Unforgettable Christmas Dreams: Gifts of Joy

by Rebecca York

  Carlton’s mind flashed back to those terrifying moments in the water. He had grabbed Todd just as the boy was going under, and was able to pull his head and arms out of the water. The boy’s heavy coat made him weigh more than twice his weight. Carlton held him up long enough that Todd was able to get some deep breaths before the weight pulled Carlton’s arms down.

  Stretched out flat on his stomach, Carlton couldn’t get any purchase on the ice, and Todd’s struggles had pulled him into the water, too. By the time Carlton felt Helen’s rope around his foot, pulling him backward, his upper body was already under water, including his head—and Todd was completely under again.

  Carlton was fighting a sweep of panic just before Helen roped him, wondering just what he should do. His mind refused to let go of Todd, but logic said he might have to save himself first, take his heavy parka off, then try again for Todd.

  Would he have found him again in the dark water, if he had had to let him go? He was glad that he had not been forced to make that choice. It was something he didn’t want to ever repeat.

  And Helen. Where had she learned to rope like that? He’d seen cowboys swing their ropes above their heads before throwing them, but Helen had thrown hers from beside her on the ground, pulling him and Todd out, then Rufus, and then the calf.

  She must have had a lot of practice to catch everything on her first throw. He nodded his head as he washed the pond water out of his hair. Thank heaven for cowgirls.

  Warm, he turned the shower off and stepped out. He dried completely, using the hair dryer to get totally dry. He didn’t want any dampness left.

  His wet clothes had been removed, and a dry sweatshirt, pants, and underclothes were on a chair. They were fairly large so they should fit him. Must have belonged to Helen’s husband, as Todd wasn’t this size yet. He imagined she was saving them for Todd.

  He dressed quickly, and then went out to see how everyone was doing. Helen was in the laundry room, running clothes through the washer and dryer. She was trying to hang up the soaked parkas to let them drip, and Carlton stepped in to help her.

  “No wonder I couldn’t pull Todd out of the water,” he said, feeling the weight of Todd’s parka as he lifted it up to put it on a hook.

  She nodded. “In water like that, you have to take a coat off. They just get too heavy. I’ve already run them through the washer on the spin cycle, to spin out the excess water and they still weigh a ton.”

  Next he hung up his own heavy parka. “I’m sure glad you know how to rope,” he said, stepping aside to let her go out of the room first.

  He followed her into the kitchen, closing the laundry room door behind them. The room was warm and cozy and had the delicious smell of coffee and baking soda biscuits.

  She walked over to the stove and turned on the gas, then set a cast-iron skillet onto it. “I used to compete in the rodeos. I got fairly good at roping,” she said, laying out some bacon in the pan. “Three pieces?”

  He nodded. Three was plenty, although he’d worked up an appetite down at the pond. “Just don’t ask me to rope anything.”

  “I won’t. Build fence maybe, if you stay long enough.”

  “What fence?” He was interested. He had sat in that cabin so many days that the sound of fence building actually appealed to him. It was one ranch-type thing he knew how to do. He’d helped his grandfather one summer, years ago.

  “We need to rebuild the fence around the pond, to keep the animals out during the winter.”

  “Oh. That fence. Why was the ice so thin?”

  “A warm spring feeds it. It’s always dangerous during the winter. The animals use the pond all summer, and destroy the fence around it. Todd and I just never got around to getting it rebuilt this year. He needs to get his schoolwork finished each day, besides helping me. I don’t want him held back because of the ranch.” She forked out the bacon and poured off the excess grease. Then she cracked some eggs into the fry pan.

  “He goes to school at home?” Carlton asked.

  “Online college. He actually is getting enough credits to graduate early, which is true of many homeschoolers. He has his AA. He finished high school two years early, and finds college even more fun, as he can choose the classes he wants to take.”

  “I agree.”

