Randy and Lacy was playing with Davy, our six month old, baby wonder. Melody, her mother sat nearby knitting something pink, while Flynn was reading one of the many hunting magazines Mason had picked up for him at one of the truck stops we'd hit. He thought I didn't know, but I'd caught him stowing them away in the bunk of the truck. I kissed everyone because I'd missed them and then I went to see Mason one more time. He was resting quietly and Joe assured me the fever was going down so I said my good nights and went to my room. I opened the window so I could see the stars, then crawled into my bed and watched the stars move across the sky. Right before I closed my eyes, I remembered my pie.
I woke to the sound of barking. Bubba has a high, sharp, bark, that's unmistakable, so I knew it was him. I lay for a bit and listened to the sounds of the lodge. Voices, chickens clucking, cow mooing, dishes rattling in the kitchen and the smell of coffee. Coffee, hell yes. That got me moving. When I came out of the shower I saw the clock read almost 10:30. Man did I oversleep.
My face was losing some of its swelling this morning and I could see better out of my eye. I stopped at the head of the stairs and looked around the great room. Some of the stuffed animals and head mounts were gone, probably Sarah s doing. She hates the things and has been sneaking them out one by one, replacing them with pictures she gotten from Randy who was our resident artist. I have to say it was an improvement but Mason will probably have a fit. He had a thing about them.
The man in question was sitting up on the bed, eating soup. His eyes brightened when he saw me, so I sat beside him on the bed after tasting the chicken on his lips. "How's it going, cowboy?"
"Better now that you're here. Maybe you can fend off Joe when he comes back in to torture me again."
"You know me, cowboy, I got your back. Actually, I just woke up."
"Yea, I thought of you in that big, old, lonely bed and wondered if there was some way I could sneak up there. I didn't have the strength to sit up so I figured you'd have to do all the work and just went back to sleep."
"Aw, you the man, meat head."
"I thought that was my nickname." Flynn said from the doorway.
"It was until cowboy here got in front of a bullet. Now it's his. You'll have to find a new one. Life is cruel, so you have to adjust."
"It's about to get crueler if you people keep my patient from eating and getting his rest. JD, your presence is required in the dining room. Flynn, I think it's about your bedtime isn't it?" Flynn watched the security monitors at night so Duke can spend time with the family. He was a night owl so it worked out well for everyone.
"I just stopped in to tell you welcome back, old man. When you're up and running again we need to go hunting. Just been waiting for you to get back cause I need the muscle to haul the meat back." With that dig, he laughed and dodged the spoon Mason threw at him, then with a wave at me he was gone.
Joe looked me over as Mason watched and said again that he thought my cheekbone was, at the very least, cracked. The bruising was turning colors again, so he seemed pleased with the results. Mason finished the soup by drinking from the bowl, then sighed, put his head back and promptly fell asleep. Joe assured me it was expected, that he was sleeping a healing sleep and to leave him alone. So I did.
I found the coffee easy enough and drank the first cup standing up at the dining room window looking down the valley at the snow capped mountains. My snow capped mountains. I knew the others were waiting for me but I just wanted this moment for myself. Me and my coffee.
I refilled my cup and went to the large table and sat at the head because there was no other place to sit. I looked around at the faces before me and wondered what was next. There was always something next.
James (I think that's his name) stood and announced "We'd like to request permission to stay here. Before you say anything ( for the record I wasn't) we've made a list of the things we could do here in order to contribute to the...um...commune...community...a" he looked around for assistance and finally finished with ..."lodge. We want to assure you that we'll cause no trouble, or eat much or anything." It was almost scary to know that he was considered the most eloquent speaker of the group. He looked around, got several nods from his friends, then sat down, looking at his plate.
I had to know, somewhere in the back of my mind, that this would happen. Some kind of syndrome where the rescued forms an attachment to the rescuer. Like a baby duck imprints on the mama duck. I'm the mama duck evidently. We didn't have the room or supplies to take on five more people, we just didn't. As is was, we have Ken, George, Riley and probably Jill so another five was out of the question.
