The Peacekeepers. Books 1 - 3.

by Ricky Sides

  Evan’s voice spoke up from the doorway to the kitchen. He said, “We love you too, Jim. But I do still miss my dad.”

  “Of course you do, Evan. I still miss my dad too. I think I always will.” Then looking the boy in the eyes he continued, “Just know that I am here for you when you need to talk about anything. I’m not looking to take your dad’s place, but I am looking to make my own space in your heart.”

  The boy walked to Jim and hugged him then. Jim hugged the boy and said, “Now let’s go get those pictures of your dad so you can hang them in your room.” Lacey looked at them both and smiled happily.

  That night, Lacey kept the promise that she had made her guys. Now that she had power, running water and appliances she prepared an elaborate meal. She made chicken and dressing from canned chicken and broth, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, cranberry sauce, and green beans. She also made an apple pie from canned apples and homemade dough.

  “Wow, this is like Thanksgiving!” Evan exclaimed as he sat down to the table laden with food.

  “Why not?” asked his mother. I think we should feel thankful.”

  “I know that I do,” said Jim as he eyed the wonderful meal spread before him, and the even more wonderful wife and son who had recently entered his life. Though they weren’t yet officially married, he felt as committed to Lacey as he’d ever felt to his first wife.

  ***

  The next morning, Jim, Lacy, and Evan got into the Jim’s old car and drove the dodge into the country in search of a country home. Before they left, Jim took the precaution of transferring his rifle to the car. He also took along a bag, which he tossed in the back seat.

  As he drove down the country road to look for a small farm, Jim said, “It would be better if we could find a farm near our storage areas.”

  Lacy said, “Couldn’t we just move all of the supplies to the farm?”

  “Remember your lessons about separating your supplies in case you’re forced to relocate, dear?” He smiled to soften the criticism and added, “I’m sure we can find a suitable farm near the storage depots that I’ve set up.”

  He drove about five miles down Highway 99, and then he turned left on a dirt road.

  “Hey, where are we going?” asked Evan.

  “We’re going to see old Bob Baker. If I remember correctly, old Bob had a one hundred acre farm for sale, right about the time the disasters broke out all over the country.”

  “Thank god they seem to be over now. At least I hope they’ve stopped. With no world news these days, it’s hard to be sure,” Lacey interjected.

  “Yes it is, but I think they’ve stopped. At least I haven’t seen any of the really terrible storms that were common for a month. In fact, I’d say the weather has been downright pleasant since the night of the quakes,” Jim observed.

  A few minutes later, Jim pulled his car into a driveway in front of a house. He got out and headed for the house, but saw a black blur two hundred feet away streaking at him. He scrambled back into the car and shut the door just as the dog leapt up and slammed his front paws into the door, barking savagely.

  Turning to Lacey, he grinned sheepishly and said, “I forgot about Butch. He’s Bob’s dog. He’s harmless, once he gets to know you. Looks like he just forgot me, though he’d probably be all right once he smelled me. Old thing must be having trouble with his eyes.”

  “Are you going to get back out, Jim?” Evan asked innocently.

  “I think I’ll just blow the horn,” he replied with a sheepish grin. “If old Bob’s around, he’ll come out to see who’s here.”

  Jim blew the horn twice and then settled down to wait. He noted that as soon as the horn blew, the dog settled down. Now the dog was just sitting a few yards away watching Jim. Turning to Evan and Lacy he said, “That’s a smart dog. See how he settled down after I blew the horn?” He pointed to the sitting dog and added, “He knows a criminal wouldn’t blow a horn so he’s waiting for his master to come and see who’s here.”

  “Or maybe he’s hoping you’ll try to get out of the car again,” Lacey said skeptically.

  Evan pointed towards the house and asked, “Is that Old Bob?”

  Jim looked in the direction Evan was pointing and smiled. “Yes, that’s him,” he said. He smiled and waved at the old man as he approached the car. Jim noticed that Bob was wearing a pistol and had a shotgun in his hands. He rolled his window down a bit so he could speak to the man. Lacey noted that the dog rose to his feet and stood rigidly facing Jim.

