It was a peaceful evening and the twins were sitting on the porch enjoying the beautiful fall weather when a shriek pierced the air. The girls were startled as their eyes searched the area, wondering who had screamed.
A young man came running from the field toward the bunkhouse yelling, “I saw him! I saw him!”
All the farm hands rushed from the bunkhouse to see what was going on. The fear in Terry’s face was evident. His eyes were wide and his face was pale. Billy must have seen the frightened look on his face because he dashed toward his brother. Terry was trembling when Billy put his arms around him and tried to calm him down.
“It’s him! It’s him!” Terry said in a panic.
“What did you see?” asked Billy.
“I saw him. I really did. It wasn’t my imagination. His eyes were flaming red and his…”
“What are you talking about?” said Billy.
“The ghost from Superstition Mountain! I saw him.”
“You saw the ghost?” Billy’s eyes widened with surprise. “Where did you see him?”
Terry pointed toward a rocky ridge where the sun was just setting and said in a shaky voice, “He’s not there now, but I saw him.” With resolution in his voice, he exclaimed, “That’s it! I’m going home. Right now. I’m not staying another day.”
With tenderness, Billy said, “Now listen to me, Terry. It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it. Besides, the sun was in your eyes and…”
“It wasn’t my imagination, Billy,” yelled Terry adamantly. “Besides, you said you saw him, too. Remember?”
Billy turned toward the girls and said, “Tell him, girls. It’s nothing to worry about. Right?”
Sharlene and Faith didn’t know what to say. To them, it was something to worry about. It was a big deal. This “so-called” ghost, whom they had never seen, was ruining their uncle’s business. What were they to say without causing Terry to go into hysterics?
They didn’t know the brothers very well. The girls heard they were from Texas. They were tall spindly young men with light brown hair. Terry was eighteen. He was shy and mostly kept to himself. Billy was twenty-five. He was not only egotistical and flirtatious, but every day he tried a new line on the girls, trying to get them to go out with him. The girls didn’t like how forward he was, but right now they saw a different side to him. He was being tender and caring with his brother. He was worrying about him and holding him in his arms. This was a refreshing side to see. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe they had misjudged him.
After a few moments, Billy led his brother into the bunkhouse as he talked to him. The girls could hear Terry begging to go home to Texas and his brother was trying to calm him down.
“Hey, girls!” yelled Tony as he walked toward them. He was out of breath as he asked, “What happened? I rushed here as fast as I could when I heard all the commotion.”
“You missed the great Thunder God that everyone is talking about,” said Faith.
Sharlene nodded. “Terry claims to have seen it over the horizon.” She pointed toward the sunset. “Billy mentioned that it must have been his imagination since the sun was in his brother’s eyes. So… how many have seen it so far?”
Tony shook his head with disgust. “This is ridiculous. The Thunder God isn’t real. He’s just a legend. Why don’t people realize that?”
The girls could see the outrage in his eyes.
He sighed. “Sorry! I haven’t answered your question. Okay… Hal was the first to see him. He cooks for the ranch hands. There’s been about a half dozen men who saw it but they quit shortly afterward. They couldn’t stay. It spooked them too much. It’s funny that Billy told his brother that it was his imagination because he was one of those who saw it.”
“So… you don’t believe in ghosts?” asked Faith.
“Of course not,” said Tony. “But then one always hears ghost stories here in Arizona and sometimes it makes you wonder. How about you girls? Do you believe in ghosts?”
The girls hesitated and then shook their heads. This whole thing was unnerving. What bothered them the most was how fast the ghost seemed to disappear after being sighted! Whenever someone saw it, Uncle Kelly quickly hopped on his horse to check it out. Each time he found nothing. How did he disappear so quickly if he was a real person?
When Sharlene saw the worried look in Tony’s eyes, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“This whole mess! It’s hurting our business. Not only that, someone is posting false things about our ranch, degrading it, making it sound like a dump, like it’s run down, and insulting Hal’s cooking. You name it… and it has been posted on the Internet.”
Faith raised her brows curiously. “I don’t understand Hal’s duties here, Tony. Could you explain, please?”
Tony smiled. “Sure. Hal used to cook the meals for all the guests. But since we’re not making much money now-a-days, he just cooks for the ranch hands in the evening. We have a special kitchen in the bunkhouse for him, so he comes by and makes a meal, takes the time to serve them, and then leaves. Since he’s only part time now, he had to get another job in town. He’s a sweet old man. You gotta love him.”
