Raven shivered and said that if it was okay with Sawyer, she was all right with it. Gunner nodded just as the salads were brought to the table. Instead of eating it, Gunner shoved it away and talked about what he was looking for in a place to live too.
“The job comes with housing if you want it. It’s not in the building—we didn’t think that was a smart way to go. But it’s a nice big house with plenty of yard space. There is staff too, and that is necessary in case you’re called away for something. I’m guessing you don’t have a great deal of furniture.” Gunner said he only had his knapsack. “I’ll take that as a no. I don’t know if the house is furnished or not, but I’ll make sure that you have what you need. The rest we can deal with as we go along.”
“You’re just going to hire me. No background check or anything.” Raven told him that Grandma had all of them checked out when she’d asked Sawyer to watch over her. “I see. And you found a great deal, did you? About me, I mean. Most of it is true, just to let you know.”
“I don’t doubt that it is, Gunner, but I never read the reports. And had I known your parents like I do now, there would have been no reason for the checks.” He told her that was a stupid reason not to check. “Perhaps, but I have my reasons too. I’ve met them, you see, and there isn’t a finer family around. You were raised by good people.”
“I’m sure that could be said about a great many mass killers.” As Curtis was directing the new staff on how to lay the plates in front of them, Gunner stood up, moved Molly, and had a knife at the throat of Curtis. When neither of them moved, Gunner laughed. “You have a death wish for your butler, or do you trust that easily? And stupidly, I might add.”
“No, neither of those. But if you’ll look around right now there is a gun at the back of your head, and there are two more that are aimed at you from the doorways.” Sawyer nodded when Gunner looked at him. “I’m not stupid, nor do I do things so blindly. Sawyer and I have a great deal of money that I’m sure others would just love to take from us. Everyone that works for me can not only handle a gun, but they are armed at all times. No one will leave this house with one of my family, nor my staff, if I can help it. Now please, have a seat and tell me about yourself, Gunner. I think Molly would also like to call you Uncle. Is Gunner your first name?”
“It is.” He sat down and looked around the room then. Not only was there a gun at the back of his head, it was the cook who was holding it there. The two men with guns were dismissed when Gunner sat down. “I’m impressed, Raven. And when you get to know me more, you’ll learn that I do not impress easily. Welcome to the family.”
They talked throughout the meal, nothing earth shattering, but just lighter things like the weather, the office that Gunner would be working from. Dwayne was mentioned a couple of times, and how Holly was proud of his first day. Sawyer decided that he’d see about that as well. Things were going nicely. Sawyer was sure there was going to be something or someone that came along that would fuck it all up for them.
“Would you like to spend the night here, Gunner?” Sawyer knew his brother would turn Raven down. “All right. But I want you to feel you can come here whenever you want. There will always be a room ready for you, and a bed you can sleep in.”
“I’m not good with people, as I said.” Raven nodded and told him she wasn’t people; she was his sister. “I’m not an easy man to be around either. I’ve been out in the fields of different countries since I turned nineteen. One year of that can change a man. I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than that.”
“I’m sure that you were good at it too. But you’re family to us, and I want to make sure that you have someplace to go when it gets to be too much.” He nodded and looked around. “There is a house at the end of this property. It has heat and air, all the amenities that anyone could need. A lake to catch your dinner in, as well as an orchard that is being picked right now. I want you to consider it yours.”
“I don’t want a home, Raven. I’ll be fine.” She just stared at him, and Gunner looked away first. “I might take you up on it. Not now, but sometime.”
After handing him the keys to the house and the boat house, Raven hugged Gunner and then left the two of them alone. Gunner watched Molly and Raven head to the upper floors, then looked at him.
“She cares about me.” Sawyer said that he did too. “You have to or I’ll kick your ass, but she doesn’t have to and she still cares. I think I might take her up on the job as well as the house. Will that be all right with you?”
“Having you around any way that I can is always all right with me.”
They hugged again and Gunner went out the door and disappeared into the darkness. Sawyer thought they’d be seeing a good deal more of him soon, and he was looking forward to it.
~*~
Wesley pulled the tractor into the barn. Getting off, careful of the steam it was blowing off, he felt his heart break for the old man. He’d thought of this particular machine as a person since he’d been old enough to reach the pedal on it.
“I hate to bring this up, Old Man, but I had a few more rows to plow up. Couldn’t you have had your hissing fit tomorrow or the next day?” Putting his hand on the hood of the hot engine compartment, he laid his forehead there as well. “I don’t know what we’re going to do now, buddy. It’s not your fault. You’re a great deal older than I am. Hell, I think you’re older than my dad or his dad.”
“Do you normally talk to machinery?” He looked up when a man he didn’t know spoke. “You don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Holly and Raven Addington. Well, Holly Addington. You must be Wesley Bishop. My name is Cartwright, William Cartwright.”
He didn’t move from his position at the tractor, but waited there to see what the man would do. Wesley was just tired enough that he’d kill the man so he’d not have to mess with him if he caused him any trouble.
