Thor's Child ©

by K Pelle

Chapter 19

It wasn't long after all the hockey players and the two coaches had left that Tor and his dad went to the barnyard to do the evening chores.  After those were done, they went inside to eat a light supper with the family.  Then because she was starting her first late night shift at the hospital at midnight that night, Alva went to bed to see if she could get some rest.  Tor and Dori decided to sit out on the porch where they could relax and talk while having their after supper coffee, but not long afterward Tor's parents came out to join them. 

"We were just talking to your Aunt Hanna, Tor, and they'll need you to be in town at the lawyer's office tomorrow morning at eleven in the morning to sign some papers." Tor's mom said quietly.

"Oh, what's that about?"

"Well, it seems that you made some money on the equity you had invested in their mountain valley hideaway as well as getting an equivalent share in a small ranch in the Cascade Range."

"What?  How the heck do they figure that?" Tor sat bolt upright and stared at his mom in astonishment.

"I'm not just sure, but from what Hanna said, you put some of your money into the pot when they bought the lease that came with that hidden valley property.  They simply prorated your investment on an equivalent basis when they made the trade for the new place."

"I only loaned Uncle Nils a few hundred bucks to settle the costs of the lease on that place.  I know it was less than a thousand dollars at the very outside because afterward I still had a couple of grand in my bank account." Tor frowned.  "I didn't invest in the homestead though, all Uncle Nils got from me was part of the money needed to cover the legal cost of swapping the lease from the Metis family's name into our family name.  Uncle Nils was going to pay that back, but I guess he forgot and I didn't need the money right then, so I didn't bother him about it."

"That explains it." Tor's dad chuckled.  "Hanna and Nils sold the homestead to that rich Hollywood guy for cash, then they traded the lease for the ranch and they must have got some money to boot on that.  In other words they got back their investment on the homestead and the lease, while you got back your portion of the investment in the lease and some return for the work you did on the homestead."

"But . . . that just doesn't make sense." Tor protested.  "That lease was just a formality, an agreement with the government and the local natives, which was only meant to protect the place. As far as I recall it was simply a way to protect the feral horses and the wild animals in the area. We only agreed to it in order to make sure there was no chance it would be developed by someone else.  In fact all we were allowed to do in that area was some work on developing and maintaining the access trails.  As far as the work on the log cabin or the homestead was concerned, I was there on holiday and just helping out, so I don't think I should be paid for that."

"Tor, your name was on the lease, so you legally owned part of something that someone else wanted and that other person was willing to pay for what you had.  It was a seller's market, so Hanna and Nils asked a high price and had an affluent buyer who was willing to match their demands.  That's how business works, buy low and sell high, if you can."

"So they're saying I bought a share of a lease on an out-of-the-way place that nobody wanted, we held onto it for a couple of years and now they've traded it for a ranch?" 

"Oh, I doubt if the ranch is very valuable," his dad chuckled.  "If you remember, Nils said the ranch was run down and the road is rough enough that you need a Jeep to get to it, so I doubt if it's worth a lot of money."

"Actually it might be in worse shape than this place was when you first saw it, but you sure cleaned this place up in a couple of weeks," his mom grinned at him.  "The only difference is that this time you'll be doing the work for yourself, not your whole family and every drop of sweat you put into it will be an investment in your future."

"Oh great, just what I need, another heavy duty project," Tor sighed heavily.

"Hey, you know darn well your aunt and uncle will be involved in cleaning up the new place as well and there's no time limit on the job, not like there was when we came out here," Tor's dad said quietly.  "Besides, there are five weeks of summer left before you start school, but we aren't going to let Nils keep you there for the whole summer."

"Well, right now I'm going to go for a walk so I can think about the whole deal.  Do you want to come along with me, Dori?" Tor asked as he got to his feet.

"Sure, why not?"

"Just make sure you're quiet when you come inside afterward.  Alva is going to need all the rest she can get, since she has to be up and around in time to be to work at midnight," Tor's mom reminded them.

"Okay, Mom.  We'll be quiet as church mice when we come inside," Tor answered over his shoulder, then he and Dori walked off, hand in hand.

"Tor, would you mind explaining why you seem to be upset about the deal?" Dori asked silently.

"I'm not really upset, so much as flustered.  When Uncle Nils, Aunt Hanna and I first went up to that valley over on Vancouver Island and worked on their cabin, they both seemed to be so happy to have the place.  I liked it too, because it was wild and isolated.  I don't know just what it was, but I felt so free there, almost as if we were homesteading or something, but there were no pressures.  We were just there on a holiday.  Now though, I guess we own a ranch which is going to be making money, or at least it should be making money and that's a different kettle of fish."

"So if I understand you, you're looking on this new place as another job, not a holiday?"

"Sort of, but I really don't know what to think," Tor sighed.  "Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna already have a horse ranch and Mom and Dad have this place, which is already a money maker.  Both of them are a lot of work, so none of the older folks are going to be able to put a lot of time into a new place.  Both my cousins and my brothers are intent on getting educations that will take them away from the farm.  Well, Dag is going to be a veterinarian, but he's the closest to being a farmer or rancher of any of them.  Björn wants to work with mainframe computers and Kai is interested in sports medicine or something in that line, while his brother, Arne, is training to get into mineralogy.  Meanwhile Alva is interested in nursing and I've found I really like coaching."

"But Alva said you were thinking of raising horses at one time, weren't you?"

