Gray Wolf Ranch

Chapter 5 - Clean Slate

CHRIS

A plate with two fried eggs appears in front of me. It looks appealing, yet my stomach churns from the nerves.

"You need to eat. Otherwise, you will have a rumbling stomach during your interview. They will think I don't feed you enough."

I look at my sister and give her a small smile. After taking a sip of my coffee, I grab a fork and move the food around the plate.

"Chris, are you okay?"

Amy's face shows concern. Those sad eyes fill my conscience with guilt and break my heart. Our parents never gave a shit about us, but Amy has always been there for me. Even at the times when I didn't deserve it.

"I'm scared, that is all," I shrug.

My sister is the only person in the world to whom I would share my true feelings about anything.

"The Marshalls are good people, kind and fair. Have faith," she holds my hand.

"What if it happens again? When they find out about my past, they won't want me anymore."

"Huritt knows you served a sentence, and he must have told his brothers by now. If they had a problem with it, we would have heard about it already. Be honest during the interview, it's the best you can do."

I nod and eat my food. I don't know what to expect. Amy is in love with the place, the people and the work she does there. I have no studies or work experience, unless selling drugs, getting into fights and knowing my way around weapons counts.

After breakfast, the ride to the ranch is pleasant. It's the end of May, and the flowers are in bloom and the trees are at their greenest. The road winds down, and then I see a wooden arch with the words Gray Wolf Ranch in iron letters mounted on it. Amy parks her car, and as we get out, she greets people in the distance with a wave.

"This is the parking area only for employees. The Marshalls seem to have thought about everything to make our work pleasant. The employee lounge is on the first floor of that large building, and I work on the ground floor. If you get hired, the stables and the farm are past the pool building over there."

"What about the brother who manages the farm? What's he like?"

"I've only seen Kitchi a handful of times. He has a wild look about him and is always dirty and sweaty. No surprise there. You know well how things go with farm work."

I nod at my sister and then take in the place. The scattered wooden houses are painted in ochre, teal, and burgundy with a white trim. Even though it is the end of spring, they remind me of a beautiful day in the fall. In the middle of the clusters of houses are playgrounds and a few kids in pajamas, wearing rubber rain boots, go down the slides. It's quite a sweet image and I understand why Amy feels so happy working with them.

As we pass the cozy lobby, Amy introduces me to a lady called Olivia who works at the first aid post. Upstairs, the room opens into a small office featuring two wooden desks with hand-carved details. The walls that aren't occupied by wooden cupboards have Native American paintings. A group of people chats in an adjacent room while drinking coffee and eating pastries. Amy greets them, and I get a warm welcome when she introduces me as her brother.

"Morning, Amy!"

I turn around to find a guy with a gentle face and light green eyes, brushing pastry flakes off his gray shirt.

"Hi there Huritt, this is my brother Chris," she says, and we shake hands.

"Pleased to meet you. Do you want coffee before we head to meet with my brothers?"