|
Post by biggkidd on Aug 9, 2021 22:49:39 GMT -6
Thank you for your service and your story!
|
|
|
Post by eyeseetwo on Aug 9, 2021 23:33:13 GMT -6
Truly appreciate your candor.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 6:46:31 GMT -6
Karen knocked and came into the kitchen. "Coffee's ready." Siobhan said Cal walked in as Karen poured her coffee. "Cal, my lawyers called. They say they are positive Sally can't get her hands on anything, other than what my father left her. I'm going to head back in the morning if someone can give me a ride to the airport." "The closest airport is in Hollister, isn't it?" Cal asked. "That's right." Cal grinned. "You have any roads like the one we landed on the other day?" Karen's face brightened. "Yes, the driveway from the road is over a half mile long, and straight. Won't it take a long time to fly there in the SuperSTOL?"
"We'll take the Twin Otter. Siobhan, want to go flying tomorrow?" "Sure. Are we returning tomorrow?" "Sure, it will only be around a three and a half hour flight there. Just take your eBook." "Done then. We can fly you back in the morning. Just let your foreman know we'll be landing on the road." Siobhan placed the bowl of scrambled eggs and plates of toast and bacon on the table. "Do you think you'll have any trouble selling the ranch?" Cal asked. "Not a bit. There are several vineyards around there that have been asking Dad to sell for a while now. I'd rather sell to them than some developer. I've already instructed my lawyers to check around and offer the land to no one else." "I had one of my men survey a route to build the road there, but it's going to take bigger and more machinery to do it. I'll get a construction company to build it. If things aren't finished when you get back, you can stay in the guest house. We'll have room for anyone else you decide to move here with you also." "I want to thank both of you for your hospitality. You've both been a great help." "Don't mention it. Oh! You may want to consider shipping anything you want in Sea-Land containers. What containers you don't keep for your own use, I'll buy them off you." "Hey Nick, do you mind if I ride the range for a while to get to know it?" "Go ahead. As a matter of fact I have this for you." Nick said, handing Kirk a GPS. "The major points on the three ranches a listed in there." "What's with the 'Security Points'?" "We've had problems in the past with rustlers. If you find something unusual, change to channel #1 on your radio and report it from the nearest waypoint on your GPS." "…and wait for the posse?." "Yeah, something like that. I'm serious, Take your Winchester with you and report unusual activity while keeping it under surveillance. Adam or Sonia will launch a drone and the reaction force will have live video of what's going on." "Okay, I'm off. I'm probably stay out overnight. I'll see you in the morning." "Okay Kirk. Be safe." "Karen, we should be about ten miles out from your ranch. Swap seats with Siobhan." Karen got seated in the right seat and adjusted her headset. "See that saddle in the ridge coming up? Fly right over it. When you get to the valley, turn north." "There are a lot of vineyards here." Cal commented. Karen pointed. "Right there…I don't know.. two miles? See that road going west? That's where I think you can land." Cal slowed the plane and banked the plane and took it down to 100 feet, checking the road out. "Fly over the buildings and wiggle you wings." Cal flew over the buildings and turned left to align with the drive. Bringing it in low and slow, he made a soft landing on the drive. He taxied up to where the drive took a ninety degree turn and turned the plane around and shut down the engines. They saw a truck coming from the ranch buildings. The truck pulled up behind the plan and a man got out. "Charlie!" Karen yelled, and gave him a hug. "Charlie, this is Cal and Siobhan Coleman. Cal, Siobhan, meet Charlie Stevens. Best foreman in California!"
Cal and Siobhan shook Charlie's hand. "Is Sally at the house?" Karen asked Charlie. "I haven't seen her in three or four days. Glenda says she's been moving her things out." "Good! Charlie, we've got some planning and a lot of work to do. I'm selling the ranch to one of the vineyards…whoever comes up with the biggest bid. We're moving our operations to Colorado. I want you and Louise, Davey and Chester to go with me." Charlie grinned. "You get the itch from your old man?" "Yeah…but where we're going will be perfect for us." Karen turned to Cal and Siobhan. "You guys want to come up to the house for refreshments?" Siobhan shook her head. "We need to get back. We all have a lot to do over the next few weeks. Hopefully, we can get everything completed before the snows." "Yes we do!" Karen said. "We'll be sending you pictures of the progress. If you think of anything else you want, let me know." Cal added. "I will. Guys, thanks so much for everything you've done and are doing. I'll stay in touch." Karen gave both Cal and Siobhan hugs and Cal did his preflight. Karen and Charlie got in the truck and backed up out of the prop blasts, and watched as the plane took off."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 6:47:37 GMT -6
Harris construction was finishing the last few hundred yards of the two-lane road to Karen's property. Cal was thankful because it took the three times as long to go by county roads. Dennis had built a 250 foot landing strip with the road grader, but it would be nice to be able to drive there. Two wells had been dug and the basements were curing for the main house, the foreman's house and the bunkhouse. At the same time, the covered exercise rink was on its final stages of being completed. They wanted to finish the rink first before starting on the outbuildings so they would have a place to store building materials to protect it from the weather, and the weather would soon be there. Cal went ahead and ordered hay and had ordered COB silos.
On the home front, Michael had made great headway in producing a great feed for the horses and was using Dale to test the formula. Dale was well pleased with the outcome so Cal had a building built next to the horse barn to process the feed. Complete with grain grinders and processing equipment, they now were producing their own C.O.B. and alfalfa pellets, they would have enough feed for the ranches and to sell to Karen if she wanted. The first harvest had been amazing! He had to order large silos to store the grains until they were used. The alfalfa had been processed into pellets as soon as it had been harvested.
As soon as the alfalfa had been harvested, Sylvio and his sons had immediately planted the field using no-till farming methods.
In California, Karen was busy on her own. She finally settled for $28 million on the sale of the ranch to Broadhurst Winery. She and Charlie culled the horses and ended up keeping twenty of the best. The rest were sold off. She did purchase Sea-Land containers and was slowly filling them. She would keep only a few things of sentimental value from the house, the rest would be sold at an estate sale. The winery did want a few pieces of the farm equipment and negotiated those separate from the land sale.
"His Siobhan, Is Cal around?"
"Hi Karen! How is everything?"
"Ugh! I could use a break! We're just about finished here. A couple more weeks and we should be complete."
"Hold on Karen, here's Cal."
"Hi Karen. You about finished up out there?"
"Yes, finally. A couple of weeks and we'll be done. How's the homestead coming?"
"The houses and bunkhouse are done. I hope you don't mind. I integrated some improvements in areas that we learned from when we were building here. The exercise rink and hay barns are complete and the main horse barn is on its final stages. Your winter stock of hay will be delivered next week. You've been working with Siobhan on the house furnishings so you know where that stands. Everything will be ready when you arrive. When will Charlie and the hands get here?"
"We'll all leave here about the same time. Charlie, his wife and the hands will travel with the horses. They have schedule stopovers to feed, water, and exercise them. Are you still planning to pick me up?"
"Of course. You give us your final time and we'll be there."
"Wheeeew! I'll be glad when this is over!"
Cal chuckled. "It won't be over. You'll just be starting!"
"I know, but you and Siobhan has made this move so much easier. I don't know how I'll ever repay you two."
"Be a good friend and neighbor. That's all we ask."
"Well, the winery kicked in a few cases of wine, so you have that coming, at least."
Ryan and John had complete the installation of the equipment to produce hydrogen and were testing the hydrogen cells. They asked Cal if they could convert his Command Car to hydrogen, but he had some stipulations.
"I want the damn thing to make some noise!. It's creepy when Martha comes sneaking up with her car." Then Cal grinned. "And I want one of those locomotive horns on it."
Ryan laughed. "I think we can do that."
They all got a laugh out of that, discussing the possibilities.
Siobhan and the women were busy with the preparations of Karen and her crew's arrival. They planned on a welcome party at Karen's when the horses arrived. Siobhan had shopped and got the minimum of the things Karen would need to get started. Because it would be a relatively short time between Karen's arrival and the rest of the people, The houses and bunk house were stock with non-perishable foods also. Cal and Siobhan would fly out Friday morning to pick Karen up.
Cal had gone in a few days before to see Sheriff Earl Gilmore to give him a map with the new road.
"Earl, I just wanted to give you an update on a road I built. It's private, but your patrols are welcomed to use it."
"How's the building out at Karen's going?"
It's complete, although Karen will probably want to do some other additions. We're having a welcome party when the horses arrive. Why don't you come on out?"
"I'll do that. Thanks for the map. I'll added it to the patrol map and update the county road map. Hey, you didn't tell me you had a celebrity working for you!"
"What do you mean?"
"Logan Allen. If I'd known he was around, I' would have offered him a job at the drop of a hat! But, I know the circumstances, so all is well and good."
Cal frowned. "How did you find out?"
"Vicky and I talk. She was asking about him."
"You could credential him as a reserve deputy."
"Already in the works."
"Oh! One other thing. You have any patrol cars you're getting rid of?"
"Yeah, a couple. Why?"
Cal told him about Ryan, John, and Shannon's work on the electric vehicles and testing of the hydrogen prototypes.
"You know, I'll give you one, but it needs to be fully equipped. After you finish testing, I'd like to have it back as a showpiece. It would give you free advertising."
"Not a bad idea. The problem is, the word gets out and we'll be swamped with orders!"
Earl grinned. "And that would be bad?"
"Understand, this is still a prototype and a lot of testing to be done. We need to complete the testing and have at least a quarter of your fleet converted before any press releases."
"I'll go along with that."
Cal went back to the plant and sat down with Ryan, John and Shannon to discuss the future.
"You know, This could turn into something huge. We'll have to go into this carefully." John said.
"Yeah" Agreed Ryan. "We'll have to build a larger hydrogen extraction facility. We don't have the room right here. And we'll have to train people to run it. It won't be difficult, but will be time consuming."
"So what?" Shannon said. "It's not like we are in a hurry. We're far advanced than anyone else in the technology. We just take it slow and do it right."
"Shannon's right." Cal said. "What would be at the top of the list to do first?"
"Get a hydrogen extraction plant built. Without that, we're dead in the water as far as getting units built."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 6:52:07 GMT -6
"Okay, get me a building plan together. I've got plenty of land on the other side of the state road, away from everything I can start an industrial park. Dream. Use the Sheriff's Department as a test customer. What is it going to take to service and maintain a fleet of vehicles. How often will hydrogen have to be delivered? You know, all the things that make it a dependable and safe means of alternative power."
"Cal, did you know Kayleigh has a degree in Public Relations? We really need to get PR in here on the ground floor." Cal nodded. "Good idea. Ryan that's on your dime. You need to have that on your books. One other thing Ryan. How would you power the hydrogen extraction plant? I thought it took a lot of power to extract hydrogen from water."
John grinned. "We'll just build enough hydrogen cells to begin production. The more cells we build, the more hydrogen we make, the more cells we can build. Its perpetual."
"Okay good. Well, get me the rough plans and I'll get the building built. Keep me informed."
"Cal, one thing. We've discussed this in-house. This can make a lot of money. What we'd like to happen is that outside of business expenses, we'd like to roll the profits over into scholarships to train people to build, maintain, and use the equipment. Maybe with the community college."
Cal grinned. "Well, that sounds like a good first step for your PR person," Cal set the flaps and slowed the plane as he glided it down to the driveway. Ahead, around the curve of the road he saw four 18-wheelers and a 30-foot travel trailer pulled by a four door pickup truck. He slowed his taxi and slowly turned the Otter around and killed the engines.
"Siobhan!" Karen came running up and gave Siobhan, then Cal a big hug.
Siobhan grinned. "Are you ready for the next step in 'Karen's Big Adventure'?"
Karen laughed. "Guys this is Charlies wife, Ann."
Siobhan and Cal shook Ann's hand then Cal started asking Karen all sorts of questions about the move.
"You'll have to forgive Cal. He's a stickler about planning for success."
"I don't mind." Karen said. "He just wants everything to go well."
"Well, We're killing daylight. These folks have a waypoint to make."
