The Bet

The director put his hands up and said, "Now, calm down here, Sam. There was no attempted rape involved. I'm sure if your wife hadn't,- I mean there must be some mistake here. I'm sure we can work this out."

"Yes, there was a mistake here and that asshole and you made it. We will finish this damn film and he will leave my wife alone. We intend to obtain a restraining order against him tomorrow for stalking my wife. If he ever approaches her again we'll have him in jail. Are we clear on that?"

"You can't do that! My god, it would ruin his career and cost the film company millions."

"You just try us. I don't know how this would be handled in Hollywood but around here we handle snakes by shooting them. I don't want to do that if I can help it but I will."

"OK, OK. Calm down, please. Let me handle this. We'll finish the film and get away from here as quickly as we can. Just please don't get a restraining order. It would cause way too much trouble. I promise he will stay well away from you and Traci from now on."

Finally, after two weeks the filming at the Donovan farm was completed and the crews left. It took another week for the landscaping crews to return the area to its original condition. The crew would return two or three times during the summer to film some of the harvesting of the crops and the sales at the local mall and farmer's market but the actors would not be involved with that. Sam and Traci were exhausted and totally disillusioned with the whole film industry. The only good thing they could see coming from the deal was the huge check they received.

After the crews were gone Sam and Traci began planning their new home's construction. They laid out the building, finished the plans and began some of the dirt work. They did the concrete construction that fall but deferred the wood construction until the following spring.

That winter the film was released as expected. Critics raved about the realism of the film. Unfortunately, it was not a mainstream hit but it still netted the film company a respectable profit.

Sam and Traci began working on their new home after the crops were planted in February of their fifth year on the land. The building was to be of rustic construction incorporating decor that emulated a southwestern motif. The house would be built on the southeast side of the small hill from which the spring ran. The spring would border the western side of the back yard of the new home. The exterior of the home would be native stone and wood construction.

The construction of the home was a labor of love for Sam and Traci. They poured their heart and soul into it. From the first trench dug for the foundation until the last stroke of the paintbrush they were both involved in the construction. The house was built the old fashioned way also, with individual nails rather than those that came from a nail gun. Toward the end of the construction Traci was not too much help because she was heavily pregnant with their first child.

The completion of the house and the birth of their first child occurred almost simultaneously. They had not even purchased all the furniture when Traci went into labor and delivered James Samuel Donovan on the 22nd of August.

The Donovan's spent the remainder of the summer enjoying their new child and landscaping the yard of their new home. There were numerous mature trees in and around the yard and the couple added shrubs and flowers until the yard looked more like a park than a yard. The entire yard was enclosed with a three rail white PVC fence. A gazebo and built-in BBQ area was situated near the spring pool that irrigated the fields when they first began growing produce. Now the small pool contained steelhead trout that were restocked as they were fished out.

Sam had to hire a manager for the produce operation because he and Traci were so busy the year before with the film. They kept her on during this year because of their work on the last book in the series and caring for their son. They were also in the planning process of writing another book together. Just before the new book was released Traci happily told Sam she was once again pregnant.

Fenton never could manage to live on his reduced trust payments and bounced from job to job until he found an occupation he thought would rebuild his fortune. Unfortunately, he died in the explosion of his first batch of meth. Paula was a frequent visitor at the Donovan Farms where she greatly enjoyed staying in the guest house. She got two small articles out of the bet.

Sam and Traci continue to live on their small 80 acre patch of ground. They also purchased another 320 acres, much of which they use to grow produce for sale to a large Arkansas retailer. They're currently working on their sixth book.