# Car 54

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© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 40:
Alternate Route Ahead

During my drive back home, I began to wonder just why I'd suddenly decided to trust Lucille with the twins' care. After a lot of thought, I realized that my trust began to build toward the end of our discussion the night before, when she'd said she still wanted to talk to me at some other time. It seemed she still wanted to be friendly even after I'd spent all that time putting her and her family down. On top of that, she'd told me that she left home rather than put up with her father's pushy ways – that had to count for something.

I think part of my trust stemmed from the simple fact that she seemed to have compassion for the less fortunate and had worked hard to become a nurse. Although I'd met some tough nurses I had yet to meet one who hated young women, or one who wouldn't help someone else who was in trouble.

That's when I sighed deeply, realizing that more that anything, I'd been following a hunch that was based on some fairly weak arguments, but I was hoping Lucille wasn't like her father.

I was a bit worried about leaving the girls with her, but I didn't think I could do much else. When I'd suggested to Mom that I might take the girls to hide out with Leila MacArthur, the dog breeder, I really hadn't been thinking too well. I didn't know Miss MacArthur well enough to judge her reaction to a request like that and I certainly didn't know her well enough to trust her to hide the twins. Having the girls that close to home would have been another problem. It would have been too easy for someone to make a mistake and accidentaly expose where they were hiding.

More than anything else though, my biggest worry was the fact that what I was doing was actually illegal, even if I was convinced that it was the right thing to do. I was worried about saying or doing the wrong thing and getting everyone into trouble. The worst part was going to be walking into the police station and talking to them, but I thought that was essential. I had to be certain that I told the cops that the girls had been afraid that they were going to be shipped off to become part of some older guy's harem. As I thought about it, I thought that Mom might even have to tell the police about the call she'd gotten from Mrs. McAdam about sending the girls away before they were 'ruined' in some way.

Just in case, I thought I should call Mom and warn her about that and at the same time I could find out if she'd heard anything more about the McAdams. With that in mind, I pulled off at the next service station on the highway even though it wasn't that far from our town. I tried calling Mom and got no answer although I let the phone ring several times. Then I tried calling Aunt Alice, but got no answer there either. That didn't sit right with me. Something had to be wrong when no one answered the phone on either farm. It worried me.

I hopped into my car and drove toward home as quickly as I could, but decided that I'd make one last call from town before driving out to the farm. I pulled up to the pumps at Frank Dolens' service station and asked Jerry if I could use their phone to call home.

"Don't even bother trying," he advised me instantly. "There was an accident out there just a while ago. The police, the fire truck and the ambulance went out that way not ten minutes ago, and Billy just left with the tow truck, so it's a traffic accident of some sort. Dad might have a clue what's going on, but since there's no phone service out that way now, I guess someone drove a car into a phone pole or something. How come you didn't see it on your way into town?"

"Probably because I just drove home from Calgary," I shrugged. "Your cousin, Carissa, Sandy McAdam and Jackie McAdam, Sandy's cousin, are in the hospital. They were in Carissa's Jeep and got hit by a truck at an intersection, but it sounds like they'll all be okay."

"Oh, I heard about Carissa, but I didn't know Sandy was in the accident too. I guess that's where Sam and his wife were headed then. They came in a bit more than half an hour ago, screaming at me to fill their car with gas in a hurry. While I was gassing up the car, Sam went rushing in to see Dad, then came back out, jumped in the car and left here like his tail was on fire."

"Oh shit. I wonder if they might have been the ones who had the accident?" I frowned at Jerry.

"The way he was driving when he left here, they might have, if they went out that way. Want me to call Billy on the CB and find out?"

"No, he'll be busy at the accident. Don't disturb him on my account."

"You want a fill up while you're here?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah, I'll leave the keys in the car so you can move it if you need to. I think I'll go talk to your dad for a minute."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll need to move your car," Jerry snorted almost sarcastically. "After all it's ten thirty in the morning, so we're due for the midmorning rush any minute now."

I just grinned at him and headed for the sales office. Frank was at his desk and on the phone when I came in, so I waited patiently for him to finish his call.

"Hello Chris. Have you heard anything new about Carissa?" he said as he set the receiver down.

"Yeah, I was there late last night. She was out of the operating room and in recovery. She's messed up, but they say she'll be okay. Corinna and her folks are there with her."

"Oh, you went down to Calgary?"

"Yeah."

