# Car 54

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© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 47:
Throughway - No Stopping on Paved Surface

Considering what had happened in the cabin that morning, looking after the stock was a breeze, but then I'd taken care to leave out extra hay and bedding for all the animals the night before. As soon as all the chores were taken care of, I checked out the tractor and front end loader, planning to have breakfast, then plow the road to the top of the hill. After making sure that the tractor was topped up with oil and fuel, I fired it up and left it idling, then headed back to the house, expecting to find myself in a war zone.

Instead, I found the kitchen table surrounded by a bunch of zombies. Will and Matt looked the worst for wear, but Mark, Luke and John didn't look too spry either. Even Tom and George looked tired and worn. Jess, Jean, Jasmine, Beth, and Jackie weren't looking much better than the guys. Only Carissa, Corinna and Sandy looked ready for the day. Sandy told me that Lucille was sleeping, and that everyone had been warned to let her sleep until a couple of hours before she was due to be at work.

I just grinned at the exodus from the kitchen when I mentioned breakfast. I knew that there were a few delicate stomachs that morning. For some reason several of those that looked the worst for wear that morning didn't want to watch me eat fried eggs and bacon. I winked at Sandy and her sly grin. She had to hurriedly smother a giggle, then Carissa said something about fried bread. Matt groaned as he dove for the door to the bathroom.

Surprisingly, when I finished breakfast only half an hour later, Matt was one of the first to offer to help plow the road and shovel snow to enable everyone to leave later in the day. In truth, there were enough guys there that we had the road cleared, and all the cars and trucks shovelled out by noon. Our overnight guests started leaving us soon after that. Actually, Matt and his brothers had hardly finished shovelling snow before they left in their huge pickup. George, Beth and Jasmine followed them, with Will and Corinna right behind.

Jackie and Carissa planned to stay with Sandy and me for a few days, so they helped clean up any of the mess left from the party. By early afternoon, the cabin was spotless. Luckily, no more snow fell before Lucille left to go to the hospital, but since I was out doing the evening chores I never even had a chance to talk to her. When I got back inside, Jackie and Sandy were already cooking up a storm.

The two of them went all out. Our New Years Day dinner featured baked ham, sweet potatoes, several different vegetables and a marvellous chocolate-cream pie for dessert. I was very glad that I had done the chores earlier, since I wasn't sure if I could have walked as far as the barn after that meal. I was stuffed and it wasn't long before the heavy meal had my eyelids drooping, so I excused myself and went to bed even though it was still early in the evening.

As it turns out, it was early enough that Carissa and Jackie got their heads together with Sandy to make plans for the future. At first they were discussing the fact that Carissa and Jackie were planning to share a house with Jackie's brothers, but that soon went by the wayside for some reason. They decided that instead, they wanted a house of their own. Then Carissa got excited about the idea of having a couple of horses. That's when they came up with the idea that they should lease a few acres of land from my family for themselves. Of course the first thing Carissa did was to make a phonecall to her dad. She got her father's agreement to help her out with a lease, as long as she agreed to try to lease enough land so he could keep a couple of horses there as well. He even suggested that he'd help out with financing for a cabin and a small barn.

That's when she decided that before she went any further, she had best ask me if I'd agree with the plan. Carissa had spent enough time with me in the past that she knew my sleep habits, among them, the fact that I sleep in the nude. I understand that she warned Sandy and Jackie of what she wanted to do, then came upstairs to talk to me.

Now you have to understand, I was sound asleep. I certainly didn't realize that Carissa was removing her clothing and slipping under the covers, but I since I was used to Sandy coming to bed at odd hours that didn't awaken me. What did wake me was either her hand gently manipulating a 'gender-specific appendage,' or her voice whispering in my ear in a very sultry tone.

"Chris? Are you awake? I want to ask you a question, please."

"Umm, what's up?"

"Jackie and I were thinking that we'd like to lease a few acres from you, somewhere close to where Matt and his brothers are going to be. We want to be independent, so we can't live on the property that they lease, or they'll try to control us, we're 'only' women you know. Still, they're my friends and Jackie's family, so we want to be close by in order to be able to help each other out if we need to. Do you think that might be possible?"

