by Ashlee Price
"I can't say as any of this comes as a surprise to me. I appreciate the work you've done to protect things, and of course, I will continue to use your firm. I may or may not have mentioned to you that I intend to pursue a law degree, and I can see that just managing my own assets may be all I can handle."
"Not necessarily," Tom responded, taking a sip from his drink. "A lot of these can be put on autopilot and won't need any attention unless you want to make changes for some reason. We can act as your watchdogs and let you know if any of that changes. That could free you up to practice the kind of law that makes you happy. From what little we've spoken, I'm guessing that it lies in another direction."
"You're right, it does. While this is embarrassing for me to admit, my father is not particularly in favor of my pursuing a legal degree. He believes I should be his assistant in the farm business, which obviously makes up only a very small percentage of the total holdings. In short, he's trying to put me on the shelf where I won't be any trouble. Just so I make myself clear, what I've asked your firm to do is to look out for my assets in such a way that he won't know I'm directing things. I don't wish to cause trouble within the family. Dad is a strong man and generally gets his way. It would not be out of character for him to try and harm people I care about, simply out of revenge."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You know what they say, power is corrupting. He won't be the first man to walk that road, nor will he be the last."
"He'll be the last in my family, that much I can guarantee. Okay, if you'll give me those papers, let me look them over quickly and sign them and be on my way."
"I have to tell you, Michael," Tom said as he handed a folder of documents to me, "I'm very impressed with your maturity. There are few men who've grown up with a silver spoon in their mouth who have developed not only a moral compass as well-grounded as yours, but the savvy to understand the big picture. In fact, I think I might be the only other one. You will go a long way in your life, take it from me."
"I appreciate your saying that, Tom. Actually, it means a lot to me. Sometimes that road to doing the right thing gets confusing."
Tom nodded when I handed him back the folder of papers, now signed. He downed his drink and stood "I need to run now. I've got a courthouse to get to."
I saluted him as he left, quickly finished my lunch and headed back to Louisville. I felt a mixture of emotions. It didn't come as a surprise to me that Dad had been playing in my personal affairs, but it did come as a surprise that he didn't think I would find out. My opinion of him had sunk to a new all-time low.
Interstate 71 between Cincinnati and Louisville is a smooth and beautiful drive, with very little traffic. I switched the car into cruise control and tapped Callie's name in my contacts.
"Hello?" Her voice sounded different, perhaps a little more businesslike.
"It's Michael."
"Now, how did I know that? Hmm... Could it have been the caller ID?"
"Okay, okay, I keep forgetting that you're all technology-minded now. How are things going?"
"Great, actually. I'm not sure if you knew that Dad is home now. It took a little bit of doing, and by the way, thank you for that wheelchair ramp. It was a lifesaver. This house doesn't have a very deep foundation, but even four inches can be a big step when maneuvering one of those chairs. Anyway, he's been settled in, and the physical therapy did wonders. He can walk around if he stays within one room and uses his cane. Of course, he manages to hold Josiah, and I think that's done him more good than anything else. He does have a soft spot for that boy."
"That's wonderful, Callie. Things are a whole lot brighter now than they were when he first had a stroke, aren't they?"
"You're right. A few months can make a really big difference. Speaking of which, how are you doing in your self-imposed isolation?"
"Missing you."
"Me, too. I have to be honest, Michael. I still don't understand why we can't at least meet for lunch or a quick dinner once in a while. There's so much I want to talk to you about, and it's hard to do it over the phone."
"Anything... bad?"
"If you mean have I met someone else, no, and I'm not looking. I gave you my word and I'll keep it. It just seems silly to be so far apart when we are literally only forty miles from one another. For some reason you decided this is what you need, and I'll respect that. But I still miss you."
"Not as much as I miss you. Anyway, the good news is that it may not be as long as I thought."
"Really? Why is that?"
"Between you and I, I've hired a law firm to look into my affairs. You might remember that I am to come into my inheritance in a few days. I wanted an external perspective on where I stood."
"Well, I don't mean to be sarcastic, but don't you have enough money to buy anything you might ever want?"
"Want and need are two different things, lassie. I can't buy you."
"That's true. So, where's the problem?"
"Well, you know my dad. He likes to run things, to be in control, and the closer I get to graduation, not to mention my inheritance, the more he realizes that he won't be able to do that anymore. That bugs the crap out of him. Evidently, he's been trying to move my assets around in the background without my knowing about it. That pisses me off, quite honestly."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"I'm making my moves, with the help of the firm I hired. Anyway, the short side of that is that once I pass my birthday, my dad pretty much loses control of anything in my life. Not totally, but pretty much."
"What's left for him to control?"
"Well, this I won't go into quite yet, but I'll let you know eventually. Anyway, I'm reorganizing my last semester classes and might finish them up online, which means I'll no longer have to be here in Louisville."
