# Car 54

####
© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 22:
Runaway Lane Ahead - Use Left Lane to Avoid

When I drove into the yard, Duke was there to meet me and to my surprise I saw the collie bitch and her pup sneaking around the back of the cabin as I pulled to a stop. She wasn't limping much at all, but instead seemed to be moving slowly so the pup could keep up with her.

"Oh yeah, good reminder," I chuckled as I climbed out of the car and patted old Duke as he came up to me. "Mama knows its supper time and Carissa hasn't been down to see her all day. Maybe this is a good thing, huh?"

The way Duke's tail was wagging, I thought he agreed. Ten minutes later I was dressed in work clothes and was setting Duke's bowl of dried dog food on the porch for him. As he dug into his meal, I set out for the creek bank with the collie's bowl of canned food having even remembered to add the medicine she was supposed to have. Since I saw her in the bushes on the top of the bank, I didn't bother going all the way down to the den area like Carissa had done before. Instead I set the bowl down near the bushes and walked away a few feet.

To my surprise, when I looked back, the collie was already eating. The pup was even licking at her muzzle as if he wanted some solid food too. Of course my immediate thoughts were about trying to get her to come a little closer to the cabin every day until she ate on the porch with Duke. That would go a long way toward taming her and turning them both into farm dogs.

"I guess we should think of a name for you two, shouldn't we? I'll have to mention that to Carissa when I get a chance," I spoke quietly, but the collie lifted her head and licked her lips as she looked at me.

"Well, you're pretty darn intelligent, aren't you?" I grinned at her.

Of course now that she'd heard my voice and recognised that I wasn't about to hurt her, she went back to wolfing down her meal. I just chuckled, then continued to talk to the bitch and her pup while she polished the bowl. When she lost interest in trying to lick the bowl into oblivion, I moved closer. She'd let me get about five feet away, then she pulled back, growling slightly, but I think that was more a warning for her pup than anything else. At least she was looking at him and not me when she did it.

I didn't let it bother me, one way or another. Instead I still continued moving slowly forward, then picked up the empty bowl and walked back to the house. I was surprised to see her come out of the brush and toward the house as I took the bowl inside. When I called Duke to have him help me herd the young cattle into the barn for the night, I was even more surprised that she followed us. When we went toward the young cattle, she moved along at about the same distance away from me as before, but she did her best to stay outside the fence when she could. The most encouraging sign was the fact that I could see her acting somewhat impatient, but still staying back as Duke worked the cattle, circling them to bring them into the barn. It seemed almost as if she wanted to be involved, but she knew I was the boss and she hadn't been called on to work.

The other thing that astounded me was the way she kept control of the pup. I hadn't thought he was old enough to even be out and around, but not only did he keep up to her, he even wanted badly to be out with his daddy, chasing cattle. She was having none of that though. She'd nip at him, knock him rolling, growl at him, even hold him down with a paw. It seemed to me that she was letting him know in no uncertain terms that if she wasn't involved, he certainly wasn't going to be involved either.

I always kept a few dog chews in my pocket to reward old Duke when he'd finished helping me with the cattle, but that night he had to share them. I'd toss him one, then I'd toss two over toward the collie and her pup, making sure that the pup got his share. Duke got three treats, the collie got two and the pup got two.

Old Duke had that evening game down to a science. He knew that once he'd been given his cookies and I'd told him "Atta Boy," then he was done and he was free to go. The collie wasn't quite so sure though; she actually appeared to be a real eager beaver. She hung back about twenty or thirty feet, but followed me as I fed the old sow. She even stood just outside the fence as I went into the chicken run to feed the hens, collect the eggs and lock them in. Then she followed me back to the house when I took the eggs inside.

I thought she'd disappear then, but when I came back outside with the laundry basket and went around the back to take in Carissa's laundry, she snuck up even closer than before. Since I was alone and missing Carissa, I talked to the dog. I was astounded again, because she seemed to love that. It was almost as if she wanted attention and loved to hear someone's voice, but she still didn't trust me enough to approach too closely.