“Can you do that thing? You know, where you reach out to someone and ask them about me? I know that you’re a tiger—hell, I can see him racing all over your body. If you’d not have me for dinner and call out to...fuck. What’s his name? Your brother. You’re freaking me out— Sawyer. Can you contact Sawyer?”
Wesley didn’t move but did reach for his brother.
Yes, I sent him. He was supposed to arrive tomorrow. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Wes. I’m school shopping. What the fuck does a little girl need a calculus calculator for? She’s eleven, for fuck— Wesley said his brother’s name. Yes, sorry. His name is William Cartwright. He’s got some equipment for you. It’s from Holly. She’s working on a project, and she needs you to do what you normally do when you get the fields ready for next year.
Old Man just died on me. I won’t be able to fix— Did you say he had some equipment for me? Sawyer laughed and said that he had. And this guy, the one that is about to piss his pants, he brought me what, Sawyer? A shovel to bury my tractor with? I don’t have time for this. I have to see if I can kludge together something to get him running again.
Talk to him. Or, I have a better idea. You come here and shop with my wife and daughter, and I’ll talk to him. I swear to you, this is a lot of fun. Wesley smiled and told him he was on his own. I wonder if Mom will come help me.
He closed the connection to his brother and moved toward William. The man hadn’t lowered his hands, but he did back up. Wesley thought it looked like he was more than just a little afraid of him.
“I talked to Sawyer.” William let out a long breath. “He said that you had something for me. I have to tell you, buddy, your timing couldn’t be any worse. I don’t have time to look through catalogs. I don’t want to hear a sales pitch about this new tractor or what you think I can use it for. I need to— Holy fuck, that’s a tractor.”
William was talking quickly now that he figured he wasn’t going to be eaten. Wesley climbed up on the end of the trailer and onto the gleaming tractor that was there. It didn’t have t
ires, but actual treads that moved along three gears. The seat wasn’t hard on his ass from years and years of wear and tear.
It had an air conditioner setting. Wesley thought that would be nice, having a nice cool breeze over his face during the hottest part of the season. There was even a small fridge for drinks, he discovered as he poked around on it.
“This is the newest model. I don’t even think it was shown in the last farmer’s fair.” Wesley asked him if there really was a farmer’s fair. “Yes, sir. Every year. You have an invitation to attend from now on. As well as tickets to get in, accommodations, and air fare.” Wesley knew that it was just a scam, for him to buy this thing. Like he had the money for it. “Mrs. Addington, she said that she’d call you this evening after you took it for a spin. Also, she said for me to take a picture of you sitting on it as proof of you receiving it. She said you’d never sign for it.”
“Damn right I won’t. Who are you delivering this to?” He’d only been half listening to the man. Mostly he wasn’t listening to him at all. Wesley looked at William when he spoke. “I’m sorry. I missed something. A lot of somethings if you just said that this was paid for and mine. I’m not rich. My brother is, but not me.”
“Be that as it may, Mr. Bishop, the tractor is yours, along with all the other pieces that will be delivered in the morning. I’m a day early, or it would have arrived with the other implements.” Wesley got down off the tractor and took the paperwork for the tractor. “It’s all paid for, as you can see. As well as maintenance for the next fifty years. Longer if you need it. My boss was so thrilled to have Mrs. Addington call that he said he’d service it forever.”
“You’re serious.” William nodded and asked for the picture. “Sure. I guess I can do that. You’re really leaving this here? And the rest of it is coming tomorrow?”
“The rest of the pieces are coming tomorrow, yes. I don’t know what all of them are, sir, but I know one of them is a post hole digger. I got to use the new one we got in with yours. Man, does it do the job.”
Wesley got up on the tractor again. What the hell was he going to have to do for this stuff?
After the man left, pulling his now empty trailer, Wesley pulled a chair off the porch and sat down in it to stare at his new tractor. He thought about calling Holly and talking to her, but he was terrified, to be honest. What if she told him it had been a joke? A cruel one, but a joke all the same.
At lunch he went into the house, made him a sandwich, and sat back down in his chair. He forgot his drink, and was happy that his mom brought him out a glass of lemonade. She asked him what he was doing.
“I’m not sure, to be honest, Mom. I received this while you were at the grocery. And I’m not sure that I want to find out if it’s really mine or not.” He handed her the paperwork when she asked for it. “I know that it has my name on it, but do you have any idea how much this thing costs? Brand new? Not to mention, according to this, there are seven other pieces coming with it.”
“And with this paperwork saying that it’s paid in full, that you’re not responsible for fixing it and that you needed it, you still don’t believe it?” Wesley nodded, and she popped him in the back of the head. “Get up off your fanny and get back to work. Whoever you think might have gifted you with this and then they’re going to take it away, don’t you think you should get as much work out of it as you can before they do?”
Wesley looked at his mom and smiled. “Have I told you lately how wonderfully brilliant you are? You are the smartest woman—no, the smartest person that I have ever known. And I know a great many of them.” Another pop to his head. “I love you, Mom.”
