The Cherry Blossoms

by Denise Irwin

  “I thought the handicapped children milked them.”

  “They do when they’re here, but we haven’t started the season. Our cows can’t wait till the children arrive; they need milking daily. Additionally, we typically milk these girls twice a day, so that they’re full when the kids arrive. Have you ever milked a cow?”

  “No, I can’t say that I have. I don’t think the ranch had any cows when I lived here.”

  “In that case, let me go grab a stool.”

  When he returned with a short, three-legged stool, she watched as he unhooked the mechanical contraption from one of the cows. He then sat the stool close to the back end of the cow. “Okay, she’s all yours.”

  “What do I do?”

  “Take a seat on the stool.” Danny did as he instructed. The stool wobbled a bit in the straw, but she managed to keep it upright. “Okay, what’s next?”

  Garrett handed her a stainless steel bucket. “Put the bucket under her teats.” Once the milk pail was in place, he told her, “You’re all set. Take the two teats attached to her utter, on your side of the cow into each of your hands. Now gently pull on them and squirt the milk into the pail.”

  Just as soon as Danny grabbed the cow’s teats, she raised one of her back legs to kick Danny, causing her to fall off the stool. She landed in a pile of cow shit. Garrett was laughing as he reached for her hand. He continued to laugh as he helped her stand, “I think you were pulling on her teats just a little too hard.”

  Aghast that he would say such a thing, she told him, “I was barely touching her teats.”

  “Give me your hands.”

  Indignantly, she asked him, “Why?”

  “Just give me your hands.”

  Danny put them behind her back. “You tell me why, and then, I’ll think about it.”

  He chuckled, “You are such a funny girl. I want to see if your hands are cold.”

  Without giving him her hands, she asked, “Why?”

  “If you didn’t pull on her teats too hard, your hands may be too cold for her.”

  She hesitated before bringing her hands from behind her back. If he were teasing her, she’d look like a fool. If he weren’t lying, she’d learn something new. She brought her hands from behind her. He took them into his own. “Yep, you got kicked because your hands are too cold.”

  Her eyes spit fire at him. “You’re putting me on aren’t you?”

  Holding onto her hands, he told her, “Danny, you gotta understand that not all men are evil.”

  “What the fuck does that statement have to do with my hands being cold?”

  “Let me warm your hands, then you can get back on that stool and milk her.”

  When Garrett thought her hands were adequately warmed, he told her, “Go on and give it another try.”

  When she sat on the stool, Danny was in self defense mode. She watched the cow’s right hind leg, prepared to get away from it, if the cow kicked at her. Using caution, she reached for the cow’s teat, and gently pulled on it. Damn if she didn’t hear milk splashing into the pail. She looked up while still milking the cow, “Look Garrett, it worked.”

  He shook his head and chuckled. “I wasn’t putting you on.”

  She filled the pail as she said to Garrett, “Let me ask you something.”

  “Sure.”

  “You let children do this?”

  “Yes, but we always check their hands first. Come on up, so that I can hook her back up to the milking machine. Then we’ll walk to the training ring.”

  They left the cow barn and Garrett held back a howl of laughter that nearly gagged him. Danny’s backside was covered with cow shit.

  When they reached the training ring, two of the ranch hands were working with a rescued horse that appeared to be terrified of the men. Garrett told her, “That filly was close to death when we received her. The owner beat her with a whip whenever he thought she was misbehaving. She’s thin because he also withheld food as a part of her punishment.”

  In awe, she asked, “Will she ever become one of the horses for the handicapped children?”

  “She sure will with a little help. It’s likely that since she was abused, she’ll make a great horse for the kids. Just like us, a little kindness goes a long way. Danny, I think we need to head back to the house for dinner. We’ll look at the shoe shop tomorrow.”

  Danny couldn’t get the vision of that abused horse out of her mind. As if he understood what she was thinking, Garrett walked quietly beside her. She spied a four-leaf clover in the grass; she stopped to pick it from its home. She held onto the myth that they brought good luck.

  Nana was posted on the front porch as if she were a century guarding the house. “Garrett, I need you to help get Matt down from his bedroom to join us for dinner. Apparently, the old goat thinks he has the strength to sit at the dining room table. Danny go shower quickly, so you can help me set the dining room table. Only your grandfather and God know why he wants to eat in the dining room.”

  “I think it's a great idea and it will serve Grandpa well to have dinner with everyone.” As she turned to head up to her bedroom, Nana stopped her in her tracks.

  “Child, what is that all over your backside?”

  Garrett started laughing, since he never told her that when she fell off the milking stool that she’d landed in a pile of cow shit.

  “What are you talking about?” Danny reached her hand behind her and felt something gooey on her jeans. When she pulled her hand back in front of her, she found the palm of her hand covered with cow shit.

  She held her hand out for Garrett to see. “You knew it was there, didn’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Yes you did. You were laughing when I got up, weren’t you?”

  “I was laughing because you fell off the stool.”

  “Do you want to know something, Garrett? You’re a real asshole.”

