Love Refound
by: E Walk
(© 2008 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 34

Full Speed Ahead

Tuesday, when I woke up, Cole’s truck was at the barn and people were already working on the trailers.  I looked at the clock and it was only 6:30.  I dressed for work and went to check on Benji and he wasn’t in his room.  When I arrived in the kitchen, Nana Weaver was feeding Benji.  She looked up at me, “Good morning, Mr. Doug.  This son of yours sure is hungry.  If he keeps eating like this, he’s going to be a big boy.”

I was just finishing breakfast when Cole and Jeff came into the kitchen.  Cole started, “Mr. Christiansen, I think one of the mares is about to have a foal.  You are going to need to be here to take care of the arrival, since neither Jeff or I have any idea what we should do?”

Autumn looked up, “Guys, I’ll call Dr. Light and have him come check the horses.  We should have done that earlier, but it has been a little hectic around here.”

When I arrived home, I was amazed at the activity.  The trailer was in place and Trent, Trevor, Jeff and Cole were building a picket fence around it so it looked as if was in it’s own special place.

Jeff announced, “The workman are done with all of the outside things on the trailer and the utilities are all working. The company is going to be bringing the items that were placed in storage first thing tomorrow.  Cole and his Grandma should be able to move in tomorrow night, or first thing on Thursday, at the latest.”

As we were finishing dinner, Damien arrived with his mare.  Jeff and Cole were taking care of the dishes, so it was just Dad, Damien and me in what was to become the breeding area.  Dad had me go get The King.  It had been a long time since I had seen two horses mating and I began to get aroused, as I watched.  I have to tell you that The King was a magnificent specimen and knew what he was expected to do.  I  was surprised at how quickly the session was over.

As I was taking The King back to the stable, I met Jeff.  “Cole and his Grandmother have gone to their house to finish getting things ready to move here.  I’m going to the lake to meet Trevor.  Don’t worry Uncle Doug, we won’t play hide and seek.  We may do some kissing and slurping, though.  I’ll be back before it’s dark.”

I thought to myself, ‘At least he’s honest.’

On Wednesday morning, Jeff arrived from the stable as I was getting ready to leave for work.  “Cole and his grandmother have some errands and business that they need to take care of.  They won’t be here until later this afternoon.”

When I arrived home that afternoon, it was as if everyone was waiting for me.  Mr. Jackson announced, “Mr. Christiansen, we’re ready for the final walk through of the trailer.”

Since I was the only person who hadn’t seen the trailer, I was amazed how much room was inside.  My parents noticed some minor things that needed to be fixed.  Mr. Jackson noted them, “They will be taken care of before we leave, this evening.”

I didn’t even have time to change because dinner was ready.  As we were eating, Dad started the barrage, “Dr. Light was here today, and two of the mares could deliver, anytime.  Two others will probably have their foals next week.”

Jeff giggled,  “Cole and I will need to learn to be midwives real quick.  The four of us guys are going to clean the trailer after dinner, so Cole and Nana Weaver can move in tomorrow.”

I realized that Mrs. Weaver and Cole weren’t here.  “Where are the Weavers, anyway?”

Autumn answered, “Some friends of Nana Weaver invited them to dinner.  We insisted that they go.”

Jeff added, “Much to Cole’s dismay.”

It was about nine thirty when the guys came into the house, “We’re ready for inspection.”

Autumn, Mother and I went to see what they had done.  My mother was flabbergasted at how everything was sparkling, “You guys can come clean my house in Virginia anytime you want to.”

On Thursday, the guys helped Cole and Mrs. Weaver move into the trailer.  When I got home that night, Nana Weaver was sitting in the kitchen with tears in her eyes, “Mr. Doug and Miss Autumn, the trailer is absolutely beautiful.   It's nicer than most people‘s homes.”

After dinner, Cole and Jeff announced, “We’re going to meet Trev and Trent at the lake for a swim.”

They had no more than departed when Jeff came running in, “Mr. Christiansen and Uncle Doug, I think you better come help us.”

When Dad and I arrived at the stable, Cole was in with one of the mares who was having a difficult time.  Dad reacted immediately, “Jeff, go get the long rubber gloves that are in the tack room.  Cole, go hold the mare's head and talk to her.  Doug, go tell Autumn to call Doctor Light and then get ready to help me.”

We did as we were told; Jeff was watching, when all of a sudden, the mare in the next stall started to have her foal.  Dad looked up, “Jeff, get in the stall with her and talk to her.  Doug, come help me.”

