A Place to Call Our Own: Part 3
A View From Outside
Latimer's POV
By Starwinder

It's strange in a way. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I sold Riverby to Tyler's grandson and here I am, waiting for him and that partner of his to come and take me out there. It's just to visit today, help them get some stuff sorted out but still... I'm going home.

I've been awake for hours, like a kid on Christmas morning. Levon said they'd be here at eight. That's the earliest the pack of Nazis that run this place will let us leave to go anywhere.

It's a quarter till so I think I'll roll on out to the lobby and see if they're here yet. I only have to wait about five minutes. They're a mite early.

Levon's looking good. A mite tired but I suspect that between the job and the ranch they're both stretched a bit thin. He's wearing jeans and boots with a T-shirt instead of the usual western shirt but I imagine that's what he normally works around the place in.

Joe's a bit of a surprise. No fancy duds today, Just jeans and a tank top with running shoes. No hat though. If he's gonna work out in the sun, he better get him one.

The nurses made sure that they get all my medicine. There's not really a lot. Couple of blood pressure pills and a potassium tablet. Joe pays good attention to the instructions and pockets the medicine.

We're about ready to leave now so I tell them, "If ya'll don't want to be bothered with the chair, I can walk with a bit of help. It's just easier to use the chair."

Joe smiles at me, "We'll take the chair along, but if you want to walk out to the car, you can lean on me."

He offers me his arm and I take it and lever myself up out of the chair.

As we start out, Joe looks back at the nurses, "Don't worry ladies, we won't let him overdo."

He walks slow, letting me set the pace. I feel kinda like a burden. "Don't mean to be a bother." I say.

"It's not a bother, Mister Latimer." Joe says with a smile. "You're doing us a favor, coming out and helping us with the house. There's just so much there that we don't know what to do with."

On the way to the ranch they tell me about the Mexican kid they hired and his so called wife. They also explain about the case they're working on with the teen-aged girls and the missing babies. It's pretty plain that they know the kids aren't married but they don't want to scare them into running cause they figure the kids might be hiding from the baby selling ring they are looking for. I promise to keep my eyes open and my mouth shut.

When we arrive at the ranch, the kids, Miguel and Tokyo are already hard at work. Miguel's cut the grass in the front yard and is raking it while Tokyo's washed up some more of the clothes that they had moved down out of the dressers and closets from the upstairs bedrooms.

I look around a bit as we are getting out of the Jimmy. Looks like they haven't been wasting their time. There's a couple of workmen on the front porch tearing out a piece of it that looks to have been water damaged.

Joe notices where I'm looking and says, "Rain seeped in at the seam. We're having about twelve feet of the porch replaced. Gonna put in a bay window while we're at it. I was going to do the work myself but I just don't have the time and one of Levon's cousins agreed to do it for the cost of materials and a flat fee for the job, instead of hourly wages. I asked to see some of his work before I agreed. From the two places I went and looked at, he knows what he's doing."

I nod. That's a pretty fair deal and the men appear to be working hard. They look up and nod when Joe helps me up the steps to the porch.

I stop a moment on the porch and look back out over the area in front of the house. The fence needs a bit of work but I can see where some of the posts and rails have already been replaced, so they're on that.

Miguel and Tokyo come up on the porch to see what Joe and Levon want them to do next and Joe introduces us, telling the kids that I used to own the place and have come out to help them get it sorted out. Meanwhile Levon is bringing my wheelchair up so that I can sit down. I am getting a bit tired from standing and walking. I'm not used to it nowadays. I hardly ever get out of the chair at the home. They're all so worried I'll fall and hurt myself.

As we all ride the elevator up to the second floor, Joe asks, "Have you decided about coming out to stay?"

"Not yet." But I have to admit just being in the house again makes me want to really bad.

"Well, why don't you go ahead and pick out a room... just in case. So's we can get it ready for you?" Levon suggests.

As we exit the elevator and move down the hall, I ask, "Which rooms are ya'll in?"

"We're staying out at the foreman's house." Joe looks over at Levon and smiles, "We kind of like our privacy and when Aunt Olivia and her boys and Angie and the twins get here...." He lets it trail off.

I chuckle. It's easy enough to fill in the blanks. "Still honeymooning, eh? Well, might be best ta be where the kids won't be as apt ta walk in on ya."