  Danny stomped up the stairs to take her shower. When she pulled her jeans off, she was livid as she looked at the cow plop, with straw in it, covering the seat of her jeans. In the shower she started plotting a plan to get even with him. She swore to herself, it might take a while, but she’d get even.

  Nana had already put the ivory lace tablecloth on the dining room table. When Danny looked, she found her on her hands and knees taking the china plates out of the lower storage area of the china cabinet. “Nana, get up off that floor. I’ll get those plates out.”

  “Goodness child, I never heard you come in. Yes, you can get the plates. I’m so old now that you’re gonna have to help me up.”

  Once Nana was standing, she told Danny, “You just hand them up to me and I’ll stack them on the table.”

  “So, tell me what all this fanfare is about.”

  “If I knew, I would tell you. While you’re on the floor, grab the silverware. The crystal wine glasses are on the shelves on top this cabinet. We’ll pull them down last.”

  Once the table was set with the McPherson china, silverware, and lead crystal glasses brought from Ireland with the first McPherson to own the ranch, Nana stood back to assess the table. “Danny, I need to check on dinner, so I need you to go downstairs and bring up six bottles of white wine and six bottles of red. When you have those in the kitchen, we’ll need twelve bottles of champagne. I think I calculated the right number in my head. It’s been a long while since we’ve held a formal dinner in this house, so I could be wrong.”

  Danny ran into Garrett on her way to the wine cellar. “What can I do to make up for not telling you about your jeans?”

  “There isn’t anything you can do. You acted inappropriately, and I’m not ready to forgive you.”

  She stepped around him and left him standing there looking dumbfounded. Once in the wine cellar, she regretted turning down his offer. Twelve bottles of wine and twelve bottles of champagne were going to require more time than she had anticipated. As she looked from the bottles, to the staircase, she figured that she could reasonably manage four bottles at a
time. By moving four at a time, she only had to make six trips.

  She chose to move the reds first, since they would be served at room temperature. She grabbed the bottle necks and held two in each hand. Her marvelous plan went awry when the bottles fell out of her hands. The dropped bottles ended up on the carpeted floor, so there wasn’t broken glass and red wine on the floor. Even though nothing had been broken, she recalculated what she was able to carry per trip. Lowering her expectation to two bottles per trip meant making twelve trips up and down the stairs.

  She picked up two bottles from the floor to carry them to the kitchen. Garrett was leaning against the door frame watching her. She pushed past him and delivered her first two bottles to the kitchen. He stood there looking like some ancient statue as she made her way up and down the stairs twelve times. She grew angrier each time she pushed him aside. He certainly could see that by the last two trips, she was huffing and puffing, but did he offer to help, no he did not.

  He followed her into the kitchen where she would uncork the wine bottles. She was in no mood for his bullshit, “Garrett, is there something you need?”

  Leaning against the kitchen door frame, he nonchalantly said, “Nope.”

  “Then why are you following me around like some stray puppy.”

  “Just watching you work.”

  “Is that right? You watched me walk down and up those steps twelve times, standing at the top of the staircase. You didn’t once offer to even bring the damn bottles to the kitchen. You didn’t tell me that my jeans had cow shit on them, and now you’re standing in front of me with a smug look on your face. You’re enjoying my agony, aren’t you?”

  “I have to admit that I am.”

  “You are such an asshole!”

  “Danny, I offered to help and you declined that offer, remember?”

  He was right, he had offered and in her anger, she’d declined it. “You’re still an asshole.”

  Nana made sure that she appeared intent on her food, so that they did not know she was eavesdropping on their conversation. She was delighted as she listened to them argue. Dinner was going to go wonderfully.

  “Garrett, we’re just about set for dinner; can you go up and check to see if Matt is ready?”

  “Not a problem.”

  Nana and Danny greeted the ranch hands as they filed in. Danny smiled when she saw that they had dressed in their best clothes. They wore clothes that were typically reserved for Sunday church service. Nana had place markers for everyone. When the ranch hands found their assigned seats, Garrett walked Matt into the dining room to take his seat at the head of the table.

  “Before you take your seats, I would like to propose a toast.”

  Danny saw that Nana had tears in her eyes as she lifted her glass to Matt.

  Matt continued in a strong voice, “It is likely that this is the last meal I will be able to attend. You know that I am ill, so I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the men and women who have made the McPherson ranch successful. I respect the hard effort each of you put into the success of this ranch. I also want to assure you, that your jobs are secure. Danny will take over the ranch when I pass. I have also put aside some money for each of you, and I want you to know that you earned every penny of it.”

  Danny watched as her grandfather pushed his food around the plate. He joined in the conversations around the table and if she didn’t know just how sick he really was, she would never believe that he was close to dying. As he gave the toast, he presented himself as a robust, healthy rancher.

  During dinner, Matt asked Michal a number of pointed questions about his goals in life. Michal held up his end of the conversation, telling her grandfather lies. He actually had the audacity to tell him that he was funding a number of children’s educational projects. She looked at her grandfather to see if he were buying Michal’s shit. Matt winked at his granddaughter and that one wink set her mind at ease.

  As Nana cut the pies, Matt asked Garrett to assist getting him back to his bedroom. “Danny, please come with us. I need to talk with both of you.”

