NB: Back to the Ranch-chapter 7 (M/f, F/f, M/f)
Copyright © 1999 Sampast and Huggedlots

For disclaimers, see index page.


It was early morning, and the twins sat on the stoop outside their cabin. They were leaving the dude ranch today, right after lunch.

"I don't want to go home," Robin complained.

"Yeah, me neither. But Daddy has to go back to work, and we have school soon. Besides, I'm kind of bored. Maggie hasn't played with us in days." "Yeah, but that's because she was punished. Uncle Bob wouldn't even let her come to camp!" Robin stated.

"But even when she could come, like Friday, the very last day, she didn't. Instead she hung out with Pam!"

"Pam's nice."

"She's okay. But I think Maggie likes her better than us!" Jenn said, pouting.

"Well, Pam is gone now. She left last night. Maggie seemed really upset at dinner last night," Robin explained.

"Well, I don't care. I'm mad at her. She is supposed to be our cousin and best friend. And she's ignored us for days. I'm not even going to talk to her!"

"Yeah, she has been ignoring us, which isn't very nice. But, Jenn, we're going home today!"

"So?"

"Then we won't get to see Maggie every day, for a while. I'll miss her. Even if I'm a little mad at her right now."

"Well, I want to get her back. I have to think of something!" Jenn plotted. "Jenn, no! Oh, wait, here she comes now," Robin said, pointing. Jenn turned and looked to see where Robin was pointing. She turned back around and ignored Maggie.

"Hi, guys!" she said cheerily.

"Hi," Robin answered quietly.

"Hi, Jenn," Maggie said.

Jennifer didn't answer. "What's with her?" Maggie asked Robin. "Well, she, uh, she's sad 'cuz we're leaving today."

"Oh, yeah, I know. I don't want to go home. But we're not leaving til after lunch. My mom told Daddy she needed more time to pack," Maggie laughed nervously. She could tell something was up.

"So, what's going on? You guys want to play? We can go over to the playground."

Jenn said, "Nah, don't want to."

"Oh," Maggie said, sitting down on the stoop, next to her cousins. "Well, what do you wanna do?"

Jenn jumped up. "I know, let's take a walk!"

Robin looked at her sister. She was confused. One minute she didn't want to talk to Maggie, the next she was suggesting a walk? What was going on? Maggie said, "Okay."

The three girls got up and started walking around. They already had permission to be outside, so none of them thought to ask for permission to take a walk.

Jenn led them to the archway at the entrance to the ranch. "I just wanted to take one last look at this totem pole," she said.

Robin and Maggie looked up. There was an old Indian totem pole at the entrance. It was painted pretty colors. It was made of wood. The girls thought it was real, but they weren't sure.

Jenn said, "Hey, Robin, remember what Little Tommy said the other day? About climbing it, and Maggie!"

Robin looked at her sister with a questioning face. "No, what are you talking about?"

Maggie was interested, "Yeah, what did that brat, Little Tommy, have to say about me?"

Jenn looked at Robin and mouthed, "Go along." To Maggie, she said, "Oh, well, he climbed up to," she pointed, and Maggie looked up. "See that yellow line, all the way up there?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah, that's not that high, though." "Well, Little Tommy said that was the highest anyone had ever climbed. He thought of you, and said even *you* couldn't climb higher than that!" Maggie looked up again, and said, "Yeah, well, I wish Tommy was here right now. I can definitely climb higher than that stupid yellow line. Why, I could get right to the top. I'm going to do it right now!"

Robin said, "No, Maggie, don't!"

Jennifer elbowed Robin. "Shut up, Robin," she whispered. Maggie looked at Robin. "What?"

"Don't do it, Maggie, it's too dangerous!" Robin said. "Nah, it's not. I can do it! You just watch. And then we'll go find Tommy and tell him so!"

Before Robin could stop her, Maggie held on to the totem pole, and started to climb. Robin grabbed Jenn and said, "What'd you tell her that for? You know, that Mr. Steve said that no one was allowed to climb that thing anymore. He just said it on Friday, the last day of camp. He said it was old and not sturdy, and someone could get hurt. Don't you remember that, Jenn?" Jenn nodded and smiled. "Yep."

"Jennifer! I can't believe you would do that to Maggie. She's our cousin, and our friend. Mr. Steve was really mad that day. He told Billy and Jim that they'd be in big trouble if they climbed it again, and he didn't care if camp was over!"

