Chapter 58

I was hovering between sleep and waking, but was suddenly overcome with the vision of several girls playing in mountain flowers. I was standing in the little meadow around the side of the mountain watching, as Minya moved in the lush mountain growth, while tiny Karen was sitting on the ground holding blooms. The other three girls in the field of blooms were older, just teens, but one looked to be almost a woman.

The girls were all near each other, with Minya dancing among the flowers. A shadow passed by each as I watched, causing the nearest one to smile and giggle. Were these the little girls that played in the mountain flowers? The shadow seemed to approach, and was almost to me, when...

A dog's tongue licked my hand, while a nose nudged my face. I opened my eyes and saw Spook and Witch looking at me, urging me to let them go outside.

I let the dogs out after slipping on my pants and a T-shirt, noting that it was already after five AM. I put on a full pot in the coffee maker while I warmed a couple of cups of old coffee in the microwave. Knowing that I needed to get moving, I went to the bathroom before dressing to go do morning chores. Rosita sat up and smiled at me, then leaned over to kiss Millie awake. The love the two showed each other was very warm and inspiring to me.

Mom was waiting for me out in the kitchen area, sipping from one of the coffee mugs. She told me, "You know you could use the women from below to do the morning chores. The little ones are probably too young to be going out to do milking and barn chores in the morning."

"I really don't remember when I began helping with the morning chores, Mom. Dad didn't make us start early, but I know I always wanted to be a part of whatever he was doing. I think that's why Sissy and I were always under Dad's feet wherever he was. It won't be long before Mato will be doing the same, and I think Minya will be doing them, too."

Mom smiled at me, "You know you have three more to help with the chores, now. Camille, Colette, and Chloe will want to do their part here. I feel good about all three of them. We will hopefully be able to give them a new start and help them forget what they've been through. I'm going to ask Sheryl what we should do for them. I know that all the attention and love we can show them won't erase some of the experiences they've had."

"You're going to have to help all of us know what to do, and when, with the three girls, Mom. I get the feeling that the schooling they were being given wasn't very good since I don't think they were expected to be around long enough to need an education."

Mom's grim look made me know she had that same feeling.

Mom milked while I did the prep work in the milk house and fed the other animals. I carried a five gallon milk can into the summer kitchen, and then went back for another full can, as we were getting too much milk in the spring house. It is amazing how much milk the one cow was giving, but Esteban had said that the cow was a heavy producer.

Millie and Rosita were busy in the kitchen with three young women sitting at the counter watching as the older women explained what they were doing. Rosita told them, "After breakfast, I'll show you how to take care of the chickens and our other feathered friends we have. We'll collect eggs, put feed out, and fill the water containers."

Millie was doing her best to have the three sisters tell her about themselves as we ate. They remembered their life before they were orphaned, but the time between then and now was traumatic, causing them to stop talking. Both Millie and Rosita would start on another topic to keep the three talking.

Mom was smiling as she knew the girls needed to talk of their experiences with another woman. It needed to be with someone who would understand their physical feelings.

After breakfast I called Benson to find out what he had heard. His first words when he knew it was me calling were, "My old roomie said you and Mom took over his raid and were sending people all over the place to get things done. He did say that you directed them on where to find some irregularities in the records there. He's already found some of the older girls who have left the home. It seems they were sold to some big city whorehouse slavers. Most of them have been able to find a way out so far, but many are still in their trade, but now as independents. Sadly, many are drug addicts, but a few have found a new life outside that environment."

"That's good to know, Benson. Mom and I were really concerned with some of the warnings Camille was told if she was to get sick or attempted to run. She was lucky to have gotten away."

Benson softly said, "Yes, she was very lucky, because the roomie said they have found a small graveyard on the property that has some of the missing girls buried there. No one knows how they died, but autopsies will be done on all of them. The three girls were all very lucky."

"Damn, Benson, how do the police handle something like that and still allow those people to live? I'm afraid I'd pray a little then ask God to send the soul that I sent him to wherever they should go. I'm glad I don't have to be around them."

"I know, Mike. I've spent some time observing my two while this has been going on, and I realize how easy it could be for them to be in a position like that. I know you would take care of them if something happened to me and my wife, and you know I'd take care of your kids. That's something that gives me peace of mind."

"That it does, Benson." I paused a second before continuing, "Aside from that, am I straight with having bought all of this property lately? Do we still have a cash surplus for the other projects we're involved in?"