I stop and turn my wheelchair back towards the other end of the hallway, "Not saying that I'm gonna come and stay... but if I do..." I point towards the big bedroom suite at the east end of the hall, "that was mine and my wife's living quarters, there. Should still be some of my clothes in the dressers if ya'll ain't been through them yet."

They follow me down the hall and into the suite. It's huge. It spans the sixty-foot width of the house and is twenty feet deep. The wide double doors open to the center room, which is a twenty-foot by twenty-foot sitting room. A long sofa and two matching overstuffed arm chairs with end tables between them set about eight feet back from the windows that cover most of the east wall of the room, facing the windows. Another pair of matching chairs set over to one side, slightly out from the wall of bookcases, with a table between them and a reading light arched up over it. A table that we used to use as a card table or to eat at sits on the other side of the room with several straight back chairs around it.

A door off to the right leads to the actual bedroom and master bath suite. Another door to the left leads to a library-office suite. Except that there's no kitchen it could have been a separate apartment.

As I look around the room, I'm overcome by memories. After a minute I sigh, "If I come to stay. I'd like to have this suite..."

Levon nods, "I'll go get Tokyo. Ya'll can go through the dressers and closets. Whatever ya want to keep she can get washed up for you. If you decide to come stay, this'll be your room, if ya don't, it'll still be yours when yer here."

The rest of the day goes fast. It feels like we've hardly gotten started when it's lunch-time. We take a short break to eat then return to the second floor, where I start going through some of the old trunks that had been in the attic.

Lundy's shocked when I show him some old electric bills from before the house was insulated but breathes a sigh of relief when I hand him copies of the ones from the last year that I lived in the house, after it had been insulated. The trunks also contain the ledgers for the ranch for nearly ten years back. Levon asks if he could have them, saying that they would help him to know what to expect. I can understand that, so I say sure.

Later as we return to the kitchen for supper, I decide to ask if they really know what they are getting here. "Are you boys aware of exactly what ya've got here?"

Joe chuckles, "To tell the truth... I don't have a clue. Levon knows more about it than I do."

I can't help but grin, "Well, fer openers, there's ten thousand acres of land..." I trail off as Joe suddenly goes pale.

"Ten... ten ....t-thousand... acres?!" Joe's voice is absolutely shocked. He looks at Levon then turns and practically staggers out the back door.

Levon follows him, "Joe? Joe! You all right?"

I can't hear anymore after that but a few minutes later they come back in.

"You gonna be all right?" I ask as Joe sits back down.

"Yeah, just sort of shocked me. I didn't have any idea that this place was *that* big!"

"Well, Most of it is just pasture land. You do have three thousand acres planted in Coastal--"

"Coastal?" Joe asks looking puzzled.

"Burmuda grass," Levon provides. "Coastal's the variety."

I nod agreement. "It needs ta be cut. First cutting won't be good to bale for hay it's been growing too long. After ya cut it and get rid of that it'll need ta be cut ever twenty-one days. Raked and baled. Ya can use it to feed the cattle. No good for horses."

"Cattle?" Joe injects.

"Ya'll need ta buy some. Twenty head or so oughta do it. Ya'll need them for the horses ta practice on. Ya did say you wanted to raise and train cutting horses. Didn't ya?" The last is directed at Levon who nods his agreement.

"And ya'll will probably want to have a few head to butcher and put up. Black Angus is best for that. Seems ta me ya'll gonna have a house fulla people when yer folks get here. Be a lot cheaper to do that than to buy meat at the store. Might want ta think about getting some chickens, too. Ain't nothing better than free range chickens. They ain't near as fat as the store bought ones, healthier and better for you, so I hear. Will give you eggs, too."

I have to think a minute, then I go on. "Don't know what the orchards look like after all this time without anybody taking care of'em. I had a hundred acres planted in pecans. Better'n a thousand trees. They're a cash crop, winter crop, too. Depending on the weather, they make anywhere from November to February. They used ta pay the taxes on the place. Need to check them out. Might not get much off them this year. Might get a good bit of wood chips from the trimming of them, though... and ya can sell them."

Joe looks puzzled, "Wood chips? Who'd buy them?"

"Chicken would," Levon says with a chuckle. "Ya use them to flavor food that you're cooking on a grill. If we had enough of them we could sell to a hardware store."

