Will The Truth Set Them Free?

 It seemed that everyone was talking at once. Some people were shouting and most  kept talking louder trying to be heard over others. The neighbors were so excited. The sheriff was finally kicking the girl and her friend off the ranch. K.R. didn't seem to be answering his phone. They had tried several times to reach him, but at last they gave up and decided to enjoy the show. They had walked the half mile and crawled on their hands and knees back to the fence so that they could hear what was going on without being seen. They told their little puppy, Daisy to be quiet and hold still.

Josh's plan to get a ride back into town was immediately quashed by the sheriff. Allie was crying and Haylee was talking to Mike and the sheriff without taking a breath. The alpacas were humming their unhappiness with all the commotion. The chickens were clucking their displeasure warning the humans there were not going to be fresh eggs for their breakfast in the morning. Daisy grinned when she spotted Chata and jumped through the hole in the fence and jumped up on top of the patrol car. Mike said, "Aren't you a cute little thing. Where did you come from?" Laura said, "I'd know that pup anywhere. It belongs to your neighbors. I gave that puppy to them just a couple of months ago from our dog's litter."

Josh felt like he was suffocating because he had been hiding the truth from these wonderful folks for so long; especially Allie. He really liked her. He had to tell her and her friends the truth.

"Alright !Alright, already! Just be quiet and I'll tell you what I know. You are not going to like it much. I don't like me much, but you deserve to know. You deserve to know that my dad's a crook!"

The Texas ranch became still. All that could be heard was a sob from Allie, a deep breath from the sheriff and a sigh from Laura. The animals seemed to hold their breath for what seemed to Josh for  hours.  Even the horses on the hillside held their heads still pointing them to the ranch seeming to listen. "Well, he is! And what's more, I've been helping him do his dirty work."

The neighbors were whispering into each other's ears blaming each other for their puppy's getaway. "You should have been watching her closer."  "No you should have been holding onto her leash tighter." "We should have left her at home. Oh no, "I can't believe we did this. Can you hear what's going on over there? Oh no! They are talking about us. Let's get out of here." "We can't leave Daisy. Doggone it, if we stay, Daisy will run right over to us and all those folks will know we are behind the fence eavesdropping. We have to go home and act all innocent like when they bring Daisy home. I'm itching somethin' fierce. You change soap or somethin'? Let's get outta here."

Maxine had made herself comfortable on an old bench so that she could hear what was going on. She closed her eyes for a moment then motioned for the young man to come over and sit by her. "I think I know who you are and who your dad is. Why don't you start from the beginning and I'll see if I can't fill in the blanks that you are searching for."

 Laura took a look at Maxine and walked over to her. "Well, well, well, you decided to make an appearance after all these months. I heard you and your sidekick were takin' care of Bill, now here you are all of a sudden in the middle of all of this. Are you wanting money too? It seems to me that if my old friend should suddenly walk back on this land there would be some scatterin' done. He's not a bit happy I can tell you that for sure. You never ever take old folks for granted. They know more about most stuff than you'll ever know. He asked me to talk to the sheriff you know."

The sheriff walked over to the two women. "Well, your side kick did come to see me the other day wantin' me to kick these kids off the ranch. What is the story, Maxine? I always trusted you and thought you were a good woman. Is that no longer true? Just where is the man you think so much of anyway?"

The sweat was running down his neck and into his eyes as K.R. was maneuvering the big Packard down the winding country roads as fast as he could. "That was close. I need to get to the ranch, but I have a feeling that I might not be welcome. That girl that was driving looked me right in the eye and recognized me. I think I will go south for awhile and let things settle down. I have enough money to make me comfortable for a few months. "It's a sad day when you can't trust your own son to help you out a little. Well, at least I think of him as my son. He was just a kid when I first laid eyes on him. I can't even remember his real name. Seems like his name was Phil, Will, oh yeah; Bill named after my aunt's boy. Oh excuse me, dear old dad; William. Yes, William was the pride and joy of the DD Ranch. He was the son you always wanted not your own flesh and blood. You had that picture of you and him sitting on that old desk for me to see all my life."

 "I'm sick of that place. Hated it out there. Nothing but work, horses and dirt and manure. Smartest move I ever made was getting out there. I got the money I wanted out of that big piece of dirt and I got old Bill to make a will on video. Ha! I'm the only one that knows where the missing piece of that video is and no one will ever find it.  Oh there's a gas station up ahead. I need to fill up and head for the beach. I'll use some of the cash I found in that old Jeep. Josh thought he was so smart and hid it under the floor mat in the back. Ha. What a chump! I taught him better than that. That's fine he can spend the rest of his life digging in the dirt and making discoveries. Yeah, that's what he used to call them; discoveries. I wasted all my time and energy on that kid."

When K.R. finished filling up his Packard he went inside to pay for the gas and pick up some snacks and drinks to take a long. The cashier rang up the bill, thanked him and mentioned the red stain on his hands. She asked him if he had hurt himself.

  "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. Oh, I have no idea what's on my hands. No no I'm fine. See ya! Yeah, you too!"

The sheriff looked at his cell phone and saw that it was an unknown caller. Since he seemed to have his hands full at the moment he didn't answer the call. Whoever it was would call again if it was important.