Jeff yelled, “Mr. Christiansen, my foal is out, what do I do now?”

Just keep talking to the mother, “She’ll know what to do.”

Dad and I started to help a foal make it’s way into the world; Dad admonished Cole, “Don’t stop talking to the mare, we’re not done yet.”

A second foal started to exit and it was a much easier birth.  Doctor Light had arrived and when he saw what was happening, “This is a first for me, and I’ve been a veterinarian for nearly thirty years.  This is the first time that I have encountered a multiple birth in horses.”

Dad instructed, “Cole, go get some towels out of the tack room.  This mare is worn out and we need to take care of the foals.  Doctor Light, why don’t you check the new arrivals and their mothers while you’re here and tell us what we need to do.  I’ve never experienced a multiple birth before either.”

Trent and Trevor arrived.  When they saw us, Trevor commented, “You people sure are a mess.”

Cole looked up from what he was doing, “Trent, please go to the trailer and get me a change of clothes.  I can’t very well go into the trailer looking like this.”

Jeff added, “Trev, why don’t you get me a change of clothes and ask Aunt Autumn and Mrs. Christiansen for changes of clothes for their husbands, and some extra towels?”

Doctor Light examined the horses, “I think they’ll all be fine.  You probably need to give the twins some extra milk until their Mother can take care of them.  I’ll watch them while you gentlemen get cleaned up.”

We went into the tack room and Dad spoke, “Come on, Jeff, we did the hard work.  We’ll take our showers first and then the two slackers can take their showers.”

Trent came into the room carrying clothes for Cole, “Cole, you need to get some new clothes.  You don’t have very many.”

Cole took offense at that comment, “Trent, my Grandparents aren’t wealthy like some other people around here.  Three sets of clothes are fine, as long as there is a washing machine and a dryer around.”

Cole’s response caused everyone to take note, Trent tried to recover, “Cole, all I was suggesting is that once football season starts, your butt is going to be dragging if you are going to be working here for the Christiansens.  You aren’t going to feel like doing laundry, especially when you have homework to do.  Your grandmother is going to be so busy taking care of Benji that she won’t have time to worry about your laundry.”

Dad had come out of the shower and was drying off, “Trent, you made some good points.  Cole and I’ll take care of the problem tomorrow.”

Trevor arrived with his arms full of clothes, “Mr. Doug, would you please buy a wheelbarrow or something so that I can bring you three clothes the next time and not keep dropping them?”

Dad took his clothes and started to get dressed, “Objection noted, Trevor.  I’ll make sure that Doug has a clothes dolly so you can bring the clean clothes the next time we have to deliver foals.  Doug and Cole, get your shower.”

Cole reluctantly undressed and we went into the shower.  He kept his eyes averted so that he couldn’t see me at first.  He turned and said, “Mr. Doug, it’s easy to see why you are so well endowed after seeing your father.  You Dad certainly has taken care of his body.”

I was caught by surprise by that last comment,  “Cole, I agree that my Dad is a healthy looking specimen.  Tonight was the first time that I have seen him naked for a great many years.  He must feel as if you, Jeff, Trent and Trevor are his equals to be standing talking to you, as he was tonight.”

Cole had something else on his mind, “Mr. Doug, I apologize for my outburst about clothes.  I have been trying to save as much money as I can, so I can go to college, now that I can read.  Clothes mean nothing to me.”

“Cole, listen to me.  Clothes are important, because they impress people.  Right now, we need to focus on your academic skills and football skills and make sure you get an academic scholarship or an athletic scholarship, better yet, both.”

Cole turned away, “Like that’s going to happen.”

“Cole, we need to get out of here before people think something is happening.”

Doctor Light was standing talking to Dad, Jeff, Trev and Trent, “The horses seem fine, but I think you should give the twins some fortified milk at least twice a day.  Jeff’s little one is going to be a frisky little girl.  Cole’s young colt has the makings for being a champion, and the filly is a cute little thing, who will probably make a good brood mare.  Call me when the next young ones are arriving.”

As Dad and I were walking to the house, he stopped, “Doug, you have two diamonds in the rough in Cole and Jeff.  I can’t imagine many young men handling the gruesome sights of what was happening tonight as well as they did.  I might have expected it from Trent and Trevor, but not Cole and Jeff.  I mean, they are, after all, city slickers.”

When I arrived home on Friday, Cole was complaining, “Mr. Christiansen, I don’t need all those clothes.  Can we please take some back?”

Dad threw up his hands, “Sorry, dude, but we cut the tags off of them and threw them away, so you’re stuck with them.”

