Chapter 11: As Good As Done

Our surprises weren't over yet. As we pulled into the yard, I saw a truck parked in front that looked somewhat familiar.

"Looks like you're finally goin' to meet my sister," Rance grumbled.

"Oh ... good. Caroline, isn't it?"

"That's right. I hope that idiot husband isn't with her."

We parked the truck in its usual spot and walked into the house. I saw Marion and Rance's sister sitting on the sofa, and neither of them looked very happy. I recognized Caroline as the blonde I had seen talking to Rance that fateful morning. As I got closer, I could see Caroline's eyes were puffy and red. I stood back as Rance walked up to her.

"What brings you out here, Cary?" he asked without being confrontational. "More trouble at home?"

She nodded, looking downcast.

"She caught Billy cheatin' on her. I guess it wasn't the first time. She's left him and is goin' to file for divorce," Marion said in a monotone.

"Well, can't say as I'm surprised," Rance said in a low voice. "But just the same, I'm sorry to hear it."

Caroline nodded again, then looked up at him. "Looks like we didn't do so well pickin' partners, did we?"

"First time around, you're right," Rance said, then turned to me. "Cary, this is Julie Sanchez, my fiancée. I believe I've done a whole hell of a lot better the second time around," he grinned. He reached for my hand and held it gently.

"Nice to meet you, Caroline. I'm sorry it couldn't be under better circumstances."

"Nice to meet you too, Julie. Don't fret over me. I'm just gettin' rid of the last traces of Billy Miller. I'm about done with him now."

"Cary is comin' back to the ranch to live here for a while," Marion said.

"Good," Rance responded. "No place like home when things aren't goin' well. Besides, you'll finally outnumber us men."

That produced a small smile from the woman.

As the afternoon progressed, I could see Caroline was getting a little brighter and not feeling quite so sorry for herself. After I'd helped Marion in the kitchen with the evening meal, I poured myself a glass of wine and went out on the deck to sit with Rance's sister.

She was a blue-eyed blonde, very attractive with naturally curly hair and a sexy body. I was envious in a way, but I certainly didn't envy what had happened to her. She didn't look a lot like Marion, so I assumed she favored the Cameron side of the family. She had a glass of wine beside her, but it appeared untouched.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked.

"No ... not at all. I guess we should get to know each other since you're marrying into the family," she smiled.

I got the feeling that there wasn't any hostility in her towards me. I held out my glass and she picked up hers to touch lightly in salutation.

"Mom says Rance got lucky when he found you. He needed to catch a break. Lisa did him a lot of harm. He didn't deserve that."

"You and Rance get along okay?"

"Yeah. He's always been my big brother, lookin' out for me. If I was in trouble, I'd more often go to him for help. He was always there for me."

"I gather he didn't approve of your husband."

"No. Right from the beginning he felt Billy was wrong for me. But ... when things did go wrong ... he never said 'I told you so, ' not even once."

"So ... him cheating on you wasn't a first?"

"No. I knew in my heart he wasn't faithful. I was trying to ignore it and hope he'd quit some day. But he never did. The more he got mixed up with those high rollers and speculators, the more he thought he was Mr. Big and could get away with it. Finally, one of his girlfriends phoned the house for him and I couldn't ignore it anymore."

"Sounds like you gave him every chance, Caroline."

"My friends call me Cary, Julie. I'd like to think we're going to be friends," she said hopefully.

"I'm sure we will be. We both love Rance and this family. Your parents have made me feel very welcome."

"Dad says you're the best thing that ever happened to Rance, but don't tell him I told you that," she grinned.

"Okay. It'll be our secret. Just so you know, though, Rance is the best thing that ever happened to me, too."

We spent the next half hour comparing notes on school and our teenage love-lives. Cary was feeling a lot better now, perhaps because she had someone nearer her own age to talk to. I avoided the subject of her husband, and she did as well. By the time we were called to the table, we had become friends I felt.

At the table, Rance and Angus filled Cary in on what had been going on in the past couple of months, including the attempt by Dexter Prentice to get the rights to the coal-gas revenues on the 3C.

"I wonder if that's what got Billy all upset last week. He was on the phone with Dexter and they were arguing about something Billy said was illegal. He didn't want anything to do with it, as far as I could make out. When I asked him, he said it was private business I didn't need to know about."

"Well, maybe I should give that fool a little more credit then. If he was mixed up in the deal that Dexter was tryin' to pull off, he'd be in as much trouble as any of them. If he steered clear of it, then maybe he won't end up in jail," Rance said.

