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“I…,” his mother began again and wiped her eyes.
Rafe turned to her, his expression softening for a few seconds. Russell wondered if perhaps she wasn’t as rigid about her beliefs as her husband. Maybe there was a chance for her and Rafe to havesomekind of relationship. That would be a nice Thanksgiving present for Rafe.
“That’s enough, Rachel,” Rafe’s father said, cutting off Russell’s ruminations.
She turned to her husband, eyes as hard as granite, her crocodile tears drying up in seconds. “You’re right. It is enough, Lyle. More than enough.” Rachel left through the back door, leaving Lyle alone in the room.
“I mean it. You will get nothing from me, so you might as well drop it.” Rafe seemed so strong that Russell almost believed he was calm and in control… until he noticed the way Rafe’s fingers were twitching like crazy behind his back. “You should go too, or else I’ll call the sheriff back to escort you.” He looked his father straight in the eye. “I made my way without you. I became a world champion with no help from you. And I’m going to build a home here. So I suggest you forget about me, because the next time I think about you, it will be when someone tells me that you’re dead. Maybe then I’ll have a drink to celebrate.”
Damn, that sounded stone cold, but Rafe’s telltale nerves let Russell know it was an act—one Russell had no intention of calling him on. In that instant, he understood just how hard this was for Rafe, but Russell suspected it was something he felt he had to do.
“You ungrateful little shit,” Lyle growled between clenched teeth. “We did our best for you, but you insisted on pursuing this… lifestyle… rather than getting the help you needed. Your mother and I had no choice.” His eyes burned with the heat of the devil himself. This was a sanctimonious man who thought he was right, and nothing was ever going to change his mind.
“And it never occurred to you that you could be wrong?” Rafe walked over to the door. “Of course it didn’t. A good father would know better. Russell’s did. But though you are a lot of things, a good parent isn’t one of them. So, goodbye. And good riddance.”
The sheriff met them at the door. “Please see that they leave the property,” Rafe said to him. Then he closed the door, and his knees seemed to buckle under him. He leaned on the door, and Russell raced over to him. “Fuck, that was hard.” He sighed and made his way to one of the chairs.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s shitty that you had to go through all that. But you were strong as hell.” He took Rafe’s hand, squeezing his fingers.
“I really used to hope that somehow they’d realize they were wrong. That maybe someday they would understand just what they threw away. I rode harder than anyone else, pushed myself to the limits. Maybe if I was champion, then they would be proud of me. But there was nothing I could do to change their minds. And it’s taken me a lot of years to realize that it’s their problem, not mine. Still, sometimes it hurts—though not as much as it used to. And hopefully, after today, I’ll stop thinking about them altogether.” Rafe lifted his gaze from his shoes.
“They don’t deserve you. They never deserved you.” Hell, Russell wished he knew exactly what to say to make Rafe feel better. For years Rafe had held out hope that his parents might come to love him and accept him for who he was. Today that hope had died—hard. The money-grubbing, self-righteous assholes had shown themselves for who they really were, and Rafe now had to deal with the truth. Russell knew how hard it was to cope with loss. His own mother had died a few years ago. But her loss had been final—there was no coming back from it. He wondered if it was harder when hope itself ceased to exist.
“I’m sorry about all this,” Rafe said, forcing a smile. “How was your trip? Did you get done what you needed to?”
“Yes. The deals have been finalized, though I see that some of the implications of them ended up right back on you.”
“Yeah, Mendeltom was really pissed. Not only is henotgoing to get his hands on my ranch, but he’s now lost access to land he was counting on for his operation.”
Russell shrugged. “Grant Mendeltom is not a good rancher, nor is he a good steward of the land. The reason he’s losing access to those fields is because they’re in danger of being overgrazed. As it is, we’re paying less the first year because we will have to leave the land fallow to allow it recuperate before we place any cattle there. We’ll just cut it for feed and let the area recover.”
“I spoke to your father, and we agreed that in the spring, we’ll put five hundred young head on my property,” Rafe said. “You guys will provide the stock, and I’ll provide water and grazing and care for them like they were my own. And we’ll divide the proceeds once you take them to market. It should work out well for both of us. I’m thinking about hiring a couple of hands to help with the operation. And I want to start a bucking bull program.”
“Dad is going to be so damn jealous,” Russell said.
“I don’t think so. Not really. I like your dad. He’s straightforward and he knows what he wants. If the cattle agreement goes well, then he and I are going to work together on getting some bulls in stock. I was thinking of building some enclosures for them over by where our lands meet. It will be away from the rest of the herds, and maybe we can even look at breeding some good buckers.”
It was good to see Rafe smiling, at least for a few seconds. “Never heard from any of the rodeo people, though. I’ll give it a little time. Maybe send a follow-up. Sometimes things slip down in the email inbox and get lost.”
Russell made a note to make a few calls himself to see if he could rattle a few cages. “Listen, you’re going to want to be careful. Mendeltom is a mean son of a bitch. Now that he’s lost a couple thousand acres, it’s going to put a lot of stress on his operation… and him.”
Rafe shook his head in disgust. “The man’s a blowhard, just like his son. Duane always acted the big man, but when push came to shove, he always backed down, just like most bullies.”
“Oh, Grant is a bully all right, but he isn’t a blowhard. He’s a pot stirrer, never happier than when he’s getting people riled up. I’m afraid that he’ll try to find some way to get even with me and Dad for the loss of those fields. And the easiest way for him to do that is through you somehow.” And it would be all Russell’s fault.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Let him try. Luther has things well in hand as far as the estate goes. My parents have been pretty well shut down, and Mendeltom won’t have a leg to stand on. As far as the rest….” He shrugged. “I’m a rodeo champion. And we champions have to be made out of sterner stuff. He won’t get the better of me.” Rafe slid closer. “But I appreciate your support. It means a lot that you were here.”
“I just wish I’d gotten here earlier.”
“There was nothing you could have done. Mendeltom and my parents have been in league with each other for years. They kept tabs on Uncle Mack, probably out of spite and maybe to find out if he had something they wanted. I really wish I knew the reasons, but they don’t really matter now.”
Russell slipped his arms around Rafe’s neck. “Do you think they’ll be back?”
Rafe shrugged. “I don’t know. My parents have lost, and now they know it. And since they don’t want to have anything to do with me and my abhorrent lifestyle, they’ll probably go back to Denver, stew over how unfair things are, and eventually go back to their miserable lives. At least, that’s what I’d expect them to do.” He shook his head. “All my life, I had their views of morality and religion rammed down my throat, but in the end, they set both those things aside just for money. Turns out their greed is more powerful than their faith.” He hugged Russell, resting his head on his shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re back. I really missed you.” He tightened his hold, just standing there and breathing softly in Russell’s ear.
“Are you okay? Really?” Russell asked, and felt Rafe shake his head.
“I didn’t sleep well the past week,” Rafe admitted in a whisper.
