Saying Goodbye To The Double D

 Rex made his way out to the silver mine. The mine that had ruined his marriage, his relationships with his brother and children, but had made him a very rich man. It had helped build the community where so many of his friends and now family lived. He had to make it right for Allie and Josh. It sounded like she was in financial trouble. He had planned for this sort of situation many years ago. It just seemed like a good idea to put a little something away for what some called a rainy day. Well, there was a thunderstorm happening at the Double D and he was going to put a stop to it. He smiled when he pulled up to his mine. There were yellow strips of tape as a warning for folks not to enter, but he grinned as he saw his picture still hanging there after so many years. He had Maggie's picture up there at one time. She was a beautiful little angel, now gone to Heaven where other angels lived. He wiped tears away and tore down the tape. As he walked down the dark but familiar tunnels, he touched the sweating walls and felt the cool, but stale air that he remembered so well. "I put almost a million dollars worth of rich ore in an old burlap bag just down the next curve. The way prices are going it should do her for the rest of her life and her children's lives if they spend and invest it wisely. I should have brought some light with me. It's darker than I remembered. He felt his way with his weathered hands and smiled. There was the marked timber. He couldn't see the bag, but as he felt around for it, he heard a sound that he dreaded. He had to find that bag fast before the rotted timbers collapsed. Then he heard a deafening roar and saw a tidal wave of rolling dust; then nothing.

After the sheriff arrested the crooks that had robbed Belle and her mother he also found out that they had been dumping animals of all kinds of the borders of the Double D Ranch. K.R. was behind it all. He wanted that ranch for himself to sell, not to live on. He had confiscated the bag of silver that the robbers had put in the little girl's stuffed toy and had given it to Allie with permission of the prosecuting attorney. He rubbed his forehead and thought, "I'm so done with this law enforcement job. In a little town like this I should be eating doughnuts and whistling as I make my rounds visiting with the store keepers, but instead it seems like I'm always working. I think I will talk to Maxine about moving out west after we get married. It can't be soon enough for me. It's too hot down here, and I can just see us living on a mountain somewhere. Yes, I'll go talk to her tonight. Right now I'm going to call Furry Hearts and have them try to rescue some of those little critters and find them some good homes. It's a great time to get at it while Allie is in the hospital with that bad ankle. That's just one less thing for her to deal with when she gets back home. I wonder if C.E.A.D.A.R Rescue can come out and get a couple of horses that need some care and vetting. I'll call them too."

Lill looked out the window of Justin's car and saw the Open sign on the cafe that she had worked at off and on for years. She had made some terrible mistakes in her lifetime, but Justin just had made her an offer she couldn't refuse. He wanted her to move back to Springfield and live in his guest house or in his main house. She could have her choice. She could quit being a waitress and not work or she could even work for him. He was a senator for the state of Illinois and could always use more help. He also needed some answers. She was ready to tell him most of what he wanted to know, but the story of Bill he would never know. He was the love of her life, but she had kept the twins from him. He had had no idea that he was their biological father. The guilt of that secret she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Her mother was the only other person in the world that knew and she would never tell. She sighed and smiled at her son and said, "Okay, young man. Let's see what I've been missing all these years. I sure do hope you have a cook and a housekeeper. Oh, I never asked you if you have a girlfriend? Am I going to impose on your life? Because if I am, I can live somewhere else." Justin just grinned at his mysterious mother who was showing signs of aging. "What have I missed," he thought. "I just have a feeling you haven't told me your whole story. Then there's Josh. He has no interest in Mom. She gave him away and I'm afraid he will never forgive her for that. K. R. was his adopted father. That is a lot to forgive. Maybe someday he and I can be friends again like we were in college."

"I sure love this Jeep, Justin. I love the wind in my hair. May I drive it?"

Jean and her granddaughter walked out to where the horses were being loaded. The stray and abandoned dogs and cats also were going to their new forever homes with a bright future ahead of them. "Now if only my daughter was home safe and sound. huh, Shadow? Everyone's future would be a bit brighter."

So now you're talking to yourself? I guess it's about time I was getting home to you and my baby girl."

"Mama! Take Meadow home, please!"

"Who's Meadow and where did this dog come from? Oh who cares? Give your mama a hug. So you found Shadow, Mom. We need to have a long talk, don't we? Yes, I'm fine. Let's get your bags packed and get on home. Yes, you too, Addie. Let me think about the dog."

Belle was in the back seat cuddling her favorite stuffed chicken, Henny. They had put in some soft cotton in her tummy and made her just as soft as she was before the robbers filled her with silver. "I think we had an adventure, Mom. In fact I know we did. Who has robbers and horses and chickens in their vacation? And there was even a silver mine and all kinds of stuff going on. Plus the sheriff was there arresting people. Did you hear old fashioned music coming from the barn? I think there must have been a band out there. My friends will never believe it. We had it all, didn't we? I really wouldn't mind going back next year if you think Allie will have all the cabins done and her house isn't filled with crazy people," she laughed. I do love our camper though especially when we remember to pack it with everything we need."

 Mom, look there's another chicken riding on the back of a horse! Is that a thing that we missed somehow?" Her mom laughed and said, "Let's go home, Chickie. Let's go home."

"Well, my dear there they go. I'm going to miss this crazy place, but I think we have done all we can. You know you can only do so much protecting the rest they have to learn from their mistakes. I wonder what kind of legacy these folks will leave the future generations."

" Maybe we'll get to come back and see for ourselves, dear. I think we need to get back and check the roster. If I remember right someone needs us in a small town in Missouri."

"But Allie never found the jewelry that could have saved the ranch. How can we leave now?"

"Somehow I think that's part of the plan. She really never needed that necklace and earrings, now did she? You know those packrats had such fun with those shiny jewels, it would have been a shame to take away their fun."

As the clouds raised Edward and Virginia back to the heavens Uncle Bill's ghost was not a bit happy. He could not find the jewelry that had been hidden in the secret room. "Rats, I'll bet it was rats. I'll find you, you can bet on that!"