Here to Stay: Day 17

Word Total: 105,001

Year to Date: 855,190

Summary of Events:

James went to an auction outside of the main community just to see what was there and ended up running into a despairing Mr. Baron who reported his whole herd would have to be liquidated because they were all infected. Jake went to visit his grandpa's grave, as it was the anniversary of his death, and was startled by Mr. Hilmarsson coming to do the same; they talked about Jake's grandpa, as well as other things as Jake offered Mr. Hilmarsson a ride home on his horse. James went to visit his dad's grave as well; on returning to the yard and putting his stallion's tack away, James saw Mr. Baron's SUV pull into the yard as he headed out of the barn . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Mr. Baron was waiting for him outside of the barn, not looking nearly as downtrodden as he had less than a week before.

“What are you up to this weekend?” Mr. Baron asked.

“Why?” James asked.

“I was wondering if you could come look at some cattle with me this weekend,” Mr. Baron replied. “I want to restart my herd.”

James startled. “You’re not packing it in?”

“Nope,” Mr. Baron replied. “I’m not that weak.”

Apparently, James mused. He’d certainly not expected Mr. Baron to have the will to stay.

“And I’d like you to come help me pick a new herd,” Mr. Baron said.

“That should be your foreman’s job,” James replied. “Your foreman knows cattle, after all, he spotted that they were sick, even if he didn’t spot it soon enough to save the herd.”

“But I’d like you to come along,” Mr. Baron pressed.

“No,” James replied. “Take your foreman. You’re wasting money on his paycheque if you aren’t going to trust him to give you good advice. Didn’t you trust him when you hired him?”

Mr. Baron looked at James like he was trying to find a clause, but failing.

“Yes,” he conceded finally.

“Then it’s his job to go, not mine,” James replied. “But I will give one piece of advice.”

“Which is?” Mr. Baron asked, looking eager.

“If you don’t want your neighbours to have fits and nightmares, don’t buy red Angus,” James replied. “The much-hated Harris’ ran red Angus, and it was the job of us as their neighbours to round them up whenever they got out because the Harris’ couldn’t have cared less.”

“Oh,” Mr. Baron said, looking like the advice wasn’t what he’d expected. “Thank you.”

James gave him a nod and watched as Mr. Baron retreated into his SUV and departed, still looking rather bemused at the advice James had given him. As much as red Angus were surely fine cattle — even if less common than their black cousins — because of their association with the Harris’, James was sure it wasn’t until the second or third generation after him that they’d be welcome back in the area because all memory of the Harris’ would’ve faded completely.

Watching the SUV accelerate through the trees that sheltered the front of the yard from road dust in the summer and wind-driven snow in the winter, James sighed. He certainly hadn’t expected that Mr. Baron was going to stick around and try again after the hand he’d been dealt the first time around.

Apparently, however, Mr. Baron had enough money to play another round of this, and he was game to do it, thus, it seemed to James that, for the foreseeable future, Mr. Baron was staying, and if his second hand proved better than his first, it was entirely possible that he might stay until he retired, but James didn’t expect either of Mr. Baron’s kids to be keen on taking up the ranch after him — but who knew? He’d been wrong about Mr. Baron, maybe he was wrong about them too.

Next Post: 30 November