"At one time I was, then I got hurt and found out that I liked sitting on the bench, coaching others much more than I like playing hockey," Tor sighed heavily.  "Perhaps playing in goal will make a difference, because although I love skating fast, making plays and scoring goals, I detest the fights I always end up being involved in.  I just don't like the idea of hurting others, mostly because I know how much I dislike being hurt when I get hit."

"Then why do you hit guys so hard when you do get into a fight?"

"That's actually a way to stop others from hitting me.  If I clout one guy the rest of them seem to back off and I'm able to play the game cleaner than if I didn't clobber the first guy to hit me," Tor snorted.  "It's like an insurance policy, once I've paid the premium I can usually reap the benefits for a while."

"I see, and that explains why you have more fights at the start of last season than toward the end."

"Yeah, at least  until the playoffs, when we were playing against teams we'd never played before, then each team had at least one enforcer who wanted to see if he was tougher than me."

"Well, I saw a couple of those playoff games," Dori giggled.  "I was scarcely able to believe my eyes when the guy I knew around school as a gentle giant turned into an absolute savage when someone took a swing at him.  You never seemed to be the guy who started the fights, but you sure put a stop to them in a hurry."

"Well, it's like I said, I don't like getting hurt, so I give back a little more than I get.  The tough guys on the other team always start the fight, but I do my best to finish it in a hurry.  It's just common sense." Tor shrugged his shoulders.  "I may get a two minute penalty for fighting, but they get a two minute penalty for fighting and then the ref adds on an additional penalty for starting the fight."

"Yeah and when you're in the penalty box Kevin goes crazy on the penalty kill.  Then if he hasn't scored while you're in the penalty box, it's almost a guarantee that one of the two of you will score once you do get back on the ice."

"Unh huh, it's called making them pay." Tor shrugged.  "But talking about hockey isn't helping me a bit about what to do concerning the idea that I'm  being drawn into owning a run down ranch, which is the worry I set out to solve."

"Well, I can't really see your problem since in many ways it fits right in with coaching or playing hockey.  If it was me, I'd hire someone to run the ranch and pay him a small wage, but I'd make sure he earned a percentage of the profits as well -- that way the more money he makes, the more money you make.  The only thing you'd have to do would be to make sure the people you hired were honest, and since you can read minds, that isn't a major problem."

"You know, that isn't a bad idea.  The only problem might be getting Uncle Nils to go along with it, because I'm sure he'll want to get heavily involved.  Of course if he doesn't want to be involved that could be even worse, because I'd have to carry the load and that would take a lot of my time."

"So explain what you want to do with your life to him and your whole family, but especially to your father and your uncle.  After all, you're still in school and you do have your own life to live.  You could consider this to be something like your 'insurance policy' on the hockey rink and be willing to strike back in your own interest for the future," she snapped.  "Now by striking back, I don't mean that you need to offend your family, but make your feelings known, just so they don't  push you into accepting a decision you don't like in any way.  I don't think they mean to jump the gun and make decisions that affect you, but not all fifteen-year-old boys are as mature or as thoughtful as you are either.  So if I were you, I'd make it plain that I'd want to be fully involved in any decisions concerning my future from now on."

"Yeah, you might be right and there do seem to be a few times that they don't take who I am or what I've already done into account.  Most of the time my folks are very good though and of course I don't want to have to try to explain about why I act the way I do either, so I have to be darn careful of what I say or do all the time.  This thing with Uncle Nils is upsetting, but I know he means well and didn't mean to 'P' me off by getting me involved.  It's just that I feel like he's involving me in something without my permission and that the whole thing was done behind my back, which annoys me.  I knew my name was on the lease up at Wild Horse Valley, but I thought it was just a formality, not some sort of legal commitment.  Now I find he's involved me in another deal without my permission," Tor kicked a small stone that lay beside the road in annoyance and was astonished to see it suddenly stop in midair, then drop to the ground. 

"Hey, did you do that?" Tor stared at her.

"Unh huh." Dori giggled.  "Only I guess I 'pushed' it the wrong way, because it was supposed to come back to you so you could kick it again."

"Well, it was moving, so you probably just stopped it, then it fell.  Why not try to pick it up and bring it back?"

She had almost no trouble doing that, but it skidded along the ground for the last foot or two before stopping in front of Tor.  She had no trouble flipping the stone out of his way when he tried to kick it again though.

"Smartass!" he snapped, then jerked his head back as she suddenly picked a dandelion flower and brought it right in front of his nose.

"I've been working at doing that for days," she giggled.  "Now someone promised me that he'd help me do other things when I could show him I could pick dandelions. I think it's time to pay up."

"Well, all right, but it looks like there are rain clouds coming in, so let's go up to the old barn.  We'll be out of the weather and even better, no one can see what we're doing."

"Oh really?  Are you gonna take me to the barn to roll me in the hay?" she teased, as she grabbed one of his hands, then bumped her hip against his."

"Hey, I thought we agreed not to get involved that way for now?"

"That was before I slept in the same bed with you and found out how good you cuddle," she giggled.  "Besides, I don't think your mom and Alva believed me when I told them how innocent my sleeping in the same bed with you really was, yet they didn't seem to mind."

Tor frowned at that, then sighed heavily.  "Dori, it's just too soon for us to go there.  I'm sorry if you don't agree, but I'd like to know you even better than I do before we get involved that way."

