A Second Chance, Part IV -- A New Beginning
By: Radio Rancher
(©  2007 by the author and creator, Tickie)
 
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...
  

Chapter 7

Once everyone got back to the Lazy L and things settled down to the regular routine, it seemed that time just flew by.
 
Colt decided it was time to order the new plane for the lodge, as he and Matt sat in the office they both now used for company business. They both agreed that it was a wonderful plane.
 
Colt absentmindedly picked up the brochure and began to read it:
 
“The Bombardier CRJ900, as with all other members of the CRJ Series family, was introduced into service years ahead of the competition. Being the largest member of the family, the CRJ900 has the best economics of any aircraft in its class. Its seat-mile costs are comparable to the new generation narrowbodies for low-cost operation.

The CRJ900 enjoys a high level of commonality with other members of the CRJ family. Pilot conversion from the CRJ700/705 is just a simple paper exercise. A combination of an all-new winglet and flap/slat control laws give it excellent airfield performance and low en-route fuel consumption.

Whether flying a single version of the family or with one of the other family members, CRJ Series operators continue to profit knowing they are using the most popular regional jet in the world.” he laid the slick advertisement on the desk and looked at Matt.

“It looks like the typical hype from a company, when you read it, but it does seem to have the features we want.” Matt commented.
 
“Yeah I want to have it come with around fifty first class or better seats, so we can use it to fly decent size groups to the lodge from anywhere we can land the thing. We would have plenty of room then to have a nice conference or dinner table, and a good sized galley for preparing really good food to serve instead of that plastic crap you get on regular airlines. We can charge a reasonable price for the trips, because we will make it up on the room rent at the lodge.

Meanwhile...
 
All three boys were enrolled in the Crazy Horse School.
 
They were all given I Q tests and all three boys tested somewhere in the area of 165 or higher.

It was determined that it would be a waste of their minds to shove them into classes that would fit someone of their ages. So they were all placed in the home rooms of classes about two years older than they were.
 
Since Crazy horse was not a traditional school, it was decided that each student would be placed in the classes appropriate for their level of learning.
 
Johnny was extremely good in Science, Math and History and he could play piano and guitar,. He wasn't as good in Geography and English. The twins were both amazingly good at English and Math, while Mark was really showing promise in painting and Music. Luke excelled at sculpture and swimming.  All three boys got along really well with the kids at school and made good friends with several boys right away.
 
All three brothers were able to room together; they had a room set aside for them that was somewhat larger than the usual rooms. It even had its own toilet and shower. It had once been set aside for a houseparent, but the houseparent that was living there now didn't like it very much and felt that he didn't need that big a room and therefore opted to use one of the regular rooms, which was plenty big enough, since he was rooming by himself, and had only a twin size bed.
 
There was one double bed and a twin bed placed in the room when the boys got there.  As it turned out, no one slept in the twin bed, since all three brothers felt much more comfortable cuddled together in the big bed.

Within two weeks after arriving there, The House Parents confirmed that there was no good reason for having the second bed there, so it was removed. That gave the boys more room and they were able to put in a third computer desk so they could all have a nice place to study.
 
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...  (I always wanted to say that)
 
Colt, Matt, Mike, Andrew, Jack and Earl were sitting in the huge living room at the Lazy L.
 
Matt spoke up with a hitch in his voice, “I can't get used to the boys not being here. It just doesn't seem right somehow. I miss them so much right now, I can hardly stand it. Now I know how our Dads felt when we went off to school.” He choked back tears and leaned over and pulled Colt into a hug.
 
“I know, Matt I feel the same way. I think maybe we should offer to help out at the school. Maybe we could help with the flying club. We could teach some of the kids to fly and get some more pilots trained.” Colt suggested.
 
It didn't take Colt and Matt long to decide to put together a training course to teach any kid at the school to fly. They knew they would have quite a few willing students, and Johnny and the twins were very excited at the prospect of having their dads spending more time with them, even when they were in school.
 
Meanwhile at Crazy horse......
 
The flying club was going great guns and Colt and Matt spent quite a bit of time volunteering as instructors and mentors to any and all students that showed any interest what so ever in flying. There were six boys besides Mark, Luke and Johnny, and two girls that showed great interest in learning to fly, so Colt and Matt made sure to help each of them get their licenses. The two girls were just as interested and talented as the boys were. The kids were all capable of flying in no time flat. One of the girls, her name was Grace Little feather, had actually beaten Johnny in a race, to see who could get to Casper and back the quickest. Matt had accompanied Grace and Colt had flown with Johnny, and they were both impressed with their students.  All the kids showed extreme caution and a healthy respect for the rules and in taking care of the equipment.
 
Colt and Matt decided that they would donate a small plane to the school, for training purposes and so there would always be a plane available when it was needed, in case of emergencies. 
 
 When Colt and Matt originally thought of buying a plane for the school, they had intended to just buy a small practical plane that would be useful for teaching someone to fly, but the more they thought about it, they decided that it would be a good idea to have a plane that was big enough to transport several people to events that might come up, such as sporting events that might take place out of town or for picking up supplies and such, so they decided to buy a twin to Poppa One, and dress it up all fancy.
 
