This is a work of fiction. All people are over 18. I would like to thank GrandTeton of his editing and guidance. This chapter is rewritten.
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James stood in the entrance way, staring at the letter in his hand. His red eyes gave way to the tears that he had tried to hold back for the weeks since his parents had died. He turned on his heel and headed to the dining room. He slumped into the closest chair and let loose the flood gates.
James jumped as a soft hand touched his shoulder. Turning his head he saw Claire, his oldest sister, standing behind him. Her sad smile and red puffy eyes looked back at him. He was 18 years old, with light brown hair, and blue eyes. She asked: "Well, what now?"
"Mr. Hardwick, our lawyer, said that we have to sell this house, but that we can keep the place in Montana."
"Montana? What place in Montana?"
"Not a clue. But at least we have some place to go."
Claire turned and sat in the chair next to him.
"How long do we have?"
"Two weeks. Then we have to be out."
"Fuck! That's not nearly long enough! We have so much to do. What are we going to do with everything?"
"I don't know. He said that we can do what we want with the furniture. The sale of the house should be enough to pay off the bills. And have a bit left over. If we are lucky."
"Cindy and Melody won't be happy about this."
"Nobody is going to be happy. But we all have to do what we can."
Claire got up and kissed his head, then wandered off. James left the letter on the table as he, too, retreated to his room. He sat down on the bed and looked around. 'Not much left to sell,' he thought to himself. He had already sold off a good bit of stuff just to be able to put food on the table and pay for utilities. He got up and decided to sort his clothes; he would need warmer things for the border state.
James was not sure how long he had been working when Melody came in and sat on his bed. She reached out and tugged his shirt, startling him.
"Sorry about that James. I read the letter and just can't seem to... Well, I just cannot believe that on top of everything, that we have to move in two weeks."
"I know, it just seems so surreal."
"Do you know where in Montana?"
"I didn't read quite that far."
"I did, and looked it up on mapquest."
"Well?"
"Fairly close to Saint Mary, on Road to the Sun; that's just off of Going-to-the-Sun Road."
"Where the fuck is that?"
"BFE!"
"Shiiiit!" James said shaking his head.
Melody stood up and walked over to James. She bent over and kissed his lips ever so lightly. She then left him to his work.
James spent a good bit of time in his room, then came downstairs in time to see Claire setting the table. She looked over at him and said: "Cindy is making dinner and should be done in a bit."
"Cool." He didn't realize that he was hungry till she said that. "Need any help, Cindy?"
"No James, I'm good. Be just a few," she yelled back.
James started to sit when the doorbell rang. Melody called out that she got it. Mr. Hardwick came into the dining room just a few seconds later.
Mr. Bartholomew K. Hardwick was an older man. He had known the Cromwell's for years, and the children all their lives. He was not what you would call a friend. He was a lawyer after all, and did what lawyers do.
He was mad with himself, and being so, a bit distracted. However, he was going to do his best for these kids. He owned them that much.
"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner."
"No problem, Mr. Hardwick," James said, offering him his hand. "What can we do for you?"
"Well, I have some paperwork that needs to be signed, and some keys."
Cindy came in with food and set it on the table. "What keys?"
"Well, they are for the property in Wyoming."
"Wyoming? I thought it was Montana?"
"Sorry, you are correct, my apologies," he chuckled.
"Oh Okay, kinda confused me there for a moment," James laughed.
Mr. Hardwick reached into his pocket and pulled out a fairly good sized key ring with lots of keys. Melody took them before James could even move, and started to look them over.
Mr. Hardwick then pulled an envelope from his breast pocket. Melody snagged that as well. He looked back at the keys and then the envelope. He only knew what the directions he had received said. "Give the envelope and keys to the children in the event of their parents' deaths."
"That's the directions and the information that you will need for the utilities, schools, government offices and others."
"Sweet!" Claire squeaked. "I do have a question though."
"Yes?"
"Can we sell the place in Montana and keep our home?"
"The ranch is protected from sale under a condition from the Department of Indian Affairs. It can only be passed on to family members."
Mr. Hardwick then opened his briefcase and pulled out more paperwork. He flipped through the pages until he found the ones that needed signatures.
"This paperwork signs the ranch over to you folks. I need all four of your signatures next to the yellow tabs." He handed them a pen.
"Mr. Hardwick? What about the sale of the house?" Claire asked.
" Well... I believe we can get a good price. It should pay off all your parents' debts, with some left over for yourselves, if we are lucky. I will have an estate agent list it, but it may take a while to sell."
"What's going on with the investments?" Melody asked.
"Well, as you know, your trust funds will pay out on each of your 21st birthdays. I know they won't be a lot, since your parents started them with only fifty dollars. And they could only afford that and sometimes less every month. The stocks, well... some were bogus. Make believe. I'm afraid those are a bust with no chance to recover the monies. Some I have transferred into your names already; however, those will take time to sell. I am still working on the rest; I'm not sure how long that will take. The sale of the stocks will not be enough to pay off the bills either, I'm sorry."
Claire then asked about his family and made more small talk. After turning down an invitation to dinner, he left.
The siblings ate and had cleaned up the dishes before they all decided to watch tv. James sat down in the middle of the couch. Claire plopped down on his right and Melody on his left. Cindy sat on the floor in front of him and leaned back between his legs.
While they sat there, Melody curled up around his arm. As he looked at the top of her head, Claire laid her head in his lap. Cindy slid down his leg and used his foot as her pillow. James was stuck, and unable to move, quickly became uncomfortable. He sucked it up and just let them pin him in. He must have been tired since he fell asleep sometime after the news started.
James awoke to the sight of Melody's ass in his face. Pushing himself up, he noticed that all of them were out cold in a ball on the couch. He didn't want to move but needed to use the bathroom. Extracting himself without waking them was no easy task. He failed miserably by waking everyone. They all filed into the bathrooms and were soon off to their own rooms. Sometime during the night James ended up with all three of his sisters sleeping in his bed. He laid precariously on the edge. He found all this out when he fell to the floor.
"James, are you alright?" Cindy inquired.
"Yeah," he said, rubbing his hip. Standing up, he looked at the time. 7:15 a.m. Looking back at the bed, James noticed just how beautiful his sisters actually were.
Claire was 20, hard to say what color hair she had. It resembles brunette, but she has some natural blonde, auburn and black. She never dyed it. It was just all natural. She was a bit shorter than James' 5'10". So, maybe 5'8ish. And maybe 119 lbs. Powder blue eyes to die for.'Oh my god' he loved her eyes. She had maybe a C cup and a firm bottom. She laid on the right side of the bed.
Cindy was in the middle, Melody was on the right. They were 19 years old, twins, and yes, they were identical. Except for their eyes. Cindy has a blue eye on her left, whereas Melody has a blue on her right. Cindy's right eye is brown and Melody has a green on her left. Both have blonde hair and are 5'6. James was not really sure of anybody's weight, but thought that if they were soaking wet, about 100lbs. Both were B cup size. Cindy was lying on her side and Melody was on her stomach.