Chapter 31

We pulled up in front of the two story farmhouse. And for the first time, I really noticed that it actually had a bit of antebellum look about it, even having two white wood columns in front. I opened both doors and helped Aunt Darla out as Jackie and Kim got out of the back. We were just walking to the front when Susan Black came out.

She gave Darla and Kim warm hugs, and Jackie and I were more formal as we shook her hand. She was in her 60’s, but still looked spry and active. And indeed, she had a trace of Indian in her features as well. Something I had never really noticed before.

She ushered us into an actual parlor and offered us tea or juice. Darla and Kim took orange juice, as Jackie and I took tea, and we chatted for about 20 minutes. She admitted she was glad I had bought back the old ranch and was surprised that JR had sold it to me. “Well, he only wanted the water rights. And when he found out how some in his company refused to even talk to me about my wanting the lower five acres where the homestead was, he got a bit upset. He said he understood my wanting it as a family legacy, and instead sold it all to me as the company had done nothing with it since they bought it. And the plot to the east he sold me for the same reason. Because it was almost worthless to them, and he knew we would work it.”

“As it should be. Which brings us to why you are here. It’s great to see you again, I see Kim and Darla a lot, but I have not seen both of you together since you were kids. And Jackie I know of, but do not think we have formally met. I really do not need to ask I don’t think, but I do have to ask why you are here.” But she said that with a smile as she picked up her cup.

“Well, to be honest, I heard a rumor that you were considering splitting up the land and selling it. If that is the case, I would like to submit a proposal to buy it.”

“So you can get water rights back?”

“Oh no, actually I could not care less about that. You see, I have other plans.” I then laid out how the idea was that we would use it as grazing, so Dave could move his entire herd together. “We would not be farming it, so the water would not really matter. We would fence off the canal, and just pay to take water from that if need be.”

I saw right away that Susan Black was sharp, and she was not the type of woman that knew nothing about the business of farming. She then asked if we would want all of the land and I nodded. I even wrote on the back of the folder a rough map of her land, and how I wanted to see it used. Even possibly a 4-way rotation for the grazing.

“Why four ways? That’s not really a common rotation cycle.”

“Well, each quarter would be around 200 acres, so 200 in growing feed, the remainder for grazing. Makes it easy, just two long fences, and gates to move the cattle from one to the next. This would not be for money, but more like my grandfather originally set up our ranch. It lets us rest the land so it’s not overworked. And the last feed field makes good grazing for the next year. Dave always swore that our doing that up top of the hill helped make our land some of the best grazing in the area.”

She nodded, then pointed to the north-west corner. “And what about this split of land? What do you want to do with that?”

Aunt Darla smiled, and said “Katükkatün Hoawoppih.” Susan jerked a bit, and looked at her closer. She asked for a translation, she was not sure of hers. And when Kim said it was “Guardian’s Campground”, Mrs. Black grinned. I then spent the next 20 minutes explaining my dream, in honor of all who had stood for home and family, and she said she liked it. She then poured us more to drink and nodded.

“OK, I can only guess that somebody talked. That is part of why I’m going to Salt Lake actually, to talk to Bob about this. Yes, we are wanting to sell. Bob Senior and I made a decent income, but he was working hard until he died. I can’t do it myself, Bobby had no interest in coming to work it. And I had been renting it out, but after doing so we barely broke even. I had talked to one of the real estate guys in town, he is the one that proposed three segments, but putting all the water rights on the most worthless of the three in the hopes one would buy that with at least one other plot. I was thinking somebody would buy those for farming, and the other maybe for grazing. But you want all three. Two for grazing and two for a campground you say. Seems like a bit of a waste for good farmland.”

“That may be Ma’am, but myself, I am not a farmer. I would turn it all over to Uncle Dave, he runs cattle. And you are right, that triangle split is largely worthless for farming. But for a campground and a kind of park, I think it would be perfect.”