  “How have you been, Bob?” Jim asked.

  “Jim Wilison! Is that you, boy? I haven’t seen you in years.”

  Jim smiled warmly and said, “I see you’ve still got Butch. He wouldn’t let me come to your door.”

  The old man turned to the dog and called it over to him. The dog wagged his tail and ran up to the old man. He nudged the man’s hand with his nose until Bob scratched him behind his ears. “These are our friends, Butch,” said the old man in a stern voice. “Now tell them you’re sorry for scaring the daylights out of them.”

  The dog sat on his haunches and lifted one front paw into the air. He started whining at the same time he began to wave the lifted paw at Jim.”

  Lacey shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that this was the same dog that only moments before had seemed perfectly willing to eat Jim, if he stepped outside the car.

  Jim smiled and got out of the car. He approached the dog slowly, making no sudden moves and shook the animal’s proffered limb, then he scratched the dog behind the ears and watched as the animal ran over to a tree and lay down in the shade.

  “You folks get out and come on in the house,” the old man invited. Then he seemed to notice how young Evan was for the first time, and he said, “The Mrs. just took a batch of cookies out of the oven. How would you like some milk and cookies?”

  Evan looked at Lacey expectantly. She smiled and got out of the car. “Thank you, Mr. Baker. That sounds nice,” she said.

  Evan slid up to his mother and asked, “Do you think I could pet the dog after while?”

  Bob overheard the boy and stopped in his tracks. He turned to the dog and whistled sharply. The dog was on his feet in the blink of an eye. He trotted to his master. Bob turned and pointed at Evan. When the dog looked at the boy the old man said, “Play.”

  The affect this command had on the dog was astonishing to Lacey. The dog ran over to her son at a slow trot and butted him in the stomach with his head. It was a gentle, playful head butt. Evan laughed and grabbed the dog around the neck. The two became friends almost instantly, and it wasn’t long before they were rolling around all over the yard.

  Evan’s laughter followed Jim and Lacey into the house. Old Bob noted the expression of apprehension on Lacey’s face and said, “Don’t you worry about the boy, Ma’am. Butch won’t hurt him, and he’d rip into anything else that tried to harm him. He knows you folks are friends now.” The old man looked disapprovingly at Jim and added, “If Jim would just come around every now and then, there wouldn’t have been any problems today.”

  Jim smiled and said, “Oh come on, Bob. You know how things have been lately.”

  “That doesn’t excuse you for not visiting in two years,” The old man grumbled.

  “Now, Bob. Be polite to our guests, dear,” said the gray haired woman who’d just entered the living room. She turned to Lacey and said, “You’ll have to excuse Bob, honey. Sometimes I think he spends so much time with his animals that he just forgets how to treat people.”

  The old woman’s warm smile instantly put Lacey at ease. She returned the woman’s smile and said, “I suppose men are that way sometimes.” She glanced meaningfully at Jim.

  “What did I do?” he asked defensively.

  “My name’s Sarah,” said Bob’s wife. Smiling at Lacey again she suggested, “Let’s go into the kitchen and get the men some coffee.”

  Lacey followed the woman into the kitchen leaving Jim and Bob alone in th
e living room to discuss business. Jim sat down on the sofa and said, “I heard you have a farm for sale, Bob. It just so happens that I’m looking to buy a farm, so I thought I’d stop in and ask you about it.”

  Bob walked over to his favorite chair and sat down. He leaned forward and stared intently at Jim for a moment then he said, “I have one for sale all right, Jim, but it may be too high for you.”

  “How much do you want for it, Bob?” asked Jim.

  “Thirty thousand and that’s firm. I already turned down twenty-five.”

  Jim had known old Bob for years. He knew that, to the old man, the dickering was almost a favored pastime. Therefore, he intended to dicker with the old man even though he had enough money to meet his asking price. Between the money from the satchel, the gold and silver that he had collected and his own savings which he had withdrawn prior to the night of the quakes he had accumulated somewhere near sixty thousand dollars.