"I thought maybe you and Carissa were ... Well, I heard she'd found a girlfriend," he said quietly, glancing around to be certain no one could hear him. "How are the other girls doing?"

"Well, Sandy isn't bad condition, minor bones busted as well as cuts and bruises. Jackie, her cousin, got thrown out of the back of the Jeep and across the road or something. I think she's has the worst injuries of all three," I told him. "By the way, what's with the telephones?"

"An accident, out at Graham's curve. A car went off the road at high speed and took out two telephone poles as well as screwing up all the phone lines. Billy just called in and said it was the Sam McAdam. I was just calling their next door neighbour, because no one is answering their phone. The strange thing is that Sam was just in here asking about you."

"Well, that might be because he thought his twins were with me. I took them to Calgary, but they took off this morning before I woke up. They left a note saying that they might be coming home, so I came back in a hurry. If they're still in Calgary, I don't know how to find them," I dissembled, trying to establish an alibi for both the girls and myself. "I guess if that was Sam in the accident I'd better take the note to the cops, huh?"

"Probably, either that or else take it to Ann. She should know what's going on too."

"Umm, from what Jerry said, Ann was in the car with Sam."

"Oh damn. That might not be good," he looked at me wide eyed. "Do you know if the twins were in the car too? They might have been I guess, because the early bus from Calgary came through a while ago. We'd better ask Jerry."

"Well, from what Jerry said, I think only Sam and his wife were in the car."

"I'll check with Jerry," he said, grabbing the phone. "But, if the girls weren't with their folks, you'd better go check with the cops. They're going to want to find those kids."

"Yeah. See ya later and thanks," I headed for the door, wondering just how much more complicated my life could get.

The next few hours were an absolute nightmare. I had to play it the way the girls and I had set it up, but it made me feel like a real bastard and I had to think on my feet every second. The first thing I did was sign for the gas and I even checked with Jerry that the girls weren't with the McAdams when they left. Then I had to go to the RCMP station and talk to them. The Constable had me phone the Coulters at the motel so they could keep an eye out for the girls because the accident had definitely been the McAdams. From the way the officer spoke to me, I knew that the news wasn't good. Luckily, I got Mr. Coulter on the phone and told him that if he happened to see the girls, to call back and let me know right away because their folks had been in an accident. I had to hope that he'd read between the lines and he did, asking me to check that Ann McAdam wasn't home, then to wait at his house for a phone call, even telling me where a key to their house was hidden. That suited the cops because they'd know where to find me, yet I wouldn't be hanging around at the police station waiting for news.

John Coulter phoned me back inside of half an hour, letting me know that he'd phoned Lucille and that she wanted me to call her. It seemed she didn't trust him, thinking that he might be either Sam or his brother. That made me wonder a bit about Lucille, but when I called her, I realized that she'd done the right thing. She knew my voice, but not John's because he hadn't spoken to her before. Luckily, the girls were still with her and after we talked, she agreed to drive them over to the motel to stay with the Coulters. It took an additional hour, but once John had phoned back to tell me the girls were with them. I was able to phone the RCMP and tell them the girls had been found and that they were still in Calgary, but now they were with the Coulters.

That's when the RCMP officer asked me to come back to the station. When I got there, Constable Davis looked at me very seriously and sighed deeply.

"Chris, I've got a problem. You don't happen to know how to contact any of Sam McAdam's family, do you? By that, I mean anyone other than Sandy and the twins."

"No. I know Sam has a brother in Calgary, but I don't know how to contact him. Why are you asking?"

"Well . . ," he hesitated, then sighed and looked at me very seriously. "We understand from talking to Frank Dolens that you and Sandy were very close. Is that true?"

"Yeah, she stayed with me at the ranch for a while, but what's going on?" I was now extremely hesitant about answering.

"Oh boy," he sighed again. "Right now, you are the closest that we have in the way of next of kin to notify about the condition of Sam and Ann McAdam."

I just stared at him as he explained, but no matter how hard I try, I can barely remember what he said for the next few moments. I know he said that Ann McAdam was killed instantly in the crash and that while Sam had survived, they weren't certain that he'd live long. I also got the idea that since I and my family had been involved with the McAdam family, they wondered if I would go to Calgary and bring the twins back to the farm, at least for now. In the meantime, they'd try to find some of the girls' family.

