Wayne Gray

I love how this wrapped up. Choices were made, nothing forced. And even Earth had learned a lesson about agency. I like this future you've imagined, tim. Thanks for letting me share a bit in the process of its creation.

Indeed. They all have to end. The trick is to end them in a satisfying way. We'll have to see if I pull that off or not. Thanks for reading and for the comment. Friday will be here before ya know it!

LOL. Well... I'd love to see Zane's reaction, too. I think that makes you human, really. And yeah. Taggert still remembers and values some of the people he knew from Yoder Ranch. He doesn't want to hurt them, and they didn't do anything wrong. And... the place is one of the biggest beef suppliers in the damn state. Prices would go up for everyone if Yoder Ranch went out of business. Sure, that'd be good for ranchers, but bad for everybody else. So there's that to consider too. Thanks for reading and for the comment. More to come soon.

None. I was tempted, but no.

He did. Taggert is a clever guy, and Bill could certainly sense that. But more than that, he could feel a kindred soul in Taggert, while his son frightened him more and more as time went on. We'll have to see how things end up. And we will. Stick with me. One more to go. Thanks for reading and for the comments. I've enjoyed them.

I think Bill did a pretty good job of letting both Taggert and Zane know where they stood with him at the end of his life. And... yeah. It'd be hard to resist wrecking the ranch that branded you. But the ranch didn't. Zane did. Yet, Taggert has the choice. And we'll see what it is that he decides. I'm glad the tale has sped by. That means it flowed well, and that's important to me. Friday... the last chapter posts Friday. Come on back, and let me know if I did a good job sending our cowboys off into the sunset. 🤠

I'd like to know how you feel when the last chapter is posted. I personally think it does a pretty good job, but there's always room to improve. Thanks for reading and for the comments, Dave. I appreciate all of them!

It is indeed. The one and only place where we see his last name.

Fantastic to have you here, Gordy. Thanks for taking the plunge and commenting on my tale here. We'll have to see about a continuation down the line. I do have other stories clamoring to be told (and some already in progress), so if that happens, it'll be a bit. But I will never write off the possibility. I hope you return Friday to see the end of this one. Thanks again.

Indeed. The final chapter is on Friday. Taggert, Ash, and the Nasser crew will all appear in the last chapter, along with Zane and a few others. At that point, your questions will be answered. And you'll get to decide how well I wrapped things up for our heroes. I'm sure things could have gone better, but this is as good as I can do. Hopefully it'll be enough. You ask some great questions. And all I can say, without giving away something important, is... come back Friday and find out. Thanks for the great comments and for reading. More is coming soon.

LOL. Well... I hope I have wrapped it up in a way that satisfies most of your asks. But you can tell me how I did on Friday. Thanks for the comment and for reading. More is coming.

The math seems to work out, yes. If Taggert and Bert pool resources, they could outbid Zane. Yet, you ask some great questions about what that might look like if they did this. I think we can surmise that Zane would be furious being outbid by anyone. However, if it's his own son? Well... that'd probably push into a place requiring a new description. 😛 The problem is Zane would have to prepare ahead to use those pieces of Yoder Taggert owns in the bid. It's a lengthy process, so he'd have had to done this work already. It's not a simple call. So if he doesn't do it before walking into the auction, it won't be available for use. Well, it'd not be anyhow, but Zane doesn't know that... yet. Thanks for the comment and for reading. More to come on Friday.

Thanks for taking the time to comment and read the chapter. Yep. Bill has spoken, and he had messages for both Taggert and Zane. Both loving. But one bearing the weight of judgment and disappointment. The auction is coming. And... we'll see how Taggert translates his own sense of justice into action. We'll find out which door is opened. I hope you like how it ends up.

Taggert doesn't have quite enough if Flemming goes as high as it's likely to go. Part of what Rebecca had been quietly doing over the last few weeks was, at Taggert's request, slowly liquidating everything apart from the "non-liquid" holdings. In other words, the parcels within Yoder Ranch itself. So... at the time of the signing at the bank with Rebecca, Taggert had access to about $63 million dollars. And cashing in on those assets was very intentional. Because Taggert has a plan. Ash has been the person most important to Taggert's slow recovery. He's still in that process, but Ash has made it possible. Without Ash, none of this would be. None of it. Rebecca would still be searching for him, because Taggert would have moved on shortly after starting at Nasser. And he'd have slipped away. But Ash created a safe place to be for him. And that's worth a huge amount. Bill loved Zane. But he understood him. And he despaired for how he treated Taggert. So... he set things up through the trust the way he did to protect his grandson. I think he did a pretty good job there. Thanks for reading and for the comments. I appreciate them.

