Chapter 60

That we went to bed early last night was a definite plus. My internal alarm had me sitting up and moving over the top of Tina at just before five. Brandy and Tiani were both stirring, so they were also waking up before the alarm. I slipped my peg on and headed to the bathroom. I was in the shower when Etta joined me. We were washing in the huge shower when Brandy and Tiani stepped in. The two girls gave me a hug then began washing.

I stepped out of the shower, dried, shaved, and brushed my teeth, then moved into the closet area to dress in the clothes arranged at the end of the closet. I knew the girls had already decided what I should wear. A suitcase was sitting by the door to the bedroom. I almost passed on my backup as I attached my regular leg, but then thought that being prepared warded off anything bad or strange that could happen. I used my shoulder rig instead of a waist holster because I was going to be flying. I slipped my peg into the suitcase and pulled the rolling case through the now empty bedroom into the kitchen and family room.

Wow, there was already coffee and juice on the table for me, with Sharon sitting and waiting for me and the others. Frieda waved her spatula and asked, "Fried or scrambled?"

I gave her my answer with a smile, "Scrambled is fine. You girls are really on top of everything this morning. I can't believe you have breakfast ready for us."

Etta came in, followed by Brandy and Tiani holding their boys. They put them into high chairs with bibs, kissed them, and gave them each a piece of toast and a sippy cup full of milk. Brandy busily prepared some cream of wheat for the two, and sprinkled some raisins and brown sugar on top. The two boys picked up spoons and began smearing the gruel into their mouths as soon as she put the bowls down.

The two mothers sat beside the boys and were served some toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Brandy said, "I need to nurse Dan to relieve the strain on my breasts as soon as we get in the air. It seems the longer I nurse, the more milk I make. I'm going to be able to donate some for Lisa's bunch the way it's going. I think Tiani is having the same problem. The boys are taking a lot, but I still have to express some to be comfortable." She looked at me and said, "You need to help me out and drain them for me, Chuck. Lena and Big Tina love to nurse on me and Tiani, but they aren't always available."

Lisa was standing with Frieda, and told Brandy, "Just keep making all you can. I think mine are going to need it."

It was Tina who offered, "Mother Nature does some strange things, but she looks out for crazies like you and somehow supplies you with all that you'll need."

Brandy and Tiani had finished eating and were cleaning their boys. Brandy turned to me and asked, "Can we all get in your Lincoln, or should we take an Expedition?"

"I'll get an Expedition. The Lincoln is only good for five or six and we'll have seven in the car. I'll pull it up behind the cart area so it will be easy to load up."

I grabbed the keys to the big Expedition, as well as the Lincoln keys. The Lincoln remarkably was parked next to the Expedition, so I moved my equipment case from the Lincoln trunk to the back of the Ford. I began putting luggage in the rear after moving the car next to the house's rear entrance where all the carts were parked. I installed two kid seats and then turned to give kisses to all my women. I wished I was taking them all with me, but this was business and needed to be streamlined. I gave the Lincoln keys to Lisa to use or put back on the board.

We were at the airpark just before six thirty. The Citation X was sitting in front of the charter office, so I parked there and moved the luggage and car seats into the aircraft. One of the ground crew poked his head out the Citation's door and asked if I wanted him to fire the APU (auxiliary power unit) up. I gave him the thumbs up 'OK' sign while I finished stashing luggage.

The girls put the two boys in their car seats and buckled them in. Sharon, Tiani, and Etta sat in seats from which they could reach the kids. Brandy was standing at the cockpit entrance waiting for the night mechanic to move out of the right seat.

I did a thorough outside walk around, complete with using a heavy bar to bounce off the tires. I rechecked the turbine openings. The attendant was coming out of the plane as I was ready to get in. He checked the luggage door one more time as I stepped into the aircraft and pulled the stairs up and closed the door. I made sure everyone was buckled up before moving to the left seat in the cockpit. Brandy pointed to the book and said, "I've started the right side engine, go ahead and spool the left up. The flight plan is filed, and weather between here and there is perfect for a nonstop."

Brandy kept calling out the next step in the checklist and doing the second pilot's part as we prepped the aircraft for takeoff. I called for taxi clearance and was given a straight through to the runway. We blasted down the runway to rotate in a very short takeoff run and began raising the wheels at exactly seven o'clock.

There are a dozen things to check and monitor on the way up to the assigned altitude, but life settles down once the book is stashed. Brandy said, "I'm going back and let my kid take the strain off my tits. I keep thinking he's going to be a roly-poly like I was as a kid, but he's staying fairly slim. He and Dan are so busy that they use up all their fat running and playing."