When I had all the laundry collected in the basket, I went inside and set it by the table, planning to fold everything, but paused long enough to put on a pot of coffee first. I'd left the door wide open because the cabin smelled slightly musty from being closed up all day. Of course to old Duke, that open door was an open invitation to come in and make himself comfortable on his rug. I ignored him, except to remind myself that I needed to install a dog proof screen door as I lit the little oil stove. Once the old stove was burning well, I set the coffee pot in place, then moved back to the table and started to fold the laundry.

It wasn't more than a moment later that I heard a small whimper and a scrabbling sound at the door. I glanced that way, then had to grin at what I saw. Mama collie was lying with her head just inside the door, watching what I was doing while blocking her pup from coming inside. The whimper and scrabbling sound had come from the pup as he tried to get past her. At the moment she had a paw on his back and he was trying to scramble out from under it. I couldn't help but chuckle

"It's okay, Little Lady. He can come inside if he wants to. I sure won't hurt him," I said quietly, still folding the clothes and staying well back in the room.

She didn't seem to believe me though. Instead she continued blocking the door and made sure that the pup stayed outside. I had all the clothes folded by the time the coffee had perked, so I poured myself a cup, but decided I wanted to drink it on the front porch.

"Come on Duke, outside with you. Lets go," I ordered, knowing that it was better for him to approach the collie at the door than it would be if I did.

I was able to follow after him and kept him outside by closing the door again. It wasn't so much that I disliked Duke being in the cabin, but right now he stank. When I'd opened the door, I'd wanted to improve the smell inside. He'd certainly defeated that idea in a hurry. It wasn't as if his stench wasn't a common problem either. There were days when he simply reeked, but that's because Duke liked to roll in stinky messes. Grampa Bender had put up with it for years, but I wasn't as tolerant. It wasn't as if I was being hard on old Duke either. After all he had a second rug out on the front porch and the weather certainly wasn't rough enough for him to need to be inside.

As it was he went out and lay on the grass in the yard while I sat on the old bench on the front porch to have my coffee. I'd only been sitting there a moment when the collie and her pup moved over and settled down near Duke. Then a couple of moments later I heard Mom calling me on the CB, which meant I had to go back inside.

"Hi, Mom. I'm here. Over," I flopped down and had a sip of coffee, preparing for a fairly long chat.

"Hello, Chris. I called the hospital. The nurse I spoke to said Grampa Bender is doing as well as can be expected, but he often sleeps in the afternoon. That's why they suggested that you not visit him right then. Over."

"Oh, that's good. I was worried that it might be something more serious. Over."

"So was I," I could hear Mom sigh. "Oh! John Coulter phoned. He's leaving for Edmonton in the morning, but he's going to make sure he phones Frank Dolens every evening to keep everyone posted on things. Carissa had phoned him from Edmonton already. Corinna was rushed right into surgery when they arrived, but when she called they hadn't heard any results as yet. She did ask him to tell you that she missed you already. Over."

"Well, I miss her too," I sighed. "It's a little lonely up here by myself. Over."

"I'll bet it is," Mom sounded sympathetic. "John said she was planning on phoning here, but she didn't think you'd be down here tonight, so she decided to hold off until tomorrow evening. He said she'd try to phone around six or so. Over."

"Huh, it sounds to me like she's planning on having you feed me so I don't have to cook for myself. Over," I chuckled.

"Well, you know we don't mind you dropping in for a meal. Over," Mom laughed openly.

"Thanks, Mom. So since you know when Carissa is calling and you won't need to hang around waiting on the phone, are you going to town tomorrow with Dad? Over."

"Yes, I will be, in fact we might just pop up to see you afterward. Beth has a few questions she wants to ask you about that. Over."

"Okay, I'll wait while you get her. Over," I frowned, wondering what Beth wanted.

"Hey Big Bro, are you really lonely? Over," Beth giggled.

"What? Are you thinking of coming up to see me? Over?"

"Yes, I am actually, for a few days anyway," she giggled even more. "I've managed to find a couple of Quarter Horse mares and it looks to me like one of them is coming into season. Is your stallion still available for service for my mares and is he in a decent pen? Over."

"You know he is, but only if the mares are half decent, not some wild broom tail from the foothills or something," I teased. "Where did you get them? Over?"

"I got them the same place you got your cars," she laughed. "And darnitall, Frank Dolens isn't just good with cars, he knows horses too. Over."

