The Dude Ranch-chapter 2
By SamPast and Huggedlots
Copyright (c) 1999, All
rights reserved
After lunch the girls
wanted to head back to the stables. "Okay, girls, but this time, we all
stay together, agreed?"
"Yes, Mommy,"
they answered, running out the door.
"Wait," Jenn said
to Robin, "let's see if Maggie wants to come."
They turned back, and
headed over to her cabin door, and yelled in, "Hey Maggie, you
there?"
There was no answer, so
they turned again, and hoped to catch up to her at the stables. The girls each
skipped holding on to a parent's hand. Together they started to sing, and as
they passed, people began to look and smile at them.
Back at the stables, the
wrangler was making up a list for the afternoon trail ride. Charlie walked over
and asked if they can all go.
"Well, the girls will
need some arena time before they are ready for the trail, sir," the
wrangler replied.
"Okay," Charlie
said, "when can they get that?"
"Well, not till
tomorrow morning, I'm afraid. Every one is heading out on the trails now,
lessons are in the morning," he said.
The girls were really
disappointed, but Charlie reminded them of the many other things the ranch had
to offer, and gave them some choices. Just then, the girls saw Maggie riding
her pony and lining up for the trail ride.
"Where's your
mom?" Charlie asked her.
"Don't know,"
Maggie replied.
"Well, is it okay for
you to go riding?" he asked concerned.
"Sure, my mom lets me
do whatever I want to around here. She is probably off with some of her
friends."
Maggie shrugged as if it
didn't mean anything, but Charlie saw the pain in the little girl's eyes, and
knew how much she was hurting for some attention.
"Okay, tell you what,
when you get back, come on over to our cabin, okay?" Charlie asked.
"Sure," Maggie
said. "What are you guys gonna do now?"
"I don't know,"
Charlie said, "we haven't quite decided yet."
They waved and turned away,
and didn't see the yearning in Maggie's eyes.
The girls decided that they
wanted to explore, so Lisa packed some drinks and snacks and off they went
climbing rocks and wandering the property until they came to a beautiful
waterfall. They all decided to sit, and have drinks and talk for a bit.
"Daddy?" Jennifer
asked.
"What, sweetie?"
Charlie replied.
"Umm, does Maggie seem
happy to you?"
"Why do you ask,
baby?"
"I don't know, Daddy,
I just don't think she is, that's all, and it makes me sad for her,"
Jennifer said as she climbed into her Daddy's lap and snuggled in.
Not to be outdone, Robin
climbed into Lisa's and they all sat happily watching the waterfall.
Maggie got back from her
ride and returned to an empty cabin. She went next door. The Clemente's were
gone too, and Maggie was bored. Digging into her mom's purse, she took out some
money, and went across the road to the country store for some ice cream. Just
then Robin and Jennifer and their parents came back from their walk.
The girls ran over to
Maggie, and told her about their rock climbing afternoon. Seeing her with ice
cream the twins asked Charlie if they could have some.
"Sorry girls, it's too
close to dinner," he answered.
"But, Daddy,"
Robin whined, "Maggie has some, please?"
"No whining,
Robin," Lisa said. "You heard your dad."
"Can we just hang out
here for a bit?" Jennifer asked.
Lisa looked around.
"Well, I'm not too thrilled about you crossing the road by yourselves.
Come, we'll cross you over and you can hang out with Maggie over there for a
little while. I would like you to play quietly for a bit before dinner,
okay?"
"Yes, Mommy,"
they both said.
Charlie and Lisa crossed
the girls over to their side of the road. It was still a distance from their
cabin, but they would be able to see them from their cabin window and keep an
eye on them.
As soon as they are out of
sight, Maggie said, "Look, I have money, I can buy you two some ice
cream."
"We can't," Robin
sighed, "our dad said no."
"Well, so what?"
Maggie said, "I get what I want, when I want it. Besides, we can go sit on
the side, and he won't know."
"Yeah, but then we'll
have to cross the road ourselves," Jennifer said doubtfully. "They
wouldn't like that."
"Oh, please, this
road? There's no cars here. Your parents are just being silly. I do it all the
time. Come on!" Maggie said.
"I don't think
so," Robin said, "it'll get us into trouble, and we don't need
any."
