Lily set down the shotgun by the front door, and made her way over to the car once Rose and Vincent had gotten out of it. She held out her arms to give them big hugs. Donny got out of the car and walked over to the family. After she finished welcoming her children home, she went over to Donny. She gave him a love tap on the side of his head as a greeting.
She asked, "When are you going to make an honest woman out of my daughter?"
"I didn't realize she was a dishonest woman," Donny said.
He covered his head in case her initial love tap was followed by another. It wasn't.
Lily shook her head and said, "You're just as bad as your father."
"Thank you," Donny said peeking out from under his arms.
"It wasn't a compliment," Lily said with a grin. "He nearly drove your mother crazy waiting for him to propose."
"The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree," Donny said winking at her.
She looked over at him with a smile and said, "You might want to head home. Your mother is waiting for you."
"Yes, Ma'am," Donny said.
Rose gave him a good send off kiss. She wrapped her body around his and made sure that there wasn't a part of him that didn't know he was being kissed. He did not struggle.
Standing off to the side, Lily asked, "Vincent, did he and her kiss like that around Hank?"
"Yes they did," Vincent answered.
"I'm surprised they aren't married yet," Lily said.
Vincent said, "Donny didn't have much choice about the kiss. Calvin and I were holding him. I think Dad understood, although he did threaten to get the shotgun."
"That explains it," Lilly said. She looked over at the young couple and said, "That's enough of that."
Rose eased back and winked at Donny.
She said, "You owe me a proposal."
"Yes, Ma'am," Donny said tipping his hat to her.
Donny eased his way into the car and drove off. When they reached the dirt road, he turned right heading for home.
Pepper asked, "Where is your place?"
"Over there on the left," Donny answered. "We've been driving along it for a couple of minutes now."
"You're kidding?" Pepper asked.
A mixture of aspen, birch, pine, cedar, and cottonwood trees filled the area beside the road. The white trunks of the aspen trees stood out from the dark green of the tall pines. The leaves of the cottonwood trees served as a nice intermediate green between the shiny green leaves of the aspen and the dark green needles of the pines. The trees were so thick that you couldn't see fifty feet into the woods until there was a sudden patch of open meadow filled with lush green grass.
Donny said, "No. I've got five sections of land."
"What is that in something that I understand?" Pepper asked.
"Five square miles," Donny answered. "It starts at a mile from the corner and runs about three and quarter miles along this road. It goes from this road to one and a half miles back from the road. Uncle Joe's place is across the road. Uncle Dan's place straddles the road at the far end of our places. It was the only way Granddad could see to partition it so that all of his sons got basically the same thing."
Pepper whistled and asked, "How much is that worth?"
"About eight million," Donny answered.
Pepper stared at Donny unable to believe that this country hick was worth so much money. He asked, "Why are you working?"
"If I didn't work, I'd lose the place," Donny answered.
"If you sold the place you wouldn't ever have to work," Pepper said.
Donny countered, "If I sold the place, I would have nothing."
"You would have eight million dollars," Pepper said.
There was no way to put into words the way the land made Donny feel. To lose it would rip a hole in his chest the size of the Grand Canyon.
He gestured to his property and said, "Look at what I'd lose. There's not enough money in the world to replace that."
"You could be having sex with porn stars," Pepper said.
"I could. I would also catch something from one of them and have my dick drop off," Donny said shaking his head.
It seemed sad to him that some people were so shallow. They would settle for glitter instead of demanding gold.
"You could have a mansion," Pepper said.
He could imagine living in a mansion with fast cars and fast women. He would smoke cigars and get massages all afternoon. He would never work another day in his life.
Turning into the driveway, Donny said, "I've got a nice house already. I don't need anything bigger."
Pepper looked at the complex of buildings that suddenly appeared in front of them. There was a good sized ranch house, a barn with a corral next to it, an equipment storage shed, a metal Quonset hut that served as a workshop, a greenhouse, and a bunkhouse. Three tractors were parked next to the storage shed. There were almost more buildings there, than in that place they called a town.
Donny said, "You've got all this, and you act like you don't have two dimes to rub together."
"I'm rich on paper, but this is a working farm. The costs of running it are very high. We have five ranch hands to pay, and we hire companies to come in and do the 'combining'. We do pretty well, but we've got a bit of debt to pay off ... things like equipment, seeds, and building material. We're maintaining all of the outbuildings and fences. We've got four trucks, horse trailers, cattle trailers, flatbeds, eight snow mobiles, and six ATVs," Donny said.
"Oh," Pepper said.
"About the time we get something paid off, it needs to be replaced. Mom went through a number of rough years after Dad died. A lot of the credit was in Dad's name. She inherited the debt, but not the credit rating. The price of beef dropped to nearly nothing, and the timber company cut back their harvest," Donny said.
Pepper said, "You could sell it all, and be a millionaire."