"I know it's a lot to ask of you, Chris, and if you want, we'll have an officer drive you out to your father's and ask him, but we'd rather you decided how to handle it. However, whether you go, or your parents do, since the twins are still so young, we feel it would be best if it was someone close to them who tells them the news about their parents," Constable Davis said quietly. "If they were adults, we'd have the local police in Calgary do it, but we've seen how close you are to them, so we thought you might prefer to be the person to tell them. I wish there was some way we could contact one of their relatives and have them handle the task, but we have no way of contacting anyone at this time. We have contacted the hospital and they let us know that the McAdam's older daughter refuses to cooperate with our request for any information on relatives. You're certain that you don't know how to get in contact with anyone?"

"No, I don't," I shook my head. "I'm not sure I'd tell you if I did. From what I've heard Sam's brother is a real son of a bitch. I don't even want to know how to contact him."

"Oh? Is it something we should know about?"

"Well, maybe, I guess it might be your business. He's a Mormon and he was trying to arrange to send his daughter off to some Mormon place in BC in order to involve her in some sort of multiple marriage thing. To be honest, I think he just wanted to get rid of her," I told him as calmly as I could. "That's probably why Sandy won't tell you anything either. She's probably afraid that if she does, he'll force her and the twins to go out there. Then all of the girls will end up being sent away from everything they know and into that mess, then they'd have to marry some middle aged polygamist."

"Legally, that might still happen and there wouldn't be much we could do," he sighed. "You see what they do isn't legally classed as polygamy."

"Yeah, I know. Sandy explained it to me," I growled.

"If she explained it to you, you probably know more about it than I do," he frowned. "I wish there was a way to prevent it from happening, but I don't know how. Even if a parent or guardian goes against the girls' wishes, there's no way we can interfere, not unless we can prove abuse of some kind."

"Well, Sandy is going to turn eighteen in a few days. Won't that make a difference?"

"It certainly will," he smiled. "If she can prove in some way that she can support the girls, then she can assume custody of the twins."

"I'll provide that support, if it becomes necessary," I said flatly. "While it's not public knowledge yet, tomorrow morning my grandfather is legally turning over control of Mile High Ranch to me. With that as backing, I can certainly support them."

"Oh, I thought you were just looking after the ranch while Old Tobias was in the hospital."

"I was, but his health is so bad that the doctor doesn't think he'll ever be able to look after the place again. Since I'm the only one in the family that loves the solitude of the upper ranch, Grampa Bender is putting me in charge. His only condition is that I have to take some Olds Ag. School courses and I've already registered to start there in January."

"Chris, the first time I saw you, you were standing up and protecting the Coulter twins, then there was that stupidity at the cafe and again at the service station. After that, I'll never forget you sitting on the porch of your cabin, grinning and sipping a coffee while you let your dogs keep those two juvies on the roof of your pig pen," he shook his head. "Now you're in here doing your best to protect some more kids. You have never failed to impress me and from the sounds of it, I'm not alone. Old Tobias isn't one to do something like that for anyone he didn't trust fully."

"Well, thank you, but all I ever do is to try to do what I think is right."

I was trying not to feel guilty about being deceitful to him before and at the same time I was upset at the idea that Ann was dead and Sam might be dying. His praise wasn't helping me feel a bit better.

"Well, you keep doing what you think is right, and I'll give you what backing I can. Now have you decided what to do about those girls in Calgary? We think they should be home, just in case."

"Yeah, I think I'd better go out to the farm and see if either Mom or Aunt Alice wants to come along to Calgary with me to be there for the girls. I really don't think I want to tackle that job on my own."

"That sounds like a wise decision, and yet, to have you make a good choice doesn't surprise me at all," he nodded, then smiled. "Call me to keep me posted on what you and your folks have decided to do about the girls. Or call me if there's anything I can do to help in any way after things settle out."

When I left the police station, I felt terrible about the way things had gone. I'd walked into the police station and lied, then Constable Davis had praised me for being such an outstanding citizen. The combination simply didn't sit well with my sense of honour. Then as I was driving home, I had to pass the scene of the accident and saw the stubs of the two broken telephone poles, the torn up fence and the deeply marked field where the McAdam's car had to have come to a rest. There were already two telephone service trucks there and four men were busy trying to reestablish phone service to everyone who lived out in our direction. I know sitting and waiting for them to clear the road so I could get past the spot where Sam and Ann McAdam had died really upset me, but it wasn't until later that I realised how much.

