Chapter 9 - Happy trails
“Papa, you are so good to the Beloved!” Eli and Jasmine proclaimed in unison.
It wasn’t hard to discern that as the group walked back up to the house, the pressing question on everyone’s mind was, “How in the world did Orion get into that trailer?”
Sitting at the kitchen table, Mitch was the first to offer an explanation. “Ms. Randal, best I can figure, it must have been Harvey, one of the new security guys you hired. He took the trailer down to the campgrounds the morning of the fire. He said you told him you would need it when you returned from Nine Mile Falls so I didn’t think anything of it. Shortly afterwards, you sent us all out looking for Orion then all hell broke loose around here. Come to think of it, that was the last time I saw Harvey.”
“Harvey?” exclaimed Bella. “I never hired anyone named Harvey.”
“Well then, who was he?” Mitch asked perplexed. “He seemed like a real nice fellow. He was even wearing a Camp Orion shirt. He said you just hired him in town and sent him out to get started. In all the commotion I never had a chance to let you know he was here. This is too weird!”
Being close to noon, Mrs. Carpenter helped Bella prepared lunch for the group. Afterward everyone had eaten the Carpenter family left and Lance returned to the Sheriff’s office. Later in the afternoon Lance called Bella on the new cell phone he had given her that morning.
“Hi Honey. I thought you’d want to know the latest. John Minion says he’s innocent of all charges and is not talking to anyone but his lawyer. The man is still as arrogant as ever. He says Buddy Johnson started the fire. But George, John’s accomplice, is talking his head off hoping to get a lighter prison sentence. He told the deputies the whole plan. Seems that George’s real name is Tony Malloy.”
“Tony Malloy?” exclaimed Bella. “But Lance, Tony was one of the extra security men Mitch hired to protect the ranch. Mitch told me Tony met him at the Millwood Feed Store and asked for the job. He gave Mitch several reputable local references. Since we needed the help right away, Mitch hired him on the spot. Boy planting one of his own men at my ranch was sure a clever idea.”
“You got that right!” Lance replied. “Well anyway, Tony was the one who put the second note inside Orion’s stall. He was the one who put the sleeping pills into Orion’s feed bag that morning. And he was the one who helped those two fake veterinarians, also working for John, to get Orion into the horse trailer. He said Buddy Johnson disabled the sprinkler system and bolted the barn doors before he started the fire. And the way Tony tells it, John Minion was the mastermind behind the whole plot to steal Orion and destroy the ranch, the riding school, and Camp Orion.”
“And the office just received even more interesting news. Get this,” Lance continued. “The FBI is investigating the International Arabian Jockey Club for illegal gambling, money laundering, fraud and tax evasion. They have evidence linking John to several shady business deals with that group. It seems our Mr. Minion was heavily involved with some pretty powerful international criminals.”
“Oh my word!” exclaimed Bella. “If anyone but you had told me all this, I would not have believed them. Those two unicorns really did know what they were talking about.”
“Unicorns?” replied Lance a bit worried.
“Oh, never mind. It was just a dream. I’ll tell you about it some other time.” Isabella knew Lance would never believe the truth about unicorns, at least not yet.
Isabella had been asked by the “Spokane Home for Children without Families” to come on Christmas Eve and share the Christmas story with the kids at the orphanage. Bella was honored. When she arrived, there were more than one hundred anxious children and excited guests waiting to hear the about the birth of Jesus Christ. Bella opened her Bible and read from Luke 2:8-14:
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men!’"
After reading the Bible passages, Isabella said to the children, “On that cold wintery night two thousand years ago, those shepherds in the field heard the happiest news anyone had ever heard. God’s Savior had come into the world. The shepherds immediately went to find the child the angels had called ‘Christ the Lord.’ The shepherds found the baby in the manger just like the angels said they would.”
Bella continued her evangelistic message. “This same Savior, Jesus Christ has come to Spokane, Washington on this cold winter night. But you don’t have to go out into the icy cold fields or meadows to find him. He is here with you all right now. And He wants you to know He loves you very much and that He wants to be your forever best friend. No matter where you have come from or what your life has been like, Jesus will love you and never leave you. If you want Jesus to be your forever best friend, raise your hand now.”
