The Weight of Silent Grain
Derrick Hayes works hands-on in timber preservation, letting his ambitious in-laws believe he is a mere sawyer. But when a stormy night reveals their cruelty toward his teenage son, Derrick quietly unveils the master deeds to the valley's logging legacy.
Fictional story. Contains themes of family conflict, emotional neglect of a minor, and corporate restructure.Chapter 1: The Sawdust Coat
For seven years, I let my wife's family believe I was nothing more than an unskilled timber hand who spent his days hauling pine bark and greasing circular saws at the lower mill.
My mother-in-law, Victoria, always placed a sheet of thick plastic over her cream velvet dining chairs whenever I came over for Sunday supper. She would glance down at my steel-toed work boots, note the faint scent of cedar oil and diesel on my canvas coat, and ask if I had ever thought about taking an online course in accounting so I could earn a predictable wage. My brother-in-law, Wesley, who wore custom wool suits and talked loudly about real estate syndications, never hesitated to hand me his car keys when he pulled up to family gatherings. 'Hey Derrick, park the Sedan in the lower gravel turnback, will you? And don't scuff the leather steering wheel with your calluses.'