Kim then spoke up. “Pete and I used to spend time there as kids, playing in the old quarry. Fishing, swimming when the cows were using the water hole up top, or just messing around. The woods there were our special place, and his mom knew if we were not at the watering hole, we would be there. Pete says he wants to keep that and open it for all to use.”

“Exactly. It may be worthless for farming or ranching, but for recreation it’s great. And not just for tourists, but for locals also. Here, this is a proposal we wrote up this morning, I was only told last night so we have only had a few hours to throw this together.”

She put on her glasses and started to read through the two pages. And as Aunt Darla requested, it was written very informally, almost like a letter to a friend or relative, not a formal business proposal. She read through it twice, then set it down. “OK, this seems clear enough, but it leaves off one thing. How much?”

“Well, we were hoping to propose $750,000, but that is negotiable. $500,000 cash up front, the next two annual installments of $100,000, and the final of $50,000. The money already guaranteed as being held in bonds, simply being held to ensure we are not lacking in liquid capital for the changes we want to do.”

She then asked what part we proposed to leave her, and I pointed at the canal. “We only speculated, but the most reasonable partition to us seemed to be the canal here. Everything north and east of it remain, and buying the rest. That way the homestead remains on a single parcel, and not split up from the rest of the land. That would be around 8 acres we figure.”

She asked us to wait and smiled when I stood with her as she left the parlor. I sat down and the gals all smiled at me. Both Kim and Jackie squeezed my hands and said it looked favorable at least. And I agreed, as she had not just thrown us out after we made the proposal. And when Susan Black returned I again stood and she smiled and nodded. She then laid out an actual plot map on the coffee table.

We went over the proposal again, and I traced the area that Dave had suggested for the fences. She raised her eyebrow at how far back from the river we were going to put them. “Well, that is for two reasons. First, to keep the cattle out of the river, and in the event it crests the banks. Also, I want to put a walking trail along there, so people can walk the entire stretch of the river, not just where Katükkatün Hoawoppih would be. That would give them almost a mile of riverfront to walk along, and maybe set up a few picnic areas as well.”

“OK, I admit I like that idea. You are really serious about using this land not only for grazing but also for people to use. OK, time for the brass tacks young man. You said $750,000 was your initial offer. This is not a commitment, but what was going to be your final offer?”

I looked her in the eye and said “$800,000. The rumor we heard was that you wanted $1 million, and that is doable, but we would need financing and it would drain our available assets. Our hope is that we could negotiate down, because we would buy all of it at once, and not leave you selling it a piece at a time.”

“You keep saying ‘we’. Who is this ‘we’?”

Aunt Darla spoke up then. “That’s the ‘Rancho del Mañana Land Corporation’. You know that Pete bought the land back, but he does not actually own it anymore. He deeded it to the corporation. Which is entirely family-owned. Dave and I, Kim and her husband. His dad and his step-mother. We all own it.”

“And what’s to keep it from then later being sold?”

I laughed. “Simple, I can’t do it. The land is already locked down, under some very strict and almost unbreakable requirements. Owners and members of the board can only be part of the Culver or Littlebuck families. If every last Culver dies, ownership falls to the Littlebuck family or their descendants. At this time, that means my little brother George, Kim, and Kim’s daughter Grace. If we all die off, then it is passed down to the Bannock Shoshone tribe. In fact, the only entity it could ever be sold to is the tribe, nobody else. This land would be added to the rest of the ranch as a single entity, with the same requirements. Family only, only if the family is all dead does it return to the tribe. And if they do not want it, then it falls to the state as a park.”

Mrs. Black whistled. “And you can prove this to me?”

I nodded and said I could bring her a copy of the incorporation papers. “My mom’s family let the old farmstead slip away, a chunk at a time. When she died, my dad and I had to move. The heartache and the pain of her loss made living there torture. But when I came back and saw what those carpetbaggers did to the ranch, it almost killed me.”