Cal, Siobhan, and Karen boarded the plane. When they got into the air, Cal circled back so Karen could watch the last truck exit the drive onto the highway. Siobhan and Karen engaged in excited chatter about Karen's ranch all the way back to HTR. Karen stayed with Charlie every evening via cell phone there had been no problems. On the afternoon of the convoy's arrival, much of the HTR personnel and Sheriff Gilmore were on hand. Nick had been out at the county waiting for them to guide them by Dale's place onto Kinsale Drive then onto K Bar Drive, the new road Cal had built. When they arrived Karen guided the big trucks over next to the exercise rink and with the help of many, unloaded the horses and let them settle down to fresh hay, water, and a bit of sweet feed. Then the welcome party began.
The food was ready and tubs of iced beer, sodas, and water were on hand, along with plenty of iced tea. Once everyone had finished eating and were just socializing, Cal got everyone's attention.
"Karen, would you come over here?"
Karen walked over and stood by Cal.
"On behalf of the High Top Ranch and the community, we wish to welcome you. You have our promise to stand by and with you as friends and neighbors."
Cal nodded at Joshua, carrying a box about three and a half feet long stepped forward. Cal reached forward and opened the box.
"We present you your own branding iron, even though you won't be branding your horses."
Karen gasped and took the iron out of its presentation case. Joshua had done an excellent job crafting the 'K-S iron. Karen looked at the iron, then looked up at the people surrounding her. A tear trickled out of the corner of her eye.
"Thank you so much. You can't began to realize what this means to me."
Martha stepped forward and presented her with a hand-made quilt with the K-S brand centered in the middle. Shannon came forward and relieved Karen of her presentations. Siobhan presented her with a large, framed picture of her new home and another taken at an oblique angle from the air. Lastly, Cal presented her with a 3 x 4 foot satellite photo of her ranch, along with a map of the same size.
"Thank you ALL so much! I promise to be the best neighbor and friend you ever will have!"
Kirk stood off to the side and watched the presentations, then turned and walked after the three K-S wranglers headed for the exercise rink.
"Howdy, I'm Kirk Austin, hand over at the HTR."
The three men shook his hand. "Howdy, I'm Hoss Chapman." "I'm Bard Wilson." "I'm Blaine Sims."
"Nice place you have here."
"Yeah, Miss Karen did it up right!"
"You guys seen the bunk house yet?"
"Nope"
"Well, let me give you a tour. There's a few things I might need to explain."
Kirk took them over and showed them the rooms and down into the basement. Showing them they alternative energy system, he explained power came from the battery bank, recharged by solar power and the windmill. The main house had a separate system for its needs.
"This is a good setup," Blaine said. "Is it reliable?"
"More reliable than you'd have with power lines running out here. Those with commercial power lose it frequently." Kirk answered.
"Hello?"
"That's Miss Karen" Hoss said.
They went back upstairs, Kirk bring up the rear.
Charlie was with Karen. "Boys, the horses are doing all right in the rink and have been fed. We'll leave them there for the night and move them to the corral and barn in the morning."
Charlie glanced around and grinned. "This is a nice bunkhouse. Won't be so bad if Ann kicks me out of the house."
Kirk eased around the men and started for the door.
"Oh, Miss Karen, this is Kirk Austin, from the HTR."
Karen looked up at him and took a quick deep breath."
Holding out her hand she said, "Pleased to meet you." Kirk blushed and held out his hand and shook hers. Charlie looked at the men and grinned. "I better get going." Kirk said, and turned to leave. "Wait! I'll walk back up with you." Karen said. No words were said as they walked back up to the gathering. Walking over to the Sheriff, Karen thanked him for attending the party. "Well Karen, it looks like you ended up in the catbird seat instead of your stepmother." Karen grinned. "I guess so, but I wouldn't be this far along if it weren't for Siobhan and Cal." "You couldn't know better people." The Sheriff agreed. Cal and Andy walked over. "Karen. Andy and his staff can put your people through CCW training, enabling them to get permits, if you'd like." Karen turned to the Sheriff. "Do you think that's necessary?" "Karen, sometimes bad things happen to good people. There's been times that if it weren't for Cal and his people, Law Enforcement would be in a pickle. I just don't have the people to cover all the county sometimes." Karen turned back to Cal and Andy. "Okay, can we set something up for a couple at the time?" "Sure" Andy said. "Just let me know when you can release them for a couple of days." "Karen, they are excellent instructors. They give refresher training to my deputies frequently." Siobhan and several women came up carrying the map and photos. "Karen, come show us where you want to hang these and we'll help you." Karen and the women went to the house. "How did she do all this so quick?" Earl asked. Cal grinned. "Well, I kind of footed the bill and got things going here while she closed out everything in California. She's paid me back for the improvements." "Good for you. Well, I'm going to get a refill on the tea and get back to the office. You've done good Cal."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 6:55:41 GMT -6
Cal and the men began cleaning up as the women came back out. Once everything was bagged up and put away, people started meandering out to their vehicles and leaving. Karen, Ann, and Charlie went over to Cal and Siobhan. "Cal, I'd like to get the trucks under shelter. Who do you know than can build one for me?" Karen asked. Cal pulled out his phone and sent Sam's contact information to Karen's phone. "A steel building with double garage doors at both ends would probably be best. Also, it would keep snow drifts out in the winter time." Cal suggested. "Good idea. I'll call him in the morning." Karen said. "Are you ready, Cowboy?" Siobhan asked Cal" "Yep, well, welcome to Mesa County…and the K-S Ranch. You folks need anything, just give us a call." Cal and Siobhan got in his truck and were watched as they headed up K-S Road. "Chip and Logan are getting engaged." Siobhan said. "Cal grinned. "Nothing new there." "No, but with all that's been going on getting Karen's ranch ready, they've held back. She wants to be married in the church, but also have a Native American ceremony." "Hmmm. So, what have you figured out?" "I've talked with Reverend Lambry and he has no problem with the Native ceremony being held in the church, 'All is under the blanket of the Great Spirit,' but he needs to coordinate with the Shaman on what needs to be done." "Give him Sam Buck's number to set up a meeting. Ken can fly him down in the S-70." Cal folded his hands behind his neck and leaned back. He was running out of cabins. He was going to have to get another one built. Maybe two. Cal's phone rang. It was Andy. "I got a call from our friend. A C-27 will be dropping by tomorrow with some crates that he needs stored for a week in the bunker. Also, he wanted to know if you have any items to be processed." "Fine, and yes I do, around 17,000 little o's." "Whew! Okay, I'll pass it on." "Well, it's been a while." Cal checked the current spot price of gold. $1751.50. That was around 30.5 million. He'd take half and use it for Ryan's training. He called Kayleigh. "Kayleigh, in your PR presentation to the college, tell them the scholarships are backed by a $15 million dollar donation." "For God's Sake! You're a real cute hoor! You trying for college President!" Cal chuckled. "Wait! Where did you hear that phrase? An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? " (Do you speak Irish?)Kayleigh giggled. " "Ar ndóigh! Is as Castlegar mé ó dhúchas"!" (Of course! I'm originally from Castlegar!)"You, Siobhan and I need to talk later. Anyway, no thanks on the President's job. Let's keep this anonymous." "Okay. One other thing. Ryan buys all his parts and motors from American manufacturers so, we can stamp everything with 'Made In America'." "Excellent! Another good selling point. Good work Kayleigh!" Cal ended the call and went ahead and ordered two more 3-bedroom cabins from Sam." Logan took Chipeta's hand as they walked through the gate. Walking the graveled path by the lush plants, teeming with verdant leaves, they slowly strolled to a bench by the babbling stream. Logan motioned Chipeta to sit and went to one knee. "Chipeta, the first time I saw you, my breath left my body, but at the same time, I felt alive, more alive than I have ever felt in my life. You are everything that makes life complete for me. I want that for the rest of my life. Will you do me the honor of accepting this ring and agreeing to be my wife?" Chipeta looked down at him, tears slowly running down her face. "Yes Logan, I am proud to accept your ring and want more than anything to be your wife, to have your children and to share our love with you forever." Logan slipped the ring on her finger and stood. Chipeta stood and they embraced and kissed. "Hey guys, I need some workup on the battery and hydrogen cell conversions." Ryan turned from the bench. "What do you mean?" "I need a cheat sheet of the differences in the two conversions, mainly the costs. I think you will have some people would like a choice. Will the hydrogen conversion end up costing more in the long run versus replacing the battery bank in a few years? Numbers. Also, what do you think about putting up billboards with something about the two conversions? We do this about a month before you launch to peak peoples curiosity." Ryan looked at John. "She may have something there. The down side is we're going to have to get more PR people on board to answer questions. This is going to take time to implement, with we do have. Gives us even more time for testing. Okay, I think we should set down with Cal, Dale, and Cyn and have a discussion about corporate structure and product security." John frowned. "Product security? What do you mean?" Ryan grinned. "The battery and hydrogen cell applications work well by themselves, but when we add in the power module, it triples the charge life. That's the vulnerable part of the system. Anyone could get a car converted, take the power system apart and reverse engineer the module. I haven't done it yet on our prototypes, but I can engineer it so that if the module is removed out of a certain sequence, it will instantly destroy itself. I will separate the module away from the battery bank or hydrogen cell so it doesn't hurt anything else when it is removed. We tack on a warranty disclaimer that the company is not responsible or any non-certified modifications or removal of components and such would be subject to prosecution." John rubbed his chin. "That could work. The module is what makes the system unique, although our hydrogen cell is better than anything anyone else has out there." "That's my point. Someone may come up with the exact cell but it still won't be as good what we have." John nodded. Let's get a meeting arranged." Two days later Ryan and John had a large table set up. Cal, the lawyers, Andy, and Cheryl walked in and sat down, after grabbing a cups of coffee.
Cal looked at Ryan. "Okay, Ryan. Your show." "I wanted to call this meeting to be proactive. So far, we have got most of the tests complete on the hydrogen cell system. There are a couple of modifications we have to do to components, but we can continue to make conversions now. Our projected launch date is a year from now due to construction of facilities and we want to build the PR aspect and hire people. I believe we need to work on the corporate structure of this. I'd like to see 'Mesa Energy' fall under HTR L.L.C. and use it's HR and Accounting structure." "Why hold off for a year?" Cal asked. "One, I want to build up a supply of hydrogen generators. There will be people outside of the delivery zone that will have to have them. Two, I want to work on the legalese of the conversion contracts. Three, the PR program is going to start off slow. Billboards all over the country going up in 60 days with the simple message, 'Vehicles of 1,000 miles before recharging are here today'. We'll have a picture of the Camry, a Corvette, a truck and a bus, with an attractive professional young woman leaning up against 'Vette, and the web site address. On inauguration day, we hold a press conference at the Fairgrounds with the vehicles, available for test drives." Cal sat there, slightly nodding. "How's your hydrogen plant coming along?" "We're putting in another 60,000 gallon tank. We've almost filled the other one. Once deliveries begin, we can add more cells to increase production. The two tanks will be adequate for production and local deliveries." Dale asked, "What about leasing out production facilities in other areas of the country?" Ryan nodded. "Yes, we are looking at that in the future. We'd have to train the workers, which would be headquartered here. For now, we'll offer individual hydrogen generators to those who have the conversion if they are outside the delivery area. The unit would cost roughly half of what a conversion costs." "With the cost of fossil fuel going up with this current administration, this could be a winner." Cyn said. "How many vehicles can Miguel convert a day?" "He can do ten now. Once the facility is completed, we could do up to fifty a day. By that time, licensing and distribution should be enough to handle the demand." Dale asked, "So Ryan, what do you see for the future?" "We set up a plant here, selling the conversion kits, batteries, hydrogen cells, and generation components to licensed dealers. We train licensed dealers and installers. Let the community college handle the training. We provide the trainers for initial training. We will slowly push into the home electrification market and get our nose under the tent of that market. I see a lot of pushback by the main energy suppliers, but if we go slow, we will blindside them and they won't know what hit them." "What if we set up the area next to the hydrogen generation plant as a complex with a combination warehouse and training location for the instruction and a manufacturing plant for the cells and components?" Cal asked. "We could easily triple the number of bays that Miguel has and you'll need warehouse space." Ryan looked over at Kayleigh. "Add that into the presentation, Kayleigh, please." Ryan continued, "The Sheriff's Department vehicles are schedule to be completed in 90 days. We are on track with that. The plants in Omaha and Kansas are ready to go to full production building the electric motors and components." "Well, I'll hire an architectural firm, Dale, Cyn, keep us legal, and Ryan, you guys continue working out the kinks and PR. Cheryl, if you need to hire more people, do it. Let me remind you all, no one works for Mesa unless they get a background check. This technology is valuable and we don't want the bad people getting it. Ryan, you and John will initially have to handle the initial staffing of the of the administration, Cheryl, can you put together an accounting team for Mesa Electric?" Cheryl nodded. Cal continued. "Andy, get with a head-hunting firm and see what you can get for executive positions." "Security, people." Cal got up and the meeting adjourned.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 6:58:09 GMT -6
Cal was on the phone with Ed Harris of Harris Construction that afternoon.