"Well, either way, it isn't going to change my mind. I'm going to see Mr. Tenewsky tomorrow and get the divorce started. I should have done this months ago. I've just been kidding myself this last year. I'm old enough that I should have known better," Cary said sadly.

Marion reached over and covered her hand. "Don't be too hard on yourself, dear. You were in love with Billy, and that can hide a lot of things. Maybe you'll have good luck next time, just like Rance did," she smiled, looking at me.

We met with Richard Krenneman on Friday as arranged. I sat with them at the dining room table for a while, but when the subject got down to the small details, I excused myself and went to help Marion and Cary with the lunch. When it looked like it was time for a break, we brought out the food, along with plates, utensils, napkins, and glasses.

The men were now on a first-name basis, and I sensed that they had reached an agreement.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Cameron. The food looks wonderful," Krenneman enthused.

"You're welcome, and please feel free to call me Marion. You've already met Julie, and this is our daughter, Caroline."

"Yes ... nice to meet you all. I wish we had done this right in the beginning. My predecessor wasn't very enthusiastic about dealing with the individual ranchers, so he was happy to have Prentice look after that. When I replaced him, I wasn't sure what our reputation in the community was. I'm only just getting a chance to try and repair it, if that's what it needs."

"I don't think too much damage has been done, Rich," Rance said. "Your company was pretty much invisible until this latest mess came up. Once word gets out that you've come to an agreement with us, that'll carry a fair amount of weight with the other ranchers. It should be easier to talk to them then."

"I'll be glad of that," Krenneman said. "The reason I was sent here to replace Johnston was that we were so far behind schedule. I'm still getting my feet on the ground to figure out what's been happening. This agreement we've worked out will go a long way toward getting our project back on the proper time-line. I'm very grateful for that."

"We feel good about this agreement too," Angus said with a smile. "It's fair all around and will be important for our future too. All we have to do now is confirm that the original signature is a forgery."

"I'll have our legal department draw up the agreement we discussed and have it sent to your lawyer for his review. Once we get that done and signed, we can move forward," the new manager said.

After lunch, Rance and Angus took Rich Krenneman for a tour of the ranch, paying particular attention to where the test locations would be. Krenneman was pleased with the sites, thinking they would be relatively easy to set up on and not involve a lot of disruption to the landscape. The only proviso in the contract was that CoalMeth would construct a fence around each site to keep cattle from straying too close to the operation. If the site was abandoned, CoalMeth would remove the fence and return the area to its original condition.

When Rich Krenneman left later that afternoon, Angus and Rance came back into the house.

"Nice fellow, that Krenneman," Angus said. "Straight shooter, too. Told us what he wanted to do and didn't beat around the bush about it."

"I'm glad you're happy, Angus," Marion said, smiling. "It sounds like this could work out very well for us."

"It could work out a whole lot better than 'very well, ' Mom. Rich was pretty optimistic about how much gas they could likely produce off our site. It's not guaranteed, but he's pretty confident they're going to find a substantial pool. That could mean a lot of money for quite a few years."

It was almost two weeks later that we heard from the police department about the forgery. There hadn't been any rumors around town about action against Dexter Prentice or Melvin Crenshaw, but with Rance and Angus getting ready to bring the herd down from summer pasture and start shipping the first steers to market, they weren't paying that much attention.

Angus took the phone when Officer Hawthorne called. Again, I could only hear one side of the conversation until he hung up and came over to fill us in.

"Well, it seems like all hell has broken loose in town. The signature is definitely a forgery. It apparently was traced from bank records and transferred to the original document. No tellin' when that happened, they say. The District Attorney filed charges and the police paid a visit to Dexter this mornin' and arrested him on charges of utterin' a forged document, fraud, and collusion with intent to defraud. He'll be out on bail, but I gather they'll be keepin' an eye on him real close.

"Melvin Crenshaw was served with a subpoena to appear in court to answer charges of aidin' and abettin' a fraud. He'll be out on bail too, but he won't be back at the bank. Apparently his bosses have decided someone else should be runnin' the place. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

"I guess there are a few other people they want to talk to, but right now, we're clear to make our own deal with CoalMeth. I suppose this calls for a drink?" he grinned.

"I've got somethin' put away for this moment," Marion said. She went to the pantry cooler and pulled out a bottle of what was obviously champagne.

Angus did the honors and popped the cork, sending it flying through the dining room, narrowly missing Rance. No harm done, and laughter followed the near-miss. Marion produced five tall, slim, wine glasses and Angus poured the sparkling white wine.

