A Modern Country Girl

By Dale McMillan

MaryLou Williams began her life as an abused child before her grandmother, Lou Hardin Harris, stepped in and sought and obtained full custody of her. This happened after Marylou was brutally beaten by her mother’s drunk, abusive third alcoholic husband. Lou found the husband passed out on the couch in their cheap apartment, so she woke him up and beat him half to death for abusing her granddaughter. Lou obtained full custody of MaryLou two months before her 6th birthday.

Unfortunately, all of MaryLou’s problems were not solved by Lou receiving full custody. The gossip mill in the little town of Galway, championed by a bank president’s socialite wife, made life miserable for MaryLou. Almost everyone ostracized her and ruined her reputation in the little town. Her mother’s lifestyle precipitated this attitude toward MaryLou.

Fortunately for MaryLou, her grandfather was an intelligent farmer and rancher who took MaryLou under his wing. He taught her all the ins and outs of farming and ranching, preparing her to become successful herself before he was kicked in the head by an irate Angus bull. This all occurred just before MaryLou’s 15th birthday. Fortunately for MaryLou, her grandfather could impart his Christian faith to MaryLou before his accident. Much of that was also imparted to her grandmother, Lou Hardin Harris Lou was a direct descendent of the infamous outlaw, John Wesley Hardin and still harbored a few of John Wesley’s traits, mainly his explosive temper. Marylou proved that all is well that ends well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669865735

Dale McMillan

Dale McMillan retired from a long career in the petrochemical industry. After building a home, shop, three barns, and restoring a log cabin built originally in 1854, he tried his hand at writing fiction at age 67. He has written 17 other books since that first release. He lives on a small sand hill farm just outside Henderson, Texas with his invalid wife, Janell and two dogs, Marcie and Sherlock.

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A Modern

Country Girl

Dale McMillan

Copyright © 2023 by Dale McMillan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 02/07/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Dedicated to Laura Parker

Hospice nurse, encourager, counselor and friend

CHAPTER 1

MaryLou Williams was a unique individual. She graduated from high school in the spring of 2016. She had not been an outstanding student but had a good solid A average throughout her high school experience. MaryLou surprised all her teachers with her SAT and ACT scores. She had surpassed both the Valedictorian’s and Salutatorian’s scores on both tests. This was a scandal in Galway, Texas.

John Duckworth, the valedictorian’s father, was a successful lawyer in town, and James Blumenfeld, the salutatorian’s father, was the mayor and a real estate broker. As word spread throughout the town that MaryLou Williams had outshone their daughters on her SAT and ACT scores, both girls’ mothers were infuriated. A high school counselor, innocently wishing to encourage MaryLou to consider attending college, had revealed MaryLou’s test scores to other teachers in school. That news spread like a raging wildfire.

Since MaryLou was six feet, one inch tall, the girls’ basketball coach tried diligently to entice her into the girls’ basketball program, but she showed no interest. She was congenial and had a ready smile for anyone who chose to portray friendly, but she knew precisely what the townsfolks in Galway thought of her. She was born during her mother’s third marriage but looked nothing like her mother’s third husband. Her mother had been a beautiful woman, but now in her sixth marriage, her alcohol abuse and hard living had taken their toll on her in many ways.

In a drunken rage, her stepfather had beaten and slapped MaryLou down, threatening to kill her. After her mother and stepfather became inebriated and passed out, MaryLou snitched her mother’s cell phone and called her grandmother. MaryLou’s grandmother extracted her from her mother two months before she was six years old and obtained custody of her from her mother at that time.

Grandmother Harris went to the rented apartment where her daughter lived. Mrs. Harris had told MaryLou to watch for her and let her in when she got to the apartment. Lou Harris walked in and checked the bruises on her granddaughter’s face and body. She went to the kitchen and filled a boiler with water. She went to the living room and splashed the water on Jake Owens’s face. Since Jake was passed out on the couch with his mouth open, water went down his windpipe. He started choking and fighting for breath.

