A Father's Stake

An old-fashioned yellow Formica table, its faux marble pattern almost worn away by use, stood by a window that overlooked a stand of huge pines, parted to expose the panorama of the distant mountains. If you knew where to look, you could see part of the Rez from there, a deliberate decision by his grandfather when he’d cleared some of the pines.

Once they were all seated on the high-backed wooden chairs, Jack leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table beside two large manila envelopes that he ignored for the moment. He had to figure out exactly how to say what he had to say. He didn’t want that anger to come again. He didn’t want to destroy their family.

“It seems like forever since the three of us have been in here together.” And he meant it. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this connection with the past and his brothers.

Gage nodded. “Yeah, it’s nice. It’s been a while what with Adam catching criminals and me building the complex and you....” His voice died off before he added. “I hear you’re doing a bit of law now and then.”

“I do, now and then.”

Both brothers sat silently, giving him time. Finally, he just started to talk. Whatever he said, he’d live with. “I talked to Mom and Dad a couple of weeks ago. I asked about this place, about me buying it out of the trust, and they said they’d thought about it before and they agreed that they wanted to deed it over to me.”

His brothers didn’t say anything. After clearing his throat, Jack pressed his hands palms down on the dull yellow table top. He spoke to Gage. “Seems you’re thinking of living in town, getting an office going, and that acreage out by Delany’s Stables that you bought years ago, you could build on that.” He turned to Adam. “And you’ve always wanted that parcel over by Natchee’s spread—word is, he’s thinking of heading back up the hill. It could become available.”

Adam nodded, but his face was tight. “Yeah, I’ve had my eye on it.”

“And this has always felt right for me.” If he’d been able to talk Robyn into coming out here to live, he would have already been in possession of the land. But her teaching position was on the Reservation, and being in town let her tutor the kids more easily. Their loft above his law offices had been right for them until they had their own kids. Kids that would never be born now. “This place feels right for where I am now,” he admitted. His heart started to race, as if he was running full tilt.

“Go on,” Gage said. “Right after you hung up, and Merry and Erin drove off for town, Mom was there, crying, and said Dad was locked in his office. When I asked what was going on, all Mom said was, ‘Ask Jack.’”

“I didn’t want Mom to be in on it,” Jack muttered. “I really didn’t, but I couldn’t get her out, and....”

He looked from brother to brother. “Okay, this morning I found out that they don’t own this land anymore.”

Both brothers looked surprised. Adam said. “But it doesn’t make sense.”

“Dad lost it,” Jack said bluntly. “It’s gone.” He looked around the house, then back at his brothers. “We’re trespassing, in the eyes of the law.”

Adam shook his head, took off his uniform cap and hung it on the back spindle of the chair beside him. “It can’t be gone.”

Jack pushed the papers toward Gage and Adam. Swallowing hard, he finally managed, “Just read these.”

Both men hesitated, but mercifully didn’t ask any questions before picking up an envelope and taking out the four papers inside. Jack closed his eyes, not able to bear watching them read the words. He didn’t open them again until Adam spoke.

“Dad wouldn’t have done something like this, he wouldn’t.” He tossed the copy of the new deed onto the table top. “He couldn’t,” he muttered tightly.

Gage simply lowered his copy of the enclosed letter from the county offices and met Jack’s gaze. “How did you get these?”

“I finally put in the papers to switch the deed on the property. I know someone in the county offices, and she sent them to me, telling me I didn’t have any right to transfer it into my name since it wasn’t a Wolf property anymore. Dad took the land. He deeded it to a Charles Luther Michaels in June, the tenth to be specific, of this year. All legal. All very binding.”

“Just like that? Dad sold this place? That doesn’t make any sense. It’s a mistake, a county error. It has to be. Besides, he couldn’t do that without Mom’s signature and she’d never agree, no matter what.”

“I checked. He has power of attorney over all their financial dealings,” Jack said flatly.

“Why?”

“After everything he’s done in the past, she still trusts him!” Suddenly the anger and hurt were there again, and he couldn’t stop himself from hitting the table as hard as he could with the flat of his right hand. “It’s done. He did it. He took it and gave it away. No money changed hands. And do you want to know why he gave the land to that Michaels person?”

He didn’t wait for them to respond. “He was drunk and in a private high stakes poker match, and he put up the deed for this place on a bet, winner take all. It’s all there in the letter the clerk faxed to me.”

“And Dad told you the same story?” Gage asked, his shock still lingering on his face.

