Three Sisters of Delta Gamma

Chapter 8

Amy, she will always be your friend.

Christmas Eve came quickly and the Russo family was ready. All the cousins were beside themselves with excitement. They couldn't keep their hands off each other, as play was the only thing on their minds. The family tradition was to attend mass and then return home to find that Santa had delivered all the presents.

Eric had never been to a Catholic mass but he thoroughly enjoyed the service and the friendliness of all the people. He followed Layla's instructions and did what she did as the service proceeded. Eric realized how much he missed attending church.

As Angelo prepared to unlock the front door, the cousins were jumping up and down and pushing each other to get in the house. Amy had no idea what was happening but the excitement was contagious.

Maria leaned over and told her, "Santa has been here."

Amy said, "I thought he was coming tonight after we're asleep."

"According to papa, he always comes to Italian homes first."

"Okay." She began jumping up and down like everyone else until the door was open and everyone rushed inside. There was a mountain of gifts under and around the tree, and stacked throughout the sitting room and kitchen. Amy had never seen so many presents.

She said, "Wow, Santa left all his gifts here."

Maria replied, "That's why you want to be part of our family. Santa likes us."

"Mommy, am I part of the family?" Amy yelled over the excited squeals and laughter.

"Yes you are, sweetheart."

"Okay!" she squealed. Everyone who heard the exchange laughed.

Eric, like Amy, stood amazed as 13 cousins scrambled to find presents with their names somewhere in the stacks. Two of the adults waded into the pile and found gifts for other adults. The distribution took at least 20 minutes with the sounds of ripping paper, excited voices, and all the oohs and aahs and thanks that come with unwrapping gifts.

Amy had six gifts to open. She got two very nice outfits, a book of Bible stories for children, an electronic game that teaches children to read and do arithmetic, a new doll to keep Miss Annie company and a book about horses. To describe her as thrilled would be a major understatement. She spent most of the evening in her daddy's lap learning arithmetic and in her mommy's lap looking at the horses. She found one like Terry, the one Josh let her pet, and Layla read the description to her.

After all the gifts were distributed and opened, Anna turned on their favorite Christmas music and everyone sang carols. Milk and homemade chocolate chip cookies were passed around for the children and adult eggnog, Panettone and various chocolates made with grappa and brandy was passed among the adults. Amy tried to take two cookies but Layla put a quick stop to that.

Eric approached Angelo during one of the lulls. "Sir, could we take a walk and enjoy the Christmas lights?"

Angelo smiled, suspecting the real reason. "I'd enjoy that." They put on their heavy coats and walked into the bracing cold air of the evening.

"It's a beautiful night with the family, isn't it?" Eric asked.

"It is. Anna and I look forward to this every year. It looks like Amy is enjoying it."

"She's in her favorite world. How can it get better than this as a child? Good friends, gifts and cookies." Both laughed.

"The reason I wanted some quiet time with you is that I'd like your blessing to marry Layla. She and I have talked about marriage and we both acknowledge the importance of your agreement and blessing." They walked on in silence for a few moments.

"Eric, Anna and I talked about this and I have to admit that I wanted Layla to marry within our religion and culture. All of her brothers and Janice did that. But Anna convinced me that the old ways are not always the best ways. If you promise me that you will always honor, love and protect her as the treasure she is, I will approve of your marriage and be very glad to have you in our family."

"Sir, I do promise you that. She and Amy love each other almost as much as I love Layla. Your daughter has captured our hearts."

"I can see that. She will be a good wife for you and a wonderful mom."

They shook hands and hugged as Italian friends do, with a big grin. The two returned to the house and the party that was going strong. Some of the ladies started passing giant trash bags to collect all the torn wrapping paper, ribbons, empty boxes and foam packing materials. Kids were spread throughout the house playing with their new toys. Amy was with Lucia and Maria, playing with their new dolls and showing each other their electronic games.

Angelo pulled Layla and Anna aside and told them he and Eric had talked and that he was in agreement with their marriage. Layla was surprised and very happy that Eric had asked. Anna was very proud of Angelo and told him so.

Layla kissed her dad. "Thank you papa. I know he will be perfect for me. Can Eric and I announce this to the family tonight while we're all together?"