"Yeah? Well, where was Maggie the past few days? Not with us. And if she hadn't been hanging out with Pam on Friday, she would have been at camp, with us, and she would have heard what Mr. Steve had to say!"

Robin looked up. Maggie was only about a fourth of the way up. "Maggie! Come down!" she shouted.

Maggie looked down and gave them the thumbs up sign. "Hey, I'm almost half way. You should go and get that snot-nosed Little Tommy. He should be here to see this!"

Robin didn't know what to do. On one hand, she was a little angry with Maggie, for ignoring them. But, on the other hand, she knew this was dangerous. But, if she told Maggie, then Jenn would be mad at her. And they had a long ride home together that afternoon. She looked up again. Maybe Maggie would decide it was too scary, and come down on her own. Then, Robin wouldn't be stuck having to make this decision.

Jenn looked up at Maggie and smiled. She knew that Maggie would never turn down such a dare. She almost wished Little Tommy was still at the ranch. She knew for a fact that he and his family had left on Thursday. Of course, Maggie didn't know that.

While Robin was still trying to decide what to do, Maggie yelled down, "Look, I got to the yellow line. Where is that Little Tommy? Ha ha! I'm going to get much past this!"

Robin looked around. Uh oh. All of a sudden, Mr. Steve, and some other ranchhands were running toward them. She stood back.

"Hey, you! What are you doing up there? Come down this instant!" Mr. Steve yelled up to Maggie.

Maggie looked down. From the height she was at, she couldn't see Mr. Steve's face, but she could hear in his voice that he was angry. She didn't know what to do! She really wanted to get to the top. If only to rub it in Little Tommy's face.

Mr. Steve turned to Robin and Jennifer. "Who is that, girls?" Robin found her voice and said, "It's Maggie Clemente, our cousin." "What's she doing up there? Didn't I just tell you the other day how dangerous that is?"

"Yes, sir. We tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen," Jenn replied. Robin slapped Jennifer. "Jenn! I can't believe you!" Mr. Steve yelled up, "Maggie! Come down, right now!" He turned to Robin. "Please run and get her parents, would you?"

Robin stood still. She didn't want to get Uncle Bob. He would be so mad. And she just knew the whole story would come out. Her daddy would find out, and she would be in big trouble, too.

But Mr. Steve nudged her, and said, "Come on, now, do it." Robin said, "Okay." She turned and ran back to their cabins. She saw her daddy first.

Charlie had been walking all over, looking for the twins, when he saw Robin running towards him. When she got to him, he grabbed her and said, "There you are. Where have you been?"

Robin started to cry. "I need to get Uncle Bob and Aunt Heather." "What's the matter? Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Where's Jennifer and Maggie?"

"Maggggggggggie! Jenniferrrrrrr! Robbbbbbbbbin!" Bob was shouting. Charlie yelled, "Bob, Robin's back. Come here!"

Bob appeared in front of the cabin. He took one look at Robin's tear-stained face and said, "Oh, my god, what's happened? Where's Maggie and Jennifer?" Robin was crying, steadily now, and found it difficult to get the words out. Charlie gripped her shoulders and said, "Robin! Come on now, you need to tell us. Where are Jennifer and Maggie?"

"They're at the totem pole. Maggie climbed up, and Mr. Steve told me to get Uncle Bob!" she cried.

Bob smacked his hand to his head and said, "Oh, what now?" He started to walk away, towards the entrance of the ranch.

Charlie called out to him, "Hold on, Bob, I'm coming with you." He turned to Robin, and said, "You stay here, with Mommy. We will *talk* later!" Charlie gave Robin one smack to the seat of her pants. "That was for running off without telling me. Now, go on!" Reluctantly, Robin went into the cabin. Charlie watched her go in. Then he turned around and ran to catch up to Bob. Robin wanted to go back to the totem pole and see what would happen, but she knew she was already in enough trouble.

Bob and Charlie got to the totem pole quickly. They looked up and saw Maggie about three fourths of the way up.

Bob said, "What is she doing?" Charlie put his hand on Bob's arm to steady him. It had been an exhausting two weeks at the ranch.

Steve said, "Mr. Clemente?"

Bob nodded.

"Your daughter refuses to come down. She just keeps on going higher. Something about getting someone, but I'm having trouble hearing her; she's up pretty high. This pole is very unsafe. I'd go up to get her, but I don't think that would be such a good idea."

