The M 6 Ranch

Untitled Part 1

THE M 6 RANCH

BY: LAURA McFADIN

Chapter 1

It's another beautiful sunset, here in Texas. The sun is going down behind the mountains in the west. Laura is sitting on her porch after a long day at the small ranch. She is drinking a glass of white wine. This place was her dream. Unfortunately she achieved it after her husband died. The ranch house was built back in the 1900's. The main house has five bedrooms on the right of the stairs with a community bathroom. There are four rooms on the left with three sharing one bathroom and the other is our honeymoon suite has its own bathroom. The downstairs has a den for reading and games. The living room is for T.V. watching and just socializing. The dining room is large enough to serve fifty people. It has two long tables on each side of the room with benches in the middle and chairs on the outside. There is a side board on one wall closest to the kitchen, for the meals to be served. We are not formal around here the guest serve themselves or they don't eat. The kitchen is a large commercial kitchen with a cozy feel to it. All the hands eat there every morning. The maid's rooms are off the kitchen, and the most important room in the house is her quarters, Laura's sanctuary from the busy days on the ranch. It is down the hall at the end of the den toward the back of the house, where she has her own bathroom and terrace. There are two bunk houses that set off to the side of the house between the house and the corral. One is for the hands that live here, and other for the guest that really want to get back to the good old days of being on a ranch. The bunk house is one big room that holds twenty people comfortably. They have one bathroom to share. The big barn houses the horses that the guests ride. The small one houses all the other animals. The open land spreads out over 100 acres.

Laura's children are all grown up, and started their own lives. Three beautiful girls, she never knew three people with the same blood could be so different. The only thing those three have in common is stubbornness. Her oldest daughter Anne with her fiery red hair and a temper to go with it, it just takes it awhile to get it out. Anne has the bluest eyes you will ever see the color of the ocean in the summer sun. She was born three months early, with her momma's will and God's amazing grace on her side. (Just like the song) she loves it. She lives next door to the ranch with her husband Ronnie Strausser, and her beautiful granddaughter Nikki. Taura her middle daughter, she's the ornery one. She has her dad's attitude and temper and her momma's good looks. She has Laura's auburn hair and brown eyes that shows the devil and the angel, depending on which one she wants you to see at the time. She fought with her to stay in school, because all she seemed to do was fight in high school. Taking up for the underdog half the time, the fight wasn't even hers that she fought, but she calmed down when her dad died and realized fighting is not always the answer. Now she's in college, to be a nurse, with her baby sister Sarah. That one is the angel with a crooked halo. She would rather lie than tell the truth when she was little, trying to get out of trouble. Not realizing that the punishment wouldn't be as severe if she had told the truth, but she could draw you a house in a heartbeat. Laura was glad to see her become an architect. She has one handsome boy Ralph; He's in the middle of the girls, but thinks he's the oldest. When his dad died, He became the man of the house. Him with his six foot, blonde hair blue eyes. He has his dad bulk and his grandfather's height. He took the roll a little too serious. So it surprised us when he let his wife wear the pants in his family. Maybe he got tired of being the leader.

The night was winding down. The sun has finished its descent behind the Colorado Mountain's way in the distance. It's been a long day. The ranch is full, which is strange this time of year. Laura should feel pleased. Everything is running smoothly. No one has complained about anything. Then why does she feel so uneasy?