Lou gave him time to sober up. He jumped off the couch, intending to slap Lou, only to be slammed in the head with an old sock housing an inch and a half stone dropped into that sock. He was knocked senseless to the floor momentarily. As he was sobering up and recovering from the blow to the head, he discovered that Lou Harris had her foot on his throat, and she told him that if he moved, she would crush his throat. She called him every foul name she could think of, and she knew a few.

With her hands on her hips, she told her daughter, "I am taking MaryLou with me. We can civilly do this, or I will take it to court; it is your call. She is not living in this mess any longer.

Grandmother Harris had tried diligently to correct her daughter’s ways. She had been a rebellious teenager. She did not choose her friends wisely and wound up pregnant at 15. The young man who was responsible talked her into having an abortion. That began a downward spiral of alcohol abuse because of her self-imposed guilt from aborting her baby. The guilt intensified after MaryLou was born.

MaryLou lived with her grandmother and grandfather after that episode with her stepfather. Her mother, Evelyn, did not attempt to take her away from her grandmother after that despicable event. Her grandfather became barely functional when MaryLou was 15. He was knocked down by an Angus bull and kicked in the head. His injury was severe.

Grandmother Harris was the prime mover in this family. MaryLou came to live with her grandparents permanently two months before her sixth birthday when her grandmother sought and obtained full custody. The doctor who examined MaryLou after her stepfather beat her up, Dr. Charles Edmonds, testimony at the custody hearing was eloquent. He revealed to the court that MaryLou had been severely beaten when Lou brought her to him as a safety measure to ensure that she had no hidden injuries.

Grandmother Harris was Lou Hardin before she and Robert Bob Harris were married. Bob was intelligent and an excellent farmer/cattleman before his Angus bull encounter. Part of his brain was damaged by brain swelling due to the injury.

Lou was a descendant of the infamous Texas outlaw John Wesley Hardin, who taught Sunday School when he was not out robbing banks, etc. John Wesley was notorious for his explosive temper and had been accused in some history books of shooing a man for snoring. Lou inherited some of that Hardin temper. Lou always insisted there was more legend than fact in history’s account of the kind of life that John Wesley lived.

MaryLou tried to date three times in high school, but that all ended in disaster. Boys who tried dating her assumed she had loose morals like her mother. The date always ended with MaryLou having to sock them in the nose, and she was not averse to doing that.

She got out of the car on her last date and walked home. It was only five miles, part of which was through a river bottom. The young man exhibited some small measure of class. He made two passes down the road to entice MaryLou to let him take her home. The first time she heard his car coming, she hid in a deep ditch beside the road. The second time, MaryLou had taken a shortcut across a pasture on a neighbor’s property to save about a half mile.

Lou Harris was waiting for her granddaughter, and she was getting somewhat anxious because of the late hour. MaryLou was dressed in a lovely dress, wearing dress shoes, certainly not outfitted with field-ready attire. When MaryLou came in, Lou questioned, I didn’t hear a car drive up?

Nope. I sent him home early.

Why?

He tried to get in my pants.

I’ll kill him.

No, you won’t, Grandmama. All boys think I am like my Mama. You can’t blame them for that, can you?

"Oh, MaryLou. That is so unfair to you.

Where did you walk from?

Just the other side of the river bridge.

MaryLou, that is over five miles.

I cut across Mr. Jenkin’s field. I am sure he didn’t mind. I will tell him when I see him.

I’m buying you a cell phone.

Don’t need one. That will buy cow feed.

It is not for you. It is for my peace of mind.

Well, you don’t need it because I have no intention of dating again. Three times is enough for me. I may be a slow learner, but I learn.

This one I trusted because we were once close friends. That makes it hurt even more.

Oh, MaryLou, this breaks my heart.

This happened when MaryLou was a sophomore in high school. MaryLou followed through on what she told her grandmother, but her grandmother also followed through on what she said to her granddaughter. Lou researched cell phones and settled on an Apple phone. MaryLou took to that like a duck takes to water. Soon she was using all the apps available with that phone and kept up with new features. She soon discovered that she had a whole library at her fingertips. She invested the money she had saved over the years, and she was learning the ins and outs of the stock market. She did all of that on her Apple phone.

