February, 1979

Ralph Jennings watched as Suzanna’s coffin was lowered into the ground of the cemetery behind the main house of the Double M Ranch. In this small plot of land lay the ghosts of the Double M. Janet, Mike and Maggie Mallon rested here. The empty grave of Austin Mallon was nestled in the same area. Katie and Steve Kendricks rested beside Ralph’s parents, Nevada and Marion Jennings. Also here were Suzanna’s first husband, Clay Parkhurst, and Ralph’s first wife, Barbara.

There were people from the Double M who rested elsewhere. Even so, their ghosts haunted the ranch. Austin Mallon, his wife, Ruth, and their son, John’s graves were on the Indian reservation high in the mountains, Mallon Kendricks, as well as his sons, were in Chicago and Kenny Parkhurst lay in a field in France that had been transformed into a beautifully peaceful cemetery. Mallon, Austin and Kenny had all been born on the ranch, but had followed a different path that led them all far from the Double M. Their deaths had been a loss, but life had gone on.

A cold wind blew over the crest of the hill causing all of Suzanna’s family and friends to shiver.

“In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.”

The final words of the minister sent the mourners to the warmth and security of the ranch house. As the people left, Ralph stayed. He wanted a few more minutes with his beloved Suzanna. She had lived a long life. Anyone who reached the age of ninety deserved their eternal rest. As for Ralph, he had shared twenty of those years with her and now as he approached his eighty-first birthday, he too was getting tired.

This ranch and the land will survive. I’m with Clay, Kenny, Ma, Pa, Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma Janet and Uncle Austin. Even Barbara was here to greet me. They assured me that the Double M will continue to prosper. When the time comes, JP will lead the ranch into the twenty-first century. As for me, I’m waiting for you to join me. Just don’t wish your life away. Every minute you have with those who love you is precious.

“Good-bye, Suzanna. Sleep well. If Bob is right it won’t be long before I’m by your side again.”

After throwing a clump of dirt into the grave, he turned and started down the hill when a sharp pain radiated through his chest and down his left arm. The joys and sorrows of his life flashed before his eyes just as the darkness of death claimed him.

In the blink of an eye, he stood with Suzanna, Clay and Barbara, looking down on their beloved Double M. Looking further, he saw all the other ghosts who watched over the acres around Corbit, Montana that they had built from nothing over the past one hundred and ten years.

* * * *

“Where’s Grandpa?” JP Jennings asked his father.

“Come to think of it, he hasn’t come down from the cemetery. He’s taking this pretty hard.”

JP nodded. “I’ll go up and bring him back to the house. There are several people here who want to see him.”

“I’ll come with you,” Luke Johansson said. “I could use a cigarette.”

JP agreed. Luke was his brother-in-law, his sister’s second husband, and JP’s best friend. He was the one JP would lean on now that his grandmother was gone. He needed to be strong for his grandfather, but there was no one other than Luke to be strong for him. His father would be comforting his mother and his Uncle Jeff would be lost in his own sorrow. Luke would be there for JP’s sister Kenlyn as well as for him.

“I can’t believe your grandpa is still up on that hill,” Luke said when they stepped outside into the cold wind that blew against the porch.

JP took a cigarette from the pack Luke held out to him. “You haven’t lived here long enough to understand the pull of that old cemetery. The first people buried there were my great-great-grandma Janet, the empty grave of her son Austin, and one of the cowhands.”

“Kenny told me that story. I would have liked to have seen the looks on everyone’s faces when Austin returned from the dead fifteen years later.”

JP nodded. He’d often wished he could have been there himself. Of all the stories of the ghosts of the Double M, the one about Katie and Austin coming home during the same week was his favorite. They were almost at the top of the hill when he saw something that disturbed him.

“Grandpa!” he shouted as he ran the last few yards to where Ralph lay face down in the snow. When he reached his grandpa, he knelt beside his body.

“Is he…” Luke’s words were cut short by the expression JP knew was on his face.
“He’s dead. I can’t get a pulse. I knew he wanted to be with Grandma. I just didn’t expect it to be this soon. Help me get him back to the house.”

Between JP and Luke, they lifted Ralph’s body from the snow-covered ground and started down the hill. More than anything, JP wanted to cry. The hurt of losing both of his grandparents was almost more than he could stand. All his life if he’d needed comfort, he could run to Grandma Suzanna or Grandpa Ralph. Now they had both joined the ghosts of the Double M.

* * * *

Prentice Jennings watched his son and son-in-law leave the house. “Where are those two going?” Prentice’s brother Jim asked.