Dori was quiet for a few minutes after that, in fact they were inside the nearly empty barn before she spoke.  "I know you're going through a lot of changes right now, but so am I and I was just thinking that having sex might help both of us.  Only after thinking about it, I guess it would just add more pressures, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm afraid it would and on top of everything else, it might be just too much for me to handle.  It just seems as if every time I turn around something else in my life is changing and I'd like to have one or two things that I can count on being stable.  In the last month my best buddy has moved away, my family has been through a feud, I've been given a car, I've met you and your family, then my brother and I had a disagreement and I lost my cool.  That temper tantrum means the pressures are getting to me and although I've handled those things, I'm starting to feel even more pressure since the changes keep right on coming.

"Heck, just in the last day I've had a bunch of major alterations in my life.  First off I woke up in bed with a gorgeous nude woman.  Then it seems my father is going to be my hockey coach, while I'm going to have to learn to be a decent goalie.  Next, it seems I've suddenly become part owner of a working ranch.  Now to top it off, you want to start having sex," Tor glanced at the clouds.  "Dang those clouds are moving fast.  We'll never make it to the barn without getting wet unless we run."

They raced up to the old barn and barely ducked inside before the rain started, so Tor flopped back to sit on a bale of hay, then spread his hands palm up and shoulder high in a questioning gesture and asked; "What's next?"

"Well, to go back to what we were talking about, how about I start off by backing off on the idea of having sex, at least until you get your feet on solid ground," Dori sighed.  "Only I'm going to want to have the kisses and cuddles continue, because I still want to be your girlfriend."

"Okay, I agree," Tor smiled and held out his arms.

Dori's face instantly lit into a wide smile, then she seemed to levitate into his arms and onto his lap and an instant later their lips met in a tender kiss.  That kiss didn't have much chance to develop though, because simultaneously there was a crack of thunder so loud that it shook the old barn.  They had scarcely had time to leap to their feet before the electric lights in the barn died and they were left in pitch black darkness.  Then they were being covered in falling dust that had been shaken from the rafters, so Tor grabbed Dori and tried to shield them both, but for some reason she pulled back and stared at him in surprise.  That's when he realized that the darkness wasn't complete.  Both of them seemed to be fully surrounded by a hazy nimbus of light, a gentle blue tinged illumination that gradually faded away a short distance from their body's.

"What the heck is going on?  Where did the light around your body come from?" Dori demanded silently.

"As loud as that thunder was, lightning must have hit right close by, so the shock must have made some changes and additions to my talents," Tor managed a weak chuckle.  "It looks like I'm not the only one who is going through some changes now though, because in case you haven't noticed, you're surrounded by light too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'd say the lightning just short circuited something and brought out some more of your talents as well," he chuckled again.  "Look down at the floor, past your feet."

Dori had been floating about two feet in the air, but as soon as she looked down, she squawked loudly, then dropped.  She barely managed to keep her balance when she landed.

"Crap, what happened?" she asked in a loud voice.  "I've never tried to do that and I sure didn't mean to start levitating right now."

"Oop, hold it a minute, please.  I think I hear the dinner bell.  That would be Mom or Dad wondering if we're okay," Tor turned and held his hand out in front of him so he wouldn't run into anythig, then turned toward the door of the barn. 

He was surprised to find that his palm was emitting light now, but the rest of his body wasn't. Since the light only came from the palm of his hand he could use it to guide his way across the floor, just as long as he kept his palm turned away from his face.

Dori could only stare as all the light around Tor's body faded, except for the light that emanated from the palm of his hand. "Well, if it worked for Tor . . ." she thought to herself, willing the light to fade, except from the palm of her hand, then grinned to herself as it worked.

Using that soft light almost like a flashlight she followed Tor to the door, then listened in as he and his father called out to each other, letting each other know that everyone was okay.  Since heavy rain and marble sized hail were pouring from the sky, Tor and his dad were both planning to stay under shelter for the time being though.

"But you have a shield and you could go out there safely," Dori protested.

"And how would we explain to everyone that we were perfectly dry?  Besides, I'm not sure I could protect both of us and we don't even know if you have a shield now, do we?"

"Well, if you show me how you use it, I might have one, but I don't know how you turn it on and off."

"Okay, I will, but since we're going to be alone for a while, let's find out what else you can do," Tor suggested.

So for the next while they sought to discover what new talents Dori had picked up. They found that she did have a shield, but it wasn't as strong as Tor's, since she could only make it extend an inch or two away from her body.  Surprisingly her shield refused to work for her if she was using the 'glow' in any way.  She could levitate easier than Tor could, but her teleportation was very weak in comparison to his, since she could only move a few feet.  She hadn't managed to get a real handle on using telekinesis to move larger objects either and couldn't seem to understand his attempts to explain the methods he used.

Even at that Tor was quite impressed with how much Dori had improved in such a short time and he couldn't help wondering why it had happened so suddenly.  Of course since he was still listening to the passing storm, he suspected that the sudden buildup and discharge of static electricity had brought on the amazing improvement in Dori's talents.  After all he was still holding onto the theory that being hit with an electric shock when he was born had brought on his own talents.  Luckily his thoughts about the storm drew his attention to the sound of the rain on the metal roof and he realized that the heavy rain had eased off.

"We'd better watch ourselves.  The thunder and lightning have moved into the distance, the hail has stopped and the rain is easing off, so Dad will be coming our way darn soon.  I'll bet he brings us a pair of rain coats so we don't get wet," Tor sent and led the way over to the door.

They didn't have to wait more than a few minutes before Tor's dad showed up.  He was using a flashlight to guide his way, while carrying two more flashlights and a pair of rain coats under his arm.

