Chapter 61

Waking up in a strange bed in a strange place, had me sitting up, looking around, and trying to get my bearings. Sharon was on the outside of the bed with Tiani on the inside. Brandy was behind Tiani and Etta was hugging Brandy. I slipped from bed, found my peg, and went to the bathroom. I thought I might as well shower after peeing, so I went into the shower that was smaller than I was used to at home and quickly washed. I was shaving when arms hugged my back with motherly breasts pressed against my back that let me know Brandy was behind me. She kissed my neck and I spun to hold one of my original lovers and kissed her with love to let her know she was important to me.

I watched as Tiani, Etta, and Sharon followed Brandy into the shower as I dressed in jeans, a heavy shirt, and boots.

I interrupted Harry as he was groping Janet, his wife, for a morning greeting when I walked into the kitchen. The two looked at me with a smile and guilty look, but continued their loving greeting. My ladies came into the kitchen, holding their sons to their breasts, and attempted to help within minutes. Janet laughed and told the two women to sit and nurse their critters. She said she waited a while before nursing Harry Jr. so he would eat a good breakfast. Tiani told Janet, “My guy will nurse, then eat enough for a couple of little ones, and nurse again if I let him. I think Sam and Dan are spoiled to the tit, if you know what I mean.

Janet laughed and told the two, “Little Harry is spoiled too. It’s my fault because I just love how close I feel to him when I nurse him. I think Harry enjoys emptying my breasts at night, too, but I shouldn’t be telling tales out of school, should I?”

Breakfast began appearing on platters on the table as I watched. The two men from the bunkhouse came in and sat at the table with smiles on their faces and forks in their hands just as I thought the food would get cold. Harry informed me, “We’re ready to dig potatoes today,” as we ate. “We need to dig them now before the first frost. None of them are full grown, but they’re all big enough to eat. Onions are ready and should be about the right size. The last of the carrots should be ready to pull, and then there are the melons and a few hundred pumpkins to take to town. I want to make sure all our regular crops are picked before that first frost. It was already down to about 45 degrees this morning. There’s a cold front coming through next week that will probably bring a frost, so we’re right at the end of our growing and harvesting season. The corn for animal food will be fine after a frost, but that’s about it.”

I told Harry, “You’ve done a great job getting the garden planted early enough to bring in a lot of crop to be canned before winter. I think everyone should be pleased with the results of a short but good growing season. We’ll do really well next year if we get our bigger garden planted earlier so we have multiple crops to can.”

Brandy told Janet and Harry, “My mom and dad always have a big garden and can vegetables for the year. Our garden isn’t very big, but it is very successful for our family. Some of the food on the patio is from my folks’ garden, so you know that even a small area can produce a lot of food. I want to have a garden at home on the other side of our big fence. We could have enough to donate to the patio and still put up a lot of veggies for the rest of the year.”

I looked at Brandy with a different attitude, as I knew her folks were more than well off. To know they would keep a garden up and can vegetables made me know they were the people to help my ladies become good providers for our family as well as those we lived and associated with.

When breakfast was complete, I wanted to go into town to see Preacher Carlman, or would that be Churchman Carlman.

Etta, Sharon, and I drove into town and went to the now expanded church. We found Jim, his volunteers, and his wife all sitting at a table having their breakfast. They were all going to stand, but I waved at them to stay seated. We sat with them, with me across from Jim. “So is the ranch keeping up with your needs so far?”

Jim said, “Oh, it’s so wonderful, Chuck. We have enough meat and now we have a whole supply room full of canned goods from the ‘Blessing’ ranch. We don’t have enough chickens for our egg needs yet, but that will come soon. Harry told me he was able to buy a couple of hundred chicks that should be laying within six months. If we can raise enough chickens for eggs and food, that result will be a big blessing.”

Etta told Jim, “You should be fine for meat throughout the winter this year and won’t have to rely on any extra game. You should be fine for the duration between the beef and chicken. You might need more vegetables, but they are available from several offerings. What I want to help you with is to help you prepare the homeless families for the winter. Chuck and I have deposited enough for you to buy and rent sufficient homes for those families who find themselves without a place this winter. Chuck is bringing one of his friend’s plants up here to build solar panels. That will give some of the local and tribal people seeking employment a place to get back to a regular life. You need to reinforce the folks who are in hard times that they will be provided for if they work, Jim. Chuck and I will help your people get back on track, but you must impress on them that their efforts will provide for their success. If you have a family where the adults just can’t work, whether their disability is physical or mental, then we can look at that situation in the full light of their circumstances, but if our goal is for everyone to work to better themselves, then we will just have to be creative in finding work even for people who just can’t work.”

I couldn’t have said it better. I was smiling at Etta as she gave me a sideways look and winked at me.

Jim wanted us to walk next door to the church where they had purchased a large frame home that appeared to be freshly painted. You could see how the volunteers had divided the home inside into three separate apartments to accommodate larger families. Jim said, “We have been adding to our housing inventory until I don’t think anyone in need will be out in the cold this winter. The gifts you have been giving will help to heat the homes through the coldest part of the coming season.”