"Ed? Cal Coleman. How much would it cost to tar and chip my road network?"
"Depends on the length of the road system."
"By my odometer I've got 8 miles."
"Let's see…if your odometer is correct, that'll cost you a little over $3 million. Figure $4 million is case you're a little under on your measurement, but I'll charge you only what the final measurement is."
"Sounds good. Let's do it."
"Cal, I'll come out in the morning and ride over it with you to be sure of what you want paved."
"Thanks Ed. I'll see you in the morning."
Ending the call, Cal went out on the patio where Siobhan and Martha were sitting, watching Brigid play. "I'm getting the road system paved."
"When?"
"I don't know when they can start. Ed Harris is coming out in the morning to check it out."
"Oh, can Ken fly the Reverend, Chip, and Logan down to the Ute Reservation Saturday?"
"I'll make sure. What time do they need to be there?"
"The Reverend said 10:00."
"I'll let Ken know. I think Cary Fields is flying with him."
Cal was walking with Brigid in the orchard. The 20 Honeycrisp trees had reached their potential and had a sizeable crop this year and would be even greater next year.. This was Ellen's domain. She protected and babied the trees like they were her own children. She had fertilized early in the spring and deep-watered them through the summer to help the roots grow deep and prevent ice damage. Most of the apples from this year's crop had been canned or freeze-dried. Next year, they should have enough to sell. Brigid pulled him over to the peach trees. This was her favorite area of the orchard. The 15 semi-dwarf Reliance Peach trees did well this year too. Brigid almost ate herself sick when they were processing the fruit. They continued along the path to the fig trees. Ellen had only planted 8 of them and had a bumper crop. All the figs were dried in the food driers and pressed into packageable blocks and sealed. They stored half of them and were selling the rest at the market. It was amazing what Dawn and Ellen had done here.
A pickup truck was coming up the drive so Cal and Brigid headed that way. It was Karen.
"Hello, Karen!"
"Hi, Cal! I'd like to talk with Kengo. I want to plant some trees around the lake and wanted to get his recommendations."
Cal unhooked the radio on his belt and called him.
"Yes, Cal?"
Cal told him Karen needed to talk with him.
"I am working in the Glade. Have her meet me here."
Karen nodded. "Thanks Cal. I'll see you later."
Karen found Kengo working near the picnic tables. She told him what she wanted to do and asked him what kinds of trees she could plant.
"You should wait until March or early April to plant new trees. Young trees now wouldn't have time to establish a strong root system and would freeze. If you would show me where you wish to plant the trees I can give you recommendations."
Karen drove him to the lake and they walked around.
"I would plant three sycamores there. It is downwind from the pond. When the tree drops its leaves, they will blow away, and not into the pond and keep it fresh. Over there, I would plant a row of Autumn Brilliance Serviceberries. They will flower in the spring and have brilliant color in the fall. Another tree that would grow well here is the Honeycrisp apple. I know horses like a slice of apple."
"Thank you so much for your suggestions. I will wait until late winter to plant."
"If you will let me know when you wish to purchase, I will help you find the most mature trees available."
"Thank you Kengo. I will do that."
Karen took him back to the HTR and took him back to his worksite. It was getting late so Kengo gathered up his tools and prepared to leave. Karen turned the truck around and drove toward K-S Road. She spotted someone running up the road. She slowed to go around and saw it was Kirk. He slowed and almost came to a stop, so she stopped.
"Hi! You are doing what I should be doing. I haven't gotten a chance to get back into a program."
Kirk smiled. "Well, we do have a gym that you'd be welcomed to use. The roads have a good surface for running. I usually work in the gym three days a week in the evenings, and just run three days."
"Sounds like a good plan. What days do you do the gym?"
"Monday, Wednesday, Friday. You should join me."
Karen smiled. "What time Friday?"
"I'm usually there by 5;30, work out for a couple of hours, then shower and run down to Casey's for a light dinner. If you want, bring a change of clothes."
"I'll do that. See you Friday."
Karen put the truck in gear and drove on down the road.
<"Nice body"> She thought. When Karen arrived at the gym Friday evening she looked around and saw several people, and then Kirk. He was stretching near the treadmills. She walked over and sat her sports bag against the wall.
"I usually run a couple of miles on the treadmill first, to get the blood flowing."
"Sounds good." Karen said, and began stretching also.
"Ready?" Kirk asked.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 6:58:48 GMT -6
Karen nodded and they mounted the treadmills. Fifteen minutes later they slowed down to cool off. They spent the next two hours on the various machines and light weights. Kirk watched her and made sure she didn't over-do it. Finally, he picked up his towel and rubbed his head and neck vigorously and let out a deep breath.
"Time." He said.
Karen let out a deep breath. "Whew! That was a good workout. You're hired."
Kirk frowned and looked at her. "Hired? Hired for what?"
"As my personal fitness trainer." Karen said, grinning.
Kirk smiled. "Well, I wasn't looking for another job, but I accept."
"Where do we shower?"
Kirk picked up his bag. "Next door in the pool house."
Thirty minutes later, Karen came out to find Kirk waiting. Kirk looked her over. She wore jeans with a long-sleeved shirt and her workout shoes. She hair, slightly damp, was up in a ponytail.
Kirk held the door open for her to go outside.
"Let's take my truck. I can drop you off on the way back." Karen said.
"Just as well, I walked up here from the bunkhouse." Kirk said.
Karen drove the through the Facility gate and over to Casey's. A few people were having dinner, but wasn't crowded. They were seated and the waitress took their drink orders. Both had unsweetened tea and Kirk asked for a pitcher of ice water.
"Well, do you have your ranch up and running?" Kirk asked.
"Yes. It is much more efficient than what we had in California. The layout is perfect. The covered exercise rink was costly but it is perfect. So what did you do today?"
"The usual. Moved some cows, Checked the water sources…just another day on the range."
"Did you go to school?"
"Yes. I have a degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Wyoming. I know it seems like overkill, me just a lowly cowpoke, but I enjoy what I'm doing. The knowledge I got in college I put to practical use. My job satisfaction is high, especially since I got on with HTR."
"Don't put yourself down as a 'lowly cowpoke.' People like you make up the backbone of ranching."
The waitress came back to take their order. Kirk ordered a small elk steak and a salad. Hesitantly, Karen did the same."
"I've never eaten elk before. I might as well give it a try." Karen said.
"I like it better than beef, although HTR beef is the best I've ever eaten."
"I know!" Karen said. "Cal and Siobhan gave me a freezer full of beef. Ann, Charlie's wife, cooked a roast the other day that would melt in your mouth!"
Kirk sat there and watched Karen. She stopped talking.
"What?"
Kirk blushed. "I can't believe I'm sitting here talking to you. I doesn't seem real."
Karen looked him in the eye. "I think it's real, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with you."
The waitress came with their meals and talked was reduced to comments about the meal. They settled for coffee when they finished their meal. Karen talked about the horses she was raising and breeding and Kirk listened intently. Finally, they got up and Karen dropped him off at the bunkhouse.
"Goodnight Kirk."
"Goodnight Karen."
"Kirk, are you going to be at the Community Center Sunday?"
"I guess, Are you?"
"Yes."
"Well, I'll certainly see you there then."
Amanda helped Betty finish cleaning up the kitchen after lunch. Hugh walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear,
"Want to go flying?"
Amanda shivered and turned around. "Behave. Yes, let's go."
They went down to the hangar and Hugh prepped the plane. He helped her aboard and then got in. He didn't say where they were going but they just flew around enjoying the scenery. All of a sudden, Hugh did a wing-over and landed on a little road by a lake.
"EEEEEEHH!" Amanda screamed over the intercom when Hugh pulled the maneuver.
Hugh laughed and brought the plane to a stop and shut the engine down. They got out and Hugh took Amanda's hand and they began walking along the edge of the lake.
"Some people would say I haven't done a lot with my life." Hugh said. I went to school to learn, not to learn how to make a lot of money, but just for the pure joy of learning. My father made my fortune. I didn't lift a finger to gain wealth. I find no joy with that. Instead, I find more joy in investing in charities that really help people. Of course I invest to make money to feed my favorite charities and still live a more than comfortable life. But I find something missing. I have no one to share the joys of life with me."
Hugh stopped, turned to Amanda, and said, "Amanda, my biggest dream is to have you as my wife. To share joys and make a home with me for the rest of my life."
He pulled out a ring box, opened it and extended it to her.
Amanda gasped. "Oh Hugh! YES! I love you with all of my heart and dreamed of being your wife!"
She held out her left hand and Hugh slipped the ring on her ring finger. Hugh stood and drew her into his embrace, kissing her for what felt like hours.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 7:00:45 GMT -6
Harris Construction began the chip and tar of the roads. Except for a very few areas, the roads needed no preparation, which sped things up tremendously. Everyone was warned to stay off the roads for three hours to allow the sealant to do its job. When it was finished, Everyone was pleased with the results.
Dale and Stephanie had a small wedding in the church and another family was complete.
It seemed like weddings were happening at a constant pace. Cal stayed out of them except for attending and let the women do all the "exciting" portions.
Cal was focused on the plant, which was well under way. The conversions of the Sheriff's Department vehicles were on schedule. In another month, at the time of the plant's completion, a news conference would be held and Sheriff Earl Gilmore would announce the EV conversions. Two weeks before that, over a period of one week, 100 billboards across the United States would be put up. John and Ryan had been working with the Community College to get people trained for production, supply and administrative duties.
Kirk and Amanda were still doing their exercise program. Her stamina had increased dramatically and she could keep up with Kirk on his hour-long runs now. They had just finished their gym routine on Wednesday and were cooling down.
"I won't be doing Friday night." Karen said.
Kirk wiped his face. "Why?"
"I have a date."
Kirk frowned. "Oh."
"You're taking me out for dinner and dancing."
Kirk's head snapped up. "Wh…."
"Well, I'm tired of waiting for you to ask me out! I think maybe you don't have any interest in me."
Kirk blushed. "I…I do. I just….Karen, you are out of my league. I admit I've developed strong feelings for you, but I've been down that trail before. I don't like ending up getting airbrushed out of someone's life on a whim of someone better."
Karen's face saddened. "I would never do that to you. I've had bad relationships before too. I've always been faithful only to get stomped on."
"Karen, I want…"
Karen smile. "Good, you can pick me up at 7:00. Come on Cowboy. Let's get showered. I want some ice cream."
"Yes ma'am."
Cal pulled another AR-15 off the rack in the armory. Breaking the rifle open he pulled the bolt and charging handle to scope the barrel with a bore light. He ran a patch with a light coat of oil and ran a clean patch through the barrel. After applying a light coat of oil on the metal parts, he re-assembled the weapon and placed it back in the rack. A thought came to him. He pulled out his phone and called Andy.
"Andy, check around and see if you can find me a DV armorer or DV SF weapons guy."
Andy chuckled. "I take it you're in the Armory, going over the weapons. You're right. You shouldn't have to do that. I'll check through the SF net and find someone."
