“Now you sound like my father,” Anne remarked.
“Yeah, well, like Franklin’s obsession rubbed off on you, my dad’s reverence for Belle Pointe—for the Delta—sure enough rubbed off on me. He respected and cherished the five generations of history rooted in Belle Pointe, but unfortunately my dad wasn’t cut out to actually farm. In fact, if he hadn’t been the only child of Southern aristocrats, he probably would have been a college professor. He would have had a lot in common with your dad.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” she said.
“He was definitely an intellectual. He was a gentle, introverted man who was happy to leave the management of Belle Pointe to an overseer, at least, until he married my mother. I don’t know this for sure, but I bet the ink wasn’t dry on the marriage license before she was running things. I do know that from the time I was old enough to see it, she was in charge.”
Anne was listening raptly, hearing things Buck had never confided before.
“I was due to graduate in a couple of months when Dad died,” Buck said. “My degree was in business and horticulture. As god-awful as it was to lose him, the timing could have been worse since I told myself I’d be able to step in and help my mother run Belle Pointe.”
“Where was Pearce at this time?” Anne asked.
“Practicing law. He never had any interest in being a cotton farmer. All I heard when we were growing up was how boring it was. There’s a lot of plain physical labor involved in growing cotton. You have to clear the fields, plow, plant, nurture and then defoliate the plants. Even mechanized, it’s hard work. When the cotton matures, it has to be picked, then transferred from the fields to the gin for processing. There’re times throughout the year when you’re up early and work late. Even though there’s a fine crew at Belle Pointe, not everybody is suited to it. But it’s fulfilling…at least I found it fulfilling.”
“But not Pearce,” Anne guessed.
“No. From the start, he planned to do other things. That’s why this foray into politics now doesn’t surprise me.”
“You’ve known about his run for the senate?”
“From day one. He’s called me half a dozen times trying to get me over here to endorse him. I’ve put him off every time.”
“I never knew he called.”
He saw temper kindling in her eyes and rushed on. “It wasn’t important enough to mention since I didn’t want to get involved. But count on it, as soon as he realizes I’m here, he’ll be all over my case.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to endorse him? He’s your brother.”
He bent his head, touching his bruised temple gently. “I have some serious concerns about Pearce. In a position of power—and in the right circumstances—I’m not sure he wouldn’t break the law. Or finagle a way around it. He can be really ruthless.” He knew firsthand just how ruthless his brother could be, but he hoped Anne didn’t ever have to know about it.
“You paint a pretty harsh picture,” she said.
“Yeah, I know. And I’ve never said that to anyone else…” he paused, “that is, anyone who’s living. I tried to talk to my dad once, but—” He shook his head. “Maybe it’s best to just leave it at that.” He was rubbing the muscle above his knee again. “Where was I?”
She spoke quietly. “You were going to step in and help your mother after John died.”
“Yeah, that was always the plan. I’d do the actual farming and as Pearce interacted well with the gentry of the county and state, he’d eventually wind up in politics.”
“Looks like half the plan is now set to go,” Anne said. “What went wrong?”
“First, we made our plans without consulting my mother,” Buck said. Staring straight ahead and focused on the past, he saw it all as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.
With his father buried only two days, Victoria came into Buck’s bedroom as he was packing to return to college. With only half of his final semester to go, he was tempted to just forget it since he couldn’t see the value of a diploma. He’d already aced the courses for an undergraduate degree. And spring was a time of intensive work at Belle Pointe. With Pete Wilcox gone and his mother needing help, he planned to go back to Tallulah every weekend until graduation. But Victoria had a very different plan.
“Pearce will be assuming his role immediately as primary heir to Belle Pointe, Buck,” she told him. “Arrangements are in place to begin planting Monday morning with Pearce supervising. I want you to continue to pursue a career in professional baseball.”
Stunned, he dropped a double handful of toilet articles on the bed and stared at her. “Pearce is a lawyer, Ma. What are you talking about?”
“His law practice must take second place to his responsibilities at Belle Pointe now,” she told him. “I’m aware that your father has given you a completely false notion of your role here. However, it is absolutely appropriate for Pearce to take John’s place.”
“Yeah, but not to actually get his hands dirty. Pearce hates dirt.” What false notion? “You’ve found a replacement for Pete Wilcox already?”
“With Pearce stepping up to take his rightful place, that won’t be necessary.”
“Ma, this is crazy! He doesn’t know shit from shinola about farming and he doesn’t want to know. Have you talked to Pearce about this?”
“Don’t be vulgar. And of course, I’ve talked to Pearce. He sees his duty.”
Meaning, Buck guessed, that she’d talked to him and, bottom line, it was Victoria’s way or else. “And he’s okay with giving up his practice to farm cotton?”
“We’ve agreed that he doesn’t have to give it up, but it has to be secondary, especially just now when we’re in the throes of spring planting. I’m prepared to assist him, of course.”
He looked at her in disbelief. She couldn’t be serious. “You don’t assist anybody now, Ma, you run things and Dad was good to go with that. But you always had Pete’s help. Without a qualified manager, there’s no way you can do this.” He made a sudden decision and flipped the top of his suitcase closed. “Look, I can drop out of school. I’ll graduate in a couple of months anyway. I won’t get a diploma, but I don’t need a piece of paper. My future is here at Belle Pointe and always has been. I have ideas about crop management. There are new seeds constantly being developed. They’re resistant to disease, they’re hardy. I was talking to Dad and he—”
“Buck.” She spoke sharply, stopping him cold. “I’ve just told you what your future is. You will continue at the university until you have your degree. You are being courted by professional sports representatives—”
“In the minors, Ma, not majors.”
“…and you have excellent prospects. You will continue to pursue a career in that arena. You will thank me later for urging this decision on you.”
“No, Ma. Dad and I—”
“I have no interest in anything your father discussed with you!” she said with exasperation. “He was hopelessly sentimental and now he’s gone. His will gives me full authority here, so this discussion is pointless. Pearce is his heir, not you. And I want him to immediately assume the role that he was born to.”
He was shaking his head. “You can’t be serious, Ma. You—”
“Stop