  Jim frowned and said, “Now, Bob, times are hard. Where’s a man to lay his hands on that much money these days? Still, I think I can scrape up twenty-seven thousand.”

  A smile of joy spread across the old man’s face and he said, “I see this is going to take a while.” He leaned back in his chair and took an old pipe from a stand on the table next to his chair. He lit the pipe and the aromatic scent of tobacco filled the air. He smiled and said, “Why don’t you call the boy in so he can eat those cookies I mentioned. They’re better if you eat them while they’re still oven warm.”

  Jim got up and went to the door. When his back was to Bob, he smiled broadly and thought, “You’re not fooling me, Bob. You’re stalling for time to think up a good argument to keep the negotiations going as long as possible.”

  Jim opened the door and saw Evan sitting on the grass petting the dog. He said, “Come on in, Evan.”

  Evan got up and ran to the house. The dog romped around him but stopped when he reached the porch. Jim smiled at the boy and said, “Let’s get you washed up so you can have a go at the milk and cookies Bob promised you.”

  Evan smiled and was about to reply but at that moment Lacey and Sarah came into the room. Lacey was carrying a tray, laden with sandwiches, cookies, and coffee. She walked over to the coffee table and sat the tray down. She said, “I’ll get him washed up.” Then looking at Evan she said, “Mrs. Baker wants you to come into the kitchen to eat.”

  Jim smiled as he watched Lacey hustle the boy out of the room. He returned to his seat on the sofa and reached for one of the sandwiches. He tore into the fresh baked sourdough bread and enjoyed the taste of roast beef. Between bites he said, “Your wife is still one of the best cooks I’ve ever run across.”

  An expression of love and respect came across the old man’s face. He leaned forward and picked up a sandwich. Looking at it, he smiled and said, “You’re right there. The old girl can still cook.”

  After that, the two men ate in companionable silence savoring the food. When they had finished eating, Bob surprised Jim by asking, “How have you been making out since the disasters hit?”

  “Better than some I guess.”

  Bob leaned forward and said, “Don’t mention it in front of Sarah, but we’ve lost thirty head of cattle in the past month.”

  Jim nodded and said, “Probably just some folks trying to feed their kids. I expected as much.”

  Bob nodded his head and lit his pipe. Puffing on the pipe to get it going properly he frowned then and said, “I caught two men butchering a steer yesterday. They had their women and kids helping them.” He leaned back and puffed contentedly on his pipe.

  Jim waited a full minute, but when it became apparent that Bob wasn’t going to go on without goading, he said, “Well, what did you do?”

  Bob looked at Jim with an expression of shame on his face and said, “I turned around and walked away.” His expression grew hard, as if he expected ridicule from Jim about what he had done, but when Jim didn’t say anything, his facial expression grew relaxed, and he continued, “I could see the hunger in their eyes, Jim. I’d rather lose a few head of cattle than take food out of the mouths of women and children.”

  Jim nodded his understanding and said, “I would have done the same thing in your situation.”

  Bob grinned and said, “I guess you would have at that. I almost forgot what a nice person you are.”

  Jim smiled and asked, “Does that mean you’ll take the twenty-seven I offered?”

  The old man frowned and shook his head. “You’ll be getting a fine farm. There’s a big two story house, a huge barn, a well, a creek on the back forty, and a large pond on the farm. The pond is stocked with catfish and brim.”

  “What about equipment?” asked Jim.

  Nodding his head, Bob said, “A big tractor and a smaller tractor. Both are in good shape with plenty of accessories for both.”

  “Any livestock?” Jim asked hopefully.

  “Would’ve been last month,” Bob replied dryly. I guess the same thing happened to them that happened to my cattle on this farm.”

  Jim smiled as he thought of a way to make the negotiations more interesting. Leaning forward he tried to affect an air of disinterest as he asked, “How many head of cattle do you have left Bob?”

