Mills Rabbit Ear Mountain

A Texas Family Saga
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-0983-4792-5
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz

E-Book, Englisch, 666 Seiten

Most who fail have nothing to prove, but when you are the direct descendant of a Texas Legend you do and failure is not an option. Randolph (Randy) John Cahill III knows what the Cahill Family Dynasty expects of him regarding his fitness to wear the mantel of leadership. He is fully aware of his ancestors, Carroll John Cahill and Katherine Tipton Cahill, who in 1832 forsook their Tennessee home to lead a Company of pioneers into a hostile and unknown area of the Louisiana Purchase territory. Their mission, secretly sanctioned by the seventh President of the United States, was essential to the Westward expansion of the Nation. In the process, they implemented and successfully completed the President's plan to establish a United States presence on the frontier. For mission accomplished, they received a land grant of 1500 square miles by way of a Presidential Executive Order. The grant is the origin of the Diamond Bar C Ranch which is the basis for the Cahill Family Dynasty created for their progeny and future generations. Randy is determined to show he possesses the steely mettle of his forefathers and to prove he will be ready when called upon to fulfill his obligation. Along the way, several unrelated events create intrigue and drama in the lives of Randy, his family and friends. The manner in which Randy behaves portend testament to his fitness as the family heir whose leadership and contribution will greatly promote and enhance the legacy of the Cahill Family Dynasty.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mills, Roger

