Hope's Ranch

Early May: End of year one

They had pulled off at a truck-stop in central California. Larry had taken care of fueling up, while his passenger worked on the windshields. The person who was following him was one pump away. A year earlier he would have had to do the whole job himself, but that was almost like a different life now. He leaned against his driver side door, a sign by his shoulders. In large black letters were the words. “Hope's Ranch.” It wasn't painted on, but a sticker, put on by the ranch to help him out with bills on his rig; this way someone helped out with the high insurance he had to pay every three months. Just under the window were the words “High Plains Cowboy” done in a flowing script. His truck was in need of a new paint job, and a good washing. He leaned against his truck and his mind went back to a woman he had known for several years. She had become his favorite dream and once had been his biggest regret. But lately, they had been getting closer and she was getting ready to leave her life in Truckee.

“Hope's Ranch?” A female voice cut through Larry's day dreaming. “Isn't that the place for the runaways? The private school in the Sierra Nevada’s?”
He nodded as he gathered his thoughts. There was a female trucker, on the pump next to him. She had that tired look that most drivers who have seen too many hours on the road seemed to wear. He didn’t lean forward as he spoke, but he smiled. “Yeah, but it's more than that. Its more of a place that will take in the kids that the world shuns and it helps them better themselves.”

“It's where those kids...those Transsexuals go, right?” The lady asked. Larry looked at her and realized that she didn't look angry, just curious.

“It is. But it isn’t just Transsexual kids there. There are all sorts. Gay, lesbian, bi kids, pregnant girls, girls who were raped...all sorts call the ranch a home.” He said with a nod. “We try not to exclude too much.”

"Its more than a school, right?"

"The ranch has several sides, including the school, the ranch and more. Each part is separate from the others, but it’s also together.....well, that’s not a good way of putting it. The best way to look at it is this. We offer kids and families a safe haven. We’re state supported, but we also have a commune of sorts with families who have gone there for safety.”

“I heard about you guys on the radio a week or so ago. It was on a news show one night. Something about a whole new campus and a rebuild due to damage.” She said. Her head cocked to the side slightly, as though she was getting a better look at him. He had seen several female truckers over the years. A lot of men felt intimidated by them, like they were stealing the jobs for the men, but Larry never had an issue with women drivers. He only had problems with people who gave truckers a bad name. “You look familiar. Didn't you used to do over the road trucking into the Midwest? I swear I seen you somewhere in Nebraska, could have been Wyoming? I think it was about five years ago? A fist fight at a Mrs. B's? I swear they said it was the High Plains Cowboy.”

“I used to stay in the Midwest, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah. A lot of the Interstate eighty corridor. And yeah, that could have been me. I was pretty stupid back then. Fought at the drop of a hat and it didn't matter whose hat it was.” He said with a nod. “But I'm helping at the ranch now.”
“Not to sound rude, but you don't look like the kind of guy who'd be helping transgendered kids. I recall you were a bit of an ass to those kinds of people several years back. I remember hearing stories about you at a couple different truck stops about you being homophobic.” He didn't get mad. He knew in all his travels, he'd meet someone that had heard about who he was before he began working for Hope's Ranch. Before his life was changed over the years.

“A few years ago, I would have agreed with you. And I was always a jerk to gays and transgendered people.” He shrugged. “Actually, I was a jerk to everyone.”

“Why?” She asked.

“I had a brother that decided he was born a girl and my first reaction was to hate him. When he gained the support of my parents, I hated them. I finally left over ten years ago, when I got mad at all of them. I left that day, after slugging my brother and telling off my parents. I figured that was the last time I'd ever deal with a Transsexual again. My hatred boiled for years and I just became a bitter man.”

“But you work for a ranch that deals with them?”

“I was lucky enough to have my eyes opened for me.” He stated. “It had started a couple years ago, actually, but last year it was all pulled into focus for me.”

“What was that?”

“Well, it's kind of a long story....” He looked at the fuel pump and realized he had time. “But for me, it started a long time ago...”

And here it is again. Hope's Ranch has returned. It will take a little bit to get into year one, but I feel its needed to see the main cast and how they get to the ranch.

The beginning to Hope's Ranch. A look back, though the years before year one

Thirty years, or so, before Year one

As ranch's go, this one was like any other. A humble two story, four bedroom home, with a kitchen, den, living room and one and a half bathrooms. The faded paint job was peeling from the old wood walls on the outside of the home. The paint job on the inside was just slightly better. The roof had recently been patched, and the windows were new as well. It was good enough to be a home. In fact, a family lived in it. Like many other families in the country. A father, mother and two children, both boys.

While none of the family really stuck out. In time, one of them would feel out of place. Like he was born in the wrong body. And as he would grow, many people would ignore his complaints that he wasn't a boy, but a girl. No one heard, no one but his brother, who was six years older. And his brother picked on any weakness he could find, like brothers tend to do. It was unseen by the parents. Not because they were bad parents, but that they were both busy people. Both parents held many jobs. They were ranchers, parents, pillars of the community. She was a school nurse, he was a farmer. Both had their hands full and were doing the best they could to give their kids a good life.

The ranch wasn’t special. Not yet at least. In fact it would be nearly two decades before the ranch began to be something special. Three decades until the full potential of the ranch would begin to show. Currently it was like many of the other ranches in the area and across the country. A lot of land, owned by one family. Many crops across the several hundred acres they owned. All land that had been handed down through the family. Many parcels of land were purchased when times were tough and the little family who owned the ranch had the money to expand. Not all of the land was crop worthy. Some was good for animals and some for hunting. Others to just have buildings on. Which was good.

Of course being so busy and having two young kids, the father had to hire help to tend to his fields. So he usually called on migrant workers. But the ranch kept thriving. Not turning a huge profit, but not slipping into a pit of debt and bankruptcy, like many other farmers.