Etta moved into the right seat as soon as Brandy went to the back. She put the headset on and flipped the intercom switch. "I have a list of everything I want to accomplish, and I know Brandy has her list for the farm as well as the mining operations. Do you want hear my list?"

"I'm sure your list is the same as mine, but that's good, Etta, I want us to use our time efficiently and see and do as much as we can in as short a time as possible. I really didn't think I would have to be that much a part of the farm or ranch operation, but Churchman Carlman isn't cut out to direct an operation like ours. We're lucky to have Harry and Janet to run the ranch, as well as Ralph and Wilma as our professional interfaces. I also think we should go out to see the tribal elders while we're there. They might even come to us when they learn we're at the ranch."

Etta said, "I think they want to talk to you about Carp. According to Janet, Carp's been coming out to the ranch on a regular basis and met an older unattached tribal female. She wants to ask Carp to marry since he's too bashful to ask her, but has to have the elders' permission to marry either way. According to Naomi, the woman Carp is interested in says the elders think your approval would make it a good match. What do you think? Do you want to help the big guy have a life other than work?"

"That's neat, Etta. I'll give him a good sendoff, but you know what this means. We'll have to come up for the wedding and tribal mating ceremony. We better see if we can make that ranch house hold our entire family or even families."

"I'll get Janet to help me figure out how to accommodate fifty people if necessary. I have a bunch of pictures of all us women and kids so that she will understand how large a group we are. She's going to faint when she realizes how big your family is going to be with fourteen more babies coming."

I laughed at that comment, but knew it was true. I flipped the speakers in the cabin on and asked, "Can you make some coffee, Sharon? Give Sam or Dan your nipple so one of the girls can make coffee if you can't."

There was a lot of laughter from the cabin, but I almost immediately could smell the coffee brewing.

Etta was replaced by Tiani for some one on one conversation that centered on our son, then Brandy came back up to the right seat as we neared our destination,. We had a slight headwind that made us take just a fraction over three and half hours to get to Cut Bank by 8:40am local time. Brandy had called for a rental Expedition and had notified Ralph and Wilma when we were on final. Carp said he was at the airport waiting to greet us when she called him, and was excited that we were coming to see him.

We were able to park the aircraft under one of their canopies near the operations building reserved for the occasional Lear or other small business jet that visit. I made sure the tanks were topped off and the plane was secure, while the women and Carp were unloading car seats, kids, and luggage. Carp told me, "Go ahead out to the ranch, and I'll come out for lunch. You and Etta can come in with me later to check out the mining operations and we can have a private conversation we need to have."

That would have sounded ominous if I hadn't been warned by Etta that there was romance afoot.

We drove straight out to the ranch and were surprised to drive under a tall wooden banner with just the word 'Blessing' burnt and painted on the big overhead board.

There were only a few people visible in the garden field, although it was a little after nine in the morning, local time. Janet came from the house and down the porch stairs to meet us. She was the perfect picture of a farm wife as she wiped her hands on her apron. I was amazed at what I was seeing as the house had been completely painted in white with blue trim and around the windows on the outside, as well as the porch railing and posts. Looking toward the two big bunkhouses and barn revealed more surprises. The bunkhouses were both painted white with blue trim, and the barn was now a bright red with white trim, and a surprisingly white roof the same as the bunkhouse.

Harry had come from one of the machine sheds, cleaning his hands on a shop cloth, and noticed me staring at the barn roof. He told me, "What do you think? The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) sent the tribe almost two thousand gallons of rubberized paint for the roofs of their trailers and homes. They didn't use half of it, and brought it all out for us to use on the barn and utility buildings. That stuff will give the roofs some great snow protection for about twenty years. We cleared it with the BIA first. They approved our using it because we employ and supply so many of the local Native Americans."

We shook hands in greeting as we followed the women toward the house. Janet stood at the door to the kitchen to happily give each of us a hug and announce, "I have fresh coffee and some warm muffins just out of the oven. Let me serve you a snack before we show you ladies the house and Harry shows Chuck around outside."

The large kitchen that had a big table with eight chairs had changed. All the walls and ceiling had been painted and the cabinet doors looked to have been sanded and re-stained. It looked like a new kitchen. Etta commented about the difference, "It looks like you've torn everything out and installed all new cabinets. I can tell you didn't because the countertop is the same, but is in good condition. It does look like you put new tile down on the floor though. You've done a great job."

Janet told us, "We want it to be as nice as possible if we're going to live here. We also want it to be a showplace for you and your family when you come to visit."