It was only after I'd listened to her request and agreed that I couldn't see a problem with the idea of leasing her a few acres, that she escalated her physical attentions. Seconds later she managed to elevate my level of physical response, succeeding prior to any reaction from my conscious mind. Of course certain methods of oral stimulation tend to do that to my body, but it still took a moment for me to awaken fully. By the time I recognised her full intentions, they'd become fact. However, I'll admit that once she had managed the initial coupling, I really didn't struggle very hard to try to prevent her very physical method of saying thank you. In fact, once her wants became clear, desire took control, then I was eagerly cooperative and physically responsive.

Of course, once she squealed loudly as her body went into the spasm of orgasm, I was awake enough to realize that she hadn't fully adapted to a lesbian lifestyle. At that point I also realized that Sandy would know exactly what had happened, just from the sound Carissa had made. Unfortunately, at that point, I had about as much chance of stopping my actions as a jackrabbit had of stopping a herd of stampeding buffalo. Seconds later, both of us collapsed in exhaustion.

Although that session had taken me by surprise, it was energetic enough that it tired me out. So even though Carissa spent the next few moments kissing, hugging and generally fawning over me, I was tired enough to fall asleep.

When I awoke in the morning and saw Sandy lying beside me, I instantly felt guilty, since I didn't know if she'd been warned of Carissa's intentions. I slipped out of bed, heading to the bathroom to clean up as well as drain the bilges. I expected that when she awoke we'd have a confrontation, but worried about what I could say and how I could apologise. However, when I walked back into the bedroom, she was awake and didn't let me suffer for long.

"Good Morning, Stud," she grinned. "Carissa said you agreed to lease her and Jackie a few acres of land. She also made sure that I knew she'd thanked you properly and made a down payment on the rent."

"Umm, yeah," I managed to mumble, wondering what was coming next.

"She even claims that your technique has improved, so she'd like to visit more often," she chuckled.

"You're not P'd off about what happened and what we did?" I stared at her.

"Nope, it's strange, but in a way it turns me on," Sandy mused. "I don't know about Jackie though. I couldn't tell if she was turned on or annoyed. When Carissa came back downstairs, Jackie dragged her off to bed as quickly as she could."

"Jeez, I hope it doesn't cause them problems."

"If it does, it's not your fault. If anything, I suppose it's mine for agreeing with the idea, but Carissa warned both of us what she wanted to do if you said yes, even before she came upstairs. Jackie never complained then, so if she bitched afterward she's just being stupid."

"Carissa told you what she was going to do?"

"Yep, weren't you listening? That's what I just told you."

"Hearing what you said, and believing it are two different things," I sighed. "I guess I just don't understand you, or even women in general."

"Chris, you know how I was raised. You've got to realize that it's just not in my nature to complain about that sort of thing. What I have here with you is a thousand times better than what I was brought up to expect."

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't raised that way. I always expect you to be jealous."

"I know, and I try to understand, but it's hard for me to see your perspective. I wish you could see things from my viewpoint," she sighed. "Mom raised me to expect to only have sex when I was in my most fertile period of the month. Once I was pregnant, I might not have sex with a man again until after I had the baby. On top of that any other kind of sex is considered a major sin and if anyone found out, I'd be punished. You and I have sex all the time instead of only for a short time each month. Besides that, in an LDS community I'd only see my man once in a while. Since I'm young that wouldn't be often, because I'd probably be married to an older man who would have a senior wife, or even several senior wives. Instead, I live in the same house with you and see you all the time."

"Yes, but... "

"No buts," she interrupted. "Heck, I even had sex with Carissa when she was your girl. If you could share her with me then, why can't I share her with you now? Besides I still feel a little guilty about getting you involved with my sisters, so since this wasn't my idea at all, I feel a little better about everything."

"I don't know, but I don't want to argue about it either. It just seems wrong to me in some way. This whole thing of having so many women involved with me in so many ways just seems weird," I sighed.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't know why Carissa acts the way she does, either. After all, she wasn't raised as if she was going to become a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. I can understand why Jackie, Jess and Jean want you to go to bed with them, but Carissa is a mystery to me."