Currently the ranch was just that. A ranch. A place to produce food, to raise children in a simpler way, as opposed to how kids in Reno, just half an hour away, were being raised. Or even kids in San Francisco. Yet, unknown to the man and woman in the house, their children, their ranch, even they themselves, would be instrumental in changing the ranch into something of a symbol. A beacon of hope for lost, hurt souls. A place of healing and love. A place the world would need.

None of them could see the future. Not one. If they could, they may had turned from the path, or took a different approach. But as life has a way of happening, they lived life, one day at a time. Their lives were shaped by the things that happened around them. Watergate. The Vietnam war. In time they would see Presidential assassination attempts and Shuttle explosions would become the big news. But for now, it was a country trying to get back on track.

There would be trials. Many of them, and for all who would be involved. Trials not only legal, but physical and mental. Tears and pain were destined for the future of all four people in the family, but none of them could be aware of it. Not that it mattered. The wheels of fate were already moving. Moving towards a destiny that no one could foresee. Time would march on and each would have a role to fill. One they could easily walk away from. Others would follow the ideal, like many people did. Each of them would fill a role. Protector, healer, explorer, friend, confidant. There of course would be their opponents. Detractors. Haters. As the father's Dad used to say, “Life with no bad wasn’t a life worth living. For one needed the lows to counter the highs. Evil to counter the good. Life was always a struggle. Not just between others, but within one’s own mind and soul. Sometimes, even the noblest of intentions could harm another.” And that speech always stayed with the man, even from his time in the war.

The kid's father often recalled the lessons his father taught him, while tending to the farm when he was a boy. “It is with love and hope that we are nurtured, and grow. We can grow as strong as these crops and help others grow.” And that was the lessons they planted in his children. Of course, Henry, the father, was his father's eldest. His younger siblings were a sister, who now lived in San Francisco, and was part of the dwindling hippy movement, also a lesbian. His brother had died in the war.

The mother also tired to give these lessons to the boys, Larry and Earl. She told her what her mother had always said to her. “Live life to the fullest. Love everyone like you want to be loved. Be there when you are needed. Stand by your word and defend those in need.”

Little did they know that their words would inspire so many, mostly the youngest child. And no one knew of the changes that were in store for their little family, or for other families that would join theirs. For their story was only beginning.

~o~O~o~

And once again, I am breathing life into this story.

Fifteen years before year one

He had seen it coming. His brother was slowing becoming the sissy Larry always knew he was. Larry had beat Earl up many times over the years and as they got older, the beatings seemed to get worse. As kids it would end up with Earl having a bloody nose, or a fat lip. As they got older, black eyes became a normal thing. No matter how much he beat on his brother, the younger boy always seemed to remain a quiet and kind person, which just made him hate his brother even more. He could never understand why his brother was the way he was. There were no girlfriends, but then he had very few male friends either. He often remained by himself, or he stayed near their mother. Larry just figured that was to keep from being beaten

Larry knew he should have seen the writing on the wall when his brother first came out to his parents. Larry didn't know what was going on at first, only that his father got distant to both of them, which made Larry hate Earl even more. Then their mother began doting on his brother, which annoyed him. Larry seemed to get more chores around the house, at least he thought he had.

Larry could still remember the fishing show he was watching the summer that he was Seventeen and his brother was eleven.Earl had told his parents his big secret. Larry figured his parent would want him to stop it from happening, so he tried his hardest. He told all his friends, which wasn't many people, due to their remote location, he increased the beatings, but was stopped more by both his parents.

Finally one day it all came to a head. He could remember the argument like it happened five minutes earlier. He was twenty five, and working as an over the road trucker. His younger sibling had just turned nineteen. So far Earl hadn't done much living as a woman, even though he kept seeing the shrinks. Larry figured it was all a waste of money.

“Son, we're going to help Hope out.” His father said. “We know you have problems with it, but Hope is our child and we've always said we'd help either of you if you were in need.”

“We don't want to do this, but you can't keep attacking your sister.” His mother said.

“That's my brother!” He yelled back. “He's got a dick, that makes him a man! You're just helping with the problem!”

“Son, if you can't accept Hope for who she is, then you can't stay here anymore.” His father said.

“But Dad, you need help here. I can help you!”

The old man shook his head. “Son, I need help and you've been working. Hope is getting very good in the fields. We don't need a violent thug with no love in his life.”

The arguments went back and forth, but one thing remained, they were supporting his sibling, no matter what. Finally his temper snapped. He faced his sibling and glared at her. “You ruined this family!” Larry struck out, his fist catching Hope's chin. She staggered back and hit the ground on her ass. Their father moved to get in between his children. Larry just glared at all of them. “This is all your fault! I hope you all rot!” He turned and stormed off for the trailer where he kept his stuff. Ten minutes later, from the safety of the house, they watched their son take a bag of clothes and throw it into the sleeper of his big-rig tractor. Their father watched, feeling nothing but sadness as his son pulled out of the driveway, for what he thought was the last time.

Twelve years before Year one

Hope sat in the kitchen. She had been spending the night, crying. The kid she had seen in Reno a week earlier still bugged her. Alone, on the street, battered to death. No one had cared. Some people had even laughed about it. She only got there to find the aftermath. A poor child, draped in a dress, raped, beaten and killed.

A sweet looking child, no more than seven or eight. Beaten because he liked to dress like a girl. Because he was a girl inside. Emotions roared through her veins. A mix of sadness and rage. She wanted justice for the child, but the killer was already caught and using religion as an excuse.

She had just finished college and was getting ready to go out into Plumas county to start her teaching career. She planned to stay where she was, when she finished school. She knew the big cities had more options for work. She loved the mountains though. And even though people there hated her for what she was, she could not stand to leave the place she had called home for over twenty years. She loved them very much.

Once again Fate played it's hand. Unseen to the family.

