Pop eyed the books, his lip curling in a snarl. The screen door opened and Ma stepped out, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Morning, boys.” Everything about her looked tired and worn outthis morning. She wasn’t her usual perky self, but then again, she’d probably been up for hours.
I climbed the steps and pressed a kiss to her cheek before taking a seat across from Pop.
“How are things this morning?”
“Not much to do,” he grunted, gesturing to the empty pasture with his coffee mug.
“Pop, I know this isn’t what you wanted?—”
“We need to talk about renting out part of the land,” he interrupted.
Glancing over at Jeff, he shook his head slightly. He knew nothing about this. “Uh…rent it out to who?”
Instead of answering, he grabbed a map of the property and rolled it out on the table in front of us, setting a rock on either side to hold it open.
“Right here,” he tapped at the upper right corner of the map.
“Pop, that’s where we’re building a new cabin.”
“Then it should be no problem to finish building and rent it out.”
That didn’t make any sense. That would have been one of the better locations for a rental. It was right near the falls and had a great view.
“The amount we could rent that cabin for would help bring in a lot of money, Pop.”
“And I said I need to rent it out.”
“To who?” I pushed.
“Whom,” Ma corrected. “Honestly, sometimes it’s like you boys never went to school.”
Pop removed the rocks and rolled up the map, then stood. “Let me know how much longer it will be until the cabin’s ready.”
“Pop, we need to discuss this—” I started, but he was already walking away.
“Last I checked, this is still my property,” he called over his shoulder.
The door slammed as he walked back inside. Ma grabbed his mug, shaking her head at the abrupt departure.
“Did you know anything about this?”
“No, but he’s right. It’s his property. He can do with it as he wishes.”
“Ma, that land would bring in a lot of money for us. We need that to keep things running. That’s why we made the decision to build in the first place. If he takes that away?—”
“Then you’ll figure out something else,” she snapped. “Your father already lost his ranch over the past few years. Do you really want me to tell him he’s not allowed to rent out the property?”
“He didn’t lose the ranch. We still have all the property?—”
“Have you seen him sitting on the porch every morning? He used to be out working as soon as the sun rose. You took away something that’s been in his family for generations. You can’t expect him to forget that overnight.”
“So, you blame me, too,” I huffed. I couldn’t believe my ears. I was working my ass off to save the land and everything we owned, but it wasn’t good enough.
Ma’s face softened as she walked over, pressing her hand to my cheek. “No, I don’t blame you. Everything you boys have done over the past few years has been for the best, but you can’t expect your father not to feel the loss.”
Turning, she headed back inside.