Matt put in the order for the plane to match Poppa One. It had the same design and markings, with the exception that it had the school logo on the side, and the coloring matched the school colors, but one look at it and you could see it was a brother to Poppa One.
 
The students were given the task of picking a name for the new plane,. There were several names that the kids had come up with, but the only one that they all agreed on had a real nice ring to it, and they chose “Pony Express”. The name fit in a lot of ways, as several of the kids pointed out. There was the fact that it carried the idea of horses, which was fitting with a school called Crazy Horse, and it was very fast and maneuverable, and It could deliver whatever was needed. 
 
Matt and Colt had just returned from the school and had completed the checkover of  the plane, on landing.  It checked out one hundred percent, and they closed and locked the hanger and headed for the house.
 
“Matt,” Colt put his arm around his brother, and hugged him, “I want all of us to have a real good time tonight, if we can get the others to join us, I think we should have a nice swimming party, and then get together and have a real romp. It has been much too long since we all had a fling together.”
 
Matt leaned over and kissed Colt deeply and passionately, “I think that is a great idea, I will go check with everyone and get things planned. I will check on what has been planned for dinner and see if Julie and Jo want to join us in a BBQ by the pool.”
 
When Matt got into the kitchen, Julie was pulling steaks out of the freezer. “Matt, what would you think of having a BBQ tonight? I have been thinking of grilled steaks all day.”
 
Matt smiled, “Julie I think you are a mind reader. I was just coming in here to ask you if you might want to do a BBQ and you beat me to it.”
 
The pool was just the thing to relax everyone and the speedos that were being worn by the guys showed off their attributes very nicely. It was quite a party and everyone had a very nice time.  At around 9:30, everyone started to clear out of the pool, and they decided it was time to head to the best place in the house for having fun, THE BEDROOM!  Julie and Jo had retired to their cottage a half hour earlier, It seems they had things they wanted to do together, and we didn't pry into what they did in the privacy of their home. So it was just the guys having a great time, although I was sure that Julie and Jo had a good time as well.
 
Colt grinned, “Let's all head for the bedroom and have some exercise, the kind where you give the muscle of love a good work out.”  
 
Everyone agreed and the clothes, such as they were, were quickly removed and everyone found someone to exercise with.
 
James and I enjoyed the sight of the young hunks having at it, in such a wild passionate display, that we took it upon ourselves to follow suit. We decided to go into the boys' room, since there was no one there, and we proceeded to have a very good time, while we watched everyone else doing the same. You would be amazed at how many things you can do at the same time, when the laws of physics don't have to apply to you. Of course that is a story for another time.
 
We sent everyone love and energy so they would be able to continue as long as they wished. Funny thing though, they all woke up in the morning feeling very refreshed as though they had managed to get a full quota of sleep.
 
When everyone made it to the table there was a huge breakfast already waiting for them. We had sent lots of love and energy to the ladies as well, and they were full of vim and vigor when they woke up too.
 
James and I didn't watch what they did together, but we could tell that something was happening between them and for that, we were very happy, and we had given them the same love and energy that we gave to the guys.
 
As they sat down to breakfast  Colt spoke up. “We have to get back up to the lodge next week, I want to spend the week giving Kevin and Jerry some more in depth training in flying a big plane. Since the new plane has been up there for a while now, we can fly one of our planes up there and take turns giving them flight time in each of the jets. They are both becoming pretty damn good pilots. I would steak my life on them flying me anytime.” 
 
Colt and Matt officially took possession of the Long Rod Ranch and all real estate properties held by the former owner, by paying the accrued over due taxes owed, for the last ten years.
 
With advice from Johnny, they selected the ranch hands that really cared about the ranch and the animals on it.  Some of the hands and the most of the horses were brought over to the Lazy L, while some of the hands from the Lazy L were transferred to the Long Rod. The Long rod became a Cattle Ranch and would be stocked with  a fine heard of prime Guernsey Cattle to provide wholesome fresh dairy products to the area at reasonable prices, and there was a heard of Angus Beef Cattle for free range beef of premium quality. They would only be fed organically grown clover hay and grain. And there would never be any hormones given to any of the cattle.     
 
The other property owned by the scumbag that had beaten and nearly killed his stepson included several apartment buildings in the area, some of which were in such poor condition that the only logical thing to do with them was to tear them down and build something new on the land. The jerk had been getting rent from some of his tenants for providing virtually nothing more than a roof over their heads. There were some of the apartments that had no central heating and others that had no running water.
 
When Colt, Matt, Mike and Andrew checked on one particular house, they found an elderly lady staying there, with “her family”, which consisted of twelve dogs, thirty two cats and several caged birds.
 
“Hi,” Colt beamed, as he saw the charming gray headed lady who opened the door when they knocked, “I'm Colt Andersen, and my brother here,” he pulled Matt into a hug, “My brother and I are the new owners of this place. These other guys, are our Dads. Mike and Andrew. We just stopped by to see who all was living here.  What's your name?”
 
