Saving Grace

Chapter 50

Joe staggered into the cabin and collapsed into the chair. The bottle in his hand clanked against the table. He fumbled for a glass for a moment. His searching hands pushed it further and further away. He growled in disgust. He lined the bottle up with the table and popped the top. The beer slid down his throat effortlessly but didn't burn away the pain.

He threw the empty bottle into the fireplace where it shattered on the hearthstone. He stood and tried to walk to the door that refused to stay in one place. His old truck loomed in front of him. Joe wondered for a moment why it was parked up against one of the tall pines. He fought to open the door and grabbed for the bottle of fireball whiskey. He tipped the bottle back then tossed it on the ground in disgust.

"Empty. There's gotta be another bottle in here someplace."

He grinned when the bourbon appeared in his hand. He chugged for several minutes, willing the liquid to burn away the pain in his heart. Swaying as if pushed by a great wind, he moved back into the cabin and almost fell into the bed, the bottle rolling across the floor.

He groaned as the morning sun poured through the open door. He threw his arm over his eyes, trying to block out the day. Bottles clinked on the floor as if being kicked.

"I never. Joseph. This is horrible. I've never seen this cabin in such disarray."

He groaned as he recognized Granny's patronizing tone. His mouth felt as if it were full of cotton. He sat and swallowed back the bile that threatened.

A chair squealed as it was drawn across the floor. "Joseph, come sit with me."

Joe squinted at the ancient woman sitting at the table. "Why?"

"Get over here, Joseph. I know your mother taught you better than that and so did I."

"Sorry," he muttered as he stood. He swallowed again and bolted for the door as he heaved.

Granny shook her head as he reentered the cabin. "I'll never understand why you pay to be ill. Liquor never solves any problems."

"No. It just dulls them."

"Makes them bigger the next day."

Joe sat at the table, silent as he waited to see what fool's errand the woman would send him on today.

"Did I ever tell you how we got this place?"

Joe shook his head and immediately regretted the action. He fumbled for the bottle on the table and a glass, opting for a smidgen of decorum while his grandmother was in the room.

"Years ago, when your grandfather and I were young and just married, we came to this little town looking for work. There was almost nothing available. No one could pay. No one had much of anything. Frank found out the ranch was for sale and decided to pay the owner a visit to see if he could work something out. A seller finance type of deal, maybe. We both went out, hoping the owner would see the potential and possibly take pity on us what with me being pregnant."

Joe rolled his eyes and took a sip, grimacing as the heat slowly spread through his innards.

"It didn't work. She all but shot at us. I cried all the way back to town. The next day, Frank again went out and started to work, mending fences and clearing dead leaves. I sat in town, worrying that I'd be a widow and my child would be fatherless. She came out and threatened him with a gun. He explained the situation and all-but pleaded with her to consider taking us on as hands with the possibility of buying the place in the future. She looked at him hard for several minutes before asking him his name. Looked like she'd seen a ghost when he told her.

She invited him in for coffee and had quite the discussion. She asked if we had any children. When Frank said not yet, her face fell. It was as if she was expecting him to say yes. She invited us out the next day to discuss things further. Frank almost flew home to give me the good news. I've never been so relieved to see the man as I was that day."

She paused to shift on her seat.

"Don't remember these chairs being quite as hard as they are now. Guess I don't have as much padding as I used to. At any rate, we showed up the next day. She had us come in and told Frank to get a leather-bound book from the shelf. She flipped through the pages and found the entries in her journal.

It was quite the tale about a wagon rolling down the mountain, a bear attacking and a young man who came to their rescue. She was laid up with her injuries for quite some time. The young man built a cabin, hunted and helped her siblings do their best to prepare for the winter. Then, one day, he disappears. All they were able to find was an old rifle. The young man shared some features and last name with your grandfather. She pulled the deed from the pages and unfolded it. She said 'I believe we have come to an agreement. Three lives for one ranch is adequate payment.' With that, she signed the deed and handed the pen to Frank. He signed as well. We were dumbfounded, unsure what she meant.

The woman went on to tell us the young man's name was Joe. She described scars, perfectly matching yours. Frank and I were only able to have one child. Your father. We didn't tell him what we'd learned. Then, when your mother had twins and decided to name you Jim and Joe, we thought it was fate. After the bear attack, we knew the young man had to be you, we just didn't know how. Only that it would."

Joe sat in stunned silence as Granny's tale came to an end. She withdrew the worn book from her voluminous bag and handed it to him. A faded ribbon with a metal circle tied to it was tucked between the pages.

"She marked the spot when she deeded the land to us. Read it. It may bring comfort."

Her aging bones creaked as she rose and quietly made her way to the door. She paused and looked back at him sitting in the semi darkness. A sad smile crossed her face before she turned and left the room.