Cal locked up and went to the garage area. Barry and Jon were busy going over the Oshkosh.
Jon saw Cal walking up. "The Weather Wizards are calling for 8 - 10 inches of snow Sunday night."
"What about the rest of the snow equipment?" Cal asked.
"We've done the blower up at the airfield. We'll do the stuff down in the equipment hangar tomorrow."
"Well, at least the weather is holding long enough for Harris to complete the chip and seal."
"Dennis is loading and tarping a couple of trucks with fine tailings. Have you seen the contraption Joshua built? Come over here."
They walked over to the stake bed truck and looked at the Jules Verne contraption strapped to the bed.
"The driver has a remote control in the cab. When he wants to plant a snow stake, he pulls close to the side of the road and presses a button. A stake is automatically loaded from the hopper, it slides into this tube, the flat hammer drives the stake into the ground. He moves on to the where he wants to put the next stake."
Cal laughed. "I don't know whether to call it brilliant or a lazy man's way of doing things. What a great idea! You know….I think I'll have Billy and Becky do this job. Billy has been driving all over the Ranch, Becky can run a stopwatch for him to place the stakes. I'll send them down and show then what to do."
Cal got on his radio and had Siobhan send Becky and Billy down to the garage. They needed some time away from the computers anyway.
When they arrived, Cal explained what their job was. Billy's eyes lit up. Jon pulled the truck out and explained the components and how they operated. Billy would drive and Becky would stop him every 15 seconds to implant a stake. They started on the road going to the clinic as a test run. Everything worked perfectly. Cal told Billy to stay in low gear and extended the time to 20 seconds. He watched them for a few minutes and went down to the new plant. Shannon was there in the office area with another woman diving deliverymen instructions on where to put furniture and equipment.
"Hi Shannon, how is it going?"
"Great! We're still on schedule. Cal this is Gianna Castle, our plant office manager."
"Hi Gianna, welcome aboard."
"Cheryl is getting us more people for staff from some of the women from the shelter."
Cal squinted at Shannon.
"Don't worry," Shannon said, "all have been thoroughly checked out. They're coming from different business related courses through the shelter. As a matter of fact, three of them will be on the accounting team."
"What about a plant manager?"
"Ryan is meeting with someone this afternoon. He has a thorough background in automotive electronics. Miguel is training people now in the installations, using the Sheriff's vehicles for training."
"Is there anything I can do?" Cal asked.
"I can't think of anything. All the pieces seem to be coming together. Knock on wood."
Cal grunted. "Yeah. I just hope nothing major goes haywire. Well, I've got things to do. Let me know if you need anything."
Cal stopped by the Facility to talk to Andy.
"Just in time! I was about to call you. I just got through talking with Wes Daniels, President of SFA Chapter XXIV in Denver. They've got a member….a….Del Archer. 18B, paraplegic…lost both legs to an IED. Seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders, but can't seem to find his niche in the civilian world. Wes thinks he's a top-notch guy, just hasn't found a job that fit's him."
Cal nodded. "Run a check; if he's sound, make contact and offer him the job as our armorer. See what gunsmithing schools we can offer him."
"On it."
Cal left and went back to the house, but didn't go in. He walked over to Siobhan's garden and took a seat on a bench. He didn't know how long he had been setting there when he felt two hands on his shoulders.
"Cad é atá tú ag smaoineamh faoi Cowboy?" (What are you thinking about, Cowboy?)
Cal sighed. "Cibé an bhfuil mé ag déanamh go leor do mo theaghlach, mo chairde, an feirm seo." (Whether or not I am doing enough for my family, my friends, this ranch.)
"My Love, you do more than enough. You are the husband and Father that any woman would fight for, You make sure your family and friends prosper and you are the kind of leader that lets people pick up the reins and allow them to do their jobs.. I'd say you're doing pretty good."
"Well, I worry sometimes. Thanks for your support. I Love You!"
Siobhan shifted around and sat on his lap. "Sometimes I think you worry too much. Now kiss me so I can go and finish dinner."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 7:02:39 GMT -6
Cal and Andy flew the Otter to pick up Archer at Centennial Airport. Cal watched him as he boarded. He could move pretty good on his prosthetics and seemed to have good balance. Cal was busy with the plane because of weather. The snowstorm was moving faster than expected so Andy had told Del to bring clothes for a three-day weekend. Andy went back into the cabin and sat and talked with Del during the flight to the Ranch.
"How long is the flight?" Del asked.
"lLittle over an hour, depending on the winds. How was the Colorado School of Trades?"
"It was a good school. I went there to get more hands-on. I got a degree in Firearms Technology through Sonoran Desert Institute, but that was distance learning. When I finished that, I went to the Colorado School of Trades."
Andy chuckled. "You've been in school a while."
Del grinned. "Yeah, but I didn't have anything else to do."
"Well, I think you'll have plenty to do at the Ranch."
"What kinds of weapons do you have there?" Del asked.
Del's eyes got bigger and bigger as Andy quoted from memory the long list of weapons."
"And what kind of ranch is this?" Del asked.
"The kind that likes to be prepared for anything."
Cal announced they would be landing in 5 minutes so Andy went back up front. When Cal had laned and shut the engines down, Andy opened the door and grabbed Del's B-4 bag and stood outside while Del came down the stairs. One of the mechanics came out with a tug and prepared to move the plane into the hangar. Cal went into the hangar and came back out, driving a EV34.
"I'll see you later, Del. I've got to get back to my office. Cal will show you where you're bunking and where you will be working." Andy said, and got into his vehicle and drove off.
Cal drove him to the underground garage and parked.
"Whoa! Well camouflaged!"
Cal grinned. "I don't like people knowing my business."
Cal grabbed Del's bag and let him through the blast door. The got into an electric cart and Cal drove them to the Armory. When Cal parked the cart next to the door, Del just sat there, speechless.
"What is this place?"
"Well, it didn't start out like this, but as my family and number of employees grew, I decided to do the best I could to see they were protected for disasters, both manmade and natural. We grow most of our own food, we have abundant water, and ample supplies if the SHTF. This is one of the amenities you would have here with us. Let's take a look at the armory."
Cal unlocked the metal door and turned on the main lights. Racks and racks of civilian and military guns lined the walls above the cabinets.
"Wow!" Del said.
"This is just part of what is here on the Ranch. Andy has some down at the Facility also. Will this keep you busy?"
"Wow!" Del stood there and stared. He turned to Cal. "I accept the job offer, if you will have me."
"You're hired. I'll want you to check things out and if there are tools or equipment you need, let me know."
Del looked around. "Well there is some equipment I could use, but there won't be enough room here for it." "Come with me."
Cal led him to the room next door, which used to be the general supply room, and unlocked it. It was three times as big as the arms room.
"Will this be enough space?"
"Heck yeah!"
Cal locked the doors and they got back into the cart. "I'll take you on the nickel tour of the complex, so you don't get lost."
Cal drove him through the complex, explaining what different rooms were for and ended up on the 3rd level and introduced him to Charlie and Gary. He then drove them to the entrance to the house and they went in. Cal showed him to the guest room. They then went to the kitchen.
"Siobhan, this is Del Archer. Del, this is my wife Siobhan."
"Pleased to meet you Ma'am."
"No formalities here Dell. Call me Siobhan."
"Thank you."
"You two sit and I'll get you something to drink. Coffee, tea…."
"Coffee's fine with me ma…..Siobhan."
Cal chuckled.
Del, you are to be our armorer. I want you to go over all the weapons and correct any discrepancies. Coordinate with Charlie in supply on extra tools, spare parts, and equipment you need. I'll get with my people to cut a doorway between the two rooms and have the door replaced in the old supply room with a more secure unit. We'll set you up with a cabin and a vehicle with hand controls to drive."
"Cal, I have my own vehicle back in Littleton. I can pack up everything in it and be back in a day or two."
"Good, but we'll set you up with an electric cart to use in the complex."
"Well, we have a storm to contend with. We get a bit more snow here than they do in Denver. Once the roads are clear we can fly you back. Here are the codes for the arms room and entrances to the complex. Memorize them. Feel free to look around but it's already snowing outside."
"I think I'll go back to the arms room and get started on a list, if you don't mind."
"Sure, no problem. Wait, let me give you a map of the complex. Cal went to his office and printed out a map.
"Del, I know you know about OPSEC. We've had to deal with drug cartels, motorcycle gangs, and Domestic Terrorists. What you know and see about the Ranch, stays on the Ranch. Many people here depend on each other for security."
"I understand Cal. You can depend on me. mum's the word."
"Good. The complex has cellphone repeaters throughout, so your phone will work. I'll issue you a radio later that will work also."
After exchanging cellphone numbers with him, Cal and Siobhan watched as Del got up went to the complex entrance.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 7:03:24 GMT -6
By noon on Saturday it had accumulated ten inches of snow. The storm had blown on through. The men were out clearing the snow off the roads, even to Karen's ranch. By 3:30 the roads and paths were clear and the machinery had been cleaned and put away. Cal found Del working in the arms room inventorying tools and working on his list.
"How's it going Del?"
"Good. I think most of the tools that aren't here I have in my master tool kit. I've been inspecting the guns and giving them a light cleaning."
"It's your bailiwick. Do what you think needs to be done. Dinner will be ready in about an hour."
"Okay. I'm about finished with this section and I'll be up."
They sat down to dinner with Becky sitting next to Del. She had developed a keen interest in him because of his legs. Earlier. she had even talked him into taking one off so she could examine it. Her brain had hummed as she'd thought of ways to improve on it.
"What are you making for lunch tomorrow?" Cal asked Siobhan.
"I'm frying seven chickens. Martha is making potato salad."
Del's head snapped up.
Cal laughed. "I forget to tell you. Every other Sunday, we have a community dinner at the Community Center. It gives us a chance to socialize. We go there after church. Would you like to attend with us?"
"To church or the dinner?" Del asked.
"Both, if you like."
"I really wasn't prepared to go to church. I didn't bring clothes for that."
Siobhan looked at Del. "Del, God doesn't care if you have cow dung on your boots, nor will the people attending....some with cow dung on their boots."
"Yeah, I'll go. I haven't been in a while."
When dinner was finished, Cal helped clear the dishes and Becky took Del into the family room to discuss his legs. She was determined to come up with a better design. Cal came in and listened to Becky and Del talking.
"Becky, why don't you use the AutoCAD program on the network to rough out your ideas?"
Becky jumped up and left the room.
Del chuckled. "She has an amazing mind."
"She's genius level. We just try to guide her in the right direction."
"She'll be interesting to have around."
Siobhan walked in and sat with Cal on the leather couch. '
"Del where are you from, originally?"
"A little place you've never heard of…Ruby, South Carolina."
"Cal grinned. "Hell yes I have! I used to go quail hunting with a buddy in that area."
"Del grinned. "Small world."
Siobhan broke in. "How did you end up in Colorado?"
"Well, I was pretty much grounded when I got out of Walter Reed, so I started taking and on-line gunsmithing course. When I finished that, I looked for some in-house training and found the Colorado Trade School. I enrolled and got accepted, so I moved out here."
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Cal saw Del's face darken and laid his hand on Siobhan's wrist. "Siobhan…"
Del took a deep breath. "That's all right. No, I have no one special."
"Del, I don't know if you need anything special, but I put a shower chair in your bathroom."
Del smiled. "That will be fine. I get around pretty good."
Siobhan shifted in her seat. "I hope you don't get too aggravated with Becky's curiosity with your leg. She's at that age where she's out to save the world and make things better for people. Her mind grabs an idea and won't let it go until she has done something."
"No problem. I is refreshing to see someone her age interested like that." Del said.
"Del, before you leave Monday, I want you to get in processed with accounting and security to give you access codes and equipment issued to everyone. We'll show you your apartment you'll have and Siobhan will make sure you have everything you need to live there."
"Del, I'll take you to show you the apartment." Siobhan said. "Cal finally took my advice and had an eight unit, one level apartment building built. The apartments are furnished, with two bedrooms, kitchen, den and storage. We can go through and make a list of things to remove if you already have pieces in Littleton."