Leseproben

Chapter 2 - Entry Money THE SUN IS UP about thirty minutes when a late model International pickup truck driven by a teenage boy on the verge of manhood exits Ranch Road 1 and slowly proceeds through the massive main gate of Rancho del Robles. The gate is meant to impress with its hand-made ironwork and cut stone. Construction cost alone was far beyond a year’s salary for most men. The owner, Governor William Thomas McCulloch, is an accomplished man and he uses his wealth to further his power in Texas politics toward national recognition. The boy has visited the ranch on several previous occasions, but today he is not making a social call. Today is the first day of a five-year plan and step one is to find a summer job. Good paying jobs are difficult to come by, but here at Rancho del Robles there exists an excellent opportunity. He is mature beyond his years and fully aware that he must begin to demonstrate his fitness to someday be granted the responsibility for preserving and extending his family’s legacy and that of their 120 year old Texas Ranch, the Diamond Bar C. His era in the Cahill family saga begins today. The road beyond the gate appears endless and is lined with ancient oak trees spaced exactly sixty feet apart. A mile away, the road makes an abrupt right turn and winds up a steep hill to the main house. Reminiscent of fine homes in Spain, the main house is a sprawling multilevel structure built of Texas limestone with a massive Mesquite wood door gracing the entrance. The upper levels show gun ports built into the facade around the entire perimeter of the structure. The Spanish Crown bestowed a Spanish Land Grant of approximately 500,000 porciones to Don Juan Gonzalo de la Hoya who built the structure in 1784, as evidenced by the corner stone, to protect his family during Comanche Indian raids. The de la Hoya family managed to salvage and retain a small portion of their Grant when Texas became a Republic. Descendant from a powerful New England family, which included a former Secretary of the United States Treasury, the Governor is the great-grandson of William Henry McCulloch who migrated to Texas in 1866. Henry was the quintessential Yankee opportunist who saw the Government’s reconstruction of Texas following the War Between the States as an easy way to greatly increase his personal fortune. He liquidated his New England holdings much to the chagrin of his father who disowned him for what he considered behavior unbecoming. Flush with cash deposited in Boston banks and a few thousand in gold coin he acquired large tracts of land in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area at rock bottom prices. Those properties were worth many times what Henry had paid for them when the cities began to expand as other Northerners saw the potential for vast fortunes to be made at the expense of those who lost the war. The Governor is the sole surviving inheritor of Henry’s fortune and he delicately increased it when he married Louisa Maria de la Hoya. Shortly after Thomas and Louisa’s marriage in 1937, the main house was completely gutted and updated with then modern conveniences. Since then Louisa has continued to apply her time and talent toward improving the interior with the latest architectural details of a home befitting a wealthy family. Views of a large lake and the rolling hills, dotted with Oak trees and Mesquite that one sees from the home’s vantage atop the hill are awe-inspiring. A Northern frontal exposure gives the backside verandas the benefit of warm afternoons and cool evening breezes. It is here that the lady of the house is permitted to grace the surroundings with her Master Gardener’s expertise. A rose garden in the traditional English style is the center piece for the landscaping interspersed with fountains and cascading spring fed ponds which are home to a pair of snow white Swans. Several Peacocks roaming the area act as sentries to announce the presence of both animal and human intruders. Overall, the ranch is comprised of a mere 100 square miles. Small, it lacks the barns, corrals and other support structures necessary to be a Texas working ranch. The entire property looks like what it is; a gentleman’s ranch and since a gentleman is not expected to work his ranch, he employs others who perform the necessary chores to maintain the grounds and structures as well as caring for the animals. Domestic help is also retained to care for the McCulloch family members and their guests. Louisa’s younger sister Maria manages the household and her husband Pablo is the Ranch Manager. They occupy a house located on the southern shore of the lake with their three sons, a pair of twins plus one. The house is one of the original structures built in the early years before the main house was built. Louisa supervised the refurbishment of the dwelling for Pablo and Maria’s home as a wedding gift. Louisa’s uncle Jorge who had been managing the ranch decided to retire and return to Mexico. The wedding gift was the enticement for Pablo and Maria to become the ranch managers. At the bottom of the hill is an equestrian center furnished with luxurious living quarters for a manager. It is there that the Governor’s only child, a female whose labored birth cancelled any plans for a male heir, spends her leisure hours developing and practicing her equestrian skills. Tommy Louisa de la Hoya McCulloch is older than her classmates having been held back in the fifth grade by Miss Sadie Young. She, a spinster is notorious for making her charges repeat the fifth grade if they can’t demonstrate adequate skill with reading, writing and arithmetic. Tommy Lou did not! As an eighteen-year-old, she is more mature than her contemporaries and ruthlessly enjoys playing with the boys’ sexual fantasies. Her physical attributes, perky tits and a pear shaped ass hardened by hours and hours of pounding against the cantle of a western saddle, along with her overtly flirtatious manner encourage many to engage only to be brutally rejected and publicly humiliated. During the Governor’s campaign for election to his first term, he was introduced to a Houston Oil Magnate who was instrumental in arranging the financial support necessary to conduct a winning campaign. Fortunately for the Governor to be, the immense popularity enjoyed by the man’s daughter and her husband, a retired jockey in high stakes races from California to Kentucky and a former number one contender for the World Boxing Federation’s Championship in the flyweight division, provided him the state-wide support needed for his campaign. The money and the popularity enabled the campaign to elect a Governor with seventy three percent of the vote, a landslide consistent with Texas’ reputation for everything big. Unfortunately, the Houston Oil man went bust shortly after the election and his hard-earned dynasty came to an abrupt halt when out of despair he killed himself leaving his only child fatherless and penniless. The Governor being an appreciative man did not forget his late friend’s enormous contribution to his election and immediately upon learning of the man’s demise he generously offered his daughter and her husband an opportunity to join the McCulloch family. Willoughby Roane Cullen is Director of Public Relations for the Governor’s office and her husband, Little Red Lopez, is the Manager and promoter of the Rancho del Robles Equestrian Center. Little Red encouraged Governor McCulloch to buy a tall, long legged sorrel colt from a Texas breeder he had met during the height of his racing career. Calling on his considerable experience, he trained the colt for eventual entry in the famous Kentucky race. The two-year-old colt made an impressive showing in a losing cause and is currently standing at stud to sire a potential stakes winner for some lucky millionaire who dabbles in the Sport of Kings. In his spare time, Little Red began to teach eleven year old Tommy Lou McCulloch all the particulars of expert horsemanship. Under his tutelage, Tommy Lou did indeed become an accomplished performer in the sport of horse mounted trick riding and as a competitive Rodeo Barrel Racer. The bond between Tommy Lou and her mentor developed into that of a father daughter relationship. Now, in the third year of his second term, Governor McCulloch and his wife Louisa are spending more time at the ranch. The five hundred miles to the Texas State Capital in Austin is an easy commute for the Governor in his twin engine Cessna. His private runway, located on the ranch, is equipped to facilitate IFR landings at night and during inclement weather. An accomplished pilot, having served honorably in the United States Army Air Corps, the Governor enjoys flying even though it is not as exciting as the P38 Lightning he flew in Europe. The Governor is dreading the day he must hand over the reins of power to a successor. He is a relatively young man in the game of politics and his quest for national recognition is not going well. His time at the ranch is spent entertaining men of influence who have the necessary connections and money to help further his ambition. Their wives willingly accompany them on these visits because Louisa is the archetypal southern hostess. Besides, in Texas you are not somebody until you’ve been invited to one of Louisa’s Spanish fiestas at the McCulloch Ranch. The boy driving the pickup truck allows his mind to momentarily wander as he takes in the beauty of this truly impressive piece of property. To the West is a lush, green pasture reserved exclusively for a small herd of Texas Longhorn cattle that graze on the belly deep native grasses. To the East is a large meadow; hay is cut, baled and sold to ranches throughout the region for cattle and horse...