“Dad should have done this a long time ago.” Grant swiped an extended arm over the fields-like Moses splitting the Red Sea.
Gil blew out air. “The man could be impossible. He had his fingers in every aspect of the business and was a control freak. He could emasculate you with a few choice words or even one word. Uncle Mace deserves to rot in jail, he deserves to rot in hell. But there’s this little, teeny part of me that understands him.”
“I hear you, bro,” Grant said.
“Dad was a force of nature.” Gil surveyed the ranchland. “But he was also a visionary.”
Resseur patted his boyfriend’s hand. “Should I check in on lunch, Gil? I’m starving.”
“We’ll all head back,” Gil said.
“No, no,” Antoine said. “You stay here and I’ll call you when everything’s ready. I just want to get a head start.” He kissed Gil on the cheek. “Enjoy.”
The men walked along for another minute before Decker spoke. “How many people do you employ?”
“For the fields, it’s mostly Paco Albanez and his family,” Gil said. “When the vines start to mature, I’ll bring in the experts.”
“Seems reasonable.”
“You know I kept on Rondo Martin, Ana Mendez, and Riley Karns even though we sold the horses.”
Grant smiled. “Better to keep them under our employ than to deal with lawsuits.”
Gil laughed. “Paco knows what he’s doing.” No one spoke. “Thank you both for coming down.”
“Yes, really,” Grant said. “Thank you both for everything.”
“No thanks necessary,” Decker said. “I just did my job. If you want to thank Brett, that’s another thing.”
“Not really,” Harriman said. “I wouldn’t have a job if people didn’t testify. Still…” He laughed. “If I had known, maybe I wouldn’t have been such a good citizen.”
“We appreciate what you did,” Decker said.
“We both appreciate what both of you did,” Grant said. “My brother and I.”
For a moment, the air was devoid of man’s intrusion-just the sounds of crows expressing displeasure. Gil broke the silence. “When the place is operable, please come down again. I’ll make it worth your while by giving you each a couple dozen cases.”
“That’s my brother,” Grant said. “Giving away the profits.”
“If I can break even, I’ll be happy.” Gil took in another whiff of air and let it out. “Although I can’t be any happier than I am right now. I just wish Dad and Mom were here to share the dream.”
Grant linked his arm with Gil, and the group started back toward the main house. Decker with Harriman; Grant with Gil.
In the Bible, there was Cain and Abel. But there was also Moses and Aaron-two siblings who respected and loved each other until the day Aaron died. Decker figured Gil and Grant were probably somewhere in between the extremes. Just a year ago, Gil had tearfully admitted to Grant that he had escaped with Antoine Resseur the day Grant was shot at because he really didn’t trust anyone in his family, including his own brother. Grant had been shocked and angry, but eventually the two men reconciled and became closer than ever.
Brother plus brother didn’t always total to brotherhood. But when it did, Decker thought, it was really nice.
Faye Kellerman