"Today? Over," I asked in amazement, thinking that Frank was too close to the 'accident' to be thinking about horses.

"What? Oh, yeah, real early this morning. I was with him down near the auction yard when we heard the sirens, then he got the phone call about Corinna. Mr. McAdam was there with the twins too," she sounded a lot more subdued, but she perked up quickly. "Wil and I are going into town tomorrow with Tom so I can pay Mr. Dolens for them. Then Mom and Dad are going to be bringing them out with the trailer afterward. When I noticed one was coming into heat, we thought it would be best to haul them right up there instead of stopping here with them. Over."

"So did Frank buy them at the auction? Over"

"Unh huh," I could almost 'hear' her nod her head over the radio. "He said there were four mares, but he got the best two. They've got papers and if the papers are right, they have decent breeding. I'm sure the papers are good because the tattoos in their ears match up. They look really good, Cris, and they were a bargain. Over."

"You know how to test for fake tattoos, don't you? Over."

"Yes, Chris. We already did the alcohol wipe trick and the other one with the flashlight. It wasn't dark and we didn't have a blacklight for the third test though. But heck, at the price I'm paying, they don't have to be perfect, just good. I'm not that worried about them being purebred. Over."

"Okay, Beth. If you're happy with them, I'm sure I will be. Over," I chuckled.

"Good. I was starting to think you were worse than Dad," she laughed. "Now, can I stay there for a few days? Over."

"I suppose, but you get the back porch and the foldout bed. Over."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow," she squealed, then started a sing song. "I've got a horse to ride. I've got a horse to ride. And I've got a place to ride. Over and out, Big Brother."

I was laughing as I heard her shut off her CB, so I hung up the mic as well. Then I poured another cup of coffee before going back outside.

I had another chuckle then. Duke had settled on his rug, but he wasn't alone. It looked like the collie and her pup were moving in. Both of them were snuggled up on the rug with him. I have to say he looked crowded, but proud and happy as well.

I stood outside for a few moments and had a few sips of coffee, but for some reason I wasn't enjoying it at all. I realized that part of the reason was that I didn't have Carissa to talk with me. I kept glancing over at the collie and her pup, unable to stop thinking how thrilled Carissa would have been if she'd been there to see the collie becoming so trusting and friendly. Somehow that small triumph simply didn't seem to mean much without her there to share it. Especially not since she had been the one who had worked so diligently to achieve it.

Finally I tossed away the last of my coffee and went back inside. After rinsing my coffee cup and putting away the clean laundry, I decided I'd just go to bed since I had nothing else to do.

I don't think I've ever had a harder time getting to sleep than I did that night.

I thought about Carissa. I thought about the two of us. I worried about Corinna. I worried about Grampa Bender, then about the future of the ranch. I wondered about the hydro survey. I thought about Mom and Dad, then about Wil, about Beth, about Tom, and about George. I wondered about Frank Dolens, John Coulter and about the McAdam family. I even wondered about 'Rotten' Ray and 'Slimy' Sid.

Finally I suppose I wondered and worried myself to sleep.

Even though I didn't think I slept much, I woke early enough that I'd done my chores, overcooked some eggs and bacon, burnt some toast, then had eaten the mess and was done long before the surveyor from Hydro showed up. In fact, I was having a cup of coffee out on the front porch when I saw the bright yellow Jeep coming down the grade into the valley.

"Good morning, Mark," I called to him as soon as he pulled to a stop and got out of his Jeep. "Did you bring your maps with you today?"

"Good morning, Chris. I have the maps, but I'm still left with a fair sized conundrum. I've made literally no progress on this problem from the point I was at when I saw you last," he sighed heavily. "I'm sure you'll be dead set against it, but my bosses were asking about regrading that first gully we started to come down yesterday."

"Well, my family had a look at your problem yesterday afternoon as well," I grinned. "The difference is that we think we've come up with a solution to your problem that could save you time and distance."

"Well, that's an interesting idea," he looked at me curiously. "You'll have to show me that. I need a lift to my spirits this morning."

"Sure. Just grab your maps and we'll lay them out on the table," I waved him to come inside, then went to pour him a coffee.

