by Sioux Dallas
Ginger went back into the house and looked over her notes again for the guest ranch sessions. This is the first year and I’m sure we’ll make mistakes and learn from them. I need to have an assistant to help me keep records.
Juanita stepped into the office to speak to Ginger just as she said aloud,
“Oh, how stupid of me.”
“What, Ginger? What now?”
“I forgot to tell in the brochure what clothes people should bring with them. They’ll need jeans, boots and possibly a cardigan. If they don’t want to invest in boots they’ll need a hard sole shoe that ties securely. New riders don’t understand how the feet need to be protected. If they’re going out on trail rides they’ll sure need jeans. I prefer that people have their legs covered to take lessons. It protects their skin.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of everything and take care of it all. Have the men given you their ideas yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m encouraged.”
“What would you like for dinner? I have sandwiches for you for lunch since you ate a late breakfast. I took it upon myself to take Gimpy some steaks and a roast to be cooked in the bunkhouse.”
“That’s fine, Juanita. I want my employees to be fed well. By the way, please remember to not call him Gimpy. It was a sneering nickname that was given to him where he worked after he was injured so badly. Call him Will. I’ll remind myself of that, also. Can we have lasagna for dinner?”
Juanita patted Ginger’s shoulder and left. Ginger sat back in her chair and tried to visualize the sessions for next year’s guest ranch.
Chapter Eighteen
Ginger’s heart was heavy when the men came to look over her cattle. She was thankful that the Proudfoot name was trusted and respected. Mr. John Boggs told her that he would be sending trucks for the cattle and would take the responsibility of getting them off the property safely. Because he was furnishing all the equipment and hands to do the work, he could only give her One dollar and fifteen cents per pound.
Jack and Frank were with Ginger when she received this news. They nodded but had little to say. They knew she had ambivalence feelings. She knew the ranch needed the money to operate but she was doing something none of her ancestors had done.
“Thank you, Mr. Boggs, and Mr. Green,” she shook hands with both men. “I appreciate you coming out here and making this transaction easier for me. It’s breaking my heart to give the cattle up, but it’s necessary. When can you begin to take them away? Of course I’ll feed them as long as they’re on my property.”
Mr. Boggs and Mr. Green talked quietly together for a moment and then Mr. Green turned smiling. “We can start this coming Monday if that’s convenient for you. It will take several days to take that many cattle. They’ll have to be examined and weighed before the deal is completed.”
“I understand. Where will they be weighed? I would appreciate having my foreman,” she motioned toward Frank, “and some of my hands present. It isn’t that I don’t trust you, but I need to keep my own records for tax purposes.”
“Yes ma’am. I understand and have no objections for your people to be present. We’ll weigh them at the stock yards as soon as they come in. I don’t know yet how many we can take at one time. That depends on how many trucks I can get to use.”
“Thank you. We’ll be ready.” Ginger turned her back to the men and looked at the cattle. Frank and Jack escorted the two buyers to their truck.
They all understood how emotional this was for her.
Jack walked to Ginger and placed an arm around her shoulders. She turned woodenly and went with him to their truck. He helped her into his truck and out of respect for her feelings kept quiet all the way back. Ginger got out of the truck, still saying nothing, and walked unsteadily to the house.
Juanita recognizing her distress said nothing. She handed Ginger a mug of hot peppermint tea and helped her take off her coat, gloves, scarf and boots.
Ginger went to her room and didn’t come out until time to help serve dinner. She answered courteously when someone spoke to her but didn’t initiate conversation. She quietly helped Juanita and the sisters clean up after dinner and went back to her room.
The next morning Ginger ate breakfast, thanked Juanita and went out to do her work. Juanita knew how badly Ginger felt and how long and hard she had thought about her actions. She said a prayer for Ginger and started a load of wash and cleaning house. She had the sisters strip all the beds in the house and put on clean, fresh-smelling linens. They would wash these with bath towels and place everything in the linen closet.
Juanita knew they would have company for the Thanksgiving dinner. She needed to discuss this with Ginger and find how many to prepare for. She had asked Frank to send some men out to shoot wild turkeys. They came in with nine turkeys. Three would go to the hands and four to the main house. The rest would be donated to shelters.
Juanita and the sisters worked many hours making pumpkin and pecan pies, cookies and many lip-smacking goodies. She would make about ten dozen yeast rolls a day before Christmas. The dinner was four days away and all the work would take loads of time. Thankful for the big walk-in cooler, Juanita really enjoyed cooking and preparing for a big dinner.
Stuffing and dressing were two separate items. Stuffing was made with meat, chopped nuts, diced celery and other items. Ginger’s favorite was a sage sausage mixed with the nuts and celery and stuffed inside two of the turkeys. The other two would have oyster stuffing. The dressing would be made with gruel, eggs, spices and bread.
Ginger breathed a sigh of relief. The Thanksgiving dinner had been enjoyed by twenty-two people in the house and all the hands on the back porch. She had several heaters hooked up for the porch to make it more comfortable for the men. She had spoken to Frank about having the porch, which started out as a mud room, enclosed for a decent room for the men.