I can only guess that sitting there gave me too much time to think about the situation. By the time I got home I was a basket case as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened in the last few days. I suppose I was blaming myself for most of the problems and perhaps it was simply too much for me to handle. To be honest, I recall turning into the driveway at the farm, but I have no clear memory of anything further that happened during the rest of that day. I know I must have told Mom and Dad about everything that had happened, but I don't remember doing it. I do recall being in the truck with Dad and Beth as he was driving me up to the ranch. I don't even remember Dad helping me into the cabin. In fact I don't remember much until I awoke the next morning.

What woke me in the morning was the smell of coffee and the sound of it perking in the kitchen. As usual, I had to get outside fast, so I grabbed some pants and rushed out, scarcely hearing Beth's 'Good Morning' as I hurried out to the biff. It was while I was sitting there that bits and pieces of what had happened in the last few days came crowding back into my memory. Surprisingly, they didn't upset me nearly as much as I'd somehow feared they might. Instead, I was able to look at what had happen to me and my friends, as well as what I'd done, and was able to decide that I'd done as well as I could at the time. There were many things I'd change if I could live those last few days over, but at that moment, I didn't feel I'd done all that badly. I had even held off mourning for what had gone wrong, and what had happened to those I cared for, until I was safely home with my family.

It seemed that as I'd slept, my mind had processed and compartmentalized everything in a way that it could handle the pressure and pain. By the time I walked back into the cabin, I was ready to face the world again.

"Well, good morning, for the second time," Beth said quietly. "Are you able to talk now?"

"Yes, Beth," I nodded. "Thank you for baby sitting."

"Oh you twit," she snorted, then suddenly she was hugging me and crying.

After a few minutes she got her tears under control and looked up at me bleary-eyed.

"Do you know you slept for almost twenty hours?" she said accusingly. "You must be starved."

"I am," I nodded, then thought about the day before and managed a weak grin. "Do you know what? All I had to eat yesterday was a big sticky-bun. That's it, for the whole day. No wonder my belly thinks my throat's been slit."

"You ass, you're still a growing boy. Why didn't you eat?"

"Lack of time and opportunity to start with, then sheer emotional overload later, I guess," I sighed. "Can I go put some more clothes on? I'm getting chilly."

"You get dressed. I'll make breakfast," she snapped, wiping her eyes with her apron as she turned toward the stove.

As we ate breakfast, Beth helped me get caught up on what had happened while I was zonked out. Mom and Aunt Alice had borrowed my car and gone to Calgary. Once they were there, they'd gone to the motel and told the twins about their parents. Then they'd gone to the hospital, and explained things to Sandy. After that, they'd gotten Sandy released from the hospital in Calgary to the hospital at home and had arranged for an ambulance to take her there.

While they were doing that the Coulters had gotten their lawyer to press for a judgement against Jackie's parents for some of the actions that she had told Carissa about. It seemed that her father's idea of punishment was tying and blindfolding her, then putting her in a closet for hours at a time. At other times he would have his wife hold Jackie down while he'd take a strap to her bare bottom. It seemed that Jackie bore the scars to prove it. One of the surgeons who had worked on her in the emergency had seen that sort of scarring previously and was willing to testify in court. The Coulters had told the lawyer to pass on the fact that they would be willing to either foster Jackie, or adopt her, anything to get her out of the control of her parents.

Sometime during the day, Wil and Mr. Coulter had found the time to rent a 'U-haul' trailer. They'd gone to the duplex with Carissa's keys, loaded everything belonging to the girls into the trailer and parked it at the motel. Both of them thought the girls' possessions were safer there than in the duplex.

Late yesterday afternoon, Will had driven Mom, Aunt Alice, Jess, Jean and Corinna home. So, Sandy was in our hometown hospital and being fussed over by the people she'd formerly worked with. Jess and Jean were back at Uncle Tom and Aunt Alice's. Wil and Corinna had driven my car back up to the ranch last night and Dad had come to pick them up to take them back home. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Coulter were staying in Calgary for a few days. Mr. Coulter would come home Sunday night pulling the trailer with all the girls' things, but he'd go back to Calgary on Wednesday night so Mrs. Coulter could spend a couple of days at home.

By the time Beth had explained all that, we were sitting out on the porch and enjoying a coffee in the sunshine. Since we had almost an hour before we had to go to town to officially hear about Grampa Bender's new arrangements for the ranch and the lease, Beth carried on explaining things that had happened the day before.