"The lightning hit the main feeder pole by the new equipment shed, then jumped across and blew a hole in the steel siding of the building.  I didn't look inside yet, but I'll bet there isn't an electric circuit in that building that hasn't been blown and who knows what it did to the tractors and machinery,"  Tor's dad grumbled.  "Not only that, but another lightning bolt blew out the transformer on the pole down by front gate."

"How are the phones?" Tor asked.

"Dead," his dad snorted.  "I used the backup battery on the CB to call Kevin's folks though. Their power is out too, but their phone is working, so they've called Hydro.  There isn't much we can do tonight, other than check to see if anything else was damaged.  As soon as the phone is working, I'll call the insurance adjuster and get him out here.  Dori, you might want to go in the house and calm down Olga, since she was worried that the two of you might've been killed.  Tor and I will be a while because we need to check all the buildings and the animals."

Actually, other than the damage done to the electrical service, a huge hole in the metal of the equipment shed and a few blown light bulbs, there didn't seem to be much damage to anything else.  They couldn't use their big emergency generator though, since it was wired directly to a cutout switch then to the breaker box on the service pole which had been struck by lightning. They tested the big generator and it hadn't been damaged, but the cutout switch and the main breaker were both burnt badly enough that they couldn't be used.  Tor's dad didn't want to trust the other lines leading from the service pole to the various buildings either and wanted to have an electrician check them out before the power was turned on again.

After they'd checked over the farm and went inside they found that the lack of electricity didn't bother Tor's mom all that much.  She'd dug out candles and oil lamps to light the kitchen and had fired up the old wood burning stove she'd insisted they needed to keep, then had made coffee and heated up some snacks.  As a result, the whole family was sitting around the kitchen table having a cup of coffee when Alva awoke and came rushing downstairs.  She was rubbing her eyes while complaining that the lights weren't working and that her alarm hadn't gone off, so she was going to be late for work.

"And this is the gal who always claims to be a light sleeper."  Tor winked at Dori, who broke into giggles.

"We had a huge thunder storm and the lightning hit several power poles, which wiped out our electric service,"  Tor's mom explained calmly.  "For a while your dad and I thought Tor and Dori were dead, because we were worried that they might have been in the equipment shed when lightning blew a hole in the wall of the building."

"Really?  And I slept right through it?"

"Yeah, really!" Tor answered instantly.  "Dori and I were walking around the farm, but we saw the clouds coming and ducked into the old barn to keep from getting wet.  When the lightning hit the electric service pole, the concussion shook the whole darn barn and made both of us jump a foot or two.  There was so much dust flying we could hardly see for a few minutes."

"Well, my car wasn't damaged, was it?  I need to get to work."

"Not tonight, you aren't," Tor's dad snorted.  "There are electric lines down on the road between here and Eagles Bluff, so they're not letting traffic through.  I used the CB and asked the neighbours to call the hospital to let them know that you can't make it until the roads are safe."

Tor tried to stifle a yawn then, but didn't succeed and Dori's happened to be looking at him, so her yawn followed his seconds later.

"Tor, you and Dori look like you should get to bed." Alva commented.

"Yep, that's a good idea, especially now that we can go upstairs with worrying about waking you,"  Tor nodded, getting to his feet.

Not long afterward Tor was in bed, almost asleep when he heard someone come in the door of his bedroom and 'recognized' Dori's mental signature.

"Hey, aren't you afraid you'll get caught in here?" he awakened instantly.

"I peeked at your mom and dad's thoughts, just to check, and found that both of them expect me to sleep with you, so why should we disappoint them.  Besides I want to cuddle, because I'm still a bit flustered by what happened earlier tonight.  That storm with all the thunder and lightning upset me for some reason and I still feel strange.  I don't know why, but I feel like I was changed in some way, but being with you makes me feel calmer."

"Maybe you were changed," Tor sighed.  "I think we were loaded with static electricity, then it all discharged in an instant by that bolt of lightning.  Knowing my history, I can't help wondering if that isn't what caused me to be the way I am in the first place.  Besides, I can't help thinking that when you and I are together, we influence each other."

"Mmmm, let's argue about that tomorrow.  I need sleep," Dori whispered softly, then snuggled close to his side.

"G'Night then," he sighed.

"Mmm hm, you too,' she murmured.

In some ways having Dori lying at his side was wonderful, but in other ways just feeling her skin pressed against his was worrisome.  What made it even harder for him to fight off his body's urges was the knowledge that Dori would be completely willing to go along with those compulsions.  It didn't help that both his parents and her family seemed to think that the result was inevitable and he felt that Dori was doing her best to constantly tempt him.  Right then his body was fully aroused and yearned for sex, but his brain was adamantly opposed to the idea.  As a result he was almost afraid to fall asleep, worrying about what his body might do while his brain was slumbering.

Eventually he did fall asleep and awakened with his arms wrapped tightly around Dori's naked body, his normal morning arousal pressed tightly between them.  As usual he'd awakened needing the bathroom quite badly, so although he disturbed Dori's rest, he managed to get out of bed without awakening her fully.

He knew it was early and he didn't feel fully rested, but after a quick trip to the bathroom, he dressed and went downstairs.  He found his mom was already in the kitchen, making coffee on the old wood stove.

"Good morning, Mom.  No power yet?" he asked.

"Well, good morning, Tor, and no, there's no power yet.  The hydro crew is off to pick up a replacement for the transformer at the road by the driveway.  They also need a replacement for the meter and cutoff switch on the electric pole by the equipment shed, since both of them were blown."