Bob went to the base of the pole and yelled up, "Margaret Anne!" Maggie looked down. She saw her daddy at the bottom. She couldn't tell if he was angry, from this distance, but she was willing to bet he wasn't too happy. She looked up: not much further to go. Maybe he'd be proud of her if she made it to the top.

"Maggie! You come down right now!" Bob shouted up at her. But she was too far up and didn't hear him. Bob looked over at Steve, and realized he wasn't going to do anything. "That's it, I'm going up to get her." Charlie watched his brother and shook his head. Of course, if it had been Robin or Jennifer on that pole, he would have done the same thing. He walked over to Jennifer and said, "Okay, tell me what you know." Jennifer looked at her daddy. "What do you mean?" she asked. Steve walked over to where Jennifer and Charlie were standing. "Mr. Clemente, I don't think it's a good idea for your brother to go up that pole. It really is very unsafe. I just told the kids the other day not to climb it." Charlie looked at Jennifer. "Is that true?"

Jenn looked at her daddy and then back at Mr. Steve. "Yes, sir," she said. "Well, then why would you let your cousin climb it?" Charlie asked. "I tried to tell her not to, Daddy, but she insisted!" Jennifer lied. She didn't know why she was bothering to lie. When Maggie came down, the whole story would be out and she would be in big trouble. But she couldn't help but lie.

"Something's going on here, Jennifer Lynn, and I want to know what it is!" Charlie said, sternly. Obviously, he was not buying Jennifer's story. Jenn didn't answer. He gave her one quick smack on her bottom. "And I don't want to have to spank it out of you, either. You and your sister disappeared without even telling us. We will talk about that, too."

They were startled by Bob yelling. They ran over to the base of the pole. Bob had unsuccessfully tried to climb it, but the pole itself started to sway, so he jumped down.

Mr. Steve ran over and said, "I told you this thing's not too sturdy. It's really just for decoration. I don't know what it is, but the kids keep wanting to climb it. I just sat them down the other day, Friday, I think it was, and told them no one had better climb it."

Bob scratched his head. "Well, Maggie didn't go to camp on Friday." "But Robin and Jennifer did," Charlie said, eyeing Jennifer. "They should have known better."

They all looked up at Maggie. She had been a little scared when the totem pole had started to sway. But now she was almost to the top, and felt like she just had to go on. She looked down, and tried to wave, but was afraid she'd lose her footing. Everyone just stared at her.

"Well, now that she's got to the top, I guess we just have to wait for her to come back down," Bob said, sighing.

Just then, Heather ran over. "Oh, my god, what's going on?" Heather called, looking up. "What is that girl doing up there?"

Bob went over to his wife. "We don't know the whole story. I called up to her but she wouldn't come down. I tried to climb it, but it started to sway. We're just waiting now for her to come down."

"One way or the other!" Heather screamed. "My god, Bob, she could fall off that thing, and die."

Mr. Steve went over to Heather. "That's why the guys are standing here with the trampoline, ma'am." Steve pointed it out to Heather. Jennifer, Charlie, and Bob looked over at it, too. They had been so busy talking and worrying, they hadn't seen it brought over.

Heather clutched her stomach, and said, "Oh, god!"

Bob ran to her side. "Heather, are you all right? Is it the baby?" "No, no, I'm fine. I just got a cramp. Probably from worrying so much about Maggie. Oh, hon, I think I'll be glad to finally go home this afternoon," Heather said.

Charlie said, "Heather, why don't you go back to the cabin and lie down? Jennifer will walk back with you. Jennifer, come here!"

Jenn ran over to her aunt. But Heather said, "No, that's okay, I'm fine. Besides, I want to be here when Maggie gets back down."

"Here she comes!" one of the men yelled.

Everyone looked up. Maggie was about halfway down. She was going very slowly, for she found when she tried to go quickly, the whole totem pole moved. This frightened her. On the way up, she was so determined to make it past the yellow line, past where Little Tommy had gone, and up to the top, that she didn't think about how high up she was. Now on the way down, she was terrified.

Bob ran to the base and yelled, "Come on, honey, you're almost down!" Maggie heard her daddy this time and said, "Daddy, I'm scared!" Bob tried to remain calm. Now she was scared? She had just climbed hundreds and hundreds of feet, and now she had just realized how scary and dangerous it was? Okay, calm down, Bob, he told himself.