“My name is Agnes Morgan, but you can call me Aggy or Grandma if you prefer. All the kids in the neighborhood call me Grandma. I watch out for them, you know. I know every one of 'em like they was my own grandkids. My husband was Richard Morgan, he worked for the Railroad for more than fifty years before they made him retire.”
 
“Grandma Aggy, I like you and I want to help you. I am sure all the kids around here love you too.  I promise we won't let anything bad happen to you, but we have to get you out of this place. I think it is going to have to be torn down. It's in pretty bad shape right now.” Colt told her.
 
“Well, you seem like very nice people.” The dogs and cats were making their presence known to all the guys smelling everyone and generally making themselves comfortable.  
 
“My babies seem to like you,”Aggy chuckled. Just as she said that, one of the dogs nuzzled Colt's hand and seemed to ask to be petted. Colt knelt down and hugged the dog.  “This is a really nice dog; What's his name?” Colt asked, as the dog continued to lick Colt's hand and wag his tail.
 
“His name is Marshall.  I found him running loose in the park about five years ago. He was just a pup I brought him home and he went right up to Richard. Richard was my husband you know. He worked for the railroad for fifty years, then they made him retire. I miss him so much. I'll be eighty two on the twelfth of next month. 
 
Colt looked up as a drop of water hit him on the head. “Look, Grandma Aggy, it's even worse than I thought. There is a hole In the roof right above my head here, and it's cold in here. How could you possibly stay here during the cold weather?” He saw the tiny space heater and looked at the her sadly. “I think we can find you a much nicer place than this, if you will let us. There is a nice apartment building about a block and a half from here. You can have the three bedroom unit on the first floor for $300 a month, and that includes utilities. All the appliances are in very good condition There is a brand new stove and the fridge is pretty modern as well, and there is a nice dishwasher as well. It isn't brand new but it works just fine. If you have any trouble with any of them, just let us know and we will get it fixed or replaced for you, and there will be no shortage of heat in winter and cool in the summer, I promise.”  He looked down at the animals. 
 
“Grandma Aggy, I am sorry to tell you this, but you can't possibly have all these animals in the apartment. I know they are your friends, but I know of a real nice shelter that never harms animals and they will allow you to come visit them when ever you like. In fact they encourage people to come and love the pets there.  You can keep your favorite dog and cat, with you, when you move, but I am going to have to ask you to let us move the rest of these guys to the shelter. It's called 'The Loving Care Pet palace' and I can assure you that your family here will never want for anything as long as they live. I will make sure of that myself.”    
 
“Thank you, Colt,” She hugged both of the brothers, and and shook hands with Mike and Andrew. “I  have been living here since Richard, he was my husband, retired about fifteen years ago, and I now have to live on the pension I got coming in as widow's benefits. Richard died of pneumonia, staying in this God forsaken place over the winter, two years ago, with nothing but that small space heater there.” she pointed at the heater Colt had noticed earlier.  Colt was shocked at the conditions under which she had been living.  Colt set her up in a clean comfortable apartment in a building near by, after calling in a cleaning service to make  sure it was really nice for her, she moved in with her favorite dog and two of her cats, that she absolutely insisted she be allowed to keep, since they had been with her and her husband and they were all she had left of her family. Colt and Matt decided that two cats wouldn't be much worse than one cat, and Marshall really seemed to like Colt a lot.  Colt and Matt hired a local contractor to see to the situation with the other buildings and make the needed adjustments, repairs, or demolitions.   Colt and Matt had begun to realize just what they had gotten themselves into.
 
To Be Continued... 

Feedback always welcome:     

Author's Notes:

Well, I'm sorry this is a rather short chapter, but honestly it seemed like the place to end it. Anything else I might put in here would really be best left for another chapter, so I stopped it here. I am going to try to make sure I get you at least a chapter each month. I am not exactly sure when I posted the last chapter, but I hope It wasn't too long ago.

As I think I mentioned before, I plan to move things along quite a bit in the next few chapters. It is already getting on toward spring and we will have some adventures during the summer break from school and we might skip a year or two at least we might just hit the highlights. I want to establish the flying situation I might bring out some things dealing with the flying club and also Jerry and Kevin.

Join me next time for another chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one.

Once again I want to thank Tickie for letting me write this book. I am having a wonderful time bringing it to you. Feel free to write to me and tell me anything you think I should know. I almost always write back, and if I don't write back to you it might just be because I lost your e mail or I forgot. I am sixty years old and I do sometimes forget to do stuff I should.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Tickie's note:

Another great chapter Darryl, good you are getting more time to write again. Nice touch having Kevin and Jerry becoming pilots, and the nice new plane for the Canada Lodge. I see the boys are all in the same grade in school, that's a nice touch too... Guess Johnny was kept out of school with the bastard step father of his. Keep up the great story my dear friend.

Posted: 11/16/07