Open Stories — Short Fiction by Hank Redding
Collected works · 1982–Present
In 1878 West Texas, a ranch survives conditions that should have broken it. When a quiet stranger takes work and the land begins to adjust, the people who keep the place standing are forced to reckon with how endurance is maintained—and what it costs. West of Holding is a novel-length story about land, labor, and the unseen weight required to keep things from falling apart.
At the turn of the millennium, a younger brother listens as the distance between home and the West steadily widens. Through late-night phone calls, a brief reunion, and the quiet aftermath of loss, Westbound traces how motion becomes a way of living—and how staying can be its own, deliberate choice. The story examines direction, consequence, and the moment when forward movement finally meets its limit.
A man returns to the places shaped by a decision he never corrected. The story follows the quiet aftermath of choice—measured not in regret or forgiveness, but in what remains when a life is stood by without apology.