The cattle had been picked up and she had her check for almost one hundred eighty-one thousand dollars. She knew this sounded like a fortune but wouldn’t last long with ranch expenses. She set seventy-five thousand in a separate bank account to be used for the guest ranch. They had hay for sale at three dollars and fifty cents a bale for added income.
The hands were now struggling through three feet of snow to feed the calves that were left with the little mother and her calves. The rushing water did not freeze at this time, so the calves had fresh water. The hands had built several sixty feet by thirty feet three sided sheds for the calves to help protect them from the winds.
At the last Cattlemen’s Association meeting for 2009, the news was not as heart-breaking as it had been. Most of the ranchers had sold cattle they would sell every fall and had feed and hay stocked for the winter for the animals they had.
The Amish farmers had canned loads of fresh vegetables and even sausage patties. These were being sold with good-smelling pine branches, pinecones, wreaths and mistletoe at the roadstand stands. The hand-made quilts were being sold almost faster than the women could make them. Several quilts for young children and babies were in demand. One elderly couple from Wyoming, purchased seven smaller quilts and three larger ones for gifts for their children and grandchildren.
Ginger began to feel better and made an effort to decorate her house, the bunkhouse and outside trees for Christmas. She attended mass more than she had been. Juanita drove the sisters in to mass at least twice a week and to visit their family with food supplies.
One morning they had a visit from Adam Whitefeather who informed them that Howard Deerhunter had another stroke during the night and was not expected to live through the day. Ginger was upset knowing how crushed Arline and James would be. She wondered if the allusive sister, Marlene would come and she would finally get to meet her. She went to the Deerhunters carrying food and offers to help any way that she could. She knew the pressure of taking care of his mother and working the ranch would be horrendous for James. But then he had been taking care of both parents and the ranch for almost a year now.
Arline was in the hospital at Howard’s bed when Ginger visited. She hugged Ginger and cried. Howard was unconscious and could not communicate. Arline cried more and puzzled Ginger with her statement.
“I begged Howard to let us tell James the truth but he wouldn’t hear of it. Now I don’t know what to do. James needs to know.”
Ginger hugged her. “Pray about it, Arline, and if it’s something James really should know, you’ll be able to share with him. I’m here if you want to confide in me and it will stay with us.”
“Oh, Ginger, you’re such a dear, but this is family business and James deserves to know first. If he wants to tell it, then that’ll be his business.”
Ginger left offering to help Arline in whatever was needed. She again assured Arline that she could talk about whatever she wishes and it would not be told to anyone else.
All the way home Ginger wondered what could be so upsetting to the older couple. They love James and have been wonderful parents. I’m sure they’ll work out whatever needs to be talked about. I hope Arline has courage enough to tell James on her own because I feel Howard will not be with us another day.
Juanita met Ginger as she came in the house to tell her Howard had died thirty minutes before. “Oh, I wish I had stayed a few more minutes. It seems he died as I was driving away from the hospital. Arline knew it would happen, but it’s still a tremendous loss. They’ve been married about fifty-four years. James will have his hands full now for sure.”
After the funeral Ginger went home with Arline and James because people would be bringing food and visiting. There would be too much for Arline to deal with at this time. Ginger was kept busy welcoming people and keeping paper plates, tableware and cups out for those that were eating.
As usual there were dozens of good food items. Some of the women helped her keep three coffee pots going and plenty of fresh milk out for those who drank milk.
It was too cold for many people to be out or stay long. They each needed to be at their own homes to keep fires going and take care of animals. Everyone had good hands working but the owners were still responsible.
Ginger watched James and tried to decide if he knew whatever his mother wanted to tell him. She couldn’t see any difference in him other than the usual grief following the loss of a loved one.
Ginger and two women cleaned up after the crowd and placed food in the cooler for another meal. Arline was lying down in her bedroom so Ginger didn’t bother her. She hugged James and kissed his cheek telling him to call her any time if he needed help or just to talk.
Two days before Christmas James paid an unexpected visit. He was so subdued and almost sad that Ginger felt his mother had told him whatever she wanted to. Ginger offered coffee and cookies, but James didn’t want anything to eat or drink. He paced so much in the living room that Ginger finally spoke up.
“For goodness sakes, James. Nothing can be that bad. Please sit down and tell me what is bothering you.”
He paced a couple more times and then threw himself beside her on the couch. He took her left hand and just stared at her until she began to get uneasy. She hoped he wasn’t having a mental breakdown.
“James, please say something. You’re worrying me.”
“Ginger, you’ve always known who you are and who you belong to. I thought I knew, but now ---” He almost sobbed and just hung his head and sat. She kept holding his hand and sat quietly with him.
He raised his head showing red-rimmed eyes and tears pooling. “My mother,” here he gave a strangled laugh, “or I should say my grandmother told me something that shook me to my very foundation.”
Ginger still remained quiet knowing he would tell her as he could face it emotionally.
