Chapter 37: Caution - Watch for Wildlife

Only a few minutes after Mom had left, I decided that I had time to run to town and see Grampa Bender. If I did it soon, I’d still have lots of time to do the chores before it got dark that evening.

When I arrived at the hospital, I went immediately to his room and found him wide awake and attentive. Not only that, but he wasn’t in bed. Instead he was sitting in a wheelchair and looking out the window.

“Hello, Chris,” he smiled, as soon as he saw me. “How’re ya doin’ t’day, boy?”

“Just fine, Grampa. How are you doing?”

“Not bad, but missin’ the fresh air ‘n’ sunshine a lot. At least I’m out o’ that bed most o’ the day, but I’m not able to walk much ‘n’ m’left hand don’t work so good no more.”

I had to hide a frown at that; no one had warned me that he’d lost either mobility or dexterity since he’d been hospitalized.

“I didn’t know about that, but at least you’re not in bed all the time. Is there any way I could wheel you outside?”

“Dunno about goin’ outside, I think the nurses might throw a fit at that,” he sighed, then smiled weakly. “Say, why’n’t you wheel me down t’ the lounge? At least it’s got windows what face west ‘n’ I’ll be able t’ see the mountains. At this time o’ day there won’t be too many folks there ‘n’ we kin talk a bit. O’ course we’ll have t’ tell that busty broad at the desk where we was goin’ ‘n’ get her okay ta do it.”

So I wheeled Grampa Bender down to the nurse’s station to get permission, then down to the lounge as the end of the hall. Of course, since there was a ‘smoking deck’ off the lounge and the draught from it might have cooled off the lounge, the nurse insisted that I take along a blanket to tuck around Grampa Bender, just in case he got chilly.

The lounge was almost empty. There were only a couple of people there. I found a clear space near the windows and parked the wheelchair, then pulled up a chair to sit beside the old man.

“Dang, then mountains is purdy today,” Grampa Bender sighed, gazing off to the west. “I miss seein’ ‘em ever’ day.”

“I can’t blame you there. The view of them here is darn near better than at the ranch.”

“Yeah, I s’pose. Oh ‘n’ I s’pose you heard that I’m goin’ to be moved, ain’t ya? Mebee I’ll get a better view then, right from m’ room.”

“No, I hadn’t heard. Are you moving to a different ward?”

“Well, no, not exac’ly. They wanna put me over inta thet extended care wing. Seems they figure I’m gonna be a while recoverin’ the use of ma pins. At least I’ll have some folks close to m’own age ta talk ta over there ‘n’ I’ll get a room ta m’self too,” Then he looked at me and grinned. “They tell me there’s nigh onto three women ta ever’ man over there. Maybe I’ll do like you ‘n’ round me up a couple of ‘em to keep my bed warm this winter.”

“Well actually, my bed might be a lot colder this winter,” I sighed, looking around to see who could overhear us. “It seems that the gals who have been warming mine decided they’d rather do things for each other, more than for me.”

“Well, I allus thought ya was dang smart, but I wondered if’n ya hadn’t outsmarted yerself with two of ‘em ‘round all the time. I had nuf troubles keepin’ your Gran happy, ‘n’ she were all by her lonesome. I dunno how eny man ud be able to handle two women folks.”

“Huh, I guess you were right,” I shook my head slowly, then frowned. “Hey, how did you know about what was going on with me? Did Mom and Dad say something?”

“No, but Beth did,” he chuckled. “Her’n that boyfriend of her’s was in here this mornin’ ‘n’ they was kinda hintin’ that ya might just be hittin’ some rough weather on t’ home front fair ta middlin’ soon.”

I just shrugged and he leaned forward. “Don’t you worry none, you got lotsa years left to find a good woman, though I kinda liked that little red headed nurse o’ yers. Lotsa fire in that’n ‘n’ a ton o’ common dog too, even if her folks is crazy as bed bugs. I din’t see her fer a few days ‘n’ thought she’d gone off to school er sumpin.’ Sorta made me wonder whut was goin’ on, cause I missed her smile. Then Beth told me she was stayin’ with ya out to the ranch,” he shook his head. “Dunno ‘bout t’other’n ya was squirin’ ‘round though, thet twin with the big knockers. T’other twin that Wil’s with seems awful quiet now she’s back home, but the one ya ended up with has got herself a wild streak ‘bout a mile wide. Is she t’one as started that woman to woman stuff?”

I shrugged again and he reached out his hand to touch mine.