  “When you think about it, regular schools take a huge amount of time with things that aren’t academic. Online schools require considerably less hours in the day. Todd takes at least 20 credit hours each term and still manages to help me with the ranch.”

  “You are doing okay then, just the two of you?”

  She shook her head, negative, while looking down at the eggs, ready to flip them over. “I’d like to say, ‘Yes,’ but the first three years after Ken died, we really struggled. His medical bills were high in spite of the insurance we had. I had to sell off a majority of the herd to meet expenses. We just barely made our tax payments this year, and the bank is demanding that we start paying down on the mortgage. I’ve asked them to let me refinance at a lower percentage rate.”

  “Will they?”

  “I haven’t heard back on that. I’ve tried before, and the answer was always ‘No.’” She flipped the eggs, and then looked at him. “I hope you aren’t still planning to go to your grandparent’s place today.”

  “Why not?”

  “The weather is too unsettled to go anywhere without a parka, and yours and Todd’s are soaking wet.”

  That puzzled him. “Surely a regular coat would do?”

  “Yes. As long as the snowmobile gets both of you there, and Todd back. Any problems, any form of an accident, and you’d be in serious trouble.”

  “I understand. No problem. “ He actually looked forward to staying here, with her and Todd. He was pleased that he wouldn’t be leaving right away. “I just need to let Grammy know.”

  She grinned at him as she grabbed a serving plate and put everything on it. “I’ve never heard Roberta called that.”

  He grinned back. He liked this woman. “She loves it. Says it’s a name of honor.”

  “She claims you are her favorite grandson.”

  “Did she now?” He smiled, knowing his grandmother’s loving heart. “I expect she says that about all of us. She has ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and two more on the way.”

  Helen smiled at that, a smile that reached her eyes and lit up her face. “She’s a wonderful woman. She was one of the first to come welcome me after Ken and I were married. She brought me a dried apple pie and a pot roast.”

  “Beef or bison?” he kidded.

  “I think it was moose.” The oven timer went off. “Biscuits are done, let’s eat.”

  They ate slowly, talking a little about country life. Afterward Carlton helped with the dishes, then sat down and worked on his research papers for a couple of hours. He found he was extra tired after his immersion in the cold water. He and Todd both slept for a short time after lunch.

  Helen asked him if he’d like a haircut before he went to see his grandparents, and he nodded. “For sure, I need one. Anything’s better than what I have right now. I looked like a cattle rustler when I was here the first day.”

  “What happened to your hair? It looks like someone chopped it out in chunks.”

  “It was growing long, so I tried cutting off sections with a knife. You should have seen it before it grew out again.”

  That made her laugh. “I always cut Todd’s. I’m no expert, but you won’t get a bowl cut.”

  So he sat for her, getting as good a cut as he would have gotten at a barbershop, or at least he thought so.

  “Do you cut your own?” he asked, admiring her long sweep of auburn hair.

  “Sort of. I have a t-shirt with a line drawn on the back. I have Todd just cut along the line, then I feather it. It’s good enough.”

  “Better than good. Your hair looks great.”

  She looked great. There was a kindness about her that radiated out from her, especially her smile and
her eyes. He thought about it some more. It was in her movements, her manner of speaking, her tone of voice. It was a kindness that she carried with her as part of her being. It could make a person look wonderful, but was often lost in a snapshot.

  That evening he asked her about her husband, and how he’d died. He thought at first it was a long illness, but learned that Ken had got caught in the mower. Instead of turning off the motor, he had put it into neutral before working on it. The gear had slipped, and the auger had pulled him inside just enough to maim him, but not kill him. Not right away.

  They had flown him to a specialist, and for a while it looked like he would make it. Then something went out of him, that spark of life, and he lost the fight. He lingered on for another few weeks, then passed.

  She and Todd buried him and returned to the ranch. They didn’t know what to expect after so many months, but the neighboring ranchers had set up a roster, keeping the place going while they were gone.