“I was there Ma’am,” Kim said softly. “Right before he left for boot camp he came up here for the first time since he left. Peter actually cried when he saw what they had done, and cursed them for their stupidity. And when he had the chance he fought to buy it back. And swore he would make sure that nobody that came after him would ever be stupid enough to ever do that again. There are some other stipulations, but that is the basics of it.”

“Peter, why bring in the Littlebuck family? They are not related to you. Well, not directly, as all three of our families are related, but by connections over a hundred years old.”

I reached over and took Darla’s hand in mine. “Ma’am, I am blessed that I have had two mothers, and a sister. I could not love Aunt Darla any more if she was my actual mother, and Kim is my sister. I have always called her my ‘sister in love’ or ‘sister of my heart’. If the Culver’s were to die, the land goes to them, period. Because to me, they are family. And I recognize that if my mom had not died, odds are that I never would have left, and Kim and I would likely have gotten married. But I had to leave, and we went our own ways. But she is forever my sister.”

She smiled and nodded. “OK, I am going to throw in a stipulation, then make my proposal. The stipulation, that the river area is named after the Black family. You are not restoring your family name, but the legacy which is almost as important. But I want the Black name to live on, as both Bob and I come from the Black family.”

“How about the ‘Jeb Black Riverwalk’?”

“Jebediah Black, and that is fine. I was told he hated Jeb, and normally went by Jebediah or ‘JJ’ for Jebediah John. OK, that is very acceptable. Here is my offer, we split the difference, and call it $775,000. Same terms, $500,000 upfront, then the rest in bonded annual installments for three years.”

I smiled and she reached out and shook my hand. “And just so you know, that is almost what we wanted. We were not sure about leaving such a large plot for this parcel, and were thinking we would cut it in half later, so another house could be built to the west of this one. But your proposal leaves us more land, and I like this for several reasons. First, it keeps it in the family, even if distant family. And it also keeps it all together, and working, not just another plot of land for JR to buy up. We were expecting $1 million from him, part of this partition was in the hopes we could get him to buy all of it. But if not, we could sell it in pieces. But I would rather sell to you for a less, rather than this be yet another part of the JR empire. And I want one more stipulation now that I think about it. This must be done also.”

I nodded and looked at her, and she grinned. “When you do the fences, move the eastern fence back fifty yards from the road. Make the trail stretch from the one at the river up here to the intersection. I will move my own fence back fifty yards, so people can walk to here. Or to be more accurate, I can easily walk to the river.” I told her she had a deal, and she started to stand and I quickly did also. She came around and gave me a hug. “Peter Culver, we have a deal. I will tell my son tonight when I get there.”

“How long until we can make formal arrangements?”

“Oh, call it next week. Don’t worry, I am the controlling partner, 75% of this is in my name, and Bobby will agree to whatever I tell him to agree with. He never cared for farming, but he does care about the land. In a way, he is similar to you in that aspect. You are not a farmer or a rancher, but it’s obvious you still care about the land. And I think our families would all agree to this, it’s a good thing. Go ahead and start preparing your side, I will stop by on the way out of town to get a copy of the incorporation papers. Not that I doubt you at all, I just love that you are willing to go that far to keep it in the family, that’s very noble. And if some around here heard you were going to give it to the tribe, that would be hilarious to see I think.”

The rest of the ladies all stood, and I thanked her again as we all exchanged hugs. “Ma’am, can I call you ‘Aunt Susan’?” I asked, and she smiled and nodded. Kim then smiled and said “Aunt Susan, so you know you are always welcome to come up to what we call the ‘Big House’. We often have big dinners on holidays, with all three families. You are always welcome,. They are never formal, and a way to help keep us all close. Pete has his vacation house there, and his dad and Dee live on the one they built on top of the bench. We really are all like one family now.”

She nodded, and soon we were back home. We told Dee the news as Darla went in and made a copy of the incorporation papers. When Susan arrived she looked around and admitted she had never been in there before. Kim gave her the tour, and I explained how I wanted to return it to the original farmhouse. But the estimate for repairing this monstrosity was only a little more than tearing it out and rebuilding, so I decided to just leave it in place.

