Legacy

Prologue

The seasons were starting to change again. The air was cooler than it had been in months. That just meant that it was finally a reasonable temperature instead of the blazing Texas summer we had all been suffering through. The change in the weather signaled a few things, the start of school, which was last month, and the beginning of football season. My dad, my brother Adam, and I had been football fans since birth. But this season was different, this season Adam was going to be on the field.

When I got home I knew I had to feed the horses and do my other barn chores, then get ready for his game. This was the first home game of the season and we all were a little too excited for Adam's liking. He was easily embarrassed and didn't want us to make a big deal out of it --- so we made it a huge deal.

Dad and Ezra had been fixing a fence on the east side of the ranch this afternoon. Both of them were sore and sweaty by the time they got back. I had just finished mucking out the stalls when they lead their horses in. I leaned against the rake I had in my hands.

"Did you ever reach any kind of agreement with the jackasses next door?" I asked dad.

"Savannah, language," he scolded as he took off his hat and ran his hand through sweaty dark hair.

The fence separating our land from the Thompson's farm had finally collapsed. We didn't know about it until Mr. Thompson came storming over here one afternoon, angry that our cattle had gotten onto his fields. The agreement Mr. Thompson's father and my grandparents had was that if the fence were to ever need repairs, we would split the cost down the middle. That time has arrived and now they are refusing to pay.

"No, we didn't. The stubborn bastard says that since it's our cattle, it's our fence to pay for," he answered.

"I still say that if they want our cattle off their cotton so bad, they should help pay for the fence. It isn't just our fence if it's benefiting their ass too. If they want our cattle to eat up all their crop, they can keep being difficult. Why do we bother fixing the fence and paying for it in full?" Ezra chimed in. Dad would never admit it, but I knew that he and Ezra had this special bond. Ezra is the oldest and looks exactly like Dad in just about every way, they even act similarly. They've always been close, closer than I've ever been to either of my parents.

"I'll talk to him about it again soon. We can't get into it with them. We can probably come to some agreement eventually. I just wish the guy would respect what his father promised," Dad added. "Let's just finish up here so we can head to the game. There's supposed to be a good turn out tonight, we'd better get there early for good seats!" he smiled. His excitement was almost contagious. We all hurried to finish our chores and head inside to shower and get ready.

My grip on the little bag of popcorn was tightening. All of us were frozen staring at the field. I could feel my heart beating in my chest.

"Interception by Adam Montgomery," the announcer yelled into the microphone. Dad stood up and whistled, while the rest of us hollered. Adam was running with the ball towards the endzone, but the excitement was short-lived.

We all cringed as Adam was tackled to the ground 20 yards away from a touchdown.

"There is no way that guy is in high school! What's he weigh, 280?" Dad complained, a little too loudly for our liking. His accent even more pronounced in the heat of the moment. He sat down in a huff as Mom grabbed his hand, trying to calm him down.

"I still think this sport is too violent. Why couldn't we have convinced him to play basketball like Ezra? No one gets hurt in basketball," Mom complained. She moved to adjust her umbrella. Mom didn't like being in direct sunlight.