"Is that our cost, their cost or an insurance claim?"

"Actually it's a split cost, but most of the repairs to the equipment shed were caused by a bad ground on the distribution pole, which makes it Hydro's problem.  The insurance agent was here about six and they'll cover what hydro won't.  We were lucky though.  The Adams farm down the road lost a barn to a lightning strike.  It burned to the ground, but at least they didn't lose any stock since the barn is only used in the winter.  This place has been a madhouse already and it's not even six in the morning."

"Huh, I must have been darn tired and blocked out the noise, 'cause I just woke up."

"Well, I expected that you and Dori would sleep in this morning," Tor's mom grinned and winked.

"Don't make a big thing out of it, Mom.  Nothing happened, except that we cuddled up to each other and slept in the same bed," Tor snorted.  "I don't plan on putting myself in a position where I have to get married over anything as stupid as that."

"But Dori assured me that she's on the pill."

"So what?" Tor growled.  "Last year Jenny Renfrew was on the pill, but she had to drop out of school because she got pregnant and had a baby, so the pill isn't perfect.  I'm not about to do that to Dori, not at her age and I certainly don't want to have to raise a kid when I'm only fifteen or sixteen years old."

"Oh, so you haven't ..."

"No Mom, we haven't had sex, although both of us have certainly been tempted,"  Tor grabbed a cup and poured himself a coffee, then headed for the door to the back porch.

After drinking his coffee he decided he might as well start the morning chores and once he was out at the barns he discovered that his dad must have had the same idea.  The two of them had the chores done and the cows milked before seven, then had eaten breakfast by seven-thirty. Since there was still no electricity on the farm they couldn't do much else, so Tor and his dad headed for town to talk to an electrician about the repairs they needed to have done.  Then they planned to meet with Nils, Hanna and the lawyer about the land deal. 

After his early morning talk with his mother, Tor was quite happy that Dori was still asleep when they left and as they drove toward town he was unusually quiet.  In fact they were well on the way toward town when Tor's dad finally broke the silence.

"Tor, you need to realize that your mother and I were raised in a different age and a different society than you were.  Back in Sweden, sex is much more free and easy than it is here in Canada.  When we met, Olga wasn't as old as Dori and we hadn't known each other very long before we became involved.  Inside of six months we married, then suddenly Olga was pregnant with Dagny.  Inside of a few years we had three kids, but I was having a tough time finding work, so life was quite tough for us.  About that time, Nils wrote to me about a mining claim he had and said he needed help.  He sent me the fare, so I came to Canada to work with him until I had the money to bring my family over here.  That took a few years, but after your mother and our older kids arrived in Canada we took up farming in Saskatchewan.  Then you were born two years later, which was a real surprise, because when Alva was born the doctors had said your mom wouldn't have any more kids."

"Yeah, I know all that, Dad," Tor sighed softly.  "Just what does that have to do with Dori and me, or with the way Mom is acting right now?"

"Well, what I was trying to say is that I think your mother is comparing the way you and Dori are acting to the way she and I acted when we were first involved.  I was older than her and acted much like you do now, while at the same time your mom sees Dori acting the same way she did. I don't know why, but in many ways you act much older than your calendar age and honestly, so does Dori, at least most of the time.  On top of everything else, both your mother and I see several advantages that you two have that we didn't have.  Then besides that, we see you doing things time and again that seem to be so simple, but have such far reaching results,"  Tor's dad paused for a few seconds, then sighed.  "I don't know what happened when you came out here on your own, but to me and the rest of your family it seemed as if you aged about ten years in a few weeks.  You did things that a thirteen-year-old kid just wasn't expected to do.  In fact you act older than Björn does and he's several years older than you are.  Nils treats you like a fully grown man and both Olga and I respect his opinion because without his help, we wouldn't be here."

"You know what, Dad, sometimes I wish I'd been lazy and just done a bare minimum when I came out here to look after the farm," Tor sighed heavily.  "Unfortunately my family raised me to be responsible and once I started to act responsibly, I couldn't seem to stop.  But, you just brought up another subject that's bugging me, I don't understand why Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna are dragging me into that deal for the ranch they're getting in trade for their homestead. First off, I don't understand why they parted with their holiday cabin and that wild horse valley so easily and secondly I can't see how they think I should be part owner in the new place."

"Actually, I asked Nils about trading off the homestead.  He said he loved the valley, but hated the travel time to get there.  Nils doesn't like being dependent on someone else's schedule, so waiting for the ferries to the island drove him crazy.  When he was approached by the real-estate agent about trading for a ranch here on the mainland, Nils was in just the right mood to be cooperative.  Actually he was upset because he'd been trying to work out travel times to the island and was annoyed with all the delays," Tor's dad chuckled, then slowed as they approached the town limits.  "Now from what Nils said about the lease on the valley, that is a different deal altogether and had nothing to do with the homestead.  He said that he talked to you while you were in the hospital when your leg was hurt and that you signed the lease agreement papers, then gave him a cheque so you could be part of that deal.  Since the lease on that valley was traded straight across for the new place, he insists that you have to be included in the ownership of the ranch."

