Jon tossed and turned in bed that night; his mind heavy with conflicting thoughts about the ranch. He had taken a look at the ranch's books when he'd arrived home and his father was right: they couldn't afford to hire a ranch hand to help out. Even if his father fully recovered, at almost 75 years of age he really shouldn't be working the ranch anymore at all. Jon knew that one man really couldn't run the ranch successfully alone even though his father had tried; though nearly killing himself, and in a way, the ranch's future, in the process. Wes was inexperienced and even with Dan's help and his father potentially on limited duty, they'd never make it. Not only that, but even if they could afford to upgrade to some of the new automated ranch equipment, David Baker believed in running the ranch the old fashioned way, which meant everything was done by human hands. And then what would happen in the fall when Wes returned to college and Dan started his teaching position? Dan said he'd help out when he could during the school year, but as he'd just gotten his job with the university, he wasn't about to relinquish it. With no one else in the family left to help out, the scary thought of leaving the CHP and working on the ranch to keep his parents from going under had entered Jon's mind. He didn't want to give up the job he loved, but all the same he felt a strong sense of responsibility towards his family.
After finally falling into a restless sleep at around 2 AM, Jon woke up much later than usual the next morning. Sleepily pulling on his robe, he went to the kitchen to get himself some breakfast before changing and going out to help Dan, who was already out working on the ranch, and who had also left a fresh box of donuts on the table. Jon poured himself a cup of coffee and had sat down to read the paper when he heard a knock at the front door. But before he could answer it, the door opened and a tall, curly haired young man entered the foyer.
"Well hey, Uncle Jon!"
"Hey, Wes!" said Jon shaking his nephew's hand.
"Wes, could you please help...?"
"Oh, sorry mom..." Wes quickly grabbed a large suitcase from his mother and set it by the door.
She shook her head at her son with a grin, and then hugged her brother.
"Jon it's so good to see you! We live so close but with both of our jobs keeping us busy I feel like we've hardly gotten a chance to get together lately."
"Yeah...it's good to see you too, Sarah. How was your flight?"
"Early," said Wes, who had made his way to the kitchen to look for something to eat.
"Some of us have to get up at 5:30 every morning," retorted Sarah, tucking a strand of mid-length blond hair behind her ear. "Anyways, we hit a thunderstorm along the way so we got bounced around pretty good, but other than that it was uneventful."
Jon and Sarah went to the kitchen where Wes was pouring himself a large mugful of coffee. "So when's Grampa being released from the hospital?" he asked.
"Hopefully Monday," answered Jon.
"I haven't talked to him since yesterday morning; how's he doing?" asked Sarah.
"He's doing alright; still weak and unable to move the left side of his body, but his spirits are up."
"We are talking about dad, right?" joked Sarah.
Jon chuckled. "Yeah, he hasn't uttered one complaint yet, though I think he's deluded himself into thinking he'll be able work again."
Sarah shook her head, knowing their father's stubborn work ethic would make him want to be back at it on the ranch as soon as he came home, no matter what anyone would say to him to the contrary. She joined Jon and Wes at the kitchen table, where the latter quickly stocked up on several donuts.
Sarah frowned. "That boy is going to eat us all out of house and home."
"Yeah, well if you had to subsist on college food you'd be hungry too," said Wes with his mouth full; Sarah handed him a napkin.
"Has dad said anything about the ranch?"
"Oh, he's said lots," replied Jon, "just not anything that any of us want to hear."
"He won't sell, will he?" asked Sarah, frowning again.
"Nope. And he won't hire anyone to help either."
"Oh that man..."said Sarah in a frustrated tone.
"Hey, I said I'd help, remember?" asked Wes.
"Yes honey, but it's not enough," said Sarah. "I cannot for the life of me understand why he won't hire someone else. And if he uses Patrick Simpson as an excuse I'll scream. Patrick might have been a dim bulb, but he wasn't the idiot dad made him out to be. Dad just doesn't like people doing things differently than his way."
"Well, he's actually got a good reason this time," said Jon. "He can't afford to hire anyone."
Sarah started to go pale. "They're losing money, aren't they?"
Jon nodded solemnly. "Dad hasn't told mom yet...though if she does know she's hiding it really well. But I looked over the books; he really can't afford to pay a ranch hand."
"When he told me that things had been rough lately I thought he meant having to do double the work. It didn't even occur to me to think that they were rough financially. Oh, if he would only listen to reason and sell..." sighed Sarah.
"We could probably argue with him until we're blue in the face," said Jon, "and he wouldn't do it. He's bound and determined to hold on to this place until he's gone, or until Wes possibly takes it."
"I could quit school and take it now," said Wes helpfully.
"You will not," said Sarah vehemently. "You've only got one year left Wes and your education is far too important. You can help out on breaks but under no circumstances will you stop school."
"But Grampa said the ranch could be mine if I wanted it, so I may as well start now..."
"I said no," said Sarah in a tone that would rival the toughest order from Sergeant Getraer. "Wes, if you stop now you'll only regret it later. We'll figure something out."
Wes frowned but didn't say anymore; the Baker stubborn streak was just as prevalent in his mother and he was too hungry at that moment to argue. He went back to eating his donuts for the time being.
"Well, Dan's helping out for the summer and when he can during the school year," said Jon, "and...I think I'm going to move home to help out."
"You're going to give up the CHP?" exclaimed Wes, donut crumbs flying out of his mouth.
Jon swallowed hard. "Yes..."
"Jon, are you sure?" asked Sarah.
"Not exactly...but I'm sure I need to do what's right for our family."