“Good thinkin’ not sayin’ much,” he winked at me. “There’s times I swear the nurses hear ever’thin’ goes on in these here rooms. But, there aint nobody out on the deck ‘n’ I don’ think as they c’n hear anythin’ there. Whyn’t you wheel me out there, so’s we c’n talk, private like? Better wrap me in that dang blanket though, sure as shooting some nurse’ll come along ‘n’ give us hell if’n we don’t.”

So we moved out onto the open deck and settled down out there.

After a moment, he looked at me quizzically and sighed. “Okay, do I hafta ask whut’s botherin’ ya?”

“No, I guess if I should talk to anyone, it should be you,” I sighed, then launched into the full tale of what had happened to me during my summer.

He listened attentively, nodding at times and shaking his head at others, but he never said a word while I verbalized my summer’s trials and tribulations as well as my triumphs. The only thing I left out was what Beth had said about not wanting to live on the ranch in the future. When I finally paused, he reached out his hand and gently squeezed my arm.

“Afore I comment, there’s a coupla other things ya should know,” he said firmly. “First off, I don’t think I’ll be movin’ back up ta the ranch, at least not permanent like, ‘stead o’ that I might visit fer a few days in the summer or such. Atop o’ that Beth ‘n’ her guy aint all that taken with livin’ that fur from town ‘n’ down a bad road to boot. Then too, I got ta thinkin’ the other day ‘bout young Tom ‘n’ his sister, Jasmine, as well as your half brother, Wil. Then I got ta thinkin’ ‘bout the way I’d writ out m’ will afore. Now Wil plans on stayin’ on the farm ‘n’ so does young Tom, but Jasmine don’t. So I bin thinkin’ ‘bout that dang will ag’in, ‘n’ decided it weren’t too fair to ever’body. I even had m’ lawyer drop by ‘n’ talked to him ‘bout it.”

“You’re changing your will?” I asked.

“Yup, seems the only thin’ I can do ‘n’ be fair. Yer the last one of the bunch I’m talkin’ to, so now’s the time to tell me if’n there’s any way your changin your mind ‘bout anythin’ important.”

“You mean about staying on the ranch?”

“That’s exac’ly whut I mean,” Grampa Bender nodded, frowning slightly.

“Grampa Bender, if you tell me I have to leave, I will, but it will be under protest,” I said emphatically. “I love that ranch!”

“I thought so,” he grinned and squeezed my arm again. “That bein’ the case, the lawyer’ll have my new will all writ out in a couple o’ days ‘n’ I can sign the changes ta thet by Friday.”

“So, are you going to let me in on what you’re changing in it?”

“Yer an impatient whelp, ain’tcha?” he laughed thinly, his voice sounding old. “Yea, I’ll tell ya, but keep it quiet from the rest o’ ta family fer now, ‘cept yer Mom ‘n’ Dad, least ‘til it’s signed. I’m still gonna split up the ownership o’ the upper ranch, but I’m changin’ the split up a lot. You’ll get more’n fifty percent o’ Mile High Ranch, so’s ya keep control jes as long as ya make the ranch yer permanent home. The other youngsters that live ‘n work on t’ farm ‘n t’ ranch’ll split the rest of the control ‘tween em, ‘cept fer Jasmine, I guess. She plans t’ move t’ the city, but since she’s worked on the farm all her life, I had t’ take her inta account too. With that idear in mind, I decided that my personal bank account ‘n’ other assets might be the answer. Right now I’m thinkin’ she’ll get twenty percent o’ that, whilst your Mom ‘n’ your Uncle Tom’ll get ten percent each. The rest o’ it’ll be split equally ‘mongst all the rest o’ the family, includin’ you other kids ‘n’ all the relatives that has already left the farm. o’ course I may change m’ mind on thet part later if’n things change.”

“Jeez, won’’t that open a huge kettle of fish with the folks who’ve left the farm?” I sighed. “Heck, this spring I thought there was going to be a riot when they found out about your other will.”

“Well, this time the will is a lil bit different. In case one o’ the townees has any idea o’ tryin’ t’ bust the will; there’ll be a clause in there that’ll cut them out completely as soon as they raise a fuss with a lawyer,” Grampa Bender laughed, but his laughter had a bitter tone to it. “I ain’t gonna ever forget all them years when everyone on the farm worked their butts off ‘n’ we’d only see them folks from the city when they drove out to show off their new cars. I figure ‘bout the same day as I kick the bucket they’ll be tryin’ t’ bust my will. In fact I ‘spect it’ll happen afore the will’s even read. I can imagine the scream that’s gonna come when one o’ them smart alecks do, ‘n’ finds he’s shot hisself in the foot.”

