Joey yelled to the twins as they walked out on the porch the following morning. “Hey, girls!”
“Hey, Joey!” called Faith.
Joey was a friendly young man. He was one of the ranch hands and just happened to be their uncle’s neighbor. He was seventeen years of age with brown hair, gray eyes, and had freckles that covered his face. He just graduated from high school in May and needed a job so Kelly thought he would help out. Joey had taken to the girls when they first arrived and enjoyed being around them. They had one thing in common. They were all three pranksters.
He grinned as he said, “I heard what you did to Kelly. Tony told all of us at breakfast this morning. It was hilarious.”
The girls laughed. “Uncle Kelly is so much fun.”
“Where did you buy them? I’d like to get a few packages as gifts.”
Sharlene laughed. “Who are you thinking about giving them to?”
“My brothers. They would get a kick out of it.”
She smiled and shook her head. “I feel sorry for your brothers.”
“Well, I’d give them to my sisters, but I’m afraid I’d get a whoopin’.”
He laughed and so did the girls.
“You can find them in most candy stores,” said Sharlene. “Just ask for Bamboozles.”
“Bamboozles? I’ve never heard of them before. Thanks. By the way, Billy asked me to put in a good word for him. He would love to take either of you out on a date some time.”
The girls shook their heads. “Not interested,” they said simultaneously.
“Hey, you don’t know him like I do. He’s really a great guy. He helped me out a lot when I first got here. You know, by showing me how to do stuff. He once taught me how to clean the barn since I had never done it before. He showed me how to scoop up the manure into a wheelbarrow. It didn’t take long before I became a real pro at it. Billy said I was the fastest pooper scooper on the ranch.” He grinned. Then he instantly became sober when he saw Kelly standing on the porch. “Well, I’ve got chores to do. See you later.”
Kelly smiled and said, “I wrote all the chores out for everyone and put it on the bulletin board early this morning.”
“Thanks, sir. I’ll take a look.”
The twins noticed how quickly he took off. Apparently he wanted to please their uncle and work hard.
Kelly waited until the boy was out of sight and then walked up to the twins and said, “The fastest pooper scooper?” Kelly shook his head. “I’ve got to watch that boy. Billy will take advantage of him every chance he gets.”
“What do you mean?” asked Sharlene.
“I found out that Joey was actually doing Billy’s jobs for him. And afterwards he gives him the greatest compliment anyone has ever gotten: ‘You’re the best worker on the ranch.’ Billy said that he was helping him learn certain chores and thought it was his duty to teach him. I finally had to put my foot down and tell him that everyone has his own duties. And that was that!”
Sharlene raised a curious brow and asked, “What’s Joey’s story? Why did you hire him since he’s never done work like this before?”
“You see, girls, we’re here on this earth to help others. This boy needs a little guidance. His parents are worried sick about him. They said he was running around with the wrong kids in school, learning to do things he shouldn’t. He’s gotten into trouble several times at school and was put on probation. His parents were glad when I agreed to take him on. They seem to think I can work a miracle and help him change his direction.” Kelly shook his head. “But I’m not sure.”
“Why does he live here instead of his own home?” asked Faith. “He only lives a few miles from here.”
“Because his parents feel that I can make a difference if he stays here full time. We work until sundown and we’re up at sunrise. I don’t know if I can help much, but I’m trying. I treat him with great respect and he’s always trying to please me. He’s a hard worker. That is, when he’s not pulling pranks on others. He only gets minimum wage but he sure gets excited on pay day.”
The girls liked Joey. He was a cute young man.
“Well,” said Kelly. “I’ve got some errands to run. I’ll be right back. By the way, when are your parents going to arrive today?”
Faith shrugged. “I’ll call and find out.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”
After Kelly took off, Faith began dialing but Sharlene already had the phone up to her ear as she said, “Ha! Beat you! It’s ringing.”
Faith slugged her arm playfully while Sharlene put it on speakerphone. That way, they could both talk.
“April called me five times this morning, so I thought I would find out why she called and then ask her when Mom and Dad left.”
Faith nodded. “Makes sense!”
When April answered, Sharlene said, “I noticed you called me a few times. What’s up?”
April groaned. “You wouldn’t believe it…”
Faith interrupted. “Before you tell us, when did Mom and Dad leave?”
“Dad had some last minute things to do but they’ll be leaving by noon. It’s about a seven-hour drive so they should get there sometime tonight. I don’t know how many stops they’ll make, though.”
“Okay,” said Sharlene. “Now why did you call? I’m curious.”
“You wouldn’t believe it.”
The twins smiled at one another.
“Try us,” said Sharlene.
“This morning I was supposed to pick up the wedding invitations so I would have plenty of time to get them addressed and stick stamps on them. Besides, everyone needs a few weeks notice. Right? Well, to make a long story short, the invitations aren’t ready.”
“They’re not?” asked Sharlene. “What happened?”
“Well, the graphic designer was wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a more cheerful and cooperative girl. She designed the wedding invitations exactly as I wanted. They’re beautiful.”
“That’s good.”
“Well, at first when they printed them, our faces were a sickly yellow. They adjusted the color on the printer and tried again. The second time our faces were slightly pink. I said it wouldn’t do. It looked like I had a sunburn. They tried once again and that time I looked so pale. The picture hardly had any color, so they said they would have to get a repairman to adjust the settings.”
“That’s not so bad, April,” said Sharlene. “I’m sure it won’t take long.”
April moaned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, they got an incompetent man to fix the machine.”
“Incompetent? That’s a little harsh. What makes him incompetent?”
April answered, “While fixing the machine and readjusting stuff, he accidentally broke a circuit board. They don’t have a part on hand so they’ve got to order a new one.”
“How long will that take?”
“A few days. Did you know that something like this only happens to people who are in a hurry?”
Sharlene agreed. “It’s called Murphy’s Law. If anything can possibly go wrong, it usually does.”
Faith nodded and then asked, “Don’t they have other machines?”
“Yes! But they don’t print color.”
“Hey, a few days isn’t so bad.” With all the sympathy Sharlene could muster, she said, “Why don’t you come down here and forget all your troubles.”
April moaned. “I wish I could but I’ve got a wedding to plan.” With a sudden lilt in her voice, she said, “I’ve got to go. Matthew just arrived to help me address the invitations. I’ve got to tell him the news.”
“We understand,” said Faith.
“Take care!” said Sharlene.
“Bye! Talk to you later,” said April cheerfully.
The girls looked at one another and smiled.
“Did you notice how quickly her attitude changed when Matthew appeared?” asked Sharlene.
“I sure did. Being in love helps you overcome many obstacles. I guess she just needed someone to talk to.”