Chaos On The Double D!

 Grace had finally fallen asleep. Her mother wasn't a bit happy with her. She told her that she should stick it out for at least a few more days. It just couldn't possibly be as crazy as she made it out to be. Plus her dad agreed with her mom. "Parents." she thought. "I'm a grownup now. I graduated from high school. They are treating me like a child." She had tossed and turned for most of the night. She had even gone outside and stared at the stars and made a wish. She wished that things would be better so she could stay and learn all about horses and enjoy the romantic side of the dude ranch life. She could hear soft tunes coming from the bunkhouse. They were almost sad and seemed to match her mood. She finally thought she had to get some sleep and went back to bed. When she opened her eyes in the morning she couldn't believe her bad luck. There were three cats sitting in the window and that little Addie was waving at her!

"No! No! Not today! I can't handle this. Where did those cats come from? No don't open the door, little one. I'll get them." About that time the cats let out a loud meow and out the door they went. Then Addie started to cry. "Kitty gone!! Get Kitties! All gone!"

Grace went running out the door trying to catch Addie before she got too far away from the house. Her grandmother and Allie were both on the run looking for her when they both spotted her at the bottom of a huge tree. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. "Kitties, kitties. come back! Come back." She was crying so hard she was having trouble talking. Grace, Allie, and Addie's grandmother all arrived about the same time. There high in the biggest tree on the ranch were three cats. All different colors and sizes and yowling their heads off in fear. Besides Addie and the three grownups there was a huge dog barking loud enough to be heard in the next county. It was chaos on the Double D and it was all happening before breakfast.

Allie watched as Addie's grandma picked her up and consoled her. "Shush, now, baby girl. It's going to be okay. That's just what kitties do when they are scared. They are safe though, because dogs can't climb up into trees like cats can. They'll come down when they get hungry. We will just go up to the house and finish packing. By the time we are ready to leave, the cats will be safely on the ground." 

Allie stood at the tree and thought, "I think I should call a tree service or something. I don't think the fire department would appreciate it if I called them all the way out here on a non emergency call. She looked at Addie's tear streaked face and felt so bad for the little one. Grace looked like she was going to climb the tree herself. That dog was big and wouldn't quit barking. Josh grinned at the whole situation. "Life on the Double D is never dull. We'll wait awhile and if they don't come down, I know of  a tree service in town. I saw their sign. He has one of those cherry picker buckets. He'll get them down, but after that, what are we going to do with them? We keep getting more and more animals dumped on the borders of the ranch. There's a meeting in town in a couple of days. We really must go to that. This needs to be stopped."

Grace looked down at her phone. Someone had left a voice mail during all this ruckus She didn't recognize the number, but was so excited. "My clothes! Yes!"  As she listened to the recording she learned that her clothes would be delivered to the Double D the next day. They were coming to deliver Shadow at the same time. Who was Shadow? "Does anyone here know a Shadow? I just got a voice mail that the same people that are bringing my clothes to me are delivering a Shadow. I guess I have to stay another night. I hope that is alright with you, Allie."

"Addie's grandmother squeezed her so tight she let out a little yelp. "I can't believe it! I almost left without seeing Shadow. He is my daughter's horse. Oh, is it alright if I stay another night, Allie?"

The three little children looked at their hopefully new parents and said, "May we stay and see if the cats get down and see the horse?" Their new mom said, "No, I' am so sorry, but we have to leave now to be home in time for the home visit from the social worker. How about if we come back to visit another time?" They happily agreed and piled into the car. They waved and thanked everyone for the good time and finding them new parents. They were on their way to their new home.

Josh looked the situation over and thought, "I think I'll stay here for awhile too. Allie's Uncle Bill had no idea that this was going to happen when he gave the ranch to both of us. Allie needs help but she needs to be sole owner of the ranch. She wants this ranch to be a place of peace and beauty. She would love to have children learn about horses and learn to ride them. I wanted her to open up the silver mine, but she would have no part of it. We are just too different in our ways of thinking. She's a love, but not my love. The video said that we have to live on the ranch for exactly one year to meet the demands of the will. I'll find a lawyer that should be able to nullify that particular part of the will. I want to run my own office, and actually Allie needs me less as time goes by. Once we get these animals to a licensed rescue they will find new homes. Hopefully at the meeting we can find a way to stop folks from dumping unwanted animals out here. 

"Allie, do you want me to call that tree service, or do you want to wait for the cats to come down on their own?" Addie was still crying and Allie was so soft hearted. "Call them and see if they can get them down. And Jean and Grace of course, you can stay longer, but I still need help with the cleaning and cooking. Do you think you can give me a hand? I'll call Pat and see if she can come out and help us too. She's a good cook like you, Jean.

 She looked at Grace's disappointed face and had a thought. " Grace, how would you like to walk down to the barn and meet some horses? Yes, you can start today!" Grace squealed with delight, but watching from the upstairs window, Miss Belle, was far from delighted. "Look at those humans. They don't have a lick of sense. Meetings! Pshaw! All humans do is talk, talk, talk. Action, that's what is needed Action! I need to get in touch with my great Aunt Tillie. We need to start our own patrol around these borders. I think I can make it over there by nightfall. That old girl is from a long line of feral cats. They are strong willed and mean as all git out! We will get this fixed for the new girl. Guaranteed!