I couldn’t help grinning about that myself because I knew exactly how he felt. After all, I remembered when one of my city uncles had driven out just to show off his brand-new Cadillac. He had found us all at work, trying to carry enough water to the barns to keep the pigs alive because it was extremely hot and the barnyard well had gone dry. He had offered to help us out though. In order to save us the work of having to preserve them for the winter, he wanted to buy all of Mom’s vegetables. I remember hearing Dad ask him just what the hell he expected us to eat that winter instead. My fancy pants city uncle had gotten mad and left then, throwing up a cloud of dust from the spinning back wheels of his new car, but not before telling Dad that he’d tried his best to help and that Dad was an ungrateful fool.

So I knew how Grampa Bender felt and I didn’t have one ounce of sympathy for anyone that tried to break his will.

“Kinda the thing that would serve the slimey boogers right, don’tcha think?” Grampa Bender cackled almost viciously.

“Yeah, I guess it is, but I hope that’s a long time in the future,” I said after we’d shared a rather sardonic laugh. “I like having you around.”

“Well, I’m ain’t in no rush to take that last trip t’ the graveyard m’self,” Grampa Bender sighed. “How some ever, the sawbones tells me that ma heart aint so good no more ‘n’ warned me t’ get my papers all in order jus’ in case. He said it could be years ‘n’ years, or it could happen tomorra. He sez I et a bunch o’ the wrong foods ‘n’ drank too much likker. So I got something called coal-ester-awl buildin’ up fat in m’ veins ‘n’ ‘round my heart, makin’ it work too hard for years ‘n years. But, don’t you go worryin’ yerself none, I plan on bein’ ‘round fer a goodly while yet.”

“That’s good, if I’m going to be looking after the ranch, I want to be able to talk to you and pick your brain when I have problems,” I managed a grin.

“Well, I dunno ‘bout that, you been doin’ right well this summer from all I heard. Have you found somebody t’ look after the place this fall, when you go off to learn about radios ‘n’ TVs ‘n’ such like?”

“I’m not sure I’m going there, Grampa. If I’m going to be taking over the ranch eventually, I was thinking I’d be better off taking a course about farming and ranching, rather than electronics. Besides, after this last week and the screw up with the women who are moving into that duplex, I’d have to find another place to stay if I went to Calgary.”

“Hmm, there’s that, aint there, but I thought ya had a real drive to learn ‘bout all thet radio stuff?”

“I did, but then my Grampa got sick, so I offered to look after his place while he was recovering because I’d always loved his place and didn’t want it to become run down,” I grinned and winked at him. “Of course just living up there for a couple of months spoiled me. I learned to love the place even more than I had before. It snuck up on me and sort of pushed my passion for electronics aside, so now the ranch has top place in my heart.”

“Well, I sure cain’t blame ya fer that,” he looked thoughtful for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind and nod his head slightly. “I’ll tell ya whut, if’n ya promise ta take a farm school course or two ‘n’ plan on workin’ the ranch fer certain sure, ya kin take over control o’ the ranch right away. I’ll even get ya ta vote my shares o’ stock fer that land leasin’ company we formed. Ya kin still come ‘n’ get ma opinion, but I’ll be givin’ ya control o’ th’ ranch ‘n’ th’ shares too. That way, yu’ll be the guy whut’s got th’ whole ball o’ wax in his hands.”

I just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

“Well, whutta you say?” he grinned slyly. “Did I discombobulate your brain er somethin’?”

“I think you’ve done a really good job of it, or at least you rattled me some,” I said flatly. “Are you sure this is really what you want? I mean, heck, I’m only sixteen and...”

“Oh piddle,” Grampa Bender snapped and frowned at me. “Yer so much like I were at sixteen thet I figger yer dang near m’ younger double. Jehosaphat boy, I were only eighteen when I filed on thet dang homestead in the first place. Heck, by that time I’d been punchin’ cows or ridin’ herd on a remuda ‘n’ breakin’ broncs fer nigh onta four years. I know’d you c’n do the job, ya just gotta buckle down ‘n’ work at it, ‘n’en yu’ll be fine. So whutta ya say? Yes or no?”

“Oh heck yes,” I grinned weakly, still worried about the responsibility.

“Good!” he said firmly with a big smile and held out his right hand for me to shake. “I figgered ya would, so when the lawyer was here afore, I set thet up too. I’ll jes call him ‘n have him put it in writin’. ‘Course I didn’t count on ya not going to your radio school thing, but thet don’t make no never mind. It jus means that ya won’t have to pay out wages t’ hire somebody ta look after th’ place this winter.”