The phone became an extension of herself. She did not often text because she had no friends. She quickly learned that helpful information was available in her hand. Soon she was keeping up with cattle prices, grain futures, and other information needed to plan for maximum profit from the farm.

Lou soon learned that MaryLou was like a library of information, and by the time she finished high school, Lou was leaning on her granddaughter and consulting her before she made any drastic moves concerning the farm.

MaryLou suggested to her grandmother they needed to sell some timber and use that money to build commercial broiler houses. Lou consulted with MaryLou before she contracted with a timber buyer to sell timber to him.

Even before she approached her grandmother about selling timber, MaryLou had been studying timber sales ever since she had overheard a conversation between two farmers at the feed store. The buyer that approached Lou to purchase her timber was under fire from one of the farmers who had dealt with him. The farmer had no kind words about the man and his business practices. MaryLou passed that information on to her grandmother.

MaryLou had heard the men discussing hiring a professional to cruise one’s timber and give an estimate before making a deal. Lou asked, Where would I find someone qualified to do that?

Mr. Parker says there are people at Stephen F. Austin Forestry Department who will do that for a fee, MaryLou revealed.

The following day, after MaryLou left in the old one-ton Dodge diesel truck headed to school and later to the feed store, Lou and Bob were headed for SFA. There they found a professor who would evaluate their timber. He was costly, $100.00 per hour. The Professor agreed that he would allow her granddaughter to observe. He was not enamored with that but decided to accept those terms with the stipulation, If she can keep up with me. Knowing her granddaughter, thinking about her long legs, and watching her chase unrulily calves, Lou smiled internally.

The professor was also smiling. He did not tell Lou that he used a drone to collect information necessary for his estimate. He would walk through the property and determine how to approach the estimate. His next move would be to take aerial photographs of the timber tract with his drone. He would then pass the drone back and forth across the property, gathering pictures of the trees to be harvested. With proprietary software, he could estimate the board feet of lumber in every tree that would be harvested. He could even separate select hardwood and lucrative trees suitable for power poles.

His primary function was to gather data. His elaborate software did all the work. Time in the field would only be about four hours. His interest was piqued when he learned that this lady’s granddaughter would be graduating from high school, and he saw a candidate for the forestry department.

The professor had two excellent students pick out the trees from his drone scan that were suitable for lumber. Lou stressed in her instructions to the professor that she wanted to avoid clear-cutting her forest. She intended to leave the old oaks and other hardwood for nesting sites for birds and animals. She had seen the mess left from logging and did not want her property left in that condition. Selecting a logger was going to be a challenging task.

The summer after MaryLou graduated from high school, MaryLou began looking for a logger that would meet her grandmother’s demand. She found a Mexican family that worked as a team who would meet her and her grandmother’s guidelines. MaryLou knew one of their daughters from school. She was also a senior in high school this year. Maria, the daughter, was an outcast like MaryLou. That fact bothered Maria, and she was much impressed with MaryLou because it seemingly did not faze her. MaryLou was tough, and Maria knew that from simply observing. She idolized MaryLou.

When Marie learned that Lou Harris had approached her daddy to log her property, she became excited and gushed, Oh, daddy, you will like them.

He answered, I don’t want to work with them. Too demanding.

But Daddy, they love and appreciate their land. They will be fair.

How do you know this?

MaryLou takes up for me at school. She threatened to stomp the hell out of Julie Blumenfeld for making fun of my clothes. She would have done that too if Julie hadn’t turned tail and run. MaryLou is tough, Daddy. You will like her.

The thought of someone making fun of his daughter’s clothes infuriated Raul Garcia. Learning that MaryLou had taken up for Maria sealed his deal with Lou Harris. He did not like to clear-cut forests. He hated to cut down trees, but it was where his family’s livelihood came from. He and MaryLou would make an excellent team.