"Ohh, come on
Robin," Jennifer said, "I really want some ice cream, and I know you
do, too. Daddy won't know unless YOU tell him."
"Jenn, you KNOW
what'll happen if we get caught," Robin said.
"What?" Maggie
asked. She was curious about why the twins both seemed so nervous. "Geez,
its just ice cream."
"No, it's not,"
said Robin. "It's defying our dad, and he is pretty strict."
"Well, so what?"
Maggie asked again. "What's he gonna do?"
"You don't want to
know," Robin said nervously.
"Sure I do. Tell
me," Maggie said.
"Well, first he'd tell
us how disappointed in us he was. Then he would drag us back to the cabin, and
we would be in big trouble," Robin replied.
"Big trouble,
how?" Maggie was pushing, and Robin was squirming a bit.
"Well, he would, umm,
ahhh, ohh. . ." Robin began.
"Sheesh, Robin,"
Jennifer said impatiently. She turned to Maggie and said, "He would spank
us, Maggie."
Maggie said, "Really?
Wow, I have never been spanked in my whole life."
The girls were shocked.
They had never known anyone who was never spanked. "What does your mom do
when she is mad at you?" Robin asked.
"Well," Maggie
thought about this, "well, she yells, then she, she, she says. . ."
Maggie began to cry.
Robin and Jenn were
bewildered, and didn't know what to do, so they both hugged Maggie.
"What does she
say?" Robin asked her quietly.
"She tells me,
that," Maggie was crying, but managed to tell them that Heather sometimes
tells her she wishes she were never born, and that she should be having fun
instead of always having to take care of her. "She always apologizes, of
course, and says she doesn't mean it, and cries a lot, and then buys me lots of
stuff."
Maggie pulled herself
together, and shrugged. "Well, there are lots of good sides to it. I can
do whatever I want, when I want. I really have no rules! And my grandmother's
the same way!"
Jennifer thought that would
be wonderful, and told her so. Robin was not too sure, but said nothing. Just
then, Maggie jumped up and asked them if they had seen the swings yet.
"No," they
replied, "but we can't go." "We have to stay here, like we were
told," Robin said.
"You can come, it's
not far. COME ON!" Maggie yelled as she ran away.
Robin knew this was a
really bad idea, and said so, but Jennifer told her she was a scaredy cat, and
ran after Maggie. Robin was torn, and didn't know what to do.
"I have to go to the
bathroom," she called to Jenn, and ran back to the cabin.
Charlie was surprised to
see Robin without Jennifer. "Where is your sister?" he asked.
"She, ahh, umm, I have
to go to the bathroom, Daddy."
"Ohh, okay,"
Charlie smiled. He went back to reading his book, then looked out the window.
He was surprised not to see Maggie and Jennifer. As Robin came out of the
bathroom, he asked her again, "Where is your sister?"
Robin didn't want to be a
tattle tale, and said, "Well, I left them right outside, Daddy."
Sensing there was more to
this than she was telling, Charlie went over and hugged Robin. "Honey,
look at me."
Robin looked up and saw the
concern in her Daddy's eyes. "You know you need to tell me, right?"
Charlie asked gently.
"Yes, Daddy,"
Robin said, and sighed. "Jenn and Maggie went to the playground."
Robin looked down at her feet as soon as she said it. She felt bad telling on
Jennifer.
"I see," Charlie
said. "Stay here with Mommy, okay?"
"Yes, Daddy,"
Robin replied.
Charlie headed to where he
remembered the playground to be and found the girls happily swinging away. Jenn
looked over and saw her father, and knew she was in trouble. Slowing her swing
down, she said, "Uhh, hi, Daddy."
"Let's go, Jennifer.
You and I have some talking to do, young lady," Charlie said sternly.
"We were just
swinging," Maggie said.
"I know that Maggie,
but I told the girls to stay down the road," Charlie said.
"I don't want to play
by myself! I want Jenn to stay here!" Maggie said and stamped her foot.
"That will do you no
good, young lady, so I advise you to stop that right now!" Charlie said
sternly. Maggie was startled, never having had a father figure in her life.
"You may do as your mother has told you you can, but Jennifer is coming
back to the cabin right now."