"No, I'm living in a furnished apartment. All I have is clothes and personal items."
"Well folks, I think I'll head to my room. Siobhan, that you for that delicious meal, and I look forward to tasting your fried chicken tomorrow." "Good night Del."
The next morning Del was awakened early by the smell of frying chicken. He showered and dressed and headed for the kitchen. Cal was sitting at the breakfast bar looking through some papers.
"Coffee's fresh, grab a cup."
Del poured a cup of coffee and glanced over at Martha and Siobhan frying chicken.
"Wow! You get started early around here." Del commented.
Siobhan smiled. "We like to get the chicken done early. It lets the grease drain from the chicken. Are you hungry?"
Del grinned. "Are you kidding? When I woke up to that chicken frying, I almost gnawed the corner of my pillow off!"
Siobhan laughed. "Martha, could you start on some bacon and eggs?"
As the church service ended, Del got a look around at the people. These people seemed different for some reason. I was more like a family than anything else. His eyes, gazing across the rows of people, locked on to a woman's face, then quickly moved on. No, not now, maybe not ever. Cal introduced him to the Reverend and exchanged a few words. The crowd slowly moved out of the church and headed to the Community Center, or to their homes to pick up food for the dinner. Del went back to the house to help the Colemans load the food into the Suburban.
When they got to the Community Center, Cal, Del, and Bully carried the chicken into building, followed by the ladies with the potato salad and other things. After placing the trays of chicken on the table, Cal turned to Del.
"Move quickly out of here. The women will overrun us."
Cal showed Del around the building and stopped at a large map on one wall.
"This is a map encompassing all the land owned by HTR." Cal explained.
Siobhan called to Cal and he left Del there, mesmerized by the extensive holdings shown on the map. Del left the map and wandered out the door to the patio. The air here was so fresh! No smog, to loud noises of traffic….he was going to enjoy working here.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 7:04:12 GMT -6
Cal and Siobhan were talking with Gianna and turned at the noise of the door to the patio opening and saw Del step through. Del glanced in their direction and he felt an electric charge run up and down his spine, and his skin tingled when he locked on the woman eyes he'd seen in church. The blood drained from his face as he gasped and turned around and left the building.
"Cal…" Siobhan said.
Cal went out the door and caught up with Del.
"Where are you going? Things are just about to start."
"I'm not very hungry. I think and go to the arms room and go through the Mossbergs."
"Nope, that dog won't hunt. Why did you leave so quickly?"
"Cal I….that girl you and Siobhan were talking to, she…she made me feel uneasy."
"What!?! Why?
"Cal, I had a bad experience with my ex-fiancé. When she heard I'd lost my legs, she dumped me. She never came to the hospital and wouldn't answer my calls. Whenever I meet a woman I might like to get to know, a bell goes off in my head and I get the hell out of Dodge. I don't want that experience ever again."
"Look, it's a big building. Come on back and get some of that fried chicken. Best in the state!"
Del looked at Cal and nodded. The two walked back in and picked up plates.
Cal went to sit with his family.
"What happened?" Siobhan asked.
"Bad relationship, broken, gun-shy, and an immediate interest in Gianna."
"Ohhhh." Siobhan looked around and saw Gianna with her plate and cup in hand looking for a place to sit. She waved her over to their table.
"Siobhan…"
"Hush."
Del had finish getting his food and had gotten his drink and looked for Cal and Siobhan. He didn't see Gianna headed for the same table and reached it just before she did. He set his plate down and looked up to see Gianna setting her plate down across from him. He started to pick his plate up and Siobhan said, "Sit down!"
His face flushed, Del sat down, not taking his eyes off his plate. He said a short prayer to himself and took a bite of chicken. His eyes slowly closed as he savored the chicken.
"It's good, isn't it?" Becky asked.
"This is the best fried chicken I've ever eaten!"
Becky giggled. "Well eat some of Grandma Martha's potato salad and wait until you try some of Gianna's strawberry cake!"
Del quickly glanced at the woman across the table then back to his plate.
"Oh, you haven't been introduced yet!" Siobhan said.
"Del, this is Gianna Castle. Gianna, meet Del Archer."
Blushing, Del looked up and saw Gianna holding her hand out. Taking her hand he said, "Nice to meet you."
Becky giggled. "Lighten up Del! She won't bite, unless you want her to!"
"Becky!" Siobhan grinned.
Both Gianna and Del blushed. Del continued to eat. The food was delicious. He was finally calming down and only glanced at Gianna a few times without getting caught. He finished his plate and started to get up.
"No!" Beck said, grabbing his arm. "You've just GOT to try Gianna's cake!"
Gianna stood up, Del's eyes following her. "I'll bring us a piece." She said.
"I'll help you!" Becky said, jumping up.
Siobhan got up and came back with a carafe, refilling their coffee cups. Beck returned, carry a tray with plates of cake on it. Gianna came back with two plates, setting a slice of cake in front of Del.
"Thank You," Del said.
Del look up at Gianna as she sat down.
"Well, finally!" Gianna said.
"What?"
"You can finally look at me with turning away. Do I look like I have leprosy or something."
Del got a panicked look on his face. "No."
"You and I are gonna have to talk!" Gianna said
Siobhan snickered. Cal poked her in the ribs. Becky giggled. Gianna started laughing and looking around, Del started smiling and shaking his head.
Cal just slowly shook his head. "Women would have a bounty on them if they didn't have…"
"CAL COLEMAN!" Siobhan said, hitting Cal on the shoulder.
Del burst out laughing and shaking his head. Everyone finally calmed down.
"This IS very good cake, Gianna." Del said.
"Thank you. It's my grandmother's recipe."
"I've got to get it from you." Siobhan said.
"We should do a recipe book to sell at the market!" Becky said.
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Aug 10, 2021 8:31:35 GMT -6
Good people finding good people.
|
|
|
Post by cavsgt on Aug 10, 2021 12:54:12 GMT -6
Well hooked again. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by paulk on Aug 10, 2021 13:53:14 GMT -6
Where are you? Didn't you realize that once you have us hooked you are not allowed to have an outside life? You must stay at the computer and WRITE!
Truly, this is an excellent story.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 14:51:17 GMT -6
Where are you? Didn't you realize that once you have us hooked you are not allowed to have an outside life? You must stay at the computer and WRITE! Truly, this is an excellent story. Actually, this was written over a period of twenty years. I'm just dusting it off and updating terminology and technology.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 14:53:04 GMT -6
"You know Becky, that's not a bad idea. Why don't you take up the project and be the editor? I'm sure all the ladies will offer up recipes for you."
"But Dad, I have Del's project to do!"
"Well, make that your long-term project and the recipe book your short-term project. It shouldn't take you much time to fill up a book with all the delicious food we have at these gatherings."
"Good point. Del, do you mind if I take a little longer working on your legs?"
Del smiled at Becky. "No, Becky. The ones I have work fine right now. Anyway, you need to do a lot more research anyway."
Del looked at Gianna. She raised her eyebrows at him.
"Del flushed. "I..I..uh..have prosthetic legs."
"And the problem is…?"
"He dances like the Tin Man." Becky said, giggling.
"BECKY!" Siobhan cried.
Gianna started giggling and got Del laughing also. "That's ONE, Becky."
Gianna got up, looking down at Del.
"The sun is shining. Wanna take a walk?"
Del looked at the others.
"Go on." Cal said, grinning. "We'll clean up here."
When they got outside Dianna held on to Del's arm as they walked down the road in silence.
"Want to talk about it?" Gianna said softly.
A few moments passed. "Nothing to talk about."
They walked on slowly, then Gianna stopped.
"Del, when you walked through that door, a shock went through my body and my knees went weak. I think you had a similar experience."
Del started walking again. "Gianna, I was in the war. I was engaged to a girl back home who I loved with all my heart. When I finally returned to the States, I was missing both legs. My fiancé's mother convinced her that a life with me would be disastrous so she returned my ring. I guess it was a good thing I had a lot of doctors and nurses around me or I wouldn't be here. With the help of some good people I made it out of Walter Reed with a lot less hope for the future but a determination not to be in that position again."
They continued to walk on down the road.
"So, are you afraid to take a chance?"
Del stopped and turned to her. He took her hand in his and said, "Gianna, I don't want to be hurt again but most of all I don't want to be a disappointment to anyone."
"Well, we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it and find a way to cross together."
"Are you sure?" Del asked.
"Well, we have to take it easy. I want to know more about you. You need to know more about me. I don't even know if you are a good kisser and…."
Del let go of her hand and placed his hand behind her neck and slowly drew her to him. The kiss was brief but both knew there was definitely possibilities there. He drew back and Gianna looked into his eyes.
"You'll have to do better than that."
Wrapping her arms around his neck she fiercely kissed him. Del was stunned, but melted into the kiss.
They slowly broke the kiss and Gianna smiled.
"That's more like it,"
They turned around and slowly walked back to the Community Center, When they walked through the door, heads turned to them. Becky ran over to them.
"Wow! Talk about PDA! That was a doozy!"
"BECKY! Get over here! Siobhan said.
Becky giggled and walked quickly over to Siobhan and Cal, followed by Gianna and Del.
"I'm sorry you two. Miss Nosey doesn't know how to act properly sometimes."
Gianna blushed, but laughed. "I guess it was pretty public. We'll have to remember the Nosey Nellies in the neighborhood."
Becky grinned. "But I was worried about Del's legs out there in the cold."
Gianna laughed. "Well, you let me worry about Del's legs from now on. But maybe we can exchange notes sometimes." Gianna said, winking at Becky.
"Okay you two, you're embarrassing Del. Cal would you get me a cup of coffee?"
Gianna turned to Del. "Would you like a cup?"
"Please." Gianna followed Cal over to the coffee maker.
Siobhan motioned Del to sit down. "Sorry Del. Everyone loves to joke around here. Don't take it as being mean."
"No, I don't. I'm just treading over old rough ground and bad memories. Gianna stunned me."
"Del, she has a heart of gold. She hasn't had it so good either."
Cal and Gianna returned with the coffee and sat down.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" Gianna asked Del.
"In processing, I go to the range Tuesday."
"Oh, I'm going to the range Tuesday also!"
"You're going to get a CCW permit?"
"I already have one. Andy just wants to check me out to see if I require any more training. My Dad was military and I was the tomboy, so he taught me how to shoot when I was young."
"Well, I guess I'll see you on the range Tuesday." Del grinned.
"Gianna, do you and Del want to come up to the house and watch movies with us?" Siobhan asked.
"Uh…sure."
"Siobhan, was there any chicken left?"
"I saved some at the house, Del."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 14:55:16 GMT -6
"Is everything ready?" Cal asked.
Ryan smiled. "On schedule. We're already getting requests for information from the billboards. I even got a call from DARPA. The Sheriff will hold his press conference at the Mesa County Fairgrounds at 10:00 Monday morning. He has invited KKCO, KJCT, KREX out of Grand Junction along with CNN, FOX 31, KUSA, Colorado Public Television out of Denver, and all the major newspapers. The last vehicle for the Sheriff's Department will be finished tomorrow. Earl is holding off giving out any information on the conversions. We have the press packets completed and ready to be distributed."
"Who from here is going to attend the presser?" Cal asked.
"All three of us. We can split up and cover more questions that way."
"Now, the $64,000 question. What happens when someone comes up and offers to buy you out?"
Ryan looked at John and Shannon.
"We'll turn them down. That's how the petroleum and energy companies have squashed innovative ideas. We want to make sure the technology gets out there. Personally, I don't care if someone else comes up with what they think is a better system. That means someone else is doing some research out there. We still have the keys that make the whole system more effective than the rest. Hell, I'm working on something now that will double the range of our conversions now. We'll just have to stay a step ahead of the competition."
"Andy is putting together a security element just for the plant. You're going to have to consider industrial espionage, even from the government. You'll have to be sure all of you are running on the straight and narrow."
"We've got a great security fence installed." John reminded him.
"Fences are good in keeping out the curious. I'm talking about a more serious level. Go over your security plan with Andy and don't leave any stones unturned."