Logging which would meet Lou and MaryLou’s standards would be difficult, but Raul saw their logic. He was a good man who lived by a high moral standard. He and his family were members of a small charismatic church, having left the Catholic faith years earlier. The congregation was close-knit, but they were a very resolute congregation with a dynamic middle-aged pastor. Most of Raul’s help was drawn from this congregation, including the church’s pastor.

As part of his contract with Lou, the professor provided documentation on almost every tree to be harvested. His fee was estimated to be about $2,000.00, but it was well worth that fee. The timber buyer had offered Lou $60,000.00 for her timber. The professor estimated it at $220,000.00.

Lou was livid at the man when he returned to try to close the deal. She threatened to shoot him. He was afraid she might do that, so he ran to his car and peeled out when he left her driveway. He started the rumor all over town that Old Lady Harris was crazy. Lou ensured everyone in Galway knew what a crook Jeff McCoy was.

His daughter Annie was in MaryLou’s graduating class and was one of the popular kids who tried to make life miserable for MaryLou. She had been the one who decried the fact that MaryLou’s car was a 10-year-old Dodge one-ton diesel truck. Annie drove a new Chevy Camaro.

Lou and Raul entered a contractual agreement that she would pay him a percentage of her revenue from each load he cut and hauled to the mill. He liked that arrangement because she paid up each week. He had almost a year’s worth of work harvesting Lou’s logs.

MaryLou was reseeding as Raul cut. Lou suggested that MaryLou hire Maria and her younger brother, Tony, to help with reseeding pine trees. MaryLou used the farm’s big four-wheel drive 120-hp tractor to pile the limbs that were not being salvaged for firewood. Numerous people had been invited to scavenge firewood from the limbs. Only a few took advantage of the free firewood offered, so MaryLou, Marie, and Tony, Marie’s brother started their own business. MaryLou purchased two new chainsaws for that purpose. Before the end of the summer, they had 27 cords of firewood cut, stacked, and ready for sale.

MaryLou had numerous burn piles ready to burn as soon as the fall rains came. These were three hard-working kids. They each set out five hundred trees daily, six days per week. That meant they could plant six acres per week.

That was faster than Raul harvesting, so they cut firewood from the limbs when not planting. These three young adults stacked their wood in one-cord segments. They sold by full cord measurements; thus, if they sold a full cord of 16-inch firewood, the stack was four feet high and 21 feet long instead of 16 feet. Only 24-inch firewood was sold in 4-foot by sixteen-foot measure.

Selling by full cord measure was more difficult because most firewood providers sold by face cord measure, and they only sold 16-inch wood. Only a few people took the time to understand the difference and only looked at the price.

John Berry called Lou and asked about a load of firewood. He insisted that he wanted his firewood 20 inches long. He didn’t like the price, and Lou explained that he would get a full cord. She had to explain that to him. He agreed to the price. MaryLou, Marie, and Tony put in a full 9-hour day cutting and splitting a load of red oak firewood for John. They delivered it on Monday.

John measured several pieces of wood to ensure it was 20 inches. He didn’t like dealing with a kid, to begin with, especially a teenage female kid, and he was very surly with MaryLou. He watched every stick unloaded and complained there was too much limb wood in the stack.

When the kids finished unloading the wood, he complained that it did not look like a full cord. MaryLou, knowing that her Hardin genes were about to surface’ said, Sorry we did not meet your expectations, Mr. Berry. That load is on us. Please don’t call on us again.

Maria and Tony were already in the old Dodge. MaryLou got in the truck, started the engine, and drove off with John running beside the truck, trying to stop her. He was terrified that he would wind up dealing with Lou Harris. He knew that would not go well for him.

When MaryLou, Marie, and Tony arrived back at their work site, she paid them for their part of a load of wood. Marie protested, But you didn’t get paid, Mary.

Oh, we will probably get paid. He will have to deal with Grandmama. That should be interesting to watch.