With that, Charlie took
Jennifer's hand, and they headed back.
"I'm sorry,"
Jennifer told her Daddy. "Please don't be mad."
"Jennifer, you know
better than to go off on your own like that, without permission. You know how
your mother and I feel about that! Whatever possessed you to do that? "
Charlie asked.
"I don't know,
Daddy," Jennifer said quietly.
"That is NOT an
acceptable answer, young lady, and you know it!"
Charlie marched Jennifer
right into the cabin and into his bedroom. Standing her between his knees, he
started his lecture. "First of all, young lady, when you are told to do
something, you do it, understood?"
"Yes, sir,"
Jennifer answered.
"I am not sure I like
Maggie's influence on you," Charlie stated.
Jennifer looked up and
said, "Please, Daddy, don't say I can't play with Maggie, please?"
"Jenn, tell me what
you did wrong today."
"I disobeyed you,
Daddy."
"And what do little
girls that disobey their Daddy get?" Charlie asked.
"Please, Daddy, I'm
sorry, please don't spank me, please?" Jenn started to beg, knowing it
wouldn't do her any good.
"Sweetheart, I am
sorry, and I am sorry you CHOSE to disobey me, but I need you to understand
that I make rules to keep you and your sister safe because I love you."
Jennifer started to cry,
and knew that she couldn't talk her way out of it, but also knew that she chose
to go to the swings, knowing that she would get in trouble.
"I really am sorry,
Daddy."
"I know you are, baby,
but we still need to do this. Come on, let's get this over with."
Charlie quickly pulled down
Jennifer's shorts and panties, and put her over his knee. He began first on one
cheek, then the other, and gave her ten swats on each cheek before letting her
up. Jennifer was surprised to be let off that easily, but was relieved.
Charlie took her into his
arms, pulled up her shorts, and whispered in her ear, "Jenn, I want you to
really know and understand how loved you are."
"Yes, Daddy,"
Jenn answered as she hugged him hard.
"Now, young lady, I
don't want to have to punish you again this vacation, is that clear?"
"I don't want you to
have to, either, Daddy," Jenn smiled through her tears, and knew her daddy
loved her. "I'm sorry I let you down, Daddy. I'll be good, I
promise."
"Okay, little one, I
don't want you to get hurt. That is my first priority, okay?" Charlie
asked.
"Yes, Daddy,"
Jenn answered. Charlie pulled her onto his lap, and held her for another
minute. As he was about to put her down, they all heard a loud crash outside
the door.
Charlie dropped Jennifer
down like a sack of potatoes, and ran outside. His first thought was that
something had happened to either Lisa or Robin. When he and Jennifer got
outside, they saw Lisa bending over something.
"What on earth was
it?" Charlie asked bewildered.
Lisa moved to the side so
her husband could see what she was seeing. There on the ground, lay Maggie,
dirty, but not crying.
"Are you sure you're
okay?" Lisa asked. "What were you doing?"
Maggie looked up at the
four sets of frightened eyes, and said, "I'm okay, really, I was just, um,
fooling around, I guess, and I, uh, um. . ."
"Come, let me help you
up," Charlie said as he offered her his hand.
She took it and said,
"Thanks, I guess I'd better go wash up before dinner."
Maggie started to walk
away. She was filthy. Apparently, as far as Lisa and Charlie could figure, she
must have fallen from a great height. They couldn't figure out what she had
been trying to do.
Jennifer looked at her
parents. "Help her, Mommy, Daddy, please!"
"She has nobody,"
Robin said, referring to the fact that Heather was never around.
Lisa said, "Wait. Come
here, Maggie. Why don't I give you a bath?"
Maggie stopped. She turned
around slowly. "What do you mean? I can wash myself."
"Come on, it'll be nice.
We'll put bubbles in it. Come on," she urged Maggie.
"It's really nice,
with the bubbles," Jennifer encouraged.
Charlie said, "Okay,
Robin, Jenn, let's go inside."
Robin and Jennifer didn't
want to leave Maggie.
"Come on,"
Charlie insisted.
"Hope to see you
later," Robin called, as Charlie pulled them inside the cabin.
