A Second Chance, Part IV -- A New
Beginning
By:
Radio Rancher
(© 2007 by the author, and creator; Tickie)
Editor: The Story Lover
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's
consent. Comments are appreciated at...
Author's note:
The first thing I would like to do is thank Tickie for allowing me to continue
this wonderful story. It will be a great pleasure for me to continue working
with Charlie and the Andersen family. I have had a lot of fun helping to bring
this story to you. I only hope that Charlie will be as comfortable having me
write his words down as he was with Tickie. Although I did put a lot of Charlie's
words down in the earlier books, the final decisions were always made by
Tickie. I am extremely honored to have Tickie hand the reigns over to me. Thank
you very much. Now I think I will turn things over to Charlie once again, to
tell you the next part of the story. I know I am very much ready to find out
what happened once everyone managed to get to sleep on Christmas Eve.
Chapter 1
The twins had finally settled down and
slipped into a gentle restful sleep. It actually took James and Me quite a
while to get them to relax enough to fall asleep. They were amazing bundles of
energy. James and I watched as the older family members carefully made their
way into the living room one or two at a time; each thinking they would place
their presents under the tree. It was a constant parade of loving adults
wanting to make sure that Santa Clause made his presence known to the wonderful
little Angels in training. Tears ran down our faces as we felt the love and
concern emanating from each and everyone as they placed presents in, around,
and under the gigantic Christmas tree that dominated the huge living room. Of
course the one gift for each of the new boys that would capture their hearts
the most, would be the beautiful little horses that waited in the barn for
their new little human friends, since there was no question as to who really
owned whom. The twins would be the loving slaves of their new colts.
It was so much fun to watch each person sneak into the living room carrying
gifts and seeing them sneak out, only to see another person sneak in another
door ready to enlarge the already huge assortment of gifts, most of which were
destined to be enjoyed for at least a week, till all the newness had worn off
of them and they would be stored lovingly in their boxes and hardly ever touched again. One exception to that was certainly going to be the train
set that had been lovingly set up in one of the rooms in the barn. It was huge
and extremely detailed there were miniature buildings, cars, streetlights and
greenery, not to mention small people placed in appropriate locations all over
the enormous layout. It was simply magnificent. Ben, Colt, Matt, Kevin, and
Andrew had put a lot of work into building it with incredible detail and
accuracy, and had worked together with Julie to make sure to keep the twins
from discovering it too early. Finally everything was finished, and there were
high fives all around. It was beautiful. The buildings, cars, and phone booths
had working doors and the windows in the buildings opened as well. There were
dumpsters behind the buildings that opened and had tiny trash bags inside. And
there were fire trucks with ladders and hoses that moved and the hoses sprayed
water. Each small human figure was fashioned in perfect detail, and they were
dressed in real clothing. It was not just painted on. All the members of the
ranch were represented. And the men even had cowboy hats, just like the one
hanging on the horns above the mantle. If you looked inside the ranch house,
you could see that it exactly as the real one was. It was beautiful. The roof
was removable and all the figures were completely posable, and could be
placed anywhere in the structure. There were horses and the tack to go with
them. All in all, the entire ranch had been duplicated in miniature, plus adding
a railroad train around the whole thing. In fact the layout also contained the
surrounding countryside as well as a great deal of the nearby town and of
course, Casper Mountain.
Julie had knitted sweaters and hats for each of 'her' men and boys. How in the
world she had managed to find the time to do it, even James and I couldn't
figure out. She had managed to sneak the beautifully wrapped gifts under the
tree several days ago.
The twins had each made drawings of each of their new family members, and had
managed to wrap them up as well. No one could say that they did a perfect job
of wrapping or of drawing, but, strangely enough, they were much better than
one might have thought. They both had talent and a lot of potential.
The sky was starting to show signs that sometime, in the very near future that
daytime was going to happen. There was the tiniest amount of brightening, just
enough so you could actually see some light in the sky. I felt the subtle
change in the house, as the entire family began the slow process of moving from
beautiful peaceful sleep to wakefulness. It is amazing to watch very young
children as the wake up on Christmas morning. Mark and Luke were lying
together, holding one another in a gentle embrace as they both slowly awakened.
They opened their eyes simultaneously. As they gazed into each other's eyes,
they could each see the love that passed between them, to one another. Their
lips met and they kissed each other gently. James and I felt the love that they
were sharing. It was so beautiful. We sent them our love as we stood in the
doorway watching them. Once their kiss ended, they both looked up and they saw
us standing there. Both boys looked directly at us and smiled broadly.