He looked up and saw that Maggie had barely moved. "Come on, Magpie, you're almost down. Just a little further!"

Maggie got to about three feet away from Bob. "Jump, Maggs, Daddy'll catch you!" Bob said.

The men with the trampoline moved right below Maggie, just in case she fell. When she saw the trampoline, she felt better. She saw her daddy waiting to catch her, as well. She climbed the rest of the way down, and then Bob grabbed her.

He pulled her off the pole and hugged her to him. "Oh, sweetie, are you all right?" he asked.

Maggie clutched onto her daddy. She knew she was probably in big trouble, but for right now, she needed him. "Daddy, I was so scared. Coming down, the totem pole started to move!"

"I know, I saw that. But you're okay now, you're on solid ground," Bob said, putting Maggie on her feet.

Heather, Charlie and Jennifer ran over then. Heather grabbed Maggie and smacked her on the rear. "Just what do you think you were doing up there, young lady?"

Maggie clutched her bottom. "Ow, Mommy!"

Then she saw Jenn and grinned. "Did you see me, Jennifer? I made it to the top. We should go find Little Tommy right now and rub that in his face!" Jennifer just nodded. With Charlie standing right there, she was afraid to say anything. She looked up at her father and he was staring at her. "Yeah, I saw," was all Jenn said.

Mr. Steve came over then. "Maggie, are you all right?" he asked. Maggie was still a bit shaken from her experience, but she nodded. "Yes, sir, fine."

"Of all the stupid things to do. Why didn't you come down when I yelled up to you?" he asked.

Maggie stared at him. "I didn't hear you."

Bob turned her around and said, "Margaret Anne, don't you lie. You heard; you just didn't want to listen. I want the full story, and I want it now!" All this time, Jenn had been standing there, not saying a word. She knew the truth would be out in a matter of minutes. She didn't know what to do. Charlie said, "Come on, let's go back to the cabin, and see if we can sort this out." He took Jennifer by the hand, and waited for Bob, Heather, and Maggie to follow.

Mr. Steve turned to Maggie and said, "And you, young lady, should know, that this is off limits, in case you and your family should come back next summer! If you had been at camp on Friday, you would have heard my lecture about how unsafe it was." He shook Bob and Charlie's hands. "I'm just so glad she's all right. I must speak to the camp about replacing this thing." And he walked off.

Maggie looked at Jennifer. "But you said that Little Tommy climbed up to the yellow line. You said that he practically dared me to get past that." Maggie was confused; she did not understand what her cousin had set her up to do. Everyone stared at Jennifer, too. She just stood there. Charlie got down on one knee and looked into Jenn's eyes. "Is that true? Jennifer?" Jennifer started to nod. "Yes, Daddy." She started crying. Charlie said, "Let's go. We need to discuss this further in our cabin." He grabbed Jenn's hand, and started leading her away from the totem pole.

Bob took Maggie's hand and said, "You too. We also need to have a discussion."

Heather took Maggie's other hand and the three of them went back to their cabin, also. Charlie said to them, "Um, we'll see you at lunch." They nodded, and all disappeared into their cabins.

Charlie pushed Jenn in and said, "Go to your room. I will be right there." He went into his bedroom and kissed Lisa hello. "Where's Robin?" "In her room. What happened?" she asked. Charlie filled her in on what he knew.

"Come with me, hon. We need to get to the bottom of this right now. I do think I know two little girls who are going to be riding home with sore bottoms," Charlie stated.

Lisa followed him into the twins' room. Robin was laying on her bed. Jenn was crying into a pillow on her bed. Charlie and Lisa sat down and then Charlie said, "Girls!"

They both looked up. "All right, I want to know what happened, the whole story, and I want to know right now."

Robin cried, "Daddy, is Maggie all right?"

Charlie regarded his daughter, "Yes, Robin, she's fine. Now tell me what happened."

Neither of the girls said anything. They didn't know where to start. Robin stared at her sister, wondering if Jenn was going to fess up, or not. She found some courage, and her voice, and said, "It's Jenn's fault." Charlie looked at her. "Robin, you know better than that! Tell me what happened!"

Robin started telling the whole story, starting with how they were mad at Maggie for ignoring them, then about Jenn wanting to get her cousin back, then about walking over to the totem pole. Jenn didn't say a word the whole time. She knew it wouldn't matter. She had messed up and she was going to be punished.