"You haven't met the people from the east yet. I'd appreciated it immensely if you could wait and form your own impression about them before you decide anything. It's actually the smartest thing you could do. Before you say anything else let me just say this. We taught them everything they needed to set up their place. It isn't complete yet, so you'd be helping them and in doing that you'll be learning how to do it yourselves. My friends, that is the best thing you could ever do for yourself. Meet them, stay two weeks and if some of you still have a problem and want to come back we'll discuss it. But you have to give it a chance first. That's all I ask."
They looked at each other and one at time they agreed to to it. I'd met the people in the valley, east of us. They were like us in that they were just trying to survive as quietly as possible. I liked them and they us and we'd had dinners here several times. Duke set up their security system and trained a couple of the people on computers. He's working with Melody here and she seems to be good at it. We go with the Valley East team when they do a supply run in order to provide a couple of extra trucks with the trailers needed for the fence. They're doing well but about halfway to being secure. The added mouths to feed would be a drain but in the long run they would be an asset. Like all good things, time is their best friend.
It seemed like in the mountains you are preparing for winter every day of the year. Wood had to be cut and stacked, fodder for the stock had to be obtained, meat acquired and prepared and vegetables canned, dried, or frozen. There had to be so many things prepared for in the event of...anything. Our big surprises the first winter was two deaths and one baby. Setting up a clinic, training for emergencies, well, you get the idea. One of the women, Sandy I think, said she was a nurse once. That would be a wonderful asset to the other community.
"Bout time you got yourself home, little girl, been almost missing ya."
I smiled so big at Howard, our resident mechanic, my face hurt. Jumping up, I took the hug he offered and whispered, "I love you too, fat man, you don't know how much."
He patted me on the back, then frowned at my face, kissed my forehead and shook his head.
"Any of you folks know anything about mechanics?" He asked the group. They all looked at James, the lone black man, until he stood and said, "Reckon that's be me, sir. I learned in the army. The outfit I was in had me working on their bikes but I can figure out most stuff."
"We don't have bicycles here son, but come with me and show me what you know about four wheelers. And don't call me sir." As they walked out I heard James say, "Yes, sir." Howard needed someone else to pick on since he was sleeping with the new mechanic. Her name is Sam and about as old as Howard although I haven't figured out his age yet. She won't tell and let me tell you, everyone has tried to wangle it out of her.
I looked around at the four remaining strangers and decided to show them around the place. "Why don't you all go out to the greenhouse and look around and I'll be out soon to give you a tour." They ambled out the door talking quietly to each other. I took a deep breath, got me another cup of coffee and went in search of my 'cowboy.'
I stayed so long with him that Mandy finally came in and said the new people were bored. Shoot! I'd forgot. I stopped and spoke a moment to Sarah and she reminded me the couple from Valley East would be in to meet the new people in about an hour. I had an idea I wanted to run past her and when she agreed with me I went out to give a tour. They were very interested in the wind generators...they hadn't give one thought to where the electricity was coming from. Most people don't. I left them on the deck where a table was covered with a blue tarp.
They milled around the tarp but never touched it. I watched for a bit until Duke announced the arrival of Clint and Mercy from Valley East. I stood on the front porch and watched the Humvee approach and come to a stop. When they got out Mercy stopped short of the porch steps when she saw my face.
"Damn girl, I have GOT to hear this story."
"Come in guys and I'll see if I can produce a Readers Digest Condensed form for you."
We discussed the trip, they checked on Mason who was chomping at the bit to join us as the table. Joe finally helped him into the dining room where he got a nice cup of broth and glass of tea.
"They seem to have imprinted on me. They all announced this morning that they want to stay. I asked them to give you a chance. Two weeks to find out if your going to be another Mad Dog."
"A what?"
