Meredith and Nessie took us on a small tour of Molly's uncle's home. It was far more plain then I had thought. Being in what I had referred to as the Old West as a kid, I expected the building to filled with the stuffed heads of animals shot in the area... bison, called buffalo by many, pronghorn, white-tail deer, mule deer, elk, moose, maybe even bighorn sheep and rocky mountain goats if Molly's uncle took long hunting trips... but none of that was there. Things looked well, but it was all rather plain in comparison to what I had expected.
"So where is Uncle Frank?" Molly asked.
"Right now?" Nessie answered, "workin' the ranch... we'd actually be helpin' him right now, but we were told to wait for Molly."
"You needn't have done anything so special for me," Molly told them.
"Your family owns a ranch?" I asked curiously.
"Oh for heavens no," Meredeth answered, "dad spent about every cent he had just to buy the plot of land we're on now and have everything hooked up to use indoor plumbing. Getting good land is next to impossible unless you're going in with a fortune, already."
"I don't understand," I commented, "there's so much land ou here... surely some of it can be sold cheaply."
"That depends on the land, city boy," Nessie teased, "Dad works on the ranch of a Mr. Beauregard, and it is the largest ranch in the area, but there are a lot of other ranchers that are out here two, and some nut fro California has bought a piece of the highlands that he's turning into a vineyard of all things."
"But it's the ranchers that are the key," Meredeth picked up, "now, the town isn't expanding that quickly, so there isn't that much in the way of home construction in town and out of town, it's up to the ranchers. There are few water sources and little rain. So, while you might be able to buy land from them cheaply, it's going to be as far from water a possible, making the property worthless. If you want anything in the mountains or near water sources, you need to make it profitable for the rancher to give up ranching, or you merely rent the land and the rancher is able to do what he pleases on the land, including running cattle through the front lawn."
"That sound awfully greedy," I commented.
"It may seem that way, but if the ranchers don't turn a profit every year," Meredeth answered, "Columbia Falls would decline pretty quickly. Just as I'd imagine that New York would fall if you took all the stock-brokers away."
We finished the tour by returning to the kitchen.
"Can we get you two something to snack on?" Nessie asked, "a granola bar or something?"
"I'm not hungry now," I answered, "although, I'll ask how much eat you have on hand..."
++++++++++++++++++
"You think I'm a nut?" Dave asked in a surprised voice.
"They thought you're nuts," I answered, "I didn't know you then..."
"Though we're getting closer to when we met," Dave commented.
"Yes, but we're not there yet," I told him.
"So what came next was the repetition of Molly's dietary requirements," Dave commented, "how did they handle that?"
"About as well as can be expected," I sighed, "though Nessie said she had to run into town after we had finished explaining.
+++++++++++++++++++++
While Nessie went out to do her errand, Molly and I worked to unload our stuff for the next couple of days. It wasn't too much and Meredeth was willing to help with what we couldn't carry.
"I trust your boyfriend is a gentleman," Meredeth commented, "as you saw earlier, we only have one bed."
"George has been the perfect boyfriend since all of this started, and that is why he is MINE," Molly answered.
"Easy, I said before that I'm not out to steal anyone," Meredeth answered.
"We're also planning on moving in together once we have a place to move into," Molly added.
"So you're already knocking boots as it were," Meredeth chuckled.
"I don't own boots," I told her.
"I can't wear boots," Molly added.
"Doing "it", city-folk," Meredeth teased.
"No," I said quickly, "we haven't gotten that far."
"Out here, people that move in together have already done it, probably several times," Meredeth answered.
"Isn't everyone supposed to be more... "moral" out here?" I asked sarcastically, "all the news people say that this area preaches all the no sex before marriage and all that."
"My dad has found that a lot of the people out here talk more then they actually do," Meredeth commented, "and that they'll support things that aren't that moral and will go on endlessly justifying the act."
There was a silence for a moment.
"But this really is a grand place to live," Meredeth commented, "and come fall, if you buy the proper tags, Molly can go hunting anywhere she can get permission."
Meredeth then turned to Molly, "though I trust you have some clothes stronger then these silk dresses. You wouldn't want to destroy them."
"Most other styles of clothing restrict my movement too much, and many of the stronger materials are too insulating for me," Molly admitted.
"Insulating?" Meredeth asked.
"I overheat in them," Molly explained slowly.
Meredeth turned away and gave a sort of grunt. I didn't understand that then, but it wouldn't take too long to learn.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It was evening when the next major change in action occurred. We had all settled down to dinner with Meredeth, Nessie, and I splitting a steak while Molly had two large steaks in front of her. And the action was her Uncle's return.
"Well how are all my girls?" a male voice asked as he approached the dinning, "two daughters and..."
I turned to see a very fit man approaching the table.
"Excuse me, sir, I don't know you," the man spoke.
"George Wayne," I answered, "Molly's boyfriend. I drove her here as modern cars are not built for her height."
"Very kind of you," the man answered, "I'm Frank Rhoer, Molly's uncle... and... Molly..."
Molly swallowed the piece of meat she had been "chewing" on.
"Hi, Uncle Frank," Molly said weakly.
"I saw the report on the news, but... this... this is still shocking."
"I'm still me, Uncle Frank," Molly answered, "and George has been very good to me."
"That is good to hear," Frank Rhoer said slowly, "although, I don't know if Mr. Beauregard has a place for him in addition to yours."
"What?" Molly protested, "I came here because of a teachers aid position, not a ranching position. I don't know anything about ranching."
"Didn't..." Frank Rhoer spoke.
"I can explain," Meredeth said slowly.