Chapter 17 - Wade Harlan Comes BackWade arrived alone.
No trailers.
No buyers.
No recovery crew.
Mark met him near the same fence where the attempted sale had begun.
Emma stood beside Raven.
Helen and Rachel remained near the porch.
Wade looked at the horse for a long moment.
Then at Emma.
“You made him famous.”
“I didn’t.”
“The storm did.”
“No.”
Emma shook her head.
“He was already Raven.”
Wade smiled slightly.
“You sound like your grandmother.”
Emma stiffened.
“You knew her?”
“I met Rose once.”
“When?”
“At Black Hollow Creek.”
Emma stared.
Wade continued.
“I was twenty-six. Buying young stock for a client.”
“You were at the auction?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see Raven?”
“I saw Lot Forty-Seven.”
Emma’s anger rose.
“You knew from the beginning.”
“I suspected from the beginning.”
“Why didn’t you buy him then?”
Wade looked almost embarrassed.
“Rose outbid me.”
Emma laughed despite herself.
“Grandma beat you?”
“By fifty dollars.”
That was the most Rose Carter thing Emma had ever heard.
Wade’s smile disappeared.
“I spent years wondering where that colt went.”
“So when the storm photo appeared—”
“I recognized the star marking and conformation.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“And then you arranged financing leverage against the family.”
Wade looked at her.
“I invested in an existing lender.”
“After identifying the horse?”
He did not answer.
Rachel nodded.
“That is why you want to settle.”
Wade turned toward Mark.
“I’ll release the south forty claim.”
Mark remained still.
“Why?”
“The refinance pays my acquired note.”
“That isn’t settlement. That is being paid.”
Wade smiled.
“True.”
Rachel said:
“And the horse claim?”
“I withdraw it.”
Emma stared.
“Just like that?”
Wade looked at Raven.
“I was wrong about one thing.”
“What?”
“I thought price would eventually make you rational.”
Emma bristled.
Wade raised a hand.
“From my perspective.”
“My perspective says you tried to trap us.”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised everyone.
Wade continued.
“I also expected the horse to be a breeding asset.”
“He is.”
“Yes.”
“But?”
Wade looked toward the training obstacles in the distance.
“He may be more valuable to what you’re building.”
Emma studied him.
“Are you asking to invest?”
Rachel actually laughed.
Wade smiled.
“I considered it.”
“No,” Emma said.
“I haven’t offered.”
“My answer is ready.”
Mark coughed to hide a smile.
Wade nodded.
“Fair.”
He signed settlement papers.
Green Ridge claims would be released upon refinance.
The horse sale suit withdrawn.
No further interest in Raven.
Before leaving, Wade stopped near Emma.
“You should know something.”
“What?”
“Your father was not the easiest desperate man I ever negotiated with.”
Mark frowned.
“I don’t know whether that was a compliment.”
“It wasn’t.”
Wade looked at Emma.
“You inherited his stubbornness.”
“From Grandma.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
He walked to his truck.
Emma called after him.
“Why did you bring five tranquilizer guns?”
Wade stopped.
For the first time, shame appeared in his face.
“Because I thought control was the same as preparation.”
Emma looked at Raven.
“No.”
Wade nodded.
“No.”
Then he left.
The road remained empty behind him.
No blockade.
No vehicles.
No guns.
Emma rested her head against Raven’s neck.
The first battle was finally over.
May you like
But the farm still had to survive after the drama ended.
That, Mark reminded everyone that evening, would be harder.
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