Against the Odds Ch. 05

Several hands were raised.

"The floor recognizes Ellis Jefferson."

"I nominate Philip Elliot."

Jed smiled and amid murmurings thanked Ellis and called for further nomination.

There appeared to be none until Philip raised his hand.

"Philip."

"I decline nomination and instead nominate Ellis Jefferson."

There was a burst of applause.

"Thank you Philip. Any more nominations?

"There appear to be none," Jed said. "Do you accept the mantle Ellis?"

She was too choked to speak but managed to make some kind of noise and nodded distinctly.

Alice on behalf of her emotionally choked daughter Ellis made a short speech thanking Jed for his services and said she intended to resume visiting him regularly.

"Thank you everyone. It's been a great day for the families."

"Grandpa?"

"Yes Gabriel. My word, you are looking healthy," he said, looking at her well-exposed top."

"I have been talking to Ellis and Troy and they agree: There's a big dinner party on at my house from 6:00 tonight. Mitch will be in charge of the cook-out. Everyone is invited but could the Elliot married women please bring salads and the Jefferson married women please bring desserts. Ellis and Troy will provide the beer, wine and champagne to celebrate their engagement. So let's party."

* * *

At dawn on their way home after a great EVENING, Ellis and Troy sat on the seat just back from the pavement memorial, wearing sunglasses to combat the rising sun.

"Thank you for my lovely day," Ellis said once again. You were so sweet to me. I thought you would give me a ring today but knew not where – I wondered about when I met you here as the bell tolled.

"I thought that would divert from honoring Irene."

"Good boy, I do like your way of thinking. Where you picked was perfect."

"You made a great effort with you mother."

"Yes, it's been really hard work but she is trying to quash the resentment and years of feeling disgraced. She wondered if she should seek professional help but I said she shouldn't do that just for my sake; perhaps she would do better by emerging slowly. She did say one or two of the nicest things today that she's ever said. Now listen to this because it's the best think of all. Are you ready for it?"

Troy yawned and said yes.

"She wears her mother's wedding ring but says she has Irene's wedding ring in safe deposit and would like me to have it, Irene's ring – can you believe that!"

"I realize the significance and that's great. Look, why don't we have a small wedding here one day at noon – keeping the ceremony small."

"I'd like that, but if you want small it would mean gagging and handcuffing Molly."

They laughed and Troy said not so. "Think outside the square – put Molly in charge of planning and specify that it must be a small and very exclusive affair with a blanket ban on pre-wedding publicity."

"Yes – oh wonderful darling. That could be the answer. I must tell you this: I guess you noticed I left the party for a while last night or were you too busy looking down the front of Gabriel's dress?"

"I had to give her some attention; she was our hostess."

"God you are slippery Troy Gardiner. Well, I had a meeting with my three uncles and mother. Grandma's estate is still being processed – the ranches have been valued for the purposes of taxes and duties so have not been handed over yet. Mother doesn't want land and Uncle Gary is also prepared to sell to me at my suggestion of official valuation plus ten percent. In addition Uncles Philip and Richard are prepared to give me fair land swaps asking that I pay all associated costs. They believe water rights will come out about square as the class of land is about the same. That means I shall be using the after-tax money I receive from you buying into the company to purchase a consolidated block of land that incorporates the original Jefferson Ranch."

"That's great, congratulations."

"I'm so excited. The three ranch concept was rather inefficient because of the gaps cut between them by inroads of the brothers' land which they farm collectively with Mitch and his ranch. Philip is adamant that the redrawing of boundaries will benefit us all."

"That's good, so how big will your ranch be?"

"About 11,800 acres, a cow-calf operation with approximately 1500 acres of dry cropped land for alfalfa/grass hay. I'll have it managed. The cattle will range graze for approximately six months of the year then go on to feedlots. The beauty is the homestead which I propose using most weekends is less than two hour's drive from the city. I just want to play cowgirl but hopefully the manager will do all right financially to provide a good income for himself and family, cover costs and most years finance ranch improvements. Smaller units like this are becoming marginal on this class of land and in our conditions."

