{"id":1962,"date":"2026-05-07T09:36:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/?p=1962"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:43:19","slug":"an-inheritance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/2026\/05\/an-inheritance\/","title":{"rendered":"An Inheritance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jasper Reed couldn\u2019t believe what had happened just hours ago. Not only had it been humiliating, it had come totally out of the blue. The twenty-one year old was arrested by his own uncle. And for what? Public intoxication. Big fucking deal, he said to himself as he slipped out of the beer-stained snap-button shirt he\u2019d worn to the Green Tree Bar and Grill last night. His favorite Aerosmith t-shirt was dry, warm and familiar, more to the college senior\u2019s liking than the starched long-sleeved shirt he\u2019d yanked out of his closet twelve hours earlier merely to impress the girls in his hometown.
\nHis mother stood in the doorway of his bedroom\u2026glaring. \u201cI hope you\u2019re proud of yourself,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, everyone in town\u2019s going to know my son\u2019s a derelict.\u201d
\n\u201cI had too much to drink,\u201d said Jasper. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make me a lowlife.\u201d
\n\u201cIs this what they teach you at Texas Tech?\u201d she asked. \u201cTo be the town drunk?\u201d
\n\u201cNot at all,\u201d said Jasper. \u201cI come by it naturally. My father had that honor.\u201d He grinned. \u201cAnd that\u2019s saying a lot in a town with a glut of serious drinkers. Now it\u2019s my turn. Luckily, I had a genetic headstart on the competition.\u201d
\n\u201cYour father had problems, but that doesn\u2019t excuse your behavior.\u201d
\n\u201cTell me about it,\u201d said Jasper. He tapped the toe of his right Addidas sneaker on the wooden floor. His left foot was already cozy in the Dickies socks he\u2019d bought for himself at Target in Lubbock, the most comfortable socks he\u2019d ever owned, the pair his mother thought hideous.
\n\u201cWhat did your Uncle Kyle say to you?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat could he say? He\u2019s the damned sheriff. He took my wallet and belt, put me into a pukey cell, gave me a dirty look then made me listen to some crappy old-school country music while he dozed at his desk.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re lucky,\u201d said his mother, \u201che could\u2019ve roughed you up.\u201d She paused. \u201cI almost wish he had. Maybe that would knock some sense into you.\u201d
\n\u201cKyle? Uncle Kyle? That old man wouldn\u2019t hurt a fly.\u201d
\n\u201cSomeone should knock you around,\u201d said his mother, \u201cI guess I\u2019ve been too lax\u2026and besides, Kyle\u2019s not that old.\u201d
\n\u201cMother, I got drunk and a little out of control.\u201d He sighed. \u201cDo we have to make a federal case out of it? It won\u2019t happen again.\u201d
\nThe woman glowered at him, then asked, \u201cI suppose you drink at college?\u201d
\n\u201cEveryone drinks in college, for crying out loud. Where have you been?\u201d
\n\u201cHow would I know what goes on at some ritzy college. I never got to go.\u201d
\n\u201cI know, I know. You never had the advantages I\u2019ve had.\u201d Jasper stopped. \u201cI know full well that I don\u2019t appreciate all that you\u2019ve done for me. That I\u2019m an ingrate. I know all about it, Mother. I\u2019ve heard it all a thousand times. I screwed up. What do you want me to say?\u201d
\n\u201cYou could start with a simple apology.\u201d She squinted. \u201cThen you could go back to the Green Tree and tell Thomas Murphy you\u2019re sorry. Then you might let your Uncle Kyle know how ashamed you are. If it wasn\u2019t for Kyle you wouldn\u2019t be going to that college. You do realize that, don\u2019t you?\u201d
\n\u201cThomas Murphy\u2019s a goddamned bartender,\u201d said Jasper. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s seen more than his share of dudes who\u2019ve had too much to drink. And Uncle Kyle\u2019s the sheriff. He\u2019s seen worse.\u201d
\n\u201cDo they teach you to cuss like that in Lubbock?\u201d His mother shook her head. \u201cIn front of your mother no less? I didn\u2019t raise you to behave like this.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. You raised me to get good grades and kiss everyone\u2019s ass.\u201d Jasper smirked. \u201cAnd I do both pretty damned well.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s with you.\u201d His mother shook her head. \u201cYour uncle\u2019s going to come over and talk to you this afternoon. I expect you to listen\u2026and be polite for a change.\u201d