"If you like. They'll be pleased, I'm sure."

Layla went to find Eric who was upstairs with Amy. In a minute they came down with Eric carrying Amy and walked to the fireplace in the sitting room.

Layla yelled above the din, "Could I have everyone's attention for a moment?" The sound of people shushing others rippled out through the house. "Eric and I would like to make an announcement." The instant recognition of what was about to happen quickly spread and everyone smiled.

Eric, in a loud voice said, "A few minutes ago, I was honored to receive the permission of papa to ask Layla to be my wife." A roar of approval rolled through the house. Before anyone could approach them, Eric dropped to his knee, still holding Amy, and asked Layla to be his wife and Amy's mom. Tears ran down her cheeks and from the eyes of every woman there as he removed a small box from his pocket and gave it to her.

Layla choked back her tears and responded, "To use Amy's favorite answer... okay."

Now the adults came to hug and kiss or shake hands with all three. Everyone admired the ring. Word spread to all the kids throughout the house and they came to hug Layla and Eric and kiss Amy. They had a new cousin.

Amy announced to everyone, "I get to help plan the wedding." Everyone laughed and congratulated her.

The party continued until the kids started falling asleep in the arms of their parents. It took a good while to load up the gifts, kids and plates of Christmas goodies but eventually the house was quiet again.

Eric, Layla and Amy were the last to leave. Amy was sound asleep in Layla's arms.

"Mom, lunch will be at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon. I gave papa directions; but please come anytime you want. Mr. and Mrs. Belton are very excited you're coming. I can't wait for you to meet them."

"We're also excited. I'll bring my normal Christmas dishes, if that's okay."

"I promised Mrs. Belton you would. Also, sometime tomorrow afternoon, Melissa is coming to give Amy a Christmas gift. We are on good terms with her now and Eric is giving her time with Amy."

"Good. I'd like to meet her. She's had some real battles in her life."

"She has, but she's overcome them," Eric responded.

"Well, Merry Christmas mom and papa. We love you very much." Everyone kissed and hugged trying not to wake the sleeping Amy.

****

The snow was heavy on Christmas Eve in Cody, Wyoming. Julia and Cliff arrived two days earlier to a very warm welcome from Bob and Judy Richards, Julia's parents. Julia had not been home since early September and Judy was the first to notice a big change in her.

"You're really in love with Cliff, aren't you?" her mom asked when they were alone.

"I am, mom. He's different from any other guy I've known. He and I can talk about anything; we like to do many of the same things. We like the same movies and I love his parents. Cliff is a romantic and he makes me feel special when we're together, like I was the most important person in the world."

"Your dad was the same way. Still is, in fact. As I told you, I was with a lot of boys before I met him and had a great time with them. But when he and I crossed paths, it was like I'd never met a real man before. I won't say it was love at first sight but it was close. We knew within a few weeks that we were destined for each other."

"That's exactly the way it happened with Cliff and me. We met at the Deer Park."

"Oh my goodness. The Deer Park is still there? I haven't thought about it in years."

"It is and the students still like it; we often meet there after class. Anyway, he took me to dinner one night and I was hooked. We talked almost every night for at least an hour the first several weeks and saw each other every few days. I just hope and pray that he will like the ranch and agree to move out here with me."

"Bob said that he wants to become a CPA."

"Yeah, do we need one of those?"

"We do use a CPA to help us with all the taxes and reports we must file with the government. All ranchers have to file more reports than ever and it's only getting worse. The EPA is after all of us for one reason or another. The Bureau of Land Management has their hooks in us and every time summer comes more people come looking for endangered species that they just know we must be hiding around here somewhere. The damn federal government sucks and it's getting worse."

"If he became an expert in ranch land regulatory issues as part of his CPA practice, it sounds like he would be useful around here," Julia said.

"I think so. There are not many lawyers here that can help so the next best thing would be a CPA. We'll see what your dad says but all the ranchers here have the same problems we do. Everyone despises the government and local politicians. I think they're all corrupt."

"Has dad said anything more about turning the ranch operations over to me?"

