no luck

the radio was turned down low

only the faint sound of a steel guitar came through the speakers.

Jesse wanted to call Anne but knew she would be asleep.

She had not come with him to the funeral.

She had wanted to but Jesse insisted he go alone.

He and his father had not seen much of each other over the years.

Seth and Isabelle had only met their grandfather twice since they were born.

His dad's life in Texas had been his choice to move on,

to leave Mississippi and all the bitter memories behind him,

and as a result meant his son Jesse and his family.

They were always amicable and even friendly over the phone,

but there was always a distance between them that had nothing to do with the miles .

Even though he felt his dad was the only one in his crazy family that understood him,

or at least the only one to recognize his efforts.

The few times they would talk over the years, James had always asked Jesse about the music.

James William McGuane never knew his father either.

He left home when James and his brother Harold were three and five.

No one in the family ever saw him again.

They say he was a good horseman, was known for his way with horses.

The last anyone ever heard he was living in California working on a Dude ranch.

James and Harold went out there looking for him once,

but they had no luck,

he had already moved on.

 

wkm

Nashville

from the ongoing story, The Horses