This is fantasy fiction. Say Hi, I love to chat. Email me: AndrewMThomas@proton.me WickrMe: andrewmthomas
Buy me a coffee!The website for Grizzly Valley Ranch (click here) covers the town, the people and places. Bruce's Dojo, Tech Tribe, Liams Automotive, Grizzly Baptist Church, Laundromat, Mac's Diner and more. You'll see Mark, Jamie, Bruce, Liam, Taylor, Sebastian, Andrew, Ethan and the rest of the town.
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This story is an original work of fiction ©Copyright 2023 Andrew M. Thomas.
This story takes place the same time as Transitions New Adventures Chapter 5
Breakfast is a success and everyone is running off to various events. Today is the last day of the fundraiser, and tomorrow begins Grizzly Valley Days. The kickoff is the Jr. Rodeo, followed by a week of fair events and competitions, the carnival, and the closing concert.
I let my boys all have the day off from volunteering, so they can enjoy the weekend. Max and Grayson quickly run over to the Prescott Estate to ride horses with Joey and his brothers. The boys had a great time jamming with Joey and think he's a pretty cool kid. I do hope that the Murphys stay around long enough for the boys to form a deeper friendship. This is the first year Chandler offered to let people take horseback rides. There seems to be quite a list of people wanting to go. We've enlisted quite a few of the locals, that aren't preparing for the rodeo, to be tour guides for the various groups. A few of them have brought along their horses to augment those that are helping at the Prescott Estate.
I decide to lead the hike to the falls. It is really nice that we got a couple of local boys to come up and help with that. I'm sure offering to let them play at the waterpark is part of what lured them to come help. Jamie and his friend Sebastian come along and are excited to lead the small group. The morning air here is sweet. There's always a bit of moisture in the air that makes the hay and other grasses give off a scent that is refreshing. The wildflowers are in various states of bloom, and the trees always give off an incredible smell. Today there's a nice breeze, so the leaves and pine needles of the trees sound like waves on a beach. You can hear birds crowing and fluttering as we get near them. I hope we get to see some of the bald eagles today. They're always a magnificent sight.
For safety, I have my 22 pistol with snake shot on my side, just in case. Rattlers do like to come out and soak in the sun. I don't think we will get any bobcats or coyotes, but I've also got my 9mm. Getting my permits to carry these into the preserve was not easy, but I'm glad I can protect our guests as we take the trail down to the falls.
Mr. Lewandowski and his son, Caleb, decide to join us since Josh is with me. He comes over to me, "Andrew, my son Caleb has had an amazing time and it's so nice that he and your son have gotten along. I feel bad for him because I end up working long hours and he has no siblings. His mom is out of the picture and he is somewhat of a loner."
"I'm glad he and Josh get along. Josh says he's a nice boy, and he's a pretty good judge of character. Where do you guys live? How did you end up here at the fundraiser?"
"We live just west of Grizzly Valley in Sunset Ridge. I work for a small agricultural consulting firm, Harvest Horizons. My boss, Sam Fields, gave me the tickets to help with the troubles I've been having with Caleb. I hope you don't mind, but I don't have extra money to bid on things at the silent auction, but we do want to know what we can do to help."
"Oh, I was wondering where Samantha was this year. She usually brings her daughter, but she's older and might be away at college by now."
"Yeah, she said something about it not being as fun without her daughter."
"I'll have to ask the guests what we can do to make it more fun for the older kids. This event is geared toward kids in hopes that they will grow up with a kind heart and want to help others. Let's talk later about things you and Caleb can do to bond and to help out. I think we better move or the boys will leave us behind." I say as I notice the group is about ten yards ahead of us.
As we approach the group, I hear Jamie and Sebastian pointing out interesting sights along the way when they suddenly stop and put their fingers up to their mouths. Everyone looks at them intensely as they point carefully to the left of the trail. They're pointing up to a tree, where there is an impressive structure, made from sticks and twigs and lined with soft materials like grass and moss. It is several feet across and probably weighs hundreds of pounds.
On a perch next to it is a beautiful bald eagle surveying the landscape. It's eaglets have all left the nest by this time of year, but these magnificent birds are such a sight to see.
The eagle sees us and gets spooked, so it flys off, and as it does, it swoops over our heads as if to assert it's dominance. It's always a treat to see these birds.