"You're fine, Mike. All of your projects are in good shape financially. The development is going to be a good moneymaker. You have enough land to build at least two more areas of the same style, or create a less expensive group of homes. Maude says that all of the farmers in the area should have the same problems you have. You're doing fine, and Maude tells me all of your farms will be making money for you this next year."

As I sat at my desk talking to Benson, I was content knowing that this was the winter pause, allowing us to make plans for the coming growing season. I would go see Esteban and John to make sure they knew what they wanted to do during the spring. The cutting crews needed to have a plan for when they could begin cutting again in the spring. I'm sure they were more than ready to go back to work as well.

I asked Benson, "We met a state child care worker who seemed to be a good person when we took Minya and Mato in. Do you think I should contact her to help me with the girls?"

Benson told me, "It might be a good strategy, Mike. She'll have to do some investigation with Pennsylvania, but the legal side will go easier if you have all of the paperwork taken care of and the woman knows you to be reputable."

"Then I'll call her, Benson. She said she was going to come by and check on my little Indians, but she hasn't been by yet. This will give her an excuse to visit and see how well the two are doing."

I searched my desk when we were off the phone, and found the Child Protection worker's card. I called Sylvia Porter at the number listed. A secretary answered and advised that Ms. Porter was out of the office, but she would be happy to take a message and have her call me.

My message was that I wanted to talk to her about a new development. Hopefully, that wasn't too vague or scary.

I made a list of my operations and what I needed to know and be aware of for each entity. I listed the leaders of each operation, and left a space for Maude's evaluation. There was a loose end, since I did have a farm without a leader, but I wasn't sure the farm would support a family if I kept it mostly in hay.

The development and radio/TV stations were both primarily owned by the trust, but I was still the person who everyone looked to for final decisions. Both of those entities needed to have a board of industry professionals to make those decisions instead of relying solely on my judgment. I needed to rely on others since I don't know enough about housing and communications. I was going to talk to Frank, Bill, and Bernie about some of this at supper. Maude needed to be there, and I might as well have Benson with us if I did that.

I walked out into the main room to see Mom, Millie, Rosita, and the three girls sitting together talking. They were so intent that they didn't notice me as I poured myself a cup of coffee. The six were all sitting close together speaking in hushed tones so I couldn't make out what they were talking about.

Back in my office, I called Maude to make sure she could come this evening. I told her about my list and that she needed to tell me if there was an area that needed special attention. She told me she had Profit and Loss statements for all of my endeavors and would bring them with her so that I would have some numbers to look at.

Next was Bernie, who could sometimes be difficult to track down. This was a TV station day, so he was in Lexington. He told me that he would really enjoy coming to supper, and he would make sure that Sheryl planned to accompany him.

I slipped out of the house and drove over to see John and Esteban. I figured on seeing John first, since he might to be able to work Paul's farm. I also needed him to make sure the farmhouse was torn down and maybe plan for another to be built.

John was in his machine shed working on equipment when I arrived. He walked out to greet me and had me follow him back in to see what he was doing with his machinery. John had put one of the big coal oil heaters in the middle of the machine shed to keep warm, and added a chimney through the metal roof. The place wasn't toasty warm, but over sixty degrees. I might want to do the same on my building.

The equipment John was working on was in the process of being painted. Almost every piece of equipment looked freshly painted when you looked around the shed. John told me, "Its fun to get this equipment in even better condition than it was in. The way this place is makes me take pride in everything here."

I got down to why I was there by asking, "What do you think about the additional hundred and seventy acres on Paul's place? I think we'll need it mostly for hay but I want to make sure it isn't too much work for you and Esteban, or too little for a man with a family."

John stood and asked me to come into the house for some coffee. As we walked in, he said, "You know that I had so much free time this past year that Carla is pregnant. I think we spent half our time in bed. Now, that isn't a bad thing, but I could have farmed three times the ground I did last year. I've already worked out to do most of Esteban's farming so that he can focus on his dairy stock and equipment. Just taking care of that will keep him busy."