"Dad, I don't remember signing any papers when I was in the hospital.  In fact I don't remember talking to Uncle Nils or Aunt Hanna when I was in the hospital.  Actually I recall asking about them once I was able to think straight and I remember being told that they were involved in the real-estate deal for the homestead, but even that conversation is a bit fuzzy.  I know I wrote Uncle Nils a cheque afterward to pay for some of the money owing on that lease, but that was when we were going up there on holiday," Tor frowned.  "We were at a lawyer's office in Nanaimo and I wrote the cheque because Uncle Nils and Aunt Hanna weren't sure of their bank balance.  I know they'd been counting on Arne and Kai going in on the deal, but the guys backed out, so I lent Uncle Nils the money."

"Well, we'll see about all of that when we get to the law office and talk to Nils.  First though I want to talk to an electrician about repairing the wiring on the farm.  Dammit, watch it lady!" Tor's dad growled as he braked to miss a jaywalker. "Now, you know the town better than I do, where will I find Barker Electric, that's the outfit the insurance adjuster recommended.  All I know is that it's on fifth street."

"That's easy, turn right two blocks up on fifth street and go a block up the street. Barker Electric is on the first corner off Main street.  I know where it is because Billy Barker is the same age as me and plays forward on the Falcons, so you'll be coaching him this winter.  His dad is one of our local sponsors and almost always at our games."

"Ah, we can kill two birds with one stone then," his dad snorted.

He was right too.  In the next few minutes Tor's dad introduced himself to Andrew Barker, the owner of Barker Electric, then he explained that the insurance agent had recommended they do the repairs caused by the lightning strike.  Once that was arranged, Ollie mentioned that he was the new coach for the Falcons hockey team and that Tor was going to be the new goalie. The coaching and goalie situation weren't really a surprise to Andy Barker though, since his son, Billy, had heard about it.  He mentioned that Billy had wanted to be at the Eklund farm the day before, but had previously agreed to be at his sister's softball game, which was why he couldn't be there.  After that Andy mentioned the need for goalie equipment that would fit Tor and made a call to the sporting good's store.  He set up an account so that Tor's dad would get a team discount on anything he needed to purchase for any team member, not just Tor.

Once that was done Tor and his dad still had lots of time before they needed to be at the lawyer's office, so they headed for the sporting goods store.  They ordered a full set of goalie gear for Tor, and his dad insisted on buying the best gear available, even if it was expensive, but even after that they were done by nine in the morning. 

Then just as they came out of the store they happened to see Nils and Hanna drive by, so they followed them to a local coffee shop.  That suited Tor just fine, because he wanted to get to the bottom of the whole setup over the lease and the new ranch.  His aunt must have talked to his mother though, because as soon as she saw Tor she waved him over to sit at an empty table, putting a folder of papers down.

"Nils, get Tor and me a coffee, then go talk farming with Ollie.  I'll explain what's going on to Tor," she said sharply.

"Well, I'm glad someone is finally going to throw some light on the subject," Tor sighed. "I've been feeling a bit like a mushroom . . ."

"All right, I understand, and you needn't use the rest of that saying," his aunt grinned as she flipped open the file folder and began to lay out several sheets of paper.  "We were so rushed that there wasn't any way to include you in the decision, not until now.  In fact we just got back to town a short while ago from our second trip to the new ranch, which is where we spent the night. Yesterday we went the old homestead to get all of our personal belongings and we made part of the trip in a private plane and the rest in a helicopter.  Harold, the guy who is buying us out, is really rich and doesn't like to waste any time, so I feel like I've been running in a race for the last few days."

"But you must have called home to know we were in town this morning, and I know you called Mom last night."

"Yeah, I called long distance," she chuckled.  "Now this deal is complicated, so I'll do my best to explain, but ask questions if you don't understand anything, okay?"

"Well, since I don't understand the lease on the valley in the first place, could you start there?"

"Oh, I didn't realise that you weren't clear on that.  I know you were under the weather in the hospital when we first talked to you about that, but I thought you knew all about it.  I was certain Nils explained it to you when you gave him the second cheque."

"Aunt Hanna, when I was in the hospital I was so drugged up that I don't even remember you coming to see me and I thought what you call the second cheque was a loan to Uncle Nils."

"Oh, I see," she frowned.  "Well, in the first place, when you were in the hospital you signed the original application to change the lease into our family's name and became a one third shareholder in the new lease.  Then when you gave Nils the second cheque, you effectively bought out the third that was split between Arne and Kai, since they wanted no part of it.  I remember you signing the lease that day."

"I remember doing that, but as far as I was concerned that was just a formality.  I didn't realize I was buying out anyone, except maybe that native woman that was there.  I knew our family was taking over the lease from her and her family."

"Well, take it from me, you legally owned two thirds of the lease," she pulled out a copy of the lease to show him the pertinent line.  "On top of that we included you in the ownership of the old homestead, but only for five percent, which was a gift to pay you back for all the work you had done when you were there.  Both of our boys got a gift of ten percent, but they were there more than you were and they did even more work than you did."

"Well as far as I was concerned, all I did was help out.  I didn't expect to be paid anything for it."

"We know that, but we sold the old homestead outright, so we'll be giving you your share of the money we were paid for that.  However, the complicated issue is the matter of the lease and the new ranch.  Up until now we've been using the fact that you are a minor relative to our advantage and have made a deal to trade the lease for ownership of the new ranch.  Now if we had been doing things in a completely legal manner, we should have had your permission before doing that.  Unfortunately we were under extreme time constraints, so we took the chance that you'd go alone with our decisions."

"Well since I didn't know I was so thoroughly involved in the lease in the first place, I can't see why I should argue much about it," Tor shrugged.  "As far as I'm concerned the whole thing is really your business, not mine."