"The man, and I use the term loosely, that led them was a nasty piece of work, dressed in bib overalls because he was huge and rode a three wheeler bike. He hadn't bathed in months, his green teeth was so slimy he had to keep wiping his mouth. He shot a man between the eyes because he gave him the wrong information about the supplies we had. He's also the one who shot Mason and his name was Mad Dog. I would've called him the Hungry Hippo, you know, after the children s game?"
"Yes, and thank you for that visual, I'll be sure to throw the game away as soon as I get back."
"They have one mechanic, a nurse and a couple of women that said they would do 'anything that's legal'. I've promised they can stay at least two more days then they are going to your place. So, why don't I call them in and you can sit and talk with them."
Throughout the whole time we talked we could hear screaming and laughing coming from the back deck. We finally got up and walked to the back door and watched the five people playing with the water canons I'd gotten at the warehouse. I had instructed Sarah to put them under the tarp on the deck and after Clint and Mercy arrived to remove the tarp and have at it. They were having a blast, getting drenched and falling down.
Clint stayed my hand when I started to open the door. "You got anymore of those things?" I turned to Sarah, who held up two large, atomic blasters, full to overflowing. When they turned toward her and took the guns, I stepped over, opened the back door, and stood behind it as Mercy handed her glasses to a grinning Mason before turning back and yelling like a banshee, she ran around the corner. Clint smiled big, " I like the way you think, girl," and followed Mercy, yelling like the Indian he was. I took Masons arm, turned him around and slowly led him back to the clinic. I had noticed the whiteness around his mouth and knew he was tired. When he started to argue I simply reminded him of his plan to sneak upstairs when he's healed but he needed to heal first. I was not going to do all the work, although, when my imagination went into overdrive later that night, I realized the idea did have some merit.
Chapter 13
When I got Mason settled in I asked Mandy to wake me when Clint and Mercy were ready to leave. I snuggled against Mason, threw my leg over his and promptly went to sleep.
I awoke sometime later and found an afghans thrown over us. When I attempted to get off the bed, Mason's arm tightened around my neck. "If you move now we may both embarrass ourselves." I turned in his arms, and kissed his socks off, then got out of bed before any more damage could be done. "Mean, you're just hateful mean, JD. I don't know what I see in you."
"I do," Clint said from the door, "so if you don't want her, I have a hankering for a wild child like her. Course, she looks a bit worn out right now so I might wait till her looks improve." I stuck my tongue out at them and met Mercy at the door. She held a sack with two peach pies that Sarah had baked especially for them to take back with them.
"Still trying to woo you I see." I walked her out to the front porch. Her hair was still damp but she looked happy, if not tired.
"Yea, and with that silver tongue of his it will take forever." She laughed and sat in the rocker. "It was a good day. We don't get many of those and it's always nice to visit. It's the only place I feel safe. I got to tell you, JD, I'll be thrilled when I can sit on my own front porch and stare at the stars without having to be armed to do it."
"I know how you feel. I was there last year, remember? We had it made with this place and its geography and you'll get there. We'll all pitch in and before you know it, you can have barbeques without armed escorts." Just then Clint came out and patted me on the shoulder.
"It's coming along. It's just taking too damned long. Come on gorgeous, lets go home. See ya JD."
After our good byes I sat on the porch a bit longer. Soon Melody came out and announced dinner would be ready soon. We sat there a bit more before I went in search of Mason. I gave him the choice of me eating dinner with him in the clinic or someone would help him to the dining room and he could eat with the masses. He ate with the masses. I was almost disappointed cause I wanted some alone time with him but I was being selfish. Dammit.
When I tried to help in the kitchen, I was just in the way. I tripped over Melody and caused Sarah to drop a dish and break it, so I vacated as quietly as possible. The other women decided to help so I let them. I came out I found Mason in an intense conversation with Joe. Now what? When I approached them, Joe left the room but Mason just sat there and grinned. Riley offered to help him to bed but he wanted to sit on the front porch a bit so they practically carried him to his favorite rocking chair. I joined him and we just sat in silence enjoying the view. When it started to get chilly, I discovered it was later than I thought. I should have watched the time closer, Mason shouldn't be out in the cold.