Ten minutes later I had shown him Wil and Dad's idea, even going as far as showing him Wil's idea of running along the eastern ridge line of our upper valley. That allowed them to tie to their original survey almost where we had planned on having them splice in our feeder line. He stared at it for a moment and then broke into a grin.

"I couldn't see the forest for the trees," he chuckled. "I wonder if we can redo our original permits with the crown for crossing their land."

"I can't see why not, since we have the lease on the property along the route we're suggesting you follow," I chuckled. "I'll bet you drove along our road coming out to see me this morning, don't you think it would do for running a hydro line?"

"I certainly do," he grinned. "It actually solves problems as well as distance and time involved in running the line. Now all we have to do is negotiate a lease cost."

"Well, Mark, I've got no suggestions on that, but looking at the time, I imagine Dad's gone into town to see your bosses by now. I think they can iron that out between them, don't you."

He just laughed and agreed, then he drained his coffee mug. We hopped into his Jeep and drove up to the crest of the ridge, then followed along the whole route, driving slowly from one end to the other. By shortly before noon we were back at the cabin. This time he was all smiles and quite excited about the fact that the new route looked much easier than the old one. By using our trail across crown land as a base, we'd eliminated two huge problems that they would have had to contend with on the other route. It wasn't flat land, so they did have a few small worries, but they simply weren't in the same scale as the problems on the other route had been.

I made coffee and a sandwich for myself while he grabbed his lunch, then he joined me to eat on the front porch.

"So you think you folks will likely only want the roadway along your trail improved in return for our getting an easement along your lease?"

"Well, actually we have an easement now for a hundred feet on either side of that trail just in case we have to make any changes to our road," I explained. "It is tied to our lease and I'm no legal beagle, but I think the folks in your office will know well enough what needs to be done. I can't see any reason you'd have problems getting permission, because having power and phone here on the ranch will increase the assessment on the place and that increases the taxes. I'd think the government will be in favour of us granting hydro an easement to use our road or dang near any path across our lease."

"Oh, we both know that," he snorted. "I'm more interested in what you want over and above what it will cost on paper."

"Are you talking a bribe?" I laughed. "Now I'm not the guy whose signature you need, but as far as I'm personally concerned if you improve that road so I can use it in almost any weather as well as getting the power into this yard, I'll be as happy as a cow in a clover patch. I know Carissa sure misses having an electric stove, come to think of it, so do I."

"Oh, I was going to ask about that, where is your young lady?"

"Carissa is in Edmonton," I frowned, suddenly, brought back to reality. "Since you were in town yesterday, you must have heard about the young woman who jumped from the church steeple yesterday morning, didn't you?"

"Well, yes. I did," he frowned as well.

"That was Carissa's twin sister," I sighed. "Corinna has a bunch of problems and I guess she felt they had just gotten to be too much to handle. They flew her to Edmonton for an emergency operation at the University Hospital yesterday afternoon. Carissa went along."

"Oh, I am sorry," he held out his hand as if in apology. "Have you heard anything? Oh shit, that's a stupid question, you don't have a telephone."

"Yes, but I have a CB and Mom called last night. Corinna survived the flight fine and they rushed her straight into the operating room. They were still operating when Carissa's dad called Mom last night. I haven't heard anything yet today."

"Oh my. It must be tough on you, just sitting here, waiting for word," he shook his head as he frowned.

"Better than if I was sitting around the dang hospital," I snorted, then waved my left arm and lifted my right leg to show him my casts. "I hate hospitals. I went to the hospital with a couple of broken bones, but they gave me some medications for pain, only I was allergic to whatever it was and I damn near died."

"Jeez, I seem to have a talent for saying the wrong things," he shook his head again and looked sheepish.

"Aw, don't fret it," I snorted again. "Life happens. Sometimes you just have to tough things out."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he nodded, then began to get up. "I think I should get back to town and talk to my bosses about completely changing this end of the route. I and my rodman will have to come out and completely redo it. However, I'm fairly certain that you've made my life a lot easier, so if I can help out in some small way, just call on me, huh?"

"Well, if you can get the phone people to get their butts in gear as well, that would be a huge help. I could use it even more than electricity right now," I smiled getting to my feet as well.

"You've got a deal," he smiled and held out his hand. "I'll do what I can and hopefully, I'll see you in a day or two with the completed survey."