"I don't understand that either, in fact I don't understand why any of you do what you do, but right now I need a coffee, then I'd better get the chores done. On top of that, I'd better spend some time today getting clothes and stuff ready to go to Olds on Sunday. As well, sometime today or tomorrow, I want to go to town and visit Grampa Bender."

I grabbed my clothes and hurried downstairs, but found that Jackie was already in the kitchen and had put the coffee on.

"Hi, Chris," she smiled at me. "You slept in a bit late this morning."

"Morning, Jackie. You're up bright and early. Didn't you sleep well?"

"Oh no, once I got to sleep, I slept like a log. It just took a while getting to sleep. I had to put out the fire you started," she giggled. "By the way, can I come out and help you look after the animals this morning? If Carissa and I are going to have an acreage, I want to have animals, so I'd better find out a little about looking after them whenever I have a chance."

"Oh, sure, but do you have the clothes to do it. The barn is a bit mucky."

"Oh, I guess I don't, but maybe I could see if I can borrow something from Sandy," she dashed off and ran upstairs.

I was left shaking my head, thinking that everyone around me had gone nuts ever since Wil had spiked the punch on New Years Eve. As the day passed things didn't improve either. Although I had many last minute details I needed to to take care of before I left for Olds, all three girls spent the day teasing me in one way or another. Then when I went to bed that night, Jackie crawled into bed with me, insisting that she had even more reason to thank me than Carissa did. It seemed that she felt I was more or less responsible not only for her happiness, but for her brothers' happiness as well. I was instantly reminded that she was even wilder than Carissa in bed, and while she wasn't as skilled as a lover, she was far more enthusiastic.

In fact, she wore me out so badly and kept me up so late that Sandy and Carissa did the chores before I even wakened the next morning. So all I had to do was plow a few inches of snow from the road up the hill before we all left for town.

Once we were in town, Sandy and I popped in to see Grampa Bender and talked with him for a while. I happened to mention that the McAdam boys wanted to lease ten acres of land along the municipal road and that Carissa and Jackie wanted to lease another ten acres.

"Why'd they want to lease that dried out dirt? Ain't 'nuf rain falls up there ta make a mud pie an' ya needs rain ta grow anythin'," he shook his head. "Ain't hardly no topsoil neither, just dig down a couple o' inches 'n see fer yerself, all yer gonna get is hardpan clay."

"Well, they want to live a ways outside of town and mostly, they just want to have somewhere they can build homes. They trust us to treat them decently and they want to be quite near the ranch, but without breathing down my neck. Matt works for me in the summer and John works for the family, so leasing that land gives those two a place to live that will be close to work. The other boys will only be there in the winter though, since they work for Clarence in the summer."

"How 'bout Carissa and her gal friend? Why would they want t' live way out there in the boonies?"

"Well, don't tell anyone, but in that case there's a bit of friction at home, so the girls would like to move out before a fight breaks out. As far as living out on the plateau, I think Jackie wants to live near her brothers."

"I see," he reached up and scratched his nose. "Ya do realize that the half section along the road, a mile long stretch on th' road 'n' the half mile hunk back o' it, ain't part of the main lease, doncha?"

"It isn't?"

"That's right, it ain't. I bought that piece o' dirt years back, off'n th' two guys who went broke tryin' ta farm it. Wal, actually, they was sick 'n' tired 'n' fed up with those two soddies they'd been livin' in 'n' how bad their crops was. They wanted out, but didn't have the wherewithal ta go nowhere, so I traded fer that land. I got it fer a pistol an' a shotgun, two work horses, the harness ta go on 'em 'n' a heavy wagon that I'd got fer trading off a buggy 'n' a Morgan mare. O' course cause they had two wives 'n' some kids thet was nigh onta starving, I threw in 'bout two week's worth o' groceries, a sack o' flour, some salt 'n' molasses, on top o' a few other things. That's how I got involved with Wil's great Gramma, Netty. She were a pistol too, but that's 'nother story," he cackled and slapped the bed with his hand. "Anyhow, I figure the whole place probably cost me less'n a buck an acre when I got it, but it'd be worth a bit more now, just cause of the taxes I paid on it over the years, if nuthin' else."