Berry was not a bad guy. He had grown up poor and was very tight with his money. He got his measuring tape and measured his stack of wood. He quickly saw that he had indeed received a full cord of wood and that he had received good measure. His conscience began to hurt.

MaryLou had told him when he made the deal with her that her wood would be limb wood, but large branches would be split. He knew he had no complaint because that had been clearly explained. He also knew that his wife liked limb wood because it did not have all the splinters that often pricked one’s fingers when handling split wood.

John Berry went by the bank and drew out the money to pay cash for the wood and drove directly to the Harris home. MaryLou was out in the woods cutting up more firewood. The kids had sold almost all they had cut, and soon MaryLou and Marie would be entering college, and Tony would start football practice the following week. They had salvaged most of the branches, turning them into firewood.

MaryLou had even stacked numerous stacks of crooked wood into piles and passed the word that anyone who wanted that wood was welcome to come to get it. MaryLou planned to burn the useless branches as soon as the rainy season arrived,

John, MaryLou did not tell me about your disagreement. You and Birdie come with me.

Lou led them to her new pickup truck. The woods where the kids worked was about a mile and a half from the Harris home. John Berry immediately saw the reseeded area with the pine saplings carefully and meticulously standing.

John asked, Who did the reseeding, Lou?

The kids.

How did they get them so evenly spaced?

MaryLou bought two laser levels. She placed one on each side of the clearing and pointed in opposite directions. She placed a mirror on the opposite side and focused the beam on the mirror. The person setting out the sprigs wore a six-foot small chain attached to their ankle to measure space. Each sapling is within two inches of being spaced 6 feet by six feet. I tried to tell her she could guess at spacing, but she would have none of that.

Birdie Berry gushed, Goodness, that is amazing. How old is MaryLou?

She will be 18 November 17.

Lou drove to where MaryLou, Marie, and Tony cut the oak limbs into firewood. MaryLou and Marie were each running a chainsaw while Tony was stacking into the makeshift frame to measure the size. John noticed immediately the different stack sizes other than 16 feet wide. This did not assuage his conscience, but it did prove to him that he made the right decision to apologize to MaryLou.

MaryLou and Marie shut down their chainsaws when Lou drove up. They were unaware that John Berry was with Lou until he got out of the truck. She was shocked to see him. She walked to where Lou, Birdie, and John Berry were standing and greeted each one cordially.

John wasted no time. He said, Miss Williams, I owe you and your friends an apology, and I am here asking your forgiveness. I have no defense for my rude behavior. I had just read my current tax reassessment. I was angry over that, and I took my frustration out on you and your friends. That was wrong, terribly wrong. Here is your payment, and I have added an extra $20.00. By the way, my wife prefers limb wood. It does not have as many splinters.

Smiling, MaryLou commented, I have discovered that most women prefer limb wood for that reason. We add a little extra to compensate for the bark on limb wood.

Birdie blustered, Girl, you are something else. You are wonderful.

Oh, no, ma’am. I can be mean as a skunk.

MaryLou handed the extra $20 back to John and said, I can’t take this, Mr. Berry. It wouldn’t be right. You saw a mistake and corrected it. This would make our product, not a good purchase.

Somewhat reluctantly, John Berry took the extra money back. He noticed that MaryLou divided the money equally and gave 40 to Marie and 40 to Tony, and she kept 40. They had sold one cord, and they were paid by check. MaryLou had not paid them for that load. He thought, "She kept out none for the use of her old truck to deliver the wood or for the fact that it came off their property.

How many loads have you sold, MaryLou?

Twenty-two so far, Mr. Berry.

How many cords can you cut in a day?

We can cut and stack two. Tony generally stacks for Marie and me. We could do much more if we didn’t have to sharpen the chain.

Well, I guess that is pretty good spending money.

It all goes in our college funds.

That was another punch in the gut for John Berry. He had skimped and saved to work his way through college. Here he saw three hard-working kids struggling to make a few dollars to help pay for their education.

Lou asked, Have you seen enough, John?