Josh and Caleb come running over to us. "Dad, did you see the eagle?" Caleb says as he's hopping on the balls of his feet, almost like he's doing the pee-pee dance.
"Yes, son, that was amazing."
The boys turn and run to the front of the group to rejoin the hike. We continue down to the falls where I've had our picnic lunch sent and we meet Cash and DJ, from the shelter, who have been patiently waiting for us to arrive. The sound of the water coming off the cliffs is just a perfect white noise to calm and relax everyone. I love it here, there is some sort of energy released by the water that is revitalizing and calming at the same time. Everyone grabs a box lunch from the picnic table and a beverage from the tubs filled with ice. A few blankets are set out and hikers all join each other to dine.
I watch as Jamie and Sebastian walk away from the group. They each take a box lunch, but walk hand in hand to a spot that is out of view from the main group. I know this place is special to them as it's where Jamie and Taylor bonded after Jamie was raped.
There's a lot of chatter amongst the hikers as they work on their lunches. The excitement of seeing the different wildlife on the way down to the falls has excited everyone, but they will all be happy to know that they don't have to hike back up.
As the afternoon sun moves toward the west and the shadows start into the valley, the temperature cools a bit, causing the down drafts to carry the mist from the waterfall into our picnic spot. I get the group to help pick up the site and we walk to the parking lot where I have a shuttle bus waiting to take us the long way back to the ranch.
Everyone piles onto the bus, but Jamie and Sebastian aren't back, so I walk over to where I can see them and whistle, they hop up and come over to me. Their lips are flush and it's obvious what the two of them were doing. I know the trauma that they experienced has been the cause of a lot of anxiety and it's good to see them able to be themselves. We board the bus and our driver, Mark, Ethan's dad, gives us the narrative of the area as we wind through the preserve and back to Grizzly Valley Ranch. He passes the ranch and takes us down Farm Route 94; he narratins, "On the right, you can see Destiny Ranch. This is the home of Haydon Butler, last year's champion in the under-16 goat competition. He has been helpful with the foundation and is the boy leading one of the horseback riding adventures."
The bus slows down as Mark has to quickly shift attention to the left side. "Our town veterinarian is over on the left here, and this next ranch belongs to the Hossenger's. They host the rodeo and all of the campers you see are the competitors in the two rodeo's that we have this week. I hope you all join tomorrow and get to see the Junior Rodeo. Some of these boys could take on the grownups. It's one of the most exciting events we have all week. At the end of the week, there is the Senior Rodeo and the competitors there are world class."
We pull to the end of the road, next to the water tower at Haydon's parent's place. "From here, you can see the fairgrounds over on FR92. You can see the fair buildings and the stables. The bigger building has an indoor arena for all of the competitions. Those brightly colored towers suspend the gondola ride. It used to be at some theme park back in the 90's and the county bought it and refurbished it. The ferris wheel is the only other permanent structure due to an accident a few years ago when the mobile one had a bearing failure and the car flipped upside down and jammed the entire ride. The fire department had to go with the ladder truck and rescue a couple that was hanging from their car. The county decided to buy their own and now it's inspected every day of operation."
We can't see any of the other rides, but Mark goes on about the crazy foods there like fried oreos. "Whatever you do, don't miss out on popcorn and lemonade from Destiny Ranch. It's the best in the county!"
We start back up and head back to Grizzly Valley Ranch. As we pull in, we hear, "Last stop, Justin's Lodge!" We all pile out of the shuttle bus and people scatter to change or play until dinner time.
I walk back to the house with Josh and I see Max, Grayson and Haydon heading my way. "Hey guys, how did the horseback riding go?"
"We had a lot of fun. The Murphy boys are really nice. I hope we get to do more things with them." Grayson says.
"They're quick learners on the horse, too," adds Haydon. "Would it be too much to ask to get you to take me back home?"
"Sure thing, let me grab Ethan and we can head over," I tell him as I head back over to the house leaving Josh with the bigger boys. "Ethan, I need to take Haydon home, do you want to join us?"