"Oh no, don't you dare think that way!" she snapped.  "Nils and I do not need another damn ranch for him to fill with horses.  If you try to do that I'll refuse to sign the damn deal myself!"

"Well, now I'm confused even more than before.  Just what do you want, Aunt Hanna?"

"I want you to own the 1200 acre ranch, but Nils and I want to have the fancy log house that Hollywood Harold built on the ten acres that sits on a hill in one corner of your ranch.  Lets face it, that stupid idiot put so much money into that house that it's probably worth a third of the value of the ranch anyway," she sighed softly then.  " Actually, that house is wonderful and the ten acres it sits on has been fenced off to separate it from the rest of the ranch already.  There's a little barn there where Nils can keep a horse or two and we'll have a view of the whole ranch, but we'll be able to go there and not have to do anything.  We can take a holiday and just sit around if we want to, just like we were going to do once we got the homestead set up properly.  Now I know Nils will still want to be involved in helping you, but I don't want him to be as heavily involved as he gets with anything he owns."

"So you want me to take over running the ranch?" Tor stared at his aunt in astonishment.

"Yes, both Nils and I agree on that.  We know you can do it, especially since there are two older men working there who have really been the workmen who have run the ranch for years. You can phone them and talk to them, or go down there on weekends to explain what you want to have done, so you don't have to be there all the time.  I mean Hollywood Harold didn't run the ranch, those two older guys did, but they'd been running it for years before he ever came along anyway.  There was a university professor who owned the ranch before Mr. Hollywood Rich Guy bought it and the old guys ran the place for the professor, so they definitely know what needs to be done.

"Now before you get all argumentative on me, I want you to know that the ranch is run down and doesn't make much of a profit.  In fact, you aren't getting all that much, just a run down old ranch, but dammit it, the place could be worth a tidy sum if it was fixed up and run right.  From what I saw of the accountant's books, it barely makes enough profit right now to pay those two old guys their wages and leave enough left over to pay the taxes, but I know you can turn that around.  I know darn well that you can do better than that rich goof we've been dealing with did. The only thing he really did was to pour money into that log house he built, but then as soon as the tabloid newspapers started to come around to bother him, he tucked his tail between his legs and ran.  Those tabloid reporters are the reason he wants to live on the homestead so badly in the first place, because he's positive they can't get to him as easily if he hides out up there."

"Let me get this straight.  You want me to take over a 1200 acre ranch while you end up with ten acres and a house?  That doesn't sound all that fair to you and Uncle Nils."

"Oh, but you should see the house!" she snorted.  "It's built out of logs, all varnished and fancy, but the inside is almost like a castle.  There are hardwood and tile floors or oriental carpets throughout the place.  The whole kitchen is wonderful, with nice counter tops, custom-built cabinets with glass doors and brand-new appliances.  There are three marvellous looking stone fireplaces, but they're just there for looks.  Harold found out there was a hot spring up the hill and had an engineer use the hot water from that spring to heat the whole house, so even in the winter it's as warm as toast.  In fact that house might be worth more than the whole darn ranch is right now, so in a way you'll be getting the short end of the stick, except that you're family, so we want you to live in the house too.  Besides, Arne and Kai don't want anything to do with the place, so in the long run it will be yours anyway."

"Wait a minute, did you mention kitchen appliances?  Are you saying that the ranch has electricity?  I thought it was way out in the boondocks and miles off the beaten track?"

"Oh, it is in the middle of nowhere, but the professor did one thing that helped out the whole ranch.  He had a small dam built that diverted part of a waterfall on the upper end of the ranch and installed a hydroelectric generator, so the whole ranch has had electric power for several years.  As well as that the professor had a phone line run in too, but the line doesn't come in along the road for the whole distance, instead the line follows along the edge of the mountain for a few miles.  I understand from talking to one of the old geezers that works on the ranch that the phone line gets wiped out by a snow slide every few years, then the phone is out of service for a month or two. They do have a two-way radio though, so they can use that to call the police if they need anything very badly, but in the winter they usually just hole up and wait out the blizzards."

Tor just shook his head in wonder, but his Aunt Hanna frowned at that.

"Is there something about the whole deal that you don't understand?" she asked.

"No, I think I've got everything straight, but I'm having a hard time believing all of it," he sighed.  "Let's see if I have it all straight.  In the first place I ended up having a two thirds share in the lease on your wild horse valley, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then in the last couple of days  you and Uncle Nils sold your homestead in a cash deal which has nothing to do with the lease."

"Well, other than the fact that we owe you and our two boys for your share as part of the family, that's right."

"Okay, then after that you traded the leased acreage of the valley for a 1200 acre ranch in the cascades.  Now the next question I have is how much extra money did you have to kick in to swing that part of the deal?"

"As far as you're concerned there wouldn't be any investment involved, other than legal fees, and land registration costs.  However, Harold has offered to sweeten the deal by paying all of those costs for both properties.  You see that portion of the deal isn't complete because legally, you have to accept it as the majority owner of the lease.  Up until now your Uncle Nils and I have been negotiating as your family representatives, but that real-estate swap is only an offer right now.  The whole trade is incomplete until you agree to accept it and sign on the dotted line."

"Well, I'll be honest, the whole thing bothers me because I seem to be getting something for nothing.  I wasn't aware of the fact that I'd paid most of the legal costs to get the lease for the valley and ended up being a majority lessee of something I don't really think of as a real object.  I mean the valley is just there.  I don't have a feeling of ownership or any sense of propriety toward it, so the fact that you've found a damn fool who'd trade a working ranch for that lease just blows my mind.  I feel as if I'm getting something I haven't earned as an outright gift and it's not a tiny gift either, it's huge and I don't feel that I've earned it in any way, shape or form."