Ryan jumped back in. "We have 20 installers trained, not including Miguel and his guys, who will help out in a pinch. He'll still do conversions for individuals, but the big jobs will be done by the plant. He'll also tag along with the installation foreman for a while to get him settled in. We've got enough kits on hand to do 300 conversions and more coming."
Cal nodded. "Well, again, keep thinking security. Everyone wears badges and no reporters get past the front offices, Andy's people will be backup to the security people. Ryan, you've got to treat this as your personal Manhattan Project. Anything else that might bite you in the ass?"
Ryan grinned. "Well, as long as you're speaking about security, the 'Controller Unit' contains our magic genie. I've rigged a couple or three booby traps that will destroy the unit if it is removed from the installed location. I've mixed up the triggers so there's no pattern on how the switches are activated. On destruction, they won't hurt anyone unless they have shoved then up their butts. If the unit is within cell tower distance, we'll get a signal indicating the destruction process had been initiated and the warranty is automatically voided. The have to pay the complete conversion costs just to replace the unit."
Cal chuckled. "The government is really going to love that. You know they'll want to take everything apart."
Ryan laughed. "Oh, I know they will, an so will some others. But we've lawyer-proofed the contract. They can jury-rig the harness between the power source and motors to make it run, but it will only get the average EV mileage."
"What vehicles will you have there, Monday?" Cal asked.
"We'll have four different types of the Department vehicles, the 1992 GMC Syclone, the Camry, the 35 pax bus, a '63 Jeep Pickup from Miguel, and your Command Car," John said, grinning.
Cal grinned and shook his head and got up. " Well, it's in your hands guys. I'll see you later."
Cal went out and got in his truck and went to check on the fields. Winter wheat was planted on two of the 143 acre fields and winter rye, for a cover crop was planted on the other fields. He saw Sylvio's truck beside one of the fields and drove over.
'Hello Sylvio. The crops look good."
"Si, they look very good. The horse manure we've been getting from Senorita Karen is helping a lot. We should have a very good crop from these fields next year. As we build the soil more, the less water we'll have to use."
Cal nodded, "It's a start. Anything you need from me?"
"Well, there is something I would like to speak with you about." Sylvio said.
"Of course."
"I have been speaking with three close friends in California that lived near us. Things are getting much worse there. With the illegals being let in, many bad people have settled near. They bring with them much crimes and are forcing the young to join gangs. My friends have much…how do you say…envidia…"
"Envy."
"Yes, they have envy, in my situation. Is there any way a position could be found for them here?"
"Sylvio, as you know, we raise much of what we eat here. I would like to expand our egg and chicken production and maybe get a couple of more cows. Do you think your friends would like to do that?"
"Yes of course!" Sylvio said excitedly. "They are very good workers and when they have little to do they could help us with the plowing and other things."
"That is another thing. I wish for you to be the Supervisor for those activities. Along with the title also comes a raise. You may appoint someone to handle the duties in the other areas I need. I need to know how many people in each family so we can figure out the number of bedrooms in the houses."
"Oh! I know that Señor Cal. Each family has two children and they are all citizens."
Good. I'll get the houses built. Let's not have them come out until the houses are done. Will they be bringing furniture with them?
"Sí Señor, they are only renting the houses where they live."
"Very well, I'll start working on this immediately."
"Thank you Señor."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 14:56:49 GMT -6
Kirk had driven out to Karen's ranch Wednesday afternoon for their run. They ran back toward the HTR for two and a half miles and then came back. Karen had earlier made a crock-pot of beef stew and all she had to do was warm up the bread. She did that while Kirk was taking a shower. When he came out she was dishing up the stew and pulled the hard crust bread out of the oven.
"This is delicious, Karen."
"Thank you. It's great on a winter day. You want to stay and watch a movie after dinner?" "Sure, sounds nice."
"How is that roan mare doing?"
"She's doing great. Michael checked her out and she shouldn't have any problems foaling."
"When is she due?"
"Another month."
They finished their meal and Kirk rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher while Karen open a bottle of wine. They retired to the family room and got seated on the couch. Karen slid up close to Kirk and he put his arm around her. Karen looked up at him and smiled. She picked up the remote and scrolled through the satellite movie channels to find a movie. It wasn't long before Kirk felt Karen's head tilt slower and slower onto his shoulder. Her head tilted down gradually and her breathing slow. Kirk smiled and kissed the top of her head. Karen's arm came across his stomach and snuggle closer. Soon, Kirk was nodding off also. He shook his head, which woke Karen and she sat up.
"Sorry, I dozed off." She said, smiling.
"Yeah, I was nodding off too. I was getting very comfortable. I need to get going."
Karen poked out her bottom lip. "I'd like to do this again."
"I'd love to do this again."
Kirk stood up with Karen and put his arms around her. "This has been a very enjoyable evening."
"For me too. I like ending our running days like this."
She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips. Karen's breathing got heavier and finally broke the kiss.
"I'd better stop before I go too far." Karen blushed.
"Are we on for Saturday night?" Kirk asked.
"Of course! I'm looking forward to it."
"Okay, I'll see you Friday afternoon."
They kissed briefly again and Karen let him out the door.
"Greg, we're putting in three more houses across the road. I know we have plenty of water for everything but what do you think about putting in a 20,000 gallon water tank across the road?"
"I think it would be a good idea. The well pump would run a lot less."
"Okay, look at getting someone in here ASAP to survey our needs."
"I'm on it Cal."
Cal called and had three more standard 3-bedroom cabins ordered. Sam's people had it down to a science and already had three kits in stock. They would be out the following week to begin excavation. If the weather held, they would go up pretty quick. Sam's company had also become the local distributor for alternate energy equipment. Ryan was negotiating with Sam to supply him with whole-house energy cells. There was a lot of interest and once the press reports went out, there would be a lot more.
"Cal! Could you come here a minute?" Siobhan called from the kitchen.
"Yes Ma'am, what's up?"
"Angelina told Diana we were getting more people. What's going on?"
"Well, Sylvio mentioned to me that his friends he left back in California weren't too pleased with the influx off illegals in their area. Lots of gang activity and such. He asked me if there were any jobs for them. I've been thinking of increasing production with the chickens and milk cows so I thought it would be a good time to start that before Spring."
"You're going to have to build a bigger chicken house."
"Already in the works.
"How many people and what about housing?"
"Three families, total of twelve people and the houses are in the works."
"I'll get with Margarita and see what needs to be done." Siobhan mused.
Cal, with the help of Pedro and his sons laid out the foundation for a new chicken coop next to the cattle barn to shelter it from the northwest winds. They extended the overhead of the barn over the chicken coop wouldn't be buried by snow sliding off the barn. With the help of several people, the chickens were transferred to the new coup. They now had room for 75 Australorp layers and in a separate area, 100 Cornish-Rock broilers. Cal had talked to Hurley Daniels about a milking machine that could do four cows. They weren't planning to commercialize the operation, just have enough for the residents. Hurley explained he could easily buy one that would handle twelve cows and only use the four positions for now. Cal decided in the Spring, the would build a new milking barn.
On Monday, Sheriff Gilmore held the press conference explaining the transition of all Mesa County Sheriff's Department vehicles to EV. TV cameras were abundant and a lot of literature was passed out. Back at the plant, by mid-afternoon, the phones were ringing off the hook with individual orders from all over the United States. Gianna had set up a call center and had trained the people on how to enter the customer information in the database. Everything was moving like clockwork. Cal stayed away from the presser and kept a low profile. Although he had millions invested to get them started, the glory belonged to Ryan, John,Shannon and Kayleigh. Cal spent the afternoon with Kirk and Nick riding the range, checking on the cattle. When Cal got home Ryan and Shannon were drinking coffee and talking with Siobhan.
"Well, how did it go guys?" Cal said, grinning.
"Cal, we have over 500 individual orders, plus a 50 RFIs from businesses. We mentioned nothing about home power installations. I figured that could come out in a few weeks in 'Phase II'."
"Good idea. You can get overwhelmed quickly."
"Before we came over here, I ordered 400 sets of parts to replace what we will use with the new installations." Ryan said.
"Do you have room for that much?" Cal asked.
"Sure. We could handle 1000 units if needed."
"Well, it's your ballgame. Make us proud!"
"Cal, I've talked to the accountants on what we can do, and we want to roll all the profits back into the company for the next few months, or at least until we see where this is going. I want to be able to expand the plant if needed."
"That's sounds reasonable. Look, I don't expect a return on my investment anytime soon. You three make this run as smoothly as you can. Do what is best for Mesa Electric."
After they left, Siobhan went over and sat on the stool next to Cal.
"Are you all right with all this?" She asked.
"Of course."
"You could lose all your investment."
"Siobhan, it's not about the money. Yes, I could lose $12 million if things fell apart. I have faith in them. But think of the reward if they make a success of it. Just seeing them see their ideas come to fruition is worth $12 million to me. We've got more money than we'll ever need for generations, so money isn't the object. I just enjoy seeing them bring their hopes and dreams to reality."
Siobhan smiled. "I love you, Cowboy."
"I love you right back, my Irish Sorceress."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 14:57:54 GMT -6
Cal was cooking bacon until Martha ran him out of the kitchen. He grabbed a cup of coffee to take to his office and was doing an internet search when Siobhan walked in.
"Margarita and I are going to pick out furniture today for Angelina and Shay's cabin."
"Have they figured it out yet?"
"I don't believe so. Angelina is going with us. We're telling her it's for a guest cabin for visitors. We'll get her to offer suggestions on things she likes."
"I've got Shay working on the Spring Pond road, so he'll be out of the way. I can't believe how many people have gotten married here."
"Come on. Breakfast is almost ready."
Cal was quiet during breakfast.
"What's your head so full of today?" Siobhan asked.
"Oh, nothing much. Just thinking about the water tank. The survey team said they'd be back next week to start pouring the foundation base. They knocked off some on the price because they could use our equipment. Their 6-man crew is staying in the Facility billets also. Aggie will be feeding them as needed. That's another chunk of money sliced off the bill. What time are you leaving?"
"I told Margarita I'd pick her and Angelina up at 9:00. Martha, I may not be back until around 3:00.
"That's fine. Brigid and I will bake some cookies for when the kids come home from school."
Siobhan chuckled. "You spoil them!"
"And they love it!" Martha grinned.
Cal went into his office and came back with an I.D. card on a neck lanyard. "I'm headed down to the plant and the new cabins to nosey around."
"You're getting antsy. You need another project." Siobhan said.
"Yeah, I know. Winter isn't the best time though. I'll stop by the arms room first."
Cal walked to the arms room and Del was busy working on pistols.
"Hey Cal. What's up?"
"Nothing much." Cal looked over at the door between the two rooms.
"The door looks good. Did you get your machine tools ordered?"
"Yep. Charlie says they'll be here in a week. Barry was down to pre-wire everything."
"Anything else you need?"
"No, I'm good right now. I'm going to build a weapons cleaning table. I'll attach a roll of butcher paper on one end so you can pull the paper out to cover the table. That will soak up solvents and oils, making less of a cleanup."
"I'm short of something to do right now. Let me build it for you. Do you have a drawing or something of what you want?"
Del pulled out a legal pad. "I'd really like a couple of 8-foot tables, only one with the paper. That way I can extend the table if needed. The paper roll would be mounted in some fashion at one end of the table."
"You want them on casters?"
"That would help"
"How high do you want them?"
Del got a measuring tape.
"Cal, hold your arms to your side. Now, bring your arm up so that your elbow is at a 90 degree angle." Del measured the distance to the floor.
"The top of the table, to include the casters, should be 43 inches from the floor. Top to be 8 feet by 3 feet."
"Okay, I'll get to it this afternoon."
"Thanks Cal."
"No problem. I'll see you later."