Yes, and it shames me even more for my actions.

Oh, don’t punish yourself, Mr. Berry. We are still friends.

That statement was meant for encouragement, but it shamed John Berry and added: insult to injury. He felt about 3 feet tall. Back in Lou’s truck Birdie Berry blustered, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, John. Those kids worked hard for that money."

I am ashamed of myself, Birdie. That is why I am out here trying to make amends.

Aw, John, don’t beat yourself up. We all go off half-cocked now and then. You know what a crude heifer I can be. My Hardin blood gets stirred up now and then. MaryLou hadn’t mentioned this to me. I would have probably kicked your butt if I had known. Those kids work hard. They should be charging more. I questioned MaryLou, and all she said was, ‘Grandmom, people who are burning firewood are trying to reduce the cost of heating their homes. They can’t do that if firewood is too expensive.’

She is a good girl, Lou, John blustered.

Yes. It pains me greatly that her mother’s reputation has hurt her terribly. I have tried to get her to go out of state to college where her mother’s reputation is not a blight on her character, but she will commute to SFA. She and Marie are going to commute together. Every boy she has tried to date has tried to rape her. On her last date, she slugged the kid, got out of the car, and walked five miles through the river bottom to get home. She ruined a pair of shoes. I was ready to kill the kid she had a date with.

Goodness gracious, Lou. You should have shot him, Birdie blustered.

I would have, but MaryLou made me drop it. She reasons they were expecting her to be like her mother. I could not argue with her reasoning but this one was a former friend she trusted.

Once back at the Harris home, Lou invited John and Birdie in for coffee. When they arrived at the Harris’ home, Bob Harris was watching a baseball game on TV. Lou did not disturb him.

The Berry’s left Lou Harris with a new vision of the Harrises and MaryLou Williams. In MaryLou, they saw a self-sufficient, as well as self-reliant young woman ready, willing, and able to take on an adult world and compete effectively. They had a different view than the town’s model of MaryLou Williams due to falsehood and character assassination. John was a respected retired school principal. He would be very vocal in defending MaryLou in the future. She had made a friend indeed.

CHAPTER 2

MaryLou and Marie enrolled in Stephen F Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. MaryLou’s major was Agribusiness. Marie was majoring in Education. They planned to commute to college. Lou gave MaryLou her new Ford F 150 pickup, so she did not have to drive the old one-ton Dodge diesel truck. Lou purchased a used, 10-year-old, low-mileage Buick. She had never owned a car before. Secretly and silently, she was turning the farm over to MaryLou. With an invalid husband, Lou was tired. She was 79 years old and had worked hard all her life. Her husband’s injuries had taken a toll on her life as well.

At the feed store, Fred Jacobs asked MaryLou what she was studying in college, and she revealed that her major was Agribusiness. That news was soon all over town. Julie Blumenfeld and Ann Duckworth were both attending SMU. On their first trip home, they learned of MaryLou’s choice of a major and thought this was hilarious.

James Blumenfeld, Ann’s father, had been keeping up with what the Harrises and MaryLou were doing. He commented to his daughter, Ann, you and Julie may laugh now, but that girl is going to do something with her life. I hope you do as well.

James managed all of Harris’ real estate matters. John had reviewed Lou’s contract with Tyson, and MaryLou had been included as an equal partner with the stipulation that MaryLou would inherit the business and the property when she died. Bob Harris’ signature was on that document, and Lou had also drawn up a document for MaryLou to oversee all the farm business should she die before Bob.

John had learned that Lou had contracted with Tyson to raise commercial broilers. He had also learned that May Lou had been the one who guided Lou in making sure that she had covered all her bases with environmental impact clearances and that state and federal regulations were met. She had advised Lou to sell timber to fund the construction of the broiler-raising endeavor. Both John and James were aware of MaryLou’s involvement.

John revealed, That girl is amazing. Last week, I met her on the street and stopped to converse briefly. It turned out to be a 30-minute conversation. I was most impressed with her grasp of their project to raise commercial broilers. I wouldn’t laugh too loud at what that girl is doing. That major fits her perfectly.