"Sure, let me just tell the volunteers." Ethan runs off while I go get the Bronco out of the garage. It's not all that big, but the back bench will let us stack the four boys. Ethan comes out and joins me and we go pick up the boys. Grayson, Max, and Haydon line the back seat and Josh quickly climbs up on Haydon's lap. When we get to Destiny Ranch we see a lot of activity across the way at the Hossenger's arena. Haydon jumps out and runs down his drive. I see Seth at the door waiting for his boy. Haydon runs down his drive and turns waving at us. The boys all wave back as we pull away. I see Grayson whisper something to Max, and Max turns bright red. I'll probably never know what they said, but it must have been good. Just then, Josh shouts out, "Max, why do you have a boner?" The boys giggle and Max just embarrassedly says, "It just happens, you'll understand someday."
I see a group of boys over at the practice arena, so I pull across to Hossenger's place. I heard Beau and Colt are back, so I'm hoping we can find them. It looks like the boys are done practicing with the horses and just goofing around. We get out and walk over to the railing to see there is a big group of boys running in the arena playing a strange version of soccer. I recognize Beau, he's there having a great time and he catches my eye. He immediately screams out as he sees Max and Grayson and comes running over to the railing. "Wow, I can't believe it's you guys!" He says then looks at Max and Grayson adding, "Man, I've missed you guys." There's a smaller boy with him, almost as big as Josh, but he looks a bit left out as Beau is so excited to see my boys. A man walks up behind the little boy and lays his hands comfortably on his shoulders.
Beau introduces us to Jack, his new dad, and AJ, his new brother. The boys excitedly ask if the boys can join them for soccer. None of my boys are willing to miss out on an opportunity to play soccer and since I had no other choice in the matter, I let them go join the others. They hand me their shirts before I can even agree, knowing me so well. They are off like bolts of lightning, joining the other children and begin to play. It is nice watching them and getting to chat with Jack as the boys enjoy their game.
I get worried for a moment as I see Beau grabbing Max, he has him by both shoulders, much like someone who is being grabbed when they are in trouble. Max doesn't react, but just stands there looking at Beau. AJ gets closer and stares at Max and smiles. Just then, a ball flies at Max, who moves AJ out of the way to protect him. He then shows off his skills as he juggles the ball and easily scores a goal. Everyone is lost in the excitement as the boys run to the goal. Josh is keeping up the best he can, unlike AJ who is trailing even a bit more behind until he stumbles and falls. Beau immediately turns and runs to AJ pulling him up. The group all continue to the water pump. The boys all splash and giggle in the water trough. I worry about my poor car. While the Bronco is usually topless, that doesn't mean it's mud proof. I guess I'll be teaching the boys how to detail her once Grizzly Valley Days are over. I'm sure I can get Robert and Eric to teach them, they did a wonderful job on the Trail Boss.
The boys say their goodbyes and Max, Grayson, and Josh slog over to the railing. They are covered in mud from head to toe. I walk them over to the side of the stable where there is a regular hose and make them line up against the wall. "Face the wall, feet apart, hands on the wall. You're getting a prisoner shower today."
I unleash the cold water on the boys and they all flinch as it hits them making them jump on their tip toes. I get them completely soaked, and even wash the hand prints from the side of the stable. "Turn around and face me." They all do so but assume the pose of a soccer player lining up to block a kick, hands over their balls. I squirt them again and again until I see no more mud. "Allright boys, now let's walk around and get you dry."
We walk through the stable, admiring all of the horses. The afternoon sun always makes the stables have a very distinct smell. Sure, there is some manure and pee, but the old oak and hay just fill the air with their aroma. To me, it's calming and makes me feel safe and secure. I can't explain why. Maybe, because it is warm, and not cold like the brick factory I lived in as a kid. I side hug Ethan as we walk and chat about each of the horses. It makes my heart happy and hurt at the same time as I enjoy having my family with me. I know what its like to be on the street and not know what the next day brings, and now, I'm blessed with an amazing life. Ethan gave me a new life and I couldn't ask for a better one. I have three wonderful boys now, and a pair of big brothers to these boys that might as well be part of the family.
