Chapter 2 #2
Billy Grady seemed to find the worst possible times to show up.
Billy Grady had been in town longer than Joseph had been there, and as far as Joseph could tell, no one really liked him.
He had money, and from Joseph’s perspective, his favorite thing to do was to spend it on drinking and gambling.
Billy seemed to have his fingers in so many different business ventures that Joseph wasn’t sure how he had time for all of them with all the time that he spent in the saloon, but he stayed out of it when he could.
He figured it wasn't his business, no matter what his opinion was.
“Billy Grady,” he said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
He was mostly trying to be polite for Matt’s sake, but Matt was so engrossed in the colt he hadn’t even looked up.
“Just came to pay my respects,” Billy said, leaning against the barn door. The scar on his jaw shone as he turned his head in the dying sunlight and he pushed his blond hair out of his eyes.
“The funeral was last week,” Joseph said.
“Oh I know,” Billy said. “But there were so many people there. It wasn’t the right place.”
“It wasn’t the right place?” Joseph asked, confused. “At the funeral?”
“You know what I mean,” Billy said. “Not the right place to talk.”
Joseph raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t prod. The more Billy spoke, the less he wanted to speak to him.
“I always forget the property has such nice water access,” Billy said. “But as I was riding out here, that’s all I could think about.”
“Sure,” Joseph said. “It does have decent water access.”
“Daniel must have paid a pretty penny for it a few years ago,” Billy said. “I remember when it was on the market and then he showed up out of nowhere. No one knew him, and suddenly he owns a ranch.”
“Dunno, I wasn’t in town yet,” Joseph said. “Thank you for your condolences.”
“So is his family coming out?” Billy asked.
“Daniel’s family?” Joseph asked. “Dunno.”
“How can you have helped him all these years and know nothing?” Billy asked, with a grin that was not friendly. “He never talked to you or something?”
“He didn’t talk about his family,” Joseph said.
“Well, surely he had plans for what happened to the ranch,” Billy said. “You can’t just…stay here.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Grady,” Joseph said. “It’s been a long day, so we are going to head in. I’d invite you in for supper, but I am a terrible cook.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to keep you from supper,” Billy said. “Just thought I’d stop by as I said. See what your plans are.”
“I’m sure when I figure that out, you’ll be the first to know,” Joseph said, with absolutely no intention of following through on that promise.
“Sure,” Billy said. “See you around,” Billy said, and turned to leave. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“Uh-huh,” Joseph said and watched him go, shaking his head. “That was strange. What do you think Matt?”
Matt looked up at him like he wanted to say something but he just shrugged.
We’ll just build our own life here, won’t we?” Joseph said, though he wasn’t entirely sure how long “here” would remain theirs
Matt looked around for a stick and then started to carve letters in the dirt. Joseph had seen him do this before, when he really wanted to communicate, but the words would not come out.
I like to build things.
Joseph nodded.
“Me too,” he said. “Are you all done with the colt?”
Matt nodded, and Joseph picked up the brush that he had put down. They locked up the barn and headed across the field to the ranch house.
Just like it felt strange to ride up to the ranch house and not see Daniel on the porch, it also felt strange to let themselves into the house and lock up behind them. Joseph didn’t think he would ever get used to the house being so quiet.
Billy’s words rang in his ears as he cracked two eggs into the pan and grabbed some bread. He was much better at cooking over an open fire outside. Inside though, scrambled eggs were the easiest and the only thing he could guarantee wouldn’t taste terrible.
He knew the ranch was valuable and the water line did add to it, but he didn’t think it was so valuable that the likes of Billy Grady would come sniffing around when Daniel was barely cold in the ground.
He had honestly never thought of the property in terms of value.
Whenever he thought of it, it was about what was producing, what he could help with or what their next day was going to be like.
His mother had taught him that the land was something to be grateful for; to live off of. The idea of buying and selling land still seemed foreign to him.
“Go and wash up,” he said to Matt, as he moved the eggs around in the pan.
He looked out the window as he did, watching the sun set.