On the counter, a small TV was playing the number pull from the State’s lottery. Normally Hope wouldn’t have cared. But this time it was over three hundred million dollars. She could afford to give up one dollar for a chance at that.

“And Seven.”

Hope gasped, then she looked down at her hand. The ticket she held couldn’t be read, due to the shaking of her hands.

She wanted to scream out in joy. In the joy that her life could get a lot better, but emotion caught the sound and held it in her throat.

Six months had passed since she had her windfall, but it was the death of that small, frail child in Reno that kept shaping her thoughts. Work was hard, with people coming out of the woodwork for handouts. People who would have spit on her weeks before the lottery had happened. Now she had many people trying for the best friend spot.

To keep from being hounded, she put the money into all sorts of accounts and investments. Just to keep people from expecting a handout. But no matter how much she did, or gave to charities, that image of the beaten child in the dress could not leave her mind. In the back of her mind, Ideas had been forming. Brewing about like a raging storm, fit to shape a new world.

Eleven years before Year One

Hope had explained her plans and dream to her parents several times. And once again, her father didn't seem to catch on to it. She had already purchased the property next to her parents ranch, netting them another five hundred acres of farm land and her a two story, five bedroom home. But she had her eye on other properties too. One that lay just behind her parents and her properties. Something big, with standing buildings.

"You're doing what?" Her father asked.

"Foster care. Taking in kids that are special, like me."

"Is this about that kid?" Her father asked her, knowing full well it was."You can't beat yourself up over one child."

"Dad, trust me. I have money right now and I want to give to the world, not just take. I want to be someone that people can lean on when times are hard. I want to help out as many kids as I can. I want this place to be a beacon of hope to children who have none." Hope looked up at both her parents. "I'm doing this. I'd feel better if I had you two at my back."

Her father sighed. "I'm not sure about this, but I'll help."

Her mother nodded. "I'll help too. But we're not putting the farm up for mortgage if things get hard. That's my rule here."

"I understand, Mom. This will be sink or swim for me. I totally Understand."

With her connection in Sacramento. And in other parts of the state, the groundwork was laid down. She had given her pitch to the man in Sacramento. She knew it was a long shot. Her fingers were crossed, but to goose things along, she put out internet spaces to promote a safe haven for trans children.

She had to do it for the child she had seen. To prevent murders like that from happening again.

Nine Years before Year One

“Alright. Just sign here and this property is all yours.” The man said. The property in question was the land next to the property that she had bought during a bank sale. It was on a small road that led between her farmhouse and her parents place. It rested on their back boarders. This however was no farm house. This was different. This was An old prison camp. It was a short lived Youth detainee camp, set in the Northern part of the state, far from the hustle and Bustle of city life.It had failed when the state people messed around with money and decided that this was a waste of time. It had sat empty for nearly twenty years when she bought it. Her farmhouse was good. But as the time progressed, she got more and more children. So this was forcing her to get a bigger place. And this place fit the bill.

It also came with the full land rights to another thousand acres, though only three hundred acres of that was actually farm land. The rest was on mountainsides. Now the three of them boasted several streams and wooded areas to their names. Of course to get it set up for her needs, they would have to work at it over time. Changing the cells to something without bars. Altering the rooms and making sure it didn't seem like a prison.

She had even gone the extra length to get her place listed as a private school. Sure they only had about ten kids there, but now they didn't have to send the kids to Portola, where they got bullied each day. Each day she wondered if it was worth it. But that child’s image kept her up at night. Almost taunting her as to how she could make a difference.

January 1st 2005 (Year One) 12:51 am PST
Southeast Portola California
Main Girl’s dorm hall

Hope was taking up the lead of the trail of adults who were walking the young ones to the dorm halls after the New Years Party. Her parents had already headed home. They had left before the ball even got close to dropping. Some of the adults and children were in bed already. That was mostly those who had to work the kitchen early in the morning, those who had jobs in the nearby towns, and the kids under the age of ten. The option to stay up was there, but some of the kids just were too young to stay up that late. She had already gone and checked the main gate, to make sure it was closed, after her parents had left. While she did that, she made sure the sign for the ranch was still lit. The sign was next to the main road, on the property that she owned. Across the little drive was her parent's property. Many times people had sought her out in the middle of the night. So she determined that the sign would stay light, nightly. It was a beacon for those in need.

As they passed the side of the main building, Hope sighed. This had been another holiday season passed and no word from her elder brother, Larry. Around fifteen years had passed since he had left in a fit of rage. The sound of his truck was the last she had ever heard of him.

Life had been weird for them ever since that fateful day her brother left. From hitting the Lottery, then opening up what would become a school and refuge for transgendered youth, plus pregnant girls on the run. Her life had meaning now. The dorm was part of the old Prison complex she had bought. It had taken some time to renovate it to fit their needs. Plus they had to get rid of the bars and prison feel to it, at least in the parts that were in use. While she still had her ranch house she had bought with her lottery winnings. That place was now used more as an office for her. Plus as a place for the farm hands to rest on their breaks. Though, her parent’s house also was used for the same purpose.

The main building held their mess hall. It also had some of their class rooms, plus the school’s radio station and computer lab. Right behind and to the sides, was a hall that stretched out from the main building and attached to five other buildings, four of these were dorm halls. The hall bent slightly as it went away form the main building, so each of the buildings weren’t too close to the next. The central one was more classrooms, plus an enclosed gym area and their medical center, which really had no one working it, except Hope’s mother. For the dorms, there were two for the girls, two for the boys. Both of the Girl’s dorms were joined in the middle by a smaller hallway that held a communal shower room. Hope had redesigned to make it less like a prison shower. Now each shower was in a small cubicle. With an outer cubicle to get dressed and undressed in. There was also several bathrooms. A large one with ten toilets connected to the shower room, plus five more bathrroms along each dorm hall, with three toilets in each. The two boy’s dorms held the same. Yet there were no hallways connecting the central part of the boy’s dorms to the girls dorms, Other than the main hall that was currently off limits. All of the toilet’s that had been in each cell had been removed, as had the plumbing. Now each room had an actual door that could close and lock, should the occupant want.

