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Monday, December 7, 2020

WATER RIGHTS, CHAPTER 10, ONE SECRET GOES PUBLIC

         


          The funeral service for gramps was beautiful and moving. Miz. Lionel did the eulogy and shared many touching and funny stories and thoughts culled from the eight decades she had known Thomas. Finally, everyone left the church and followed the funeral car containing Thomas’ body with Hannah and Luke in the next car. It was a slow, solemn procession that eventually reached the ranch. The hearse managed to make it up the little used road to the old cemetery that held generations of Wakefields. 

          Everyone else parked in the area below the house and hiked up the hill. The minister provided the last rites and as Hannah stood beside Luke, she thought that one day their children would lay them to rest together as so many of her family had gone before. That was so comforting she was able to keep her tears to a minimum.

          The church ladies had elected to go directly into the house and by the time the family and friends returned, they had heated up and laid out all the food that had been provided over the last few days by those in attendance. Hannah knew that once the last person had left, she’d be able to relax, remove her funeral clothes and get comfortable. She also knew that’s when she and Luke would have their heart-to-heart. Even so melancholy and missing her gramps, she was looking forward to them talking and making plans.

          Hannah was out on the porch with some of her guests and Luke when she saw dust rising on the road from the highway. Next, she recognized Jamison’s fancy car and did her best to excuse herself from the current discussion. She didn’t want that jerk despoiling this day. She’d go down and tell him, he wasn’t welcome, that he had to leave.

          Unfortunately, Jamison was quicker than Hannah and managed to make it to the top of the steps before she could get far enough away to make what she had to say private. Oh well, she thought, everyone can just listen to me tell this jackass to get off gramps’ ranch. She didn’t notice Luke had followed her and was standing just behind her.

          “Well, howdy young lady. Please allow me to express my condolences on the loss of your grandpa. He was a mighty fine man and will be much missed by the community I’m sure.”

          “Thanks, Jamison. Now, you can turn yourself around the get off my property. I don’t want you here, especially today. I’m sure the sheriff is here somewhere and I can get him to escort you if you won’t just go.”

          “Now, missy, you know why I’m here. I’m here for the same reason I sought you out at the hospital last year. I want to purchase this ranch and I’ll give you top dollar.”

          “This ranch isn’t for sale ever. After his heart attack and your ignoble proposal, Gramps decided to put it into a perpetual trust. It will never be for sale. Wakefields can live on and work the ranch forever if his descents choose to do so. There’s no way you’ll ever be able to damn up the water and keep the farmers and ranchers downstream from having access without having to pay for it. Surely you weren’t stupid enough to think Gramps didn’t know what you had in mind?”

          Jamison looked stunned, then his eyes moved to Luke, standing and trying not to squirm just behind Hannah. He took his wrath out on Luke. “Luke, you fucking no good sonabitch. How come you didn’t get this fucking information months ago. Here, I’ve been paying you since January you cocksuckin’ bastard to find out what the disposition would be?”

          He then directed his attention to Hannah. “Did you know Luke disabled his fucking truck on fucking purpose? Yes, he surely fucking did. I paid him to find a fucking way into your house, gain your fucking trust and get me the fucking information I wanted.”

          He turned his anger back to Luke. “What the fuck happened Luke. Did you get a taste of this young prime pussy and decide you’d just hang the fuck in there until the old man died and you could marry up? Did you fill her head with sweet fucking nothings while you were sticking your cock in her pussy? Did you think she’d just keel the fuck over and be happy to fucking marry you, a fucking loser, so you’d have control of this place. What did you plan to fucking do? Use my idea and damn up the water and get fucking rich?”

          By now, all the guests that had been in the house had moved on to the porch and were avidly listening to Jamison’s rant. They watched Hannah slump a bit before she straightened up and turned toward Luke.

          Luke came toward Hannah and tried to take her hand. She pulled it back. “Please Hannah, there were so many times I wanted to confess, so many times I wanted to tell you the truth about why I came here. But why I came and why I stayed are two different reasons.” He tried again to approach and Hannan backed away. “Hannah, when I first came here, I didn’t know you and Thomas. As time passed, I came to admire and even love your gramps. And, I came to love you so very much. Please, you have to believe me.”

          “Luke, you can join Jamison and get off my property. I don’t want you here. I don’t want to ever see your face again. Git your shit and git gone.” She stood tall and proud, no tears in evidence even though she could feel her heart breaking. The desire to vomit was so strong, she could barely swallow it back.

          The sheriff had been on the porch from the beginning and he came to meet Hannah as she walked around Luke and met him. “Please, Sheriff, could you make sure Jamison leaves and that Luke gathers up his shit and leaves as well?”

          Back on the porch, Hannah apologized to her guests for the scene they’d just witnessed. It hurt, but she managed to laugh a bit and say, “You never know about a person do you. Gramps seemed to really care for Luke and gave him lots of responsibility, but I guess he was able to fool my gramps as well. Now, I think I need some of that iced tea. As Granny would say, I’m feelin’ a mite parched.”