The Google-Fu is strong with this one. But yes. You got it. Well. Except now, Taggert has named Ash as his beneficiary (off-camera, so to speak). And as stipulated in the trust, this satisfies the requirement for either an heir or a beneficiary set down by Bill. Ash would probably have a conniption if he knew, and that's why Taggert didn't tell him. Ye haw. LOL

I actually don't know what I added. I have tinkered with all of the chapters a LOT. So... it could be anything. No deception intended, just my addled brain finding edits needed after reading a chapter a dozen times.

Thanks for reading and for the comments. It's great that you'll miss these guys. We've been through a lot with them, so I get it. If something happened to Taggert, all trust assets would immediately become the property of one Mister Ashton Penn. Though he doesn't know that. But, on the off chance something happened to them both. Yes, Nasser Ranch would then own bits and pieces of Yoder Ranch. Little dots of acreage critical to the operations of Yoder Ranch, but almost useless to Nasser. They don't have the right to access any of that land. They just own it. So all they could do would be to charge fees for its use, or forbid Yoder from using it. So... literally, all it can do for the owner is gift the capacity to screw Yoder over. Bill knew this. It would never serve Nasser in any real capacity if it went to them. Not operationally. But they could certainly use it as a deterrent. Zane would know this. A single phone call could evict him and all of his cowboys off of the Yoder Homestead. Leverage. Incredible, undeniable leverage.

@kbois are weiners always this pedantic? 😛

The last few chapters were quite the juggling act in terms of order. I pulled and rearranged various scenes multiple times and rewrote portions until I found the best "flow" for the information and character progression. You know the struggle, I'm sure. So I'm glad it landed well. And yes. Zane will be frothing mad. But part of that is because, if he cannot challenge the trust, he will be utterly impotent against Taggert. Purple is likely a shade anyone around him will see when the trust details are revealed. Another Google-Fu trained reader already answered the portion about the trust and ownership. Yeah, the trust will STILL fire if anything happens to Taggert. Something he did while with Rebecca, though, was quietly make Ash his beneficiary for all trust assets. Ash doesn't know this, but if anything happens to Taggert, he gets it all. Thanks for the comment and for taking the time reading this one. I appreciate it.

I'm glad they're worth missing. I like them quite a bit myself. Taggert has made up his mind. The shape of what that looks like is yet to be seen, but see it we shall. And yes, Bill's message was pretty clear. Both of them were, actually. You're right about Taggert's capabilities and responsibilities. He could bury his head in the sand and stay a cowboy forever. But... that's not all of who he is. He's an heir. Chosen by Bill Yoder to carry on his family tradition of owning and running a ranch. And we'll see what Taggert does with that. Related to the above is Flemming Ranch, of course. And the final disposition of the place is coming. Thanks for reading and for the great comments. See you Friday!

Thank you for the compliment and for the read of the chapter. No, it'd have to be Bert and not James. While James serves a lot of critical functions for the ranch, he is not the owner. Not yet. And Taggert needed the owner. We'll see what Taggert has decided to do, and yes, it likely involves the trust he has been gifted. We will see Zane again. As for your wish, we'll have to see about that. However it goes, it will be Taggert's choice. The story returns for the final time on Friday. See you then.

Chapter 17: Pillars The bank sat in downtown Enid between a law office and a feed supply storefront that had probably looked exactly the same for the last forty years. Brick. Tinted windows. The American flag snapping lazily in the Oklahoma heat. It was the following day, and finally time for Taggert to gain full access to the trust's funds. Ash stared up at the bank from the backseat of Rebecca’s SUV as she parked. “You sure this isn’t gonna somehow end with me accidentally owing

Instinct will not be denied, and Prince Candir tests the conviction of his guardian, the Knight Xan. Once the royal's intention is known, and the momentum of the awakening irresistible, doubt is sown for a man who'd had none. When awareness of such a tryst could be their undoing, what will a knight risk for a moment with his prince? https://gayauthors.org/story/wayne-gray/story-promptsideas/6

You know what this chapter made me think of? Solarpunk. The idea that technology can and should be used in lockstep with ecological principles. Solar panels providing shade for canals to decrease evaporation. Ferns and bushes growing on the sides of buildings, helping the structure shed heat through their respiration. Walkable, bikable cities running on clean energy. This chapter really shows a humanity that has learned from its mistakes. And that alone made me happy. Mateo and James make a great pair of non-violent desperados. I really look forward to chapter 3.

I'm glad to see this one here. Thanks for the early look at it, tim. I appreciate the connection between Silas and James. It certainly mirrors the connection between men - two individuals who society may not approve of together. Nice start.