“Can you give us a minute?” asked James.
“Sure, I’ll be in the barn. Keys are in both trucks, so give ’em a look over if you want.”
“Do you know what you want for them?” asked David.
“I’ll know it when I hear it,” said the farmer as he walked away.
James, Jason and David checked out the options, starting both up, inspecting the tire tread and under the hood.
“These trucks may be gone later if he really has somebody else interested or they could sit for months. What do you think, David?” asked James.
“I don’t think they will sit long,” he replied. “Mel and I have a budget of five thousand pre-EMP US dollars between us in silver and gold, but that’s for both trucks.”
“That’s about what I figured,” said James. “You want to make the offer now or sit on it a while?”
“I want those vehicles if we can reach a deal. The more I think about it, the more I think they will be gone. The only problem is I don’t have any more than a few silvers on me. I didn’t think I would need any more just coming down to your house.”
“Let’s see what we can do,” said James, pushing his old chair towards the barn.
The farmer agreed to the package price deal, telling James the price would have been higher if they weren’t friends. He didn’t want all coins, saying “It’s good to have some, but I can’t eat gold, if it comes down to it.”
David bought two steers from James at the same price the restaurant manager had, minus the butcher fee, and the farmer agreed to the rest in coin.
James produced enough silver and gold in coins he always carried to cover the gap.
“We’ll take one truck now. I’ll deliver the two steers tomorrow and get the second one.”
“Agreed,” said the farmer, shaking his hand. “Bring me a case of your best,” he said, giving James back two silver coins.
“Are you sure?” asked David, pulling James aside.
“Sure about what?”
“About covering my debt up-front. I’ll get you the coin as soon as I get home.”
“I know that,” James replied. “Can you drive?”
“Sure thing,” said David, slowly sliding behind the Chevy’s wheel, with a smile as big as Texas.
James almost went home calling it a bad day for the town, but he remembered that age-old tradition of dropping supper off at someone’s home when they were struggling.
* * * *
They stopped by the cafe and quickly got the addresses of the families directly affected by today’s tragedy. It seemed news traveled faster than trucks nowadays.
“I want twenty-two dinners sent to these addresses tonight. Here’s how many go to each address right here,” he pointed to the paper he had written them on. “Can you get them delivered?” he asked the owner.
“Sure. I have a guy does that from time to time. But...”
“But what?” asked James.
“Well, it’s going to be expensive unless I cut back a bit here and there, you know.”
“Full dinners—no cuts—desserts included, and delivered hot in 90 minutes. I’m paying and bringing our entire household here at that time, if you have room?”
“Yes, yes. Of course, we will get right to it. Tonight’s special is homemade meatloaf with my wife’s almost-famous red sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, with a side salad and dessert. Unless, of course, you would like to order from the menu?”
“No, the specials will be just fine and throw in a roll with each plate. Can you do that?”
“Oh, sure. They’re working on them right now… Who’s it from—you or the town?” asked the restaurant owner.
“Anonymous. Just tell them the town is praying for their families. Put everything on my tab, and I’ll get squared with you tonight. See you soon.”
James wasn’t in a celebrating mood, but a dinner out with family and his old friend David helped to clear his mind.
“Oh, make that two more dinners, for a total of twenty-four,” he said as they were walking out. Send the last two to the hospital for a Mark Jenkins and Calleigh Walters.”
“You’re as devious as me,” said David, laughing. “Mark would kill me if I did that.”
“Young love,” said James, laughing as well. “He will surely thank us for it later, I’ll bet.”
* * * *
David stayed back, visiting with his son until James and Jason returned with the family. The doctors said all looked good and they didn’t expect any more blackouts, calming David’s mind.
“We bought two running trucks today, Mel and I,” he told Mark. “I’ve got one outside right now,” getting an “Awesome, Dad!” from his son.
He didn’t say anything to Mark about the dinners but made sure that Calleigh was going to be working tonight.
“She starts back in an hour, Dad.”
“She told you that?” asked David.
“Yes, Dad. Now stop!” he said, turning red and lowering his voice, “and you need to be gone before she gets here.”
“All right. All right. How are you feeling?”
“A little better. These meds, whatever they gave me, help a lot. Doc said I could leave in another day or two probably but wants me back in a few days, or maybe it was a week, for a checkup.”
“Let me ask you something, Mark. We’ve been up the mountain for a while now, and this is your first time back in any town. What do you think?”
“I think I like living up on the mountain, but it is good to be in town too. I guess I haven’t seen much so far, though.”
“No, you haven’t, but I have. James is taking me along with his family and Jason’s to dinner tonight.”
“Dinner at home?”
“No—out at a real restaurant, the only one open in town.”
“Really? What do they have?” asked Mark.
“Just the usual. I guess the special tonight is homemade meatloaf.”
“With all the sides?” asked Mark.
“Yep.”
“You suck, Dad. I want to go.”
“You have to stay. Doctor’s orders, but I think James ordered you a plate, so don’t spoil your appetite. It should be here in about an hour.”
