10 Pound Bag Ch. 021-025

My search led me to a dealer in the back corner of the floor who specialized in custom made and collectable weapons. I bought a beautiful handmade pump-action shotgun and then immediately fell in love with an antique side-by-side double they had in a case. I inquired about the gun and was told that the original was display only but they had handmade replica's available; they had one on hand for marketing purposes. I bought it.

Meanwhile Michelle had wandered away and found some cute little feminine .22's, I was in drunken impulse mode by that point and bought her one, then bought another to teach the girls how to shoot with. From there things just got out of hand, I bought everything I had ever desired during my youthful years; including a brace of musket pistols like the pirates used in the movies.

Everything I bought was displayable quality and my excuse was that I planned to use them to decorate my new ranch home; Michelle giggled and played along with my story.

We had a lot of fun but I had spent a lot of money in real terms. The truth was it was nothing in comparative terms to the funds I had available.

We were starting to sober up by the time I closed the deal on my replica musket (with all the accompanying necessities) and it was time to leave before I bought a tank or something. I had arranged to pickup everything at the loading dock and we almost ran for my truck. I had two full shopping bags of simply paperwork and receipts.

I started to get a grasp on the extent of my spending when they started loading my truck, it was a lot of boxes. Michelle was looking stricken as she saw the amount of crap we'd purchased, I kissed her and told her it'd be OK. I dropped her at her truck so she could run home and do the chores, she promised to be over later to help deal with the mess we had made.

****

I went back to the camp and prepared to deal with the mess, my gun safe just couldn't handle the amount had purchased and buying the ammo and gunpowder had been just plain stupid. It had seemed smart at the time just like the reloader did, but I really should have had them shipped to the ranch.

I shook it off, Michelle would be there soon so I did my chores and updated the girls; when they saw my purchases they both simply looked at me like I was an idiot. I had been an idiot that day.

Sonya went through and organized the piles of paperwork associated with my purchases, those we stowed in the lock box. While she did that I located the M16, the M1911, my shotgun, and my 30.06. These all belonged in the gun safe; I added some ammo in with them and locked them up. I had layover scheduled for us in southern Nebraska, I'd break them out and clean them there. I was simply staring at the rest of the pile when Michelle pulled up.

I decided it was too much to so through all of this stuff tonight, I needed to be on the road the next day and I wanted to spend some more time with Michelle. We simply organized it all and stored it in the storage room, that took up all of the remaining available shelf space. I'd deal with it all when I reached the ranch next week.

Matilda had prepared a simple dinner and we all sat down to eat. Dinner finished Michelle and I went out for a sunset ride; it was a quiet and simple evening. After our ride while we were currying down Abigail and Mila I asked Michelle if she wanted to join me for a few days during my layover in Nebraska. She gave it some thought and decided she could have her niece over to babysit her livestock so we had a date.

Michelle stayed over again that night.

**** Chapter Twenty-Four -- Lunch and Tennessee Whiskey ****

After Michelle made her early morning departure, my first order of business after morning chores was to order a double wide cot for my tent. Space would be a bit tight in my tent but a standard cot just wouldn't do for two people. After that was breakfast and pack up.

We were on the road by 8am; it was a long drive to Memphis and this day was going to be tough for a lot of reasons. It was the day that the official announcement of my lottery winnings was going to be made, my name and face would be on the news nationwide. If I thought the sharks had been circling before things were about to get serious now. I had to deal with that first.

Secondly it was the day that Sonya's life was going to completely blow up on her, I knew about it but she was still mostly in the dark.

I got down to business and started making calls using hands free built into the truck. Contacting all my siblings I reminded them that today was the day that the news was going public. Most of them reported that they had already started getting hit on by leaches. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sonya cringe slightly confirming what I had been told about her leaking the news. I really didn't have plans to confront her about it and merely stated that I wish I knew who had leaked early. I told them all I'd see them soon and that they would be informed of the location of my new home as soon as the noise died down.