The reason that the McAdams had been in such a hurry when they had been driving out our way was the fact that Sam had needed to work until nine that morning, yet they wanted to catch me. Ann hadn't been able to contact Sam when he was on the road, but they wanted to find the girls and they were on their way out to the ranch to take them, by force if necessary. It appeared that after the accident the RCMP found a loaded hunting rifle and several hanks of stout rope in the back seat of the wrecked car.

From the damage done to the car and the distance it had travelled after leaving the road, the police estimated that they'd been travelling at over seventy miles an hour when they hit the curve and Sam lost control. Ann had been thrown out of the car as it flipped, then the car had rolled over her. From what injuries he had and where he'd been found, Sam must have impacted the steering wheel, then had been thrown up and out through the windshield on the passenger's side. Neither one had survived to reach the hospital. Ann had been declared dead at the scene and Sam had died in the ambulance.

The Calgary Police had found Sam's brother by checking for the address of the owner of the duplex. Mr. Coulter had given the police all three sets of keys and told them the circumstances, explaining that the girls wouldn't be needing it. When the police had told Sam's brother that, he'd screamed that he was going to sue Sam for the rent. That's when they'd told him that both Sam and Ann were dead. At that point he'd changed his tune and told them that he wanted nothing to do with Sam's brats, or his slut daughter, but instead of suing Sam, he was going to sue Mr. Coulter.

"Fat chance he's got there," I snorted.

"Yeah, I agree," she nodded, then glanced at her watch. "Hey, we'd better get going if we're going to be at the hospital by ten."

"Oh shit, I haven't even started the chores," I jumped to my feet.

"Slow down, sleepy head. I did them all before you even woke," she grinned at me. "I aint just a pretty face, you know."

"No, I guess you aint," I laughed. "Thanks for helping out."

So we cleaned up and headed for town. When we came to Graham's curve, Sid Graham was out in the field with a cultivator running over the area that had been chewed up by the accident.

"I'll bet that's so people won't slow dawn and gawk, which is probably a good idea, since it's right on the curve," Beth nodded her head toward him.

"Yeah, but the insurance agents might have a fit."

"Why, they've got the wrecked car and the police report, plus two dead bodies. What else could they possibly need?" she sounded bitter.

"Who knows?" I shrugged my shoulders.

Beth spent the rest of the trip to town in silence and I didn't feel like talking either.

At the hospital, we met Mom and Dad in the parking lot, going inside with them. When we got to Grampa Bender's room, we all stopped and stared.

Sitting in a chair near Grampa Bender's bedside was my cousin, Lucille.

As I stood and stared at the tableau of Lucille sitting beside Grampa Bender's bed, Mom brushed past me, and as Lucille stood, Mom wrapped her in a hug. Taking a deep breath, I thought about it and realized that they must have met when Mom and Aunt Alice were in Calgary picking up the girls. For the next few moments, that hospital room was a complete muddle as first Mom and then Aunt Alice made certain that everyone had met Lucille.

Since we were slightly early and the lawyer hadn't arrived yet, Mom steered everyone but me, toward the waiting room. I hung back because I wanted to talk to Grampa Bender.

"Life gets diff'rent in a hang of a hurry, don't it, Lad," he looked up at me and winked.

"Yeah," I sighed heavily and I managed a weak grin. "Mine sure does."

"Wal, I gotta say when ya do go out an' meet folks t' bring home, ya pick int'restin' folks. That gal is a firecracker an' as diff'rent from her ol' man as night 'n day. She's one reason I'm glad I had the lawyer write up m' will the way tis."

"Sorry, I don't understand?"

"Well, any o' the family as he'ps out, gets rewarded an' I'd say she he'ped out, wouldn'cha agree?"

"Yeah, she sure did," I nodded.

"Not jes when ya was there neither. She he'ped Liz 'n Alice jus' as much. Mos'ly though, I like t' fact she he'ped them McAdam kids so much," he nodded and gestured at the wheelchair. "Ya wanna gimme a hand ta get into thet thing? While yer doin' it, we kin have a chat afore we go talk t' the lawyer an' t'other folks."

As I helped him slide out of bed and into the chair, I realized that he really had very little strength and had lost a lot of weight, but he still seemed in full control of his mental faculties. All the time I was helping him to slip out of bed, into a robe and get settled in his wheelchair, he was talking about Lucille and what she'd done.

As soon as I'd left, she'd made sure that the girls were comfortable, then she'd phoned the hospital to get the latest information on the three girls who were there. After that, she'd sat down with the twins, discussing how they'd been raised and how their parents had treated them. It was only after she understood how each of the five girls fit into the picture that she'd gotten called by Mr. Coulter, spoke to him and asked him to have me call her.

