Chapter 44Staten Kirkland
Chapter 44
Blessed with Change
Staten Kirkland
S taten stepped onto the porch of his grandparents’ small cottage and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked out at the endless sea of prairie grass, mesquite trees, and wildflowers. From here, the Double K Ranch spread for miles in almost every direction, and somehow they had been able to find Dr. Lane and Mr. Parsons despite the thousands of acres that made up the Kirklands’ land.
The teachers were in the house with Granny and Peggy Warner, getting warmed up and fed. Staten was grateful neither of them was seriously injured.
The rumble of tires on the gravel drive caught Staten’s attention, and he looked up to see the sheriff’s cruiser picking up dust as it headed to the Double K’s entrance. Before confusion rattled Staten’s brain too hard, Dan Brigman walked up.
The Eagle Scout placed one foot on the bottom step of the porch and pushed his hat back to stare up at Staten. “I caught the perpetrator who stole your side-by-side. He didn’t want to come quietly, but I was able to subdue him. Sheriff’s taking him in now.”
Rust-colored dirt stained the junior deputy’s usually spotless uniform, and what looked to be a twig from a sticker bush clung to his pant leg. They must have had a hell of a tumble. Staten wondered what the other guy looked like.
“Any idea what the guy was doing out here on the ranch?” he asked.
“I don’t know. The man said something about a legend and a settler’s cave.” Dan laughed at the confusion on Staten’s face. “The perp’s not making too much sense to me.”
So that’s who Staten had seen sneaking around the ranch. He hated trespassers, but they caught people out here poking around every once in a while.
Staten chuckled. “Well, he was searching for a part of Texas that doesn’t exist. He wasted his time and got himself in trouble for nothing. Mr. Parsons said there wasn’t anything out there but a few carvings on the rocks. This place is full of legends. Half the cowboys who work here make up their own stories. Not sure which one he was chasing. There’s a popular tale about James Randall Kirkland burying his money, but no one’s ever found it. And I doubt there’s any of it left if it was out there at all. Any treasure James and Millie might have had was buried with their love.”
He walked down the steps and shook the junior deputy’s hand. “Thanks for coming out here and helping. If you ever run for sheriff, you’ll have my vote.”
Dan tipped his hat. He walked over to his old blue pickup and drove off.
J.R. stepped out onto the porch and clasped Staten’s shoulder. “You did good today, son.”
Staten looked at his hero and felt pride swell in his chest. The old cowboy might be a few inches shorter than him now, but Staten would always look up to the man who’d raised him.
“You’ve been doing great with the ranch,” his gramps continued. “You work hard. The men respect you. You’ve become a fine boss.”
Staten tried to talk around the lump forming in his throat. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
J.R. coughed out a laugh. “Yes, you could. And you have been for a while now. You don’t need me looking over your shoulder anymore. The ranch is yours. You’re its caretaker now. Granny and I already signed all the paperwork.”
Staten saw tears filling the old cowboy’s eyes as he blinked away his own. He pulled his grandpa in for a hug. “Thank you, Gramps.”
Clearing his throat, J.R. pulled away and turned for the house. “You’re a great man, Staten. The best kind of man. You’ve got honor and integrity. You keep your word. Never let anything break you of that.”
As Gramps entered the house, Staten dropped down on the step. He felt his exhaustion all the way to his bones.
He watched the sun dip on the horizon and felt a protectiveness burn through him. The ranch might be his, but he belonged to the land. It was a part of him. His legacy. Like Gramps always said, the dirt of Ransom Canyon was in his blood. And he would protect it and cherish it for the rest of his life.
It was a saying of the Kirkland men to leave the land better than the way they found it, and Staten intended to do just that. He would take care of the Double K until the day he could pass it on to his own kid.