Carla was beginning to show enough to see that she was pregnant, and was excited to see me. She served us some coffee and cookies. John continued, "You know there is only one place between mine and Paul's, and it isn't all that big. The people who own it live up in Lexington now and have sharecropped it these last three years. The fields are in terrible condition and the man using the land has let brush creep into the fields. He's probably lost five acres or so to brush. There used to be decent fences, but Willard Hampton, the tenant, has decided to push the fence down wherever he wanted to make a new field road. The place now couldn't support any grazing stock unless some major work is done. How about letting me get in touch with the owner and see if he might want to sell you the property? If I have that, plus Paul's, I'll be able to produce all the hay we need, plus bring in some cash crops. I can take that sixty acres of good bottomland and maybe have another big garden. That's always a good moneymaker. We could graze a few of your Herefords over here in the hillside pastures if I fix the fences."

"You've done some homework on this, John. Are you sure you want me to buy the land, or would you rather want to buy the property and have something of your own?"

"Thanks, Mike, but how about I do the tenant farming thing with you for now. You treat me really well, and I don't have to worry about anything except taking care of the equipment and the crops. You and Maude take care of the fuel for the equipment and house, all of the property insurance, and even provide us with transportation. We have it made right now, and we have to be saving up for the birth of our baby."

I needed to think about what he just said. There are several new couples fooling around and probably thinking about making babies. I haven't thought about dependent health insurance. The road guys have a health plan, but I don't think it was that comprehensive. I was going to have to find out how to take care of these couples.

"Okay, John, call Benson and see if he can help you with the owners. Be sure to tell the owner how the land is becoming less valuable by the year. He might be ready to sell."

John said, "The owner is an older child of the man who farmed the land. I've heard he's not in great health, so he might be willing to sell. I'll get right on it."

I called Maude as I drove away from John's place. "You have to guide me on something, Maude."

"What is it, Mike? You sound upset."

"Maude, I have all of these young couples that work for me and I haven't provided them with good health insurance. John was just telling me about having to save up for the birth of their baby."

"That's not true, Mike. Your policy for the road crew, and John is still part of the group, covers dependents, and does have maternity benefits. I don't know what the co-pay is, but it shouldn't be too bad. You have Esteban under that same plan, as well as all of the full-time cutting crews. I put your construction people on the plan, but the hourly workers there have to pay fifty percent. That's fair, and they would pay that much if they were in a union. We've gone over this before, but I'm sure you weren't paying any attention. Don't worry, Mike. I'll call John and explain his insurance plan with him. He probably figures that he isn't covered now that he doesn't work much with that crew any longer."

I had stopped on the side of the road so that I wouldn't be distracted while driving. A tractor pulling a big disc was coming up the road toward the driveway area for the farm between John's and Paul's. The tractor seemed to swerve back and forth as it neared the driveway, then drove straight into the ditch on the far side of the drive and stalled.

That's when I realized the operator of the tractor was slumped over the wheel. I got out of my truck and ran to the tractor to help the man. He was a big heavy guy, and was almost more than I could move, but I was able to get him off the tractor and on the ground. He had a pulse but it was weak.

I called the Sheriff's office and asked if they could get an ambulance out to help someone who may have had a heart attack. I called John next to ask him to come help me with the man and to move his tractor.

John showed up with Carla in less than five minutes, and moved the tractor to the driveway. Carla monitored the man's pulse while we both wondered why the man was still unconscious.

The ambulance and paramedics showed up within twenty-five minutes. They immediately began doing tests and hooked him up to a heart monitor. The one paramedic said, "This man has a pacemaker that should have shocked him. Did it pulse while he was out? His whole body would have jerked if it did."

I told them I hadn't seen it happen since he was out.

We watched as the ambulance took off for the clinic.

John and I figured that we should get the tractor back to the man's place, so John drove the tractor while Carla and I followed in our trucks. John unhooked the disc when we arrived at the man's place on the other side of Paul's, and put the tractor under a lean-to on his barn. I was going to go to the house to tell the man's wife, but John told me, "He's been divorced for nearly fifteen years, or so I've heard. He doesn't have any kids, and I think he only has about a hundred fifty acres here. That's why he works other peoples' ground."

There didn't appear to be any stock to worry about, but John and I looked through the barn and did check the house to make sure there wasn't a dog or pet inside. The man didn't even have any chickens, so we left the place locked up. John went back to work and I drove to town. I was listening to the radio when they announced that Willard Hampton had been rushed to the clinic after suffering an apparent heart attack. The radio announcer went on to talk about how Willard had suffered several heart attacks since he had split up with his wife of thirty years.

The one thing about a small community is that everyone knows everyone else's business. There are no real secrets.