He got up on the tractor and laughed. There was a phone on it, with GPS. Yelling to his mom, not as loudly as he’d have had to with Old Man, he told her that she could call him. Waving him off, she went into the kitchen to do her magical things in there.
As he drove out to the field where Old Man had left him hanging, Wesley played around with the plows that came on this sucker until he got the hang of it. He nearly fell off the back of the thing when he engaged the plow and pushed the gas pedal to the floor, as he’d had to do for Old Man. Christ, it was fast.
The jingling of something had Wesley thinking that he’d broken it already. But he saw the phone again, and it was flashing a green light. Picking up the phone, he realized that his mom had remembered the number, as it was her voice that was laughing about something when he answered.
“It’s yours. I just had a long talk with Holly. She and your brother are working on keeping farmland free of people putting in malls. I guess Dwayne did a bang-up job in talking this guy into giving up his shares to pay Holly back, and she wants to use you as a poster boy or something.” He asked her what that meant as he turned his tractor around to do some of the places he’d not been able to plow because of the other tractor just not having it in him. “She said that she wants to be able to show people how, if farmers have the right equipment and funds to keep them updated, the world will be a better place. I could have told her that myself and she’d not have needed to send you that thing. Are you being safe?”
He wasn’t, but he wasn’t telling his mom that. Wesley was having fun despite having to replough all the work he’d done today. And he was doing it in about half the time. After telling her that he was, they hung up.
Wesley looked over what he’d done compared to what he done earlier today. The dirt was churned up nicely. No huge parcels that looked like they had only been half done. The grass that he fought year round was also gone on the new ploughing. Turning off the big rig, he walked the land and noticed that it looked richer, like it was ready for new planting. Wesley had an idea as he drove back to the barn.
He could plant winter wheat this year. He’d never had the means to do that before. The tractor was barely making it after a single season. But with this, he could not just put in wheat, but he could also get the ground around the house better worked up. Mom had wanted a pea garden for years, but he’d not been able to make Old Man break through the packed dirt enough to make it work.
Going into the house, Wesley saw his dad sitting at the table looking at seed catalogs. They received them every fall, but this was the first time his dad had ever looked at them as far as he knew. Grabbing himself and his dad a glass of water, they studied the seeds as well as talked about what they could plant in the coming months.
“I’m going to be able to put in Mom’s pea garden. I’m going to do it tomorrow for her.” Dad smiled at him and handed him a note. Mom had gone into town to help out with the Little children for the mister. Wesley laughed at what his mom had written down. “She says that she’d like to be able to put out ten rows of peas, as well as have a place for her flowers around the house. I think we can handle that, no problem.”
“Son, do you have any idea how this is going to help us and the other farmers around here? I mean, you’d have time to plow our ground up and do theirs too without things for us being put back too far.” He told his dad about the ground he’d worked up. “My goodness. That’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Maybe, if you’ve some room up in that thing, I’ll take a ride with you. It would be nice to be able to sit on something that nice.”
As Wesley was heading up to bed, he thought of something else he wanted to put in. His mom had always envied the roses around the courthouse. She’d drive there every summer just to look at them and to take a few pictures. He was going to plough her up some place for her to start her own.
Knowing next to nothing about roses, he decided to ask Holly about them. A woman like her would have a gardener, of course, but surely she knew something about the pretty blooms. Making himself a note, Wesley was going to talk to her, right after he gave his dad a ride in the new rig. Yes, it was very nice having nice things.
But he wasn’t going to take advantage of Holly’s good nature. He’d do just about anything for the wonderful woman. Wesley wou
ld do this project for her, happily. Even if she’d not given him the right tools to make it work, he would have anyway. But this way made it a great deal easier.
Chapter 10
Raven moved from one office on her floor to the next, getting information and asking questions. There were things going on that could wait until later to be done, but that wasn’t in her nature. She wanted things done early so that if there was trouble, she had plenty of time to fix it.
Sara Becker, her secretary, was on the phone when she passed her desk. Bypassing her, she made her way into her office and one of the three computers that she had set up.
“Why don’t you just add all the programs to one computer, and that way you won’t have to jump around your office like a jack in the box?” She smiled at her grandma. “I swear, hanging around your dad and Sawyer is like running a race where I know I cannot win. How are you, darling? Are you getting back into things?”
“I am. And the reason that I have three separate computers is because it makes me feel more organized. This one is for inventory. The one on my desk is for emails and correspondence. The third one is for emails coming in from clients that want to speak to me about something I can do for them.” Sara brought in phone call message slips and two glasses of tea, one for her and Grandma. “Are they getting along all right, Dad and Sawyer? When he left the house this morning, I was sure he was never going to return. Molly and I had this huge fight, and he was caught in the middle of it.”
“Good heavens. What on earth were you fighting about? I was sure that child never got upset about anything. What did you do to her?” Raven just looked at her grandma. “I know, dear. It’s not always your fault. But you have to agree that she’s very well adjusted.”
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