Maggie looked up at this
young, pretty woman. She couldn't believe that someone else's mother wanted to
help her like her mother never did. She didn't know why, but she was drawn to
this family. All of a sudden, being given a bath, sounded like the best idea.
"Okay, I'll try
it," Maggie tried to say reluctantly. Lisa hid her smile. She knew how
much attention Maggie was needing.
At first, Maggie was
reluctant to have Lisa see her naked, but soon found herself drawn to the
loving care of having being given a bath. At home, Maggie just took showers.
Her mom had never checked to see if she had washed behind her ears.
After her bath, Charlie and
Lisa told the three girls to play quietly in the bedroom. It would be about
fifteen minutes until the dinner gong.
Alone in the bedroom,
Jennifer said to Maggie, "What were you doing out there, anyway?"
"Oh, nothing,"
Maggie said.
"No, really?"
Jennifer insisted.
"Maybe she doesn't
want to talk about it, Jenn," Robin said.
"Oh, Robin, you're
always such a goody-goody," Jennifer said nastily.
"At least, I keep
myself out of trouble most of the time," Robin shot back.
"Okay, I'll tell you,
if you promise to stop fighting, and also not to tell anyone, especially your
folks," Maggie said. She had gotten the twins' interest. They were both
staring at her, waiting for her to go on.
"Well," she
turned to Jennifer, "when I saw your father leading you away, and I
remembered what you had told me earlier, I wanted to see what would happen, so,
I, uh, um. . ."
"You were
eavesdropping?" Robin asked.
"What's that?"
Maggie asked.
"It's when you listen
to someone else talking and they don't know you're there," Jennifer
explained.
"Yeah, I guess, I
mean, I was trying to, but I couldn't hear what your dad was saying. So, I
tried to get closer. And closer to your dad's window, was getting up on top of
the roof of the cabin, and. . ."
"You climbed on the
roof?" Robin asked.
Maggie answered,
"Yeah, but I still couldn't hear, and so I was trying to bend down closer
to the window, but that's um, uh, when I fell."
Jennifer stood there
wide-eyed. She couldn't believe the lengths Maggie went to, to see her
punishment.
GONG! GONG! GONG!
"Come on, girls, time
for dinner!" Charlie called.
"Come on, let's go,
I'm starving," Robin said.
"You're always
hungry," Jenn said.
They got up to leave, but
Maggie pulled them back. "Remember, not a word about what I did, to your
parents!"
Jennifer said, "No, we
won't tell, right, Robin?"
Robin agreed, "I won't
say anything. Man, if Jenn or I did something like that, we'd be spanked for a
long time. Come on, let's eat!"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Maggie went to dinner with
the Clemente's. Heather never even showed up.
"She probably went to
dinner with some of her friends. It's okay. I'm used to it," Maggie said
sadly.
"So, you eat by
yourself?" Lisa asked.
"Well, she doesn't
usually disappear on the weekends. During the week, she has me enrolled in the
camp they have here." Maggie turned to Robin and Jennifer. "Are you
two going to the camp tomorrow?"
The twins looked at Charlie
and Lisa. "Are we, Daddy? Mommy?"
Lisa said, "Well, if
you want to go, we can sign you up. We figured you would want to stay with us,
though,"
Robin said, "I want to
stay with you. I like doing things as a family."
Jennifer nudged Robin under
the table. "Yeah, but wouldn't it be fun to hang out with other kids our
age, Robin?" Jenn said, pointing towards Maggie.
Maggie pretended not to be
listening, by studying her dinner.
Charlie said, "If you
girls want to, you could try it out for a week. We'll be here for two weeks,
and if you don't like it, you don't have to do it next week. And Robin, we can
still do things together at night, and over next weekend."
"I, actually, think
you two would like it," Lisa said.
"Okay, I'll try
it," Robin said.
"Cool, then it's
settled. Right?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes, we'll see to it
in the morning. Come on, if you're all done, let's go back. Maggie, I'm sure
your mother is frantic with worry right about now," Charlie stated.
"I doubt it,"
Maggie said.
When they got back to the
cabin, Charlie went next door and knocked. But as he suspected, there was no
answer. He came back in and said, "Okay, how about a game of
Monopoly?"
"Yea!" they all
shouted.
"Oh, count me out, I'm
never good at that one," Lisa said.
