K.R."s Scheme

 K.R. listened to Lill as long as he could stand it. Then he hung up. "Her cut! Ha! What a laugh." He had Maxine and her sidekick, Bill's neighbors, and a few others on the hook; well maybe quite a few. He had been a lawyer for years and hadn't made the money he thought he would make after all the years of college and law school. He ended up writing wills and doing real estate closings. He was close to being broke. He chuckled. He had his laptop powered up with the ranch investment folder on the screen. He checked out the money that was coming in from his "investors" and just grinned. He was going to be rich. Bill's old dude ranch wasn't worth a hill of beans, but people were investing money in it. It was amazing to him how people spent their money on get rich quick scams. It hadn't taken too much of his time or money either. When Bill came into his office a few months back and asked him to make him out a will he told him that a video will would be a nice sentimental touch. He also told old Bill that a will on paper wasn't necessary in Texas and the old boy believed him. "Oh that was so easy and when he came to the part where he told the girl where the necklace and earrings were he had purposely broken the tape. "Now I just have to make sure that girl doesn't stay on the ranch. That necklace and earrings set is worth even more than Bill thought. I just have to make sure that son of mine keeps his nose out of it and leaves so I can go get it. Then I'm outta here."

The next morning the neighbor man looked out the window and was so excited. "Little lady, come quick. They are gone! Yippee, soon we will be rich." His wife looked over his shoulder with the binoculars. "Sorry dearie, but the camper is still there, just the Jeep is gone. I bet you a nickel they have gone into town and will be back. We will wait a bit to see. If they come back then you can call K.R. What do you think?" They discussed the girl and the young man and decided they would wait a few hours before jumping to conclusions. They should trust K.R. and be patient.

 Allie was excited to go to the bank and get some cash. They needed water, food, some kind of feed for those weird animals, cleaning supplies, and food for the dog that had helped herself to a free ride to Texas and cash in case the nice lady that lived in the cabin needed back wages. She knew that Maxine was kind of the overseer of the ranch. She was a bit disappointed that she hadn't seen fit to keep her uncle's house clean though. It was going to take a lot of elbow grease to get it fit to live in. Josh had told Allie about the grouchy man telling him to get off the ranch. She found herself frowning and wondering just who these people were. As they pulled up to the bank they remarked on how old and small it was. A little old man was sitting outside the bank on a bench. He said, "Howdy, and hung his head staring at a small bouquet of wilted flowers.

Allie and Josh parted ways. She was going to the bank to get some cash and Josh was going to the farm store they had seen down the way for some supplies. They would meet at the grocery store when they were finished.

When Allie walked in it smelled old and musty. There was only one teller. She looked up and said, "Hello there. May I help you?"

Allie said, "Yes, I have a debit card here that should give me access to an account that my uncle left me in his will, but I haven't seen an ATM around town. Could I please have five hundred dollars? She had slid her drivers license to the teller for her ID as well as her debit card. "The teller said, "I'm sorry, ma'am but I have no authorization to give you any money without better identification. We don't have an ATM in town. You would have to go back about thirty miles to a bigger town. If you do that we would gladly set up  a new account for you here though. Here is a form with just a few questions for you to answer and fill in. You will need your birth certificate, social security number, phone number (home and work) and address. and of course, your mother's maiden name and a person living with you that is not a relative. We require two hundred dollars to start your new account. If you keep that balance or above there will be no charge. If you go below that then there will be a ten dollar charge. A book of checks is thirty dollars. They should be here in about ten business days. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

 Allie was more than a bit upset and overwhelmed. She needed to find Josh. As she went out the door the little old man was still sitting on a bench staring at the small bouquet of wilted flowers. Soon she saw Josh coming down the street. He did not look a bit happy. "You can not believe this, Josh! I can't get any money out of the bank and there is not a single ATM in this whole town! We are going to have to go about thirty miles to find one. What are you upset about?"

Josh said, "Well, the only farm store in town was so little I couldn't find much of anything but cowboy hats. Speaking of cowboy hats there were four ranch hands in there that somehow knew you were in town. They want their past wages. By the way they each bought a new hat and had the clerk put it on your account. Did you know that you had an account? I'm starving so let's get out of here and go get something to eat and some money. They did take my charge card and I bought a few things, but I need to be careful too. I have some money saved to start my own business. I don't know, Allie, if this ranch business is a good idea or not. It seems to me like people don't want you out here. They don't even know you, yet they all have an opinion about you and most of them aren't good! You should have heard them talking back there. Are you sure you can handle all this? You don't even have running water! And you might as well know I'm not going to stick around for long. I'll stay just long enough to help get that house cleaned up and make sure the buildings are safe. Then I have to be on my way. It's probably a good idea to go to a bigger town anyway. I have to rent a car and buy some clothes. Not that I'm against cowboy hats, but they just aren't my thing."

Allie was more than sad to hear the things that Josh was telling her. She felt overwhelmed and hurt. Hurt that her Uncle Bill left her a ranch that wasn't worth two cents in her estimation. And the people in the town! Terrible right down to the waitress in the cafe. Maybe I should sell and get what I can out of it. I could go back to college and get my degree. Then I would be set. I know it's not what Uncle Bill wanted, but I have to do what's best for me. She looked at Josh on the way to town. "Okay, I get where you are coming from, Josh. Can you give me two weeks? Help me clean the place up, get some running water in the house. Two thousand dollars isn't going to stretch very far, but if I can get internet out there I can advertise the ranch and get some money coming in. I just really think that kids would love to come out and ride horses and make friends. Like a camp for disabled kids, or lonely kids? I don't know, but I think it should be a ranch for kids." Josh snorted and said, "What horses? All I saw were goats and one alpaca, one ewe and some chickens. You have no money for horses or feed or for fixing up the buildings."

Allie said, "Well, while you left me in that disgusting thing called an outhouse, I walked around and explored a little. I have five hundred acres out there, remember? There are horses that live on that ranch, Josh. They are up in the hills. They are beautiful. You will help me won't you? Please?"

With a stern look on his face he said, "Two weeks, not a day longer. I have a life too you know. I k now zilch about horses and kids for that matter. Do you? You haven't said a word about kids or riding horses."

Allie smiled thinking of ways to stretch the two weeks to three if she needed to. She so much needed his help. She liked him and he had been nice enough.

Josh frowned, but to himself he thought, "She is thinking of a way to get me to stay longer. I just know it. She's nice enough, but what connection does my dad have with her Uncle Bill? Why does he want her off that ranch? Maybe I should stay and do a little exploring myself."