“Ooh, Calleigh is going to be so jealous,” said Mark. “Tell your friend thank you.”
“Will do buddy; I’ll check back with you tomorrow,” he said, kissing him on the forehead before he could pull away.
“Dad, come on. I’m almost 16!”
“Yes, that’s true, and I almost lost you, my only son. Understand?”
“Yeah. I get it.”
“Good. Now get some rest and I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Dad?”
“Yeah, son?”
“I love you!”
“I love you too,” David said, smiling, with a fist bump before walking out the door.
* * * *
He started down the street, driving slowly and getting a few looks from passersby. It was only about a half city block to the restaurant, and he had some time to kill, driving around a town he had never been to before the day. It’s nice, he thought. I can see why people seem to like it here. He parked and waited outside for his party to arrive.
“Hey, mister,” called an old man from a nearby bench. “You seen Cal? I saw you talking to him this morning, and now he’s missed his card game. He never misses cards.”
David smiled. “I guess he’s still working,” is all he said.
Little Billy and the girls were bouncing off the walls with excitement about the dinner tonight. Candice talked about the biscuits, the size-of-your-face ones, all the way there.
James half thought he might get an earful from Janice about picking up twenty-four extra dinners, but he didn’t.
“Does the city pick up the tab for those?” she asked.
“Nope, so we should,” he replied.
“You are a good man, James VanFleet, and this town is lucky to have you.”
The restauran
t owner was thrilled with the silver coins, commenting that he gave a 20% discount and had never sold that many dinners to one person.
“Delivery for Mark Jenkins and Calleigh Walters!” said the delivery man at the front desk of the hospital, now staffed by all volunteers.
“Wait. Who’s it from?” she asked.
“Don’t know. I just get paid to deliver,” he responded.
“Okay, I’ll sure pass them along.”
* * * *
The family headed back to town late morning for the funerals.
Jason told James about the chair and that David had gotten it back on track.
“Sounds good! Let’s take a look,” said James.
They stopped in just before 1 p.m., not sure what to expect.
“We came to look at the chair,” said Jason to the shop owner. “I’m sure Cam is out to lunch.”
“No, he’s here. He’s hardly left since yesterday morning. Stayed till after midnight and back this morning at 6. Did you all threaten to kill him?”
“No, nothing like that,” said David. “What I can say is that the man loves his steak and eggs.”
Cam showed off the chair, as if he had never abandoned the project.
“She will be done before sunrise,” he announced, looking more at David than James.
“A man in my position can never have too many chairs,” said James, realizing how privileged and needy he sounded, all at once. “I’ll give one to someone else.”
“Jason, can you ask around and see who’s most in need?”
“I’m your Huckleberry,” said Jason, getting a look from every man there. “What? I thought we were doing a thing? You know—Doc Holiday? Tombstone? Come on, guys!”
“All right, I’ll give you that one,” said James, “and one of my favorite movie lines ever is You’re a Daisy if you do.”
* * * *
Without the Sheriff on site, James said a few words at the funerals. “Lord,” he prayed, “we would ask that you look after our fallen men and women, leaving behind grieving families and friends who will carry their memories forever. It is in your name we pray. Amen.”
He was thanked by several family members for the meal delivered last night and was reminded that nothing stays a secret in a town this small.
* * * *
“One more thing,” said James to his group. “David here happens to be quite fond of our dog, Chance. He did have a sister, and I’m not sure what happened to her.”
“I’ll have someone, possibly the librarian, tell me where to find her owner, and we might be able to look her up before heading home,” said Janice, walking off with Lauren.
“Mommy, wait!” said Carla. “We want to come!”
“Let’s let them go,” said Jason to the children. “They could use a stroll around town, just the two of them.”
James and Jason ate a packed lunch with David and the kids in the park, not seeing Janice and Lauren back for two and a half hours.
“Did you know there’s a wine bar down the street?” Lauren asked the men.
“They make their own, and it’s not half bad!” added Janice, with the men nodding their heads.
“Let’s all take a walk and talk to the dog lady. I have her address,” Janice added.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Thirty-one
Weston, Colorado
“Everyone hang tight,” said Janice, “and stay back on the street. I’ll knock on the door.”
She talked with the woman for several minutes before waving okay and disappearing inside.
There was a smell; it was the smell that caught her. Not the kennel smell of a home dog breeder but the smell like in her old friend’s house—the one she and James scoured to find its occupants dead but not buried.
She looked at the woman’s bruised face and neck, Chance’s former caretaker, and asked. “Your husband. Did he abuse you?”
The hard woman standing like an oak responded with “For the last time.”
Janice nodded, remembering her own mother abused by a boyfriend for years until her stepfather stepped in.
“Show me Daisy,” Janice said. Daisy was the sweetest black lab, with a growl that sent most men running for somewhere, anywhere else. She weighed less than Chance, but not much.
The woman put a leash on her and brought her outside. “Come on over and meet her,” she said.
“That’s okay,” said David, not getting out of the truck. “She looks like a great dog.”
