Unforgettable Christmas Dreams: Gifts of Joy

by Rebecca York

  Frank identified himself and asked for Jedidiah Trahern.

  “This is Jed.”

  “Hello. This is Frank Trahern. I’m ranching up in Montana, and spoke to you about seven years ago. Is your company still loaning to small businesses?”

  “Yes, we do. Only to small ones.”

  Frank explained Helen’s situation and their request, putting her assets out first including who would be working the ranch, then the money owed and the difficulty with the bank.

  Helen’s mouth was dry as she listened to the old man, who had dealt with moneylenders before and knew what to say and what to offer.

  “We usually don’t do that large of a loan to a start-up business, but this one sounds like it is established,” Jed said.

  “Yes, it is. The land is worth the most, then all the ranch buildings, which are in good condition. Forty cows on it, a bull, horses, and all the necessary machinery for haying. Two barns. The family has been working it for over a hundred years. They wouldn’t be in this fix except for extremely high medical expenses that wiped out their savings and forced them to mortgage the place. At a high rate of interest. The banker took advantage of a widow.”

  “I don’t know much about cattle ranching in Montana. I assume you do, Frank.”

  “Yes. I have a spread next to the Ashton’s. Their family has been our neighbors since before I took over from my father. I can vouch for all the facts I’ve given you.”

  “Can they make a go of it?”

  “They’re hard workers, just need to get this debt manageable. The ranch has always been profitable, until the accident.”

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  “If you need to come look over their ranch, we can arrange it.”

  “That might not be necessary. I will need her financial papers.”

  “Would you want to speak to the owner, Helen Ashford?”

  “Is she there?”

  “We all are,” Frank said, looking at them around the table. Todd had his fingers crossed, as if that would help.

  “Helen?” Jed asked.

  “Yes,” she said, squeezing Carlton’s hand.

  “Let’s see what we can set up for you. How long before you think you’ll be able to repay, at say three percent? And I want you to be reasonable. Don’t cut yourself short and get into the same situation you were in. Twenty years? Thirty?”

  “I don’t think it will take twenty years,” she said, shaking her head. “I hope not.” What kind of terms would this man demand?

  “We’ll give it to you for thirty. Same rate. No penalty for early payoff, so if you do pay it off before twenty years, it won’t matter. Grace given on two missed payments. Does that sound feasible?”

  It sounded more than feasible. Her eyes teared up in relief. “Oh, yes. Yes. Thank you so much.”

  “So...ranching. We’ve helped quite a few farmers. I expect you’ll be somewhat like them. When will you have your next cash crop? Next summer? Or do you have to wait for the cows to grow up? A year from now? Two years? How soon before the money starts coming in?”

  “Oh.” She looked at Frank. “We could have some weaner calves before September.” He nodded.

  “Do you always sell them, or use them to build up your herd?” Jeb asked.

  “Right now we’ll need to sell the steers, keep the heifers.”

  “And you’ll have some steers to sell?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then your first payment will be due next October. Do you have any good trout streams up there?”

  “Um...yes.” She tried to take in all he was saying, and felt startled by the sudden switch in subject. “Todd knows the best holes.”

  “I might fly out sometime next summer to see how you all are faring, and do some fishing. We used to have an office in Spokane, but distances are so short now that we closed it. “

  “I... I understand. I... I... Did I hear you right? Are you saying that we get the money now, to get out of that old loan, but we don’t have to start re-paying it until next October?”

  “Right.”

  “But won’t there be interest accumulating—”

  “No. Never. We’re not a bank, Helen. We want you to succeed. That means we want you to be able to pay us back. We don’t want to own your ranch. The only reason Cole wanted us never to give the money outright is so that we can keep helping others. It also gets rid of those who aren’t serious.”

  She felt overwhelmed by his words. It was hard to take in, that here might be a company who actually wanted to help her. “Then. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “Now I’m going to turn you over to my secretary to gather all the paperwork. We should have your loan completed before the end of this week. Actually before New Year’s Day. We’ll push it through before they can foreclose. We’ll ask your bank for their payoff amount tomorrow, pay it, and you’ll be free of them. Will you need anything else to keep you going? Any extra funds? I can add fifty thousand.”

  “No. But thank you.” The tears flowed down her face. “Without that hanging over my head, draining us of all we have, we can make it. We have some cash.”

  “That’s good to hear. You’re the kind of people we want to help. But, listen, if something breaks down, like a truck or tractor or whatever you use, and you need more money, just call me and I’ll send it to you. Don’t sign up for a vehicle loan. Then you’d be trying to pay off two loans. That’s how people get into trouble.”

  “We’ll do that. We should be fine, but I know what you mean.” Ken always tried to get another year out of an old machine. That was the reason for his accident.

  Jed spoke a little more to Frank, and then his secretary came on the line, requesting the papers that needed to be sent.

  Roberta opened the scanner, and Helen laid the documents out, scanning them in the order they were requested.