Daniel did, and now that Daniel was gone, it would be up to the paperwork in the sheriff’s office to figure out. Eventually, the land would be sold, and they would have to move on.
Matt came back to sit at the table, and Joseph served him the same eggs he had been cooking four times a week. Matt seemed happy with anything hot luckily and tucked in before Joseph even sat down properly.
“Tomorrow, I need to go work on the roof at the general store,” he said as they ate. “Do you want to stay with me or…?”
Matt nodded quickly, before Joseph even finished talking. The general store was one of his favorite places. The shopkeeper was a kindly old man who loved children, and Joseph knew Matt could be kept busy for hours behind the counter, doing small tasks for a few pieces of candy.
“Fine, but if it’s raining, I need you to stay here,” Joseph said. “I’ll do work on the inside of the general store instead, and we can’t have two people who aren’t helping Mr. Innes run the shop inside, alright? You can feed the animals as soon as the rain stops.”
Matt agreed to that, although he seemed sad about it. Joseph felt like he just didn’t know the right thing to say half the time. Daniel always seemed to know what to say to Matt. Although the child never talked, he perked up much more.
“You know, Matt,” Joseph said. “You’re getting old enough to start thinking about school. I know when Daniel was here, you tried it but…”
Matt looked up with wide eyes and then shook his head.
“You could just try it,” he said. “The children around town seem very nice. At church, they ask you to play sometimes…”
Matt shook his head again and Joseph sighed.
“Alright,” he said. “Well, we don’t have to deal with it now. But is it something we have to think about?”
Matt looked down at his place and Joseph saw a wave of sadness cross his face. Joseph sighed.
“You miss him too, huh?” he asked and Matt nodded.
“Yeah, I miss him too. Best friend that I ever had. He always knew what to say and do.”
They finished their meal in silence, and Joseph sent Matt up to get ready for bed while he did the dishes. There wasn’t much, with just the two of them, and soon, he was starting to shut down the house for the night.
As he did, he surveyed the living room. The living rooms of other ranches likely had family pictures on the wall, and stories written into every corner.
Daniel hadn’t talked about family or where he came from, as far as Joseph had known.
Maybe that was why he had connected with Matt.
Joseph had talked about his nomadic life, his mother, his tribe members, and even dived into his relationship with God.
But as supportive as Daniel had been, he had been silent about the rest of his life.
Joseph blew out the last candle and then headed up the stairs.
During the day, the grief was a bit easier to manage, although there were reminders everywhere. At night though, when he felt like the only person left in the world, it was harder.
Daniel had never treated him any differently. He had never mentioned race or religion or the right or wrong way to do things. He had just accepted him, and it was as simple as that.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he paused outside Daniel’s door.
His mother had beliefs on death that Joseph listened to, but at this moment, he wasn’t sure what he believed.
The Crow tribe believed that the spirits returned to the Earth and could show themselves in the wind, an animal soul or the sunshine. Souls were not gone for good when they took their last breath, Mother Earth absorbed them.
In the Christian Faith, the idea that they were released from their Earth body and escorted to heaven where there was no pain, no agony, no illness. Joseph had liked that idea better, until he learned that God was responsible for everything, every choice, every movement.
He could accept the idea of Heaven, but what he couldn’t accept was the idea that God could just take a hardworking young man, who had taken in an orphan boy, without a word.
Daniel didn’t deserve this. Matt didn’t deserve this either.
Joseph was angry at God, and he knew that was a sin.
The sermons in church every Sunday made it clear that one should be completely accepting of every one of God’s choices, good or bad.
So many people around him every week seemed to have no trouble accepting the idea of God’s will, for better or for worse.
Joseph let out a long breath and headed toward his own room.
It was a smaller room, at the end of the hall, and Daniel had been embarrassed to offer it to him.
At the time, it had been the only one free.
Joseph, however, was grateful for the room and grateful for the work.
He didn’t know at the time that he would value the friendship above all of that.
Once he was in his room, he changed quickly, blowing out the candle and lying back with a sigh. Tomorrow, the sun would rise and the world would carry on as if nothing would happen. Carrying on as normal while he had no idea what he was going to do next was the hardest part.