  Garrett took hold of Matt McPherson’s arm and placed one hand on his back to steady him. They took one step at a time up the staircase. When the trio reached the bedroom door, her grandfather asked her to give him a moment to get out of his suit. Garrett closed the bedroom door, leaving her to wait in the hall. A small pit made its way into her stomach, as she waited in the hall. When Garrett opened the door to let her in, the look on his face acted as fertilizer for the pit in her stomach. That one tiny pit grew to the size of a grapefruit.

  Her grandfather, dressed for bed, sat at the small table where he took his breakfast each morning. “Danny, come sit with me.”

  Danny slowly walked to the table, dreading what she was about to hear. “Danny, you look like you’re approaching the hanging gallows. Get over here.”

  She eased her body into the chair, and waited for him to speak. “First, I need to tell you that I love you with a love, so vast that it spans the universe. I will always be grateful for the great times that we’ve shared.” Tears started running down her face. “Second, all my probate material is in the folder in the top drawer of my desk in the den. My attorney can walk you through anything that you need.” He took her hand in his, and then continued. “In my will, I have given Betty one million dollars. She’s gonna fight you that it’s too much money, but I’m putting my trust in you to make sure she takes it. Betty’s always been a loyal friend. If she wants to keep working, I would ask you to let her work. When she can’t work anymore, please make this her home for as long as she chooses to live here. Please give strong consideration to keeping on all the ranch hands. Last, now that I’ve met and spoken with Michal, I think that he’s a buffoon and hope that you steer clear of him.”

  Danny laughed, “That’s a promise I can keep.”

  “Come give this old man a hug and kiss good night.”

  When she hugged him, she whispered into his ear, “Grandpa, thank you for being my grandpa.” He patted her on the back and when she stepped away, she saw tears in his eyes.

  Danny had forgotten that she’d told Michal that she would spare him a few moments to speak. She held back her tears as she went down the staircase to the living room. He was nowhere to be found, so she trudged back up the stairs to her bedroom.

  Chapter Seven

  Franktown, Colorado

  Danny tossed and turned in her bed for over an hour. Just as she drifted off to sleep, she heard someone tapping on the door. Assuming it was Michal, she pulled the blanket over her head, as a small child would to keep the closet monsters at bay. Secure in her blanket castle, she heard the tapping start again. This time; however, it sounded louder and more insistent. If she shouted to tell him to go away, she’d end up waking her grandfather. Danny heard soft footsteps walk away from the door.

  Pleased that Michal took the hint, she rolled onto her side, to get some sleep. When she heard the sound of a key in her door, Danny jumped out of bed. She tucked her fingers into fists. She spread her feet to shoulder width, lowered her center of gravity and felt ready to defend her body against whom ever came through the door. Breaking into her bedroom was bit much even for Michal.

  She saw the door open just a crack. She shifted her weight on the balls of her feet. The room was dark, so she had the element of surprise on her side. She stopped breathing, so that he wouldn’t be able to find her in the dark.

  The room was suddenly ablaze with light. The bright light caused her eyes to squint. Danny couldn’t focus her eyes to find her assailant. She started throwing punches into the air in front of her hoping to hear a thud when she connected a punch to her attacker’s gut. She heard someone exhale. She held her breath, brought her fists to her chest, and pivoted her body to find her center of gravity, so that when she located where the intruder had exhaled, she’d be ready.

  She heard Garrett chuckle, “Danny, what the hell are you doing?”

  Standing in her bed
lingerie, she told him, “I thought Michal was trying to get into my bedroom. Tell me why the hell you unlocked my door with a key, when you were the very person who told me to lock it?”

  In a serious voice, “Nana sent me to collect you.”

  Still standing with her fists in front of her, she started to weep, “It’s Grandpa, isn’t it?”

  “Yes it is.”

  When Danny headed toward the door, Garrett stopped her, “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I think you have time to put on something, like a bathrobe. You probably have enough time to pull on some clothes. While that thing you’re wearing is sexy, I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to show up in your grandfather’s bedroom wearing it.”

  Danny looked down at her lingerie; she was standing half-naked in front of her grandfather’s foreman. “I’ll dress and meet you in his bedroom.”

  “No can do. I was given strict orders to bring you to his bedside.” With a shit ass grin on his face, he leaned his shoulder against the door frame.

  “You are such an asshole.” Danny grabbed her jeans and a flannel shirt. She held them in front of her body as she rushed into the bathroom to change.

  Dressed, she pushed past him and ran down the hall to her grandfather’s bedroom. The room was washed in a soft yellow light from the one lamp on his bed table. Nana was on the far side of the bed holding Matt’s hand. She quietly told him, “Danny’s here.” Danny knelt on the floor beside his bed and took his free hand. “I’m here, Grandpa.”

  His eyes were closed, but a small smile appeared on his lips. He tried to say something, but his voice was too soft to hear. Without letting go of his hand, Danny stood. She then leaned over his still body, so that she could hear him whisper to her, “Danny McPherson, it’s time for you to take on your role as the McPherson Ranch owner. Do me proud child. I’ll be watching over you, so that you are never alone.”