  Carlton looked emotionally drained, and Helen figured she probably looked the same. It had been so vital to get this loan, and the way his grandfather had arranged it, they still had the grant money to help them meet finances. At last Helen was out from under the old oppressive bank loan, which had been at seven and a half percent. And to have almost a whole year before she had to start paying on it. Unthinkable.

  Her old loan was at a higher mortgage rate than normal, and she decided that Ben had even then been working with the banker. How would Ben react when he found out the entire mortgage had been paid off, and that he’d lost?

  They needed to keep that shotgun loaded.

  Chapter Six

  “Thank you, Grandpa,” Carlton said as they left the office table. “I’m sure you made the difference.”

  Todd and Helen thanked him also, then they followed Roberta out to the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Just might have taken you longer.”

  “We didn’t have enough time. Ben was talking about taking over by the New Year.”

  He followed his grandfather into the living room. The big windows in one wall opened out into the high country, framing the snow-covered Bitterroots in their view. A massive fireplace dominated another wall, sending out its warmth into the room. It was a lovely home.

  Carlton decided that he would help Helen fix her home up like this. It wouldn’t be the same as this, but he wanted it nice for her.

  “That’s a right handsome woman you got there,” his grandfather observed, sinking down into his favorite deep-cushioned leather armchair. “Nice looking, and has got a good mind on her. What are your plans now? Are you thinking on staying at the ranch?” He put his feet up on a hassock and looked over at Carlton.

  “Yes. I won’t leave as long as she needs me.”

  “And when she no longer needs you? What are you going to do then? Would you consider staying in this country? Here?”

  “Are you offering me a job?” Carlton asked, pulling another chair around so that they faced each other.

  His grandfather looked at him intently. “Not unless you want
it. You’d be foolish not to try to make you and Helen permanent. She’s a woman to go through life with.”

  Carlton smiled at him, a grin that he figured probably was a little crooked. “I’m not foolish, Grandpa.” He grinned even harder, then laughed.

  His grandfather looked him up and down, and then smiled, nodding. “No?”

  “We’ve already talked about it.”

  “Just talked? Boy, you are slow.”

  “Grandpa! I just met her four days ago. She’s under a lot of pressure. I want her to have her home secured before I ask her further. I don’t want her to take me just because I can help her.”

  “Time for love to grow?” his grandfather asked.

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, if you need more time, you could always come here and help me run the ranch. I don’t tell Roberta, because I do enjoy the work, but lately I’ve been making foolish mistakes. I reckon I’m just not as young as I once was.”

  “You reckon? How old are you now?”

  “Ninety-two. If someone was here, I could avoid going out on some of these colder mornings. The cold is getting to me. Didn’t bother me so much just a few years ago, but now it hurts to breathe it into my lungs.”

  “I thought you had a foreman?”

  “Yes, I do. And he’s pretty good. But he wants to buy a spread of his own. I don’t blame him. But I need to get someone here who has my best interests at heart. Someone who will eventually take over the ranch as owner and who will love it like I do. Raise his own children here. I’m having a hard time finding such a person.”

  “What will you do if I marry Helen and we work her ranch?”

  “Guess I’ll have to hire someone else. I want a hard worker, and can’t find one. None I’d be willing to leave the place to.” He looked out at the Bitterroots, as if they were his source of inspiration. “I’m looking for someone who would love this land as much as I do. How do you ask a person that, and know if they faked their answer or not?”

  “Would you take a youth, one who works hard, knows cattle ranching, and is respectful? And loves this country?” he added.

  His grandfather swung his gaze back toward him. “I’d for sure try him out. Who you got in mind?”

  “Todd. Helen’s son. He’s only eighteen—”

  “A hard worker, you say?”

  “Yes. And a self-starter. And he doesn’t need a machine to do everything. He grabbed the snow shovel and cleared the driveway without me saying a word. He knows what to do and how to do it.”

  “Sounds like my kind of lad.”

  “If I marry Helen and we stay on her place, he won’t be able to bring a wife home to live there. I’m told that it’s not big enough to sustain two families.”

  “Mine is. Big enough for several. My foreman has his family here, and a couple of the other workers do, too. But Todd’s not too young. I was ranching before I was twenty. Married with a child on the way. Todd could take over Helen’s ranch, and you come here, or visa versa. I’d welcome either of you. I guess it’s up to you all to decide. It leaves your options open.”

  “How about your other grandchildren?”

  “None interested. They all go to school and get big ideas about running a corporation, or living in the city. Not too many want to run a ranch this size. Not when they see what all is involved. You need to be a businessman, vet, carpenter, farmer, mechanic—”

  “I remember you telling me this a few years ago.”

  “Hasn’t changed. We use snowmobiles rather than horses, but most of the rest is the same. Hard work, sunup to sundown. It’s a wonderful life. Makes you feel alive every day. Healthy work. Wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  “I agree. Now that I’ve spent a few days working beside Helen and Todd, I really don’t think I want a different life.”

  “Good.”

  Carlton looked out at the Bitterroots. They inspired him, too, with their snow-covered tops in sharp contrast to the deep blue Montana sky. He didn’t blame his grandfather for never wanting to stop working this land. “It’s strange that I feel this way, because I thought that the more university learning I got, the better off I would be.”