All of the dorms had a ground level, then there were partial basement levels, which were currently empty. Hope kept those areas locked off, so no one would get stuck down where the rooms still had prison bars. A separate building lay closer to her ranch. This was the garage. Currently it housed the ranch’s vans. At the gate leading to the main road was a small guard shack. They didn't have a guard anymore, but it held the controls for the gate. On her parent’s property was the garage that they used to work on all the vehicles of the ranch. Along the edge of the properties, the prison had a hedge fence, coupled with an actual fence, that Hope kept, but made sure it was covered in shrubs, so no one thought they were in jail.

Although she couldn’t see them, she knew the boys were on their way across the yard with the last of the boys and transmale teens. Cledus and his two friends from Texas led that motley troupe through the crunchy snow. The male members of her tech mice were taking up the rear. She went to the fancy keypad on the girl’s dorm and punched in the code. After entering the code, the light turned green, and one of the girls with her pulled it open and held it for everyone to walk in. She hated making the children trudge through the cold from the warm dining hall, but since the workers had stopped work on the halls that led to both dorms, they had no choice. Being partly state observed, they had to keep kids safe. She undid her coat. Thankfully the heater in the dorms were all working.

The workers had started the project in July, reworking the wires, but some of them had been hassled by Rufus to stop coming, so Hope had to wait until the proposed finished date passed, so she could start a lawsuit and get someone else to finish. This forced the kids to walk out in the cold. This was being used by the same deputy to try and shut them down, which had been stopped by the people in Sacramento.

Several of the trans-females were shuffling towards their rooms. Bishop turned in the door near the main door to find three of the young ones in her bed, waiting for her. Hope smiled as she passed by and headed for her room, which was in the center of the main dorm. The other dorm was held aside for girls with allergies, namely those who could not be around dogs, as there were several helper dogs on the campus of the school. Across the hall from Bishop’s room, the room that Sylvia Carter had claimed was open and empty. She was sure to be in Texas. Hope knew that without Sylvia and her son, Cledus, the Ranch would have failed years before. Tink and Tech passed her, each of them hugging Hope on their way through. Then came some of the others. One of the last to hug her was Carly, who rarely showed any kind of affection to anyone.

Hope thought back on the first time she had met Bishop and the girls she had rescued from a bad situation. A group of scared young girls who the system had failed. A low point in their lives, where a Young Bishop was forced to take matters into her own hands. Then she thought about how Cledus and his crew came to the Ranch, just a few years back, looking for a new chance, away from Texas. She thought about how Tink, Carley and Tech all had made their way to her school. As the girls and transgendered kids passed her, She nodded to Annie, whom many of the kids called the Reverend. Hope knew that without her, the kids would have run amok ages before.

As strange as it was. With as many problems as they had faced, she knew she wouldn’t trade her life for anything. Not as long as the kids needed her.

January 1st 1:00 am
Truckee California

For Larry Rawlings, New Years wasn’t that big of a deal. Neither was Christmas, Thanksgiving and any other Family type holiday. Thankfully this year he was home, and not in the middle of a delivery. So instead of spending it alone, he was with his neighbor, Liz.

He loved spending time with her. She was the only person he could really call a friend. For the past six years, she had lived across the hall, living alone and getting her mind together after a bad break up. The two of them found themselves hanging out quite often. And as much as Larry cared for her, he was afraid to get with her. He feared she would ask about his past. He was unsure how she would react to the news of his brother becoming a woman.

Liz sat on the couch, watching one of the movies they had picked, just to pass the time. Snow slowly drifted through the Early morning sky. It had been a comedy, and the two of them had been enjoying it, along with the beer and popcorn. It was also a Saturday now, so there was no worry for her to rush home and go to bed. She lucked out and had the weekends off.

Larry was also lucky and had managed to be off until the third. This gave the two of them a lot of time to hang out. Later they had planned for dinner. To her side, Larry sat there watching the movie. He was enjoying it, and his company. He hadn’t really thought about his family in a long time, so this was just another day he could ignore them and just live his life how he wanted.

January 1st 6 am

Tegan sat at the mic in the ranch’s radio studio. Her goal was to start out the morning by giving out the best morning intro she could. She had wished she had gotten more sleep, having been up till almost one thirty. Then she woke at five to make hot chocolate and set up stuff for a six am broadcast. Not that she had to do this shift, she just wanted to take the first broadcast of the year. “Happy New Year everyone. And may it be a great year for everyone listening. This is KHPE radio, coming from Hope’s Ranch, between the lovely towns of Beckworth and Chilcoot-Vinton California. Currently it is about twenty five degrees and trying to snow. We don’t expect even half an inch from this storm. High for the day should be around thirty three. For those traveling, it looks like most major routes are open. Seventy is open from Hallelujah junction to where it merges in Sacramento. The ninety five is open from Susanville to Reno. Forty nine is open, just snowy so watch your speeds. Now to the morning show. We here at the ranch would like to wish you and yours the best during this new year.”

She paused long enough to set up a record. “Now we’d like to start the morning off with a lot of soft music, for those still partied out.” She had done some searching and pulled up almost three hours of soft pop and soft rock.

The radio station was tied to the school. This helped get her credit on school work. This had also been her dream, to be a DJ on a radio station. She was the driving force to getting the station put in. After it was, she took over almost all control, except for Hope acting as the adult in charge, which was needed by federal rules.

Any way she looked at it, she loved her life in these mountains.

