Charlie stopped a few feet before him as Jake asked, “Why would you be surprised?”
“Well, after we didn’t even hear from you in a couple of weeks, we kinda figgered you wasn’t gonna come back. Your pa was mighty pissed at you for joinin’ the army and we reckoned that you didn’t want to have anything to do with the ranch. Especially after you got the bad news.”
“Sheriff Zendt sent the telegram telling me what happened to the War Department and it only reached Fort Buford a few days ago.”
“Are you goin’ back in a little while?”
“Nope. I’m out of the army now. Where’s Dave?”
“He’s out with the herds.”
Before Jake could ask him to send someone to find him, Charlie glanced out to the open ground before he said, “I don’t wanna sound like I’m sore or nothin’, but after your pa ran off, Dave kinda thinks he owns the place now.”
“He’s the foreman, Charlie. He had to run the ranch after my father left.”
Charlie just nodded but still seemed uncomfortable.
Jake said, “Can you send one of the boys out to find him and let him know that I’m back and want to talk to him?”
“Okay, Jake. I’m glad you’re back. You sure look different after all that time in the army.”
Jake smiled as he replied, “I was just a skinny kid when I left, Charlie. They fed me three times a day, well, most of the days.”
Charlie was snickering as he turned and walked back to his chow house where Jack Hatcher, Tex Emerson and Al Pope were playing poker. He knew that they would all be pleased to know that Jake was back and the others would feel the same way. He wasn’t sure how Dave Forrest would react.
Jake entered the kitchen leaving the back door open and walked back down the hallway. He didn’t know what to expect to find in his father’s office.
When he entered the room, the first thing he noticed was that the thick door on the steel safe in the corner was wide open. He walked to the safe, dropped to his heels, noted the absence of cash then pulled out the ledgers, a bank book and the legal documents. He carried them to the desk and dropped them on the desktop before sitting in his father’s chair.
The ledgers documented expenses and income but had only been used for the past six years. Before that, his father hadn’t bothered doing any bookkeeping. It was his mother who not only convinced him to keep track of the income and outflow of money but also became his accountant.
He opened the latest ledger then flipped the pages until he reached the last entries. Learning how to document the ranch’s finances was one of her many lessons. He smiled when he saw her firm hand. Anyone who just looked at the books would have assumed it was a man holding the pen. His mother was a woman of average height and build and he thought she was one of the prettiest women he’d ever met. He realized that he wasn’t being very objective but still believed she was a very handsome woman. Despite her wonderful humor and gentle nature, she was just as confident and strong as her husband.
His mother included deposits into their bank account, so after checking the bank book, it only took a few minutes to estimate how much money his father had taken from the safe. He came up with a figure of around eight hundred dollars. He knew his father kept at least that much in the safe to meet a month’s payroll and for unexpected expenses. He closed the ledgers, then spent a few minutes reviewing the documents. He found his birth certificate and his parents’ marriage certificate as well as the deed to the Elk Ranch. He was surprised when he found his father’s last will and testament. He didn’t even know that he had one prepared. When he opened it and saw the date, he realized that it had been created a year after he’d enlisted, so he wouldn’t have known about it unless his mother had mentioned it in one of her letters.
Before he turned to the second page, he expected that after he left, his father would have named Dave Forrest as his secondary heir just out of spite. By law, his mother would inherit. But if his father didn’t want Jake to inherit even if she died, then he would need to create a will naming someone else.
So, when he found his name listed as the only heir, Jake was mystified. He left the ledgers on the desk as he folded the will, then stood and returned it and the other documents to the safe and closed the door. He spun the dial and returned to the desk. He checked each drawer looking for anything that might explain the reason for his parents’ loud disagreement. It had to be something outrageous if it provoked his father to actually strike his mother. He found nothing to give him the least hint of the cause for the fight before he slid the ledgers into the bottom drawer. He hoped that Dave would be able to at least give him a clue. He couldn’t imagine that the foreman wouldn’t have some inkling of what could have caused the heated confrontation. He then wondered if his father had been cheating on his mother. He simply couldn’t imagine anything else that could have infuriated her.
He began to examine the rest of the office to see what else was missing. He took his time examining each wall and found everything where he remembered. That in itself posed a new question. His father’s rifles were all there, including his favorite, the Winchester ’76 that Jake had intended to buy when he bumped into Kay Smith.
There were six long guns,