I nod. Levon's got savvy. I go on, "Had another hundred acres planted in peaches... fall crop. Should make for next year if you get in there and clean up around them, prune them while they're dormant this winter. Fertilize just before they start budding out in the spring. Got a mixed fruit orchard up close to the house too. Four each apples, cherries, plums, and pears. Peaches, too, separate from the main orchard. Used ta be some strawberry vines, blueberry and blackberry bushes. Herb garden and kitchen garden was just out the back door. Probably all growed over now."

Joe perks up at the mention of the fruit trees and the herb garden. "Aunt Olivia will love the herb garden. She knows all about herbs. Used to grow them in pots on her windowsills back in Chicago... and I love fresh fruit."

We talk a while longer then it's time for them to take me back to the home. After they say goodnight I run the gauntlet of the other old men all wanting to know all about my day. When I finally roll my chair down the hall to my room, I sit in the doorway a moment just staring at it.

I can't help wondering. Is this what the rest of my life looks like? It's a depressing thought. Then I think about the day I just spent. Yeah, I'm tired... but it's a good kind of tired. I feel like I accomplished something today. I feel like I was needed today. That's a feeling I haven't had in a while.

Levon and Joe, especially Joe, listened to me. Really listened. They asked questions, accepted and respected the answers. From what I saw today, he really meant it when he said that letting me come back to Riverby to live wouldn't be charity. They honestly want... and need my help... my knowledge of the ranch and what needs to be done.

And I want to go home. I don't know how long I have left but I want to spend that time at Riverby. I'll call Levon tomorrow. Tell him I want to move in.

*************************************************
Two weeks later
*************************************************

I walk out on the porch. I'm spending a lot more time out of the wheelchair these days. I like that. I feel better than I have in years. I feel alive again.

The place is looking good. Joe and Levon have worked hard over the last month to get it ready for Joe's sister and aunt to join them here.

That rain-damaged part of the porch has been replaced. There's a magnificent bay window, projecting out onto the porch where the damaged area had been. That was Joe's idea... and a cousin of Levon's did the actual work... and a good job of it too. The window looks like it's always been there.

After Gentry, that's Levon's cousin and his son, Randy, got done with the window, Joe liked their work so much he hired them to paint all the buildings. They brought a full crew in for that and they're about through. Making good time really, all things considered. Sandblasting the place took a couple of days. They're spray painting everything. Joe says that ain't as good as doing it with a brush by hand but he's more interested, right now, in getting it painted to prevent the wood from being damaged by rain than in how long it's gonna last. He told Levon he wants to go with vinyl siding when they have the time to have it done. It'll add another layer of insulation and it won't have to be painted... ever.

They ought to be home soon. They're taking a long weekend off, Friday through Monday, to get Joe's sister Angie and his Aunt Olivia settled.

I can't help grinning at the memory of the look on Joe's face when I told them that there's an airstrip on the Ranch... and a Cessna four-seater in the hanger out there, if nobody's stole it or damaged it. He lit up like a Christmas tree. Seems he's got a cousin in New Orleans that owns several planes and flies most everywhere he goes. Having the air strip means that he can land right here on the ranch.

Joe insisted on going out and taking a look at it. The strip's a little ragged. Needs to be re-asphalted but no major potholes that would prevent a plane from landing. The Cessna's still there. Tires are gone though. Dry rot.

Joe spent an hour on the phone with a cousin in New Orleans asking questions about whether he thought that they could land a C-130 on that strip. Then making arrangements for the cousin to go to Chicago and bring Joe's folks down, after he was assured that the cousin's pilot could land the C-130 just about anywhere... even an open field as long as it wasn't too boggy.

Miguel set up the grill a while ago and is getting ready to grill up some burgers and a couple of chickens for our supper. It smells good.

The place is starting to feel like a home again and I feel good about being here. Joe and Levon have pretty much left it to me to tell Miguel and Tokyo what needs to be done these last couple of weeks.

They've bought a couple of geldings. Levon got him a nice bay. Joe fell in love with a big black. Levon teased him about that. Seems Joe's car that he sold to help buy this place was black. Joe's learning to ride. Doing pretty good for a city boy but then he seems to have good balance and coordination. That's important for riding.