January 3rd 2005
Southeast of Portola California
25 degrees, Fahrenheit

Christmas and New Years were over now. The life around Portola could return to normal, again. The rush of the Holidays had been tough at the ranch and for those who lived nearby and were involved with it. Buying presents, making sure the little ones had a good holiday. The Ranch itself made very little money. It survived due to the fact that it partly sustained itself and was partly helped though money from the state.

While what was considered the Ranch was actually three different sets of ranches, Rawlings Ranch, Hope’s ranch and the old Prison ranch, All these were looped together when using the name Hope’s Ranch. Other places had come to join the large ranch, making it even larger. Both Cledus and Sylvia Carter owned a lot of property that bordered the ranch. All bought as people were running from the ranch. Then another group had shown up, a father Jackson and his daughter, Rori.

It was only the third of January and as Rori stepped out of her father’s home, the snow was still on the ground. There seemed to be way too much of it, at least to Rori. The snow had its way of being like that, especially in the mountains where they lived. She was under the impression that there was some kind of scale. The more you hate winter, the more Snow you got. Either way, Rori didn’t have time to care. This was the first Monday after the holiday break and that meant school.

As for the weather, the sweater, coat and other warm clothes she had on would keep her warm until she got to the ranch. Sure, it was a school day and the sun wasn’t set to rise for another hour or so, but she wanted to spend time with her BFF, Carly afterwards. They also had a project they needed to get done, one that both of them had put off until after the holiday break.

When she had first started attending the school, Rori had dressed like a typical teen girl from her last school. While it hadn’t been a private school, it had been in a very nice part of Los Angeles and that meant kids who had access to money. So to try and fit in, she had bought top fashion clothes, all the best her father could afford. No matter what, it was the thing between her legs that made others shun her. So she went to the Ranch, for a chance at a good education. But she realized that while they had access to money, the ranch didn’t. After all, it was mostly a state run place, or at least State funded. So Rori had gone home and raided her closet, then she had her father take her to the store, where they bought more clothes and then the two of them descended on the girls dorms and Rori made sure to give a bit of her fancy wardrobe to the girls of the ranch.

She didn’t mind. After all, her father was worth a decent amount. Although he had always told her to never lord her money over people. He had often told her that money wasn’t a fix all. Even before they had moved to the Ranch, they hadn’t lived like Millionaires. They had money tied up in numerous funds and charities. Even though Cledus did his best to prove that statement wrong, by using money any time the ranch needed help. Of course, his mother, Sylvia Carter also helped out with the Ranch’s need for cash.

So now, Rori always bought her clothes where the kids at the ranch would get theirs, the Goodwill. Sometimes they had great deals. Things like shoes and undergarments were store bought. But the rest was always second hand. And she found many styles she could make her own that way.

She had already called for a ride and was sure Cledus was on his way. Her dad was aware she was taking off soon, but she still had to check in with him, just before she went. So she crossed the snowy yard to the large renovated barn that had become the private training facility of Jackson the Jackhammer Callaghan, pro boxer and occasional mixed martial artist.

Rori peeked her head into the heated gym. She looked around until she saw her father, who was already into his daily workout. Even though he had just had a bout a few weeks back, he always trained. For him it was better than trying to get ready with just a month or two to go. This way his weight was a constant. His workouts were constant and he wasn’t struggling to come back from off time. Off to one side, by a television and with a small bag of trail mix was a man whom Rori had known all her life. Paulie was her dad’s manager. “Hey Paulie. How’s his training going today?”

“Good. Another three hours, then the ranch, then the plane.”Paulie stated. “Then New York for a couple days, then home. We’ll be back by the end of the week.”

“Excellent. Travel safe, Paulie.” She leaned over and hugged the old man.

"We'll try." The old man replied to her.

“Yo Dad! Headed to the ranch. See you Friday morning." Rori called out to the large man who was punching the bag as hard as he could. Normally she stayed home with him. But with him being gone, she would have to stay at the Ranch dorms, something Hope had already agreed to. Rori was the first student at the ranch who wasn’t a foster or state placed. She was Transgender, but Jackson had moved them there and they lived on a piece of property that bordered the ranch. Plus they let the ranch farm the fields.

The two of them looked nothing alike. Anyone that seen him on the street would never catch the relation between the two. His skin was white, almost pale. His hair was red and he stood Six foot six and was wide. Very wide. He had muscle, but he wasn’t like a weightlifter. Instead he used it for his work. Rori took after her mother. Dark skin, curly black hair and a shorter frame, almost five foot currently. But Jackson was her father, they had proved that just a year earlier, after Rori had been wrongfully taken from the home. It had almost led to both of them being arrested. Rori for assaulting the lady at the home she was put in. She had stabbed the woman when the lady tried to cut her hair without permission. Jackson had almost attacked Rufus.

He paused his punching exercise and looked at her. “Be good and if you need anything, just give me a call, alright? And call me if that stupid Sierra county asshole of a deputy comes after you again. I’ll be there a bit later. Hope wants help for that health fair and I’m free until tomorrow.” This was his usual reply to her. Ever since the incident a year before, at least all but the health fair part.

A Deputy of the next county, a self proclaimed champion of morality, Rufus Ralston, was a constant thorn in the side of the Ranch. He was always running there, even where there was no need or reason. If there was a wildfire in California, he blamed them. Even for fires in surrounding states, like Nevada, Oregon and Idaho, he blamed them. If someone was knocking over mailboxes, he blamed them. Speeding through Sierra county towns, also them. And none of it had proof. He tried to enforce laws for other groups, like the Department of fish and Wildlife. He would go by, when the ranch was using a barbeque and try to cite them. He was persistent. And very bigoted.

