The Spirit Of Christmas Visits The Old Miner

 Laura continued talking about her new puppy. How cute she was, that her name just fit her, how warm and snuggly she was etc. Rex was not impressed. "A therapy dog? Bah! Who needs therapy? What about Christmas? Don't need that either. Just a bunch of baloney and spending money needlessly on folks that don't give two hoots about me. They only care about my money. I'm spending a fortune on this place. Yah! Thousands of dollars a month that I broke my back for so that they can tell me I can't drive, I have to do this, I have to do that. All they do is feed me pills and show me that I'm an old and forgotten man. I'm just fine right here in that expensive hotel room with my picture of Naomi, the love of my life." Rex felt funny all of a sudden. The room seemed brighter and he couldn't hear anything, but he could smell pine trees. "Oh great, I'm having another stroke. It's all their fault for upsetting me," he thought. He tried to tell Laura and Aaliyah to call a nurse, but no words would come. "Well, this is it, I'm going to die in a nursing home. A lot of people will be happy I'm gone, but I'd kinda like to stick around awhile longer to see what this young woman will do with my ranch."

He felt warm and thought he heard a soft gentle voice talking to him. He looked towards the window where the voice was coming from. "Well, it's about time a nurse came to help me. I'm gonna die pretty quick if you don't get busy, nurse." Then he realized he must be in Heaven. She was beautiful and was wearing a halo. In her hands she carried a candle.  He couldn't quite make out what she was saying. In order to hear and understand her he figured he'd better lay his anger and fear of dying to rest at least for the time being. "What? You are the nurse who will help me bring joy to others? Nope. Not gonna do it. Ouch! Quit that! Alright. What's your scam? You must be related to K.R. Nobody gets something for nothing. A promise? What's a promise worth nowadays? An old promise? Well, if it gets me outta this room, let's hear it."

"You will soon see another young woman who is studying to be a nurse..."

 "I don't want nobody taking care of me that doesn't know what they're doin'. Now it's nice of you to visit, but just leave me alone. I'm dying, don't ya know? Have a little respect."

The angel shook her head and said, "You aren't dying yet. The first thing I want to see is a smile on your face, the second thing I want to see is you showing a little kindness to your new student nurse. I have a feeling she has an idea that just might make your life a little more fun and make other folk's lives even better for having known you."

 With that she disappeared. As Rex looked around his room. It all looked the same except there was a Christmas tree in the corner. It was really pretty. He put a smile on his face. It felt strange smiling. "Laura must have had Aaliyah help her decorate a tree for me. That was good of her. I feel bad that I fell asleep. She's been a good friend to me. I've been one to her too, right?" His eyes felt heavy and thought, "Boy that was some dream I had. It made me tired is what it did."

 He fell asleep again as a student nurse looked in his door to check on him. His visitors said that he was tired and had fallen asleep while they were there decorating a tree for him. She had brought her two little boys in to see him since it was her day off. "I wonder if I should wake him up? Okay boys, now listen. This gentleman hasn't been happy lately. He doesn't get very many visitors. I think it's our job to cheer him up. Okay, now big smiles." She knocked on the door and much to her surprise she heard the older man say, "If you think you are a nurse, you sure don't look like one. Get those kids outta here. I'm dying. Leave me alone." Britney looked at her little ones and thought, "Well, this idea wasn't a good one. It's okay boys, we will try another day when he's in a better mood." With that she took them out for ice cream and tried to explain to them that somedays aren't always happy ones for everyone, even older folks. It didn't convince them. They told her that they didn't want to go back to visit that man again.

                                                                           ******

On the way back to the ranch Allie thought, "Boy, I'm sure glad he's not my grandfather. Poor Josh." She giggled and said, "Poor Josh my foot. He better get back here and help me put up a website for the Dude Ranch on the internet. I have to get internet! Oh my goodness. I have to get that ordered. Oh man, there is so much to do. I probably should look for bills to pay too. I sure don't want the electricity to be shut off. I want to find out more about my ancestors, but maybe I better let that go for awhile. I need to get all the horses to the stables and find a vet to come out here and check them all out. The grass out in those hills probably isn't enough for them to keep them healthy. I have no idea how long they have been out there. I need to order feed, supplements, and check to see if the equipment is all in good working order. I think it's time for a meeting with the ranch hands. I have to get organized. I don't know much about horses. I know little more than nothing about running a ranch. I lived in an apartment with a spider as a roommate. Nope, now you have to get with it, girl. You need a day planner. You may not know what happened to that old journal, but maybe there is a new one someplace I can use to get started. Mom used to have a notebook she kept in the kitchen cupboard. I'm not fussy even though I'm rich." Then she did laugh out loud. "I'm rich and I'm looking for a notebook or some paper to get myself together. Brother, maybe I am related to those old folks in the old journal."

As she turned into the driveway she saw flashing lights on the sheriff's patrol car. "What is going on now? It never stops out here." She pulled up to the house and there were the neighbors getting put into the patrol car. There were all kinds of people standing around talking that she didn't know from a hole in the ground. She wondered briefly if they were her neighbors. It made no difference. She was not feeling a bit neighborly at this point.

"What'd they do sheriff? I thought you told them never to set foot on my ranch again." 

"I did, Allie, but folks like these don't often learn their lessons with a soft touch. Want to press charges? They were tearing up the floor in an old room upstairs when I caught them. Hey Ryan, thanks for telling your mom what you saw. I bet Santa will be good to you this year, right, Kelly?"

"I'll write Santa a note, but I will remind Ryan that chores are important to do," she smiled. "Isn't that right, Dear?" as she grinned at her husband.

"Hello, Allie. We are Kelly and Roger. We have three children and Ryan is the oldest one. Welcome to Texas. It can be exciting at times," she chuckled.

"Nice to meet you, but right now I need to talk to the sheriff. Hey, I don't want to press charges against these two just yet. I want to talk to them and find out why they broke into my house first. I want to know why that guy thinks I have a family heirloom of his. I want to know a lot of things as a matter of fact.  And I want to know it now! No more funny business. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and right now I'm mad as a hornet. So let's start talking."

That seemed to get everyone talking and no one paid any attention or saw the slight movement of the curtains in the hidden room behind the old dresser. "Boy, just look at this mess. I'm sure glad the sheriff caught them before they found this. Sorry, you little packrats, but this is much more important than your sleep at night." He picked up the necklace and earrings and looked at the chewed up money that was forming a nest for the family of rodents. 

Well, it's too late to save that cash, but not too late to move this to a safe place. I don't have a clue where to put the adoption papers that the rats hadn't chewed up. I probably should have just let them have them for their nest, but maybe someday they will mean the difference between life and death, happiness and sorrow, sickness or health. The way things are going I'd better think of a place nobody will go anymore. I got it. I had better put them in the well house. No one will find them there for generations to come. By then it won't make a hill of beans a difference. Yup, I'm thinking that's a good place."

"Hey! What do you think you are doing? Destroy those papers! You should have left them where I put them! Bill! Don't do it! It doesn't matter to you and I now that we are gone, but no one needs to know about the boys. Destroy them!" Virginia vanished and so did the papers that were still clutched in the hands of Bill's ghost.