“You haven’t even met her,” said the woman. “Now you’ve come all this way, and she’s getting nervous just standing here, so come on out and at least say hi.”
James had heard this similar line before from the woman and would not be surprised at all if David bought her five minutes after thinking he wouldn’t.
“All right,” said David, exiting the truck. Daisy was on him straightaway, licking his hair, face and both hands.
She turned on her leash, pulling to the end of the rope with a low growl, and barked as a man rode a bicycle by.
“What’s with that?” asked David.
“That man on the bike was released from prison only two years ago. Did a long stint for attacking an innocent woman,” said her owner. “Daisy doesn’t like him.”
“Well, neither do I,” said David, reaching into his pocket.
“Weren’t you just saying something about a Daisy, James?”
“Yeah, it was a classic Tombstone line, but the coincidence may just be fate.”
“I may catch grief for this at home, but how much for Daisy, ma’am…I mean, if she’s for sale even?” David asked.
“Oh sweetie, they’re all for sale, but only to good homes. They’re still my babies. She would go for three-fifty, maybe four, a couple of months ago. What are you offering now? Come over by the house.”
David noticed the odor right away and had seen the bruises. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind, please tell me who’s in that house, and why?”
“It’s my husband, and five days ago he beat me for the last time. Six years I’ve been too scared to leave, and my dogs didn’t like it either. This time he beat me, and I mean bad, for overcooking his supper.”
She pulled her hair back to reveal more purple and yellow bruises on the back of her neck and lifted her shirt’s back, revealing the same all down her spine.
“I would have put up with it, like I always do, but that day was different. The first few times, he apologized and cried right in front of me, swearing he would never lay a hand on me in anger again. Then he would only apologize, and the last couple of years he didn’t even do that. The last time, five days ago, he was at it again but the back gate was open somehow. Anyway, the dogs, my dogs, chased him into a corner in the back of the house. I tried to call them off, but he shot two of my babies.”
“Didn’t anyone hear the shots?” asked David.
“No, it was a crossbow. I was in shock and just watched as he reloaded after killing the first one. After two, I snapped, I guess, and threw a vase—this one right here,” she said, pointing to a heavy vase with the top third missing in a shattered pattern. “Hit him square in the eyes, and he fell where he stood. Anyway, I didn’t know what to do with the body. I guess you all have the murder weapon and a motive now. What’s going to happen to my dogs?” she asked, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry you had to endure that, ma’am, and I’m not the law but it looks like self-defense to me,” said David. “A man who hurts a woman has a special place waiting for him way underground, as far as I’m concerned.”
He agreed on a purchase price with the woman for Daisy, including the removal of one five-days-old piece of trash, with both parties happy with the deal.
“I’ll pick her up in a few days after I go home and get some money,” he said, not wanting to ask James for another loan.
“Oh, nonsense,” she replied. “Any friend of the Mayor is good for a short-term loan with me. Take her today, and I’ll see you back i
n a few days.”
* * * *
The girls and Billy couldn’t wait to reunite her with her brother, Chance, petting her all the way home.
Chance did remember her, after growling at the front door when they arrived. A potty break for both cut the tension. He curled up next to her only minutes later, sharing his bed and blanket, and they never moved until morning.
“If Tina says no, you just bring her back here,” said James. “She’ll have a good home either way.”
“My girls, Veronica and Suzie, will love Daisy. I just know it—and Mark too,” replied David.
“Thank you, James, for bringing me by there today. I still owe her a favor, as you heard, but I believe her.”
“So do I,” said Janice.
“There’s no room for abusers in this town,” said James. “I’ll get it taken care of.”
* * * *
David picked up a reluctant Mark with Jason’s help, introducing him to his first-ever dog. He was released early but told to stay low for a while.
“Did you get her digits?” asked David.
“Come on, Dad—nobody says that anymore, if they ever did.”
“It was a thing we all did,” added Jason.
“And what was with the extra dinner for her from ‘Anonymous’?” asked Mark.
“That was all James,” said David. “Did she like it?”
“Yes, she did, so don’t ask me any more questions. She will be working on my follow-up appointment in three days, so let’s not miss it. Okay?”
“The appointment or her?” he asked, laughing.
“I’m not even answering that, Dad. Can we just be on time, though?”
“Sure thing, son, as long as there are no bears.”
Mark rolled his eyes, but out of embarrassment, not disrespect, and spent the rest of the trip home thinking of her.
* * * *
David insisted that Jason and James follow him home, so they could square up for the trucks. The two stayed only thirty minutes, saying hi and taking a quick look at the greenhouses that James declared looked promising. Mel was grateful for James’ loan to David and sent him home with five pounds of freshly roasted coffee beans as a thank-you.
* * * *
Tina, Veronica and Suzie, with Beatrice and Mel, welcomed them home. Daisy was a surprise to all and warmed her way into their hearts straightaway. She slept on Suzie’s bed the first night, creating a rivalry of sorts between the daughters.
Next World Series | Vol. 5 | Families First [Homecoming] Page 25
