Michael or Mac Ep. 06

I look ahead of us and see torch after torch being lit stretching off in a direct path to the old Parker Ranch. As we pass each friend and neighbor, Buck greets them by name and thanks to them for coming. As we near Buck's new home, I look back and see in excess of two hundred and fifty people that have come out to be part of the procession. The light from all these torches is an incredible thing to see, and I catch a glimpse of Buck's face in the torchlight. This tough old cowboy has tears in his eyes as he realizes the magnitude of what the people have done for him. As we turn the last corner and Bucks sees his new place all lit up with his wife and children waiting on the porch. You would have to be dead not to feel any emotions.

I see Emma and her family all watching and waiting in line. As the wagon slows, we jump off the back. First to greet us are the hands from the ranch and their families. For once, Buck is stuck for words as he shakes hand after hand.

He looks at me. "You bastard," he says. He then runs up to where his wife is waiting, she throws her arms around him, and they kiss to the biggest cheer of the night so far.

Another gunshot rings out. "Again, I ask the host of tonight's feast to show us the way."

Buck looks at his wife, and she points to an oversized switch. Buck walks over to the switch, a large marque, the surrounding buildings, and trees light up.

Violet takes Buck's hand and leads him down the trail to the marque.

Olivia walks up next to me, "how did I do, boss?"

"As always, Olivia, it's perfect." I feel an arm thread into mine and look to see Emma beaming at me.

"Mac, this is incredible." She leans towards Olivia, "Christ, Olivia, you have outdone yourself tonight."

Olivia turns to Emma, "haven't I just." She beams with pride, and so she should.

As I enter the marque, I can see the place is set out for tonight's event, with rows of tables like a medieval banquet. Olivia takes my hand and leads Emma and me up to the main table. Buck is already there; I have never seen a person smile so much. Paps appears behind us with the rest of our group on the table directly in front.

Buck sees me and leans over, "so Boss, is the house part of my new contract?"

I smile at him. "Yep, it sure is Buck. You'll have to deal with the devil to see what it will cost."

"I heard that," Olivia shouts. I blow a kiss to her, and she pulls a face back as we both burst out laughing.

A large gong announces the food is ready, and we take our seats. The marque is the largest one I have ever seen and could double as a circus tent. They have erected it on the foundation of the new riding arena. I can hear Violet explaining to Buck where we are and what is happening. I take my seat between Violet and Emma with Paps next to Emma.

Old man Parker walks up and smiles at Buck shaking his hand. I can see Buck is surprised by the gesture, then a bigger surprise when he embraces Violet and wishes them both well.

He then walks over to me and shakes my hand before embracing Emma. "Thank you, Mac, the place looks incredible, and I can't remember the last time we held the Thanksgiving ball here."

"You should thank Olivia, Mr. Parker because she's the one who organized it all."

"That I will, son, now do you know where my table is?"

I laugh, "No, Sir, I had to be shown where to go." Then I spot his two sons waving at me. "There you go, sir, I see your sons over there." I wave back and mouth hello to them. They, in return, give me the thumbs up as their Pa reaches them, and they take a seat.

The room goes quiet as everyone is seated.

Buck stands, "ladies and gentlemen," he gestures to the room. "Honored guests," he gestures towards the Parker table and the council members, "and Boss." Laughter rolls around the place, followed by a ripple of applause. "Tonight, you have truly honored me by giving such a welcome to my new home. I want to thank each and every one of you. For once, words fail me, and I am humbled by your show of friendship tonight." There's another ripple of applause as he then continues, "tonight, I invite you to eat, dance, and be merry. Enjoy tonight because it's on the boss." A cheer goes up, a doorway opens, and tray after tray of food is brought out placed in the center of each table.

It's incredible how quickly everything is brought out; there are jugs of beer, wine, and soft drinks for those of us who are too young. The technicality on alcohol in West Virginia is that people under twenty-one can drink, but only when their family gives it to them.

I personally don't drink for obvious reasons, but I turn to Emma, "are you going to drink tonight?"

"Not sure, It doesn't feel right drinking if you don't." I smile at her and then kiss her on her lips. Our moment is broken with our platter of food being put in front of us.

Buck again stands, and the room goes quiet. "Can I ask father Davis to bless our evening and say grace."

With the prayers done we lift the lid, and in front of us are several types of meat, including a whole chick that's been carved but left in its entire state. There are differently cooked potatoes, vegetables, garnish, and then a jug of brown gravy gets placed next to the tray.

I pick my fork up and spear a small piece of pork, I put it in my mouth, and the flavors flood my senses. "God, you gotta love a spit roast," I say in total food heaven.