So we shook hands, then he climbed in his Jeep and drove away so I was left alone again. He had just climbed the grade out of the valley when the collie and her pup reappeared. I had to smile at that, it seemed she trusted me, but not others.

Now that the surveyor had gone, I was at loose ends for a while, waiting for either Wil and Beth or Mom and Dad to appear. Instead of sitting around I wandered down to the barnyard and checked to see that the cattle chute and loading ramp were okay because we'd need them to unload Beth's new horses. They seemed fine, so I caught the Quarter Horse stud and brought him into one of the larger corrals. That was just in case the mare that Beth had mentioned really was in season.

I was done everything and back near the house, looking for something else to do when I saw Tom's car on the grade. Dad's pickup, pulling the horse trailer, topped the grade just as Tom pulled to a stop near the house. In the car with Tom were Aunt Alice, Mom and Beth.

"Hi Chris," Mom said as she got out of the car. "Before you get involved with the horses, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Mom. What's up?"

"Well, we were talking to Frank Dolens when we paid for the horses. He had word from Edmonton."

"Oh no," I jumped to the conclusion that things had gone wrong.

"Now wait a minute," Mom held up a hand. "Corinna came through the first operation quite well, so don't worry about that."

"Oh, thank goodness," I sighed, then frowned. "Just what do you mean, the first operation?"

"Well, it seems that they're going to have to stabilize her and let her recover for a short while, but they're going to have to operate a second time," Mom was almost whispering and I could see tears in her eyes. "It seems that there might be a good reason for her having a short temper and being unreasonable at times. When they opened her skull, they found that she has a growth inside her skull that's putting pressure on her brain. She wasn't in good enough shape for an extended operation right then, so they'll have boost her condition and wait to operate another time in order to remove that."

"Oh shit," I simply stared at her. "Is it cancer or what?"

"They don't know yet. They won't know either, not until they remove it and have it tested," Mom shook her head, then grabbed me in a hug.

"Oh man. This must be tough on Carissa and her folks," I sighed.

"Yes, I agree," she nodded, then pulled back to look me in the eyes. "We talked it over amongst ourselves during lunch with Frank and we all think you and Wil should go to Edmonton."

"Both of us?"

"Yes. Frank thinks Wil should go because of his involvement with Corinna. Wil is taking this hard. We all agree you should go to be there for Carissa if she needs you. You might be able to make Wil feel a bit better about things too."

"But what about all the work that needs to be done, both here and at home?" I protested. "I mean, there's still a bunch of stuff to do and the hydro and phone are being run in and ..."

"We'll help your folks and so will others," Aunt Alice said firmly. "That isn't a problem. Anyway, here's your father with Beth's horses. I think you and Beth should get down to the corrals right now and take care of them."

"We'll make a pot of coffee while you're unloading them and we can talk when you're done," Mom called as Beth, Tom and I went down to help with the unloading.

Since we'd all handled horses before, unloading the two mares went quickly. I was keeping an eye on my stallion in the corral as we worked. As soon as the trailer had pulled in, he'd started to act interested in what was coming, so I thought Beth was probably right about her new mare. In fact as soon as the mare was let into the corral the stallion headed over to greet her, but she wasn't quite ready for him yet. As he came close to her she'd spin and lay her ears back, baring her teeth.

"Well from the way they're acting, she's either coming into season or she's just come off season," Dad frowned slightly. "I can't really tell which it might be yet."

"I'd say that she's showing more today than yesterday," Beth said just as quietly. "I think we got her here in time. We'll just have to wait and see if he covers her or not."

"She looks darn good, but she's quite small," I commented. "How old is she supposed to be?"

"According to her papers she's thirty two months," Beth said firmly. "Definitely old enough to be bred for the first time."

"You're sure it's the first time?"

"Yes, Chris. I phoned the former owner last night. He only had four mares and he was going to try to breed them all this spring, but instead he had to sell out."

"Oh, was there something wrong?"

"His health went bad," she sighed. "I wish I could have seen the other two horses. Looking at these two, I might have bought them as well. The former owner said the other two didn't look as nice, but their breeding was just as good."

With that she turned to go back into the trailer and lead out the other horse.