          The wake went on, although some people had the good sense to make the decision to leave early. When Luke came into the house, accompanied by the sheriff to retrieve his belongings from his room, Hannah turned her back and continued talking to the people in front of her. She didn’t turn or comment or give any indication she was even aware Luke was passing by, even though every single cell in her body was electrified with the knowledge.

          Eventually, the last guest drove away and the church ladies finished tidying up the place. “Now, honey, you just take it easy this evening.” Mrs. Bonney, the leader told her. “You’ve got a couple of men in the bunkhouse and as I’m leaving, I’ll tell them to take care of the livestock in the barn for you. Morning’s soon enough for you to take on your gramps’ duties.” She gave Hannah a hard hug and went out the door.

          When she heard the last car start and depart, Hannah moved to her gramps’ TV chair. She collapsed into it, the smell of him strong and comforting. She wished with all her heart he was with her so she could climb up in his lap and have him comfort her the way he had so many times over the years. She’d love to hear him tell her that things would look so much better tomorrow, that she was strong, that she had a purpose, that she couldn’t simply give up.

          Hannah had thought the day couldn’t be any worse than it had begun, but the truth about Luke, the loss of the future she’d projected made the pain of her loss double. She curled up into a ball, breathed deep of her gramps’ odor and cried until she felt there wasn’t a single tear remaining in her body.

          When Hannah woke, it was going on dark. She was still curled into a ball in her gramps’ chair, but she felt cleansed somehow. Yes, it had been an awful, awful day, but like gramps had told her so m any times, she was a Wakefield and as such, she was strong and resilient. She’d be just fine without Luke, even though the idea of him not being with her hurt like an open wound filled with salt.

          Hannah straighted and stretched and then put her hand on her tummy. Yes, Luke was gone. They’d never have a future, but she had something even more precious, she had a child growing inside her body. A new Wakefield. A reason to work and plan and look to the future.

          She patted her belly and said, “And, okay, you’re not going to have a daddy, but that won’t matter. You’ll be a Wakefield too, so you’ll be strong and smart and I will love you so much having a daddy won’t matter in the least. I already love you and am so looking forward to watching you change me, fill my heart and eventually my arms. We’ll be just fine little mite, just fine.”

          Before Hannah could go to bed, she had to change the sheets. She could smell Luke and she didn’t want to sleep with those memories and the plans she’d made. Once there were clean sheets, she sprayed a little of her granny’s lavender-lemon water over them and the pillows.  By the time she ate something, showered and brushed her teeth, only the fresh odor would remain.

          In the kitchen, Hannah found what was left of Miz. Lionel’s venison stew. Her heart stuttered and she wanted to cry when she thought of Luke waiting on her the night before. Instead, she pushed the memories and thoughts away and sat down to inhale the steaming bowl of food. She also found some of the flaky biscuits the church ladies had left. A few seconds in the microwave and it was as though they’d just come out of the oven. She liberally spread butter and huckleberry jam over the top and finished them off as dessert.

          Hannah felt so much better and realized she really hadn’t had much to eat the entire day. That was why she’d been so teary and shaky. She put her dishes in the sink and wandered down to the barn to commune with Onyx and Sampson. The old horse looked so sad, “Oh Sampson, you know he’s gone don’t you? You know he’ll never come in here with an apple and a good brushing for you. I’m sorry Sampson, but you need to hang in here for a while. I know you’re tired too, but for now, when I put you in the pasture tomorrow with Onyx, you just graze and enjoy. I need a grace period before you leave me too.”

          On the way back to the house, she went by the bunkhouse. She knocked and waited for someone to either open the door or yell. The two men Luke had hired and trained were laying on their bunks, reading. They both started to get up when Hannah came in the door.

          “No, no, don’t get up. I’m on my way to bed myself. I just wanted to apologize for not providing much in the way of meals this past week. That will change beginning tomorrow. What I’d like you to do is take care of the animals in the barn and put the horses out in the near pasture. Then, come on up for breakfast. While we eat, we can talk about what I’d like done, what you know has been done and where we’ll go from here.”

          “Miz. Hannah, I just want to say I’m so sorry about your grandpa. He was a real good man. And, I’m sorry bout Luke too…Jamison’s tirade was a complete surprise.”

          Hannah smiled at Joe and responded, “That’s okay Joe. Thank you for your sympathy. And, you too Dave. Not much is going to change around here except for who’s giving the orders and that will be me. I hope I can count on the two of you for support and information so I’m able to make my gramps proud.”

          Both men acknowledged her request, and Hannah turned, let herself out and returned to the house. Ready for bed, she didn’t expect to actually sleep, but drifted off almost immediately, her right hand curled against the base of her belly. 

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