Chapter 30 #2
They headed west toward the farmhouse. It was small, and it wasn’t even as grand as the shed on the Davies estate.
The paint was peeling. One of the windows had been boarded up, and part of the barn roof had collapsed.
From what Ben could tell, the residents were making do with the part of the barn that was left.
It made him think about St. Thomas, and not for the first time.
Randall had insisted that Ben have nothing further to do with the orphanage if he was going to be the new Davies heir.
“You’re not an orphan, boy. You never truly belonged there, so let it go!
” The first donation he’d sent to the orphanage while Ben was injured was the last he would allow.
Ben would never forget what they’d done for him, though. He did as Randall said, but only because he felt it was a way to protect the orphanage. If Randall didn’t want to help them, he could just as easily decide to have the place shut down.
He hadn’t even been allowed to send a letter to Sister Matthews to let her know he was all right. Ben had thought the orphanage was his prison, but he’d been very wrong. Living as Randall Davies’ heir gave him a whole new perspective on what freedom and confinement truly meant.
As they approached the little farmhouse, Ben knew he wouldn’t like how this went. There was nothing he could do but watch.
For now.
* * *
Ben rode hard and fast, feeling the wind in his hair and the thump of the horse’s hooves underneath him. Randall had ensured he had the best medical care in the county, and he’d healed up well. Physically, he felt invincible.
In many ways, he was a much freer man than he’d ever been.
He could come and go from the Davies ranch as he’d pleased.
He no longer had the stigma of being an orphan, especially now that he’d been officially adopted by Randall.
Money was never an issue for him, because he had plenty of it at his disposal without question.
In his mind, though, he was still burdened by all that he knew.
Ben carried it around with him. On his long, fast rides around the Davies property every morning, on the extended business trips during which he accompanied Randall to inspect how the rail line was coming along, and in the dark of night, his thoughts continued to haunt him.
It’d been a year since he’d left Hattie in that jail cell, a year since he’d fought for his life against Cutter. There was only so long a man could wait.
Chester was at the barn when he rode up. The man looked up at Ben, his hard eyes flicking over his fine clothes. “You’re back early.”
“Yep,” Ben agreed as he dismounted. “Did you get a chance to talk to the Campbells about selling? We need to get that deal closed as soon as possible.”
When Chester smiled, it never reached his eyes. He reminded Ben far too much of Cutter. “I sure did. I have to say I’m a little impressed.”
“Why’s that?” Ben left his horse at the hitching post instead of putting him in the barn.
“I thought you were a weakling, a charity case the boss took in just because it made him look good. I guess I was wrong. You might turn out just like your father after all.” Chester nodded with respect.
The ride had warmed him, but Ben’s insides went cold at the compliment. “I suppose you never know what someone’s really like. Leave the horse. I’ll be coming back out in a bit.”
Ben went in through the back door, near the kitchen. The house was silent, as he expected. The help was always out on Thursday mornings, a generosity on Randall’s behalf that’d surprised Ben but which he used to his own advantage.
He strode down the hall to Randall’s library and walked in without knocking.
“What is it?” Randall said without looking up. He had several ledger books open in front of him, and his round belly kept him from sitting all the way against his desk. “I’ve got a meeting with my banker later this afternoon, so whatever you want, you’d better make it quick.”
“I want to know how you live with yourself.”
“Pardon me?” Randall was good at putting on a congenial front when he negotiated contracts or came to check on the railroad’s progress, but it was always with an air of menace underneath. He didn’t put on such airs with Ben, and his face was cold and angry as he looked up.
“I want to know how you live with yourself,” Ben repeated, bracing his hands against the desk and leaning over him.
“You use men like Chester to coerce landowners into selling, threatening them if they don’t do as you say.
You throw them out on the streets, and you don’t give a shit what happens to them. ”
“That’s business, Ben.” Randall spoke quietly, but anger simmered in his eyes. “By the way you’re talking, I think you’ve known for a long time how I do things. If you had a problem with it, you should’ve said something a long time ago.”
“Would it have done me any good?” Ben challenged, “or would I just be forced into it the same way you deal with everyone else?”
“You’re out of line, son,” Randall warned.
“What about your other son?” Ben could feel his jaw tightening. He’d been waiting for this a long time, and it’d been hard to hold back for so long. “What about Oscar? Did he defy you when he decided to marry Hattie? Or did you only use him to get to her and her father’s land?”
Randall pounded his fist on the desk, making his pens jump. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that! After all I’ve done for you!”
“I’ll talk to you any way I damn well please,” Ben retorted. “Did I ever tell you about Elliot? I met him while I served in the war.”
“Is that what this is about?” Randall rolled his eyes. “If you’re still trying to live out something from your soldier days that didn’t go right, then you can take it out on someone else.”