Ranchland – Chapter 8

Ranchland – Chapter 8

“Ben, what’s the date today?” Amy asked her uncle. She was toiling over the ranch’s accounts, as she did every month. Ben Calhoun shook his head, wondering how his niece could lose track of something like the date.

“Umm,” he answered as he looked at the calendar, “September 15th. Why?”

“Because there’s all kinds of important dates this month, and I wasn’t sure which one was next. We wouldn’t want to miss Angie’s birthday . . . would you?” she teased him. Their daughter’s birthday was all Ben had talked about for the last three weeks.

“Even if I wanted to forget, you really think Angela would let me?” Ben reminded Amy.

“No, I doubt there’s much chance of you getting away with trying to duck out of your daughter’s second birthday party. I assume you’ve got something in mind for her ‘Magic Day’?”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy out I the shop for the last few months. She seems to think she’s ready for a ‘Big Girl’s Bed’. So far, I’ve got her new canopy bed and dresser finished. All that’s left is the two night tables, and she’ll have her ‘Big Girl’ bedroom suite for her second birthday.”

“You’ve built the whole thing? How come you haven’t shown me? Where did you get the designs from?” Amy interrogated her uncle.

“Remember that white suite we saw down in Calgary? The one that Angie kept drooling over? I had Collin sneak some pictures of it when he and Janice were down in June. It’s as close as I could make it. All that’s left to do is put some hardware on, a little paint touch-up, and then add that fluffy comforter you bought her. That suite is all she’s been interested in, since she saw it last spring.”

“So how come you haven’t let me in on your little secret, Mr. Meat-Ball?” Amy demanded.

“What, and ruin a surprise for both my daughter and my niece? If I keep it a secret from you, too, I get double the impact, and you know how much I love surprising both of you” Ben iterated.

“Ben Calhoun, you’re still a walking, talking, blubbering softie, where our daughter is concerned! God, the way you spoil that girl!” she injected. It was true, though, and the way Ben loved their daughter made Amy’s heart beat a little stronger.

“Yeah, well, I got trained that way by her mother,” Ben gave as an excuse, “who also gets spoiled rotten . . . and heavy on the ‘Rotten’ part!” Amy turned and gave her uncle a menacing stare, but couldn’t hold the expression for more than a few seconds. He was right. He did spoil both his girls.

Ben went to where his niece was working, leaned down to her, and kissed her softly and tenderly on the forehead. Amy lifted her head to him, her eyes pleading for more than just a henpeck, and her uncle was more than happy to accommodate her. She felt his lips pressing harder against hers, instinctively parting her lips to find his tongue gently prodding as it sought entrance, then began to return his affections as she tangled her tongue with his. With Angie out of the house, Ben was more than willing to scoop his niece up in his arms and carry her to their bedroom. It was a great idea, but an insistent knock on the back door interrupted his plans. Amy moaned in frustration at the intrusion, slowly releasing Ben from the lock of her lips.

Ben walked through the kitchen to the back door, opened it, and was greeted by the sight of his lead hand, Jim Allison. By the look on Jim’s face, something wasn’t quite right in his world.

“Hi, Jim. Come on in” Ben greeted. “What’s up? You look like you’ve lost your best friend, or something. Problem?”

“Nah . . . well, actually, Beth’s gone and opened her big mouth about . . . something, and now I’m busy running damage control. You got a minute? I could sure use an ear to bend” Jim tried to explain. Ben ushered him into the kitchen, offering a coffee to the man, which Jim happily accepted.

Ben ushered his lead-hand into the kitchen, offering Jim a cup of coffee before they sat at the table.

“So what’s the problem?” Ben asked, trying to ease into further discussion. Jim was usually the most easy-going person he knew. To be this worried, there must be something really wrong.

“It seems Beth has volunteered us to hold a weekend seminar over Thanksgiving for a group known as ‘Children Of Incest’,” Jim started, “and now we have to find somewhere large enough to handle about fifty people, plus accommodations, and all the other arrangements. Food, entertainment, a meeting place, and a whole bunch of other things that I can’t remember right now.” Jim took a deep breath, then let it out slowly before continuing. “Anyway, I was wondering if we could rent some space in the horse barn for that weekend, and how much you’d charge us.” He let the conversation lapse long enough for Ben to formulate an answer.

“I don’t have a problem with you using the horse barn, Jim, but where the hell are you going to sleep fifty people? October’s a little cold for outdoor camping, and I doubt our septic field would handle that many at one time anyway. How would you deal with facilities?”