He had tried to remove Rori from her father a year earlier, all because he believed that blacks and whites couldn’t have children, not that they shouldn't, but he truly believed that those of different races were unable to have children together. A belief that he had openly stated to a reporter and a statement that got airplay across the country.. They both knew that Hope had many complaints on him, but so far, the Sierra County people didn’t seem to care. Even Jackson’s suit was taken care of quietly. And all the money he made from that went into helping fix up Hope’s Ranch. Of course, with Jackson being a sports celebrity, when Rori was taken away, the media descended on the Ranch and Rufus like ants on a picnic. What confused everyone affiliated with the ranch, was how Rufus had managed to keep his job after his blunder.

“You know I’ll call you. The second I see him, I’ll text you, Aunt Vivian, and Paulie. Aunt Vivian still wants a piece of his backside for what he did.” she turned as she heard tires on Gravel. The pickup truck that Cledus owned pulled into the driveway and he waved at her. Rori looked back to her father. “Gotta go Dad. Hayseed is here.”

“Be good and have fun.” Jackson said before he turned back to his workout.

“Will do, Dad.” Rori said as she pulled the door shut on his gym. She quickly jogged over to where Cledus was parked and hopped into the passenger seat. Cledus Carter, once daughter, now son to Sylvia Carter of Texas, the real estate magnate. Sylvia was worth billions, with her two sons being worth millions, at least until their maternal great grandfather died, then there was the chance that Cledus would be worth billions himself. How Cledus had ended up at the ranch still confused her, but Sylvia had joined in on his effort to help out, while keeping her involvement mostly secret. She had control of two separate companies now, although they had merged into one larger company, and she had people’s welfare to worry about. So she wanted few people to know her involvement to the ranch.

Rori had no issues with any of the Texas kids. Cledus, Lucky and Dusty were all good people. One Transmale, one Gay and one just an ally, or asexual. Either way, it didn’t matter. They were good people.

“School Jeeves.” She said with a smile.

“Yes Ma’am. Thank you for letting me drive you ma’am.” He replied in jest.This was how things happened, daily. Cledus would get up early to get Rori, while the weather was bad. At least until the bike path was clean to ride on again. He’d come get her, while the Reverend and Henry would run the vans half an hour later to get the students who were coming from other areas, like Portola, Reno, Susanville and Quincy. Many of them were placed at the ranch for school due to different reasons. Most were pregnant teens. Some were considered troublemakers due to their sexuality.

As they pulled into main drive of the ranch, she pointed to the girl’s dorms. The main gate was opened for them, so they didn’t have to stop. As they pulled through, Hank pulled it shut again, just to keep Rufus out. The school and foster care dorms was at the site of a failed California penal facility in the mountains, just behind the small ranch Hope had bought and that was next to the place Hope’s parents owned with the garage. The state had made it as a place to get minor prisoners a chance. Not really a maximum security place. But it had all the parts that had made it a prison. Tall fences, razor wire. A gate, big buildings.. The plan never really took off and a few years later, the buildings went up for sale, all bordering the Rawlings ranch. All bought by Hope. After sinking a lot of money from a big lottery win into the buildings, to help the place she started up a foster care center, focusing on those kids who were LGBTIQA and some pregnant teens. The boys had one dorm, the girl had another. In the center, in the main buildings was what became the school.

It was early enough that Carly was either in bed still, or just in the shower. Cledus nodded and he headed that way. “So you gonna be a part of that health fair thingy they got going on?”

Another idea that sprang up at the last moment. Doctor’s had contacted Hope at the last minute and they were coming to do a fair and give the kids all check ups. It worked for Hope, so she didn’t have to sit at a doctor’s office for nearly a full day while several kids were seen.

“Nah. I already got a doctor. We go through him for everything. Got the therapist too.”

“So what are you gonna do all afternoon?”

“Hang with Carly, Jane, Courtney, Billy and Kyra., until they are seen.” Rori replied. “Or get a snack and waste some time. Maybe help Dad in whatever he is helping with.”

“They are going to be helping the doctor’s see the kids in a timely fashion.” Cledus said as he pulled the truck to a halt. “See you at lunch, Rori.”

“Thanks for the drive, Hayseed.” She said, while sliding out of the truck and grabbing her bags.

Rori used the keypad to the side of the door and entered the code to the dorms. A light turned green, so she opened up the door and she walked into the first room, which was Bishop’s. The door was open and Bishop was in a chair, already dressed. Three little girls were asleep on her bed. Rori spoke to her in a whisper. “Hey Bishop. Can I go see Carly?”

“Yeah, Rori. Go on. But she’s still asleep, I think.”

“I know. I’ll be nice.” Rori replied. “Anyplace you want me to leave my stuff?”

“Carly’s room works. You know both her and her roommate.”

As Rori walked down the hall, there was little noise that could be heard, other than snoring. The room across from Bishop’s was empty at the moment, but she was sure that Sylvia Carter, Cletus's mother, would show up at some point. She was usually there at least once a month, for about five days. Sometimes she stayed a couple weeks in a month. Normally she took little jobs, mostly watching the real young kids. She treated the kids as though they were her children and grandchildren. She had been at the ranch, just a couple days before Christmas, in an effort to make sure all the kids had a good holiday.

The door for the girls aged three to six was open and she could see empty beds in the room. Past those was a room waiting for another adult to take it. But unlike the past few times she had been there, the bed was made, and the room had been made up all nice and neat. Rori kept going down the hall. From what she had heard, the place had been an old prison camp decades before. With help from both the state and the Carter’s, the dorms had been renovated to something more homely and less prison chic.Although, her and Carly had gone investigation one night, and found that the lower part of the dorms still had the old prison cell doors.

“Hey Carly.” Rori said as she climbed onto the bed of her best friend in the world. While she was just five foot five, Carly was shorter, coming in at under four foot. She was about Rori’s age, maybe a bit older. Also she had the worst temper on the Ranch and a mouth like a sailor.

“G’ way.” A groggy feminine voice replied. “I’m ‘leepin.”

“Come on. It’s almost seven. We gotta get up and finish that project for class.”