“No, actually, he looked surprised. June tenth was toward the end of his last bender, when he disappeared for two weeks. My guess is, he had one of his drunken blackouts. I doubt he even remembers the game.”

Adam looked up at him intently. “Why would he tell you to take the land if it was already gone?”

Jack ran both hands over his face. “Like I said, a blackout. He didn’t remember much of anything.” He looked at Adam. “At least he found his way to Rick Carter’s, his old banking friend who lives in Henderson, Nevada. Two days later, he was back here, refused rehab, but got a grip and seems to have been sober ever since.” He grimaced. “But who knows.”

“What about Mom?” Gage asked, barely above a whisper.

“I hoped she’d be gone when I got there, but she wasn’t, and she knew something was wrong. I managed to get Dad alone in the office, but Mom came in when she heard me yelling.” That broke his heart. “I can’t believe how many ways he’s hurt her and she’s forgiven him. I’m not sure she will this time.”

Jack swallowed hard before continuing. “She was crying when I left. I should have stayed for her. I should have never left her like that.”

“No,” Gage said quickly. “No, you shouldn’t have stayed. You’d said enough.”

Jack felt reproach in the words, but when he looked at Gage, he didn’t see any sign of criticism. Just pain. And he felt it too, for their mother. He could barely think about his father, crying, begging for her forgiveness, promising anything it would take to keep her with him. More empty promises, as empty as his vows to never drink again.

Adam sat back, his arms folded tightly over his chest. “Mom and Dad will have to deal with their own lives. We’ll be there, and Mom knows that, but we can’t change anything.”

Jack nodded, feeling an odd exhaustion now that he’d told his brothers about everything. “You’re right. For now.”

Gage sat back. “So, all we have to do is find this Michaels guy, make him an offer he can’t refuse and that’s that.” He made it sound like a foregone conclusion. “As for Dad, I don’t know what to do. He refused rehab when he got back, so that’s probably out. But we really need to talk to Mom about rescinding Dad’s power of attorney.”

“You two do it,” Jack said, not having the heart to even see his mother yet. “I’ll work on trying to contact Michaels. There’s an address from the original deed change, so I’ll start there.”

“Where is it?” Gage asked.

Adam glanced down at the letter on the table. “It’s in New Jersey. While you do that, Jack, I’ll run a background check on Mr. Michaels.”

Gage had picked up the letter and scanned it before he looked at one brother, then the other. “The one thing that doesn’t make sense to me is, if Michaels has owned the title for about a month, it seems odd that he hasn’t made his way out here, from New Jersey or even from Las Vegas right when he got the land. Even if it was just to scope it out and sell it? Wouldn’t he at least send someone to size it up and figure out what to do with it?”

Three hundred acres of prime grazing land, with water rights, wouldn’t be cheap if it went on the open market. “No one’s been out here, I don’t think, and we would have heard if someone in town was asking around about the ranch.” Jack exhaled as he raked his fingers through his hair. He actually felt a bit more settled now that he’d talked to Gage and Adam. He motioned to the documents on the table between them. “Take what you need, Adam. I’ve got the originals back at the office.”

Gage was the first one to stand. “I can ask around about deals like this going down, and what can be done.”

Jack shook his head. “It’s too late to call any of this illegal. It’s not.”

“No, it’s not, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be some leverage brought to make sure, when you find him, that Michaels would be more compliant with your request to purchase it back from him.”

Frowning, Jack just shrugged. “I appreciate whatever either of you can do to help out.”

“Done,” Gage and Adam said in unison.

The three brothers stepped out into the afternoon heat, the sky a true blue overhead. They stopped by Gage’s horse, and as Jack rubbed the large animal’s silken muzzle, Adam asked, “What about Dad? Are you going to talk to him again? ” Jack knew his tone was tight, but he couldn’t help it. “I don’t want any kind of contact with Dad for now. He can’t make up for any of this. I just want this land back from Charles Michaels.”

Gage reached for his horse’s lead, and with a glance at each brother, walked off toward the trees. Adam slipped into the cruiser and gave Jack the hint of a salute, his forefinger tapping the brim of his uniform cap before he drove off down the dusty driveway, another cloud of dust in his wake.

The slight diminishing of stress was gone as soon as both brothers were out of sight. Jack felt the tension return. He shouldn’t have yelled, or threatened his father. He shouldn’t have done anything in front of his mother. She didn’t deserve that.