"I think this one is going to be my favourite," she said proudly as she led out a pretty bay mare with a star on her forehead. "She's a sweetheart."

"Wow," I agreed enthusiastically. "I agree. I think she's a prize."

"I have to go along with that. She's nice looking filly," Dad smiled. "Where do you want Beth to put this one?"

"Why not put her out in the pasture with the Thoroughbred. He can keep her company while the stallion and the little mare get better acquainted," I grinned and winked at Beth, making her blush.

Beth and Dad just rolled their eyes, but at least Tom and Wil thought what I'd said was slightly funny. At least they smiled. I don't think Dad liked what I'd said for some reason though. He frowned at me, then at Tom and Wil. The guys decided that they should 'button up' the trailer and drive the rig back toward the house.

"Let's follow Beth," Dad suggested to me, so we followed along as she led the mare toward the pasture.

"I saw Grampa Bender this morning and he was far more rational than he has been lately," Dad said quietly enough that I knew the guys at the truck couldn't hear.

"Oh yeah?" I looked at him, realizing that he had something he wanted to say to Beth and me when we were alone.

"Umm hmm," Dad nodded, then looked at me rather pointedly. "By the way, he liked your idea about a horse ranch up here on the top range. In fact it rather ties in with what he was telling me about his latest will."

"Oh?"

"Yes, with a minor change or two," Dad smiled. "It concerns both of you. That's why I was looking for a chance to take you aside."

"Both of us, Dad?" Beth asked.

"Yes, both of you. He said the two of you were throwbacks to an earlier age," Dad chuckled. "He also said that Tom's and my family weren't that far behind you."

"He called us throwbacks? Just what did he mean?" Beth sounded slightly annoyed.

"Oh, to him being a throwback is probably a good thing, so don't get all riled up," Dad teased by not saying much, but keeping her on edge.

I just grinned and winked at Beth. Even she should realise that Dad was trying to tease her and she was reacting like she usually did by getting wound up. I could see her catch my wink and take a deep breath or two, then paint a weak smile on her lips and remain quiet, waiting for Dad to drop the other shoe.

"So, what did he tell you about the will?" I asked directly.

"Well, in the first place, when he dies, the lease is passed on to the people who are still tied to the land," Dad dropped his first bombshell.

"Cripes, does that mean that all our uncles and aunts and cousins in the city are going to be cut out of the will?" Beth asked instantly.

"Not quite," Dad snorted. "Toby is too smart to set it up like that. If he'd done that, they would all get together and try to contest the will. Instead he referred to some of the fine print in the wording of the prevous lease agreement with the members of the family, which I never noticed and I don't think anyone else did either. Basically, it says that anyone who does nothing to support or assist in the maintenance of the property for a period of two years forfeits all rights to any income from the property. Each of the heads of the families can take a five thousand dollar settlement and walk away, but if they make any attempt to fight the agreement or his will, they lose everything. There was a similar clause in the last lease and since no one disagreed with it, his lawyer says it's effective now."

"You mean everyone not living here signed away their rights when they signed the last lease? That was what, almost ten years ago?"

"Yep," Dad nodded and grinned. "Five thousand dollars was worth a lot more then than it is now, a whole lot more."

"And nobody noticed that and wanted it changed?" Beth looked stunned.

"Nope, not even me," Dad admitted. "I think there's going to be one hell of a stink in a couple of weeks when the final checks get to the family in the city."

"You mean it's happening now?" I stared at him.

"Yep," Dad nodded. "Grampa Bender has kept track and it's been more than two years since any of the family from the city even visited and none of them have done anything to help out either. His accountant is going to send out this year's checks next week and along with the check they'll be getting a notice of final payment. Along with that notice they will each receive a duplicate of their copy of the previous agreement showing their signatures, but this time the pertinent clause will be highlighted."

"So what does that do to the lease's bank account and to us?"

"Well, if your mother's figures are right, we should have several thousand dollars more to play with than we expected to have," Dad shrugged. "From what I understand Grampa Bender has paid the city folk's share out of a separate fund, not the general account and that makes a difference because of the way the taxes are paid. It's quite complicated in some ways and simple in others, but you'd have to have her explain how it all works."