The crew for the water tank installation showed up in four crew cab trucks with "Tank Connection" on the doors of the truck. Greg had offered to be the liaison to the team. He got them settled in the Facility billets and introduced to Aggie, who would be cooking for them, unless they notified her they were eating elsewhere. The loaded trucks with the components for the tank would be arriving the next day. After working on the tables for four hours, Cal had to let the oak boards he had glued together dry so he went by the water tank site and looked at what they had accomplished. Part of the crew was bolting and welding the tower together. The rest were assembling the tank itself. Not much excitement, so he went into town to get a couple of large rolls of butcher paper. Going back to the woodworking shop, he completed the legs of the tables and attached the casters. He had to let the tops dry for 24 hours so there wasn't anything he could do until tomorrow. Diana caught him before he got to the house.
"Cal, we just got through separating the gold. We haven't been taking the time to melt it into ingots and right now we've accumulated 125 pounds of gold."
Cal grinned. "You make it sound like that's a problem."
Dianna grinned back. "Yes and no. It's a problem because it's getting the way, but it's nice to have it."
"Okay, I'll go down and get the pot going. Where are you at in the excavation?
We're working on Level 3 on the second emergency exit. I'm running it out 250 feet to a small hill covered in brush to camouflage the exit. It has a drop point at the end to let the soil fall down when you open a hatch. Then you can climb out and push through the brush."
"How are the tunnel sleeves going?"
"They're great! The soil is packed enough that it's not caving, giving us enough time to bolt the sleeves into place. We'll pour a concrete floor once the tunnel is finished."
"I'll melt the gold into ingots this afternoon. How about the exit doors?"
"Joshua has finished them. They are even better than the blast hatches what we've gotten before from the dealers."
"Good. Keep me posted on the progress."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 14:59:12 GMT -6
Cal went to see Joshua and found him down at the barn changing the shoes on the horses from rim shoes to regular shoes. Rim shoes were used in the winter because they gave better traction. With the first breath of Spring, Joshua and Nick were getting that off their checklist.
"How's it going Joshua?"
"Almost finished. Cal. Miss Karen asked if I could do her horses. Is that all right?"
"Of course. How's that farrier trailer working?"
"That thing is the cat's meow! Thank you for the blacksmith forge plans you found. Dale was amazed at everything I can carry. I never have to worry about not having something."
"That's great. I'm glad it's working out."
"Cal, what should I charge Miss Karen for shoeing her horses?"
"Charge her wholesale plus 2% for the supplies plus whatever you charge for farrier's wages. I think you should ask for $25 an hour."
Joshua nodded. "I'll finish up here and talk to her."
Cal went back to the separating room and checked his forge. He looked at the bags of gold fines sitting by the bench and wondered why Fate had given him all of this. He tried to do good with it, but always wondered if he was doing enough. Looking at his watch and seeing he wouldn't have enough time to finish before lunch, Cal left and went to the house through the corridors of the shelter. He felt like taking Siobhan, Martha and Brigid to lunch at Casey's. When he entered the house, Brigid came running up yelling "Papa, Papa."
Siobhan came out of the kitchen smiling. "What, no dragons to slay?"
Cal grinned. "I wanted to take my favorite family to lunch. Get Martha."
Martha came out of the kitchen, taking off her apron. "I'm ready!"
Cal laughed and helped Brigid into her jacket. They got into the Suburban and drove down to Casey's.
Karen sat in her car until near the time for the aircraft to arrive. She had finally talked her cousin Faith into coming for a visit. Faith and her husband Robert had started a fledgling crop-duster service near Lakeport, California late last year. Tragically, Robert was killed in an aircraft accident 3 months ago. Faith needed some time away from the area that held so many memories of her and Robert's time together. Karen got out of the truck and made her way to the terminal as she heard and aircraft land. She made her way to the baggage carousels to wait for Faith's appearance. About ten minutes later, she saw Faith's in the crowd and waited for the crowd to spread out before going to her. When Faith saw Karen, the tears began to flow down her cheeks. Karen held out her arms and Faith rushed into them.
"Oh Faith, I'm so glad you came."
"Karen, I needed to get away. How are you and your new ranch?"
Karen smiled. "It's great! You're going to love it there!"
They retrieved Faith's bags and Karen went and drove her car up to the passenger loading zone. Driving through Grand Junction, Faith was full of questions about the area and the people.
"Faith, the people who live near me are the greatest I've ever encountered. Dad would have fit right in with them. They were so helpful when I moved here and will go out of their way to help under any circumstances. The owner of the ranch next to me and his wife are the salt of the earth. I am so lucky to have found this place.
"You said you've got a boyfriend?" Faith asked.
"Yeah. He's a great guy. I'm hoping he gets even more interested."
"Ohhhh. Cousin thinking about making it permanent?"
"I will in a heartbeat! He is so cute! Every time I see that man I tingle all over!"
"Got it bad, hunh?"
"Wait until you meet him. Oh, another thing. Sunday there's a Community luncheon after church. You'll get to meet everyone then."
"Sounds nice. Oh! You have a road named after your ranch?"
"Yeah. Cal had it built so I'd have a shortcut to Grand Junction and the High Top Ranch."
"Ohhhh! This is nice!"
They took Faith's bags into the guestroom and went back to the kitchen for drinks.
"What would you like? I have water, iced tea, beer, strong stuff…."
"I'll take a beer."
Karen got an opener and popped the cap off the bottle.
"Hmmm. This is good. Smithwicks?"
"Yeah, I keep some here for Kirk. It seems everyone on the HTR drinks it. Cal buys it by the pallet. I know you're probably tired from your flight. You rest up this afternoon and I'll show you around tomorrow."
"That would be great. I'm going to take a shower and lay down for a while."
"Oh, Faith? Kirk is coming for dinner tonight, so you'll get to meet him."
"Great! I'll see you later." "Ryan, John, this is Rebekah Stillman. She'll be helping me with Public Relations." Gianna said.
"Pleased to meet you Rebekah." Ryan said.
"Please call me 'Bekah'."
"Has Gianna briefed you on our operation?"
"Yes, she and Kayleigh did, and also the advertising plan." Bekah said.
"Great. Well, Gianna, if you will get her squared away with credentials and the whole rigamarole we'll sit down later and meet on where to go forward."
Gianna showed Bekah her office and explained the in-processing.
"I'll take you on the Ranch to get most of it done. The HR and payroll offices are over there." Gianna explained.
"That seems strange. Why is that?" Bekah asked.
"Mesa Electric, and every business on this side of the highway are under the umbrella of HTR. Right now, accounting and HR are handled there. This is a unique organization. It's hard to explain, but every business is here to enhance the people here. The people are great and it's really a community operation. They aren't out to make millions of dollars, but to make people happy and to provide quality goods and services. Your hardest problem will be fighting off the propaganda the big oil and energy companies are throwing out to curtail Mesa Energy. Every vehicle and home power system we sell makes them lose money."
"Well, that will be a challenge, but I'm up for it."
"Also, you'll find that this is a more close-knit community than you'll find in the big cities. Everyone is treated like family. Cal Coleman, who I'll introduce you to later, is the impetus behind all this is the silent power behind the whole enterprise. He has his hands in ranching, farming, auto restoration the general store, the restaurant, a security company and Mesa Electric. He is also heavily invested in a number of charities. Cal is a powerful man but keeps a low profile and allows others to run things without micromanagement. He's probably busy with other things so you'll meet him Sunday afternoon. Are settled in to your apartment?"
Bekah smiled. "Yes! I love it. I've never seen a log apartment building! It's homey and comfortable."
"Cal had them built when the single employee issue was brought up. There are log homes for families but there wasn't really anything for single people except the bunkhouse for ranch hands. He is quick to jump in a make changes as needed. Let's go on the Ranch and I'll show you where the church and community center are."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 15:00:29 GMT -6
Sunday, after church, everyone went home to change clothes and head for the Community center. Cal had smoked some briskets and had sliced them earlier that morning. After loading everything up, Cal let Billy drive the Command Car up to the Center with Becky, Amy and Evan. Cal, Siobhan and Brigid followed behind them in the Suburban. The older kids helped Cal carry the food trays inside while Siobhan brought in the younger ones. Cal went through the building and out onto the patio. Andy, Logan and Perry were out there talking.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Cal. Perry was telling us about the bus."
"Well, what do you think of the conversion?"
"Cal, I ran the whole route yesterday, twice, and the batteries barely had a discharge. I'm wondering what the size limitation on the vehicle is."
"You'll have to ask Ryan or John. That knowledge is more than I understand. All I know is Mesa Electric is running full speed to keep ahead of the orders."
"I might think about getting my truck converted."
"Don't say anything but Miguel found me a 1950 Willys Station Wagon he's converting for me. It's a surprise for Siobhan."
"Is that the thing you see in old pictures surfers used?"
"Yep. It had a little rust on the tailgate but it was easily fixed. He's restoring the whole thing and replacing the power system with a hydrogen cell."
"EVERYBODY COME ON IN!"
Andy looked at his watch. "The Reverend must be hungry."
The guys chuckled as they went inside.
As people started lining up to get their plates, Gianna and Bekah walked in the door. They walked over to where Cal and Siobhan had gathered their family.
"Cal, Siobhan, this is Bekah Stillman. She's the new PR rep at Mesa."
"Welcome aboard Bekah. This is my wife Siobhan and my team of destruction."
"Daaad!" Becky and Amy said.
"Hello everyone! Gianna said this place and people were impressive and I AM impressed."
Siobhan smiled. "Grab a plate and sit with us."
Gianna and Bekah went to get some food. On the way to where the plates were stacked, Bekah came to a stumbling stop. Her eyes teared up and her hand came up and covered her mouth. She stood there staring at Perry.
"Perry." She said weakly.
Perry turned and looked at her. "Rebekah! What are you doing here?"
Bekah hurried to him and gave him a hug. "I didn't know where you had gone!"
"Come on, let's go sit down." Perry said, guiding her to an empty table.
"I saw your mother shortly after you left and she said you'd left to heal and she wasn't sure when you'd be back. I had a job offer in Seattle and went there."
"Yeah, you remember I was going with Linda? Well when I got hurt, Linda decided she could marry a cripple so she broke it off. I couldn't stay around Elinwood so I left to get some space to think."
"I'm so sorry Perry. How is your mother?"
"She…she passed away a few months ago."
"Oh God Perry! I am so sorry."
"Thanks."
"So how did you end up here?"
"Cal offered me a job as school security. I pick up the kids and take them home every day."
"They have a school here?"
"Rebekah, there's not much they don't provide. These are the best people I've ever been around. What are you doing here?"
"I just started as Public Relations for Mesa Electric."
"Well, I guess we'll see each other once in a while."
Bekah smiled. "I hope it's more often than that!"
"Uh, well, maybe we could go down to Casey's some night and have dinner."
"I look forward to it. Right now the smells are driving me crazy. Let's get something to eat."
Kirk was sitting with Karen and Faith at another table.
"How often do they do this?" Faith asked.
"Every other Sunday." Kirk answered. "It gives everyone a chance to mingle and catch up."
"A lot of people here."
Kirk looked around. "A few are missing, but most of the people from 3 ranches, four counting Karen's, are here."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 15:01:40 GMT -6
Rob Stevens was sitting with his sister Cheryl and her husband Curt.
"Rob, I don't know how you do it but our investment portfolio is through the roof!"
"Yeah, but we're going to have to shift gears and go to more less risky investments. This current administration is going to do some damage to the market."
"Well, you handle it. I wouldn't know what to invest in."
"Who is that?" Rob asked.
Cheryl looked in the direction Rob was nodding. "Who Karen?"
"No, that woman with her."
"I don't know. Maybe someone visiting her."
"Okay…I need to talk to Karen anyway."
When Karen had finished eating, Rob walked over to her table.
"Karen, Cal said you needed to talk with me."
"Yes. I need to put my money to work. If you could find the time, I need to sit down and talk to you. Oh! Excuse me. Rob, this is my cousin Faith. Faith this is Rob Stevens. He's a financial planner and advisor."
"Nice to meet you Faith. Are you here for a visit or…"
"No, I'm just visiting."
"Well, welcome. Karen, just give me the time and I can come out to your ranch.
"What about Tuesday evening?" Karen asked.
"Works for me. Around 7:00 okay?"
"That's fine."
"All righty then. I'll see you Tuesday evening."