"Where will you go? Back to the farm?"
"No, that's the last place I'll go. I'll let you know when I find out for sure, but I promise you, you'll be the first to know."
"I'm always here for you, Michael."
"I know. How's the riding going?"
"Excellent, if I say so myself. I get the tiniest little bit nauseous when I try, but I'm hoping that goes away with time. Now that Dad is home, he's gone back to training. Not the horses, but me. He thinks he can make a jockey out of me."
"You will be careful, won't you?"
"That's why I'm learning from one of the best trainers in the world."
"That's very true. I'm going to let you go now, Callie. I'll be in touch very soon, and you know where to reach me if you need me in the meantime."
"Bye, Michael."
Chapter 23 - Callie
"Hector just isn't enough horse for you, Callie. You've outgrown him, and he can't come close to matching the speeds at the track. We're going to have to find a way to get you a faster horse. Maybe I can ask around and get you some time up at one of the bigger farms."
"But, Dad, I'm not Derby material. I haven't paid my dues, and I don't know any of those trainers. I'd never get a ride. All I want to do is ride in some of the normal races. That would be more than enough for me."
"Oh, Callie girl, don't sell yourself short. I've seen quite a few jockeys in my day, and you're up there with the best of them. But, as you say, we'll make do with what we have. We just won't limit ourselves to that."
"Okay, Dad. How are you feeling today? Did you have any problems getting the chair here?"
"No, doing just fine. That ramp that Michael built was a big lifesaver. Did you tell him thank you from me?"
"Absolutely. He's really busy, Dad. He and I had a talk, and he wants to focus on this last year of school. He might even be out by the end of the semester. I'll be glad to see him again. I miss him."
I saw Dad smile to himself. He always had been a sucker for happy endings. I hoped I could give him one more, but there were no certainties in anything that Michael or I discussed.
Josiah was being a little fussy. I climbed down from Hector and tied him up to a tree. Hector,
that is, not Josiah. "Here, Dad, let me take him for a while. He's been doing that lately, but the doctor says he's fine. I'm going inside and see if I can get him to lie down for a while. If anyone comes looking for me, please ask them to knock at the door."
I carried Josiah into his bedroom, changed his diaper and gave him a bottle of cool water, hoping he would fall asleep. I had to admit, it was a challenge being a mom, a caretaker, a farm manager and then just being me. In one way, having Michael tied up at school wasn't such an awful thing. But then again, having a partner around, especially when he was the father of my child, could have been very helpful. I couldn't picture Michael being a babysitter, but I could picture him being a dad. I set these thoughts aside. They were improbable, and I couldn't allow myself the luxury of that kind of dream.
Josiah was drifting off when I heard Dad shouting from the yard. I ran outside to see what was going on. There was a car in the drive. It was a black Mercedes and carried Woodford County plates. There was a man standing across from Dad and the two were shouting at one another. The other man's back was to me and I didn't recognize him.
"I don't know who you think you are, but I know what you are, and I want you out of here, now!" Dad shouted.
"I need to see to it that you and that squirrely daughter of yours are run out of the county. Don't think I can't do it. She's been interfering in my son's life all along, and I won't stand for a minute more!" The man turned, opened his car door and slid in. He sped down the circular drive, dust boiling behind him. I realized with a shock that it had been Michael's father.
"Dad! Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay. That bastard had better never come back here, though."
"I don't understand. Why was he here, and what did he say to get you so upset?"
"Never mind what he said - it was just a mouthful of crap. In short, he came to tell you to stay away from Michael. He seems to think you have some influence over him, and he wants you out of the picture. The nerve of that son-of-a-bitch!"
I watched the dust settle behind Mr. Shannon's car and then took the handles of dad's wheelchair in hand and pushed him back to the house. "You can't allow yourself to get upset like that, Dad. You know the doctor told you it's not good for your blood pressure. You don't want to end up back in the hospital, do you?"
"I know, I know, but he has no right to come here and tell us what to do."
"I know and I agree. I'll take care of it. This time you just forget about it, please? I don't want to worry about you again. Listen, do me a favor and stay inside and listen for Josiah? I just put him down for a nap. I'll take you over here by the television. It's about time for your favorite shows."
Dad was a fan of old Westerns, and there was a lineup of them on weekday afternoons. He seemed to accept my suggestion, and I made a sandwich and brought it in to him before I went back outside. I went to the barn and saddled Hector, something I had been doing often now when things were upsetting me. I found it ironic that what had given me panic attacks before was now my greatest anxiety relief. I took Hector for a canter through the fields. To anyone else it would look as though I was riding the fence line, making sure it was in good shape. In reality, I was trying to calm down before I made the call.
"Michael?"
"Callie! What a surprise. Actually, you caught me at a very good time, lassie. I just finished with a class and was about to get some lunch."