“Oh, Bob and I used to talk about them, they were such fools. Our pump is actually your old lower one, we bought it when they took it out. Bob predicted even then they were going to fail. And yes, keeping this does make a lot more sense, even if it is huge. It will take about a week to do up the legal stuff, but I am so glad this is going to happen in this way.”

Once she left we all filled Dee in on everything that had happened, and she thought it was awesome. We told Dave when he came back from checking the herd at the co-op, and he laughed. “Oh thank goodness, I can tell those crooks they can take their land and shove it up their ass now! I can move my entire herd here and be done with them.”

“Pete, can I have about ten acres? Not for me, but a small stable and ring.”

I hugged Kim and said of course. “Remember we were setting aside a strip about that size between the grazing land and the campground for separation. Put it there, we will offset the fence a bit, so you can take horses from here to there either by the cattle route or just walk them along the road. Let me guess, a ring, small stable, and room for Trixie and other horses to play in.”

“Exactly. Plus in a year or so I want to get a pony for Gracie, so she can start learning. And that way I can move Ben here also.” Dave said that would be good as he was getting fat and he was tired of cleaning up all the time after a horse that was good for little other than glue. We all laughed, as we knew he was joking. Darla had already told me that he could not bear to let Ben go. But that Dave did want to get a younger horse, as Ben was too old to take hunting anymore.

We told dad the news, and as it was around 60 degrees we bundled up the kids and took a walk down to the river. I used my hands to point out the idea I had, about how the upper 100 acres or so would all be for the campground, and the bottom 100 for the recreation area. Dave suggested where to put the parking lot, and it was good as it gave easy access to the campground, and also the river.

“I will start a crew down there clearing the underbrush in the spring, and improving the drainage a bit. How were you wanting to do the river walk Pete?”

“Hmm, how about fine crushed gravel? That way if it floods it will be easy to repair, Just get one of those bouncing feet things to do it.”

My dad laughed and said it was called an impactor. “Yes, that would work well. We can put a generator and air compressor on a trailer, and just tow it where it was needed. Tamp it down, as far as the state is concerned that is just a trail, so no permits needed. And cheaper than paving it. More maintenance over time, but better I think.”

Dave nodded and said it would take about two years to get it all done. He would hire more hands, and get one crew started on the fences as another did the river improvements, then started laying out the planned campground. “We work most of next year on that, we can actually have the campground mostly done by the fall I think. I can move my cows down in the spring. That will give me a lot more time to put in here since I will not have to drive all the way to the reservation.”

I then started to walk around the plans for the campground. “I was thinking we put in only one permanent structure, other than a bathhouse up here and bathroom down below. That would be a large combined office, house for the manager, and a small store. And in the corner by the stables put in the maintenance buildings. Then have the camping area. Have it like a big circle, with the outer spots being for pull in units, and the ones in the center for pull through. Oh, and we need to set aside about two or three acres for a small corral. So if somebody wants to stay and has horses, they can put them in there. I think a campground that caters to riders might be attractive.”

We walked back to the Big House, and Dave and Dee were talking numbers the entire time. We were almost back when they arrived at $150,000. I nodded and said that was fine. “If need be, I can sell off my business in LA and just move up here. This ultimately means more to me than that does.”

“Oh don’t be silly!” Dee said. “You make enough with that to more than pay for this in a year. We will let you know if you are running low on cash, but you can afford this. And your dad and I can always move in at the campground until you find a permanent manager for that. I can work from there as easily as I work from here. Just don’t take more than a year to find somebody.”

We had more leftovers that night, and Dave said it would be around $1,000 to put in each of the cattle guards. “It is unusual, but I think the state will go for it. And in the spring I will go ahead and paint one in, then put in the gates so I can start using it while they take their time approving it. I’ll make the gates wide enough so that when extended they reach the road, and that will stop them from going down the highway.”