"Good morning Grandpa Charlie and Grandpa James," they both said in
unison. We walked over to their bed and reached out to them as they reached out
for a hug, which we gladly gave them.
"Merry Christmas boys, we both said to them, simultaneously. We kissed
each of them on the forehead. We love you boys very much.
When we backed up, they both quickly got up and headed into the bathroom, in a
hurry to relieve their morning bladders. James and I were both still a bit
surprised that the twins could see and hear us; but we chalked it up to them
being young and innocent. They were not the least bit concerned that no one
else could see us. I guess they just took it for granted that we were there,
and, naturally they could see us.
"Boys, it is Christmas morning," I told them, "and I imagine
that everyone will be waking up pretty soon, so you guys should get dressed and
go in and wake up the sleeping beauties." I chuckled, as I patted them
gently on their little bottoms, Matt, Colt, Mike, and Andrew were sound asleep,
holding each other in a warm loving embrace, as the two little dynamos invaded
their bed. It soon turned into a tickle war, and it didn't take too long for
everyone to be fully awake. The situation was priceless.
"What got you two so excited and raring to go?" Colt asked, as he
held both boys in his arms and kissed them good morning.
"Grandpa Charlie and Grandpa James told us that it was time to wake you
up." Mark said, smiling broadly.
"Damn! We are so busted," I giggled to James, as I pulled him to me
and hugged him tightly.
"Don't worry, honey," James said, "I don't think they will
mind."
Colt kissed each of the boys and said, "Yeah, I suppose they would do
that."
"It is Christmas morning. I wonder if Julie is up and starting breakfast yet?"
Matt yawned, completely accepting the boys' statement without the slightest
hesitation. Both of them were calm and happy, not the least bit surprised or
shocked.
"I am so glad that they can accept us being around, looking after
them." I said to James, as I kissed him again.
"It really is wonderful to see that their faith in us and their love for
us has made them fully trust that we are here looking after them. There is no
fear and no worries, coming from either of them, just pure love and
faith." James replied. We gently kissed Colt and Matt. They each rubbed
their cheek where we had kissed them and they both said, "Thanks, Charlie
and James. Thanks for loving us and caring about us, and thanks for giving us
our new family. We love you."
Mike and Andrew had just come back from the bathroom when Colt and Matt were
saying they loved us. Mike spoke first,
"Charlie and James, That goes for us too, you have been here for us and we
really are glad you are here. I know that JC and Richard are here too, and we
still miss them, but you have been here for us all along, and we really do
appreciate it. Of course, we had to give them each a gentle kiss, as well. It
was so cute. Their loving smiles were simply amazing.
As soon as we finished kissing Mike and Andrew, the little munchkins grabbed us
by the hand and pulled us to the living room, yelling "What did we get
from Santa Clause?!?! It wasn't long before the entire family was crowded
around the huge Christmas Tree. Mike got the honor of
distributing the presents, since he was now the senior member of the household,
with the exception of Julie, of course.
Once everyone quieted down a little, Mike announced, "Okay now, we are
going to open one present each, right now, as soon as I can find the right one
for everyone. Then we will all go have breakfast. I already smell the coffee
and bacon, so I know breakfast won't be too much longer in coming. I want to
make sure that Julie gets to see most of the presents being opened. James and
I giggled as we watched Mike carefully find a present for each person that was
in the room at the moment. JC and Richard came up to James and me and gave us
warm hugs.
JC said, "Charlie, it looks like they are going to be alright. Those twins
have brought smiles back to their faces and it seems that they all are
thriving."
Richard smiled and nodded. "I must admit I was a little worried at first,
the way they acted right after the accident, but the munchkins have really
given them a purpose in life again and they all love each other very much, and
that is the most important thing."
Once the first presents were handed out and opened, everyone gathered in the
dining room and Julie, Colt and JoAnn, began bringing
in the incredible breakfast that the two ladies had prepared and soon everyone
had devastated the buffet, and the twins, along with everyone else, inhaled
enough for an army. Finally everyone seemed to have eaten their fill.
"Alright everyone, I think since it is Christmas, we should leave the mess
sitting here until after we open all the presents, then we can see who wants to
help clean up everything including all the wrapping paper and stuff, when we
finish. I am sure there are at least two of us that are anxious to get back to
the real important business at hand here, namely opening gifts." Mike
chuckled.