I told Jim, “Find out what each family you help can contribute to each other. Who will keep the exterior of the homes up, who will shovel snow for the houses and church, who can help in the kitchen, and who can help out at the farm. There won’t be that much to do during the winter, but we will be planting gardens behind the church this coming spring and the garden on the ranch will be much larger. Let’s keep these folks busy so they feel productive and are willing to look for jobs.”

Seeing the work the church members had performed to convert and improve the house let me know that what we had been donating was being put to good use. Etta even moved against me and grasped my arm to let me know she was equally impressed.

We said goodbye to Jim Carlman, and called Ralph and Wilma from the car. Ralph told us to come to their offices so we could review the financial picture of our properties around Cut Bank.

Carp met us at the offices to join us in reviewing where the operations were at this time.

The first thing Ralph said was, “Everything on the legal front is complete at this time, so what you need to hear and review will be in Wilma’s area of expertise.”

Wilma had three stacks of papers. She picked up one and gave copies to Etta, Sharon, Carp, Ralph, and me. She began by saying, “This is the current status of the gold mining operation. Carp is amazing as he has already been able to mine and ship enough gold to offset all the startup expenses and has been able to cover the payrolls before that. He did get into the cash reserves you left him for a while, but he’s been able to replenish that and will now actually show a good profit during this year’s last quarter. I think it’s noteworthy that Carp spent the downtime refurbishing the equipment and preparing the area he wants to mine through the winter. The bottom number is not red, but black, and should make you smile. The only question will be how you want to distribute the profits.”

Etta looked at me and I told Wilma, “We want to continue to donate heavily to the church at the same rate as we have been. The extra should go into the trust we set up should we need additional capitalization at the ranch. We might use some of the trust fund to build a solar panel plant up here. I think that would be a great way to contribute to local economy.”

Ralph commented, “That would be something. Any small industry that could actually employ a hundred or so town and tribal people would be great. A few businesses like that and Cut Bank will be booming.”

Wilma took the next stack of papers and passed them out. She told us, “This is just the beginning of the uranium mining operation. You sold the equipment you had purchased to the new company, so you received some capital before the mining actually began. Bernie seems to know what he’s doing and is already shipping what appears to be quality ore. We have federal inspectors here at the mine because of the restrictions on handling uranium. Both the mining company and you pay for these men. They oversee the handling of the ore and its safe transportation. Your cut of the revenue from the ore shipped and sold is reflected in that nice number at the bottom. Where should these revenues go?”

Etta spoke up, “I want the income from that operation to go into the trust as well. We’ll eventually set up a scholarship fund for students needing assistance to go to school, but let’s initially put it all in the trust so we’ll have some investments that will also begin to produce income. Do you agree, Chuck?”

“Exactly my thoughts, Etta.” I was sitting back smiling at how the new mining operation was doing.

Wilma picked up the last stack of papers and handed a set to each of us. She told us, “Look through these for a minute, and then I’ll share the details. This is a totally different operation because there isn’t much revenue coming in yet.”

We all read through the papers we had been given and Wilma began when we looked up. “Okay, this is different because you purchased two thousand acres of land and some buildings that needed some help. Harry and Janet went right to work cleaning up the house and outbuildings, and then began painting everything. The place was once again transformed from a drab bunch of buildings every time I went out there, to what is now a beautiful group of farm buildings. The rubberized white paint on the roofs really set the buildings off. I can’t believe Harry had the entire barn and outbuildings painted. The red barn really makes the place.”

Wilma had us study the first page. “This shows the cash outlay and some of the initial expenses for the property. Each category is listed so that you know what you’re spending money on. The building repairs have not cost a lot. The refurbishing of the equipment was equally inexpensive. An expense that could have been major turned out to not be that horrific. The fencing was able to be repaired and put in good condition without a major cash outlay. One of the major costs was the purchase of the stock Etta bought, but your men have recovered some of it by selling four of the horses they didn’t need. They have assured me they have sufficient feed and hay for the winter, so that expense is fixed.

“You’ll see the payroll figures for all categories if you’ll look at the second page. You have some of the tribal women working in the garden as well as continuing to make the house into a show place. The men are divided into the men working with the stock and the three men working with Harry. Harry already has some revenue from refurbishing the mining equipment and for doing some equipment repairs for other local farmers and ranchers. He estimates he should be able to rebuild at least two vehicles a month and that will give his shop a profit of at least three thousand a month.”

I looked up and asked, “I thought that was something for Harry to make an extra buck. Should the ranch realize a profit from that?”

Wilma answered, “Harry said the work done on vehicles by the men on your payroll is ranch money. He told me he would work on a vehicle by himself at night and on the weekends for his personal bonus money. He’s very happy with his wages, and feels that he is making out like a bandit with his and Janet’s income, along with free rent and food.”