He paused for a moment and frowned, then smiled slightly as if he'd thought something over, then made a decision to fill us in some more. "Now, the thing about it is, if'n them folks had done any thinkin,' they'd ha knowed they had me over a barrel, cause I needed a decent trail inta my new homestead. Them two quarter-sections o' dust-dry dirt was the only place along thet road allowance what was flat 'nuf ta cross with a wagon, 'n even then ya had t' swing around a few hills 'n coulees. Instead o' thinkin' though, them folks jus' wanted a way to git outta there. Now when I went to get the lease, I askt fer an easement acrost to the valley, but by the time I mapped it out n' showed the gov'ment fellas where I had t' go on, they ended up jus leasin' me all o' the land between the two chunks o' my land on top o' all the land down to thet whut my famly had. Since then I been payin' taxes on 'bout two thousand acres thet mostly grows scrub willow 'n jackrabbits, 'n not too many o' them neither. I sure ain't made no killin' by ownin' some o' it an' leasin' the rest o' it, not thet junk land up top at any road."

Sandy and I just grinned and didn't comment, but it was only a few seconds before Grampa Bender looked at me seriously.

"Now you tell me thet after bein' there fer six months, you've found a way to make money off'n it? I figure thet's perty dang clever 'n' oughta be rewarded, ya know," Then he broke into a grin. "Tell ya what, I'll sell ya thet half section of desert fer twenty bucks an acre, which is 'bout what undeveloped prairie land is goin' fer right now. Thet way ya can lease any part of it ya want, ta whoever ya want, an' the family kin go ta hang, they ain't got no say in it aytall. On top of thet, ya got control over the easies' way into Mile High Ranch, 'cause thet land is the base fer the easement fer the road ya been usin' all this time."

"Well, that sounds like an awful good deal to me and I can certainly come up with the money, but what about the family? Shouldn't they have a say in this?"

"Ain't none o' their business. I kept that chunk o' land an' the far upper lease out o' the main lease and all the sub leases an' agreements I ever had the lawyer fella write. Thet's cause all the place was ever good fer was a place t' run a trail ta drive across t' the valley. It's mentioned in ma will and it was willed to ya personal anyhow, cause yer livin in the valley n' ya need a road ta git in n' out o' there. O' course it would'a cost ya about as much in taxes t' inherit it, as I'm askin' fer it now, but this way, the money goes into ma bank account and that'll git split up when I'm dead. So, I guess in a way, it's sorta a bit better all aroun' fer ever'body. You git control of the land now, 'stead o' later, so you can he'p out yer friends, an' the family gets somethin' outta the deal too. Thet sounds dang good ta me, 'cause I won't hafta pay no more taxes on it neither," he held out his hand. "So, is it a deal?"

"You're on, Grampa," I reached out to shake his hand. "Let me go get my cheque book from the truck and I'll give you the money."

"Aw ferget thet fer now. Ain't no sense in gettin' yer gaunches in a twist. I'll jus' get the lawyer fella ta write up the papers and transfer the deed. Next time yer in the bank, ya can transfer the money from yer account ta mine. Ain't no rush," Then he stared at the ceiling and smiled. "So yer gonna have neighbours, huh? Thet means yer young lady here ain't gonna feel so all alone out there, when yer outa the cabin, er off the ranch fer any reason. Thet usta bother Tilly a lot. So movin' folks inta thet area, why thet's a good thing, a dang good thing. Ya done good on thet deal, boy. Ya done real good and ever'body comes out on top. I'm proud o' ya."

"Thanks, I guess."

"No guessin' 'bout it. Dang if I'm not envious o' ya in a way. I've owned that patch of dust for sixty odd years and all I've ever done with it is pay taxes," he laughed. "Ya come along and insida a year, ya not only figure a way ta get yerself some friendly neighbours, but on top a that, ya can easily make enuf ta pay those dang taxes off'n what they pay ya fer a lease."

He shook his head and grinned then. "Sandy, gal, ya picked a good'n here. He's a real firecracker this boy."

