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Pulling up in the ranch yard, I see Silas walk out of the front door carrying two steaming mugs. Looking around, I see no one else, so have to assume that the second mug is for me. Not sure how he knows when someone’s coming, but he seems to have it down to a fine art.
“Didn’t sleep much last night? Your eyes are sunken in like roadkill.”
“I slept well enough, just not a lot of it. How’s things out here? Any movement or fresh developments?” I settle into a chair and cup my hands around the mug of strong, hot coffee.
“I don’t think those boys will be back just yet. They know I ain’t going nowhere and they’ve got the real estate market in their pocket so it ain’t likely that I’ll be selling it out from under ‘em.” Silas looks around at the empty yard, apart from my hog that is.
“Just what do you do on the ranch now, Silas. You can’t be running a lot of cows with just you here.” I wonder how he pays the bills?
“I sell some animals off to the butcher in town every so often.
There’s a small herd of cows in the back pasture, a few goats still clearing brambles and weeds hereabouts. I have a dozen or so hogs in the woods and of course the chickens at the back of the barn. I have some guinea hens running loose somewhere. They’re probably near the cows. They eat the ticks and bugs that follow the herd. I should’ve rounded them up and brought them to the ranch house. Chips and Ghost could have given up watching so close then.”
“You’d rather trust to some mini chickens than Chips and Ghost? Don’t let them hear you say that.” I grin at the thought of how Chips would take that news.
“You can keep your dogs and any high-tech surveillance shit. You put a flock of guinea hens near you and nothing’s ever gonna get close without you knowing it. They are some of the noisiest critters God ever put on this planet.”
“I didn’t know that. I thought that was geese. Guinea hens look a bit small to make much noise,” I ponder out loud.
“That’ll work, too, but they take a lot more caring for. Water, grass, and all that. Throw a few guinea hens with a coop somewhere and that’s all you do. Don’t necessarily need a coop, but it keeps them local to where you want them. It’s amazing how they mainly eat nasty bugs, too. Unlike some farms hereabouts, I’ve never had trouble with ticks on my animals. Those guinea hens, they can eat those things faster than chemicals can kill them.” Silas grins at some memory he must be holding onto.
“What about horses? Still got horses?”
“Yeah, still got a few. I have mine and Estrella’s here in the stables. I bet they’ll outlast me. Dread to think what will happen to ‘em when I’m gone.” He gives me a sideways glance. “Why the sudden interest in what’s happening around here? Having second thoughts about hanging up your biker boots and taking on some spurs instead?” I see the hope in his eyes and don’t want to give him false hope.
“I’ve got the makings of an idea, Silas, but it’s just that. An idea, and only the beginning of it. Let me run it by you and see what you think. I’m not trying to steal the ranch from under you or make a killing. Just hear me out, and then let’s see if we can put some meat on the bones once you’ve heard it.”
“Okay, let’s go inside and talk in my study like gentlemen should when discussing important business.” Silas positively leaps out of his chair and skips through the front door.
Sitting in his study, I explain that I’ve just got myself an old lady. He asks what that means in plain English, and I tell him.
“You going to marry this Italian supermodel, are you?”
“I will in time, if she’s agreeable. And by time, I mean soon, not years to come.” Carrying on with my initial thoughts, I explain that I want it to become her dream ranch. The one she wanted from when she was a little girl. I don’t want it to be a club business, run for the benefit of the brothers, I want it to be all about Allegra. Her home, her business, her success story. I’d live on the ranch, of course, but don’t want to be part of the business unless needed. I can see he’s buying into the idea, but I have to burst the bubble and talk money.
“We won’t have the money between us to pay what the ranch is worth. This is where it all comes crumbling down. How do we balance the finances, so you don’t lose out on your life's work?”
“Let me worry about the money side of things. After all, I’m the one selling, so that figure is what I say it is. When can I meet this Allegra? The sooner I meet her the sooner I know if I like her. I’m sure she’ll be wonderful if you’ve chosen her, but I want to see for myself.” Silas looks ten years younger and has a twinkle in his eye when we’re done talking. “Bring her here for supper, I’ll have a meal ready. We’ll take her on a tour, ask her a few questions, and we’ll see what she has to say for herself. I like the thought of the old place becoming a bustling family home again, as well as a thriving horse ranch. She can ride Estrella’s horse around the corral for a while. She could do with some exercise. The horse, I mean. I bet you’ve been exercising Allegra.” Silas looks like he’s sucked a lemon. “I’m sorry, Vortex. That was rude of me.”
“You haven’t offended me, Silas, and I’m sure Allegra would have something to say about it, anyway.”
I take time to catch up with Ghost and Chips, who are both bored to tears but still doing what they need to, to keep Silas safe. I let them know that we’ll be coming back later and taking a tour. When they argue that one of them should accompany us, I don’t get involved. In fact, I refuse to choose one of them, and they end up playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide. This gets nowhere as Chips keeps trying to cheat.
In the end I decide the matter by taking each of them on a tour of my own. I get Ghost to show me what they propose to do in the event of a frontal attack or from the east. The frontal attack, if it came, would most likely be by vehicles driving straight along the road. Unless they were armored vehicles, standard ammo would be the order of the day and hit them as soon as they get out. Ghost grins, and I know he has something else up his sleeve. Dare I ask? Hell, yes.
“Well, you see the front of the porch?” Ghost points to a newly constructed hitching rail.
“You made somewhere for them to leave their horses when they ride up screaming and hollering they want to hang Silas! Very creative, but I’m not sure how that helps Silas.”
“Each of the uprights has a hidden surprise at the base.” Ghost grins, and if you’ve ever heard of a death’s-head grin, that’s exactly what this is.
“What kind of surprise can you hide in… No. You haven’t done what I think you’ve done?” I stare wide-eyed at him.
“Depends what you think I’ve done. If it begins with Clay and ends in More, then you’re probably right.” He looks extremely proud of himself.
“Where the hell did you get claymore mines from? Never mind, forget I asked. I should know better than to ask such questions.” I look at the area where they are, and no one is going to walk away from that if they are deployed. On the east side are fields, nothing but grass. He points to the west and shows me the woods that Chips will be defending. This is when I remember Silas and his guinea hens, so mention them to Ghost.
“That’s a great idea. We should definitely get them brought from wherever they are.” He grins again. “Chips should definitely bring them from wherever they are to be part of his defenses on his side of the ranch.” We both laugh at the thought of Chips trying to catch the little feathered fuckers.