Charlie nudged Jennifer. She had been lying with her face toward the wall. "Jennifer, look at me." Slowly, Jenn sat up and turned toward her daddy. "Is what your sister's saying true, young lady?"

Jennifer looked at Robin. She wanted to lie again, but knew it would be futile. They would get the whole story from Maggie, anyway. She looked at her daddy and nodded. She knew he was very disappointed in her.

Charlie sighed. "I don't know what to say, Jennifer Lynn." "I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, new tears falling down her face. Lisa sighed, too. "Are you, Jennifer? Or are you just sorry you got caught?" she asked.

Jennifer cried and said, "I don't knooooooow!" Then she flung herself back onto the bed, and continued crying into her pillow.

Charlie and Lisa stared at each other. He said, "Robin, go into our bedroom. Mommy and I need to talk." Robin looked at her daddy, got up, and walked out of the room. Charlie said, "I think we need to separate them for punishment." Lisa whispered, "Okay, I'll take Robin."

Charlie smiled. Then he said, "Thanks a lot."

Lisa got up and joined Robin in her bedroom. She sat on the bed, and patted it. "Come here, Robin." Robin walked over to the bed. Lisa pulled her between her legs and said, "Do you know why I'm going to punish you, young lady?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, Mommy. 'Cuz I helped Jenn lie to Maggie about the totem pole. I knew it was unsafe, but I didn't say anything, when I could have," she cried.

"That's right. Your cousin could have been very hurt. Yet, you stood by, even when you knew it was wrong, and you stayed quiet. Even after she had gotten on it, you could have come back and told us. And also, young lady, you did not have permission to be at the totem pole. You were disobedient by wandering off in the first place. I am very unhappy about this!" "Yes, Mommy," Robin said. She knew there was no point in arguing. Besides, she knew she should be punished.

Lisa pulled Robin's shorts and panties down, and lifted her up over her lap. She began to spank right in the middle; she didn't alternate cheeks like her husband did. Robin began to cry right away. Her mother always spanked really hard.

"OW! I'm sorry, Mommy!" she cried.

Meanwhile, back in the twins' bedroom, Charlie had stood Jennifer in the corner. He was trying to calm down. After several minutes, he said, "All right, Jennifer, come over here."

Jennifer walked over to her daddy. "I am very disappointed in you, young lady," he said.

"Yes, Daddy, me too," Jennifer said, honestly.

"Tell me why," Charlie directed.

Jennifer cried. "Because I was mad at Maggie. But I dared her to do something that was bad."

"Not just bad," Charlie began.

"But dangerous?" Jenn asked. He nodded. "Yeah, and I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry, Daddy."

"I'm sorry, too, baby. I'm sorry that I have to spank you again. I thought you were going to try to stay out of trouble this vacation." Jenn nodded. "I know, I'm sorry, Daddy."

"We're going home today, young lady. And you are going to be sitting in the car, feeling very uncomfortable. Do you have anything else to say before we begin?"

Jenn shook her head no. Charlie pulled down Jenn's shorts and panties. He motioned for her to step out of them. She wouldn't be needing them anymore for awhile. He pulled her over his lap and started to spank. Along with the spanking, came the lecturing.

"That was very {Smack!} naughty what you {Smack!} did today, {Smack!} Jennifer {Smack!} Lynn. {Smack!} Goading your cousin {Smack!} into doing {Smack!} something dangerous {Smack!} was wrong. {Smack!} I don't ever {Smack!} want to discuss anything {Smack!} like this {Smack!} with you {Smack!} ever {Smack!} again. {Smack!} Do I make myself clear?" {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!}

"Yes, Daddy," Jenn cried.

"And furthermore, {Smack!} young lady, {Smack!} you and your sister did not have permission {Smack!} to be near that totem pole. {Smack!} You were supposed to be sitting out front. {Smack!} You know better {Smack!} than to wander off, {Smack!} like that. I am getting tired {Smack!} of spanking you for this. {Smack!} {Smack!} Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Daddddddddy, Ow! Please stop, it hurts!" Jenn cried. Charlie gave Jenn a few final spanks, and then rested his hand on her backside. She was crying profusely. He began to rub her bottom. Then he stood her up and held him to her. He patted and comforted her for a little while.