Then when I had called back and told her that the twins needed to go back to stay with the Coulters, she'd been the one who had kept them calmed down. Once Mom and Aunt Alice were there, she'd helped comfort them after they'd been told about their parents' death. It seemed that she was the one who had instigated the idea of collecting all the girls' belongings before Jackie's father had a chance to throw everything into the trash. Then afterward, she'd advised everyone to move Sandy out of the Calgary hospital. She'd even been a big help in arranging for the ambulance and had been the nurse who'd ridden in it with Sandy during the trip from Calgary.

"It sounds like she's been quite a busy little gal," I grinned at him.

"You could say thet," he chuckled at me, and grabbed one of my hands. "I think ya might best find time t' talk t' her later; mebee after this meetin' thing if'n you can. From whut I heard ya might'a bin jes a mite tough on her when ya met t'other night."

"Well, I did apologise for that yesterday," I sighed. "Of course I was looking for some help at the time, so she might have thought I wasn't as sincere as I really felt."

"Oh, I think she believed ya, but I'd like ya t'be nice to her. I gotta feelin' we'ns is gonna be seein' more o' that lil woman," he cracked one of his twisted grins. "Now we better git down t' the waitin' room cause I seed the lawyer headin' that way 'bout a minute 'r two ago."

He was right. In fact we followed the lawyer into the room where we were all meeting just as Lucille came out.

"Ya goin' some'eres, Gal?" Grampa Bender asked her quietly.

"Well, I'm not really part of this branch of the family," she smiled at us. "Jessica and Jean are down visiting Sandy. I don't think they should be alone, and while Aunt Alice is with them now, she deserves to be here and I don't, not really. I'll go down and keep the girls company while you have your meeting, then Chris can tell me about it later."

With that, she turned and left us standing there. Neither Grampa Bender nor I got a chance to say anything. Lucille simply turned and swept off like royalty, leaving us gaping after her. My look of surprise seemed to amuse Grampa Bender though.

"That gal reminds me o' her granny, m'older brother's wife 'n your great, great aunt. She could work like a dawg or put on the dawg, depending' on the sitchyation. That'n there aint much like her daddy aye tall. She's 'nother throback," Grampa Bender cackled with glee as I pushed his wheelchair into the waiting room to join the rest of our family.

Everyone was already there except for Aunt Alice and Wil. Aunt Alice was staying with Sandy and the twins right then and Wil would have had to drive up from Calgary to be there. Although we did expect Aunt Alice, we didn't think Wil would make it, so it was a surprise when he came in. It seemed that Corinna had insisted that he catch the early bus in order to be there on time. Then only a moment or two later, Aunt Alice was there, so after a few moments of family chatter, the lawyer started his spiel.

Honestly, most of what was said was about Grampa Bender's wishes for the near future. He was putting me in charge of Mile High Ranch and was laying out the basics for the main lease, leaving that as he'd originally mentioned to me. The thing that surprised me was that he insisted each of the younger members of the family should get an education beyond high school as well as work on either the ranch or the farm.

Gramps Bender's will was read over quickly too, but that was simply a formality.

Then the lawyer took a third file out of his briefcase and completely floored me as he laid it on the table and quickly explained what it was.

Since I was to have control of the upper ranch, there was a problem with my age. At sixteen, I would normally be considered a child in the eyes of the law. That would mean that I would have to go to my parents and have them cosign any legally binding documents, which hadn't suited Grampa Bender's purposes in any way. Since he had faith in me and was turning over complete control of Mile High Ranch, he wanted me to have complete responsibility, not just for the ranch, but for my own actions too. I was astonished to find that he and my parents had signed a document that declared me to be a legal adult. I had just been legally manumitted and declared an adult.

After the way I had fallen apart the day before, I found the fact that they trusted me that much extremely hard to understand. As soon as the meeting was done, I walked over to Mom and Dad, wanting to talk to them about that and about how I'd reacted before. They suggested that I come out to the farm later so we could talk comfortably and privately. From the way they were acting they weren't worried about what had happened. So, although I didn't understand why they felt that way, I agreed to wait and talk to them later.

"Don't forget we have an appointment at the bank too," Dad said to me. "We need to arrange for you to be the prime signatory on all the Mile High dealings with them."