"I'm really sorry to bother you, but we need to talk."
"You sound upset. What happened? Is your dad okay? Is it the baby?"
"No, it's your dad."
"My dad?"
"That's right. He just left here, as a matter of fact. I didn't even know that he knew, much less cared, where we were living. I was inside with the baby and heard Dad shouting. I came out to find your dad threatening him."
"What? Are you serious? What was he threatening him for?"
"Dad wouldn't tell me the extent of the conversation, but it had something to do with my having influence over you. Your dad insisted that I steer clear of you or he would see to it that we were ruined. What does he have against me? I've never done anything to him, or to you, for that matter."
"Callie, lassie, this has nothing to do with you. He's angry because he's losing control of me. Tomorrow is my birthday, so as of midnight he can no longer pull my strings. He's pissed about it, so he's coming after the only thing he knows will hurt me. That's you."
"Michael, whatever's going on between you and your dad has to stay between the two of you. You can't involve me or my dad or Josiah in this. This is what I've been afraid of all along."
"What do you mean? Why have you been afraid all along? Of what?" I realized I had inadvertently let my dismay expose Josiah and myself. I made a note to be more careful in the future. "Callie? Answer me, will you? What did you mean by that?"
"Michael, just please keep your dad away from us. We haven't done anything to deserve that kind of disrespect, and you know as well as I do that he could make our life miserable if he wanted to. If that means that I can't ever see you again, then that's what it means. I have to protect my child and my father, not to mention myself. I think you can understand that, can't you?"
"Callie, once again, let me tell you that this has nothing to do with you. I will take care of it, and I will do that immediately. If he ever comes near you again, I want you to tell me immediately. If need be, we'll put a personal protection order on him."
"I don't want go through all that, Michael. I shouldn't have to. Can you just take care of it, please?"
"Consider it done."
Chapter 24 - Michael
I hung up from my call from Callie and could feel the rage rocking through me. If Dad had been in the room right then, I would have taken a swing at him. The worst part was that I couldn't do anything - at least not right then. I knew what he was up to. His little stunt wasn't intended to hurt Callie, or her father. It was intended to draw me out. He wanted me to jump into my car and race out to the farm, call him out on what he'd done. Then he'd have someone he knew testify that I'd threatened him and I'd be spending my birthday in jail. He was just mean enough to pull something like that off.
Instead, I called Tom, my attorney. He'd given me his direct line so he answered it personally. "Tom, it's Michael Shannon."
"Hello, Michael, what can I do for you?"
"Do you recall the plan you and I discussed?"
"Yes, certainly. I'm standing by."
"Well, there's been a development, and I'm pulling the plug now. Well, after midnight, that is, when I'll have the resources to carry out the plan. Can you do it? Quietly? I'll pay you whatever it takes, but I need the plug pulled at one minute after midnight."
"Well, let me look over all the paperwork and make sure there's nothing we've missed. I don't want to expose you to anything that's not quite kosher and have it backfire. Tell you the truth, I didn't think it was going to come to this. I figured he'd settle down and get used to the idea."
"Not going to happen, Tom."
"I'll take your word for it. Let me call you back."
"I'll be waiting for your call."
I shoved my phone into my pocket and went over to the registrar's office. Thirty minutes later I walked out with a folder of papers and didn't need to set foot in another classroom until I started my law degree. I felt insanely free.
Within an hour, my dorm room was packed and everything I needed was in my car, waiting to go. It had turned dark, and I was worried. I made one more call, and then it was a matter of waiting.
My cell vibrated. It was Tom. Our conversation was brief.
"Tom?"
"It's all taken care of. One minute after midnight you'll be one of the richest men in the world, and I've got to tell you - that's a scary thought. I wouldn't want to piss you off."
"There's nothing to worry about, Tom. Not for you, that is." I disconnected and got into my car, the tires squealing as I hit Highway 60.
Chapter 25 - Callie
Everyone was on edge, including me. We'd eaten dinner and I'd bathed Josiah. Dad was still upset from earlier, and although he was watching television, I could see his heart wasn't in it.
I busied myself washing up the dinner dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Otherwise, no one spoke and the house was quiet and dark, except for the glow from the television.
I walked out to the barn to check on the horses; I knew I couldn't sleep right away. They were fine, but I thought I heard something rustling through the high grass on my way back to the house. I went inside and locked the door.
"Shhh... we may have company," I warned. Dad flipped off the television. I went to the bedroom window and looked out. I saw movement. There was definitely someone out there. The movement took on the shape of a man then. He was older - I could tell by his lack of agility. I drew in my breath as I saw he was holding a gas can in his hands. Looking over his shoulder as he worked, he poured a trail of the flammable fluid over the flowers and shrubs that hugged the house. He stood back then, and I saw him pull a small object from his pocket. He fiddled with it and then a flame was lighting his features.