"So, if it's complicated, can we leave the lease payments for now until we figure it all out, please? What else is in the will and why did he call Chris and me throwbacks?" Beth was easing the rope halter off of her mare because we were inside the pasture and the thoroughbred was heading our way.

"Well, as to calling you throwbacks, he said that was because you both love horses more than cars. He said you'd both make great ranchers one day."

"Okay, but what about getting back to the lease and the will," I almost demanded, because I was getting impatient too.

"Well, the will is a little more complex," Dad sighed. "Grampa Bender put a lot of thought into it. First off, he recognised the difference in the personalities involved, then he did his best to be fair to everyone. No matter if he lives or not, the administration of the lease is going to be passed to Tom and Alice, your Mom and me, as well as any member of our two families who wants to stay on the farm and on the lease. I won't go into major detail right now, but if anyone moves away from this area on a permanent basis, they lose out on the income from the land as well as control, in other words it ties us all here as long as we're willing to be tied."

"Isn't that sort of the same thing he did on the lease?" Beth grinned. "That'd make sense when you know how he felt about people moving away and still sharing in profits."

"Yes, it does," Dad nodded.

"So you still haven't gotten to how it concerns Chris and I, at least not up close and personal," Beth grinned at him and grabbed his hand to walk beside him as we meandered slowly back toward the cabin.

"Well, Grampa Bender wanted to encourage you to raise horses and cattle, so he wants us to encourage Wil, Tom and Jasmine to become farmers and take over the lower portion of the lease," Dad grinned at her, then turned his head and winked at me.

"Ah, I get it," I grinned, winking back.

"What do you get?" Beth demanded, swinging around Dad to stand facing me.

"Well, do you want to be a partner in a horse and cattle ranch, Sis?" I grinned at her.

"You mean here?" she squealed, spinning to look around, then back to stare at me.

"That's just what he means," Dad laughed. "Of course you know you don't have to? You could always go off to the city and be a secretary or something."

"Daddeeeee!" Beth squealed again and swatted his arm lightly, then suddenly was wrapping an arm around both of us and hugging us fiercely.

"I think it's Grampa Bender who deserves the hug, Beth," I grinned at Dad, but wrapped one arm around each of them at the same time.

"He's not here. You are," she giggled.

Beth had calmed down by the time we got back to the house because Dad had asked us both to keep what he'd said between us until he'd had a chance to talk to everyone else involved. I hadn't expected anything quite as sweeping as the changes that were going to come out of this, but I could see that it was going to be a big change. In a way, it still felt like a dream though, because I knew it was still in the future, but at least everyone could make definite plans. Actually, I think Dad was as excited about things as we were.

Of course one look at the tension on Wil's face when we got close to the house calmed both Beth and I even more. That was when I realized that he was still emotionally tied to Corinna. Well, come to think of it, he had asked her to marry him before she'd gone off the deep end.

"Come and sit down, everyone. Chris, you're limping again. You sit here and put your foot up," Aunt Alice ordered. "I'll get everyone a coffee."

"So do you want to go to Edmunchuck, Wil?" I asked as soon as I sat down and trying to keep the mood as light as I could.

"Yeah, I do," he answered flatly.

"Well, would you mind if we wait until after I've talked to Carissa tonight?"

"Huh? No, I guess not," he glanced at his watch. "It's too late for them to do anything today anyway, I guess. I just hope she'll make it."

"So do I, Wil, but I'd like to find out what Carissa has to say first. Maybe they need something that we can bring along or something we can get along the way."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."

I'd never seen Wil so down and I was positive that the trip to Edmonton with him along was going to be a trip from Hell even before we went. We all drank our coffee, then after Mom and Beth took our cups inside, we all piled into the cars to head down to the farm. Beth insisted on riding with me.

Once we were in the car and underway, she sighed deeply, then turned to look at me.

"You know this trip to Edmonton with Wil could get rough, don't you?" she asked, obviously concerned.

"Unh huh," I nodded. "I'm just going to try my best to stay calm and not rile him."

"I don't think it would matter what you did right now," she answered. "He's piling so much blame on himself you'd need a backhoe to get through to his skin, let alone get under it. He's acting like he's half dead."

"No, he's feeling guilty and yet he knows it's not really his fault, but he doesn't know what else to do."

