He Rode Tall

Excerpt

“Good, I guess. Just met him, but Harry seems to be a good
man.”
“Don’t trust him,” came the unsolicited advice. “Just don’t
trust him. Don’t know what the hell old Edward was thinking,
but when things got as desperate for him as they were, I guess you
just can’t be too choosey. Beggars can’t be choosers. Isn’t that
what they say?”
Joel could tell that he wasn’t going to like this man. If not for
his tone then certainly for his volume, and if not for his volume
then certainly for his opinion, and if not for his opinion then certainly
for the fact that he was hiding behind a pair of mirrored
sunglasses. If Joel couldn’t see a person’s eyes his level of trust
plummeted; even the heavy tint of the truck windows had sent
him into a cautionary mode, but now combined with the mirrored
shades, he knew that his internal early warning system was
on full alert. Somewhere in Joel’s mind lights were flashing and
alarms were ringing.
Walking to the passenger side of his truck, Buck opened the
door and reached into the glove compartment. He pulled out a
silver flask. “Want a drink?”
Without even thinking, Joel replied, “No thanks.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” said Buck as he hoisted the flask to his
lips. “I wanted to talk some business with you, Hooper. Your dad
and I kind of had an understanding that when he went I would
buy this place. A half-section ranch isn’t worth much, heck,
really not of any value to anyone, but I feel a bit of an obligation
to old Edward. He sold me all of his other land, you know? I was
thinking that, judging by the number of times they tell me you
have been home in over thirty years, you really don’t want this
place. So I was thinking that we could make it real easy for you,
Joel. I drove over here this morning to write you a check. How
does 60,000 dollars sound?”
Right there, right then it sounded to Joel like he’d been offered
60,000 dollars more than he had to his name.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955

He Rode Tall

Excerpt

“No cows.”
“Well, what kind of ranch can it be without cows?” Joel asked.
“Horse ranch,” came the all too obvious reply.
“How did Dad make a go of it with only horses?”
“Had a few cows and the bull ’til the end. And look what that
did for him. He didn’t die from being kicked by a horse did he?
Didn’t really make a go of it. But I reckon he really didn’t have
any choice. Sold off all of the land over the years except this last
half section to keep things going. With only this little bit of land
it wasn’t worth running any cows at all. Horses made it work
okay for him. We got by this far. I shipped the cows as soon as he
was gone. Needed some cash to keep the place going ’til the lawyer
lady heard from you.”
“So what do you think we should be doing with the Circle H?”
Joel asked.
“Forget the ‘we,’ cowboy,” came the quick and sharp rebuke. “I
don’t kid myself. I am just the hired hand. But I do know what
will end up happening.”
Isn’t this wonderful, thought Joel. A smart-mouthed ranch
hand with a crystal ball. “Would you mind sharing your wisdom
with me?”
“Same thing as always happens.”
“Which is?”
“Smith will buy the place up just like he has bought up all of
the others. Just like he has bought up your dad’s land when he
had to sell. And you can bet Smith won’t be paying a premium.”
“Now hang on here, Harry. You seem to think I am going to
sell the Circle H,” Joel protested, perhaps a bit too quickly—of
course he was going to sell the Circle H. Get whatever cash he
could and start a new life of leisure in Costa Rica. That’s it. Costa
Rica: a reasonable cost of living, great weather, relatively stable
government, and, he had heard, whatever dollars he could get out
of here would go a long way down there. Or at least that is what
he thought before this morning’s ride …

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955