Silas thornbush's Arc

Chapter 4 of 14

Silas reached Skull Valley Ranch three days later with a plan that wouldn't work on the road. He needed more plants than one greenhouse could provide, and the ranch hands had shown him soil that could triple his output. He found the foreman near the corral and laid it out plain: he'd establish a growing operation here, using their land in exchange for a share of the stock. The foreman crossed his arms. "We offered you permanent work last time. You turned it down." Silas nodded. "I did. But this is different. I keep traveling, you get half the flowers I grow here. I need the capacity. You get revenue from land you're not using." The foreman studied him, then walked to the back pasture where the soil ran dark and rich. They spent the afternoon plotting out rows, marking where the water would run. Silas sketched the layout in his ledger—a planting system that would use the ranch's soil to grow enough stock for his entire route. The foreman brought tools from the rack by the barn, the handles worn smooth from years of use. They set the first stakes before sundown. By the time they finished, Silas had a plot sixty feet long, space enough for two hundred plants. The foreman agreed to tend them between Silas's visits, taking half the mature stock as payment. Silas would haul the rest to settlements that couldn't grow their own. He loaded the tools back onto the rack and shook the foreman's hand. The ranch wasn't a place to settle—it was a piece of the route now, same as any stop. But this piece would grow flowers while he traveled, feeding the wagon instead of draining it. He'd built something that worked whether he was there or not. The brake released easier this time.