The tables are cleared of the food, leaving the remains of the Alcohol. Olivia comes up, "Can I have a word, boss?" We get up and make our way outside, where it's a little quieter. "Boss, I have set up a slide show to show your ideas about what we are doing here. I think it would be a good time to share with everyone what is happening. I also think it would be best if you presented it. I have made notes of what each slide depicts, and you know the rest."

"Is this you getting back for the dancing with the devil joke?"

"No that will be later....." She smiles at me and disappears back inside.

I walk back in and sit back next to Emma. "Is everything okay, babe?"

"Yeah, I guess. I just have to give a little speech." With that, the lights get dimmed, and the gong rings out again to get people's attention.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Olivia says through a microphone. "Before we start tonight's entertainment, my Boss and your friend Michael Carter want to share with you and Buck what plans we have for this place. So I give you Mac.."

There's a round of applause as she brings me the microphone over. "Good evening, and before I go into the boring bit, I would like everyone to show their appreciation to Olivia and Buck's wife Violet for organizing this event this year." There's another round of applause and some wolf-whistles, and I see both Olivia and Violet go a couple of shades of red as they acknowledge the show of gratitude. "Right, let me share with you what we have planned for and how we will manage what we have all called The Parker Ranch for as long as I can remember." I walk around the back of the main table and then down in front. The first picture comes up with a color-coded map of the area, showing each ranch area. "Okay, most of the land will be farmed and used in much the same way as Mr. Parker did successfully. We are committed to the upkeep of the protected areas and will continue to work with the government to keep these areas open and safe for the public. We will extend the holiday cabins down towards the lake and open up the land to allow access for our cattle to the more extensive open grassland down to the water."

I walk up and take a drink of water, and wink at Emma as our eyes meet. A picture of the ranch house before we started came up. "Now, if you didn't get a chance to see the house when you arrived, please check it out, but make sure you speak to Violet before. The house will be my manager's new home, and I hope they have many years of happiness here. The riding school that is at the main house will be rehomed here. The extensive stable complex is being renovated, and on this spot, an indoor arena that can be used all year round will be built. The area will be available to the local area for events and will hopefully bring different national held events such as rodeo." There's a murmur of approval that runs around the room.

I walk around the room and run through the other ideas but keep it short and sweet. I know all these lot want to do, is get to the dancing. "So, any questions?" I say.

"Mac, do you plan to move back into the main house?"

"Yes, is the simple answer to that. I will be spending the next couple of years at MIT and possibly Stanford getting a number of degrees before settling back here. Any more?"

"Are you the Mac from YouTube?" I hear a young girl say.

I scan the people looking at me to see where the question came from, "Melvin's daughter Holly isn't it?" She nods. "Not the sort of question I was thinking about, but yes, you can find me on YouTube if you know where to look and love music." She smiles at me with a mouth full of braces. "For those wondering what Holly is talking about, one of my friends in Charlotte thought it would be good to video me doing a concert when my bandmates failed to turn up due to a bad accident. What she didn't know is that it would go viral and turn into something with a life of its own."

"Hang on, Mac, I can quickly find it if anyone wants to see," Olivia shouts from her laptop.

"I doubt people will want to see that, Olivia," I say. That caused uproar as the place erupted into people chanting they wanted to see it. The next thing I know, the opening cords of One are coming out of the speakers. I go and sit next to Emma, knowing that I was getting payback for the dancing with the devil joke.

As I go into the second song in the clip, Olivia fades it out, and I sit there looking out at faces looking back at me. Then someone at the back stands and starts to clap, and then the whole place erupts into applause. After about thirty seconds, I stand to get people's attention.

The clapping dies back, "thank you all for that. I think it's time to get on with the entertainment for the night. So have fun and live a little."

I lean forward to look around Violet. "Does that answer your questions, Buck?"

He shakes his head, "so, how long have you been cooking this up?"

"I first had the idea when Paps was up here for a week. I had a conversation with Olivia. She put it together to present to Old Man Parker when I came up, and the fact we would not destroy his home into something unrecognizable tipped it in our favor. Oh, and your Violets southern accent."

"Shit, Boss, I gotta take my hat off to ya." Buck grins, "the fact you sold the whole plan to the Old Man with him knowing what you were going to do with the house is a minor miracle."

"It wasn't that hard, Buck. He even said himself that he respected you as a rancher."

"Old man Parker said that?"

"He sure did, sweetie. I heard it outa his own mouth myself," Violet added. Buck sits there, taking it all in. He grins and turns, planting a kiss right on Violet's mouth.

The table I'm sitting at is dismantled to give way to the dance floor, and we go and sit with the guys. Everyone seems to be in a party mood as the band starts to play, and the floor fills with people wanting to have a good time.

I drive a drunk truck full of people back to the ranch at around half two in the morning, and Olivia drives the second with her husband. Everyone seems to have had a good time, and the day is finished off perfectly with Emma riding me hard before we fall asleep once again in each other's arms.

to be continued.....

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