AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My head spun with his words, like sugar grains falling into a cotton candy machine, then spinning around to form a cloud of pink air. I wondered if I’d heard him correctly. Get all of what done for me? Keep who on? Did Bobby believe that I would be taking over this ranch, and apparently, his livelihood?
Yep, a billowing cloud of pink air.
We briefly shook hands. “Hi, Bobby. When you say,ready for me,what does that mean, exactly? And when you refer toa great team,who do you mean? I’m confused.”
He chuckled, then gazed down at the ground for a moment, and back up at me. “I have a feeling you weren’t briefed on everything. I had a feeling that would happen. No offense to anybody, but Dusty had a few unfortunate limits put on him during those last few weeks of his life. But none of that matters now. I’m just happy you finally drove on over for yourself, or did these fine-looking young men have something to do with it?” He turned to Rudy. “I saw you drive up. Drives like a charm, right?”
“It sure does. I’m Rascal, Rascal Scatts.”
“Any relation to Bubba Scatts?”
“He’s my dad,” Rudy told him.
Bobby stuck out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve known your dad for a lot of years.”
After a bit of banter, both Josh and Luke introduced themselves, and before I could sort any of this craziness out, we were heading for the short staircase that led to the deep porch on the main house.
“Come on in, and I’ll show you around,” Bobby said. “Been anxious for you to see everything, especially after I heard you sing at the funeral. Dusty was right about you. Your voice is a true gift.”
“We’ve been trying to convince her of that all day,” Luke told him.
“When you see what’s inside this house, you won’t need to convince her anymore,” Bobby teased as we followed him up on the deep porch, decorated with rocking chairs, whicker sofas, and comfortable-looking side chairs. Of course, there was a smattering of small and large tables. The porch was made for entertaining, something I rarely did in my tiny apartment. I didn’t think I even knew how to entertain on this scale. One or two people at a time was fine, but more than that, and I’d freeze for sure.
When Bobby opened the front door, I felt like Iris inThe Holiday, when she opened Amanda’s front door in LA… overwhelmed with awe. How could this be anyone’s house, much less mine?
If I chose to keep it…
“AND THIS IS the music room,” Bobby said as we entered an area of the house that boggled my mind. “It’s completely soundproof, so no matter what’s going on in here, no one else is disturbed.”
“Excuse me, but what did you say?” Rascal asked as we entered what looked like an actual recording studio, complete with several computers, large monitors, several guitars, a couple of fiddles, a beautiful grand piano, a complete drum set, a pedal steel guitar, several different types of microphones, and other musical equipment I’d never seen before. There was even a digital mixer with so many knobs and levers it made my head hurt.
“This is the music room,” Bobby repeated. “The room Dusty asked us to finish as soon as we could after his passing. He loved to sing and record music with his band. He set this up a few years ago. We’ve only just now updated it with the latest equipment. His family thought he was crazy trying to start a music career at his age, but Dusty ignored them and kept right on going. He loved to play the keyboard and sing with the guys. Fortunately, I was one of them. I play guitar. We must’ve recorded over a hundred new songs and remixed another hundred over the years. The only person in his family who ever enjoyed his music was his grandson Booker. He’d join in on quite a few of the recordings. Played guitar, mostly, but it wasn’t Booker’s passion. Not like yours, Miss Connie. That’s why he left this place to you. All because of this one room.”
I had to sit, so I crossed my legs and sank down to the floor in total disbelief.
“Dusty left me an entire ranch because of this music room? How… Why would he do that?”
“Dusty was a character, that’s for sure. I can’t answer the why, but I can say that you made quite an impression on him. In all honesty, he knew his family would just sell the place, and I don’t think Dusty liked that idea. He wanted someone to have this ranch, and this amazing music room who would appreciate it and love it as much as he did. This ranch was his sanctuary, his place to disappear for a while.”
“What about Booker? Why didn’t he leave it to Booker?”
“I can’t answer that, but he took mighty good care of Booker, that’s for sure. This place was special to Dusty, exactly like you were.”
More than anything, I wished I could talk to Dusty right this minute and ask him why the hell was I so special? I mean, I thought it was way over the top when he left me the tablecloth I’d restored for him. Then when I was handed the keys to the Caddy, I didn’t know how to react. And the ranch… well, I assumed that was a mistake of some sort, so I was going to give this back. No questions asked.
But now I wasn’t so sure.
I wasn’t sure about anything.
My life was changing so fast, I didn’t know which end was up.
“I remember there being a stable on this ranch,” Rascal said. “Is that still here?”
“Sure is, with eight horses, and one mare that should foal any day now. There’s also the grove. The grapes get harvested by Renata Winery. They rent the land and tend to the vineyard, so that part of the ranch takes care of itself. I suppose you talked to Dusty’s lawyers about this place?”
Bobby stared down right at me, and I had to admit, aside from the reading of the basic will, I knew nothing about this ranch, especially not this music room, horses, or grapevines.
“I haven’t spoken to them since the reading of the will. I didn’t think I needed to. I wasn’t going to take the ranch,” I told him.