"Well, I can't blame you for that, because I feel almost the same way," Aunt Hanna nodded and grinned, then looked over to see that Tor's dad and his uncle weren't looking their way.  "To be honest, I've tried to put a good face on it, but I was never really in favour of Nils buying that dang homestead in the first place.  It was like he was trying to go back to the past and live part of his life over, but that never works.  Then on top of that Nils gets so frustrated at bureaucracy and red tape, so travelling over there on a ferry always put him in such a bad mood. Once we were over on the Island, we had the long trip in and out of the valley on those stupid ATV's and that was frustrating for me.  Then when we got to the cabin, life was a pain in the butt for me.  I had no indoor toilet.  I had to cook on a campfire or the fireplace.  I had no electricity and no modern appliances.  I had to carry water into the cabin and slop any dirty water out, because we didn't even have a sink with a drain system.  Life was ten times harder for me than it is over here and although you and your uncle tried to help me, I really didn't enjoy a lot of the time we spent at the homestead.  I liked the peace and quiet of the place, and I loved the scenery, but I hated the drudgery I had to go through to accomplish anything."

Tor nodded at that, because he understood just what she meant.

"When we were approached by the real-estate agent about selling the place, I had a hard time not jumping for joy because Nils had just gotten off the phone with BC Ferries.  I knew he was frustrated by their policies right then and missed the convenience of just getting in his truck and driving wherever he wanted to go whenever he wanted to do it.  On top of that, I think some of the luster had worn off the idea of owning the homestead anyway, because he'd discovered that he had to work hard when we were up there, while he wanted to sit back and relax.

"So when that Hollywood Harold guy got involved and started making us cash offers, he really got Nils interested in the idea of selling out.  I was almost giddy once that happened. About then I'd have taken a dollar for the place, but his starting offer was about ten times what we had invested in the old homestead, only at that time he was including the lease in the deal. That's when I mentioned that you were the majority owner of the lease, which changed the whole deal.  First Hollywood Harold described the new ranch and started talking about a straight trade for both the homestead and the lease, but Nils just laughed at him.  Nils started out by comparing acreages and it turns out the lease is much larger than the ranch.  Then he mentioned your idea of turning the homestead into a dude ranch and taking people out for trail rides on the lease.  In about five or six sentences he had Hollywood Harold convinced that you were serious about that idea and that's when things got really interesting," she grinned.  "In the long run we got between four and five times what we invested in the old homestead as a cash deal and we arranged to trade the lease for the ranch.  I still want that log house and those ten acres though, because I love that place and I think it's worth the one-third share that Nils and I have in the lease."

"Oh, I'm not arguing with you over that, other than the idea that I think you're accepting too little.  My problem is with the idea of the whole deal.  We're getting so much for so little that I almost feel guilty that we're taking advantage of this Hollywood guy." Tor shrugged his shoulders, then raised his hands to shoulder level and spread both hands out flat, palm upward in a gesture of total frustration.  "I mean at the very most I paid a couple thousand bucks in legal fees and someone has magically turned that into a working ranch.  That just isn't realistic."

"It is when you're dealing with a very rich dreamer who thinks someone else might interfere with what he wants to have.  You see he knows darn well that you could put up temporary structures on the lease and still run a dude ranch, which would totally ruin his dream of privacy. He had already sold himself on the idea of owning the homestead, so he had to make us a deal that was too good to turn down in order to protect his dreams.  Besides, now that the tabloid photographers have found where he lives, that ranch is worth little or nothing to him."

"That's just plain stupid on his part." Tor frowned.

"No, it isn't, not really," his aunt smiled.  "He is gaining an excellent hideaway in trade for a ranch which had become a liability to him and he feels that he is walking away scot free.  Since he's so well off, he doesn't even see this as a major investment, so the deal has fantastic benefits for both him and us, but especially for you.  Admittedly you have suddenly become a property owner, but the property you are getting is not really all that valuable to anyone else.  Right at the moment the place isn't making any money, but then it isn't losing any money either.  However, with some hard work, I think you can turn that place into an excellent ranch where you can raise horses and train them to your heart's content."

"Vell, Hanna, haf you explaindt to Tor all vhat ve set up to do?"  Tor's uncle said and since he was standing right behind Tor, he almost leaped to his feet in surprise.

"I think I've managed to make him understand." Tor's aunt Hanna smiled.  "Is it already time to go?"

"Yah, ve needt to hurry."

So they rushed down the street to the lawyer's office.  The lawyer joined them and they all met with the real-estate agent, then they walked next door to the office of a notary, who witnessed and notarized the various documents.  The whole session actually only took a few minutes, since each exchange was simply a straightforward transfer of title.  It only needed a series of signatures and the notary's stamp on the deeds to make all of the sales and trades legal.  Those deeds still had to be registered and recorded at the land titles office, however for practical purposes the deal was done

Tor had become a land owner, a rancher, something he had dreamed of being just two or three years ago, but now he felt no satisfaction in his new status.  In his opinion a freak happening had left him as its unintended beneficiary, so to Tor it seemed as if owning that ranch was an empty accomplishment.

As a result he was quite happy when his dad suggested that they head for home to help the electrician repair the lightning damage, rather than joining his aunt and uncle for a victory lunch of sorts.

Chapter 20