Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
If you are expecting an apology for what happened the day you and I were hunting and you disobeyed orders, I can’t offer you one. I can’t apologize for something that I’m not sorry about. Death in hunting is a part of life, Reeves. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s natural, and it’s how strong men survive. Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. A wrong was done to me, and that wrong needed to be accounted for. No man at the top of the food chain gets to the pinnacle without blood being shed. You needed to learn that lesson early, not later in life. Modern day civilization doesn’t understand the definition of a true man. We are being ruined by feminism and this new woke ideology.
Everyone is politically correct nowadays, sensitive snowflakes. People can’t handle the truth anymore. They cry and complain at the drop of a hat. They become drug addicts or drunks to flee from authenticity. If Roman got that tape recording from you, I’m assuming that you somehow obtained it by picking the lock to that closet where I kept certain items when you and your siblings were children, so long ago. That shows your intelligence, seeing as how it not only was purposefully difficult to open, but the closet was hidden, appearing as part of the wall. It seems you passed on that intelligence and sneakiness to your middle child. Roman is an efficient remover, but somewhat messy in his eliminations.
I did his dirty work as a favor to you, an act of kindness, and got rid of his shambolic aftermath which consisted of three split trees that I had grown myself. I did this in spite of the fact that he left me, Jasper, and my cowardly driver in the wilderness with a SUV that had a blown-out tire and shattered windows, thanks to your child. I found that tire situation amusing, believe it or not. After that son of a bitch said his final words, he just kind of disappeared into the forest, like the deranged, bowlegged monkey that he is, leaving us there after he was finished with his power play.
He is a lot like you it seems. Resilient. Crafty. Childish. He’s smarter than I took him for. Typically, ‘pretty’ men are not mentally agile, or blessed in the brains department, but he beat the odds. Don’t get me wrong, I knew he was bright and stated as such many times over the course of his life or I would have never wished for him to be a team member, but I undeniably underestimated him. Greed is usually synonymous with impatience. Roman I’m sure is still greedy, but he proved he is no longer impatient. However, he’s a poor listener.
That’s the only issue with this process of getting my grandsons to see the error of their ways. I’m not the enemy. I’m tough, and I mean business. That’s all. I’m the only one willing to stand up for what’s right. I am your father. Not your friend. Children change so quickly, nowadays. Reeves, Wilde men don’t cower. We don’t beg. We fight. We live to see another day. Survival of the fittest. You’re my flesh and blood. The facts are, since your teenage years, you did not like me, and I never liked you. It was no mystery. I know you don’t believe this, but I did the best I could with you, Reeves. I wanted you to be strong physically and mentally, read your Bible, and to understand how the real world works. You’re my son, regardless of our disdain for one another.
Take care of yourself,
Daddy
Before hitting ‘send,’ he re-read the whole thing, wondering if he should delete it or simply keep it as a draft. For a moment or two, he thought about Reeves’ mother, and the brief time they were together before she passed. A beautiful, quiet woman with medical issues that he knew nothing about until it was far too late. She’d hidden her frail heart from him, and that betrayal angered him to this day. Reeves was the kind of boy who needed his mother, and he simply could not fill her shoes.
With a sigh, he opened the restaurant door and walked in again. Pausing for a brief moment, he hit the send button before returning to his party of eight…
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
A Wedding Patridge in a Pear Tree
Genesis could hear ‘Where I Wanna Be,’ by Donnel Jones playing in the large, sophisticated hall as the guests took their seats. She was sequestered away in an elegant dressing room with cream cathedral ceilings as the music vibrated through her soul and made its way close to her ears. Peeking out the door, she saw that just about everyone they’d invited to the wedding of the year was in attendance. She softly closed the door, then twirled an earring around her finger as she laughed with her bridesmaids, Rosie the maid of honor, Ms. Charlie and Mama, who sat eating candy and gossiping. The mood was light and airy, and much to her surprise, she didn’t have a nervous bone in her body.