"Not since you were here in the summer. I think he's planning to talk with you and get the plans in place while you're here. He's probably going to work until he's at least 62. There's a lot to learn and he's going to expect you to be here most of the time. He and I also know how important art is to you so we'll need to talk through what you want to do."

Cliff and Bob walked in from the barn and stomped the snow off their boots in the mudroom.

"It's cold and windy out there. I think this snow is going to be with us for a while," Bob said.

Julia replied, "That's too bad. I was planning to take Rudy out and show Cliff a few of my favorite spots. We'll be here for a couple of weeks so we could still get to do it."

Her dad responded, "It'd be better to go out on the snowmobiles. If you two want to ride along, I need to go check the cattle sheds anyway. Clark and the boys went out early this morning and dropped hay but I want to check them again."

Cliff asked, "How many sheds do you have?"

"Six. The cattle are all in fenced lots now and each lot has a large run-in shed to give them some protection from the wind and cold. They can stay relatively warm as they all squeeze inside."

"How big are the lots?"

"The vary but probably average 200 acres each."

Julia explained, "Each of the sheds is actually like a large barn with a ten foot door on the end facing away from the prevailing wind. They will allow 300, more or less, to gather inside each one. We have thousands of bales of hay stored in the loft above the cattle and water flows through troughs for them all the time."

Cliff asked, "How do you keep the water from freezing?"

Bob replied, "It's pumped out of the ground so it's at 55 degrees. After it flows through the troughs, it's filtered and goes back into the ground to begin its cycle again."

"How do you get power to the water pump?"

"We have wind turbines at each shed with backup diesel generators. Today, the turbines should be supplying all the electricity we need but we'll check them when we go out."

Julia asked, "You still have about 2000 head?"

"We sold down to about 1200 for the winter. The new calves will take us up to over 2000 again by the time spring gets here."

"Sweetheart," Julia said to Cliff, "that's when we get busy around here. We used to brand all the new calves but we ear-tag them now and put a microchip under their skin like vets do with dogs and cats. The tags tell us who owns which cow or calf when they're grazing on open land.

"That also allows us to keep track of which ones have been vaccinated. We scan them with a hand-held device when they are in the chutes and that records all their history on the computer for us. The evolution of technology has helped ranching tremendously."

That afternoon, Julia and Cliff dressed for the bitter cold and walked with her dad to the equipment garage to prepare two snowmobiles for the run to the sheds. Each was checked for fuel, oil, a fully charged battery and the emergency pack containing a blanket, food packets, hand warmers and emergency flares. The cell phone signals were very spotty on the ranch, which made the emergency packs even more important in case of an accident or breakdown.

When everything was ready, Julia mounted her ride and Cliff straddled the seat behind her. The machines roared to life and they took off for a one-mile run to the first shed. Cliff took the opportunity afforded by his position to reach around Julia's coat to fondle her breasts through the several layers of clothing. She playfully smacked his hand when her daddy looked back to check on them.

The snowmobiles handled the ten inches of new powder with no problem and they arrived to find the shed full of Herefords. As they walked inside, the cattle moved away as much as they could and began mooing. Cliff was amazed at how warm it was with all their large bodies crammed in there together. The water was running as designed and the wind turbine was humming, generating sufficient clean energy. The three went into the loft and threw down bales of hay into the feed racks below. From their perch above the cattle, Bob and Julia looked over the herd to make sure all were standing and appeared healthy.

Cliff asked, "Do they stay inside all the time?"

"No. When the weather is better, they prefer to be outside. This heavy snow and bitter wind has encouraged them to move indoors. They all come in to feed when we arrive and drop hay. No doubt they heard us coming."

When they returned to the snowmobiles, Julia said, "Dad, why don't you head over to shed six, check it and number five and I'll take Cliff to sheds two and three. Then we'll meet up at number four and ride back in together."

"Sounds good, baby doll. Be careful."

Julia and Cliff headed to number two, about two miles away. They found the shed only about three quarters full of cattle but everything was fine. After throwing down hay, they headed to number three, another two miles out. After finding everything in good order, they again threw down hay. Just as they were finishing, Julia grabbed Cliff and threw him, playfully, into a pile of loose hay nearby. She jumped on him and squealed with laughter when he threw hay on her head.