Karen watched Faith looking at Rob walking away. Faith turned to Karen and saw her looking.
"What?"
Karen smiled. "He's a hunk hunh?"
Faith blushed and grunted.
"Faith. What are you going to do when you go back?"
"I don't know. There's nothing much around there but memories."
"Listen, I want you to give this some thought. You were handling the accounting for Gary. You could get a job here with HTR. They could use another accountant with Mesa Electric coming on line. I know they were talking about it. You could move in permanently with me. You know I have plenty of room."
"I don't know Karen. I wouldn't want to be an imposition."
"Lord knows you wouldn't be. It can get old just talking to cowpokes. Please think about it. Do you want me to talk to Cheryl, the head accountant?"
"I guess so."
Karen walked over to Cheryl and Curt's table.
"Cheryl, do you have a minute?"
"Sure, have a seat. What's up?"
"I understand you're looking for more accountants."
"True."
My cousin, Faith has an accounting degree. She did the books for her husband before he was killed in a plane crash."
"I'll need her name, address, and Social Security number for a background check. Is she living in the area now?"
"No, she lives in California, but I think I've persuaded her to move here with me. She's staying with me for a month."
"Great. As soon as we get something back I'll want to talk to her."
Karen walked back over to Faith.
"Good news! Cheryl has an opening. She'll need your name, address, Social Security number and cellphone number for a background check."
Faith looked apprehensive. "Am I doing the right thing?"
"Faith, you need to move on. You don't have anything back in California. You can come out here and make a fresh start."
"You're right. What do I need to do?"
"We'll give Cheryl your information first. What do you have to do in California to move here?"
"Not much. We were living in a furnished apartment. All I have is my clothes and some personal keepsakes."
"Come on, I want to introduce you to Cal and Siobhan."
They walked over to the Coleman's table.
"Cal, this is my cousin, Faith Henderson. She's visiting me for a month."
"Nice to meet you Faith. Faith, this is my wife, Siobhan, and I don't know where all these kids came from."
"Cal!"
Faith laughed. "I'm pleased to meet you."
"Cal, Faith is an accountant. She's giving Cheryl her information for a background check. Cheryl says they have a position for her."
"Well great! Keep me informed and if there's anything I can do, let me know."
"Okay. I'll talk to you later."
They walked back over to Cheryl's table and Faith handed her a note page with her information.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 15:03:03 GMT -6
"Great!" Cheryl said. "This won't take long. Andy runs the background checks from the security company. I'll be in touch."
Karen was almost giggling as they headed back to her table. "This is going to be great!"
"I hope so," said Faith. "This is sudden."
"It's what you need," Karen said.
Cal and Siobhan had just put the kids to bed and were sitting down with Martha to watch some TV when Cal's phone rang.
"Cal? It's Earl. I need your help. There are some RVers missing down around Pine Mountain. Can you take your helicopter down there and see if you can spot them?"
"Sure Earl. We'll be outta here within 30 minutes."
Cal called Ken and Andy and told them the situation and to meet him ASAP at the hangar. He called Arny and told him they were taking the S-70 on an S&R. When he got to the hangar Arny was hooking the S-70 to a tug to pull it out on the hardstand. When Andy and Ken got there they decided to take the sling-load equipment with them to haul the RV out. Once airborne, they made radio contact with the Sheriff's Department to get any updates. They were directed to Gateway Canyons resort to pick up an EMT. After picking up the medic, they flew to Pine Mountain to begin their search. Ken activated the FLIR began their search. Near the top of the mountain the glow of a fire was seen on the scope. As they got nearer, to bodies appeared separate from the fire. Ken turned on the spotlight and approached slowly. He maneuvered the helicoptered to an open area near the fire and landed. The EMT, Cal, and Andy got out an hurried over to the two people at the fire.
"Are you all right?" The medic asked the young man and girl.
"Yeah, just thirsty." The EMT handed each a bottle of water.
"What happened?" Cal asked.
"Ran out of gas." The young man said sheepishly.
Cal walked back over to the S-70 and got on the radio and reported the two had been found. Both had no injuries and asked where they were to be delivered to. He got a shovel and a couple of bottles of water and went back over to the fire.
"Let's push the four-wheeler out to the clearing and I need to put out this fire. Andy, rig the RV for sling-load."
Cal began spreading the ashes and wetting them down while the rest pushed the RV nearer to the helicopter. Once Cal had been assured there were no hot coals, he joined them. Andy had the straps attached to the 4-wheeler and was rolling the slings out toward the helicopter. Cal had the two teens and the EMT board the helicopter and he waited while Ken started the engines. When Ken lifted the bird high enough for Cal to attach the sling to the cargo hook, Ken settled nearer the ground for Cal to board. Ken slowly lifted the helicopter until the 4-wheeler was suspended, then gained altitude and headed back to the resort. At the resort, Ken turned the spotlight back on and checked the parking lot area for power lines. Sitting the 4-wheeler down in the lot, he shifted the bird a little to the side and dropped the sling. Maneuvering a little farther away, he sat the bird down. Andy and Cal started derigging the 4-wheeler and secured the straps while the EMT escorted to two young people over to their parents. When they had finished stowing the gear, a burly man walked over to them.
"Hello, I'm Craig Miller. I sure appreciate you finding and bringing back my kids."
"No problem Mr. Miller. They made it easy for us by building a fire. We can see warm bodies with the radar, but there are a lot of elk around here and they would have been hard to spot without the fire."
"I'm surprised. I didn't think they listened to me when I talked to them about survival. I know they didn't listen to me when I told them about planning their excursions."
Cal chuckled. "Well, I think they learned a lesson. Well, we need to get back home. I hope you enjoy your stay here."
"Wait, let me pay you for your trouble. They Deputy said you weren't part of the Sheriff's Department."
"No need. We were glad to help. However, the Mesa County Sheriff's Benevolent Foundation could use a donation if you're up to it."
"Well thank you, again. I'll write a check and give it to one of the Deputies."
"They'll appreciate that. Enjoy your vacation."
Ken started the engines and they flew back to the Ranch.
They had a great winter wheat harvest. They ended up with 49 bushels to the acre. Cal found a processing center and had half of the wheat processed into white flour and half to remain as processed kernels they could grind themselves. He had found 200 forty gallon plastic pickle barrels with gasketed screw on lids that they would store the processed wheat kernels and flour in. Sylvio and his sons had already planted the wheat fields with cover crops and were getting ready to plant the corn, barley, oats and hemp in the other fields.
Cal had two deep wells bored into the Entrada Aquifer that the Ranch sat over. They would use them sparingly for irrigation, the lake being their primary source of water.
Dawn had been planting new fruit and nut trees every year, this year no exception. She had expanded her berries due to requests at the market. They still dried 1/3 of the berries harvested for the Ranch. What made Cal proud was that each person enjoyed what they were doing and strived to made their portion of the Ranch produce more with increasing efficiency. Cal's phone rang.
"Cal? It's Karen. Gianna called and she's hiring Faith. Faith doesn't have much back in California. I couldn't convince you to fly us out so I can help her pack could I?"
"Makes sense to me. How is she shipping her things?"
"She has an enclosed trailer she can pull behind her Tahoe."
"Okay. Just tell me when."
"I'll get back with you."
Cal called Matt to get permission to use the Socata TBM to fly the girls to California.
After talking to Matt, Cal went down to Level 3 and was looking around.
"What's up Boss?" Charlie asked.
"Just checking how much storage room we have open."
"Still got plenty."
"Yeah. Look, I want you to order 50 Long Term Food Storage Kits from Sorbentsystems. I want to put some of the wheat in 5-gallon pails."
"Okay, anything else?"
"Yeah, and order ten Platinum 12 Month Food Supply bundles from Nitro-Pak."
"Whoa! Something going on I don't know about?"
"Just a feeling…."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 10, 2021 15:04:59 GMT -6
Bekah and Perry met at Casey's to have lunch. After they had ordered Perry asked her how she liked her job. "So far so good. I have a lot of material to read up on to get some ideas. I kind of tie in with marketing to make sure everything is good in light of the company. I…." Perry's phone rang. "Perry, this is the monitoring Center. We've got a Linda Cargill at the gate requesting to see you." The color of Perry's face drained. Perry said, "Tell her I'm out of town on business" and hung up. Bekah looked at him. "What's wrong?" "Linda's here." "How did she find you?" "I don't know. Her brother's a cop. Maybe he ran a check or something." Their food came and the subject was changed and Perry told her about Miguel converting a vintage Dodge Power Wagon to hand controls and automatic transmission. He was showing a picture of it when Linda walked up to their table. "Perry, can I talk to you?" Then she saw the woman sitting with Perry. "Rebekah! What are you doing here?" Perry grew tense. "Linda, I don't know what you're doing here. You can't stand to deal with cripples, remember?" "Perry, I'm sorry. I was hoping you'd forgive me and give me another chance." "Linda, I forgive you, but I've also healed and moved on. As a matter of fact, Rebekah and I are seeing one another." Linda gasped and left. Bekah looked at Perry, tilting her head and grinning. Perry, flustered, said "Well, I had to tell her something to get rid of her!" "So, you don't want to date me?" "No! I mean yes I would like to date you!" I just figured you were way out of my league. The best I could ever hope for was friendship." A small smile curled Bekah's lips. "Good! You would like to date me then. I'll have you to know our first date will be dinner at my apartment Friday night. Be there at 7:00." Perry's mouth was open in surprised, but it slowly changed to a grin. "Yes Ma'am!" They both smiled at one another and finished their meal. Jon had called him down to the maintenance garage and when he got there, Diana was waiting with him. Diana smiled. "Cal, I hope I didn't step out of bounds on this, but we've been doing a little more excavation than what we discussed." "Well, show me." Diana directed him to one of the electric carts and stopped at a large tunnel that Cal hadn't seen before. "We just finished this tunnel yesterday."
She continued down the tunnel that opened up t a huge area. It reminded him of a parking garage. "We can now park all the vehicles on the Ranch to protect them from EMP, if we have forewarning. Nevertheless, we have stocked up on electrical components in case any are damaged. We won't be able to store the heavy equipment or planes, but electrical components for everything not stored here are in supply." Cal stared around. "Good job. Thank you. What's next on your agenda?" "Well, we'll take a break and I think, start on Level 4. I'll need your input on how you want it configured." "Okay, let me think on it. We might use it for overflow from supply." They rode back to the maintenance garage. "Oh! I see. This tunnel is to be used move vehicles from the parking garage to the maintenance bay." "Correct. That was Jon's Idea." They got back to the maintenance area and Jon was waiting for them. "What do you think Cal?" "It's great! We can keep vehicles parked there until they are needed. I'm concerned about those caught out if an EMP attack comes." "Well, we've taken an inventory the vehicles everyone has and have repair parts for all of them.. It wouldn't take long to repair them." "Okay good. I'll let you know up front my concern. This current administration in Washington is showing extreme weakness. It wouldn't take much to cripple this country and everything shut down. Think on those terms. If you need to stock up on things to keep us going for several months, then do it. Make sure you have plenty of lubricants and spare parts." "I understand Cal. I'll double check our inventories." `Cal went up to the airfield to check on Arny. He was doing the annual on the Otter. As he drove up to the hangar, his phone rang. "Cal? This is Ben. Can you meet me for lunch at Frank's?" "Sure. I'll be there at 11:45." "Good. See you then." Cal was wondering what was up as he walked into the hangar. "Hey Cal." "Arny. How's it going?" "Just about finished. No problems." "Good. Listen, check your inventories. Make sure you have enough of everything that you wouldn't have to order anything for 6 months to a year. Any electronics, store them in the Faraday cases." "What's up?" "I don't know. I've got a feeling." Cal got to Frank's a few minutes early. As he got out of his truck, Ben pulled in. Cal waited as Ben got out of his car. "Hey Ben." "Hey Cal. Maybe it's best if we talk in your truck." "Sure. Hop in." "Cal, Maria's pregnant." "Congratulations!" "She's resigning from the police force and I'm taking a leave of absence. Hang on a second." Ben went to his car and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and got back into the truck.
|
|