Grampa Bender was in a great mood when we left him, but by then I was deep in thought. Since I was going to be buying the land from him and then leasing out part of it, I had quite a few things that I'd need to do. Before long, I had to explain to my family that the half section along the road wasn't in the main lease. As well, I needed to transfer the money from my personal account into Grampa Bender's account and I had to talk to the lawyer to find out if he could handle both sides of the sale or if I'd have to get another lawyer. As well I had to contact my friend, the surveyor. I should warn him that we'd need to have those two ten-acre parcels surveyed as soon as Matt and Carissa decided where they wanted the leases to go.

The idea that the leases could pay the taxes on the property wasn't something I'd thought about before Grampa Bender mentioned it either. However, I decided that it was a reasonable method of deciding a minimum charge for both leases. After all, I didn't want to overcharge anyone, but I didn't want to lose money on the deal either. Still, it wasn't as if that half section of land was making any money before. It had just been an assured access to the ranch and gave Grampa Bender an excuse for the rest of the upland lease. That's when I realized that the taxes were certain to be higher on improved land, so when our friends started to build on their places the taxes would go up. That meant I'd have to make a trip to the municipal office as well. I'd have to get an idea from the tax assessor about what increases would be made to the taxes on the land when they started building houses and making other improvements.

"You look like you're thinking deeply," Sandy commented suddenly, breaking my train of thought.

"I was, owning that property just complicated a few things a whole lot for me," I laughed. "I was trying to think of all the various people I need to try to see today. Since I'm going to be at school in Olds on weekdays for the next few months, getting in to see some people is going to be impossible for a while."

"But, Matt and the guys won't be doing anything on the place for months either. Won't there be lots of time to get things done?"

"Not really, I have to understand costs and liabilities before I make a deal with anyone," I sighed, then explained all the things I'd thought of. "I haven't had long to think about this either, so I've probably missed a few things on my to-do list that are going to jump up and bite me in the butt over the long run."

"Well, the municipal office will be closed for lunch soon, and so will the lawyer's office, but they're both within easy walking distance of the cafe. Why don't we go have lunch, then you can walk to both places, since they're close. Taking a break for lunch will give you some time to think about what you need to do and I'll be there if you want to talk out your ideas."

So that's what we did. As I sat down in the cafe, I felt different in some way. I suppose part of that stemmed from the fact that I was going to become a land owner as an individual, not as part of my family. Suddenly I was going to own a half-section of land, all of it scrub brush and saw grass, virtually a chunk of near desert, but still that land was going to be mine, all mine. As far as farm land went, it really wasn't worth much more than I'd be paying for it. However, I could at least defray the taxes and perhaps turn a small profit from that barren land, just by leasing part of it as hobby farms, even if it was to friends.

However, although I'd driven across that property hundreds of times, I really knew nothing about what was there or anything else about it. One of the things I was going to have to find out was who had owned it before Grampa Bender bought it, but the municipal hall would have that info. I'd just ask them for a history of the legal owners while I was in their office asking about taxes. That's when it dawned on me that I'd need a legal description of the half section for them to find any details for me. All I knew at the present time was it's position on the municipal road. Come to think of it, Cyrus Ambrose, the family lawyer would know the legal land description. I could ask him for that while I was there to discuss the purchase. I'd talk to Cyrus about the money transfer too. I hoped that if I handed him a check for the full amount, made out to Grampa Bender's account, he could handle the whole deal. That way, the title transfer would be completely legal. After a few moments of concentrated thought, I was feeling a lot better and was able to talk to Sandy without my mind wandering.

Once Sandy and I had eaten lunch, we walked down the street to the lawyers' office and talked to his secretary/receptionist. For some reason, I wasn't surprised to find that he'd been called to the hospital to see Grampa Bender just before lunch, but Sandy laughed when she heard that.

"You take after Grampa Bender and think the same way. If either of you has a job to do, you want to get on with it and get it done so it's out of the way," she snorted.

"You may not realise it, but that's quite a compliment," The receptionist smiled at Sandy. "Tobias Bender is one of Mr. Ambrose's oldest clients and I've never heard him say one angry word about that man. To be compared to Mr. Bender is an outstanding honour around this office."

