Thinking of the Future
The next morning Chris and Ezra met Mr. Harrison at Ezra’s lawyer’s office at the appointed time. Chris was impressed with the way Ezra handled the lawyer’s staff, stating clearly what he wanted done and not quibbling about anything.
When all three men sat in the lawyer’s office while the papers were being drawn up, the lawyer, one Charles Stewart, asked Ezra, “What do you plan to do with the property? I know that several development companies have been after the land.”
“Mr. Larabee and I are planning to combine his property with this land, and start an active horse ranch. We shall be keeping it small for now, but it will give us something to do when we retire.”
“You? Run an active horse ranch?” Stewart sounded totally incredulous. “Are you sure, Ezra? I mean…”
Chris bristled at the lawyers tone, and was about to give the man what for when Ezra cut the man off. His eyes widened with surprise at the menace in Ezra’s voice.
“Stewart,” Ezra growled. “We have discussed this before. I will remind you that I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. And if you wish to continue in my employ, I would suggest you stop questioning me. I have offered my intervention in this matter, and have agreed to the terms we have laid out for you. Shall we proceed?”
Chris watched in fascination as the thin older man behind
the desk swallowed hard and agreed quickly.
When all the papers were signed, and the certified check handed over,
Chris and Ezra were the proud owners of the
<<<~7~>>><<<~7~>>>
Later that afternoon, Chris invited Ezra out to the ranch to start planning. Ezra had only been there an hour when Chris’s curiosity got the better of him, “What did you mean in Stewart’s office this morning? When you said that you have discussed this before.”
Ezra grinned slightly before telling him, “Charles Stewart has known me all of my life, and has a tendency to thing of me as a child still. Just before my eighteenth birthday, I went to his office, to have him arrange for an apartment to be ready for me on my birthday. I love Maude dearly, but I could stand to be under her thumb another day. It took me three hours to convince him that I really did want to move away from Maude. Every time I make major decision, he tries to play devil’s advocate, and it drives me crazy. The last time I saw him was about eighteen months ago. I had to threaten to fire him that time to get him to cooperate. He does a good job; he just can’t seem to accept that I have grown up. Which reminds me, I need to get a codicil added to my will.”
“Why would you need to do that?” Chris asked.
Ezra looked down at his hands for a few moments, remaining silent. Just when Chris was about to give up, Ezra spoke, “Until I joined you team, my will left everything I have to various charities. Maude wasn’t going to get the satisfaction of getting anything from me. Eighteen months ago, I changed it. Now my will states that should I die, half of the estate will still go to charity, but the rest will be evenly divided among the remaining members of the team. All of you would be well taken care of for the rest of your lives. I want a codicil on the will that specifically names my share of the ranch as part of your bequest.”
