Chapter Twenty-Four #2
He waited. Waited for his friend to start explaining the situation. Waited for him to run the three men off of the Diamond W Ranch, and tell Garrett that he had his back. Yet as pity filled Logan’s eyes. As the corners of his lips turned downward, Garrett felt his world begin to spin.
“Tell them, Logan,” he insisted, this time not able to keep the desperation from his voice. “Tell them I have the real deed and they got swindled.”
Logan slowly shook his head.
“I’m afraid they’re not the ones that got swindled, old friend,” Logan said, his deep tone full of remorse.
Suddenly Garrett couldn’t catch his breath. Icy numbness settled into his fingertips and toes despite the heat, and his stomach twisted into painful knots.
“No,” Garrett rasped, shaking his head. “No. No, Logan—”
“The United States Government recognizes the Southern Pacific Railroad contract as authentic,” Logan said somberly. “I’m sorry, old boy, but everything Mr. Stage is saying is true. The ranch. The house. The cattle. They now belong to this man here.”
***
Garrett sat on the ground, dumbfounded as Mr. Stage and his two men rode off.
“This can’t be happening,” Garrett said, his voice hoarse.
Logan sat down beside him, and he barely felt his friend clap him on the back.
“We’ll figure it out,” Logan promised him. “He can’t force you to leave for at least another month. That’s plenty of time to get you a lawyer—”
“A lawyer?” Garrett cut him off, his head whipping toward Logan.
“You think I can afford a lawyer, Logan? I can barely afford to feed my family! Hannah and the other kids left earlier today to deliver cookies to the other congregants as an apology for the potluck, and you know what I thought the entire time? Not that it was sweet or kind, but how much we need to keep every little bit for ourselves. How that little bit of flour or sugar or how many eggs could have gone to feeding them just a little bit longer!”
Logan leaned away from Garrett with a surprised look.
“You still haven’t told Hannah what’s going on, have you?” He asked.
Garrett sighed and shook his head.
“Things are finally starting to get to a good place for all of us,” Garrett said, “I couldn’t, Logan. I just couldn’t.”
Garrett waited for Logan’s lecture, sure that he was about to get one. It never came. Instead, Logan hung his head just like Garrett did.
“I guess I get it,” he murmured, “Needing to keep some things to yourself. Some things a man just needs to keep secret.”
Garrett looked over at his friend. Logan wasn’t a man to be tortured by his thoughts, but as he took in his expression, he saw it. Logan was going through something too, and he’d been too caught up in his own trouble to notice.
“You want to talk?” Garrett asked.
Logan let out a loud, rough chuckle.
“No,” he replied with obvious certainty. He turned to Garrett and grinned.
“But I do want to help you save your ranch, which is why I went to the courthouse this morning on your behalf and filed an opposition to this mess. That’s why I was late,” Logan explained.
Garrett’s brows flew up in surprise, a flicker of hope reigniting in his heart.
“Logan, thank you,” he breathed, “But like I said, I can’t afford a lawyer.”
Logan shrugged.
“Maybe you don’t need one. Maybe all you need is a good case. You got the original deed, you got witnesses to prove your relationship with Mr. Dawson. Maybe that’s enough to prove that he left this all to you. I’m sure Kenneth will be willing to tell them what he told us about the deed.”
“Yeah,” Garrett sighed, lifting his face toward the blue cloudless sky. “Yeah. Maybe.”
“We won’t know until we try,” Logan went on, “You just have to have faith. Remember, God puts obstacles in our path so we can find a way around them.”
Garrett grimaced.
“What if it’s not an obstacle, though? What if it’s His way of saying this isn’t where I’m meant to be?”
Logan grunted, then rose to his feet.
“You want to believe that, I can’t stop you,” Logan answered.
“But from where I’m standing, I think your story is different.
God led you away from that orphanage. Got you here somehow to meet Mr. Dawson.
To meet me and Dean and Cain. He brought Hannah to you and Texas instead of sending you to her in Michigan.
I’m not saying I got God’s plan figured out, but from my point of view, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
You just got to decide if it’s worth making a stand, or if you think you’d be better off walking away. ”
Garrett worked his square jaw, grinding his teeth back and forth as he contemplated his friend’s words.
Everything Logan had said was something Garrett had at least one time in his life felt, but did that mean it was meant to be?
Or had he just built it all up in his head after spending years on his own longing to feel a part of something?
“Come on,” Logan said, nudging Garrett’s shoulder. “Call those boys back out here. We’ve got a few more hours of daylight left. Let’s get this room built.”
“You’re staying?” Garrett asked, rising to his feet.
Logan smirked as he rolled up his sleeves.
“Four pairs of hands are better than three, aren’t they?” He asked. “Besides, you and I both know I’m better and faster at building than you, Dean, and those kids all put together.”
Despite the perilous predicament Garrett found himself in, he smiled and chuckled at his best friend.
“We’ll see about that,” he said, nudging Logan’s elbow with his own. Then he turned around and yelled, “Come on boys! We got to get back to work!”
A few moments later, Isaac and Jacob returned, both looking a little anxious as they approached.
“What were those riders here for, Garrett?” Isaac asked.
“What were they saying to you?” Jacob demanded with his usual scowl.
Garrett glanced at Logan, not sure how to respond. Logan shrugged as he perked his brow; a silent way to tell Garrett that his answer was his own decision to give. Though he was still anxious, though his heart was still full of worry, Garrett suddenly realized his answer.
“That was nothing you two have to worry about,” he stated confidently, “Now Jacob, I need you to go get more water from the well so we can mix more clay. Logan, here’s going to help you with your wall.
Isaac, you get back to yours. We’re going to get this over halfway finished before your brother and sisters get back. ”
Isaac immediately went back to his work as Jacob shot Logan a distrusting look.
“Don’t try your temper tantrums with me, son,” Logan warned, flicking the Sheriff’s badge pinned to his chest, “I’m not as patient as Garrett is here. I’ll throw your behind in a cell.”
Garrett bit back his smile, knowing his friend would never do that to a kid. His threat worked like a charm though, and as Jacob’s scowl vanished from his face, he turned around, grabbed the buckets, and quickly headed toward the well.
“Thanks for that,” Garrett murmured.
“Any time,” Logan answered, clapping him on the back. “Now let’s get going. We’ve got a room to build.”
Garrett turned back to his work, but as he resumed his labor, the grin on his face quickly faded. Was the room actually going to be for Jacob as he promised? Or was he expanding the house for someone who was about to steal his ranch right out from under him?