"Well, speaking for my family, all I can do is to say, thank you. Knowing Grampa Bender, he won't keep Cyrus long, so if you don't mind, we'll wait," I smiled as I sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room.

She offered us a coffee, but we explained that we'd just eaten. Then we all got talking about the weather and local happenings, so we weren't bored as we waited. Actually, we'd only been there a short while when Cyrus returned and as soon as he saw me, he grinned.

"Well, hello, Chris. Why am I not surprised to find you here?"

"Probably because you're bright enough to be our family lawyer," I threw back at him.

"Yep, you're a chip off the old block," he laughed. "Come into my office and we'll chat."

"You don't mind if Sandy comes along, do you? I think she'll possibly end up being involved in this deal to a certain extent too, since I'm going to be away during the work week until sometime in June."

"Now why in the world would I turn down having a beautiful young woman in my office?" he laughed, leading the way and holding the door for us. "I'll be with you in just one second. I need to ask Claire to get some details from the file on that property before we go too far."

Cyrus Ambrose proceeded to impress me that afternoon. Since Grampa Bender had told him why he was calling to have him come for a visit, Cyrus had already had the secretary make out a bill of sale for the property. Grampa Bender had even signed it, so all he needed was my signature and a check from me in order to make it legal. Cyrus was also willing to handle the transfer of my cheque into Grampa Bender's bank account. Of course the title still needed to be registered, but the land legally became mine that day. He saved me a trip to the municipal office as well, having his secretary duplicate the tax and land registry records from the file. I was able to take the copies so I could study them at my convenience.

We talked about the leasing of the ten acre parcels after that. He suggested that with some input from me, he could have a form made up that would only need final details filled in about each lease. Using that information for a base, he could draw up the legal documents I'd need. He even gave me a copy of a schedule for the probable tax increases that would be levied if various improvements were made. Within an hour, he had saved me almost four hours of running around and finding out details. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Having saved a lot of time, Sandy and I were able to shop for some groceries, as well as drop by Frank Dolens place to get gas and talk to Matt and the boys. We even had time to visit Carissa and Jackie for a few minutes and I used the phone there to call the surveyor, but we didn't get a chance to see Lucille before we had to head home to do chores.

After doing the chores and having a light meal, I went to my office to look over the files and other information that I'd gotten from Cyrus earlier in the day. Before I started on those though, I called home and talked to Dad about the error we'd made when we'd been talking about leasing a few acres to Matt and his brothers. He broke into laughter at that, telling me that Mom had found out that the land we had talked about wasn't part of the new sublease. In fact when she'd looked at a copy the old main lease, she'd found that the whole upper area was classed as a completely separate lease, just for access to Mile High Valley. Now that I was looking after the management of Mile High Ranch, that lease was under my control. When I told him that I'd bought the half-section, he was astonished, but I think he felt I was wasting my money, since the family would have eventually inherited it anyway. I just laughed and suggested that he should ask Grampa Bender about that.

Then I changed the subject to a discussion about the fact that Matt and Sandy would be looking after the ranch until I was back from school. Of course he told me that he'd be keeping them in mind if the weather got really bad, and insisted that I let them know they should call him if they had any problems or questions of any kind. Then before he let me go, he asked if Sandy and I would be able to drop down for dinner on Saturday or lunch on Sunday. I preferred lunch on Sunday. That way Wil and I could leave for Olds after we'd eaten, so that's where we left it.

After hanging up the phone, I opened the files that I'd gotten from the lawyer's office. Not only were the files for the half section in it, but there were several that related to Mile High Ranch. It seemed that two brothers, Francois and Andre LeClerc, had each filed on a standard quarter section homestead in 1899. Grampa Bender had bought them out in 1907, the year that he'd filed for the homestead we lived on now. It was no surprise to me that 1907 was also the year that he'd negotiated the lease for the whole valley.