\n\u201cMother, he locked me up, for Christ\u2019s sake. Isn\u2019t that good enough for you?\u201d
\n\u201cApparently not. I want you to fully appreciate what you\u2019re putting us through.\u201d
\n\u201cJesus.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s enough,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd you, Mr. Know It All, can stop using the Lord\u2019s name in vain, right this minute. And I don\u2019t want you looking like some kind of no-account when Kyle gets here. Put on a decent shirt and a clean pair of jeans. You might want to take a shower. You smell like a pigsty.\u201d
\nThe sheriff sat, his thick legs spraddled like a bronc rider awaiting his ride, his Stetson on his knee, a smile on his chapped lips. The cushioned rocking chair Jasper\u2019s mother prided herself on discovering at Walmart in San Angelo\u2014for practically nothing\u2014sagged under his weight. The woman sat, legs and arms crossed, on the floral-print sofa, the piece of furniture that was more than a bit ornate for Dos Pesos, Texas. Wisely, the college student was beyond criticizing his mother on her tastes. Why bother? he thought. She\u2019ll never change. In spite of her nose-in-the-air posturing, she\u2019s really nothing more than a big fish in a very small pond.
\n\u201cSo,\u201d said the sheriff, \u201cyou and your friends had quite a time of it last night.\u201d
\n\u201cThings got out of hand,\u201d said Jasper. \u201cWhat else is there to do in a town that\u2019s got nothing to offer but tumbleweeds and rattlesnakes?\u201d He looked down at the carpeted floor. He liked his uncle. A lot. \u201cBut I\u2019m the only one that got arrested. That doesn\u2019t seem fair.\u201d
\nThe lawman chuckled. \u201cDon\u2019t be so sure of that. I got you out of there before the state troopers arrived. If I hadn\u2019t, they would\u2019ve run you into Ft. Stockton. You were better off spending the night right here in the Contreras County jail with me.\u201d
\nJasper leaned forward in the wingback chair across the room from his uncle. \u201cArturo and Joey got arrested?\u201d
\n\u201cEven more so than you,\u201d said the sheriff.
\n\u201cSee,\u201d said Jasper\u2019s mother, \u201cI told you your uncle was only looking out for you. You should thank him. But, no, not you. You think you know everything.\u201d
\nThe sheriff grimaced. \u201cCora Beth, maybe it would be best if I talked to the boy in private. Could you get me a cup of coffee?\u201d He winked at Jasper.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare let him off the hook,\u201d said Jasper\u2019s mother. \u201cNot only is he a public nuisance, but he\u2019s become rude to his own mother.\u201d
\nMrs. Reed bustled out of the room, but only after she gave her son the evil eye.
\n\u201cPay no attention to your mother,\u201d said the sheriff. \u201cShe\u2019s just worried. She cares about you.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen to Arturo and Joey?\u201d asked Jasper.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s up to those state troopers and the owner of the Green Tree,\u201d said the sheriff. He tilted his head then nodded. \u201cYou fellas raised quite a ruckus. Tom Murphy\u2019s a pretty decent guy. He\u2019ll try to smooth things over with his boss.\u201d He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. \u201cYou\u2019re damned lucky Tom was bartending. If Sam Bricker was behind the bar you\u2019d be wishin\u2019 you\u2019d never been born. You boys broke a mirror and busted up a damned table. You\u2019re gonna have to pay for the damages.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t remember any of it.\u201d
\n\u201cI ain\u2019t surprised. You were pretty zonked when I escorted you outta there.\u201d
\n\u201cUncle Kyle, we were only drinking beer. With a shot or two of tequila.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019ll do it.\u201d
\n\u201cMy mother thinks I\u2019m going to turn out like my father.\u201d
\nThe sheriff shook his head. \u201cOren Reed was my younger brother,\u201d he said. \u201cHe had a wild side to him. I don\u2019t see that in you. And he could display a mean streak whenever the mood hit him. You messed up. That don\u2019t make you anything like Oren. Your mother only wants what\u2019s best for you. That\u2019s all. That\u2019s her job. My brother put that poor woman through hell. You were too young to remember any of that.\u201d
\n\u201cI took a psychology class last semester,\u201d said Jasper, \u201calcoholism and depression can be inherited.\u201d Jasper blinked.