James commented, I have sold two properties that joined the Harris property that was placed on the market. Lou purchased both. That is where the timber they are harvesting came from. It is paying for that new commercial broiler house. That sucker is 40 feet by 500 feet. It will house 20 to 25,000 chickens. All with automatic feeders and waterers. They can raise at least five batches of chickens per year. Lou says that MaryLou is planning on at least three of those houses and maybe even more if they can find the right help.

Julie and Ann were stunned that John and James were so impressed with MaryLou Williams. All they could envision was her driving that old one-ton Dodge diesel truck. John had also revealed that MaryLou, Marie, and Tony Garcia had been cutting and selling firewood cut from limbs, the byproduct of their timber sales.

Ann asked, How did they cut the limbs?

With chainsaws.

Julie blustered with a snicker, That is so crude.

Well, laugh now, Julie, but mark my word; that girl will make it in this world. I hope you two do as well, John answered.

That statement stung both Ann and Julie. They had looked at MaryLou as a backward hick. Seeing John defending MaryLou stunned both girls. Their most arduous task so far in their college experience was a struggle over which sorority to pledge into.

This conversation took place during lunch with the Blumenfeld’s. The girls’ mothers were listening intently. Both had seen MaryLou in the grocery store. Standing over six feet tall and slender but full-figured, MaryLou was imposing. She did not look like an 18-year-old girl. She could have easily passed for a mature 30-year-old woman. MaryLou greeted both mothers warmly with a smile and asked about their daughters. That pricked these mothers’ consciences. Having heard both of their daughters making fun of MaryLou left them with a strange sense of guilt that they did not understand at the time. Now that their husbands had enlightened them, they were feeling a bit small.

In jest, John commented, After running a chainsaw and cutting firewood all summer in the hot sun, I sure would hate to get that girl angry with me. With her Hardin genes, I imagine she could whip over half the men in this town.

James Blumenfeld had been somewhat quiet during the conversation. He said, With that Hardin grit and determination, MaryLou will be successful. James’ father had dated Lou Harris before he left Galway to attend Texas A&M University. His major had been Agribusiness also.

James knew that his dad was still impressed with Lou. He was sorry that he had not tried to get MaryLou into the Agribusiness program at A&M, but he suspected she would not leave her aging grandparents. He was correct. MaryLou was a very bright young woman. She had observed a decline in her grandfather. She had not voiced that concern to her grandmother. Lou had seen the same thing, but both grandmother and granddaughter tried to shield the other from the inevitable.

Much of James’ business was rural real estate. His dad dated Lou before he left for college. They drifted apart after he met his wife. James could not help comparing his mother with Lou Harris. His mother was extravagant. Lou was frugal. He suspected that Lou was much better off financially than his father. He was correct but off an order of magnitude. They weren’t even in the same league and Lou had a semi-invalid husband.

Two pampered mothers and their daughters left the restaurant that day with a different view of MaryLou Williams and her grandparents. They had been big fish in a small pond in Galway. That role at SMU had turned that Topsy Turvy. They were homesick and miserable.

Sunday morning, the start of MaryLou’s Christmas break, Lou awakened her early in the morning and revealed that when she arose, she discovered that Bob had died in his sleep. She had already called 911, and they were sending an ambulance and contacting the sheriff’s office. The medical examiner was also on his way to oversee all the legal matters.

The medical examiner tentatively ruled that Bob had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, ruling that Bob had died of natural causes. He agreed with the sheriff’s deputy’s concurrence that the funeral home could be called to pick up Bob’s body. The deputy called the funeral home for Lou. He was most helpful in helping Lou and MaryLou through the troublesome experience. They both expressed their thanks for that.

MaryLou and Lou were grieving. Bob had been a dynamic man before his injury. Most of Lou’s and MaryLou’s grieving was in the past. Lou informed MaryLou, I want to have Bob’s funeral as soon as possible. His friends and his pastor have already abandoned him. We are only going to have a graveside service and no visitation. All of his support came from you and me. I don’t want hypocrites telling me how much they cared.

