Page 13 of More Than Anything

“Sirus? That doesn’t sound like him.”

Mr.Martin chuckled. “You didn’t know him that well. Sirus was a cantankerous old man. He did everything he could to make his family miserable after they wouldn’t do what he wanted. Oh, and he didn’t see any sense in any of them going to college. When Lydia’s younger brother went off to school, Sirus had a fit. Said he was trying to be highfalutin’ and didn’t want to honor his raisin’.” The attorney shook his head. “He alienated his whole family because they didn’t want to be just like him.”

“Wow.” Avery didn’t know what to think. He’d held Sirus in high regard, but this was a side of the old man he hadn’t seen.Everything isn’t always as it seems. Now he knew what Walter meant by that. “So what do we do from this point?”

“Just let it go. She’s going to try to flex her muscles legally, but it’s going nowhere. I won’t hear it inmycourtroom,” JudgeBennett assured him. “It’s a dead issue, as far as I’m concerned.” He stood to go. “Let’s set a golf date soon, Frank.”

“Sure thing,” the attorney answered as he and Avery both stood out of respect. “Thanks for coming by.”

“No problem. And young man?” the judge said, turning to Avery. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

Avery swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. Thank you, your honor, sir.”

“You’re welcome. Hope you’ve got asbestos underwear, because the hot hounds of hell are going to be nipping at your ass pretty soon!” he said and laughed. He was still cackling when he closed the door behind him on his way out.

Avery plopped back down in the chair and put a hand over his eyes. “What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

FrankMartin chuckled. “Just don’t let her intimidate you. She wants to hand you your balls and make you smile and say thanks. Don’t do it.”

Avery nodded. “I won’t. And thanks for this. What do I owe you?”

“To keep you out of LydiaKinsey’s jaws? They don’t print that much money, so it’s on the house. Glad I could help. But if she shows up out there again threatening you, let me know and I’ll put a stop to it.”

“Will do.” Avery rose and leaned out to shake the attorney’s hand. “Thanks again.”

He wandered back to his truck, dazed. As far as the judge was concerned, it was literally a done deal. But he had this horrible feeling that this ending was only the beginning.

* * *

Three of thefarmers on the list sent to Avery by the extension office were willing to meet with him, so he invited all three for beer and snacks on Wednesday evening. One by one they showed up, KevinFreeland, BobStandish, and MacMcCutchen, and when they all had a beer apiece and a big bowl of popcorn set in the middle of the table, they sat down and started their discussion.

And halfway through, Kevin asked the ten-million-dollar question: “Why do you want to grow crops when you’ve got almost a thousand acres of pastureland?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Bob chimed in.

“All you’ve really gotta do is have anything that’s not already being used as pasture bushhogged,” Mac added. “What have you got out there, five cows?”

“Seven.”

“How old are they?” Bob asked.

Avery shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Bob chuckled before he said, “Get a vet out here to give you some ages. We can give you the name of a good one. Then you’ll know what you have to work with. And let them tell you what breed to buy and how many. They can look at the land and tell you about what it will support.”

“Okay.” It was the most positive thing any of the three men had said to him.

“He’s right, you know. A good vet can answer a lot of these questions,” Kevin reinforced.

Avery thought about it. He’d just assumed he’d be driving a tractor, tilling the earth and planting seeds, but everything the men were saying made sense. And he liked animals. No problem there. Plus buying cattle wouldn’t be nearly as expensive as buying equipment and everything that came with it, or at least he couldn’t imagine it would be. The barns were in pretty good shape, and the fencing might have to be redone, but nothing that couldn’t be handled. As he sat, Bob interrupted his musing as he looked at pictures Avery had taken of the house and the work being done to it. “This house is shaping up real nice. They’re doing a good job on it. You’ve got a nice place here.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty pleased.” The construction crew had gotten the bathrooms done, including installing the new one and building the closet area, and the outside was almost finished. “In two weeks, they’re ripping out the kitchen and starting on that. I’m dreading that part and the mess it’ll create, but it has to be done.”

“Boy, don’t let my wife see all of this!” Kevin laughed. “She’ll be asking me for a divorce and courting you!”

Avery chuckled. “Been there, done that! Not interested.”

“Aw, there’s gotta be a sweet thang around here that’s caught your eye,” Mac laughed.

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