"Do you suppose this is the end of all the drama in this household?" Marion asked half-seriously.

"Who can tell," Angus grinned. "We seem to be a magnet for this kind of thing lately. Maybe it's goin' to settle down, now. I could use a bit of that. I'm back walkin' again, so that's another thing to be thankful for," he said, raising his glass in one hand and his walking stick in the other.

"Just you remember, Angus Cameron, no horseback ridin' until the doctor says so," Marion announced sternly.

"Yes, dear," he said meekly. "Looks like I'll be usin' the Jeep for the roundup, Rance."

"Looks like," he agreed. "Julie, can you make do with the old Dodge?"

"I'll be fine, Rance. I'm all done at Mountain and I'm just waiting for the final check. I've got three jobs lined up, but they're all local."

"Hell, girl, you'll be buyin' one of those big SUV's soon enough with all that money rollin' in," Angus proclaimed.

"I think I'll settle for something a little smaller for now. Anyway, there's no rush as long as I've got a way to get around."

"In all the excitement, I forgot to tell you about my new job," Caroline brightened. "I'm going to work for Sunrise Photography. Mr. Forsythe is getting on and wants someone to take over the business in a few years. I showed him some of my work and he agreed to let me work on trial. It's something I'd really enjoy and he can teach me a lot. He's a really nice man."

"Good for you, Caroline. That sounds like something you'd really enjoy," Marion said.

"I've seen some of your pictures and I've got one framed on the wall in our bedroom," I told her. "You're really good. Maybe you should do our wedding pictures."

"Oh ... I'd love to ... if that's okay with everyone?" she said tentatively.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Marion said.

"That does sound like a good idea," Angus agreed. I could see Rance nodding agreement as well. I felt good for Cary. She needed something nice to happen to her.

Billy Miller called a couple of times trying to convince Cary to move back, but she was adamant. He had been served with the divorce papers and she was in no mood to make up. He had given up when she told him in no uncertain terms that they were done and the divorce would go through.

Marion, Cary, and I were spending more time now planning the wedding, although it really wasn't that complicated. What to wear, whom to invite, where to get the wedding cake, and so on. Like most men, Rance just wanted to know what to wear and when to show up. He had given me his list of people to invite. It was short, but I knew most of them would try to be there; especially Tim.

The house had a fourth bedroom, and Marion insisted that my father and mother stay with us. They were allowing the Camerons to host the wedding. I phoned them immediately to tell them of our plans. I thought they might be disappointed that the wedding wouldn't be in Salinas, but it didn't seem to be a terrible blow to them. I think my father might have even been a bit relieved.

Rance phoned Tim personally to invite him. After some wrangling, Tim also agreed to be the best man as well. I couldn't think of anyone else that should have been in that role. He and his wife would stay at a very fine old-west style hotel in town. We had run out of bedrooms.

We invited the Staleys and the Velasquezs as well, as a thank you for their help and friendship when we needed it. While the Staleys would be away and unable to attend, the Velasquez family accepted. I was pleased to see that. Richard Krenneman was invited and while he was on his own, he also accepted the invitation.

My family would be driving from Salinas. In fact, Raoul was coming out on his own a couple of days early to scout out the job opportunities in the area. He was stuck where he was at the lettuce plant and even though he was now a journeyman mechanic, there was no shortage of qualified men who wanted to work in California, especially when it was close to Monterey, Carmel, and the Bay Area. He was hoping something more interesting might be available in Colorado. We would put him up in the bunk house while he was here.

Rance was gone most of the next week as he organized the cattle drive from the summer pasture down to the winter range. He and his father had already decided that the current price for prime heavy feeder steers and heifers was high enough to sell off up to four hundred head. It would be a big payday if they could get the top prices at the La Junta auction, some eighty miles northeast of Trinidad. The short travel distance really helped hold the condition of the cattle and cut the transport costs, he explained.

I rode up to the range on horseback with Rance and saw for the first time an actual cattle drive. He had me off to one side near the back of the herd, but not eating dust like the guys riding what they called the "drag." Angus putted alongside in the Jeep, shouting out orders now and then, and generally just enjoying being back on the range again. His leg was much better and he could walk with only his cane most of the time.

I watched Rance and the hands work the cattle to keep them in tight and moving forward. Any strays that wandered off were soon rounded up and moved back into the herd. It was a bit of old-west romance that I was happy to be a part of. What amazed me was how the horses seemed to know what to do without much input from their riders. They'd just lean into the cattle to keep them in line without making a big fuss about it.