The next day Dee offered to watch Grace, so Kim could join Jackie and I skiing. So we told her we would be by at 7, and Kim said she would have breakfast waiting so we could eat and go. That night Jackie about drained me, first trapping me between her thighs and having me ride her quickly so that she barely came before I did. Then after a break sucking me hard and riding me equally fast, once again barely cumming before I did.

She tried to get me to rise a third time, and I reached down and grasped her hand gently and whispered “No more, please.” Jackie giggled and kissed my chin, and said “Poor baby, I wear you out?”

“Gods, I’m only human, ya know? I could handle a third if we had started earlier in the day. Us guys need a bit more to recharge.” We kissed softly, and she rolled onto her side and pulled me up behind her.

The next morning Kim had omelets ready, and after eating we hit the road. It was overcast and snowing lightly, so visibility was crap once we got there. Not quite a whiteout, but close. During the second lift to the top Jackie and Kim got on a chair together, and I got on the one behind them and watched them talk the entire ride to the top. Then after taking our time and a few photos on the way down, Kim hopped on with me as Jackie rode behind us.

“You know, you have really made this special for her Pete. She really loves you now, and is sad you are leaving her in two days.”

“Well, I love her too, but we both know I’m not coming back to live for years. And I learned first hand the hard way that long-distance relationships never work. I am not going to try and hold her, when she still has her own life to lead.”

“Yeah, she gets that. She even asked me if she would like LA, and I told her to talk to Dee. But like me, she’s a country girl. I can’t see her going to LA to live, it would kill her. She has her family here, and a great job. But if you do move here and are single, and she is single, she will probably marry you within six months. But also don’t you dare feel guilty. She knows that this is mostly for her, and you have fulfilled all of her dreams and then some. And I think that will help, as her expectations will from now on be much higher than they were before.”

We did that run and the wind picked up, so we headed in for lunch. We had the special lodge burgers, then thankfully the wind was dying down when we hit the lifts again. This time Jackie joined me again, and we held hands the entire time up. She asked me about the next day, and I said I wanted to hit town one more time, then relax as I had a long drive home the day after that.

We did one more run, then we all decided to call it a day. The wind had stopped, but the fog had gotten thicker, and add in the falling snow it was almost impossible to see. We stopped at Dead Steer on the way back through town and after we got home I helped Kim bring in her equipment, then loaded Jackie’s into her car.

We headed in, where I had a crockpot going with a roast all day. After cooking all day it was almost falling apart, so we changed into robes and sat at the table to start eating. Jackie selected a dark red wine to go with it, and it went well with the meat. She then said she would continue to keep in touch with Kent and see about setting up something towards the end of the year.

“Well, for the first one, maybe set it up on a regular weekend. It will cost less for him, and help get an idea how many people might show up. If it is popular enough, consider say Columbus Day for one the next year. A holiday that most do not travel much for. And hit up some of the hand crafts people for displays. SCA, knife makers, leather workers, things like that. They go well together with gamers, they share a lot of interests. And leather workers could probably do well selling things like dice bags. Simple, easy to make with scraps, and not very expensive.”

“Wow, good idea. I know a saddle maker I can talk to, that would be right up his alley.”

“Oh, and book covers. I have seen people with leather book covers on their D&D books, Just do some simple tooling on them, some stitching, and they could get a lot for them I’m sure.”

“Wow, great idea. And they can sell any leftovers to Kent, I’m sure he would love them.”

“Hell, if any are leftovers I will buy them myself. Tell them I would probably buy at least twenty for each book. That would be sixty, DM’s Guide, Player’s Handbook, and Legends and Lore. I will put them for sale, and when I get down to five or so I can order more. Nothing fancy, but the book name on the spine, and a simple design for the front. I know I would buy one for each of mine, it would make them last a lot longer. I have had to have a few books rebound because they were falling apart.”

After some ice cream Jackie gave me a kiss, then told me to go take a shower. I quickly washed up, and Jackie was already laying on the bed and waiting for me when I got to the bedroom. I slipped into bed next to her, and after kissing for only a few minutes she slid down my body and took my cock into her mouth.