"Yeah that's for sure! yelled Colt, Matt, Earl and Jack. The twins looked
at their dads and Godfathers, and shook their heads. Then everybody burst into
hearty laughter, as everyone stampeded into the living room again.
This time Colt got to the tree before Mike did. As Mike got there, Colt handed
him a good size box and said, "I notice that you didn't take a present for
yourself when you handed us all our first ones, so go ahead and open this
one."
Mike took the box and shook it. "Let me see who this is from." He read
the tag. 'To the most wonderful man alive, from the luckiest man alive.' it was
signed Andrew. Mike reached over and hugged Andrew. "What is it? He
couldn't tell what was inside.
"Well, you'll find out if you just open it, silly." Andrew giggled.
Mike kissed Andrew again and started ripping off the wrapping. He opened the
box and inside, there was a beautiful hand tooled leather belt, with a huge
buckle that had the Horns and Hat on it. "Oh Andrew, It is beautiful.
Thank you so much. I love you. Hold on; let me find one here for you. Mike
shuffled through presents for a minute and came up with a box for Andrew.
Andrew took the box and saw that the tag was almost exactly the same as the one
he had put on his present to Mike, only with the names reversed. They kissed
again and then Andrew opened his present. It was a leather vest. It was also
hand tooled and was very beautiful. The two men stood there hugging each other
and tears were streaming down both their faces. After a few minutes of that,
Mark and Luke came over and each of them started pulling on the two hugging
men, "Come on stop bein' so mushy and open the
other stuff." they chorused. That got everyone's attention, and soon the
presents were once again being passed around and frantically opened.
Everyone got a lot of nice clothes and the youngsters got lots of toys and a
few board games as well as computers and some interesting computer games and
other software.
After quite some time, the tree looked kind of bare underneath it, but there
were still a few presents under it which hadn't been opened yet. They had been
purposely put at the bottom of the pile so they would be opened last. We
watched as Mike looked at one of the gifts. "That's funny, this one says
it's from Santa and it is for Andrew. It looks like there are presents for each
of us from Santa, or so these all say. He handed out the gifts and took the
one that was his. They all opened the boxes, and inside they found hats that
matched the one hanging on the horns over the fireplace. Each hat was the
perfect size for the person that received it.
Mark and Luke looked up at the one hanging above the fireplace and said,
"These are just like that one." Then they turned around and saw us.
They came running over to us and we hugged them. Everyone saw us, the kids were the only one to see us clearly.
The boys hugged and kissed us and they both said, "These came from you,
not Santa."
I picked up Mark, and James picked up Luke and we each held our little bundle
of energy and told them, Yes boys, you need to keep those hats. All good
cowboys wear hats like that. We gave them to you so you will always think of
us, and remember that we love you all very much. As you grow, these hats will
grow with you and they will always fit perfectly.
We made sure that everyone heard us and then we went
and kissed each of the grown ups and then I told them, It's time for everyone
to go out to the barn and see what is out there." The adults already knew
what was there, of course, but Mark and Luke had been kept out of the barn for
quite some time, so they wouldn't see what had been lovingly prepared for them.
Everyone put on their coats and headed for the barn.
The first thing everyone saw, when they got inside, was the beautiful new colt.
She was almost a perfect twin to Dotty. Colt picked up Mark and stood him down
near the new little one, "Mark, This is Dawn; would you like to say hello
to her?"
"Hello Dawn." Mark managed to get out, before the beautiful little
foal came up to him and put her nose in his tiny hand.
She nickered softly, 'Are you going to be my little boy?'
"Oh yes, please." He managed to say, as he gently kissed her nose.
The two new friends stood there talking together for several minutes. No one
bothered to translate the conversation for the few adults who didn't understand
Dawn. They could easily tell that the two were becoming very close, in the
first few minutes that they had seen each other. Meanwhile Luke was doing much
the same with Dotty. It was so adorable to see the love that flowed back and
forth between the children and the horses.
"She's my little sister." Dotty Nickered to Luke as he snuggled up to
her.
Star was so proud of his babies, and he whinnied, his approval of the
friendship between the twins and the two young horses.
"Oh Star! They are really pretty." the boys chorused, grinning
broadly.
"They look just alike, just like we do."
Matt had gone to the curry box and brought back brushes and handed one to each
of the boys.
