Good Advice From Belle's Mom

 "Well Mom, our first night camping was pretty much a disaster. You and I. Yes, I'll take a little credit. You said we needed to make lists so I should have made a list too. We forgot salt and pepper and butter. The only food that tasted right was that can of pork and beans you opened with that little bitty can opener and hotdogs that you burned over the campfire. How are your fingers this morning? I thought you said you were an old school camper. We didn't even have any S'mores for dessert. I guess I should be thankful that you remembered to put some water in the refrigerator. It is a pretty cool camper. I think once we get it all stocked with what we need and what we want we should go camping more often. The most important thing we forgot was toilet paper. We always had to climb up that hill to go to the bathroom. First thing on the list, right? We really need to stop at a convenience store to get some stuff. I even forgot to bring my sunglasses. How many more hours until we get to Texas? Oh look there's a sign that says gas and food. Let's stop and get something to eat and buy some stuff. I do like shopping, you know. Great."

It wasn't long before Belle and her mom were done eating. They had such fun shopping for sunglasses and the things they had forgotten. Belle laughed as she posed with her hat and sunglasses. "Do you think Texas is ready for me?"

Belle's mom laughed and said, "You'd better get in the car. We had reservations for early this evening at the Double D. They will be expecting us." Belle quickly got in the front seat and kept her mom company talking about the strange people they had seen at the campground. "I just had a weird feeling about those people when we had to walk to the public restrooms. Did you see that old camper they had? It looked like it came from a war zone. Yuk! I felt safer when we were locked in the camper. Did you think they were watching us a lot?" Belle's mom said that she hadn't noticed and not to judge people by the looks of their things. "They probably had toilet paper and salt," she laughed. and pointed out some long horn cattle. They were getting close to the Texas border.

Belle's mom told her daughter a little bit about the Texas Longhorn cattle. "Some of them have horns about eight feet long. They've been around since the 1400's by some Spanish conquistadores. If I remember right they were looking for gold and left their skinny cattle to fend for themselves. They got stronger and meaner over the years. I think Christopher Columbus might have brought some over on his second voyage for the colonists. You should look it up on your tablet, or better yet, we can go to the library and read about them. It's really quite a story. Oh look, there's the Welcome to Texas sign."

"I think it's just another two hours or so. I read they even have a swimming pool. They might even have S'mores" she laughed and winked at her daughter. "My Belle, she thought. Oh how I love her."

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Allie's neighbors were fixing fence when they noticed the strangest thing. There was a white horse coming towards them at a pretty fast pace.

"That kind of looks like a horse that used to live on the Double D. I think they called him Shadow. Do you see what I see? Is that a cat on his back?" Soon Shadow whinnied and shook his head. He took his head and hit the older man's arm until he dropped his hammer. "What in the world are you doing boy? Why do you have a cat on your back?" Shadow took the man's shirt in his large yellow teeth and began to paw the ground with his hooves. "I think he wants us to go with him, said the younger man. Let's walk with him and see if I'm right. The fence will wait."

 The older man agreed and soon found that the big white horse was leading them to the back of an old abandoned house. "I've lived here all my life. I sure don't remember this old house being here. I wonder if this is on my land? We'd better check this out." They couldn't believe their eyes. There were cats, dogs, horses, and numerous other animals. Some were in cages and some were chained to the trees or fence posts. They didn't see any watering pails or feeders. The animals were in bad shape. Some of them were so hungry and thirsty they couldn't bark or make any noises. Some just looked quietly at the men. "We need to call the sheriff. They is no excuse for this kind of cruelty. I've been hearing about abandoned animals being dumped next door. I wonder why. See if you can find some water. I'm going to call the sheriff and the Humane Society. "

The old camper came to a stop and watched what was going on at their hideaway. "Doggone it! How did they find them critters? K.R. is going to wring our neck." He hit the gas and threw something out the window. "We are outta here, partner. We don't need the sheriff on our tail. He's not paying us enough to end up back in the joint."

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Allie asked to see the manager of the bank. The teller told her to have a seat by the window and she would call Allie as soon as he could see her.

Josh and Justin walked by the bank and saw Allie sitting by the window. "She has no idea we are brothers, Justin. We have to handle this carefully. I am so thankful that your mom moved out of this town. It will make this all go a lot smoother. I see a lawyer's office just a couple of door down the street. Let's get this done." Justin agreed, but said quietly, "Our mom you mean." and kept on walking with his shoulders not as straight as they were just hours before.

As Lill brought the older man a warm up for his coffee she saw the two young men, the same age, the same brown eyes walking side by side down the street. "They even walk like him. They should have grown up together. There's only one person to blame. It's all my fault. I never should have listened to him"