“It seems that my parents are not my parents at all. They’re my grandparents.” Ginger stared in shock. “My --- older sister is actually my mother and she didn’t even attend -- her father’s funeral. My -- grandmother told me that when Marlene was fourteen she had gone to the school for a basketball game. She was walking home in the dark and some boys attacked her. They gang raped her and left her beside the road. A doctor who had been called out for an emergency found her. She had passed out but came to in time to tell him where she lived. He brought her home and promised to keep all of this to himself.”
James asked for a cup of coffee. He paced more until Juanita brought the coffee and left. They way Juanita looked at Ginger told her that Juanita had heard the conversation. Juanita shook her head and made a zipping motion on her lips. Ginger knew she would not tell what she had heard.
James sat back down and with a shuddering breath continued. “In a few weeks it became apparent that Marlene was pregnant. The boys had never been found so she had no idea who the father might be. Her parents had refused to report the incident to police or school so no one outside the family knew. When she was about five months along and beginning to show, her mother took her and went to her mother’s sister in Colorado.
Her father told everyone that his wife was fighting having a breakdown and their daughter had gone with her to help take care of her. When they returned home, Arline had a baby and told she had one late in life.”
Ginger hardly knew what to say. “James, Arline and Howard loved you with their whole heart and took excellent care of you. They saw that you had a good education and taught you to be a gentleman. You have nothing to be ashamed of and I hope you’re not angry about not being told before. I can understand how shocked and grieved Arline and Howard were. Know that a fourteen year old is still very young, almost still a baby. She did the best she could. I do wonder why she has never returned to visit and know you. Did she give a reason for not attending her father’s funeral?”
“No, she didn’t. I can only guess that it was a shocking, heartbreaking thing that happened to her. She didn’t want people in the area to get suspicious and I would guess she hasn’t told her new husband.”
“I’m not sure I’d tell either, but ---. She’s going to have to know that Arline has told you the truth. Why don’t you make the first move and call her. If she’s willing to meet you somewhere and talk then that’ll be good. Be prepared for her to want to still protect herself.”
“I know. I’m not letting this get out -- if I ever do. I’m telling you because I know you won’t judge me or tell other.”
“Why should I judge you? An innocent baby cannot help what adults do. Of course, in this case, Marlene was not an adult. She was probably scared to death, ashamed and confused. I can bet that Arline and Howard had never talked to her about the facts of life.
“Knowing them, they hadn’t talked to her. It would have been too embarrassing to them.”
They talked more and James promised to make the call to Marlene. He left and Ginger sat, sad for him and for Arline and Marlene. Juanita came in the room and apologized for hearing the conversation. “That poor man. I can’t imagine how badly he feels. He should remember that a fourteen year old could not be a good mother. She didn’t know how to take care of herself and certainly not a baby. Too, she didn’t want the community to know. She felt it was a stigma against her.”
“She should have known the community would gather around her, love her and help.”
“Youngsters don’t think that rationally and her parents were encouraging her to go away and keep it secret. She must have been so frightened.”
‘Well, we’ll keep this to ourselves. If James wants to tell it to anyone, it’s his business. I sincerely hope that Marlene will agree to meet him and tell how she felt -- and feels now.”
Chapter Nineteen
Christmas had been memorable at Majestic except for the memory of the death of Howard. The men had a decorated tree in the bunkhouse and lights around the outside. There was a ten feet decorated tree on the front porch of the main house. The bushes down along the driveway were all lighted and Hank’s house looked as if it came from a magazine cover.
Juanita could only stare. “Ginger, you’ve outdone all that has been done before you
. This is more expensive than you can afford.”
“Yes, it’s expensive, but we’ve had so much tragedy and worries that I felt all of us needed a boost. I had hoped to surprise Hank and he sure was,” she laughed.
The turkeys were appreciated along with the mashed white potatoes, baked creamed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, green beans, deviled eggs, stuffing and dressing, rolls, pumpkin and pecan pies as well as a special family Christmas cake. Everyone was stuffed and declared it to be the best Christmas they’d had in a long time.
On the last day of December James came running in with a red face and a breathing problem. He was sputtering until he could hardly talk. “You won’t believe who just called me and what we talked about.”
Ginger took his arm and led him into the living room. “Calm down before you have apoplexy.”
“I am calm -- apoplexy? Since when did you start using words like that? Never mind. I’ve got to tell you before I burst. Why don’t you come on in Juanita. You won’t have to strain to listen then.”
Juanita walked in with her head high and her shoulders back. “Ginger is very dear to me and I want to know what is going on so that I can help her.”
“Well, my dear, this has nothing to do with Ginger -- at least not much. I answered the phone this afternoon and it was Vicki’s lawyer father. He informed me that Vicki wanted to sue me for breach of promise. I explained to him that there was never any promise, not even a speck of conversation in that direction. I told him it was all in Vicki’s mind.”
Juanita sat down hard. “My goodness, how did he take that? Oh, sorry.”
James laughed. “At first he didn’t like it but I convinced him that it was all Vicki’s planning. He said her mother was furious on Vicki’s behalf and always supported their daughter in whatever she wanted. He finally apologized and stated that maybe Vicki could benefit from counseling. We had a pleasant understanding when he hung up.”