I walk over and sit down in one of the porch rockers. A truck just turned in off the access road. It's not Joe and Levon.

The pickup pulls into the front yard, under the live oak tree and I recognize the driver as soon as he gets out.

"Billy Dalton! You old horse thief! What brings you out here?" I call to him.

"Well, I'll be damned! Capt'n Latimer! I heard tell you sold this place. Thought I might drop by and introduce myself to the new owners but ever time I come by there's nobody here but the hired help. What're you doing here?"

"I live here." I grin at the look on his face. "I did sell it though. You remember Tyler Lundy, don't ya?"

"Course I do."

"His grandson, Levon bought the place... him and his partner. My living here was part of the deal. Works out well for all of us. Like you said they ain't here a lot."

"What're they planning to do with it?"

"They're gonna run it." I can feel myself grinning. "It's gonna be a working ranch again, Billy."

"Lot of work to keeping up a place like this, Capt'n. How they gonna take care of it and work in the city, too? Levon's a cop ain't he... an you said partner... like on the job?"

"Yep. Joe and Levon are a couple of fine detectives from what I hear. Pride of the MCU. It won't be easy but they're gonna have some help with the place. They already hired Miguel and his wife to help out. Both them kids is hard workers, too. Joe's sister's coming down with her two kids and one of his aunts and a couple of her teenage boys. There'll be some of Joe's cousins in and out most all the time from what I been hearing. And a course I'm here to give advice and such."

Billy nodded, looking out over the wide expanse of lawn to the pasture nearest the stable.

Fooler and Levon's new bay gelding, Xanadu were standing looking over the fence towards the road. Joe's black gelding, Midnight Raider, was trotting, restlessly back and forth along the fence.

I noted where he was looking and grinned, "They're waiting for Joe and Levon. About time for them to be getting home. Fooler and Xandy are Levon's. He's gonna breed Fooler probably in Feburary. Midnight's Joe's. Horse's restless just like he is. Boy's always moving."

"I've heard about Levon's mare. Real fine cutter. Good bloodline. They looking to buy another mare yet?"

"Depends. What ya got?" I'm a mite interested I have to admit. Dalton's ranch was never the size of Riverby but he had some real good bloodlines.

"My grand-daughter, Annie Ruth, just up and married a city fella. From New York, of all places, and told me that she's not gonna be interested in taking over the farm when I pass on."

He stared out at the pasture for a minute then said, "I got cancer. Docs say without treatment I got a year at most. I can go have the chemo- garbage... it'd give me another year or two... maybe. Don't think I'm gonna do it. Medical bills would eat up everything I got. Wouldn't be nothing to leave Annie Ruth. She's all I got left. Her mom died last year in a car wreck. She'll sell the farm when I'm gone... but I wanna know that my old girls... my mares have a good home."

He stopped again and looked around at me. "You gonna be around here for a while?"

"Long as I live. Can't say how long that'll be. I'm a mite older than you."

"I know that Capt'n. You ain't sick though... are ya?"

"Not that I know of... and since I been back home I feel better than I have in a long time. What're ya getting at, Billy?"

"I got a real good mare... Doc Bar bloodline. Bred her to Paddy's Irish Whiskey. She's gonna foal in March. Problem is she's nigh on to seventeen. She's gonna need some special care to deliver that foal. I'm looking for a real good home for her. Do you think that Levon would be interested?"

[Interested? He'll do handsprings!] I'm careful not to sound too eager though. "I don't think that he's planning to buy another mare till breeding time." I pause, then say. "They should be here most anytime now. Stay to supper. Meet Levon and his partner. Get to know them. Then decide for yourself if you want to offer him the mare."

Billy looks up at me and nods, "Thanks, Capt'n."

We sit there a while just enjoying the evening. I've always liked to be able to just sit a spell and look out over the ranch.

It's not long before I see the Jimmy coming up the access road. I step over to the porch rail and wave to them to come on up to the house and they do.

I start down the steps, "Come on, Billy. I'll introduce you."

Joe and Levon climb out of the Jimmy smiling. They look a bit tired but that's normal these days.

I make the introductions then say, "I asked Billy to stay for supper. Ya'll don't mind do ya?"

"Better ask Miguel and Tokyo that," Levon says with a grin, "they're the ones doing the cooking."