After wrestling a few minutes, Julia unzipped his jeans and attacked his cock like a sex-starved woman. It was so cold that her breath was clearly visible and steam rose from his erection as it emerged from her deep throat.

"Let's do this quick before my butt freezes," said Julia. She peeled off her jeans and panties and quickly impaled herself on his hard cock as he lay in the hay. Without hesitation, Julia bounced up and down trying to stuff herself full of his warm manhood. Cliff tried to hold her coat around her bottom to keep it a little warm but it was a losing effort. It took a couple of minutes before Julia's orgasm finally warmed enough to tingle through her body. His warm jets shot up inside her as she bounced a few more times. She could feel it and smiled down at him before dismounting. Julia took the panties from her pocket and stuffed them into her vagina to keep the fluids from soaking her jeans. Cliff helped by giving her his handkerchief for additional absorption.

"Cliff, can you brush all the hay out of my crack and off my legs. It's going to itch like crazy if you don't." He had her bend over so he could see her crack and asshole in the diming light. He didn't see anything that shouldn't be there but pretended to brush debris off anyway just so he could play with her ass for a few seconds. Julia had a beautiful and very sexy bottom that he always enjoyed touching.

"Good to go. Let's get our clothes on and go meet your dad." In a few minutes, they were off on the snowmobile and headed two miles back to shed four. They had to wait several minutes for her dad to arrive so they checked the water, turbine and dropped hay while they waited. They finally heard his machine coming and were very surprised when he arrived with a new calf lying across his legs."

"Little fellow lost his dam. I found her outside the shed dead but still warm and he was lying up against her. Glad we came when we did. None of the calves are due for another couple of weeks so he was early."

"What do we do with him?" Cliff asked.

"We're going to take him home and feed him."

Julia added, "We have a dedicated warm stall for orphan calves in our barn next to the house. We have a couple every year. Now you get to feed a calf several times a day."

"Sounds like fun," Cliff replied.

Julia responded, "It is for a few days but it gets old. One of the first things we need to do is to castrate him. It's not nearly as painful to him now as it would be later."

"You going to do that?" asked Cliff.

"Yeah, I know how you men feel about castration so I'll do the job." Cliff frowned while Bob grinned.

The calf seemed bewildered when carried into the stall. It looked around and bawled, evidently for its dam. Julia turned the radiant overhead heater on and Cliff brought fresh hay for him to lie in. Bob brought a bottle of warm whole milk with a special nutrient added that vets recommend for situations like this. Julia worked and worked to get the young fellow to begin nursing the bottle. It took ten minutes or longer of patient effort but he finally realized what the rubber tip was for and then drained the bottle in less than five minutes.

"It'll be easier next time. Poor fellow, being dropped into the snow from a nice warm momma only to have her collapse and die before he could even nurse. Let me go ahead and get the rest of the pain behind him." She walked to get a small rope.

"Cliff, sit down near his head and hold it in your lap. Keep him from trying to stand."

"Can I scratch his neck?"

"Sure, he'd like that." Julia raised his top rear leg and restrained it with the rope. The calf resisted and tried to raise his head, as predicted. With her knee, she pressed its bottom rear leg to the ground. She quickly cleaned the area with alcohol. Using a sterilized razor-sharp knife, she sliced the scrotum neatly on the bottom before squeezing out the small testicles. An antibiotic salve was applied to the cut, which didn't bleed very much, and it was over. The calf hardly reacted to this life-changing operation but he didn't like that rope.

Julia sat next to the calf and rubbed its neck and shoulders. "You are such a handsome fellow," she told the calf. "Your dam would be so proud of you." Its huge bright eyes stared at her.

"How often do we need to feed him?"

"Every four to six hours or so during the day. We'll need to keep the stall clean and with fresh hay for his bedding. In a couple of days, he'll be waiting for us and will have no hesitation about going after the milk."

"I have a lot to learn about ranching."

"Yes, you do. But it sounds like you're willing to learn."

"I better if I'm going to marry you."

Julia stopped and looked hard at him. "That's the first time you've mentioned marriage."