At the clinic, Sheryl noticed me at the main desk and waved for me to come back with her. She walked with me to the staff's break room and poured us two Styrofoam cups of coffee. She looked at me and asked, "You here to see about Willard?"

When I nodded, she said, "He's awake and alert now, but he's not going to recover to work his farm again this time. He's going to have to be put in a home to be taken care of. I doubt he's going to walk much any more either."

When I acted like I didn't understand, Sheryl said, "He had one hell of a stroke, not a heart attack, this time. He'd be pushing up daisies if you hadn't been there to help him. His mind is working, but his motor skills took a real beating. I'm going to send him up to the University Hospital in Lexington to have him evaluated, but he's already said he wants to come back to town to stay in the home here. He also asked me to see if I could find you. He wants to talk to you."

"Tell me when I can talk to him and I'll visit with him, then." I figured he wouldn't be able to talk with me for a while.

"Talk to him now, he's awake, and nervous enough that I doubt he'll sleep much until we sedate him. He can't use his left hand or arm right now, but he can talk. Just talk slowly and watch to make sure he understands. Come on, I'll stay with you."

Willard looked at me hard as soon as Sheryl and I walked into the room, before softly and slowly saying, "Thanks, Grayson. I'd be a goner if you weren't there to help me. You know me from the dairy tent at the market. I'm usually there when you show up in the mornings."

I had gone over to him and grasped his right hand. He had a grip in that hand and squeezed mine. He looked over at the doc and said, "It's good you're here, Doc. We may need a witness and you can be one. I want Grayson to buy my place, but I can't do like Bert did and stay there. Doc says I have to go to a nursing home. I guess I can do that, and it won't be near as lonely as my place has been. I done made up some numbers and gave them to Benson a while back, but told him to hold on to them until I decided. I done decided now, so see what you can do for me, Grayson. If you get my place, you can probably get the Temple place on the other side of Swan's. They been talking about selling to me, but I just didn't want to buy something and have to worry about taxes and such. Benson knows all about my place and Temple's, so see him. You two are close anyway."

I smiled at the old guy, "You never know, Willard, you might be able to get back to your place. Shouldn't you wait to make a decision to sell?"

"No, Grayson, I'm done. My body doesn't feel like it's going to work for me any more, so let's get the property dealt with. I won't need money in that old folks' home, or nursing home as they call it, but it might be nice to have a few dollars for things I might need. I'll still get my Social money that will probably all go to the home, so I'll need a few bucks for little things. Anyway, go see Benson; he has all of the papers, and tell him to get the papers over here for me to sign so this thing gets done. You might have to go through all kinds of court stuff to get this done otherwise."

Sheryl was checking him over as he talked and told me, "Go see Benson and let Willard have some quiet time. I'll be sending him up to Lexington this afternoon. Bernie told me we're eating with you tonight, so I'll see you then."

Sheryl pulled one of those tiny digital recorders from her pocket and handed it to me when we walked out of the room. "Take this and give it to Benson. He knows how to listen to it, so he'll know what to do." She looked both ways up and down the hallway and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Now go, Willard may not hang on long."

Benson hollered at me to come into his office as soon as I came through his outer door. The secretary looked flustered, so you knew that Benson was busy. He waved at his desk and said, "Sheryl called me while you were coming to the office and told me what was happening."

He moved a file to the center of the desk before saying, "I don't think I can get both properties done that fast, or rather today. I have the Hampton place ready and all I have to do is have you guys sign some papers and transfer some funds. I just talked to Maude about this and we're going to put mortgages with the trust on both pieces of property for now, and work something else out later. You might be just about done buying up the county now, though. There isn't going to be much land left."

I looked at Benson and said, "You know, I didn't even get a chance to say whether or not I would consider buying any more property. John was talking about the Temple place, but not about Hampton's."

"Yeah, Mike, but you were there when Willard needed help and he was already going to approach you about buying him out. He was thinking about doing like Bert, stay in his house, and let you do all the work. Here, sign this power of attorney for this transaction, and I'll go get with Willard and have Maude transfer some funds. I'll bring everything back to have it all recorded. Do this for Willard, Mike. He needs to have this off his mind."

I signed a bunch of documents and watched Benson gather a stack of files and papers and put them into his beat up briefcase. "I gotta go, Mike. I'll see you tonight, and let you know about the Temple place."