After that I put my headset on and called up David. He confirmed that everything was well in hand and I could do what I needed to do. We were ready to go so I kicked it all off by playing my role, this was when the shit hit the fan.

I hung up the call and told Sonya, "David says you need to call your Grandmother right away, it's important".

"Why?", asked Sonya.

I merely shrugged and drove on. When I looked in the review mirror Matilda was glaring at me, I simply shook my head and focused on the road.

Sonya made the call and shit predictably went to hell, she cried in anguish then screamed in rage and even pounded on the dashboard. Boy we were having some fun now I thought.

After the call she threw her phone down and turned on me, "You knew, didn't you" she accused.

I was honest, "I found out and Traci told me to call your Grandmother because she believed in you"

"So everybody fucking knew except me?" was the screaming response.

She then turned in her seat to face Matilda, "Did you know too you little bitch?", she accusingly asked.

Matilda merely shook her head in the negative. After Sonya turned in her seat I looked in the mirror again and Matilda calmly gave me the finger.

Sonya was raging still but also now on her phone furiously typing away; I reached over, took it from her and calmly threw it out the window. That earned me more than a few slaps and punches.

I merely endured and focused on my driving.

Minutes later my phone rang over the trucks system and I answered, it was Sonya's father, after polite exchange I disconnected my phone from the speaker system and handed it to Sonya.

That was about all I could do for now. Matilda still glared at me in the review mirror; Mila was unsettled and circling in her seat.

I was pulling into the next rest area when Sonya got off with the phone with her father, apparently it was a day of great trauma in that family's household. I asked Sonya to please try and calm Mila while I saw to the rest of the animals; I hoped Mila would comfort Sonya. When Mila and Sonya had gone I asked Matilda to move to the front seat, she glared at me but did what I asked. I walked Brin and Kordi and checked on the horses.

We got everyone handled and situated and got back on the road, both women were glaring at me but we weren't fifteen minutes down the road before Sonya was cuddled up with Mila sobbing, soon after she slept.

Matilda and I had driving snacks for lunch and didn't wake Sonya, she slept until we reached our destination. I wasn't surprised in the least.

******

We were scheduled to stay in a large paddock on the actual farmstead of the breeder in Tennessee, he had insisted on it after hearing we were camping anyway. A large and elegant wood sign at the end of his drive informed us that this was the home of "Stephen White, Equine Veterinarian" and that this was the home of "Quality Morgan Horses".

Stephen was waiting for me as I pulled up the drive, he guided us through a few gates and had me park in a large paddock that was enclosed with beautiful white wood fencing. We had our introductions and pleasantries then he left to allow us to set up.

The dogs were brought out and tethered while the horses were let loose into the pasture. I set the camper up and then Matilda and I both pitched our tents. It was just over an hour later when Stephen and who I assumed to be his wife showed up. I gave them the grand tour of the rig but avoided the camper as Sonya was holed up in there and she needed her space right now. Matilda was setting up her dog cart while we talked and Stephens wife took great interest in that; it wasn't long after that when the two of the rode away on the cart. Stephen gave me a curious look and I simply shrugged.

As we started our walk up to the horse barn Stephen asked me directly, "How does it feel to be suddenly famous?"

I responded, "I feel like an outlaw on the run, the leeches are everywhere". That earned me a laugh and he said, "I honestly don't envy you with that in mind, but I do wish I had your trailer". It was my turn to laugh.

"Perhaps I'll tell you the story later on if you have time", I replied. With that we turned our focus to the task on hand and his farmhand brought a magnificent chestnut Morgan stallion. He stood over 16 hands and was of champion stock all the way, his official name on his papers was sir something or other the earl of sandwich. I had decided to call him "Lunch".

He was surprisingly calm for a young stallion and moved well. We saddled him up and I went for a short jaunt, I was sold. We walked him down to the paddock to see how he interacted with my mares and all went well, I stashed his tack in the tack room and we went up to Stephen's office in the house to finalize the paperwork.