"Our dining room is at the back of that house. Every morning I get up, and have a cup of coffee looking at the view from the dining room window. When the weather is good, I sit out on the back porch. Do you know what I see?" Donny asked.
"What?"
Donny answered, "I see God's handiwork in all its glory."
"Okay," Pepper said looking away uncomfortably.
He didn't like all of that stuff about God and glory. He kept waiting for someone to pull out a Bible, and start reading verses from it.
"I know what you're thinking. I figure one day, you'll step out of the bunkhouse, and some sight will just take your breath away. It might be the night sky, the morning light on the mountains, the trees covered with snow, or a magnificent elk standing proudly in a meadow. You'll stand there, staring at it awestruck, wondering how something so beautiful could possibly exist. That is the day you'll become a believer," Donny said with quiet confidence.
"The day that I can run down to that little shithole you call a hometown and buy a burger from a national chain is the day I'll be awestruck," Pepper said shaking his head.
Donny parked the car in front of the house. His mother was waiting for him. They hugged and then split apart.
Donny asked, "How are things around the place?"
"Quiet for the most part," his mother answered.
Concerned, Donny asked, "For the most part?"
"A bear did wander through here the other day," his mother answered.
On the verge of panic, Pepper shouted, "A bear! There are bears here?"
Donny's mother looked at Pepper who was still seated in the car and shook her head. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. It was loud enough to carry a half of a mile. A man came out of the barn. She gestured to him and he headed over towards them.
She said, "I take it this is the cretin that tried to kill my baby."
"He's not a baby," Pepper said.
"Yes, Mom. That miserable excuse for a man is Pepper," Donny said.
"Maybe Dan should have killed him."
Pepper was tired of hearing people say that he should be killed. He swore, "God Dam..."
Donny slapped Pepper through the window of the car. The angle made it difficult, and the blow ended up being more of smack than a slap.
He said, "Don't swear in front of my mother."
The ranch hand arrived in time to see Donny hit Pepper. He knew Donny wasn't the type to go around hitting people without cause, so there had to be a little more going on than met the eye.
He said, "Is this the fellow that screwed Sonny?"
"Yes it is, Craig," Donny said.
Pepper's ears were ringing and his vision was blurred from the blow. He took two deep breaths trying to recover. They didn't help.
He said, "Would everyone stop telling me that someone should kill me?"
"I'd have to say that I agree with the fellow. I say stop talking about it, and just do it," Craig said.
"It can't get any worse," Pepper said.
He didn't like the smile it brought to the new guy's face. He was beginning to get worried, even more.
Donny's mother asked, "Is the ankle bracelet ready?"
Looking over at Donny's mother, Pepper asked, "Ankle bracelet?"
"Yes, ma'am," Craig said. "I finished welding it together yesterday."
"Put it on him," Donny's mother said. Her voice was flat and cold.
Donny said, "Once you've done that, take him over to the bunkhouse and send him to the shower. He smells like hell. If he were to take a nap in the field, he would attract every buzzard in the county."
Barely cracking a smile, Craig said, "Yes, sir."
Donny's mother said, "Maybe you should warn him not to wander around. We don't know if that bear is still around."
"What kind of bear are you talking about here? Something cute and cuddly like a Teddy bear?" Pepper asked hoping that it was some kind of small and cute bear.
"Grizzly bear," Donny's mother said unable to believe that someone actually thought that a Teddy bear was a kind of bear.
Donny asked, "Was it a male or a female?"
"It was a big bruiser. It had to be a male," Craig answered.
Pepper's eyes were the size of saucers.
He said, "I saw a movie about a grizzly bear. It ate people."
Ignoring Pepper, Donny asked, "Did you pass out the Winchester Model 70s?"
"Yes," Donny's mother answered. "All the men got one just in case."
Craig said, "I wish you had it in a .375 H&H rather than the .338 Winchester Magnum."
Donny said, "Don't shoot it unless you're attacked. You know that it is protected here in the state."
"I know, it's just that I've seen what one of those bruisers can do," Craig said.
Totally freaked out at the idea of having grizzly bears nearby, Pepper said, "You people are crazy. You're living out here with grizzly bears that can eat people, rather than in a civilized place. If you had any common sense, you'd leave here and move to a place where you have an army to protect you from them."
"Shut up," Donny said.
His mother said, "Craig, put him in the ankle bracelet."
"Yes, ma'am," Craig said. He looked over at Donny and said, "Welcome back."
"Thanks," Donny said.
Craig opened the car door and pulled Pepper out of the car. He took note of the bondage gear that was keeping the man from moving around too freely.
He looked over at Donny and said, "I'm going to need the keys to the locks."
Donny reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small key ring. Tossing the keys to Craig, he said, "Here you go."
"What should I do with the bondage gear?"
"I'll take care of it," Donny said.
