Word Count 713
#5 in the Holidays series
1895
The fall harvest had been the best yet. Scott snapped the ledger closed, and looked at his brother. “We averaged 6 tons an acre.”
“Are we gonna sell some grapes again to Mastropolo?” Johnny asked.
“What do you think? If we kept all of them, we could make close to 4,000 cases of wine.”
“That’s a lot of wine Scott. Last year we had just over 1,000 cases and it was a lot of work getting it all sold. With the cattle and horses, maybe we should sell some of it.”
Scott smiled as he handed Johnny two envelopes. We’ve been approached about selling our harvest. “Between Mastropolo and D’Agostini, we could sell all our harvest. They’re offering top dollar.”
Johnny opened the two letters and read them quickly. He whistled and then asked. “What happened to their own harvest?”
D’Agostini had snow and a hard freeze for ten days and Masropolo had a fire that burned half their vines. They both have contracts back East. If they can’t deliver, another vineyard will take over the contracts.”
“When do we need to let them know?”
“We should decide before the end of the week. We don’t want them to take their offer somewhere else. At thirty dollars a ton, we should get around eighteen thousand. The wine market is fickle and the California Wine Association is forecasting lower prices in the coming years.”
“I vote to sell Scott. That kind of money will give us a cushion for when the cattle prices are down.”
“I agree. Maybe we could use some of that money to invest.”
“Sure Scott. This last investment turned out pretty good. But no land speculation hundreds of miles away.”
“Agreed,” Scott answered giving Johnny a pat on his shoulder.
Johnny got up to leave, “Wait a minute, Johnny. I’ve got another letter here.”
Johnny took the envelope and frowned. The return address was San Diego. He licked his lips and opened the envelope.
He read it quickly and looked at his brother. “Why did they tell us this?”
“I can only speculate, but since we testified at his trial for killing Billy and Frank, I guess they would want us to know he has been killed in Mexico.”
“I wonder how much he paid to bribe the law to let him go before they hung him?”
“I never would have guessed Al Hart would have been behind it. And to think he thought he could hire you to kill them is beyond me. They never caught the men who actually killed them, but at least they got the man who ordered it.”
“I’m sure glad we didn’t get tied up with him. Just the thought of untangling that whole mess…”
“Me too. I wonder how Ah Quin is doing? We owe him a great deal.”
Johnny nodded. “While I wouldn’t mind eating again at the Far East Cafe, I don’t plan on going back to San Diego any time soon.”
Scott nodded in agreement. “Just think, in a few years we can send our sons to take care of ranch business, and we can sit on the porch and drink lemonade.”
That got a laugh out of Johnny. “We’ve got a few years before they’ll be ready to take the reins, but they’re learning.”
“So brother, what do we do with our eighteen thousand dollar windfall?” Scott asked.
“I’ve been thinking, if we could irrigate the Duck Creek field, we could get three or four cuttings of alfalfa. The dairy farms down in the valley are paying top dollar for alfalfa. There’s plenty of water. We’d just need to pipe and pump it.
Scott looked pensive for a moment, “We’d have to fence it.”
“That’s no problem. Probably wouldn’t take more than two days with a four man crew.”
“Let’s give that job to Enrique. It will be a good experience for him to boss a crew.”
“I’ll tell him tonight, and on Wednesday, I’ll go with him to start surveying.”
“And I’ll let the Mastropolos and D’Agostinis know they can buy our grapes.”
Scott poured each of them a glass of wine. He raised it in a toast and Johnny did the same. “To our future.
“To our future.” Johnny repeated
The End
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I love this series!
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Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate knowing you liked it.
EM
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Thank you.
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I am glad Johnny and Scott are successful in all their business transactions and diversifying in a multitude of ways to use Lancer by staying home and living off their own land, while Murdoch I feel is simply smiling down on them – so proud to have his boys happily married with children and becoming such adventurous business partners, working side by side – equal in their footing. I hope you continue the awesome series. I would love to see Scott’s and Johnny’s children all grown up to give them the same opportunity to fully understand how Murdoch felt proud as when they first came home, becoming grown men working and running the ranch. Your story gives a full circle of Lancer legacy through three generations! ♥️
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Hi Carol,
I had to resolve the rift between the brothers! Can’t have that. lol
Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!
Robin
(EM)
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This is a great series that I have re read several times. I really enjoyed your development of the family dynamics and it was interesting to see “ the boys” at a more mature stage in their lives with their own families to support.
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I just saw your comment. I’m so sorry to be late! Thank you for reading it. I’m glad you enjoyed this wrap up bit.
Robin
(EM)
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