Page 2 of Raymond's Forever

“It’s going to be Riceman Rodeo Ranch. I would love to meet you when you come, Raymond. We can talk with Jason and Ilsa, you can see Opal and Denver, and someone can show you around. Hypothetically, if you pass the bar, and do decide to move out here, when are you talking about being here permanently?”

“Four months. The exam is next month, then six weeks after that I get the results. I can finish up my life here, and be there in four months. Someone has been approaching me for years to buy my practice.” He chuckled as he picked up the proposal off the corner of his desk. “He even sent me an actual proposal this time.”

Erin laughed. “Have you read it yet?”

“No, I was saving it for some light Saturday night reading.” They shared a laugh, and he sighed. “I’m going to tell you now, Erin, even if you don’t need a lawyer, I would like to come live there so I can be closer to my daughter. If you need me as a hand, then so be it.”

Erin laughed. “I’m so looking forward to meeting you, Raymond. One question.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you want me to inform Opal of your pending visit?”

“No. It’s not because I don’t want her to know, it’s just that I don’t want to distract myself before I take that bar in Colorado. I’m not a young man any longer.” He chuckled.

“I totally understand, Raymond. Again, call me after your exam, and I wish you luck. If you need anything in the meantime, please reach out to me. You can call the number you just did, or my cell, the number I just gave you. Oh, I don’t know what your living situation is, but if you come here to live permanently, then you will be provided with a cabin to live in. It has two bedrooms, each bedroom has their own bathroom. A fully furnished kitchen, including appliances, however, there is no food, you’ll have to provide that. There is living room furniture, there is a fireplace, and a washer and dryer. There are some dishes, but you might want to provide your own. I have a storage building if you want to store your things there, or if you bring your own things, then we’ll store what’s already in the cabin in that building. There is no pressure. I’ve had some people prefer their own bedroom sets.”

“Is this cabin included even if I don’t take a job as a lawyer?”

“Yes. It’s for all my employees that work for me.” She chuckled. “At first, I only had six women, five of them were former military, one a former rodeo rider. When the men started to arrive, I thought I’d have to have more cabins built. However,love prevailed and they got together and moved in together. I still have a few cabins left. I’m not saying you’ll meet someone, and move in with them, but if it happens, it happens.”

“I’ve been alone since Opal’s accident. I had the love of my life with her mother. Melissa and her daughter, Amber, were just a weakness during my loneliness after the death of Opal’s mother. Trust me, I’m not looking for anything now. Besides I’m too old.”

Erin laughed, and it actually sent a thrill through him. Not for her, but for what she said next. “Never say never, you never know when love will smack you upside the head and you find your forever person.”

“Not going to happen.” They concluded their conversation, and Raymond felt better once he hung up. He also realized his headache was going away. The one he had had for weeks. He had gone to the doctor, but the tests showed nothing, and after several visits and tests, it was narrowed down to stress. That was when the plan of moving to Colorado had started to form. He didn’t want his daughter to get a phone call that he had collapsed at his desk due to a heart attack. That eye-opening night, the night the doctor told him if he continued on the path he was going, he would be dead within five years, he started making plans to change his life.

He stared down at the papers he’d been reading before the alarm had gone off to remind him to make the call to Colorado. Instead of returning to them, he gathered them, stuck them in his desk, and grabbed the pad with his lists of things to do before he moved. He crossed off the line to call Erin, and studied it intently. The next thing he did was grab the proposal, however, instead of reading there at his office desk, he tossed it in his brief case to take home. Before turning the light off on his desk, he looked at his calendar for the next day, and realized that it was Friday, and he didn’t have any plans for the weekend. Henever did, at least not since his daughter had left to find her way in life. After her horrific accident that took her arm, her fiancé, and military career. He added another line of things on his to-do list, and tossed the pad of paper into his briefcase. He turned the desk lamp off, rose, grabbed his suit jacket, and walked over to the windows. Once he noticed the rain on the windows, he put the jacket on, picked up his briefcase, and grabbed an umbrella from the vase by the door.

The front office was empty, and he sighed as he realized he’d worked late again. He couldn’t remember when his secretary had stopped telling him that it was getting late, and he should head home. On the ride down in the elevator, he thought about what it might be like to work on a horse ranch in Colorado. It might be relaxing for him, and maybe he could cut down on the stress the doctors warned him about.

He drove home by rote, and on the way, he called in his normal Friday night Thai order, and he didn’t know if he liked that they knew his name just by the sound of his voice. He pulled into his driveway, and before he made it to his front door, the delivery driver pulled in, and brought him his food. As usual, he gave the kid a generous tip, and took his food and briefcase into the house. He sat at the kitchen counter, and instead of his normal two fingers of whiskey, he opted to drink water.

After dinner, he cleaned up, and decided to walk his house. He went from room to room, and the memories of when Opal grew up there came rushing back. When any memories of Melissa or Amber surfaced, he pushed them down. As he walked the rooms, he made mental notes as to what he would do with the things in them. Sell, donate, take, those were the only three words going through his mind. When he reached the room that Amber had when she’d lived there, he slowly opened the door, looked inside, and saw all of her things, and everything of Melissa’s he’d thrown in there after they went to jail. This roomhe knew would be tossed in the trash. He didn’t know why he’d saved everything, but he now knew that it would be tossed in a dumpster. He hadn’t realized he’d been taking notes on the pad of paper he’d been carrying, and he wrote the word dumpster, and underlined it three times. He closed the door to the room, and went into his office. By the time he went to bed that night, it was almost midnight, and it shocked him that he was able to fall asleep, and sleep peacefully for the entire night. He hadn’t awakened several times during the night fretting about something, or unable to fall back asleep.

When he woke the next morning, it felt like he had a new lease on life. The first thing he did after he made his breakfast was look up the number to have a dumpster delivered. With the list of things he needed to do, his first priority was to read the proposal from the person that wanted to purchase his law firm. Armed with a fresh cup of coffee, and the papers, he went into his office. In his mind, when he sat behind his desk, he knew he would be in work mode. He grinned as a thought struck him, and he sent a text message to Erin, not knowing if it was shock or admiration that she messaged him back immediately. With a nod, he settled down to read.

Three hours later, Raymond held his phone to his ear, waiting for the person he called to pick up. “Richard, it’s Raymond Morris. I read your proposal.” He didn’t beat around the bush when the other person answered. He was never someone to hem and haw about a situation, and he wasn’t about to start now.

“Yeah, what did you think?”

“Good, except for a couple of sections. The wording is off.” Raymond read the wording as written, and shook his head. “If this stands, then the deal is off.”

“How should it read?” Richard asked.

Raymond read what he had written, and the two men went back and forth. Until Raymond shook his head, though it wasn’t seen. “Sorry, no deal. I’ll look for someone else to take the firm off my hands. I might even be able to see if the junior partners want to pool their money and buy me out.”

“Wait!” Richard shouted.

“Yes?”

“Fine, I’ll change the wording. Are you at the office?”

“No, I’m at my home.”

“I’ll get you a new proposal in a couple of hours. Expect a messenger service.”

“Have it delivered to the office on Monday. I’m going to be busy the rest of the weekend.”