Joe chuckles and puts in, "Go on around and grab a plate. We're gonna clean up a bit. Change into some jeans. We've still got some fence posts to fix." He says the last in a resigned voice.

Billy and I share a grin. Seems the city boy's learning that there's always something that needs doing to the fence.

I take Billy around to the back where Miguel and Tokyo are fixing the food. It's a bit before Joe and Levon join us. It looks like they showered. From the shy smile on Joe's face I'd guess that weren't all they did. They're both dressed in work jeans and T-shirts. Levon has on boots. Joe still insists on wearing his running shoes. Only time I've seen him in boots is when Levon's giving him riding lessons.

Me, Billy, Levon and Miguel all grab burgers to eat. Joe and Tokyo go for the chicken. We eat at a table they've set up on the back porch.

As we sit down to eat, Joe says, "You know, Lundy. I think we oughta screen in part of this porch." He looks around a bit then adds, "How about from ten feet the other side of the kitchen door to ten feet this side of it? We get a bug light and hang it just outside the screen door. That'd give us a real nice area to eat outside in without being bothered with bugs too bad. What'd you think?"

"Sounds nice. When do you think you're gonna have time to get it done? Or the money?"

"Won't cost much. And winter is a slow time for carpenters. I'll ask Gentry what he'd charge me to do it sometime this winter when he don't have a lot of commitments."

Levon grins, "Ain't gonna do it yourself?" He teases.

Joe cuts his eyes at him. "Lundy one thing that I have already figured out... if we try to do everything around here ourselves, we'll be working sunup to sundown seven days a week on the ranch. When would we have time to chase crooks? Huh?"

Lundy chuckles, "Got a point." He looks over at Billy and asks, "So, what do you do, Mister Dalton?"

Billy shrugs, "Call me Billy. I'm a horse breeder. My place is just up the road a piece. I noticed a while back, that this place was showing signs of life. I thought I'd drop by and get acquainted. Today's the first time I ever managed to catch ya'll home, though. I've spoken to Miguel a time or two. Already knew him. He's done some day work for me."

Levon nods. They get to talking about horses and Joe sort of drops out of the conversation. He doesn't seem upset though just has other things on his mind. He gets up and goes over to where Miguel and Tokyo are sitting and begins to talk to them.

Watching him with them, I feel like it's a shame he'll never have kids. He handles these so well. Tokyo leans towards him when he talks to her. You can almost see the trust she has for him. Miguel is a bit more standoffish but he responds to Joe too.

After supper, Tokyo cleans up the dishes and Miguel tends to getting the grill cleaned up and ready for the next time they want to cook outside. Joe and Levon head down to work on the fence and Billy and I return to the front porch.

It's getting dark when Billy says goodnight. He waves to Joe and Levon who are walking the fence line along the access road checking to see what else needs fixing. As soon as he is out of sight down the road, they head back towards the foreman's house. Joe slings his arm casually around Levon's shoulders and Levon slips his around Joe's waist. I see Joe's head duck and Levon's turn and I know they're kissing. I thought it would bother me to see it but it doesn't. They so obviously belong together.

I head up to bed. Tomorrow Joe's family arrives.

*************************************************

First thing I notice when I wake up is the smell of coffee and food. Somebody's already up and cooking.

When I get done dressing and make it down to the kitchen, I find Joe and Tokyo are both at work in there, while Levon sits at the table drinking coffee and watching Joe with an expression I can only describe as fond amusement.

Tokyo is cooking breakfast. There's ham frying in a pan and grits simmering in a pot on the stove. She's already took up the scrabbled eggs and set them in bowl on the warming tray to stay warm while she finishes the rest of the breakfast.

Joe's at the big island in the middle of the kitchen kneading dough on the marble top. He's got three long bread pans sitting on the counter and as he finishes the dough he's working on he puts it in one of the pans and covers it with a clean dish cloth, then immediately begins making another batch of dough.

I pour my coffee and join Levon at the table. "Mornin'," I say.

He grins, "Mornin', Capt'n."

"Looks like we're gonna have fresh baked bread today."

"Looks like. Joe's folks are supposed to be here 'bout one. Soon as he finishes making the bread up, we're headin' in to the Farmer's Market. He's got a whole list of things ta get for cookin' today."