Dozens of children raised their hands wanting to know Jesus. After praying with everyone, Isabella said, “And next summer, you are all invited to come to Camp Orion for a week of horses, campfires and smores.” All the children clapped and cheered. Driving home that night Bella thought, “Does life get any better than this?”
A soft blanket of fresh snow fell throughout Spokane valley that night. And Eli and Jasmine lead a host of Radiant Ones in songs of worship as they glided respectfully, peacefully to and fro over the skies of Millwood, Washington.
The day after Christmas, headlines in the Spokane Daily Press stated, “The Valley Hears Music.” Bella sat at the kitchen table with her first cup of morning coffee to read the amazing story.
“Horses throughout the county behaved strangely on Christmas Eve. Ranchers reported that around midnight entire herds of horses, whether inside stalls or outside in meadows, dropped to their knees and remained silent for approximately ten minutes. At first, doctors thought some strange disease might have infected a load of alfalfa recently brought in from Coeur d’Alene. But nothing unusual was found in the horse feed.”
“No one knows what to make of it. Ranchers across the county are left scratching their heads. One rancher told the Spokane Daily Press, ‘Maybe it was the full moon that night. Animals are known to do some pretty strange things when the moon is full.’
“Old Man Wilson at the Millwood Feed Store, who has definitely seen his share of strange events in his life, told reporters, ‘I’m telling you them horses heard the songs of heaven.’
“Pastor Carpenter of the Spokane Christian Fellowship tends to agree. ‘My wife and I were also awakened around midnight that same morning. All the animals – cats, dogs, sheep, even the billy goats – were absolutely still. And my wife insists she heard the sound of a large singing choir.’”
A year later, Ms. Isabella Randal became Mrs. Lance Carpenter. It was a beautiful, romantic wedding ceremony held at the ranch. The newlyweds spent the first few days of their honeymoon at the Nine Mile Falls Inn. Bella wasn’t sure why, but every time she looked out over the magnificent falls, she had an overwhelming desire to worship God.
Eli and Jasmine knew why, but they were instructed to not say a word, not yet anyway.
Soon after their marriage, Lance and Isabella adopted Tia, a five year old girl, and her brother Derrick who had just turned six years old. The parents had abandoned both children soon after Tia’s birth. Tia and Derrick had lived at an orphanage in Seattle their entire lives, waiting and hoping for a family willing to take them both. Bella loved Lance even more for wanting and loving those precious children as much as
she did.
Avis the Comforter, who had been assigned to watch over the two children from birth, was also delighted as Papa’s good will for their lives was finalized realized.
John Minion and his entire gang were sent to prison for a very long time. Four years after the fire, John actually wrote a letter to Isabella. He asked for her forgiveness for the crimes he had committed, and for what his family had done to her great Uncle Zachary Caldron. John asked Bella to pray that the rest of the Minion family would put aside the past sins of greed and violence, and make a new life for themselves and their children. Isabella especially liked the part in the letter about, “making a new life for themselves.”
Isabella never forgot the two unicorns who saved her life. And she never stopped thanking God for the new life He had given her. He had given her the man she loved. God had given her the children she loved. He had given her the home and the horse she loved. But most important of all, God had given her life to love. What more could anyone ask for?
THE END
P.S. On really quiet nights in Millwood, Washington listen for the songs of heaven. If you hear singing, look for Eli and Jasmine. They are probably close by.
####
About the Author
The Power of a Legacy is Volume III in the action-packed Christian youth series entitled The Divine Commissions of Eli and Jasmine.
Filled with exciting, real-to-life adventures of epic struggles between good and evil, choices and consequences, sin and redemption, love and forgiveness, the Divine Commissions series chronicles the stories of Eli and Jasmine - Servants of the Most High God.
Visit https://divinecommissions.blogspot.com/ and follow the tales of Eli and Jasmine through other action-packed adventures. Discover interesting, behind-the-scenes insights into the characters. Get hot-off-the-press updates regarding upcoming stories. Share your comments Connect with other readers. Share the adventure with friends.
Connect with Donna Farris Online:
Divine Commissions blog: https://divinecommissions.blogspot.com/
The Power of a Legacy Page 9