  “That’s true for some folks. Depends upon what you chosen career turns out to be. If you became a doctor, you’d need all that learning. If you’re a rancher, it still helps to know about soils and markets and weather patterns, but you can look that up. The advantage I see in higher education is that you learn how to get answers to your questions.”

  “Or make enough money to hire someone to do it for you,” Carlton added. “My research will benefit both farmers and ranchers, so I don’t think my schooling was a waste of time. But now I don’t particularly care about my research at all.” That also was strange, because it used to be a consuming interest, one he wanted to talk about to anyone who would listen.

  “No. I agree. It wasn’t wasted. Your research will be used, and used by many of us as well as the fertilizer company. But that’s done. That time of your life is over. Now’s the time to look forward to the rest of your life. You need to decide who you want to spend it with, what you want to do, and where you want to live. All big decisions.”

  “I think I chose my doctorate thesis to keep me out of a lab,” Carlton mused, thinking back on why he had chosen it. “Or even an office. I love working outdoors.”

  “Same here. It nourishes a man’s spirit.”

  Carlton nodded. His grandfather was right. He’d never felt so great, so full of life, so exceedingly happy, than while out on the snowmobile checking the waterholes. Except when he was with Helen. She made him feel that way, too. As if he could conquer the world—or at least anything the world threw at him.

  “I need to get you a new snowmobile,” he said, remembering the condition of the old one. “The gas tank is smashed on yours, as well as the front runner.”

  “We’ll see if the insurance wants to fix it or total it,” Frank said. “So many snowmobiles get used in this country, they know what can and can’t be mended. Don’t worry about it.”

  Roberta appeared in the doorway and caught Frank’s gaze. “Dinner’s ready. You’re getting the meal I planned to serve before you got sick.”

  ***

  The ride home was filled with conversation as the three of them relived their visit to the Trahern home. “I can’t believe it,” Helen kept saying, about every other sentence. “I didn’t think I’d ever get out from under that mortgage. My payments will be less than half what I was paying before. And to have so long before I need to start paying on it. That’s unheard of.”

  “I want you to make a list of the most urgent things we need to buy to stay operational,” Carlton told her as he drove carefully down the country road. The snow had been cleared, but it was still slick in many places. “We’ll get them right away.”

  “You think I should? Even before we’re sure we’ll get the loan?”

  “That’s only a week away. We’ll know by then or sooner. And I want to act like we’ll get it, and go ahead with our lives. I want the pressure lifted off you.”

  “I need to pay for Todd’s next quarter. That’s been worrying me.”

  “For sure. We’ll do it first.”

  “I’m low on chicken feed. I always set aside some sacks of oats for them each summer, but I need to add some black sunflower seed. I’d been putting off buying any more.”

  “Yes. How about your gas supply? I notice you have a propane tank.”

  “It must be getting low. I usually refill in the fall. I didn’t do that this year. And I’ll need to order gas and diesel, to fill those tanks.”

  “Any taxes we need to pay?”

  “Property taxes. I only paid the first half, this spring. Income taxes are paid.” She bit her lower lip, then looked over at him. “Are you sure you want to spend your grant money this way?” She sounded concerned.

  “More than sure. I wouldn’t want to spend it on anything else,” he assured her.

  “You need
to get your grandfather a new snowmobile.”

  “He said he had it insured. Not to worry about it. Don’t you have a snowmobile?” He hadn’t seen one.

  “No. It was old and no longer reliable. We sold it to help pay for Todd’s schooling. We’re still using horses.”

  “Add a snowmobile to that list.”

  “We must be careful how much we buy. We’ll need money to buy alfalfa and oat seed to plant the haying fields. One of these years—I don’t think this one—we’ll need a new tractor.”

  “Right. I think that’s the major items. “

  “Yes. It’s wonderful that we don’t need to pay on the loan until we have more money coming in from the ranch.”

  “We’ll go over your books when you have time, and you can teach me what costs are involved in running a ranch.”

  “Insurance,” she said. “We need to purchase a better policy than we had with Ken.”

  Carlton nodded. “Like I said, we need a list. First thing though is to contact your trust advisor and set up a new living trust for you and Todd, like we talked about earlier. We need to keep it current so that Ben won’t be able to get his hands on your ranch.” During dinner, his grandfather had suggested making a long list of successor trustees, so that Ben would realize he couldn’t get the ranch by harming them.

  Once home, they took care of the animals and had a light supper of toasted tuna-cheese sandwiches.

  “I wonder how soon Ben will know about the mortgage being paid off?” Helen said, making sure the cheese didn’t run off her bread.

  “I expect as soon as Jed asks the bank for the total amount needed to close the account. The banker will probably tell Ben right away.”

  “I’d like to see his expression when he hears,” she said, then thought a moment and added, “Or maybe not.”

  “Forget about him. He can’t bother you any more,” Carlton said.

  Afterwards they sat down and looked at the ranch books.

  “I haven’t had the time to take care of them,” Helen explained. “Everything has been so hectic. I was hoping to catch up once winter came.”