Tokyo finishes up the breakfast and steps out the back door to bang on the triangle hanging there to let Miguel know breakfast is ready.

Levon looks up and smiles, "Miguel's out at the stables. I let him tend the horses this morning. They need to get used to him. There'll be times he has to ride one'a them."

I nod and get up to get me a plate but Tokyo is there with one filled for me before I can get out of the chair. I thank her. She's a sweet little thing.

Levon gets up and gets his own breakfast, filling a plate for Joe too. I notice that Joe's only has a slice of ham and toast. Levon shrugs when he notices me looking.

Joe finishes up his bread dough and washes his hands. He grabs a jar of orange marmalade out of the fridge and sits down next to Levon to eat.

Levon asks, "What flight did you say Angie and the rest are on?"

"They're supposed to arrive at eleven-thirty."

I look up, "Thought yer cousin was gonna fly them in?"

Joe shrugs, "They changed their minds. Decided it'd be better to just let Angie, Aunt Olivia and the twins fly commercial. JD and his partner, Ryan and a couple of their men are bringing the things down in a pair of semis. Hamlet and Romeo wanted to ride with them. One of the trucks is just for the cars. They're bringing Angie's, Aunt Olivia's, one that Hamlet just got through fixing up to sell, the one he usually drives and one that he just bought to fix up to sell. They left day before yesterday. JD called last night for the final directions. They should be here in an hour or so."

Levon looks at his watch, "We probably won't be back from town then." He glances at Joe, "You tell them who to expect ta be here?"

"Yeah. I told them Captain Latimer would be here to show them where to unload stuff."

Joe turns to me, "I planned on giving Angie and the twins the big suite at the opposite end of the hall from you. Aunt Olivia can have the first two rooms and bath on the north side of the hall next to Angie's quarters. That'll give her plenty of room... sort of like a small apartment. Hamlet and Romeo can have the rooms opposite her. That'll put them all close together and far enough away from you that if the kids make a lot of noise they won't bother you too much... hopefully."

"You expect them to be rowdy?"

"No. Not rowdy... just loud. They're teenagers... and Romeo plays guitar and keyboard. If he brought his amps... well it could get loud. If they bother you just tell them to quiet down."

Yep. Sounds like the place is gonna get lively.

"JD and Ryan gonna be staying?" Levon asks.

"For the weekend. They never stay anywhere too long. Guess it was all the years they spent in the military... traveling all over the world."

"Where ya gonna put them? And how many of their guys are coming?"

"There'll be JD and Rye, Blackjack, Preacher and Fancy at least. Wild Child and Hillbilly might come or they might not. Depends on whether they needed two semis or three of all the stuff." Joe hesitates a moment then adds, "They're bringing the rest of my stuff... that I had in storage in Chicago."

Levon looks up at him, "Oh, what kinda stuff."

"Personal stuff... pictures... and things... some of my mom's furniture." He looks at Levon and I can almost hear him say, 'Please, don't be mad.'

Levon must'a heard it too. He gives an exasperated sigh. "Why would I be mad cause you want your things down here? This is your home, too, Joe. We'll work out what goes where together... just like we do ever thing else. Understand?"

Joe grins, that happy little boy grin of his and says, "Understood." He glances at his watch and gets to his feet, saying, "We better get going if we want to get the good stuff at the market. It gets picked over fast."

Levon just grins and gets up to follow him out.

Joe takes a minute to tell Tokyo how long to let the bread rise and when to put it in the oven. Then they are gone.

*************************************************

I'm sitting out on the front porch waiting not quite an hour later when the semi turns off the main road onto the access road. There's three of them, all big Kenworths, black and shiny. Even the trailers are black with a big red bulldog painted on the side, no company name, just the logo.

They pull into the yard and line up nice and even on the front lawn.

The driver of the one parked closest to the porch swings down, landing neatly on his feet. He's tall, broad and muscular. Not a handsome man, more on the rugged side. Pale blue eyes, short cropped blonde hair. Walks like a soldier, straight and head up. He doesn't wait for the guy on the passenger's side to join him before striding up on the porch.

I stand up to meet him.

He holds out a hand, "Captain Latimer? I'm Ryan."

I take it and give him a nod, "Pleased to meet you."