MaryLou was saddened that her grandmother felt this way, but she knew there was a strong element of truth in what she said, so she did not try to change Lou’s mind. Lou arranged with the funeral home to meet with their staff to plan the funeral. Bob had a nephew, his sister’s son, who was a Methodist minister in Lufkin, Texas, to see if he could bring the funeral address. He was available.

The funeral drew more people than Lou expected. Both the Blumenfeld and Duckworth families were present, including wives and daughters Julie and Ann. Bob’s doctor, Dr. Charles Edmonds, and his son Randall were present. Both Lou and MaryLou were shocked to see Randall. He had been MaryLou’s date when she made her five-mile trek through the river bottom when she was a sophomore. Randall was a senior at that time. He was a Junior premed student at The University of Texas now.

Holding MaryLou’s hand, he quietly said, I am so sorry, MaryLou. Our date still haunts me,

MaryLou smiled sadly and quietly answered, It is okay, Randy. All is forgiven.

Randall desperately wanted to ask her out again, but he knew that would be terribly in bad taste here.

Dr. Edmonds had overheard his son’s comment to MaryLou and heard her reply. Once in the car, Dr. Edmonds commented, Randy, I always suspected that you didn’t break your nose by walking into a tree in the park back in high school. That is why I grilled you. Of course, I had heard all the gossip. Do you want to tell me about it?

I didn’t control my hands, Dad.

Well, at least she didn’t neuter you.

Yep. I got off lite. She jumped out of the car and walked home through that dang river bottom. I wish I had behaved now. I didn’t respect her, Dad. That was wrong, terribly wrong. She is beautiful.

Dr. Edmonds was a good man, a man with an active faith. His wife died, leaving behind a daughter, 16, and a son, 11. He had tried to raise these kids to be responsible adults, but like many parents, he indulged his kids too much. He was fortunate enough to raise two young adults who also had an active faith.

The aborted date changed, Randall. Dr. Edmonds had observed this at the time. He tried to get his son to tell him what happened. He knew something drastic had occurred on that date, and his son had not run into a tree. Almost three years later, he now knew the truth.

Randy, why didn’t you tell me the truth? We could have straightened this out.

Too ashamed, Dad. Too disgusted with myself. You had taught me better than that.

Well, I am glad it happened, Randy.

Why, Dad? It was a terrible thing for me to do. She told me immediately to stop, but I thought she didn’t mean it. I had heard guys bragging that they had seduced her. It was all lies, of course. I confronted them, and they admitted that they were lying.

I am glad it happened because you were developing your sense of values. Until this point, kids generally conduct themselves with their parent’s sense of values. During your teenage years, you start developing your own values, which govern who you become as an adult. You learned that MaryLou is a real person.

Yes, and now MaryLou Williams is a beautiful specimen of a woman, and she won’t look twice at me. We were good friends when we fished with her and her granddaddy.

You might try writing to her. She may forgive you. She is a congenial and pleasant person. She often brought her grandfather to his appointments. She asked very probing questions, and I learned immediately on their first visit that she is very bright. That girl will succeed and is not afraid of work.

Do you know if she is dating anyone?

No. Lou is worried about her. She says that MaryLou has said that she will never accept another date. I guess that she liked you, Randall. You hurt her deeply, but you might still have a chance if you go slow.

Randall tried to date at UT, but he kept comparing all his dates with MaryLou. The girls he dated all seemed shallow compared to her. Everyone in high school knew MaryLou could ride a horse, rope a young bull calf, and neuter him. She could drive a tractor, plant, harvest, cut, rake, and bail hay. Now he had learned that she could run a chainsaw and split logs. He knew she could do all of these things, yet she still looked feminine as he walked away from the cemetery that day. He was feeling tremendously small.

Under his breath, he muttered, Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Dr. Edmonds felt sorry for his son, but he knew he