I nodded and wondered what I had created with the young couple.

Wilma continued, “I would estimate you should receive at least five grand a month for each person you get to house for rehabilitation. Anything less and you would want to reduce the services. That is one hell of a deal if you figure two hundred a day for really nice quarters that include cleaning, laundry service, and food. I think the minimum should be five grand a month, or any part of a month. Janet advised me you may not accept men for rehabilitation, but the ten thousand a month would really help offset your payroll and payroll expenses if you do.”

“You won’t have any tax liability with the exception of land taxes this year. You will owe taxes if you build your herd of beef stock up and ship two to three hundred head a year. You will have some great deductions for the gifts to the church and the tribal council. I will keep a good record of the beef, poultry, and produce you are donating. You should be in the black at the ranch with the beef revenue, the rehab money, and Harry’s business by next year.”

Something came to mind and I asked, “What do you think of putting the ranch into the trust so that the expenses and eventual profits can be shared by all the operations?”

Wilma smiled and said, “I wondered if you would consider that. It would be easier to reimburse you for the initial investments you made in the mining operations and in the ranch if you were to do that. I won’t have to carry an owner’s investment debt after this year. Do you want to do that?”

Etta said, “We do, but I want to make sure Chuck is the primary trustee from this point forward. The corporation officers can remain as they are, but the trust will be the governing body in the future. I want Chuck to be the decision maker. He seems to be able to make the right choices for the operations.”

Ralph spoke up and said he would create the inclusion of the ranch into the initial trust that was set up when I adopted Marion and Virginia. I knew he had worked with Ben Phillips when they set the trust up. Ben knows how I prefer to fund a trust for the future, and to set it up so the invested funds continue to grow the assets. This is how the islands are set up, as well as all the ventures for the vets. Everything is already funded and will continue to benefit those it was originally intended to take care of if something happens to me.

I spoke directly to Carp at this point. “I want Wilma to increase your salary by fifty percent as of the current pay period, Carp.”

Carp was trying to stand, holding his hands up to try to tell me to stop.

“Sit down, Carp. There are multiple reasons to do this. First, you planned and implemented the plan to begin mining at the first opportunity. You prepared the equipment and used your men to prepare to open up the mines that were the most profitable before that. Second, you interviewed and selected a good sound company to mine the uranium ore that may bring in as much as the gold industry and is a very valuable asset to us. And third, my friend, you’re deserving of much more than I’m authorizing this day. The increase is not a bribe or a special thank you, but a sincere effort to pay for your value.”

Carp was a little misty-eyed as he looked at me. “You’ve been a great friend from the first moment we met, Chuck. You’ve given me a position I used to think could never happen. And best of all, Chuck and Etta, you two have shown me that I’m a man of value to a woman I want to join with. It’s like I spun the wheel of fortune and it came up a winner.”

I told Ralph and Wilma, “Make the changes we discussed and send me confirmation of completion. I want you to watch out for Harry and Janet so that they are taken care of. The two have been instrumental in making the ranch into a viable asset. I’ll contact the service to see if it’s reasonable for us to accept rehabilitating agents. I’ll advise you, as well as Harry and Janet, if the conversation is good. Let me know if you or they have any second thoughts when the rehab people are on site, so that I can immediately get them moved. The success of the ranch is not dependent on the rehab visitors.”

We were done with what needed to be reviewed and planned for the near future. I suggested we visit the local liquor store as we left Ralph’s and Wilma’s offices, and take some good fire water back to the ranch to enjoy. Etta said that we were supposed to go by the grocery store to get some snacks and a couple of quarts of barbecue sauce, as there was a large chunk of beef roasting over a fire for the evening meal.

Back at the ranch, I had Sharon go out to the barn to see if she could do some riding while checking fence. Brandy and Tiani were having a great time while planning the remodeling of the rooms on the third floor with Janet. They had several drawings of what they thought would be best should we begin receiving rehabilitating agents. I needed to make the call, so I looked up the password and phrases of the day and called my contact. He thankfully was on duty, so I was able to talk to him in a manner I felt was necessary. We discussed the ranch and how it would be a great place for someone to get over whatever they had been involved in. I advised him that the quarters would be ready within two weeks if we went forward with this.

The contact had me hold while he contacted a higher authority. He told me, “The people now in charge of the program will call you” when he came back on line. “You should make sure you get the amount you feel you should for housing these people. Make sure the service is reimbursing you correctly. They are being real jerks on funding lately. Call me back to tell me what was decided.”

My phone rang almost as soon as I ended the call. “Johnson.”

The other end began with the correct password, and I gave the opening of the phrase and they completed it. The man on the other end said, “Charles Johnson, you are already providing rehabilitation quarters in the pacific northwest and Hawaii. Those two locations are very successful although we feel the cost per subject is excessive. We will use your Montana location, but we need to re-negotiate the amount. What do you feel is the minimum you would accept to house rehabbing agents?”