  Helen looked at Carlton with damp eyes. “Frank and Roberta made sure we had somewhere to come back to,” she said. “They set up the roster and checked every day to see that the animals were fed and watered. Each week a different ranch would send out one of their hands to take care of things. They even fixed the mower and brought the hay in for us. I couldn’t believe it.”

  “That must have been a terrible time for you,” he said.

  “Yes. Luckily I had always helped Ken on the farm, with the books and the calving. So I knew what to do. But if Todd had been younger, I wouldn’t have made it, as I don’t have the strength for some things. I hired men during haying time, but they wouldn’t work hard for a woman boss. At least not the ones I had.”

  He watched her as she talked, admiring her courage. In spite of the equality of the sexes, it was still largely a man’s work when it came to running a ranch. If she hadn’t had Todd, she would have had to hire a man year around.

  He continued to admire her long auburn hair. She caught it in a ponytail when outside working, but had loosed it tonight. It shone with good health. He doubted she had time to do anything with it. It must have been why it looked so nice.

  Once in his makeshift bed, he admitted that he liked a lot of things about Helen. And Todd. The boy was growing into a fine man. Unlike the youths Carlton had seen around the city, who weren’t allowed to work because of the child labor laws, they felt no responsibility. Todd had shouldered work early.

  “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth,” he said aloud to himself, quoting one of Frank’s favorite verses.

  It was almost five p.m. the next day, already growing dark, when the county snowplow arrived and cleared the road up to their ranch. Todd grabbed a snow shovel and went to dig out the driveway. Seeing him, Carlton pulled on one of Ken’s heavy sweaters Helen had loaned him and went out to join Todd.

  It took them almost an hour, but with the driveway cleared, he would be able to go see his grandparents tomorrow, and find out how his grandfather was doing. The old man was in his nineties, and Carlton worried about his health.

  They put their shovels away and went on out to the barn to take care of the livestock. Rufus accompanied them, and Helen stayed behind to fix supper. Todd milked the cow while Carlton fed the livestock and made sure they were watered. He gathered the eggs while Todd took the milk inside.

  He liked this life, he realized as he carefully put two chocolate brown eggs into the basket. Liked it very much. He was beginning to understand why those who worked the land, loved the life. There was a challenge to it, as well as a sense of completion every day. He could never see it becoming boring, as there were so many changes, daily.

  His grandfather had once asked him if he would want to take over his ranch, and he had said no. But now, if asked, he thought he’d have a different answer. It was probably too late, as Frank had undoubtedly set up one of his other grandchildren to succeed him.

  All this because of three French hens, Carlton mused, singing the song to himself as he put the last of the chocolate eggs into the basket next to the white and light brown ones.

  Carrying the eggs into the kitchen, Carlton stopped when he heard raised voices coming from the living room. Someone—a man—was talking to Helen. Not just talking. Shouting at her. The man didn’t sound pleasant at all.

  Chapter Four

  After listening to the man’s shouts for almost a minute, Carlton started to go into the living room Just then Todd came out. The youth grabbed him by the arm.

  “You don’t want to go in there,” Todd said, shaking his head, his voice strained by urgency.

  “Why not? Who’s here?” he asked Todd. The boy was plainly upset. He’d never seen him looking so agitated.

  “Uncle Ben. My dad’s older brother.”

  Carlton listened a little longer. Something about the bank. Money. And the ranch. “What are they talking about?”

  “I don’t understand completely. But Uncle Ben said that the bank is going to foreclose and sell our ranch for the mortgage cost. Evidently, we don’t have enough cows left to sell to keep the property.”

  Carlton didn’t understand why the man sounded so angry. “So he’s angry at your mom for losing the ranch? Is he going to help you?”

  “Oh, no.” Todd shook his head, running his fingers through his hair so that it spiked upwards. “You don’t understand. Uncle Ben was real mad when my grandfather died and left the ranch to dad and mom. He thought as the older brother that he’d inherit it all. So he’s never helped us. Ever. Just the opposite. Especially once dad died. Mom fights him when he’s here, but she always cries after he leaves.”

