Putting Down Roots – Valerie Hunter

“Then maybe you can understand why I can feel like I do. It’s been eight years, Grady. He’s not my pa anymore, he’s just some ghost who lives in California.”

Grady was silent awhile, and then he said, “I reckon a ghost is better than nothing. He’s the only pa you’ve got.”

“And this is the only home I’ve got. Which one do I choose?”

Grady shook his head. “I can’t tell you that.”

 

 

Dean dreamed that night of his family, the way they used to be. Cass and Alec bickering and laughing, Pa tossing Noah the way he used to toss Dean, Ma’s smile impossibly large. But the scene dissolved and shifted until he was the only one left, the emptiness squeezing his chest.

He awoke with a start and tried to get his bearings. It was just a dream. He’d had plenty of similar ones over the years.

But tonight he couldn’t get Alec out of his head. A light had gone out in Ma’s eyes when they’d gotten that letter from Pa, but Dean hadn’t been worried. He’d figured that Alec had just gotten tired of California and was heading home. For a solid year he clung to this belief, expecting every day to see his brother walk down the lane.

But Alec never arrived.

How many angry days and sleepless nights had Alec let pass before he’d left? Had he ever questioned his decision?

He was dead, Dean knew that.

And yet maybe he wasn’t.

Dean rolled over in the darkness and shut his eyes tight against the memory of his brother. His own decision was made, sudden and sure. He’d go with Ma. He wouldn’t be responsible for that look in her eyes.

Besides, someone in the family was going to have to make a good living in California. Might as well be him.

 

 

Dean lingered over the chores the next morning, reluctantly making plans. He could see Mr. Atkins that afternoon, or should he see Grady first? Grady wouldn’t have the money to buy the land, but he could maybe afford the livestock. Dean would give him a good deal.

He knew Grady’d be happy for him, but it still didn’t feel right leaving him behind. Grady had turned out to be more of a brother than Alec.

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  1. M.L.Owen says:

    I enjoyed this story very much. I relate to it in a variety of ways, several of which are, tangential but my liking of it is real. I was raised in Nebraska, though on a farm. I’ve had, indeed I have, decisions pushed on me by circumstance, that seem to have no “proper” choice: some gain, some loss with any decision. I’ve written a story, much, much different, with the same title, which is what got me to read yours. Turned out that, after reading yours, I’ve realized that the two stories have much in common, in spite of their differences. Still, the core of my response to your story is, well done. It moved me.

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