He turns to look back towards the truck where the other man has dropped out of the cab and turned back to help a kid out. He smiles. It softens his face and I can hear the affection in his voice when he motions towards the other man and says, "That's JD and his baby brother, Romeo."

JD looks an awful lot like Joe. Same height and build but he's got green eyes and his hair is black, worn in a long braid down his back.

The kid... the kid looks like something out of a punk rock band. His hair is several different colors and stands up in spikes on the top of his head. He's wearing deep brown pants made of what looks like velvet and a gold lame shirt. His left ear has multiple piercings and is decorated with several different earrings including one with a long dangle of skulls and crossbones. He hangs back apparently waiting for someone out of one of the other trucks.

JD comes up on the porch to join Ryan and shake my hand.

The other drivers and their co-drivers are out of the trucks now and coming up to the porch.

Another teenager, somewhat older than the first joins him beside Ryan's truck and they come up on the porch together. This one looks considerably more presentable. He bears a strong resemblance to Joe and JD. His hair is that dark brown almost black that Joe's is and his eyes are brown. He's wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

Ryan introduces him as Hamlet. He shakes my hand, as does Romeo, who smiles shyly and backs off, sort of behind his older brother.

The other men all have that military bearing that JD and Ryan do and they are waiting patiently to be introduced.

The huge black man is Blackjack. He moves sort of stiff like and looks a little worse for wear. With him is a much shorter blonde, who's introduced as Fancy. Preacher and Wild Child are the other two. Ryan mentions that they are all ex-Marine.

"Red Dog is a security company. We mostly do assassination prevention, hostage rescue, stuff like that."

I nod. They look like a tough bunch of guys. "All the bedrooms are on the second floor. Joe and Levon said to put Angie and the twins in the west suite. Mrs. Bellarosa in the pair of rooms on the north side closest to the suite and the two boys across the hall from her."

Hamlet throws an arm around Romeo's shoulder and says, "Let's go up and see what the rooms look like. You can have choice."

Something in Romeo's attitude says he didn't want to come down here and Hamlet's offer sounds like a bribe.

I ride the elevator up with JD and Ryan, showing them where everything is while the others begin opening up the trailers and getting ready to start unloading. By the time we get up there Hamlet and Romeo have already been through the rooms assigned them and are standing in the hall waiting for us. Romeo doesn't look happy.

I show them the suite that Joe and Levon assigned to Angie and the kids and then push open the door to the rooms that are to be Mrs. Bellarosa's. I hear Romeo's sharp inhalation. Then he's pushing past me.

"Bookshelves! Bookshelves!" His eyes have lit up.

This pair of rooms belonged to my youngest son. He loved books and we had bookcases built in all around the front room. The pair of rooms is actually four rooms. There's a sitting room and bedroom on each side with a bathroom and a pair of walk-in closets between them.

Hamlet has followed him in and walks up behind him putting his hands on Romeo's shoulders. "This is mom's room, Rome."

"But she doesn't even have books! There aren't any cases in the other room! What am I gonna do with all *my* books?" His voice is pouty and pleading.

I clear my throat, "Ya know..." I begin, "I'm an old man... be ninety-eight on my birthday. A man gets that old... his memory starts to fail him. Maybe it was the south side of the hall... that Joe said to put Mrs. Bellarosa."

Romeo's eyes are fastened on me now, hope and pleading clear in them.

"Yep... Come to think of it I'm sure that's what he said. Hamlet and Romeo in the north rooms. Mrs. Bellarosa on the south side."

Suddenly I've got an armful of delighted kid, squeezing me hard. Ain't had an enthusiastic hug like that in a long time.

"Thanks, Captain!" His voice is musical and filled with happiness, as he releases me and dances off, "I'm gonna go tell the guys that *this* is *my* room!" He's off down the stairs in a swirl of moving colors.

Hamlet smiles at me, "You've got a friend for life." He follows his brother at a more sedate pace.

Ryan give me a look, "I don't think there's anything wrong with your memory, Captain." He pauses and I start to protest but he cuts me off with a gesture as he smiles and adds, "Or your heart."

I shrug then, "Don't know what difference it makes which side of the hall they're on and if he has books and she don't, it just makes sense."

The unloading goes quickly. Ryan's men are hardworking and efficient. They had loaded the trucks by what belonged to whom and unloaded the same way. They unload Hamlet's things first then Romeo's, putting them in the assigned rooms and letting the boys begin unpacking their stuff while they unload Angie's, the twins and Mrs. Bellarosa's things, stacking them in the rooms assigned to each.

