Four | Brody
Four
Brody
I stood at the fence, examining the damage to the posts that needed to be fixed. My grandfather had mentioned that he needed to redo it, he just hadn’t gotten around to it before he got sick. After that, his body never recovered to what it was before, which left him unable to do a lot of the stuff he needed to.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and added a quick note of what I needed to grab at the hardware store. For now, the reindeer were secure in their pen, but one good gust of wind would be all it took to dismantle everything. And according to the news this morning, we were expecting to get a nasty storm rolling in this week.
The temperature outside had already dropped dramatically, reminding me of Christmases spent at the ranch with my grandfather growing up. It was bittersweet to be back here without him. The pain of losing him was more than I expected, but the regrets of not coming back sooner and spending his last days with him were what really ate at me.
I couldn’t undo the past, but I could honor him by taking care of what he left to me. The ranch was his pride and joy, and I took comfort in knowing that he trusted me to continue his legacy. Even if I felt like I had no idea what his intentions were with letting that crazy woman use the reindeer for some snowman festival.
After checking the gate, I secured the latch on it and gave it a quick shake to make sure it wouldn’t open while I was gone. The last thing I needed was to come back to the reindeer making a run for it. I wasn’t planning to be gone long, but I learned early on that if you were making a stop in town, you got everything while you were there to save you from having to go back. It was only a thirty-minute drive into town, which wasn’t bad. It was having to talk to people that made my skin crawl.
BY THE TIME I GOT BACK from running errands in town my jaw was locked from how tightly I clenched it as I tried to power through everyone wanting to talk to me. Most of them simply offered their condolences and moved on, but a handful of them wanted to talk my ear off and didn’t get the message that I wasn’t interested in talking as I ignored them.
I was relieved to hit the dirt road that led to the ranch, even if it was covered in a blanket of snow. I had hoped to get back before the storm started, but things in a small town tended to move painfully slowly. Thankfully, the drive was beautiful nonetheless, with snow-covered trees that lined the side of the road.
As I rounded the corner to the ranch, I slowed down, leaning forward to get a glimpse of the SUV parked in front of the house. I wasn’t expecting company, which made my frustration rise to the surface again.
I put the truck in park and got out, looking around to see who was there. The Tahoe was empty, which meant someone was stupid enough to be out trespassing on private property, likely putting their nose where it didn’t belong. I grabbed the bags from the front seat and slammed the door, knowing the sound of the old metal truck would be loud enough for whoever was out there to hear.
By the time I got everything unpacked from the truck, I had yet to see who was still parked on my property. I didn’t expect there to be any trouble, given that the ranch was in the middle of nowhere and was pretty hard to find unless you knew it was there. Still, it made me uneasy knowing that someone had obviously found it and was making themselves at home without my permission.
I started a pot of coffee so it would be ready when I got back—Lord knew I would need the energy today. Then I grabbed my keys from the counter, stuffed them in my pocket, and closed the door behind me as I went in search of the intruder.