The three girls and Charlie
played Monopoly for a good hour and a half. Maggie enjoyed being with the
Clemente's. It made it seem to her as if she were a part of a real family. She
liked how they all got along, and how Charlie would make funny little jokes,
and kind of tease them, but not in a way, where anyone's feelings were hurt.
Maggie was really enjoying herself.
After playing Monopoly for
awhile, and Charlie deciding he'd had enough, the girls called it quits, too.
Lisa let them color for a little while, and then told them to put on their
pajamas.
"Maggie, why don't I
come with you next door and you can put your pajamas on, too?" Lisa asked.
"Why?" Maggie
asked.
"Well, your mom must
have been delayed. You'll just stay here with us until she gets back,"
Lisa explained.
Maggie replied, "Well,
usually I just watch t.v. until my mom gets home or I fall asleep."
"Well, not
tonight," Charlie said, "go on, Lisa will go with you. Go put on your
pajamas."
Maggie thought about
defying Charlie and throwing a tantrum, but then remembered when she stomped
her foot in the playground. He hadn't liked that, and said it would do her no
good. So she just relented and went next door with Lisa.
Robin let Maggie sleep in
the small bed with her. And after kissing each girl, Maggie included, and
tucking them all in, Charlie and Lisa carefully closed the door to their
bedroom. They returned to the living area.
Lisa sighed, "That
poor little girl. It breaks my heart."
"I know, sweetheart,
it's sad. But what can we do?" Charlie asked.
"We're already doing
whatever we can do," Lisa said.
~~~~~~~~~~~
About an hour later, there
was a loud knock on the door. It was Heather, finally.
"Hi, I'm sorry to
bother you guys, but I just got home, and . . . Well, have you seen Maggie?
She's not in the cabin, and. . ."
Charlie cut Heather off.
"Come with me!" He led her to his daughter's bedroom, and carefully
opened the door. There was just enough light for Heather to see that Maggie was
sound asleep in Robin's small bed.
Heather tried to go into
the room, but Charlie held her back. He nudged her away from the door, and
closed it. Then he gently pushed Heather back into the main room.
Heather said, "I was
just going to take Maggie with me."
"I don't think so,
Heather. It's real late, she's sound asleep. You can see her in the
morning," Charlie said.
"In the morning? What.
. .! That's my daughter, you can't. . ."
"Your daughter? Did
you think about your daughter at 5:30, when she lay on the ground, after having
fallen down, or at 6:00, when the gong sounded for dinner, or at 9:00 when she
was falling asleep coloring? MY GOD, HEATHER, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Charlie shouted.
Lisa went over to her
husband. "Charlie, calm down, you'll wake the girls!"
She turned to Heather,
"Heather, have you been drinking?"
"What if I have?"
Heather told Lisa, "Goodness, you are NOT my mother! I really haven't had
THAT much to drink anyway!"
Charlie and Lisa saw that
Heather was not quite steady on her feet, and was slurring her words a bit, and
realized that arguing with her would be useless.
"Why don't you just go
home and get some sleep, and we will see you first thing in the morning,
okay?" Charlie asked her.
"OKay, sounds like a
plan," Heather replied flippantly. Charlie and Lisa watched her go back to
her cabin sadly.
"That is one hurting
young lady", Lisa said.
Charlie was slowly
simmering, and was not ready to excuse Heather just yet. "What I think
that young lady needs is a wake up call to the fact that she is a mother, and
has responsibilities. No wonder Maggie tries so hard to get attention. And,
while we are talking about this, I can only conclude that she was on the roof!
There is no other place she could have fallen from. Did you see any bruises on
her during her bath?"
"No, but they wouldn't
really show till tomorrow. I will see if I can sneak a peak at her and check
her out. I think she likes us and the attention, but remember Charlie, all this
is new to her. She is confused and doesn't know how to respond to us. Don't
think she will respond like our girls do," Lisa cautioned. Charlie sighed,
and said, "Of course my love, you are right. But know what?"
"What?" she
asked.
"I think it is time to
forget about little girls, and get into bed, and be adults. What do you
say?" Charlie asked mischievously.
Lisa smiled broadly,
wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck, and purred like a kitten.
"Whatever you say, Dear," she replied happily.