The deal sealed Stephen suggested we have a toast, I readily agreed and he brought out a nice bottle of bourbon. We were going to get along well. We moved out to the porch to enjoy our bourbon and relax in the approaching evening. I gave him the basic overview of my plans and trip so far. We finished our drinks and wandered back over to the campsite.

As we approached his wife rode up on the dog cart, Matilda followed behind her with what appeared to be three young llama's on lead. I was flabbergasted and Stephen laughed, "I felt the same way" he said.

Matilda had stunned me yet again, I simply turned away and offered Stephen a glass of Max's bourbon. As Stephen and I sat at the table and shared a glass of bourbon, I studiously avoided Matilda and her llama's. I distracted myself by asking Stephen about the veterinarian portion of his sign out front. I learned that he was retired from the actual work and now made money on the side selling veterinarian products and livestock medicine wholesale to the larger horse farms in the area.

I ran with that and tried to get some free knowledge to make up for whatever I had just spent buying llamas. I told him of my plans for horseback excursions and asked him to advise me on a first aid kit for my horses on these off-grid trips. He offered to outfit me fully at cost as a favor, after all I had just spent a serious chunk of money. I reminded him that I was disappearing for about six months and could I just have the supplies by the case. He reminded me that all the medicine had a shelf life and some had to be refrigerated. I reckoned I could handle that and we came to the agreement that I could clear him out of his current inventory at a discount to his standard markup. I wrote the check.

The night passed smoothly after that, Matilda and I eating at the table and Sonya taking her dinner in the camper. I asked Matilda about the llama and she made a snipping motion with her fingers and then showed me her yarn. I just shrugged and we went to our respective beds.

Stephen brought my new medical supplies down the next morning; some needed to be refrigerated but the rest went into storage or the first aide cubby in the trailer. We said our goodbyes and I pulled-out and drove away heading off to our next stop; we had a layover scheduled there and I was going to be visited by a lady by the name of Michelle.

**** Chapter Twenty-five - A town called Rulo ****

The trailer was full: three horses, two dogs, three llamas, and some chickens. The llamas and chickens were sharing the largest of the stalls. Mila and Sonya rode in the back seat, Sonya still emotional from the previous day's news, Mila still trying to comfort her. Matilda and her cat were riding up front and dutifully ignoring me. I was driving and trying to figure out a way to get revenge on Matilda for her llama move.

I still had Michelle and a hundred other things on my mind; for the most part it was a quiet drive.

-------

Nine hours later we pulled up at the end of a farm driveway in Rulo, Nebraska. This was a beautiful part of the country just a few miles west of the Missouri river where the prairie turned into the great plains. Surprisingly, the land was rolling hills with streams flowing down to the Nemaha river which flowed into the Missouri. I had grown up a couple of hundred miles north of here where it was basically flat and expressionless land. Here there were hardwood trees growing near every waterway and the landscape was pleasing to the eye.

I walked up the driveway to the main house where a large, weathered late-middle aged man waited to greet me. His name was Emmeran Oscar Miller but he went by Oscar (or E.O. to his close friends). I introduced myself and we started to discuss my stay. The spot was out on what he called the "old homestead" up on Mooney Creek, it was a couple of miles up the road and it was where his sons camped when they visited with the grandkids. It had been the site of the original family cabin about two hundred years ago. I was duly impressed.

He showed me the packages that he had received for me; they were all in the back of his beat-up farm pickup. Then we hopped in and he took me back down to my rig. I followed him up the road and he guided me into what he considered the best spot; then with a wave he was gone.

The Mooney Creek campsite was truly a beautiful spot. We camped where the creek ran through; the Millers had put a culvert in, which made a drive-over. Oscar seemed to be shifting to organic farming: the field on the west side of us was sweet corn, and to the east was tomatoes. North, alongside the creek grove, was a small orchard that had apples and pears. South was still the hardwood growth that this area was famous for.