Ethan shakes me out of my daydream, he probably heard the sappy music playing in my head. "We'd better get back, it's time to get supper ready for the guests and start the closing campfire." He grabs my hand and leads me out to the Bronco. The boys are mostly dry, so I only cringe a bit as they climb into the back. We drive back to the ranch and the boys run off to change as Ethan and I head out back. There's a ton of laughter and squealing going on around the pool and the various games that are on the lawn. The air is filled with the smell of bacon and burgers. Our volunteers have huge pots of baked beans and chili, and there's a barrel with boiling salt water and hundreds of ears of corn. Haydon was kind enough to come back and bring us lemonade from his dad's crop that he uses to sell at the fair. His lemons are always so sweet. It's always nice to have the help of our neighbors for these events.
Dinner is well-orchestrated chaos. People grab plates, line up, get a burger, fixin's, and go back and forth finding condiments, utensils and napkins. People are sitting over in the amphitheater and also on the chairs and grass around the pool and lazy river.
When the sound of people eating stops and the chatter begins, it's time to close out the night.
Over at the amphitheater, Max and Grayson are on stage jamming. I think they were hoping that Joey and his family would be there, but they didn't come. The boys are playing campfire songs that they learned and the front two rows are full of kids trying to sing along. Josh was being Josh, and being a total clown. Singing at the top of his lungs, he would change up the lyrics and the crowd would laugh. He swings his arms like a wacky conductor and everyone laughs, fueling his silliness.
I make my way over and seize the mic when the song ends. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen. This has been an amazing weekend, and I hope you were all able to leave your busy lives behind and relax here with my friends and family. It's time to give you all the total from the slient auction. Please check the items you bid on to see if you won. This year, the Lincoln Thomas Foundation raised over five hundred thousand , twenty eight dollars. I hope that each of you got to meet some of the wonderful kids that the foundation has helped."
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have something that has never happened before at our auctions. We have one item with a high bid, and no donor number, just a note. The note says, give this item to the previous bidder, so, the Joey Murphy gift bag goes to number 94." A dad jumps up and holds his little girl up. She's so excited about her prize. "The winning bidder wishes to remain anonymous and has donated, wait, this can't be right. They have donated a half-a-million-dollar endowment to the foundation. The number of kids this will help is going to be amazing."
I'm almost in tears as I read that note. I know who the donor is, and I just can't believe it. I'm just floored and will have to thank them personally as soon as I can find him. I don't know how the foundation touched him to give so generously, but I will definitely make sure that this donation helps as many kids as possible. Being an endowment, this will give perpetually and will help for generations to come.
The crowd slowly disburses from the amphitheater and people head back to their rooms. Josh comes running over to me with Caleb in tow. "Dad, is it okay if Caleb spends the night with me?"
"Of course, as long as it's okay with his dad." Just then his dad walks up and confirms that it's fine for Caleb to spend the night with Josh. "Mr. Lewandowski, please join us for a cocoa or something before turning in. I'd love to continue our conversation."
"Please, call me Murray, Are you sure it's okay for Caleb to stay with Josh?"
"Of course, they seem to have hit it off and since it's the last day, why not let Caleb have some additional fun. Heck, those boys won't sleep much, so he'll sleep in the car on the way home. Although, I do hope you come back for some of the fair events."
"Oh, we always come to the fair, so we will definitely try to find you guys."
"You mentioned you wanted to know how you can help the foundation. You said you're a single dad, and you probably barely have time for you and Caleb. Did you know that Harvest Horizon's has a volunteer program where you get paid time to help out a charity? We have a number of volunteers from Sam's company. Maybe you can sign up for that. It's not really hard work, for the most part, these kids just want someone to treat them like a normal person, to talk to, to hang out. Maybe you and Caleb can come be mentors. It's kind of like big brothers, but instead you work with these boys and girls that have had bad home lives and instead of being removed by CPS, they took it on themselves to run away. Come take the boys horseback riding, to the zoo, to the family fun center, or even here, to our backyard paradise. It's a day that will be fun for you and for them."
"I never thought about that. Maybe it would be a nice way to get Caleb to be more social. Could we take Josh with us when we go places?"
"I don't see why not, he loves that kind of stuff."
"Perfect, well, we will have to figure out the details, and I'll talk to Sam and see if I can join her program, but it sounds like fun, not work."
"It really is. I'd better be heading in and getting my boys to bed. We have their big brothers here tonight too."
"Thank you, I'll see you all in the morning." Murray heads back to the lodge and I head inside to see what chaos will greet me before bed. What a day it's been!
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