“‘O way!”

“Carly, I need you awake and working on that project. We’ve put it off and there’s a week to go, but we got other projects to do.”

“No.” The smaller girl stated, then she rolled over.

“You don’t get up, I will uncover your toes and go get some snow to rub on them.”

Instead of snow, Rori began to tickle the bottoms of Carly's feet. This only went on for about a minute when the little girl sat up in bed. "Okay! Awake now!"

"Good. Get dressed and I'll go to the bathroom. We have work to do today." Rori said before she headed out the door.

Ten minutes later

“Hey Tink.” Carly said to Tink as they exited Carly's room. “We’re headed to the mess hall. Mrs. Pain-in-my-Ass wants to do school work now.”

“Alright. Walk carefully. I fell on my ass near the dorms. The sidewalk is slick. The computer lab is already up and running.”

“Why can’t we stay on the indoor path?”

“You know that last group stopped working it. Until those repairs are done, we’re all banned from there. Too dangerous.”

“Kinda shocked that Rufus hasn’t tried to use that to shut this place down.” Rori stated. “Say the word and Dad may help. We could find groups willing to work.”

“Contracts.” Tink said. “It’s all in contracts. We have to wait for them to pass the limit of time they gave, then we can sue.”

“Come on. We’re getting cold, because of you.” Carly said as she headed for the door.

Rori shook her head and pointed at the shorter girl. “Oh no you don’t. You agreed to doing this work. Today. So don’t throw me under this bus. You said to wait till the Monday after Christmas and New Years.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

And It's returned. Hopefully I can post once a week. I got a few I want to do that shows how some of the kids got to the ranch. But for now, I hope you like it

First up, the backstory of Tink, AKA Tabatha. One of the first few people to call the ranch a home. Born in Boston, Raised between the Midwest and New England This is the short story of how she ended up in California.

1996

“Mr. Giordano, I’m no idiot. I know what you do for a living. I know, but I don’t care.” The young child who looked like a boy but acted like a girl said from the older man’s front seat. Currently they drove in a newer Cadillac, headed for a meeting that Toby, who should have been Tabitha, had no clue about. But so many things made no sense about her. She didn't sound like a kid from Boston. Her accent was more of Midwest Standard. No real accent. Just a few slang words that popped up from time to time. This is how her father wanted it. No accent so no one could link her to him. No one could tell what part of the country she stayed in the most. She was riding with a man who used to have mod ties.

She knew the old man in the driver's seat had used to be a bad guy. After all, that was her father's old job. Get bad people and hide them until they were nice, or got caught out of their own stupidity. Currently though, the old man was still alive, but her father had died. Not by other bad guys, but from cancer.

“Toby, your Dad did some stuff for me. He protected me when I went into protection. Yes. I was a bad man, but I got out of that life.” The former mob man told him. “And he said to me to make sure that you’re taken care of.”

“I don’t want that. I want him back.” The young child replied.

They pulled into a bark parking lot and Mr. Giordano went drove around till they found themselves on the fifth floor. There was a van with one of the man from the government that Toby knew well. He had known Toy for years and was one of the few people to know that Toby was becoming a girl named Tabitha. Even more than that, he was one of the three people that called her by a nickname. Tinkerbell, or Tink for short.

“Tob….Tabitha, this is where we part ways. I must stress, don't look for me. Stay safe and stay away from me. Take this.” He handed her a blank envelope and a small shoe box.

“I don’t want it.” Tabitha said. “I want my Dad back. Not dead. And I don’t want your money.”

“Tabitha. There is something you don’t know because your Dad never said anything to you.”

“What?” She snapped back at him. “You were a bad guy and Dad died because of you.”

“Tabitha, your father was dying. All that leg work he did for me? The extra money, he was trying to stop the cancer. But he knew he was losing. Cancer is a hard thing to beat and I had nothing to do with it. So he wanted to get you a nest egg built up. That money was some of what he was saving for you. I got more of your cash, but not here. But its your money, to help with your change. I may not understand this change, but it is your money.” Mr. Giordano handed her an envelope. On in, in her father’s handwriting, was her female name. She tucked it and the box into her bag.

“Now let's get you out of here and to safety.” My. Giordano said to her as he shut off the car

They got out and went over to the man in the van. US. Marshal Joey O'Malley gave her a hug before helping her get into the van. After that he stayed outside the vehicle, making sure that that all was well. Tracks had to be covered, or this was for nothing. Papers had already been taken care of, giving the child the name Tabitha for real. It hadn't been her first choice.
She waited until she was in the van and moving out of the parking garage before she opened the letter.

Tabitha.

This letter will get to you after I have passed. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do more, nor was I able to beat the cancer. I know I never told you about it, but I didn’t want you to worry over something neither of us could fix. The money Uncle G is giving you is from me. Also there is more. It is being put to good use until you’re old enough. When you’re old enough, the rest of the money will come, to help your change. I know this is little consolation and you’d rather have me, but be sure of this one thing. I am proud to be your father.

She closed the letter as the man in the van began driving out of the city. Out of the city that she had lived in for the past three years and into a whole new life. Tears slowly streaked down her cheeks as she thought of her father once more and how he would never be in her life again.

~o~O~o~

The trip took four days to get from one side of the country to the other. They had driven to avoid Tabitha being seen in an airport, not that many of the bad men who had known her father knew what she looked like, or that she was living as a girl, not a boy. Finally they pulled into a driveway at a small farmhouse in the mountains near Reno, but on the California side of the border. It was on some flat land, but way up in the mountains. It was the middle of summer, so the weather was warm and O'Malley had the air on in the van. He stopped the van and tapped her shoulder. “We’re here.”

“Okay.” Tabitha said as she undid her seat belt. “Whatever.” She mumbled after that, while opening her door.