Jenn held on to her daddy's neck, while he hugged her. "I'm so sorrrrrry, Daddddddddy."

"Okay, it's all right. You've been punished now. I forgive you. Shhhh," Charlie said. He was glad she had not done what Maggie had done, and he told her so. "I'm just so glad you didn't do anything that stupid." "Yes, sir," Jenn replied.

After she had calmed down, Charlie laid her down on her bed. He slipped her pantsies on her, and tucked her in. "I want you to lay down for a little bit. Later, at lunch, you will apologize to your cousin for your lies." "Oh, Daddy, please no, I can't!" Jennifer wailed.

"You can, Jennifer Lynn, and you will. I'm going to suspend a mouth soaping, even though you lied to me. Don't make me change my mind. And you *will* apologize to Maggie. And that's final," Charlie expressed. Jenn said, "Yes, Daddy." Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Getting a spanking always exhausted her. Robin lay sleeping on the bed in her parents' room. Next door, there was more talk.

"Margaret Anne, I thought maybe we could go one more day without any problems!" Bob was saying.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't know. Jennifer lied to me!" she cried. "That doesn't matter!" Heather expressed. "You still should have known better. And Maggie, we didn't even know where you were!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I thought it was all right."

Bob sighed. "Maggie, is it ever all right for you to just go wherever you please? I know we have talked about this before. Now, climbing up that pole was pure stupidity. You could have been killed."

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I wanted to beat Little Tommy!" Maggie explained. "Little Tommy! Little Tommy! We are not discussing some little boy from your camp group. We are discussing you. And you are not to do anything like this again. Do I make myself clear, young lady?" Bob shouted.

Maggie continued to cry. "Yes, Daddy, I'm sorry."

"You're going to be even sorrier in a minute, young lady. You're going to be punished. You could have come down that pole when Mr. Steve called up to you, but you didn't. You saw him and you just kept going!"

"I know. It was because of what Jennifer said about Little Tommy," Maggie said, quietly.

Bob sighed. "Don't blame your cousin. I admit it wasn't very nice what she told you. And you can be sure your Uncle Charlie is punishing her for that, but that is still no excuse, Margaret Anne. I don't care if this Little Tommy climbed to the top of a water tower, you are not to do things like this. Now come over here!" Bob pointed to his side.

Maggie was there in a flash. She knew better than to argue at this point. She still thought that she had broken some kind of record. She was sure no other kid at the Dude Ranch had ever climbed to the top of the totem pole. But she didn't dare say it out loud. She knew her daddy would not like that. Bob pulled Maggie's shorts and panties down and pulled her over his lap. He didn't lecture her, just spanked and spanked until her bottom was a bright, cherry red. When he was finished, he ordered her into the corner. Maggie shuffled there quietly. She hated when her daddy sent her to the corner. That meant he was still mad, and needed time to calm down. But at least so far, there was no mention of doing a writing assignment.

After twenty minutes, Bob called her over to him. He reached down and pulled up her panties and shorts. He pulled her into a hug and said, "I'm glad you weren't hurt, Magpie."

Maggie smiled at her special nickname. She knew everything was all right again. "Me, too, Daddy. And I'm sorry I worried you." Bob said, "Me too. I'm glad we're going home today. There's not much in Brookville that I need to be concerned with you about. No waterfalls for you to get into, or rapids to fall in, or totem poles to climb. Life is going to be very boring for you, isn't it, Maggie?"

Heather came over, now that the smoke had cleared. "Oh, I don't know about that, hon. Maggie has to be a big sister now to this little baby," she said, patting her tummy.

Bob smiled. "Yes, that's right."

"I'll be good, Daddy," Maggie said, and she almost meant it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The end!



Epilogue: Jennifer had apologized to Maggie at lunch that day. It was a very quiet affair. The grownups had smiled at the sight of the three of them kneeling on the bench for lunch. They hugged goodbye and got into their separate cars to head for Long Island again. After two weeks at the Dude Ranch, they were all glad to be getting home. School would be starting in a couple of weeks, and Lisa and Heather knew they would be busy getting the kids settled into a new school year. Heather and Bob also had a tough time ahead of them, what with Maggie being a handful, and with a new baby on the way. But they all remembered the Dude Ranch as a magical place. They hoped they'd be back again next year.



(Stay tuned for a new series starring the ever-popular Clementes.  NB: Cradle Time)

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