I was sipping the good coffee when Harry told Brandy and Tiani, "Why don't you put your boys in with ours? They look to be about the same size and not quite two. I'll bet they'll play together."

I turned to look through the oversized archway from the kitchen into what would be the dining room, but it had a fenced off area using playpen materials and carpeting. Sitting, watching what was going on was Harry's and Janet's young boy. Brandy asked where the bathroom was so she could help Dan go pee. Janet was surprised and asked, "Does he already pee in the toilet?"

Tiani told Janet, "I think almost all our kids are pretty close to potty trained. The boys have some trouble aiming, and the girls have to be careful they don't fall in when they sit on a regular toilet seat, but they are really doing well."

Janet asked, "Can they have a piece of muffin? I have more sippy cups to give them some milk to wash it down."

The two boys went to the bathroom with Janet following them with little Harry, her son, so he could watch the boys do their thing. As a guy, I had not thought too much about the potty training thing, but I realized how important it was to the mothers since they were expecting more little ones soon.

While they were gone, Harry told me, "The late garden is producing very well. We're using the kitchen in the big bunkhouse for washing, cooking, and canning the vegetables that will go to the church and for the tribe. We've slaughtered three head of beef for the tribe, the church, and us so far. The folks from the tribe haven't wasted anything. They are using the hides, horns, hoofs, and even the tail. We've figured it will take about ten head to feed everyone through the winter, or about twenty head a year for everyone. With what we've rounded up, I think the young steers will be good for next year, and the heifers will hopefully have enough bull calves for the following year. We can let our herd grow some if we manage it right and make a buck or two by shipping some extra beef. We can ship about a hundred head if we don't want to feed all that we have now over the winter. That'll pay for a lot of the fence work we've done. We've actually done everything here with very little capital outlay. We now have all the chickens from Etta's place, and added a bunch of chicks that were available to them. We have enough eggs for the church, us, and most of what the tribe wants."

I complimented Harry, "You're really making this place into a working farm, Harry. The purpose was to help the church out, but we found we needed to work with the tribe, too. They've obviously been a great help in cleaning and painting, so we need to make sure they are taken care of."

Harry chuckled before saying, "I saw one of the men take off in his pickup, and I'll bet he's going to tell the elders you're here. Those folks have told Janet and me they are eating better than they have in years. They have even begun building their own community chicken coop and have cleared a large area for next year's garden. They saw how we did it and think they should be able to feed everyone out there the same way. They will be happy if we keep paying for some of the labor in beef."

"So what are you working on out in the machine shed, Harry?"

"Ah, something special. I've been picking up junk vehicles and farm equipment that we have been cleaning up, rebuilding, painting, and selling to a local used car lot. We've rebuilt two cars, a pickup, a tractor, and a self-propelled combine so far. We're using the profits to buy more junk and parts. I have three men from the tribe learning to be mechanics and how to work with the bodies and sheet metal. We're learning how to bring in some extra cash while keeping up with the farm work."

Etta was smiling as she complimented Harry, "You were always doing stuff like that at the shop in town. I think every one of the town's young boys' first car or pickup came from one of your rebuilds. It's good that you're teaching some other men how to work on cars."

Harry said, "That's one of the things I'd like to discuss. I'd like to pour concrete on the floor of the machine shed, and possibly install at least one lift so we can do more work on cars. I think we could buy the equipment my old employer had. The guy who bought the place closed and was foreclosed on almost as soon as he opened. I think he found out you have to pay employees and you have to do good work. I think we could do that out here and I know folks would come here for their mechanical work. The farmers would also like to have someone to depend upon for their equipment repairs and maintenance. I have an estimate of what the flooring will cost and what I think the payback will be. The estimates include the equipment from the shop in town and what we need to have out here to do a good job."

"Sounds like you're going into business, Harry? Can you do that as well as watch and manage the field work and stock?"

"Easy to do, Chuck. You see, two of the tribal men who are working for you are great leaders and work with the other men. They are working the cattle, taking care of the fields, have some planted with winter wheat, and the other fields are being prepared for next spring's planting. They are going to work on clearing more acreage for more crops this winter. The other group is working to completely fence off the whole farm so the stock will stay where we can take care of them. We now only have six of the horses you originally bought, but that's all we need unless we really grow our herd. So you see, Chuck, it only took a couple of months and the heavy use of that debit card you gave me to get the place in shape. Thanks for keeping it full of money to use. The lady who handles your money gets the payroll out weekly and everyone is happy. Your ranch, or farm, is doing very well."