The two of them got out and walked to the door of the farmhouse. Tabitha was starting to feel a bit nervous. She hated this. Being dropped off in the middle of nowhere. No one knew her here. And she knew no one. Tabitha had her pack on her back, a suitcase in each hand. O’Malley stopped at the door and pressed the doorbell.

After about a minute or two, the door opened up. A woman who was in her late twenties stepped out. She was dressed nicely and she looked over both the older man and young girl, then she asked. “Hello. Can I help you?”

“Hi there. I’m Joey O’Mally of the U.S. Marshal’s office. I called a week ago?”

Hope nodded. “Yes, I recall. Something about a new foster kid?”

Marshal O'Malley nodded and put a hand on Tabitha’s shoulder. “Can we go someplace private to speak?”

“To my office. Most of the kids are at school, so it’s not a worry.”

“The young girl outside is Tabitha Moretti. Though her family and friends call her Tink. Yes she is transgender, but more than that, she needs a safe place to live.” Marshal O'Malley said to Hope, as Tabitha sat outside the office, on a chair, looking at her feet.

“We house transgender kids, plus gay, lesbian and others. So safety isn’t a problem.”

“Maybe, maybe not. See, I can’t divulge much, other than the fact Tabitha’s father had worked for a part of the justice system. And even though he died, there are some who would view it as a win should they strike at him from beyond the grave and hurt Tabitha. We have already changed her first and last name, both her current one and her male persona. So that is one more smokescreen.”

“So she should still be safe, then?” Hope asked.

“Mrs. Rawlings, at this very moment, a car wreck is being investigated in Boston. Tabitha is one of those who will be listed, but in her real male name, of which I will not state. This is necessary. Some of the people her father crossed would do some low and despicable things if they find she is alive.””

Hope leaned back in her chair. “So you’re saying I’m getting a kid who has no record, and no ties to her old life. So my other kids won’t get harmed at all?”

“Correct.” The man from the Marshal’s office said.

“Then yes, we have a space for her here.” Hope replied.

~o~O~o~

The room was quiet. Other girls could be heard outside the room, but hers was small. Not size wise. It was huge, but the fact there were four beds stuffed into the room, that made it small. Currently the room was empty. All the kids were elsewhere, doing who knew what. This left Tabitha to look through her own stuff. Including the stuff given to her before the big move. O’Malley was gone already, no doubt heading back for the East coast.

She opened up the box that Mr. Giordano had given her. She gasped as the lid lifted and all she saw in it was green.

“Money?” She whispered. The box was full of bills, all twenties, all of them stacked nicely. And the box was full. On the top was a note.

T. This is just a sample of what your father had for you. There is more money in your name, but in an account you can’t touch until you hit eighteen. On this note is a way to contact me. Please don’t use it often. Stay safe and maybe I’ll see you before you need me.

G.

Tink shoved the money back into her suitcase as Hope walked in. The sudden movement got Hope’s attention. “Hello young lady. How are you doing?”

“Fine. Just lonely.” The girl replied.

“What was that? The ting you crammed in your pack?” hope pointed to her pack. “Nothing illegal I hope?”

“It’s stuff from my Dad.” Tink pulled the box back out and showed Hope the contents of the box.

Hope’s eyes went big. “Holy shit. That’s a lot of money.”

“My dad worked and saved it up. O'Malley said to not have a paper trail so bad guys can find me.”

Hope took in a deep breath, then let it out. “Tink, Tabitha, we can’t let you keep that in here.”

“Why not?”

“Well, first of all, there are four of you to be in here. Four people and not a lot of storage room.” Hope replied. “That much money, in a shoe box? Too easily stolen.”

Tink nodded at that, but looked up. “But it’s mine, so where can I put it?”

Hope thought about it for a moment, then she said. “Let me call that officer that brought you. Or maybe I’ll just keep it in a lock box.” She already had other shoe boxes holding important stuff for other kids. This would be like that, just worth more. “We’ll count it. I’ll place the majority in a locking box, in case someone can follow a sudden deposit of thousands of dollars. Then we’ll get a ledger. Each time you get cash, we’ll mark it down. That cool with you?”

“Yeah.” Tink said with a nod of her head.

“Maybe we can get a small bank account and slowly put money in it. Like one hundred every couple months.” Hope suggested. This was well out of her area of knowledge. She wasn’t used to housing kids who no longer existed on record.

~o~O~o~

It took two months of being there for Tink to feel at home. She knew there was no way her father was coming for her. She had no other family. Her mother had been abandoned as a baby and before Tabitha had been born, she cut all ties with her foster family. She knew O’Malley may not come that way, as to keep anyone watching him off the trail. Mr. G was gone and who knew to where. Tink knew it was all on her to make a new family. One she had control in building.

As Hope moved the children into the old Prison camp that was slowly being renovated, Tink was one of the first to grab a room. She was happy with her choice. Plus she had gotten some posters to put on the wall. Now this was more of a home than where she had lived with her father. There they barely unpacked, and never put things on the wall, in case they had to move in a hurry. At least here, Tink could feel that it could be a stable home. One she would not have to leave for a while.

~o~O~o~

So there is the first of the backstories. I'll return to the rest of the story, but for now I'd like to show how these people got to the ranch before I get into their daily lives

Location:

Hope's Ranch is located just off of Highway 49, in California, south of highway 70, near the township of Beckworth. It is South east of Portola. By the time year end has ended, the ranch has expanded to several thousand acres. There are at least two houses that are on properties that are owned by the Ranch.

Year one:

Year one is when Larry returns home. Year one starts in the end of May and start of June. While it can be confusing. I like to view Year one as the year the pieces all start to fall into place.

A look into the cast of Hope's ranch.

In no particular order (But mostly by appearance)

Larry Rawlings:

Larry is a trucker. The elder of the two Rawlings children. Larry works as a trucker, before year one. Working with one company for more than ten years, moving loads across the West and Midwest.