"You aren't going to let him drive tomorrow, are you?"

"No. I'm not going to let him get within two feet of the driver's seat," I tried to smile, but I doubt if it looked like a smile. "He wouldn't be safe to have behind the wheel. Right now his judgement is shot."

"You do know that's why Mom and Dad want you to go along, don't you? I don't think they feel he'd be safe walking the streets by himself."

"Yeah, I figured that out," I nodded. "But, I know what to expect, so I'm ready for most things."

"Good, I'd hate to lose a future business partner this early in my life."

"Now that sounds like a better subject, not the idea of losing partners, but the idea of the ranch in general," I grinned.

"Agreed," she grinned back at me.

So for the rest of the drive back to the farm we discussed plans and dreams. At the farm we both headed for the barn to help with the chores, but there wasn't much I could do. I did feed the chickens and gather the eggs, then I headed for the house with them. It was lucky that I did. The phone rang just as I got inside and when Mom answered it, she waved me over.

"It's Carissa," she said with a frown, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was only five.

"Hi, Love," I said, trying to smile, but still worried that something had gone wrong.

"Hi, Baby," she sighed. "I was hoping you'd be there early. I just had to talk to someone."

"Well, that's one thing I can do is listen," I did manage a smile that time. "By the way, I'm coming to see you tomorrow."

"You are?! Oh, that's wonderful," she squealed.

"Wil's coming along," I added quietly.

"Umm, do you think that's a good idea?"

"For him, maybe? I don't know about anything or anyone else."

"Well, they've warned us that it will be at least another day before they can operate unless Corinna really perks up overnight. She's in an induced coma right now to give her complete rest," Carissa grew very serious. "If Wil does come, warn him that if he sees her that she looks far worse off than she is. I mean they've shaved off almost all of her hair and she's all bruised up on the side that hit the roof, besides there are all the bandages, IVs and stuff like that."

"Well, if he goes in to see her at all. I mean that's up to your folks."

"Oh, I think they'd like that," she sounded quite firm on the idea. "Daddy really likes both of you guys, you know."

"That's nice," I had to laugh. "Now, before I forget, is there anything you'd like from down here that we can bring along?"

"Yeah, my nightgown and robe from up at the cabin and a couple of pairs of my blue jeans would come in handy."

"You plan on running around in blue jeans – in the city?" I teased her. "Miss snappy dresser is going to wear blue jeans?"

"Yes, I'm planning to wear blue jeans in the city," she giggled. "They're comfortable and when you're sitting around for hours being comfortable helps to make the time go easier."

"Okay, blue jeans and your night shirt, is there anything else?"

"Well, you could bring us that stupid preacher's head on a platter, the idiot from that dumb church. I think both Mom and Daddy would kiss you for that," she snapped, her mood changing again. "Did you know that dumb ass intentionally leaves the bell tower open so people can climb up there day or night? He said it was so people could look out on the wonder of God's creation at any time. Daddy is fit to be tied about that church and the idiots in it. I'm pretty pissed off about it myself, talk about stupidity! That unlocked door thing is asinine and the preacher is a complete dolt!"

It took me several minutes to calm her down again. What finally made her ease off was telling her about the collie and the pup. Of course after I mentioned them, she was worried about someone feeding the dogs while I came to Edmonton. So I told her that Beth was going to be staying at the cabin and would feed the dogs. I'm not certain if she thought that was a good thing or not.

We talked for a while more, then she had to go because her folks wanted her to go and eat with them. I got her phone number and the address of the motel where they were staying, then we said our goodbyes.

As I hung up the phone I had very mixed feelings about the upcoming trip to Edmonton and I wandered out to the front porch as I thought about it. I was positive the drive itself was going to be dull and boring because of the mood Wil was in and I certainly wasn't looking forward to that. Of course when I actually got to Edmonton I was going to get to see Carissa, and right then I was missing her terribly, so that was going to be great. However even that was tempered by the fact that we were going to be under her parents watchful eyes and by the fact that I was really going to be there to support them in their pain and worry. As well, Wil was going to be there, acting like a wet blanket for everyone.

I sighed deeply, realizing that this was not going to be a holiday in any sense of the word.

### Chapter 23