  Bob grinned from ear to ear. He was a shrewd trader and he was already aware of the reason behind Jim’s question. He leaned forward himself and said, “Three hours ago I had a hundred steers, two bulls, thirty heifers, fifty breeding age females, and ten promising yearling bulls.” He leaned back in his chair puffing on his pipe with a cherubic smile as he waited for Jim to make his pitch.

  Jim smiled inwardly but didn’t let that smile show on his face. He knew old Bob was having more fun than he’d probably had in a month, and he didn’t want to spoil it for the old man, so he hesitantly said, “I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Bob. I’ll give you the thirty you’re asking for the place, provided Lacey and Evan like it, if you throw in half of your cattle stock.”

  Old Bob roared with laughter. He leaned forward and said, “Son, cattle are good as gold right now. You know as well as I do that I could probably get thirty thousand for half my cattle alone, not to mention the farm.”

  Jim smiled sheepishly at the old man and said, “I guess I wasn’t thinking about that, Bob.”

  Bob smiled right back at Jim and puffed at his pipe again. For an instant, he reminded Jim of his grandfather. Bob and his grandfather had the same way of looking at life, which was a kind of cynical outlook.

  Jim decided it was time to play his ace in the hole. He said quite innocently, “Speaking of gold, did I mention I’d be paying partially in gold?”

  The old man froze in position. Involuntarily his eyes went to the large sack that Jim had brought in with him when he had entered the house. Bob had noted the sack, but had politely not asked about it, knowing Jim would get to the matter in his own good time. He coughed slightly and remembered his pipe. “Well now, son, no you haven’t mentioned that matter. That leaves the question of what gold is worth these days now doesn’t it?”

  “I reckon you have a point there,” Jim said with a feigned protracted sigh.

  Bob was fully aware that Jim had planned that little surprise for him, but he was enjoying the game, so he said, “That’s the trouble with you young folks. You never think a deal through from both sides before you make an offer.” He sat back in his chair and puffed contentedly on his pipe while he waited for Jim to ask the obvious question.

  Jim’s inner smile was growing by the moment. He knew old Bob well. The old man loved gold and collected it, when he could. He’d been heard to say many times that paper money comes and goes, but gold will always have value. He was counting on this affection for gold when he asked, “Okay, what do you think is fair trade value for gold these days?”

  “Last quote I saw was four hundred an ounce,” the old man shrewdly observed.

  Jim knew that the price of gold always rose when the paper currency was devalued, but he was willing to figure it
the way Bob wanted because Bob still seemed interested in paper money as well. He knew that many sellers would scoff at taking the paper currency these days. “Well, maybe I should just keep the gold then. Besides I don’t even have a scale so that we could weigh it out, and I doubt a bathroom scale would suit either of us,” he said with a frown.

  Chuckling, old Bob said, “Well now, son, it just so happens I have a scale myself.”

  “Oh, I see,” said Jim, sounding dubious.

  “Well it can’t hurt to at least see what you have, now can it?” asked Bob with a gleam in his eyes.

  “I reckon that’s true,” Jim said, still sounding dubious.

  The old man got to his feet and moved over to a desk. Opening a drawer, he removed a small scale and brought it back to the coffee table. The moment Jim poured the gold on the coffee table, he knew he had Bob hooked. The old man’s pipe almost fell out of his mouth and he had to grab it to keep it from falling onto the tabletop. It took them fifteen minutes to weigh out the gold. Jim had brought thirty-eight ounces of gold. At Bob’s, quote of four hundred dollars an ounce, that came to $15,200.00.

  “Tell you what, Bob. I will give you the thirty you want for the farm and all the gold for half your stock. You can bury the gold. People can’t eat that.”

  “So you get ninety-six steers?” Old Bob shrewdly asked.

  Laughing, Jim said, “Oh no. I mean a fifty-fifty split of all the types.” Winking at Bob he said, “I wasn’t born yesterday you know.”

  “True. You always were the bright one,” Bob said with a grin. Then turning serious he asked, “I did tell you the bulls were too young to breed this season didn’t I?”