Fathers and Sons
Co-written by VKS and MJRod, this story picks up where "Lady Luck" leaves off, following Mano and Buck's adventures into Sonora and offering a glimpse of what might have been for season four of "The High Chaparral." VKS & MJRod retain all rights to the plot and also to such characters of our creation as the Ruiz family and Teresa Lauder, not in the original series. These stories are our tribute to the show and all involved with it.
Fathers and Sons Chapter One: Morning
Golden streaks of October dawn filtered through the slats in the shuttered window of Manolo Montoya's bedroom at the High Chaparral. The caballero lay still, savoring a few moments of silence as shafts of sunlight striped the bedcovers and assailed his eyes. Ay Bendita, why must he awake so early? Dawn was created only for roosters, not men. He yawned and dragged himself to the washbasin, pouring tepid water from the pitcher into the bowl, shaking his head. "La gallina está muriendo...y los pollitos…li de di di," he hummed as he washed and shaved, smiling at his reflection in the glass after dressing.
Inhaling the smell of coffee, bacon, and freshly baked bread, Mano strolled down the short tiled hallway and brief flight of stairs toward the dining room of the casa.
"Hola, Big John," he called to his brother-in-law, already seated next to his sister at the large round table. "Buenos días, Victoria."
"Good morning, Manolito. Café?"
"Gracias."
Victoria smiled as she poured her brother's coffee into the blue and white china cup at his place. Mano scooped a generous spoonful of eggs onto his plate and helped himself to two slices of bacon from a pewter platter.
"Ah, g'morning, Mano," John Cannon looked up from his half empty plate, then turned and smiled at his wife. "Victoria, this bread is delicious."
"Thank you, John," Victoria smiled, passing the basket to her brother who cut a thin slice from the loaf before taking a drink of coffee.
"What is it you are reading, Juano?" Manolito asked, eyeing a parchment sheet with an official seal in John's left hand.
"Good news, I hope," John replied. "Arrived yesterday in Tucson. Been expecting it. Remember that Lieutenant Purdy who helped in Blue's defense at Fort Marcy coupla years back?"
"Sí."
"Well it appears he is now Major Purdy and an army quartermaster in Kansas. He sent me this letter. Seems my beef is good enough that the army wants to ship it from the railhead to posts throughout Kansas, Nebraska, and on to Wyoming."
"Hey, bueno, hombre."
"Yeah," John continued. "Who knows? At this rate, maybe I'll be supplying beef to Washington," he chuckled.
"Oh, John, how exciting!" Victoria gushed. "Think what this could mean to the High Chaparral."
"Stranger things have happened, amigo. This could be very good for the rancho," agreed Mano.
"Very good indeed, but I'm gonna need another 500 head now or by early spring at the latest. And Mano, I can only think of one place where I can get hold of that much good stock."
"Ah...Rancho Montoya." Mano sighed.
"Yep, your father. Can you go down there and see to it?
Mano shifted forward in his chair and spoke, "This is excellent, John. I suppose you want them now to fatten them yourself or else you will want to take the fattest of my father's young stock in the spring, eh?"
"Yup. I don't mind either way, but I've got a hunch if I let your father fatten them up and he finds out about the army, or even suspects it, his price will go through the roof. It won't be worth my while doing this at all," John paused, looked at his brother-in-law, and lowered his voice. "I'd just as soon Don Sebastian not get wind of it."
Mano raised an eyebrow. "Ah sí. You are well acquainted with my father's, cómo se dice, head for business. If he thinks you might be getting top dollar for his vacas, chihuahua, hombre!" He shook his head.
"Yeah," John took a bite of bacon. "Well, it'll be your job to see he doesn't find out."
Mano nodded and ate a forkful of eggs, followed by a long drink of coffee. He tilted his head back and regarded John Cannon.
"You are asking me to mislead my own father, John?" Mano asked, smiling.
"Oh no, Manolito, John would never ask you to lie to Papá!" Victoria protested."How can you say such a thing?"
John grinned. "Not lie to him, Victoria. I'd just like Mano to keep some of the truth to himself." Laughter rippled from all three. "You can do that, can't you?"
"Juano, I will try to ensure that Papá discovers your herd has been...oh, let us say, unexpectedly depleted, perhaps through a lightning raid by renegade Apaches. You feel the need to increase the numbers over the winter in case of emergency. In this way, Papá may not suspect you have acquired an improved contract with the army."
"Sounds about right. Thank you, Mano. I'd appreciate it. Just do the best you can."
"You know, John, he will probably not believe me. The last time you sent Blue and me to bargain for cattle…"
"I did not ask you to lie to him, Mano."