\nKyle Reed laughed. \u201cMaybe so. I don\u2019t know about that kinda thing. I just don\u2019t see it in you. I saw it in Oren. Everyone did. That son of a bitch could be downright nuts. He drove my mother to bein\u2019 the way she is. I know damn well what folks say about your grandma. And they\u2019re right. She can be a pistol, but there ain\u2019t no meanness\u2026or craziness in you. And you don\u2019t talk all wacky like Oren did. You\u2019ve just gotta watch your p\u2019s and q\u2019s. And to not mix your beer with tequila.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cCome to think of it, you might want to stay clear of Arturo and Joey while you\u2019re home. Those two boys ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 but trouble.\u201d
\n\u201cI remember my father,\u201d said the student.
\n\u201cYou were just a boy when it happened,\u201d said the sheriff. \u201cShucks, you must\u2019ve been five, maybe six?\u201d
\n\u201cI was six,\u201d said Jasper. \u201cBut I remember that night pretty damned well. We were in this very room when he locked us in and had that standoff with you and your deputies.\u201d He paused. \u201cMy mother was crying. I guess I was too, but I had no idea what was going on until he put that thirty-eight to his head. I think I pissed my pants. I don\u2019t remember. He was standing on that chair over there with that damned gun in his hand and that rope around his neck. He was calling my mother names and cussing about you.\u201d
\n\u201cThat gun weren\u2019t loaded. And if he\u2019d hung himself he woulda brought that danged light fixture down on.\u201d The uncle grinned. \u201cIt was more of a plea for help than anything. Once he got into that hospital in Big Spring he started gettin\u2019 better. It\u2019s a shame he didn\u2019t live longer than he did. He was just startin\u2019 to turn his life around up there in Odessa.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were the one who talked him down that night, Uncle Kyle. You sat in that same chair you\u2019re sitting in now. You were so damned calm.\u201d
\n\u201cLike I said, he wasn\u2019t out to do no one no harm. Other than himself.\u201d
\nJasper grimaced. \u201cHe scared the crap out of me.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd your mother.\u201d
\n\u201cDid the army do that to him? He was in Afghanistan when I was born. Mother said they messed him up.\u201d
\nThe sheriff took a deep breath. \u201cThere ain\u2019t no tellin\u2019 what happened to Oren. He was a pretty good kid.\u201d He winced. \u201cSometimes these things just happen.\u201d
\nAlone in the living room Jasper couldn\u2019t decide whether or not to face the music and head over to the Green Tree Bar and Grill to make his peace with Thomas Murphy or to wait a spell. He pulled his mother\u2019s photo album from the bookcase beside his chair. Old photographs fascinated him. They always had.
\nThere were pictures of his Grandmother Reed holding him as a baby. A snapshot of his mother, pregnant, sitting beside Uncle Kyle, on a picnic somewhere, most likely Big Bend. Another shot of his father in uniform. His mother\u2019s mother held him as an infant with his mother looking on in another. Grandma Baker, Jasper thought. I hardly remember her. She died when I was four. Another of his mother, with Kyle, a young woman with long hair, the future sheriff\u2019s arm around her, as if they were out on a date. Mother was so young, murmured Jasper. And pretty. Kyle had a full head of hair and a flat belly. Jasper wished there were more of his father. His favorite was of the heavy drinking man with four other soldiers, probably taken in Afghanistan, before the man ever laid eyes on his only child, years before that night. His father had that faraway look that Jasper remembered all too well. Everyone seemed so happy back then. Everyone but his father.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jasper Reed couldn\u2019t believe what had happened just hours ago. Not only had it been humiliating, it had come totally out of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1962"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1964,"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions\/1964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sagebrushreview.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}