I spent two days with Rance on the drive before I had to stay at the ranch to look after my business. I was getting a fair number of calls now, most of them small projects that I could do quite quickly and easily. Dave Tanner at Valley Computer had become a very good source of leads. I was pleased that we could give him some business from the Mountain Building Supplies contract, as well as some referrals from our smaller clients. We worked well together.

A week later, all the cattle had been shipped to La Junta for auction. Prices looked to be holding firm at just over $105.00 per cwt, Rance said. Angus was wearing a smile too. This would be a good result for all their hard work. The ranch would probably realize well over two hundred thousand dollars from the fall sale.

Raoul arrived on the twelfth of October and was welcomed by Rance and family. I admit I was getting a bit nervous with the wedding just four days off. Rance, on the other hand, didn't seem to have a worry in the world. I found myself spending more time with Cary who had been through all this before and was a calming influence. You wouldn't have thought it would be a big deal since I'd been living with Rance for almost six months, but it was.

Raoul joined us for supper that first night and it made for a lively dinner table. He was looking for an opportunity to use his skills fully rather than the limited needs of my father's operation.

"I've checked and I won't have any problem getting my journeyman's ticket in Colorado," he said. "I've got all the experience needed thanks to Dad."

"Why don't you see Rich Krenneman at CoalMeth?" Rance suggested. "He can hook you up with the contractors they use. They're always in need of skilled mechanics."

"That sounds good. I'll go see him tomorrow if I can get an appointment," Raoul said.

"I can help you with that," Angus spoke up. "I'll call him tomorrow mornin' and see when you can get together with him. He may have some other possibilities too."

"Thanks, Mr. Cameron. I really appreciate that. I'd like to find a place I can use all of my training."

"Well, maybe you can set up your own business here too," Cary suggested.

"I don't know about that," Raoul said cautiously. "I don't have enough money to buy the equipment I'd need. That will take some time."

"Don't you have your tools any more?" I asked.

"Oh sure, they're in my truck. But it takes more than that to set up a business. I think I need to walk before I run," he grinned.

"That's good thinkin', son," Angus said. "You get yourself established, then you go into business for yourself. In these parts, reputation is everythin'. A good one goes a long way to bein' a success. Just ask your sister."

"Mom said you had a computer business, Julie. Is it doing well?"

"It's doin' darn well," Rance interrupted. "She's even got some out-of-state customers," he bragged.

"I'm happy with it," I admitted.

"That's great. This place is so cool," he said. "I've never been in Colorado. It's sure different from California."

"Well, for one thing, we're six thousand feet up, and for another, it gets dang cold here in the winter," Angus said.

"I'm not worried about cold too much," my brother said confidently. "I worked in Alaska for two years. Cold's bad enough, but cold and damp ... I hated that."

"Well, it isn't that cold," Rance suggested. "Maybe down around twenty degrees in winter, and not much snow. This is a dry part of the world. I think the total rainfall is only about fifteen inches. We have to find water or take it from the river when we can."

"Do you drill wells?" Raoul asked.

"Yeah. That's where most of the water we have comes from. We've got three on the ranch," Angus said.

"That's what I was doing in Alaska ... working on drilling rigs. No trouble keeping busy, that's for sure."

"There's several contractors around here. Could be an opportunity with one of them," Rance suggested.

"Looks like some good leads for me already," Raoul smiled.

"You're welcome to stay in the bunkhouse as long as you like. There's an unused room you'll find, and it has the facilities you'll need," Marion said. "You should plan on havin' your meals with us here, though."

"I don't want to impose," my brother said.

"You're about to become family, Raoul," Rance said. "You'll be my brother-in-law, so let's not hear any more about imposin'."

That brought a big smile to both me and Raoul, as well as the rest of the table. I was proud of Raoul. He'd always been my big brother, but we hadn't been close. Now, it seemed he was about to strike out on his own, and after having been apart for several years, we were getting to be more comfortable with each other. That felt good.

True to his word, Angus phoned Rich Krenneman the next morning and set up an appointment for my brother.

"Rich seems to think there's a couple of opportunities for a journeyman mechanic," Angus said. "One of them might be with that drill crew we ran into on the property a while back."

Raoul's face lit up when Angus told him about the appointment and the manager's suggestion that there could be a job for him. He wasted no time in getting himself ready for the meeting, making sure he was properly dressed.