Joe and Levon returned from the farmer's market and Joe set to cooking. Levon and Ryan went to pick the women up at the airport while JD visited with Joe and helped with the cooking. By the time the women arrived, lunch was ready and all of the stuff except Joe's things that they had brought down and Hamlet's cars were unloaded.

Mrs. Bellarosa is a tiny little thing. She don't hardly stand five feet tall, even Romeo is taller but they all defer to her. Her dark hair is going gray and she hasn't bothered to dye it but it is styled nicely. Her eyes are the same dark chocolate brown as Hamlet's, warm and smiling.

Angie looks a lot like Joe, the same dark hair but with brown eyes. Her twins, Markie and Maria are about six. They look like she and Joey must have as kids. The little girl's eyes are brown, the boy's are blue. Suddenly I wonder if Angie and Joe are twins.

Lunch is a noisy affair. We eat at the big table in the kitchen. It's interesting how they pair off. Joe and Levon take the head of the table. Joe actually at the head, Levon to his right. They give me the other end of the table with Miguel and Tokyo on either side of me. JD and Ryan sit next to Levon, side by side. Angie sits on Joe's other side with the twins between her and Miss Olivia. Romeo sits beside Ryan with Hamlet on his other side. Ryan's men fill out the table in no particular order. The huge black man Blackjack sits next to Tokyo on one side, making an interesting contrast, his partner Fancy sits next to Miguel on the other. Preacher sits next to Blackjack and Wild Child next to Fancy.

The table is loaded down with food. Platters of pasta, bowls of sauce, pans of lasagna, baskets of bread -- the bread that Joe fixed and Tokyo baked for him, a huge bowl of salad, a platter of steamed broccoli and a bowl of cheese sauce, a huge bowl of new potatoes roasted with herbs and more. I'm surprised to see the kids not only eat their vegetables but ask for them.

Lunch takes a while, after everybody has eaten they stay at the table a while, talking, getting reacquainted. A couple of Ryan's men offer to clean up, letting Tokyo and Miguel stay at the table, getting used to the new family members. They finally break it up and just about everybody heads back upstairs to finish, or help finish the unpacking.

The kids have a couple of weight benches and some punching bags so Joe picks out a room for them to use as an exercise room and he, JD and Ryan set up the stuff for the kids, while they unpack the things in their rooms.

Hamlet finishes long before Romeo does and moves over into the kid's room to help him finish up. I'm amused to find that Romeo packed his books in the order they came off his shelves back home so that he can put them on the shelves in order.

Boy has some right strange books too. I note one called Urban Combat and another titled Green Berets Compass Course. Lipreading Made Easy kinda interests me too.

I have to grin as I realize that he's got Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Dr. Suess' Cat in the Hat right along with them.

Hamlet chuckles when he sees me raise a brow at the books. "He's still got every book he's ever owned... and he started reading when he was three."

I raise the other eyebrow, "Three?"

"Yeah," he reaches over and runs his hand through his brother's long blonde hair, there's affection in his voice when he says, "Rome's the smartest one out of all us kids. He's already skipped one grade and that was after they put him in advanced placement."

Romeo ducks his head shyly and leans towards him and wraps his arms around his brother, "I'm book smart. You're mech smart that's more useful."

"Mech smart?" I ask.

Romeo straightens and nods. "There are different types of intelligence. I'm good at verbal stuff. Reading, writing, talking. I took French and Spanish in school and didn't have any trouble learning them. Hamlet is mech smart, he's good with anything mechanical. He can fix engines, build things... stuff like that. In a lot of ways it's a more valuable type of intelligence than mine."

His tone is serious and he sounds very thoughtful and grown up. It's a little hard to reconcile that with the multicolored hair and the children's books on the bookshelf. Then again there are some very grown up titles on that shelf too. Romeo looks and sounds like he might just be caught between wanting to be a kid and wanting to be an adult. I seem to remember someone saying he is fifteen. That's a difficult age.

I leave them alone to finish their unpacking and head back to my room I could use a nap, especially since I heard Joe and Levon tell everyone that we're all going to Chicken's for supper. That should be fun.

To Be Continued