When Uncle Kelly pulled up in his truck, Tony excused himself. The girls knew why. He was probably going to tell their uncle what had happened. When they saw Uncle Kelly’s face fall, they knew Tony had told him. Without hesitation, Kelly walked toward the bunkhouse in long strides.
“Oh darn it!” said Faith.
“What?”
“I wanted to tell Uncle Kelly. I never get to tell anyone about exciting news.”
Sharlene laughed. “I’ve got it. Let’s call April. She’ll get a big kick out of it.”
Faith’s eyes widened. “You’re right. Let’s do it.”
As if on cue, each girl grabbed her cell phone and began dialing, trying to beat the other.
“Got it!” yelled Faith. “I’ll put it on speaker so we both can tell her.”
When April answered, the girls sat on the porch and told her everything that had happened and April squealed with excitement, “I wish I were there. I’m sad that it’s ruining Uncle Kelly’s ranch, but I’ve never seen a real ghost before.”
The girls all laughed. Then April proceeded to tell her sisters all about her day and how a coed had been flirting with Matthew. She was furious.
“I peered through the window of the classroom door,” April said with disdain. “What I saw and heard made me prickle inside. The bleached blonde was flirting with my fiancé. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and said in a sugar coated voice, ‘Oh please, Professor. Can’t you help me just this one time? I’ll do anything. Just name it.’”
“Oh my gosh!” said the twins at the same time.
“I watched the blonde rest her hand on her hip, waiting for a response. But Matthew seemed oblivious to her flirtations or was just ignoring her.” April’s voice had a hint of laughter in it. “He was not affected one bit by her luring ways. I saw him tapping his fingers on his desk, looking thoughtful. Then he said, ‘You’d do anything?’ And she batted her eyes and said, ‘Anything, Professor! You name it.’”
“I can’t believe it,” said Sharlene. “What was she asking him to do? What a wench!”
“Well, I was real upset,” said April. “The only thing stopping me from stomping into the room, grabbing that blonde’s hair, and yanking with all my might was my curiosity. I wanted to know what Matthew was going to say after that.”
The twins were rooting for Matthew. He was like a brother to them. Waiting on the edge of their seats, they listened.
“As you know, Matthew usually has a cheerful countenance but he was not smiling at that moment. He was sober. Matthew stared at the girl and didn’t say a word. After a few moments, he nodded and repeated, ‘You’d do anything? All right. What I’m about to ask will be a great sacrifice to you.’ The blonde smiled and said, ‘Just name it.’”
When April hesitated, Faith blurted out, “I can’t stand it. What did Matthew say?”
April giggled. “He stared at her and said, ‘All I ask is this. Take good notes. Copy everything down that I write on the board. Study during the week and go through your notes an hour before the test. You’ve only got one more exam before the end of the semester. If you get an A, that could pull your grade up to at least passing if you work hard enough.’”
The twins squealed over the phone. They were elated at Matthew’s answer.
“I knew it. He’s a good guy,” said Sharlene.
“So the girl was asking him to raise her grades, huh?” said Faith. “What a floozy!”
The girls laughed.
“Besides,” said Faith. “Do professors ever do such a thing?”
April shrugged. “I don’t know and don’t want to find out!”
“So what did the floozy say,” asked Sharlene with a giggle.
“She just said, ‘There’s no way I could get an A. It’s impossible. The tests you give are ridiculous!’ Matthew said to her, ‘Everything on the test is from my lecture. If you take good notes, then you should pass the test. It’s as simple as that.’”
“He’s right,” said Sharlene. “So what did the girl do after that?”
“She stormed out of the classroom and almost hit me in the face with the door. She was mad. When she saw me, she said, ‘If you’re here to get any sympathy, then you’re wasting your time. That man has no heart. Good luck! He’s all yours.’”
The twins laughed and Faith said, “That’s right. He’s all yours, April.”
April was considered the level headed one in the family, but that day at the college, she didn’t feel that way at all. Someone whom she dearly loved was in the clutches of a “floozy.”
April had watched the blonde stride down the hall in a manner that would have turned the heads of most males. She puzzled over the way she walked away. Was it natural or practiced? Whether it was or not, she had watched Matthew as the girl walked away. He had noticed her swaying hips all right, but had turned back to his papers with a grin. The girl’s wiggle only seemed to amuse him.
April sighed and then said, “When I walked into the room, Matthew looked up and his eyes brightened. He quickly jumped to his feet, walked over to me, and took me in his arms.”
When the twins sighed, as well, April said firmly, “Yes! He’s all mine.”