His mother smiled and asked, "Are you going to use it on your honeymoon with Rose?"
"MO-om!"
"Come on in the house, and call your uncle. You need to let him know that you arrived home, safe and sound," his mother said laughing.
Pepper followed Craig to the Quonset hut. Although he had never had much experience with tools or repair shops, even Pepper could tell that this was a well-equipped workshop. Craig had him sit down in a chair before disappearing into the backend of the workshop. Pepper sat down and looked around at his surroundings with considerable curiosity until Craig returned with an object right out of a nightmare.
Pepper asked, "What's that?"
"That is your ankle bracelet," Craig answered holding up a manacle.
"No. There's a chain attached to it and a big hunk of metal at the end of the chain," Pepper said staring at the device with a look of horror on his face.
"Mrs. Daniels didn't want you running off," Craig said.
He put the device on the floor next to Pepper. It hit the concrete with a thud.
"That's a ball and chain," Pepper said.
Looking down at his creation, Craig said, "It is more of an iron bar and chain."
"You are not putting that on me," Pepper said shaking his head.
He wasn't in much of a position to fight. His legs were hobbled and his hands were attached to a belt around his waist. Craig knelt down, and, with a few deft movements, had the manacle attached and locked to Pepper with a padlock.
He said, "There you go."
"Take it off," Pepper said.
"I can't," Craig said.
"Why not?"
Craig answered, "Mrs. Daniels has the key out of reach."
"How am I supposed to get dressed and undressed with that on my ankle?" Pepper asked.
"That's why it is an iron bar and chain rather than a ball and chain. That bar will fit through your pants legs with no problem," Craig answered.
He unlocked and then removed the bondage gear that had been used to restrain Pepper. Stepping back, he said, "Stand up and walk around. See how your ankle bracelet works."
Ten minutes later Pepper followed Craig to the bunkhouse. The iron bar was ten pounds, and the chain weighed another five pounds. Pepper struggled to carry the bar, and enough of the chain, to keep from tripping. Halfway to the bunkhouse, Pepper realized that fifteen pounds got heavy, very quickly.
Craig stopped and pointed at the barn.
He asked, "Do you see that little silver reflection from about halfway between the top of the barn door and the roof?"
"Yes," Pepper said looking up at the front of the barn.
About fifteen feet up, was a small silver object. It was hard to make out what it was.
"That's the key," Craig said.
Pepper stared at the key thinking that it was going to be impossible for him to get to it. He didn't think it would be possible to climb a ladder with the bar and chain attached to his ankle.
He asked, "Why did she put the key there?"
Craig answered, "She said something about things getting moved out of your reach because of the actions that others take. I think it was an analogy of how you screwed up Sonny's life."
"An analogy?" Pepper asked.
"It is kind of like that bar and chain around your ankle. You see, Sonny has something like that hung on him, now. He's going to have to deal with that whole mess in Los Angeles, for the rest of his life. It is going to hurt his education, his career, and his whole economic earning potential," Craig said. He shook his head and said, "I really respect Mrs. Daniels. She raised those two boys real good. However, I think she's been a little over-forgiving of you."
"Oh," Pepper said.
He didn't feel like there was much forgiveness going around, considering that it left him holding fifteen pounds in his arms. Craig slapped him on the back nearly making him drop the bar. He knew that carrying that much weight around was going to be difficult.
Craig said, "Let's get you cleaned up. You start work tomorrow."
The two men made their way into the bunkhouse. Much to Peppers surprise there were two men and a woman sitting around watching television.
One of the men said, "Hey Craig, you've got to watch the news."
"What happened?"
The man said, "About ten minutes ago, one of those gang members was shot going into the hospital where they are keeping Sonny. The reporter said that there was no one around him, so they suspect that he was shot with a high-powered rifle. They said that the guy had a gun on him."
Craig asked, "What do you want to bet that it was a .30-30?"
"No. I bet that it was a .30-06. That's what Calvin usually shoots," the man replied.
Unable to believe what he was hearing, Pepper asked, "Someone is killing the gang members?"
"Is this the jerk weed that screwed Sonny?"
Craig answered, "Yes."
Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Pepper said, "I know what you're going to say. They should have killed me."
One of the men said, "I was going to say 'thank you'. Because of you, I don't have to clean the barn anymore. If I never see another shovel full of horse manure, it will be too soon."
Craig said, "Let me introduce you to everyone. That is Sam, John, and John's wife Sarah. I don't know where Carl is, but I'm sure that he'll be around when you get out of the shower."
Pepper said, "I don't have any clothes except what I'm wearing."
Sam was the man who had thanked Pepper for taking over cleaning the barn. He said, "You're about the same size as me. I'll loan you an old pair of jeans, and a shirt."
"Thanks," Pepper said.
He was going to ask about underwear, but thought better of it.