Continuing on home to Ellis's place for breakfast before heading to his own place to change before going to work Troy said that film-clip of the parade on TV last night was longer than I expected – obviously the TV studio thought the big turnout warranted longer coverage; it certainly made the town look good. I reckon the best bit was Midnight rearing up over you – it made you look a real heroine."

"You looked a ready cowboy; you hadn't said you could ride."

"There are a few things you have yet to find out about me."

"Likewise. I spoke to Mitch and he was so excited about Midnight rearing up like that and especially you checking him like you did. He said ranchers watching that clip would be sitting back in their TV chair rubbing their chin wondering which of their mares could be put to Midnight. He's already had three enquiries and expects more. He didn't expect them to leave in the commentary that Midnight was from the Mitch Jefferson ranch but they did."

"That's great."

"And that's not all. While talking to Mitch I ordered your Christmas present – no, don't lick you lips, it wasn't Gabriel," she teased. "I've ordered you a Midnight-bred stallion – he has six available and you can go out and choose him as soon as you wish. Mitch really has taken a liking to you and still keeps calling you that stupid name the general. He has a big-boned three-year-old mare from Midnight's first season – she's 16.2 hands so is rather large for short-ass skinny cowboys. He says she's just perfect for you being a big boned guy. Isn't that just perfect?"

"I wonder why he's taken to me?"

"I wondered also so asked him. I don't know if I should be telling you this but he's not too keen about the way Gabriel has taken to you – says he's never seen her take to another man like you but he told me, in confidence of course, that you give her no encouragement but you do lick your lips. He said you treated Molly out in the field that day like a compatriot rather than a woman and she responded brilliantly and then he couldn't believe how you moved so fast and yet so stealthily through the tree line to enter that mine shaft where I was. He said until then he didn't think you had much chance against the Ape but after seeing that performance he didn't think the Ape had a chance."

"Well, the three of us had a job to do and we all did it well. End of story."

"Not quite, at least not as far as we both are concerned: Mitch can't believe that you didn't 'take out' his father as he put it as you had the opportunity and he finds it difficult to understand why I have been so forgiving of his father after the terrible things he did to me. I actually have difficulty understanding that myself but knew it would win me more respect than pity from within the family and that's what I needed to happen; the alternative was to wait another two generations of family who had no interest in the rape of my mother and her rapist's death at the hands of my father."

"I'll have a go at trying to explain your position to him. As for me, Mitch was helping us out big-time so I didn't expect he'd appreciate me killing his father or even whacking him a good one with the back of my hand. End of story."

Ellis laughed.

"Oh God, he's told you something else about me?"

"Yes and you must not tell him you know. It concerns that day you rode Midnight down the steep face and across the quarry floor and up another rocky but not so steep slope and to add to his dismay Gabriel beat him in the race to embarrass him in front of you."

"Yeah but Gab is lighter and their horses were fairly evenly matched – I knew that."

"But at the time he didn't know you knew that."

"Well that's no big deal."

"He was a worried man watching you disappear over the rim and horrified at the way you were weaving between rocks on the valley floor but totally relieved later that evening when he had time to thoroughly examine Midnight that one light scratch on the right foreleg and two small leg nicks were the sum of Midnight's ride through Hell."

"That's over dramatizing it. We rode horses like that for fun on Sundays in South Africa."

"My darling, I think this demonstrates the respect and may I say affection Mitch shows towards you. No complaint, not even a muttered bad word about the reckless and totally foolhardy way you rode his pride and joy close to destruction. Midnight is supposed to be kept inside with attached exercise yard when not closely supervised. He is insured for close on $250,000.

"Ohmigod," Troy yelled, almost crashing into the sturdy concrete gatepost holding Ellis's security gate. "I'm an idiot."

"Well said darling; the idea is to wait for the gate to open before you drive in."

THE END