"Guys, you each now have a horse of your own. You are going to have to
take care of them." He put a hand on each of the boys' shoulders.
"Mark, Dawn is your horse now, and you will have to make sure that she
gets fed, watered and brushed, every day." He handed Mark a brush.
"Luke, Dotty is your horse, and the same thing goes for you." Luke reached for the other brush.
Colt walked up to the boys and Matt; He gently put a hand on Matt's shoulder
and said, We don't expect either of you guys to do all the work to take care
of them, but you will have to at least check once or twice a day to make sure
that they are properly fed and have plenty of water. You will need to brush
them when ever their coats need it, that means almost every day, if you want
them to be shiny and beautiful, like they are now, and since I know you already
love them, I am sure you will want to do it anyway. The only thing is, once you
start on something as important as taking care of a horse, you can't just
forget about doing it. It is called responsibility. The older you get the more
responsibility you will have."
Matt leaned over and kissed each of the twins on the top of their heads.
"You have quite an advantage over many other people already, boys, because
you can simply ask Dotty and Dawn what they need and they will tell you. Most
people can't understand horses, because horses speak a different language than
people do. Here on the ranch, for instance, the only people that can understand
the horses are you two, Colt, Earl Jack and I. Everyone else just hears noises when the
horses talk. In fact, the only other person that I even know that speaks to
horses is our vet."
"Really? Luke asked, looking very surprised.
"I heard Dotty talking just as plain as anyone else."
"So did I." Mark answered.
"Well, the four of us do too, but it seems to be a gift that most people
don't have." Colt replied, smiling, "You guys are very special, in
more ways than one."
The two boys each had moved close to his horse and had started brushing her
coat. Dotty and Dawn each thanked their respective friend for the attention,
and shivered happily.
When the boys had finished brushing the little horses and had their coats
shining like a mirror, Andrew came over and complimented them on how good a job
they had done.
"Boys they really look beautiful, don't they?"
"Yes Grandpa Andrew." They both answered simultaneously.
"Well boys, we have one more surprise for you two; it is over here in this
other room." Andrew pointed to a door. "Put the brushes away and then
come with us and we will show you the surprise." Andrew grinned from ear
to ear.
It was about noon by then, and everyone was getting pretty darn anxious to see that boys'
reaction to the incredible train layout. Once the brushes had been stowed in
their proper place, Andrew took Luke's hand and Mike took Mark's, and they led
the boys into the train room. Both boys squealed with delight when they saw
what it was. Neither boy had ever seen anything like it. Their mouths were
hanging wide open and they looked at everything wide eyed.
"Is this really for us? Luke asked, finally.
"Yes son, it sure is." Colt explained. "I do hope that you will
let us play with it sometimes though. We all helped build it for you. I will
show you how it all works, if you can step back just a little so I can get in
here." The twins moved back just a little to give Colt room.
"Thanks." Colt said as he reached out and powered up the amazing set
up.
"Oh my God!" Both boys gasped, as they saw
the whole town come to life.
There was a policeman in a perfectly designed uniform, standing at an
intersection, directing the traffic which moved past, and followed the streets
of the miniature town. Another figure was sweeping the sidewalk in front of a
hardware store. There were two boys sitting on a park bench, swinging their
legs in and out in perfect timing as they licked their ice cream cones. The
whole display was scaled to about one sixth size. There were magnets under the
platform that moved some of the figures and made the cars move. The buildings
were detailed perfectly as well. The whole thing was computer controlled and
was very elaborate. Ben, Matt, Colt, Kevin and Andrew had worked their butts
off, building all the miniature things, and making them movable where
necessary. Some of the figures were just refitted Ken and GI-Joe dolls but
others were specially made with articulated remote controlled arms, legs, heads
and bodies. It took two weeks to build the store keeper that swept the walk in
front of his store. Colt had ordered the tiny motors and lovingly installed
them in the little guy, with a pair of tweezers and a little magnifying glass.
When he was finished, the little guy could actually walk up and down in front
of the store, and sweep the walk. He could also stop sweeping and then look up
at the on lookers and tip his hat.
Colt told the boys that he had plans to motorize more of the little people some time soon, but he hadn't yet had the time to git them done. He already had the parts, just not the time as yet. Everyone was quite impressed, especially the twins.
James and I had a hand in the construction
as well; we made sure that all the faces on the figures closely resembled the
real people that we knew they represented, including the ones that lived on the
ranch. It took quite a while for people to notice that the two little boys,
sitting on the perk bench, actually looked like Luke and Mark. The boys were
actually the first to notice it. They, and most of the adults, played with the
lay out for hours.