"No, but it was the only way he would be moved. For Papá, business is business...and even family interferes with business. Besides, I did not lie to him. I merely allowed him to believe what he wanted to believe. I even agreed with him when he accused me of lying. And anyway, Juano, you got the bull Montoya out of it, eh?"
John chuckled. "Yup."
"Ay yi yi. I will do this thing, hombre."
"Good. I'm obliged, Mano." Both men busied themselves with breakfast while Victoria sipped her coffee and glanced from her brother to her husband with a pleased smile.
"Ah, John, I do have one favor to ask, if I may?" Mano said after dabbing his mouth with his napkin.
"Oh? What's that?"
"May I take Buck and Roy with me on this trip?"
"Whaat? Why?"
"Well, it would be, cómo se dice, an experience for Roy, whose life has been somewhat limited, you might say, until now. After all, he is in my custody. Also, I would like Buck to check out some horses with me that I happen to know about in Sonora. As you know, we would like to start a real horse operation at our own rancho, John."
John's chest heaved up and down as he exhaled with vigor, his gray brows knit together in a frown.
"Yeah," John paused and shook his head from side to side. "I don't want to stand in your way but with Blue gone…"
"Manolito, John needs you and Buck here at the High Chaparral! You know this!" Victoria burst out, her dark eyes flashing. "You have been back less than two weeks from your rancho!"
"Sí, of course, my sister. But this will not be an immediate thing. It is going to take much time to get a truly good horse ranch going. Buck and I are not going to desert you, Juano. And after all, you are still using our grazing and water during the heat of the summer, are you not?"
"Hmmm. Well, I suppose…."
"And John, please do not forget that we do not want the whole rancho to know that our, cómo se dice, little venture is growing and may be pretty good one day." Nor do we want Papá to know this, Mano thought, wincing a little at the idea of what his father might say. Hijo mío, you prefer this, this squalid little rancho to your birthright?
"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't at that," John smiled. "All right, Mano, you can take Buck and Roy with you, although it's against my better judgment to let you go down to Mexico by yourselves. Who's gonna make sure you and Buck don't both wind up in jail? Roy?" John guffawed and took a long drink of coffee when his mirth subsided.
Mano responded with a tight-lipped smile and touched his napkin to his mouth.
"Más café, Manolo?" Victoria asked.
"Sí, gracias, hermanita mía."
The meal continued some moments in silence.
"Buck, he is due back from night herd exactly when, John?" Mano asked.
"Any time now."
A loud bang from the front door indicated that any time was now. Buck Cannon blew in with the wind, smacking a dusty black hat against a dusty thigh. He stopped short when he saw the wide eyes of his sister-in-law glaring at him with outrage, her mouth open in disbelief.
"Oh, Victoria, I plumb forgot."
"You always do."
"I head outside right now and clean up. I am powerful sorry, Victoria."
John Cannon scowled. His brother still had the manners of a gutshot Apache. Good thing Mama wasn't alive to see him.
"I be right back. I jes got so tuckered out all I could think of was to git in here, have me some breakfast and git to bed. I am so sorry."
"Permiso," Mano nodded to his sister and brother-in-law and bounded from the table to hurry after Buck who headed outdoors for the washstand under the side porch. Sunlight streamed through the porch's saguaro ribbed roof as Buck splashed his face and squinted at his compadre.
"Hey, Buck, hombre, you and I have something to discuss," said Mano, his voice just above a whisper.
"But I jes got here, Mano. What's this all about?"
"Ssshh. Not so loud."
"Aw right. Whut?"
"I will tell you whut! Your brother wants me to go to Sonora and bargain with my father for 500 head of cattle."
"So whut? That ain't nothin' new."
"No, but while we are down there, amigo, we can check out that wild horse herd I told you about. And perhaps, eh, we might casually acquire one of my father's stallions...without letting on that we wish to set up our own breeding operation. Or it is possible a suitable stallion will be among the mustangs. We need to see."
"Oh you mean, you want us to be sneaky like?" Buck grinned.
"Exactamente! hombre. And we are taking Roy with us."
"Huh? What's he gotta come for?"
"Well, primero, he has never been to Mexico and segundo, he has an eye for good misteños. Besides, he is in my custody, and while he is with me, he cannot spill the whole story to those nosy Butler brothers, who have been questioning him every day since we got back."
"Sam and Joe been doin' that?" Buck sniggered.
"You know they have, compadre, and you know they will not stop. I do not wish to deal with this thing now."
"I know amigo I know. I was jes funnin'. Tha's okay. We kin take Roy with us, but he'll have to get use-ta stoppin' in cantinas and drinkin' sumpin besides sass-par-illa!"
"Es verdad! I will try to teach him how to sip tequila or even whiskey and to take his time. After a while, they will not even notice he has been drinking just one drink to their ten."
"I don't think tha's gonna work Mano, mi amigo, but you kin shore try!"