I chuckled at Grampa Bender's brilliance. Since that half-section of land was the only relatively flat, semi-arable land for several miles along the municipal road, he'd had the control of both access and water rights to a huge area. All the rest of the land near that portion of the municipal road was marred by steep gullies and rugged slopes. That half-section wasn't much good for farming, unless the farmer raised sheep or goats, but even then, the land was dry and the grass sparse. I think the government agents must have felt that Grampa Bender was a fool for wanting it under lease and gladly turned it over to him, at least that way they could collect taxes on it. In Grampa Bender's case, that land was his buffer against unwanted visitors to his valley. It was worth the investment of a few dollars paid to the government as taxes on undeveloped land in order to protect his little slice of heaven from outside intrusion. I was still chuckling about the situation when Sandy wandered into the office.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just reviewing the history of the half-section of land that I bought today and mentally tying that history in with what I knew of the history of the ranch and the main lease. What Grampa Bender did was brilliant. First, he studied the access routes to the valley, then the water sources. It was only after he had control of both of those that he filed on the homestead and applied for the lease. Of course the government quickly realized that he could keep people off the land and could even refuse them water. They pretty well had to give him the lease. He even set the darn thing up so his family could gain from the deal, cutting them in on the benefits, by subleasing all the lower end of the valley to them."

"That was darn smart," she grinned. "You knew all that before though, didn't you?"

"Not really. Certainly not all of it," I sighed as the implications of the lease agreement registered. "I knew he controlled the water rights in the valley. I never thought about access, but then neither I nor my family really thought about that. Up until now I thought Grampa Bender only had an easement across crown land to get to the ranch. We all know the truth now though. Mom just checked the fine print on the last lease that the family signed. Until today, I never even realized that the extended family only controlled the floor of the lower valley. Since I'm managing the main lease and now own that half section, I'm the one who has the right to make the final decisions concerning not only Mile High Ranch, but also all the area up on the plateau too."

"Is that so bad?" Sandy frowned. "I thought you pretty well did that already, or have I been missing something?"

"Well, I suppose I did, but somehow, now that I can see it on paper, it seems to be more real to me. On top of that I control a lease that I didn't even realize existed, so I feel as if I have much more responsibility somehow. I suppose I'm just realizing that if I screw up something important, it can have extremely serious consequences, so the ramifications of that have just set in. I know I can get advice from Grampa Bender, or Dad, or Mom, or Uncle Tom, or anyone else that I want to ask, but the final decision is now mine. It's an awesome challenge in some ways, and right at the moment I'm feeling very young and inexperienced."

"I can understand that, but I've got faith in you. You can handle all that. Just to change the subject slightly, I was wondering how old Grampa Bender is now?"

"He's eighty-one, almost eighty-two, why? What does that have to do with how I feel?"

"Oh, I was just doing some math and working out some details to try to make you feel better, so cooperate with me for a minute, okay?"

"Alright, I guess."

"Okay, if Grampa Bender is that old, that means he was born in ... 1888, right?"

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"Okay, so the original lease was signed in what year?"

"It was 1907, but it took effect on the first of January, 1908. Why do you ask?"

"How old was Grampa Bender, when he signed that lease?"

"Umm, let's see, he'd have been ... nineteen when it was signed."

"Unh huh, and how old will you be this spring?"

"You know that already, I'll be seventeen."

"Right, so you're a couple of years younger than he was at that time. You have far more education than he had. You've got more backing than he ever had, and so much more of everything in the way of buildings, equipment and supplies. In the last six months, you've made more money on this ranch than it's ever made before. You've more than quadrupled the size of the house. You've brought in telephone and electricity. You've bought horses, cattle, vehicles, and so much more," Sandy shook her head then and smiled slightly. "I was talking to your mom on Christmas Day, and she was telling me that everything youve got here is paid for, even the taxes for last year. For the first time in years, this place is solidly in the black. In fact, the only outstanding debts the whole family has are a few outstanding bills that have yet to arrive, dealing with supplies for this house and the mortgages on the farms. Even those mortgages are left over from the lean years and the payments on those are almost completely deferred by the tax savings they earn. She said it's not worth paying them off early. She took the time to explain to me that the money it would take to pay them off is the equivalent of a low interest loan, so she's basically used it to pay for next year's lease payment to the government."