It was almost three o'clock when that damned triangle rang, announcing that it
was time for Christmas dinner.
Everyone on the ranch was invited to have Christmas dinner with the family.
There must have been more than twenty five people there. The dining room table
was pulled out to its full length, something that hadn't happened for many
years. All the food you could possibly think of that you would have for
Christmas dinner was there, including roast goose, ham, roast beef, and Julie's
wonderful fried tomatoes. There was a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, sweet
potatoes, and cranberry sauce. There was green bean casserole, and of course
tons of salads.
Everyone ate till they couldn't eat any more, and they all decided to wait for
a while to eat dessert. Colt and Matt wanted to watch "A Christmas Story.
The movie really looked great on the huge screen TV in the living room and
everyone enjoyed watching it. Mark and Luke snuggled up real close to Colt and
Matt; the little ones in the middle and Colt and Matt leaning in toward each
other and hugging the two little guys. It was so sweet.
After the movie was finished, Julie brought in the deserts. There were several
kinds of pie and cake, as well as ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. There
was a serving pot filled with hot chocolate, and everyone helped themselves to
the wonderful rich drink. Matt and Colt each chose a piece of the double dark
chocolate cake, while Luke and Mark opted for the apple pie with ice cream on
top.
Luke tapped Julie on the arm and softly asked, "Can I have some chocolate
syrup on the ice cream, please?"
Julie had a hard time keeping from making a face, but she managed somehow and
said, Sure, Munchkin, you can have anything you want; it's Christmas. She went
out to the kitchen and brought back the syrup and drizzled it over the ice cream. Luke giggled and started eating the concoction, causing
everyone to at least grimace just a little, but after all it was his tummy that
would pay the price.
Once all the dessert had been devoured and the dishes had been removed and put
in the dishwasher, Colt asked Julie to sing some more Christmas songs. She was
happy to do it and everyone helped out and sang along on the more familiar
ones.
About nine thirty or so, most of the ranch hands decided that they should head
out to bed, and then the party started to wind down. Once it was just family
left sitting around, we went around the room and gently kissed each one on the
forehead and wished them a merry Christmas. Lastly we came to the twins. They
jumped down from their daddies' laps and ran straight to James and me. We, of
course, picked them up and gave them hugs, and we kissed them goodnight, and
wished them the happiest Christmas ever, and told them that they should go to
bed, since they were falling asleep on their dads' laps anyway. They each
grabbed a dad and pulled them to their feet to take them to bed. JC pulled Mike
up off the couch and hugged him tightly and then Richard pulled Andrew up into
a hug as well. James and I just hugged each other. All four of us then stepped
back and I said, "This has been the most wonderful Christmas we have had
in many years. We love you all very much, and you have done a wonderful job of
keeping the family going. I know things will go well for you, and we will be
here with you to make sure that you will be happy." With that, we took our
leave of them and they all headed to bed. I guess it must have taken a lot out
of them, because no sooner did they lay down, than they all fell sound asleep
and dreamed of sugar plums and fairies, not necessarily in that order.
To be continued...
Author's Note:
God that seems so strange to be saying that on this story. I have managed to
get through Christmas day. I honestly have no idea of exactly where it will go
next. I have been thinking of the story a lot, and I have a few ideas, but
there is nothing concrete yet about the very next chapter. I don't know if I
will pick up on Boxing Day or if I will take it to New Year's Eve. I will just
have to wait and see what the characters tell me they want me to do.
I would say My characters but I think it is more like
I am their author instead. I know the story will involve happenings both at the
Lazy L and at the lodge in
Darryl
AKA The Radio Rancher
Note from Tickie:
Thank you Darryl for a beautiful chapter in the saga of the Anderson family. I read it with tears in my eyes, and love in my heart for the whole cast of characters. Take care of them my friend, it looks as if you are doing a great job of it.
Tickie
Editor's Note: First of all thank you to Tickie for beginning this wonderful and heartwarming story that has enriched so many lives. A great big thanks to Tickie also for turning over his labor of love to The Radio Rancher to continue that was truly a wonderful thing to do. RR you have done a wonderful job on this your first chapter of this heartwarming story; I am definitely looking forward to many more chapters.
TSL AKA The Story Lover
Posted: 04/03/07