“Damn it, Callus. You aren’t getting any younger here. What do you think that boy of yours is going to do with this place once you move on?”
“You don’t get as old as I am by letting little things like that get to you. What he does with this place after I’m gone is on his soul, not mine. Scott knows how I feel about this place.”
“He’s going to triple the price and sell it off to the highest bidder. Do you want to see this place turned into another cooperate farm?”
“I imagine he’ll do whatever his heart tells him to do.”
“You’ve got the only steady water supply in a hundred miles. Do you know what that could do for Hannover Ranch?”
“Of course I do. This isn’t anything we haven’t talked about before, Henry. It’s just not something I’m going to budge on. I know you’ve got your heart set on this place, and maybe that’s the problem. Your work shouldn’t be your life.”
“I know, you think I should find a nice girl and settle down. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to bargain with my damned soul for this piece of land.”
“I know better than to question a man’s soul, but his heart is another thing. There isn’t any hope for Scott. That man is determined to see the value of money more than people but not you. There might still be hope for you.”
I groaned and shook my head as Callus chuckled. The old cherry rocker moved back and forth along his front porch. I’d spent many afternoons in that same rocking chair, trying to get him to sell me his homestead. We didn’t always see eye to eye on things. He constantly infuriated me with his rantings about a family and finding love. Still, I held no ill will towards him. His heart was as good as they came.
I couldn’t say the same for his son, Scott, as a red Ferrari came barreling down the driveway. It never failed that when I showed up to have a tall glass of sweet tea with Callus, Scott wouldn’t be far behind. While it was no concern of mine, I knew that Scott had at least a few men answering to him on his fathers’ ranch. My stomach tightened as he squealed to a halt a few feet from the expansive front porch.
Scott emerged from his little car to straighten his expensive suit and look around the dusty landscape in disgust. He was my age but had never worked a hard day in his life. Callus was always the first to take the blame for spoiling him as a child. More often than not, I would remind him that Scott was an adult and more than capable of making his own decisions.
“I should have known I’d find you here,” Scott grumbled. “Trying to bleed my father dry again? You know he’ll never sell to you.”
“Come on now, Scotty boy, can’t we just get along?” I goaded. “Callus and I were just reminiscing about all the good times we’ve had out here.”
“What good memories? This place has been losing money for the last eight years. As long as we aren’t splitting it off into sections and selling, we are going to be losing.”
“Life isn’t all about money, son.” Callus said.
“That’s easy for you to say. It’s not your inheritance. This place is slowly starting to bleed dry. Have you ever stopped to consider one of the better offers?” Scott asked.
“Better offers?” I snapped. “What better offers? Callus isn’t going to sell it to some big company just burning ground, you know.”
“No one asked you.” Scott retorted. “Don’t you have a ranch of your own that needs running? Last time I checked, this was our family business, not yours.”
“Easy now, boys,” Callus chuckled. “Henry, I reckon you should probably go before you give this young man of mine a heart attack. Then we’d both be on the hook for this place.”
“Well, I see that as a win-win situation,” I grinned. “But I know you’re still fond of your boy, so I’ll get on out of your hair. Try not to let him poison you or push you down a flight of steps.”
“You son of a –
Callus laughed, “take it easy now, Scott. Henry is just joking around.”
Shaking Callus’s hand, I set off down the steps and made for my truck. With a dirty road joining the two properties together, I didn’t have to drive far to reach my own homestead. Before I could climb into the cab of my dusty pickup, a hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder. My blood raced as I fought the instinct to swing blindly on whoever was touching me. Years of living on the streets and fighting just to stay alive had sharpened my instincts.
I spun around to see Scott glaring at me. Suddenly I regretted my decision to not swing blindly. At least then I’d have an excuse to clock the man in the jaw. I could claim he snuck up on me. It would only damage the relationship between myself and Callus, though. My dislike for Scott was once again outweighed by my affections for his father. Grinding my teeth together, I stepped away from Scott and leveled my gaze.
“What the hell do you want?” I asked.
“I want you to stop showing up over here. You think I like driving down here from the city every time you decide to get a little nostalgic with the old man?”
“Now, how on earth would you know when I stop over?” I played. “Are you stalking me? Listen, I’m flattered, but I don’t really bat for that team –
“Shut the fuck up. You know damn well, I keep an eye on my father. Now I told you to stay away. This land is mine.”
My hand balled into a fist. “You don’t know a damn thing, not even the clothing on your back. You haven’t worked a day in your life, you entitled little shit.”
“You don’t know anything about my life. Just because I’m not a bastard doesn’t mean I haven’t suffered. This property has been in my family for hundreds of years. He’s not going to sell it to you.”
“I bet he would if I was a family man. As a matter of fact, I know he would. But he hates the idea of the land going to you to be sold off. So, I wonder what he wants more, for it to go to you or me?”
“Oh please, everyone around here knows that you’d have nothing if it weren’t for John. There isn’t an eligible woman within a hundred miles that would look at you twice.”
“Wow, you really think that money, power, and your last name are the only things that matter, don’t you?”
“I know they are. Why do you think I’ve got a wife with her own trust fund and two kids living a better life than I ever had out here on this dump of land?”
“This land deserves more respect than you do,” I said. “I don’t care if I have to spend every penny I have. It will be mine.”
I could feel my temper starting to mount again. Callus was no longer on the front porch watching over his farm. Had he been there, Scott would never approach me. As much as I disliked Scott, though, I wouldn’t risk my relationship with Callus or insult him by knocking his entitled son down a few pegs. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I decided to turn on the charm instead. Nothing irritated people more than when you didn’t respond to their attitudes.
“You know what, Scott. I hope that you get everything you deserve out of this.”
“Are you threatening me?” He asked. “Because I’ll bring so many lawsuits down on your head, you’ll have to sell your shit farm just to buy a tent to sleep in.”