“Pa hasn’t come down from the cemetery yet. JP said he’d go up there and remind him that there are people waiting for him here at the house.”

Jim nodded. “If I know Pa, he’s up there coming to grips with losing Suzanna. He may be Nevada’s son, but at times he acts like Mike Mallon. We’ve all heard the stories about how he went up to Janet’s grave for thirteen years before he came to his senses. I sure hope Pa doesn’t take that long.”

Before Prentice could respond, JP called from the porch, “Pa, Uncle Jim, get out here!”

Prentice and Jim turned and hurried to the door. As soon as they opened it, Prentice saw the boys carrying Ralph’s lifeless body.

“Bring him in so Doc can take care of him.”

“He’s gone, Pa,” JP explained. The words cut like a knife.

“I shouldn’t have left him up there,” Prentice said, as the two young men placed Ralph’s body on the sofa. “If I’d been with him, this wouldn’t have happened. He wouldn’t have died alone.”

“It wouldn’t have made any difference,” Bob Warren said. “I’m sure it was his heart. He was in my office last week and I told him to slow down. It’s possible he was dead before he ever hit the ground. To be truthful, I didn’t expect him to outlive Suzanna by much. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

“But if I’d been with him…” Prentice began.

“Doc’s right, Prentice,” Jim interrupted. “Pa told me that he didn’t know if he could survive without Suzanna. He sounded like he did when Ma died; only then he had Suzanna to help him get through it. There would never have been another Suzanna for Pa. They’re all together now, Suzanna, Pa, Ma and Clay. It’s nothing either of us could have prevented.”

Prentice knew his brother was right, but that didn’t make losing his father any easier.
With his father’s death, he and Janet would become the older generation. Even though he was a grandfather, he certainly didn’t want to admit to being old.

“What does this mean for the corporation, Jim?” Janet’s brother Jeff asked. “With Ma and Ralph both gone, will the corporation be all right?”

Prentice wondered the same thing. It wasn’t that long ago when Suzanna had insisted that K-Chemical, Colliers Industries and the Double M should all become one corporation with the shares divided up among the family members, both the Parkhursts and the Jennings.

“There won’t be a problem, trust me. I wrote the incorporation papers as well as Pa and Suzanna’s wills. This isn’t the time or the place to discuss all of this. We’ll get together in a couple of days, after we all come to grips with this. For now, we need to plan Pa’s funeral.”

* * * *

JP felt as though he was living in a daze. Two days after Grandma Suzanna was laid to rest, his Grandpa Ralph’s body was interred in the small cemetery at the crest of the hill.

The morning after his grandfather’s funeral, the entire family was again assembled in the main ranch house of the Double M. It was just after one when his Uncle Jim arrived for the reading of the wills for both of his grandparents.

“Had it not been for Pa’s death, we would have read Suzanne’s will the morning after her funeral. Before we read the will, I have been instructed to read this letter from both Pa and Suzanna.”

He reached into the breast pocket of his suit coat and pulled out an envelope. JP, like everyone else in the room, held his breath in anticipation of hearing the last wishes of his grandparents.

“To my dear family. As you all know, I am no longer young. I will be ninety years old in this year of 1979. I’ve had a long and wonderful life. During this life, I have seen many changes from the telephone to the airplane and now men are going into space and walking on the moon. What I am getting at is that my time on this earth is coming to an end. Soon I will rest in the cemetery on the hill and the younger generation will be taking over what this family has built up. I pray you will use your inheritance wisely and that each of you will understand the decisions I have made concerning not only my money but also the stock we own in the corporation. I love you all and will never be any further away from you than your memories of me.”

Jim stopped for a moment to clear his throat and turn to the next page of the document. “This is Susanna’s will. I have several bequeaths I want to make. To Joe Koslowski, and Bob Warren, the dear friends who helped Jeff through the horrors of living on that island, I leave thirty thousand dollars. I also leave that amount to the church and the hospital. To each of my grandchildren, I leave sixty thousand dollars to be held in trust for my great-grandchildren. By the time they are old enough to go to college, they should each have a sizable nest egg if these funds are invested wisely. I also leave sixty thousand dollars to my former daughter-in-law, Carol Janish, and to Buck. You have both been very important in all of our lives here at the Double M. In addition I leave fifty thousand dollars to be used for scholarships for the young people of this community. My grandchildren, JP and Kenlyn, will administer these scholarships and the firm Kenlyn works for will invest the money.”