  That statement was like a blow to Carlton’s gut. Why would anyone want to make Helen cry? She was the noblest woman he’d ever met. What kind of man was this?

  “Is he a rancher, too?” he asked Todd. That might be why he didn’t want the ranch lost.

  “No. He has no interest in the ranch. He wants to sell it and take the money. A lot of it is spite. Jealousy. That’s why Grandfather didn’t leave it to him.”

  “I see. I think.”

  “It sounded like he plans to take over the mortgage and get it that way. I don’t see how. Grandfather had the property put into a living trust so that Uncle Ben couldn’t contest the will and take it away from my folks. Dad and mom were named as trustees, not him. My name is in the trust, too. Uncle Ben has been as mad as a raging bull ever since.”

  “So I assume he didn’t help with your dad’s medical bills.”

  “Of course not.”

  Carlton felt like walking in and punching the man in the face, but he refrained. It was Helen’s house. She might not want him to. He didn’t want to upset her.

  “So your uncle is trying to take the ranch away from her.”

  “Yes. He’s been trying ever since Dad died. My uncle has a lawyer he uses to do that sort of thing.”

  “I see. No wonder your mother was worried about the mortgage.”

  There was more than one way to win a war. Ben didn’t know he was here. If he went into the living room, he would probably escalate the tension. It might even make Ben hurry up in his acquisition of the ranch, and what Carlton needed was time. Time to help this valiant woman and her son keep what was theirs.

  He carried the eggs to the refrigerator and put them inside, transferring them into a carton as he thought. He needed more information and he wouldn’t get it by barging into the conversation going on in the living room.

  No one could think straight when they were shouting. He needed to wait, talk it over with Helen, and think it through. Wait like he’d learned to do in the military. Wait and set up an ambush, so that when Ben came to claim the ranch, it would no longer be available.

  How much did Helen owe anyway? That was the first thing he had to find out. Even if it cost a lot, he had an ace that he’d never considered using before, the Trahern family business, set up by his great-great-great—maybe more, maybe less—great uncle, Cole Trahern. Soon after the Civil W
ar, Cole had found a fortune in Spanish gold bars in Texas, along with a wife, and had set up a business which loaned out money at a low percentage to small business ventures.

  Grandpa Frank would know how to get in touch with them. He was the one who had told Carlton about it in the first place. Carlton was sure he could talk his relatives into saving this ranch.

  He’d have to put up something himself to show he was serious. He could use his grant money for that—he hadn’t dipped into it yet—maybe go to work for the fertilizer company until they had the formula right.

  It seemed a better way than to set up a “Go Fund Me” account. He didn’t like asking people for money when he couldn’t pay them back. He’d do it though, if they couldn’t borrow money any other way.

  Helen and Todd should not lose their ranch, especially not to a person interested only in selling it and taking the money for himself. That wasn’t right. Not when Todd’s grandfather had gone to such lengths to make sure that Ben didn’t get it.

  He’d never felt so strongly about such a thing before.

  He looked at Todd, who had sat down at the kitchen table and was intently drawing circles on the top with his finger. “Do you want to keep the ranch?” he asked him.

  “Yes. Of course I do.” Todd sounded upset at even having to answer that question.

  “Let me rephrase that. Do you want to become a rancher? Marry and have a family someday, here on the ranch, living this life, working as a rancher? Or would you rather do something else as your life’s work? Live somewhere else.”

  Todd rubbed his jaw with his left hand. “I’ve never thought about it that way. I love the ranch. I know mom does. But it’s not a big enough spread to support two families. If mom gets married again and stays on the ranch, I’d have to find another place.”

  This was good. The kid was being realistic about the situation. “Don’t worry about it now,” Carlton said. “You might end up with a girl who doesn’t want to live out here.”