"Yeah, I know, but since I'm going to be in Olds for school next semester, I think your names should stay on the books," I frowned, trying to think of all the problems that I was going to have to handle now.

"Chris, I can see you worrying already, but don't. There will have to be a transition period, since it will take a short time before all of the changes Uncle Toby has made come into effect. However, even after that, you'll have a safety net. We're not planning on running off any time soon, so we'll still be here to give you advice," Mom smiled. "Right now, you have just over an hour until we're due at the bank. I'd suggest you slip down to Sandy's room and talk to her and her sisters. Then if you have time, you might want to talk to Lucille too."

"Yeah, thanks, Mom," I started to head for the door, but had to pause on the way to say 'So Long' to Grampa Bender and Mr. Ambrose, the lawyer.

Both of them had several things they wanted to talk about, but suggested that I talk to them later. They both frowned when I said I'd come back to town next week to do it, but I knew I had a lot to do that day and didn't know how I could fit a long talk with them into my schedule. After walking away from them, I had to talk to Uncle Tom, Aunt Alice, Tom, and Jasmine for a few minutes. When I looked for them, Mom, Dad, Beth and Will had already left, but I was finally able to slip down the hall to see Sandy and the twins.

Beth was with them already and so was Lucille. All of them looked like they'd been crying, even Beth and Lucille, but I was surprised that all of them seemed to brighten up when I came into the room. I was even more surprised when Lucille and Beth took Jess and Jean out of the room to leave Sandy and me alone.

"Oh, Chris," Sandy said quietly as the door to her room closed behind the others. "What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, what are your problems? Maybe I can help?"

"Oh, Chris," Sandy repeated, then she began to cry softly as she spoke. "I don't even have any idea what I have to do. I'm feeling completely lost and out of my depth. The Benders, your uncle and aunt, have said they'll look after Jessica and Jean for now, but I'm the oldest. I have to make decisions for the twins and I don't know what I should do or say to them. I have to arrange a funeral and I have to find out if we'll even have a place to live. I don't know if Mom and Dad had a big mortgage or what the deal is on the house. I don't know what money we have. On top of everything else, I'm worried about Uncle Bill and Aunt Bridget. What if they try to take the girls away from me?"

"Sandy, in the first place, you have any and all of my family to lean on and offer advice. The Coulters are backing you up too. Right now, Mr. Coulter's lawyer is working on having you declared Jess and Jean's legal guardian when you turn eighteen on Monday. Because Jess and Jean were supposed to be staying with Uncle Tom and Aunt Alice at the time your folks were killed, I think he's listing them as temporary guardians. Since we can all swear truthfully that it was with their parents' permission, I'm certain that he's trying to get that extended to semipermanent status. That would give you time to straighten out anything else you need to do."

"But what about after that?" she whimpered. "I need to know what to do about the house and everything else."

"Look, my family lawyer is in the hospital. I'm not sure if he handled your Mom and Dad as clients, but if he didn't, I'm certain that he'd be able to find out who handled your parents' affairs. He can probably find out if they had a will or life insurance, so I'm sure we can get that all straightened out. I can go ask him if he can help if you'd like."

"Please," she said, then nodded and made a pushing motion with her hand.

I headed out the door to find the lawyer and almost knocked him down because he was just about to knock on the door to Sandy's room.

"Oh, Mr. Ambrose. I was just going to come looking for you. Sandy McAdam has several questions about her parents and ..."

"Yes, of course she does," he smiled. "Would you be so kind as to introduce me to Miss McAdam? Then perhaps you could remain close by for a few moments? She may need someone to converse with when our business is concluded. I understand from your grandfather that the two of you are relatively close."

"Well, will you be long? I think my family and I have an appointment at the bank inside of an hour," I asked.

"Actually, I wonder if that appointment could be postponed. Unfortunately, this could take some time. I need to see you and your parents as well. In fact they should be here when we speak with Miss McAdam, but all of you had left the room before I got a chance to speak to anyone about this situation," he said, but he looked as if he was somewhat upset by our plans.

"Well, I can go talk to Mom and Dad. Perhaps they can call the bank and change the time of our appointment, but I can take you into Sandy's room and introduce you to her first, if you'd like," I offered.

"No, I think I want you along when I am conversing with Miss McAdam," he said, which surprised me and I think he noticed my reaction. "Your Grandfather has explained to me that the two of you are very good friends and I'd prefer she had someone like you along when I speak to her. I'm also counting on some of the other character traits that Tobias said you possessed."