JP couldn’t help but notice the look of surprise on his sister’s face. It certainly matched his own. Several years ago he wouldn’t have trusted Kenlyn with such a responsibility. So much had changed in the past eleven years. She had learned some hard lessons. Now she had returned to Corbit and had a prestigious job, a husband who loved her dearly and a son who promised to be as adept at running the dairy operation on the Double M, as was his stepfather, Luke.

Jim cleared his throat before continuing. “This brings us to the bulk of the estate. The monetary assets are to be divided equally between Janet and Jeff. The stock is to be divided three ways between JP, Kenlyn and my grandniece, Anne. You all have an interest in the empire my great-grandfather Mike began on this land. It is the three of you who will bring the Double M, K-Chemical and Collier Industries into the twenty-first century. As I have always said, the future belongs to the young. I pray my own children will understand my reasoning.”

The hush in the room was almost overwhelming. It was Jeff who found his voice first. “Ma’s right. I’m going to be sixty-seven this year. It’s time for me to enjoy life. I certainly don’t want more stock to manage.”

“I agree,” Janet commented. “Prentice and I have been talking about retiring in a few years. The ranch is JP and Luke’s love. I’m seriously considering more travel in my future than more work.”

JP breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid his mother would feel slighted by Susanna’s will. By receiving money rather than stock, she would be able to take all the trips she so longed to go on.

“That brings us to Pa’s will. Since I am mentioned in it, I asked my partner to be the witness since it is also in the form of a letter.”

JP could feel the tension in the room begin to rise. Will my grandfather’s will mirror the one we just heard read?

“Maybe it’s best if I read this one,” Bob Warren suggested.

The relief on Jim’s face was evident.

“My dear family,” Bob began. “As you all know, I came by the name of Jennings when I entered this world as Sarah’s bastard son. By the grace of God, Nevada and Marion chose me to be their son and carry on the name of Jennings. As such, I named my sons after my father who began his life as James Prentice. Forgive me for my reminiscences, but it is important that the history of our family not be lost.”

JP could almost hear his grandfather’s voice telling him the same story when he was younger than Kenlyn’s son, Lance.

“As Suzanna said in her will, the future belongs to the young. Therefore, I leave sixty thousand dollars to each of my grandchildren to be held in trust for the education of their children. I also leave fifty thousand dollars to be added to the funds from Suzanna for the scholarships to be given as a gift to this community. In like manner, I leave thirty thousand dollars to the hospital as well as the church where my father and mother were charter members.

“As for the bulk of my estate, I, like Suzanna, leave my monetary assets to be equally divided between my sons, James and Prentice. My shares in the corporation are to be divided between JP, Kenlyn, Jackson and Amanda.”

JP did a mental calculation of the amount of shares he and Kenlyn now owned. Together, they had a controlling interest in the Double M, K Chemical and Collier Industries. In the past few minutes, he’d become an extremely wealthy young man and Kenlyn’s net worth had also skyrocketed.

As he thought about the two wills, JP remembered a conversation he’d had with his grandfather when he returned to the Double M from Vietnam. It was then he’d been told that both of his grandparents were wealthy in their own right. Even after they married, they had kept their finances separate, splitting household expenses equally.

It hadn’t been until he moved into the ranch house that he’d been privy to the extent of his grandparents’ wealth. The amount of money left to his parents and his uncles meant that none of them would have to work for the rest of their lives.

“About the ranch house,” Prentice said, dissolving JP’s inner thoughts. “Jeff and I have been talking about it and we think JP should have it. He’s lived here with Suzanna and Pa since he got back from Vietnam. If he’s going to take over the running of the ranch, this house should belong to him.”

JP was flabbergasted. It was all happening too quickly. He had gone from being Ralph and Susanna’s grandson who lived in their house to help them with the day-to-day things they could no longer manage, to having this house that was so filled with history, as his own.

“I think this calls for a celebration,” Jim proclaimed. “It seems there’s a well-stocked wine cellar downstairs. I think it’s appropriate to open some of that fine wine Clint Jacobson’s family sends to Suzanna and Pa every year.”

JP agreed. He’d heard several stories about the man who wanted to marry his grandmother and had lost her to his natural grandfather. Clint Jacobson had left Corbit a very shallow man. He, like JP’s Uncle Jeff, had been reported killed in battle, but returned years later completely changed. The story was that the family had thought he’d come back to claim Suzanna as his own. In reality, he’d brought his family to Corbit to see where he’d grown from child to man. He had been the one who had found Kenneth Parkhurst’s grave in France and who kept the Double M supplied with fine French wines.

When Luke and Kenlyn returned, they brought four bottles of the fine wine they had always enjoyed at family gatherings. With the wine poured, everyone in attendance raised their glasses in salute to Suzanna and Ralph.