"Well, Dad said that we did so well this year because we made a bit more money than usual on the hay crop that we sold. That wouldn't have happened if we hadn't had a lot of free help along the way."

"The only reason you had free help is because all the people who helped felt that they owed it to you in one way or another. You always treat people well, but more than that you go out of your way to help others, so when people can, they return the favour."

"Well, I suppose it seems that way, but we can't count on high yields and high prices on the hay crops every year and we certainly can't count on low cost help all the time either. No two years are the same, so next year will probably be a lot different story."

"Ah, but now you've started to make improvements and build up the assets of the ranch. Every time you do that, your productivity is going to climb. Just look at your livestock for instance. You have more than twice as much stock as Grampa Bender ever kept. Not only that, but everything you have is better quality and your ranch improvements have made it easier to care for. I think you've done tremendously, considering that you've only been looking after things for six months."

"I think you're wearing rose tinted glasses," I snorted. "But, I suppose I'm being pessimistic and waiting for the other shoe to drop. The last few months have gone so smoothly that I keep expecting another big problem to crop up."

"Huh, considering all the problems you've helped others with since June, I can't see that things could have be much worse, and you persevered through all that," Then she stretched and yawned. "By the way, are there any records of what all Grampa Bender started out with when he went homesteading?"

"Yeah, there is an old journal somewhere, but it's hand written and in pencil at that, so it's faded pretty badly. I'm not sure if it's here or not though. Why did you want it anyway?"

"Oh I was just going to compare it to what's here now," she chuckled. "I was just thinking about what you've got to start out with and I'd like to compare it to what he had when he tackled this place."

Just then Duke started to bark, so we had to go check and see what was nipping at his tail. There was a bit of a moon, so rather than turn on the yard-light right away, I had a look around and saw a figure crossing the bridge. Since it was darn cold out, I grabbed a coat and boots, then ran out to my truck. Starting it up, I turned around and drove to meet whoever it was.

It was Lucille and she looked angry as a wet hen, but I'd hardly gotten to her before she was grabbing for the door handle.

"Hi," she barked as she jumped in the truck.

"I'm froze and feeling pissed right off," she growled before she even got seated. "I swerved to miss a damn deer that was standing right in the middle of your bloody road. I skidded and plowed into the snowbank, just at the top of the hill, so I've had to walk all the way from there. Take me home and warm me up, would ya. The rest of me feels okay, but I think my feet are frozen solid."

"If we'd known you were coming, we'd have kept an eye out for you. Is the car stuck very badly, or can it be pulled out easily?"

"It's not that bad. I just couldn't quite get enough traction under the wheels to get it moving again."

"Well, is there anything in it that you need tonight?" I asked, as I put the truck into reverse, but before I backed up to turn around.

"Yeah, there is," she sighed. "There's a surprise for you in the back seat and we'll have to get it tonight or it'll freeze. If you turn on the heater and run it on my feet, I'll be okay to go get it."

"I think it would be better if I took you to the house to warm up, then got Sandy to give me a hand to get your car."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but my feet still feel cold, so I don't think they're too bad. If they were frozen, I wouldn't feel the cold."

"Okay. Whatever you say, but do me a favour and warm them up slowly. Chilblains are no fun."

"And just who is the nurse here, cowboy?" she grumped.

"You are, but in this case you're also the patient," I chuckled, pulling up close to the cabin. "Want me to carry you in?"

"No!" she snapped, slamming the door as she got out.

I followed her inside, then stood waiting as Sandy got a dishpan and filled it with barely warm water. She made Lucille sit in a kitchen chair with a cup tea while she soaked her feet, then warned her not to move until we were back. Only after that was done, would Sandy come with me to go get Lucille's car.

The car was actually high-centred, but with Sandy behind the wheel of the car, the truck pulled it back onto the road quite easily. Then Sandy drove it down to the ranch. By the time I'd picked up the tow chain, turned around and driven home myself, she was already inside. The back seat of Lucille's car was empty when I looked in the window, so I was prepared for some sort of surprise when I went inside. I just wasn't prepared for the surprise which Lucille had brought for me though.

### Chapter 48