakes that sustain us all summer. A good snowfall also allows everything and everyone to rest for a while before spring arrives… and all the chores with it.”
He shook his head in disgust. “What Mendeltom doesn’t understand is that what he does on his ranch affects not only him, but the rest of us. The Banion cattle operation is run in a way that will sustain the land and the community around us. We have berms to keep field run-off out of the water supply. And we don’t use chemicals that could possibly end up in the water or seep into the ground. Everything we do protects the land and this ranch so it can be passed to the next generation—and the one after that—better and more prosperous than we found it.” Elliott sat back, and Rafe grinned.
“You should do commercials, because you sold me,” Rafe teased. Elliott laughed, and Russell pointed at his dad.
“See, you missed your calling. Maybe you should think about it. You would do great as a spokesman for hemorrhoid cream, or maybe you could convince people to buy old-age insurance.” He winked.
“Bullshit. I think I should be the face of Stetson or something like that.” Elliott smiled and sat a little straighter. “Let’s go eat before we have to swim through the bullshit you two are flinging to get there.”
He left the room, and Russell was about to follow, but Rafe hung back.
“I like your dad,” Rafe said. “He’s something.”
“That he is. Dad has always had the cowboy ‘tell the truth even if it hurts’ thing down pat.” He motioned toward the other room, but Rafe stood still, a little lost in Russell’s eyes. “Is there something wrong?”
Rafe shook his head. “Just that sometimes I’m a little slow to pick up on things.” He stepped closer. “I really appreciate the way you and your men helped me out. It was way beyond neighborly, and I’ve been trying to think of a way to thank you.” The heat around him grew more intense by the second.