“Hmm, I wasn’t thinking of that; hiring someone to live up there could get costly,” I frowned.

“Oh, you’ll be able t’ afford it,” he chuckled. “Since yer gonna be doin’ both the thinkin’ ‘n’ the doin’ at the ranch, yu’ll be gettin’ a pay raise too, ya know. On top o’ that, ya get a tad more money fer handlin’ th’ big share o’ decisions o’ the lease management company too. Yu’ll be doin’ okay, money-wise.”

I was staring at him again, trying to wrap my thoughts around the things he was saying, when one of the older and gruffer nurses marched into the room.

“So, Mr. Bender, this is where you hide out when you want to avoid me, is it? It’s time for your bath. You’ll have to tell your visitor goodbye or else miss out on your bath today.”

“Okay, Cora. Jus as long as it’s you who’s helpin’ me have a bath, I aint about t’ argee with ya,” Grampa Bender grinned and winked at her, then turned to me. “Chris, you take care, ‘n’ figger ta be here ‘bout ten o’clock nex Friday, ‘long with ever’body else.”

“Okay, Grampa. I’ll see you then,” I managed to say, my mind still whirling over the idea that he was literally giving me control of the ranch.

When I left the hospital I wasn’t in the mood to run into anyone I knew, knowing that I’d probably have to answer questions about things that I felt were none of anyone else’s business. So instead of stopping anywhere else in town I drove straight home, but even that short trip seemed to take forever.

Once I crested the hill on the road to the ranch, I could see Dad’s pickup truck parked beside the old Jeep. So I wasn’t surprised to see Mom and Dad were sitting on the front porch having a cup of coffee as I got closer. That suited me just fine, since I wanted to talk to them about what Grampa Bender was planning to do and get their opinions.

“Hi Chris, where have you been hiding?” Dad smiled as I got out of my car.

“I went in to talk to Grampa Bender,” I answered with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Mom smiled, wrapping me in a tight hug. “Do you want a coffee? I just made it a moment or two before you showed up.”

“Sure,” I answered, then looked at her closely. “Your mood has certainly changed in the last while.”

“Well as your father said, so has yours,” she said quickly, then pulled away and headed inside.

“Have a seat, Chris. You don’t want to go inside right now,” Dad warned me.

“I don’t?”

“No you don’t. Wilma Coulter and Ann McAdam are in there cleaning out Carissa and Sandy’s things. I can’t say that either of them is happy with you, or with their daughters. So it might be best to let your mother get things from inside.”

“But, you and I are sitting right here in their way, so if they carry anything out...”

“Wilma has her car parked near the back of the cabin,” Dad interrupted. “They’re using the back door to take things out.”

“Oh okay, I guess,” I sighed. “Did Mom go to town and lay down the law?”

“Nope,” Dad shook his head. “She was still at home talking to me when Wilma called. Wilma and Ann are both a little upset about the happenings of the last week or so.”

“Oh boy,” I sighed again. “I guess I should talk to them about things, huh?”

“I really don’t think this is a good time,” he said quietly. “From what I heard the girls came home long enough to tell their mother’s they were off to Calgary and that you were avoiding them, then disappeared. So their mothers blame you for upsetting the girls.”

“Oh great!”

“Now don’t you get to worrying,” Dad chuckled. “Your mother let Wilma have both barrels over the phone, defending you and explaining what she understood really happened. She was a bit unhappy about the way you’d been treated. I think your mother’s argument really sank in when Corinna grabbed the phone out of Liz’s hands and ripped into her mother too. Corinna is so mad at Carissa right now that she’s seeing red.”

“That’s not good,” I shook my head.

“Well from what Corinna said to me after she gave the phone back to Liz, it’s happened several times before. For twins that I thought were so similar when I met them, those two have sure changed a lot in a few months; either that or they weren’t that similar to start with.”

“Wilma told me that the girls have always had little tiffs,” Mom startled us as she spoke. “Here’s your coffee, Chris.”

She handed me the coffee, then sat down at my side and rested an arm across my shoulders.

“Just how are you doing?” she asked quite caringly.

“Kinda numb,” I sighed. “It’s funny, but I’m not that upset. The strange thing is that while I’m not happy with what the girls did, I can almost understand why they did it. Then too it’s strange, but I still like each one of them a lot. Right now I’ve tucked all that in a corner of my mind though. I’ve got other things to worry about.”

I paused and sipped my coffee, then sighed once more. “Has Grampa Bender talked to either of you about changing his will again?”

“Beth mentioned something about that this morning,” Dad frowned. “Did Toby say something to you too?”