I looked at him questioningly, but didn't say anything, not even when he smiled. Since I hadn't seen him smile before, that in itself surprised me.

"Amongst other things, your grandfather said you knew when to remain silent and that when you had to be you were, and I quote: 'smooth 'nuff t' slide on sandpaper.' In other words he's very proud of your ability to handle yourself with people."

"You make it sound almost as if it was a fault," I sighed. "And if you think I'm smooth, you ought to meet my friend George."

Before he had a chance to say anything more, I saw Mom and Dad coming down the hallway.

I walked forward to meet them. "Mom, Mr. Ambrose wants us to be here for Sandy when he explains some things, but we've got that appointment to go to. Do you think we could call the bank and postpone it for an hour or so?"

"Since I made the appointment, I'll call them. If they can't change the appointment to later in the day, it won't be the end of the world. It isn't as if we really need to do things today, after all we can sign those papers next week," Dad nodded. "Helping Sandy is far more important right now, but I didn't realize that Cyrus handled the McAdams' legal matters as well."

"I'm not sure that he does, Dad, but he did ask if we could be there while he talked to her."

So, while Dad hurried off to call the bank, Mom and I took Mr. Ambrose into Sandy's room and introduced them to each other. Mom managed to occupy some time hugging Sandy and talking to her. However it wasn't long before Dad came back and said that we had an extra hour before we had to be at the bank, then he turned to the lawyer.

"So, Cyrus why are Liz and I involved in this discussion?"

"Ah. That's really very simple," Mr. Ambrose nodded to Dad. "It seems that when Sam and Ann McAdam purchased their home, you and Mrs. Crawford acted as guarantors on their first mortgage with the bank."

"Yes, but what has that got to do with anything?" Dad frowned. "I thought that mortgage was life insured?"

"Oh, it was, but at that same time do you remember signing a paper that specifically stated that in case an untoward accident should befall both of the elder McAdams, you would not only care for their home, but for their children as well?"

"I remember that, but I thought that was only a short term thing," Mom answered.

"Oh, that's right. I do remember that, but it was years ago," Dad said with a frown. "Don't tell me that it's still in effect? I mean Sandy is almost eighteen."

"In one way, that agreement is still very much in effect," Mr. Ambrose smiled slightly. "Since Miss McAdam is still a minor and her two sisters are as well and since her parents have never cancelled this agreement, you are effectively the McAdam children's guardians."

Both Mom and Dad simply stared at him, but Sandy shocked me by screaming loudly, then bursting into tears. I didn't know what to do, but since she held out her arms in my direction, I moved closer to the bed and leaned over to hug her. Like Mom and Dad, I was in shock, but then as I thought about the situation, I started to chuckle.

"Chris, what do you possibly find funny about this?" Mom chided me.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how frustrated Sam's brother would be if he knew."

"Oh, but he does," Mr. Ambrose smiled at me then. "One of my associates in Calgary has advised him of the facts of the case. John Coulter's lawyer was the person who phoned me and had me check the McAdam file. It seems that Ann McAdam mentioned the agreement to Wilma Coulter at some time in the past. Wilma had her lawyer call me."

Mr. Ambrose grinned then as he paused for a second and winked at Sandy. "However, there is more to this than meets the eye. Mr. William McAdam recently fostered his only daughter to Sam McAdam because she had supposedly 'fallen out of grace' in some way. Miss McAdam has stated that he simply wanted her out of his home while he made some other arrangement for her. Nonetheless, since she was legally a ward of Sam and Ann McAdam at the time of their death, and since that former agreement was still in effect, there is a basis for a legal protest if he attempts to move her out of her present care. So at the present time, it appears that Miss Jacqueline McAdam is under the legal guardianship of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Crawford. In order to rescind that guardianship, he would have to obtain the full agreement of both Mr. and Mrs. Willard Crawford, through their legal representative."

Sandy looked up at me and giggled at that announcement, then suddenly Mom was smiling, and a second later she was hugging both Sandy and me.

"Willard, please go tell Jessica and Jean the news," Mom chortled as she stood upright and faced Mr. Ambrose. "Cyrus, from the way you spoke, I take it that you'd be willing to take this to court if necessary?"

"Yes, Liz, I would, and Willard, could you bring the two younger McAdam sisters with you when you return?" he smiled at Mom and then Dad. "They might as well be in on the discussion we will need to have about their situation."

### Chapter 41