Chapter 11 #3
“Thank you.” Brody took off his hat and spun it around in his hands. “Wouldn’t have gotten there without you.”
“You knew what they were worth.” Luke drained the last of his coffee. “You just needed someone to stand at the fence and agree.”
Brody looked at him. “Why’d you do it?”
A year ago, there wouldn’t have been a question like that for him to answer.
Luke turned his cup in his hands, thinking it through and giving himself a minute to find an answer that wouldn’t break him. “My grandfather would have. He thought the point of having leverage was being willing to use it for people who didn’t have their own.”
Brody nodded. “I’ve heard stories about him. The original Covenant Creek operation. He started from nothing and built it by working with people instead of against them.”
“Yeah.” Luke’s chest ached with the familiar grief and new peace that had started to coexist there. “He did.”
They parted and Luke walked the arena perimeter alone, processing the magnitude of turning a corner.
Standing at that fence hadn’t required careful planning or strategic analysis.
There’d been no spreadsheet or five-year plan.
There’d been a young rancher who needed help, and a principle that mattered, supported by Claire’s steady gaze across the arena confirming he had the power to do what was right and the obligation to see it through.
Survival without integrity wasn’t the legacy he’d been left. Grandpa would’ve hated what he’d driven the ranch to become, and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, it wasn’t who he wanted to be.
The afternoon wore on hour by hour. He could leave anytime, but he found peace in talking to people he’d avoided for months. Dave Henderson came over near three o’clock, positioned himself beside Luke at the rail, and watched the ring for several minutes before speaking.
“Ruth told my wife about the freezer program coming back.” His eyes stayed on the action in the ring. “The Delacroix family up on Route 9 is going to need it this summer. They’ve had a hard season.”
“Program starts next month. We could use help with distribution if your family wants to be involved.”
Henderson stayed quiet a beat too long for comfort, but Luke refused to push.
Finally, the older man tilted his hat toward Luke. “Yeah. Yeah, we could do that.”
It wasn't an absolution. Luke didn’t expect it to be, but it was a start, which was more than he’d had at sunrise.
By four o’clock, the day’s selling had wrapped up, and the trailers were loaded.
Trucks and trailers departed in a steady stream that left dust hanging heavy enough to taste.
Luke helped Caleb settle the paperwork on their sales, ran the numbers, and confirmed the accounts.
They’d had a solid day. Not exceptional by any means, but exactly what he’d hoped and prayed for.
Noah walked out of Claire’s hospitality tent licking barbecue sauce from his thumb. He spotted them and jogged over. “Claire’s looking for you.”
Luke’s pulse jumped, but he kept his attention on the ledgers. “Tell her I’m with Caleb.”
“I’m right here.” Caleb took the receipt from Luke’s hand. “Go.”
Hold his ground or give in to the one thing he’d wanted all day long?
He crossed the arena, slipped between the fence rails, and scooted sideways to avoid getting flattened by a tent being taken down.
Claire stood at the back of her tent, wrapping leftover bread in plastic wrap. She’d pulled her hair back while working and a loose piece had escaped near her jaw.
She looked up when he was still several feet away. “I heard what you did. How you helped Brody Kessler.”
“Someone needed to.” He stopped at the edge of the tent’s shadow. If he took one more step, he might give in to his desire and ask for a second chance.
She had to come to that conclusion on her own. He’d done what he could and had been praying for clarity on the situation every single day.
“Dave Henderson told Tom Martin, and Tom Martin told Rachael, and Rachael told everyone else inside in approximately ten minutes.” Her mouth curved. “4C Ranch doesn’t feel quite so corporate right now.”
Luke’s ears warmed. “I didn’t do it for the reputation.”
She set the bread aside. “That’s what made it worth doing.”
Around them, women worked and chatted and conspicuously directed their attention away from the two of them while totally paying attention to every word and gesture between him and Claire.
“You know, I have you to thank for helping Brody. That look you gave me sure put me in my place.”
“What look?”
“The one that told me to stop talking to myself and go stand at that fence.” Luke held her gaze. “It’s been teaching me to lead like I actually care about people.”
Color swept across her cheeks. She opened her mouth and closed it again. First time he’d ever seen her without a ready answer.
“I’ll let you finish.” He tipped his hat brim. “Good work today.”
He walked away with the fairgrounds settling into quiet around him and Caleb falling into step a beat later. His brother grinned like a fool but said nothing.