“Most of the people have RVs they can bring, which would solve the accommodation problem” Jim explained. “If they use their own holding tanks, all we’ll need is a couple of Port-A-Potties, which we can rent. Beth has talked to most of the women, and they’re pretty well set up to do the meals on a portable propane griddle. It’s just a matter of getting a building for meetings, and permission to park that many vehicles for the weekend.”

“Sure, no problem that I can see. I’d better check with Amy before I give you the green light, though. Can you hold on while I drag her away from that desk?” Without waiting for an answer, Ben went back into the dining room, which doubled as an office, and beckoned to his niece to join the conversation in the kitchen. Walking into the room, she stopped to pour herself a coffee, then sat down at the table.

“Hi, Jim,” she greeted their foreman, “what’s this all about, anyway?” She looked towards Jim with great interest. If there were going to be potential problems for Angie to deal with, she herself would be interested in attending some of these meetings.

“Well, I was explaining to Ben that Beth and I have been asked to sponsor a . . . “ Amy waved her hand at Jim, interrupting his repeating explanation.

“Yeah, I heard all that” Amy cut in. “But what’s this ‘Children Of Incest’ group about? I’m kind of interested, for my own reasons. Can you tell me something about it? Like, maybe the background, your objectives, and some of the problem areas you deal in?”

“Let’s see, where to begin?” Jim started. “Beth and I got involved with a self-help group called ‘Children Of Incest’, about thirty years ago. At first, we wondered what problems people who were conceived in incestuous circumstances experienced. Over time, it dawned on us that those people that knew the whole story of their parents’ relationship seemed to handle it best, and had fewest problems. In fact, some of the happiest people we know were born into a family that had experienced the consequences of . . . ‘family fun’, shall we say’. Beth and I have some experience with the subject, and these seminars seem to help a lot of people.”

“As time went on, we ran into more people that were actually quite well-oriented with their circumstances. Instead of being ‘survivors’, they rejoice in their circumstances. Almost all the people we know were born to a brother-and-sister couple, or are from a father-and-daughter situation. Some of them had no idea of the stories behind their conception until they were almost adults. Others knew the truth from an early age. Regardless, just about everyone in our group is part of a large and close-knit family. So, that’s the background on this particular group. We spend a lot of time sharing the joys and happiness of their situations, and it encourages others to look on the brighter side of their birthrights.”

Amy looked up at Ben, who was pondering Jim’s explanation. She wondered if Jim was aware that she and Ben were related legally, if not biologically. Her silent question was answered as Ben nodded his head towards her.

“Jim, am I correct that you know about Amy and I?” Ben asked. Jim hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Yeah, I think we all do, out here on the ranch” Jim began to explain. “If there was going to be anyone that wasn’t comfortable with it, that would be Collin and Janice. Well, Janice, mostly. I’ve known Collin since he was about fourteen or fifteen. I knew his sister, too, before she went up to Alberta Beach. I think she moved away to get as far from her embarrassment as she could. It’s too bad, too, because a part of our group could really help her get over her angers and fears.”

“Why would Janice object?” Ben asked. He couldn’t figure out why Janice would have a problem, and Collin wouldn’t.

“You mean you don’t know? Collin never mentioned anything? Hmm, that’s not like him. But anyway, I’ll tell you, as long as you both promise never to breath a word. Not even to Collin. Deal?” Jim queried.

“Oh, come on, Jim!” Amy admonished. “Like we’re gonna go around bad-mouthing one of our best friends? I don’t think so! But we promise to keep Collin’s secret to ourselves. Okay?” Jim looked towards Ben, seeking his confirmation to Amy’s oath of silence. Ben nodded, then devoted his full attention to his foreman’s information.

“Well, the truth of the matter is, Tanya’s not Collin’s only daughter. He and his sister had a little girl when he was eighteen and she was nineteen. Their parents threw both of them out on their ear, and Cynthia’s never forgiven her brother. Too bad, really, because Collin would give his right arm for both his daughter, and his sister, and Shelly’s turned out to be one hell of a great kid. She’ll be graduating from high school next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see her move in with Collin and Janice. I think Janice would love the idea, too. She and Shelly used to get along so well, before Cynthia forbade the child to see her father. I think she was trying to hurt Collin, but it was Janice that was actually hurt the most.”

“Shit,” Ben began to curse, “ she’s more than welcome to move here, if she wants. I’ll have to tell Collin . . . no, I can’t do that, can I? If I do, he’ll know someone blabbed. But you can tell him, can’t you, Jim? Let him know, I mean? That is daughter is more than welcome?”

“Yeah, I’ll mention it to him, next time we’re out on the upper ranges. He’ll understand, but let him come to you with the full story, and act like it’s fresh news to you guys, okay?” There was a look of partial relief on Jim’s face now, but Amy got the feeling that he had more to share with them.