I only allowed her a few minutes, then sat upright and reached for her side, urging her to move. “Turn your body around,” I softly said. Jackie did so and straddled my face as we got into a sexy 69. I used a pillow to prop my head up, and we both spent a lovely amount of time pleasing each other without either of us climaxing.

Pulling off of me, Jackie turned around and we kissed passionately. She rolled onto her back and pulled me with her, and in a few moments I slid into her again. We were both so close we came in minutes, she was still clenching me tightly inside of her as I let my orgasm take control. We kissed and lightly moved our bodies together until I slid out, and she had me get on my back so she could curl up against me with her head on my chest.

The next day we hit up Kent’s again, and we both pitched Columbus Day weekend. “That is a three day weekend, but plan on it for say Friday afternoon Sunday afternoon. That gives people a day to recover, and if enough like it you can add another day the next time.” They both thought that sounded great, and Karen went to help a customer as we told him other ideas. He liked the idea of getting crafts people involved, as well as the SCA.

“Now I can’t promise anything, but I can talk to Brad and see if we can also host a theater game up here during the event. If nothing else, just block off 3 hours or so at the presentation room and I can host one myself. And if you want, I can do a few other presentations. And talk to George Flushing, he’s my lawyer up here. He can give great advice on how to get published and to protect their intellectual interests. I might even be able to get Becky up here, she can talk about how to self-publish, or how to contact somebody like her to publish for them. George might know others, he represents several other published game designers in the area.”

He was writing this all down and asked me for George’s number. I pulled out my phone and gave it to him. He then asked me how the phone worked. “Oh, it works great back home in LA. Here, it’s spotty at best. I barely get a signal at my place, but none at all up skiing. More than about ten miles out of town I lose it until I hit American Falls. And it comes and goes most of the way to LA. And it can be expensive, but at least there are no long-distance charges. Calling my dad costs me just as much as calling LA.”

“Yeah, that’s not bad. But I’m gonna wait until they are more affordable.”

We talked a bit more, and I told him I would be back next month. “And I will make it to the convention if you get it going, that I promise.” After we left we went ahead to the dive shop again. I told the owner about my buying the Black Farm and my idea for the north-west corner. He sounded excited about the old quarry, and I told him to stop at the big house at any time after next week and ask if they wanted to use it. I promised that when it was done, I would bring my equipment and we would each get a tank and dive it together.

We went home after that, and Jackie said she was going to go home and take care of a few things, but she would be back in a few hours. We kissed and I walked her to her car. I got on the BBS and did some work, and saw I had another person asking me to help them set up a BBS. This time it was for a new car dealer. I sent them a message asking what they expected and what they wanted to be able to do with it and sent it off.

I then answered some other messages, in a few apologizing for not upgrading them yet, but I was out of town and would update them as soon as I was back. I even reminded everybody that sent in a payment that at this time anybody that sent in a payment would get free access until 15 January, and the clock would not even start running until then.

I looked over and saw that Becky had been active in the message area also, and quite a few had been active in the music section I set up for her. I sent her a message saying I had missed her, and would see her after I got back.

I then created a new message area, and asked all who were computer professionals to send me a message, and that I would be offering a special area just for us. I added that to the announcement screen and hoped soon I could start another plan I had made.

I was doing a load of laundry when I heard a car pull in. I went back upstairs and opened the door just as Jackie came in. And the first thing I noticed is that she had changed into a dark brown dress. We gave each other a kiss, then she had me go downstairs with her and sit on the couch. We cuddled up together and watched TV, and she said she had stopped in at work, and saw that the Columbus Day weekend was still open. “I already penciled in a potential reservation, so try to keep that weekend open. And yes, I know you or I might be seeing somebody by then, so this is not about sex Pete. I really missed you, and these last weeks have made me realize how much I missed having you around as a friend. But I do want a promise. Can you do that?”