The spot we were camped in was a meadow of about two acres, with an exceptionally large and magnific black walnut tree in the middle of the meadow. The campsite itself was well set up and showed obvious use. There was a fire pit lined with rocks already set up and about two cord of split wood stacked nearby. Oscar had brought in a temporary corral for us and set it up in the deep prairie grass about twenty yards from the firepit; he had even provided water buckets in the corral. A tractor with forks and a backhoe sat nearby bearing testament to the weight of those steel corral panels. I decided Oscar was going to get a very good tip.

We were about a half mile from anything; the only development worth note was the state university site about half-mile away where I knew they had set up a new linear particle accelerator. Tours were available and on my schedule.

I set up the trailer and then led the horses into the corral allowing them to graze, socialize and generally act like horses. I asked Matilda to put the llamas in as well, having found that asking Matilda usually worked a hell of a lot better than telling her.

I put out the dog's beds and then put them on their tethers; Matilda would take them out exploring later. Even the chickens got more freedom: we simply let them range.

Matilda was working on starting a fire and had it going before I managed to get back and take over for her. The tents were up and the fire was set, I set up the cooking stand over the fire pit and then went to unpack my new two-person cot. Michelle would be here in a couple of hours.

Stepping back and observing the site we had a very attractive camp set up, basically photo quality. I realized we need a few chairs to sit around the fire so I pulled those out and it was perfect. Sonya even wandered out of the camper at one point and was suitably impressed by the layout. I fetched her replacement phone out of the delivery pile and asked her to take a few pictures we could leave with Oscar to use as advertising.

That phone tossing episode had been part of Traci's master plan, she reckoned Sonya had to get over the shock of the news before she could be allowed on social media again. Traci had asked me to simply take Sonya's phone away and keep it from her. I told her she was insane and to immediately ship a preloaded replacement because I was going to toss the original. It's surprising what can be accomplished with a little money and the phone I handed Sonya at that moment was an exact clone, down to the icon location and call history, of the original.

Sonya took the pictures I had requested and then sat down at the table to wear out her phone.

Matilda was breaking in my new cast iron over the fire, and I supposed it was Matilda's cast iron now. She seemed to be having a good time.

I decided to take a shower before Michelle got there; I expected her in just about an hour.

******

I was fresh and eager when Michelle finally pulled up, I greeted her with a hug and a simple kiss as she got out of the truck. I pointed out the bathroom in the camper and my tent and then left Michelle to her basic needs while I went to unload her mare and move her to the corral. I moved the bags from the bed of her truck into my tent and when I came out Michelle was waiting for me fresh and revived, with a thorough hug and a passionate kiss.

I gave her a quick tour of our campground and then she spent a good ten minutes greeting the dogs. We walked out to the corral so she could meet Lunch and she introduced her mare named Cecil. Michelle had a great laugh when I told her the story of the llamas. On that note she decided she should go help Matilda with dinner; I watched her go, did the chores and then after feeding the fire sat down to download some information on llamas. On a whim I did a little research on this new town Rulo and its history.

Dinner came, and with it a nice cold beer; the four of us sat around the table and small talk was the rule of the day.

After dinner Michelle and I decided on an evening ride, taking Abigail and Cecil. We ended up riding down towards Oscar's house and were hailed from the front porch and rode up, dismounted, and ground tied the horses. I knew Abigail had been trained to ground tie and assumed Cecil was at least that far trained also.

Introductions were made and we were invited to sit for a spell up on the porch; we accept the offered glasses of iced tea and sat down to pass the time. I asked after Oscar's crops and he explained how they couldn't compete with the corporate farms so had shifted to organic a couple of years back. He asked about the llamas and I laid out the PG version of the entire Matilda story, bringing laughter the entire way. Ruth and Michelle particularly loved the "the cat was out of the bag" story.

It was a pleasant evening and, as we went to take our leave, Ruth told us we were coming to dinner tomorrow, all of us. Well, Ruth was not the type of woman you argued with, so I politely acknowledged and bade them good evening.

On the ride back I mentioned to Michelle how I was trying to think of a way to get revenge on Matilda for all her shenanigans, she had a quick and easy solution.

"Buy her a tomcat and spring it on her," she suggested.

I looked at her like she had lost her mind.