D is for Deacon (Men of ALPHAbet Mountain)

I walked around the truck and halfway to the house before Mr. Filmore came to the porch. Both his hands were visible, and he was wearing a pair of overalls. I got the impression that if he owned a handgun, it wasn’t on him. He was strictly a shotgun-for-show type person. I glanced back over my shoulder at Everett, who hadn’t taken his eyes off him and had his hands clasped behind his back. I knew that meant one of them was firmly on the handle of his gun.

The following hour and a half were an exercise in patience and verbal jiujitsu. Talking Mr. Filmore down from his ledge, where he felt slighted by the deal he had signed because he hadn’t done any research at all on his land and what the lumber was worth, resulted in me ending up offering to call our competitors and get a quote for him.

Eventually, Everett relaxed when the situation looked like it was going to resolve itself, and he shut the door of the truck and joined me in Mr. Filmore’s home. By four in the afternoon, I was sitting at his dining room table, phone on speaker and talking to another competitor in the region. They quoted a buying price almost two-thirds what we were offering. Mr. Filmore nodded, and I hung up.

“I see,” he said. “I didn’t realize all the loopholes you boys have to jump through with the government.” It came out “gubberment,” but I understood him all the same. “Some of these companies are really ripping people off.”

“They are,” I admitted. “It’s shameful. We price our buying numbers at exactly twenty percent profit. I am up-front about that. Whatever our overhead costs will be, we take out of what our sale price of the lumber will be and then use those numbers to give you a quote. It’s not perfect, but it’s a guess. I can go through the math with you if you would like, but I assure you, we crunched those numbers in about, what, six scenarios based on market fluctuation?”

“Ten,” Everett said. “Price of hickory is really volatile this time of year. We took that into consideration and erred on the high side for you.”

“You did?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “We are in business, but not the business of cheating people. We want you as a repeat customer, Mr. Filmore. Someone who is happy to work with us on a regular basis. But if you’d like some time to think it over, I am more than happy to give you that.”

“No,” he said, standing and offering his hand. “I made a deal, and I was acting a fool when I thought I’d been had. You’re good men. Tell your boys they can come and cut.”

I shook his hand and stood.

“Thank you, sir,” I said. “Everett, cut this man his check.”

“You really had me cut that man a check in his kitchen,” Everett said. “That’s a first.”

“He had a rough day,” I said. “We ended it with him holding a check with a bunch of zeros on it. He’s going to be telling everybody he knows how trustworthy we are. And I bet he knows a bunch of people who own the rest of this land out here.”

“Good point. Carter’s going to be happy.”

“I hope so. He owes me a beer for saving his deal.”

“He owes you more than one,” Everett said.

I checked my watch and started the truck, turning it around so we could head back to the office and file the paperwork.

“Do you mind if I drop you off at the office and either you file it, or I’ll take care of it later?”

“Hot date?” he asked.

I looked over at him and laughed when I saw his wagging eyebrows.

“No. Not that it’s any of your business,” I laughed. I still had one more day before I could see her, but I did plan on continuing our phone and text conversations for the rest of the night. “Just want to get a good night’s rest before tomorrow, is all.”

“Well, I mean, you have to remember, it’s a school night,” he teased.

“First off, no it isn’t,” I said. “And second off, she’s twenty-five. Third, I’m not seeing her tonight.”

“So, it’s really because you want to get to bed early before our hunting trip tomorrow?”

“Yup,” I said, convincing myself it wasn’t fully a lie. Aiden’s invite for us to join him was very pointedly an early morning situation.

“You know,” Everett said, “if it weren’t for you wanting to get out of there for sleep,” he said, making sure to do the finger quotes, “I don’t know if you would have been so nice. Or as fast about cutting a check.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe I just didn’t want to see your ugly mug any more today.”

“I see why she likes you,” Everett said. “You have such a wonderful way with words.”