We had just finished dinner when Jack Kennedy and Logan Turner arrived.  Jeff and Cole cleared the table so everyone could see the presentation.  They didn’t even take care of the cleanup because they wanted to see the proposal.

Mr. Kennedy presented his proposals and then provided his cost estimates for the project.  He even had a sketch showing the covered walkway to the stable from both the main house and the trailer.

Mr. Turner stood, “We can keep the costs down, if we do the foundations for the two additions at the same time.  That way we could do the framing for the two additions at the same time so that when the weather turns bad, we could do the work on the interior.  We can build the walkway while the excavation and framing is being done  We would do any remodeling to the existing structure at the last possible minute, to allow for a minimum disruptions to your family’s lifestyle.”

I had some questions about finances, and they were answered to my satisfaction; so I said, “Let’s get the papers signed, so you can get to work.”

On Sunday morning, I was going to the stable to check on the horses when I was met by an excited Jeff, “Uncle Doug, you gotta come see your two new little fillies.  I need to get some milk for the twins.”

I walked into the stable and Cole was a mess from helping to deliver the two new arrivals.  “Cole, why didn’t you come and ask for help?”

“Mr. C., you’re paying us to take care of the horses.  Unless there is a problem, why would we bother you?  The arrival of these two was a piece of cake.  I need to get cleaned up, so I can take Grandmother to church.”

As I was leaving for work on Monday morning, I was met by a caravan of construction equipment heading toward Summerhill.  I had a call from Autumn, “Mr. Turner wants to know if we want the dirt that they’re taking out, or do we want to sell it?  He knows someone who would buy it.” 

“Have him go ahead and sell it, so we can save a little money.”

When I arrived home, the basements for the two additions were dug and the framings for the footings for the two additions were in place, as well as the footings for the walkway.  Mr. Turner met me, “Mr. Christiansen, the concrete people are scheduled to be here the first thing in the morning.  The crew is fabricating the frame for the structure, so we can begin as soon as the footings are cured.”

Everything was moving along smoothly until Autumn had to go back to work on the first of August.  Not only that, but the Harders arrived home and Coach Harder wanted to start football practice.  That left Nana Weaver and Jeff in charge, while Cole was at football practice.  That was fine until it was time for Jeff to go home.  The Longworths called and said they would be picking Jeff up on the fifteenth of August, since his school was to start that next week.

It was the week after Jeff’s departure that Cole approached me, “Mr. Doug, I don’t think I can do this job by myself, if I’m going to play football, go to school and get good grades.”

“Cole, are you telling me that I should be doing more around here?”

“Mr. Doug, that’s not what I was saying at all.  We need to get someone who is here all day.  My grandmother can’t handle the horse problems, and take care of Benji.  Her primary responsibility needs to be taking care of Benji.”

“Cole, where am I going to find someone like that?”

“Mr. Doug, I know a good person who could do the job.  He did something stupid and knocked his girlfriend up, and they are going to have to get married.”

“Cole, you want me to hire someone who beat his girlfriend up?”

Cole started to laugh, “Mr. Doug, you’re living in the seventeenth century,  Denny had unprotected sex with his girlfriend and she is now pregnant, like Miss Autumn.”

“Denny is a really neat person and his family has a farm.  Denny is the oldest of the ten children, so his parents can’t provide much support for him and Collie.”

“Cole, let me talk to Autumn and see what she thinks.  Does Denny have a last name?”

“Miss Autumn probably will recognize him from school.  His name is Denny Coburn.  She will probably also recognize Colleen Neubert.”

When I told Autumn about my conversation with Cole, she agreed that we needed to find someone to help around the homestead.  She did know Denny and Collie and was surprised that they had gotten into such a state.  Her only concern about hiring them was where would they be living?

I talked to Cole the next morning before I went to work, “Cole, get in touch with Denny and his girlfriend and ask them to come talk to me and Autumn this evening.  We both agree with your assessment that Nana Weaver’s primary responsibility should be Benji.  Your primary role should be to focus on getting into a good college.”

To be continued...

Editor's Note: Once again, it seems that things are moving quickly and new and interesting things keep happening.

I do believe that E Walk has a huge case of AAKD (add a kid disease). I think he might also be suffering from AAHD. You can figure that one out for yourselves.  I'm afraid that AAKD is incurable. I have it myself, and so do many other people. I am not sure it if is contagious, or if it is simply that we authors are more susceptible to it.  

Let's get us another chapter as soon as possible.  

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 08/07/09