by N. C. Reed
“Who had a crush on you at one point,” Gordy rebutted. “That's a little much to overlook sometimes.”
“I don't think it was a crush,” Clay shook his head. “And I think your sister was to blame for a lot of that. No telling what she said to her about me.”
“No, it was definitely a crush,” Gordy disagreed. “And this ain't really the time or place to talk about this is it?” he said pointedly.
“Well, not really,” Clay admitted. “But look, I wasn't trying to butt in, okay? In the life we're leading now, sharing it with someone isn't bad. It's work, don't ever doubt it. But it can be worth it if two people work hard enough at it.”
“Well, right now I just want to work at getting things loaded,” Gordy resisted any more discussion about it. “We need to get home. If there's a fire headed for the ranch then we need to be ready for it.”
The two made their way back inside, Gordy going to check on Sam while Clay returned to help finish the loading.
“Got everything you want?” Gordy asked as he stood in the doorway to Samantha's bedroom.
“I…can I take some furniture you think?” she asked hesitantly. “I'd really like to take my hope chest,” she indicated the large cedar chest at the foot of her bed. “And my mom's, if possible. I checked it and it seems okay. There are a lot of hand-made quilts in there as well as my grand-mother's silverware. It's real silver and I'm pretty sure she got it from her own grand-mother.”
“We 'll get anything we have room for,” Gordy promised. “And you need to make sure you get everything because I doubt we 'll be able to return.”
“Okay.”
-
Ronny Tillman and Kade Ramsey had ventured out to the area behind the house to see if by some miracle any of the Walters' cattle had made it through the winter without starving, being killed by dogs, or taken by hungry neighbors. Both kept a wary eye out for those same dogs and people. Predators came in all sizes, two legged and four alike.
“See anything?” Ronny asked. He was using a small pair of binoculars to survey the open area in front of them.
“No sir,” Kade replied. He was more concerned with watching their back and flanks than looking for cattle. “Looks deserted.”
“So it does,” Ronny nodded. He looked at the large cast iron bell hanging by the gate. “I wonder,” he mused aloud as he walked over to the bell. There was a hammer hanging from a rope that showed signs of rust, having been left unused or cared for all winter. He picked it up and hit the bell three times, the bell ringing deep and loud.
“What was that for?” Kade asked, hands covering his ears.
“If I'm right, then they used to ring this bell when they fed-, look,” he stopped abruptly and pointed.
Coming from different places were about a dozen cattle, all bawling as they came. As they came closer it was clear that they were all suffering from malnutrition to some degree, but all were moving on their own power.
“They got used to that bell telling them food was here,” Ronny explained. “Some of them clearly remember it.”
“Clearly,” Kade nodded. Cows kept coming until nineteen cattle stood at or near the gate, clearly expecting to be fed for the first time in a very long while. Even as they crowded around the gate others were coming from the tree lines further back.
“I think we need to go ask Sam where her father kept his feed,” Ronny grinned.
-
“There,” Sam pointed to one of the half-dozen buildings immediately behind the house. “Poor babies,” she murmured as she looked at the condition of the cattle. “So few,” she added after a minute.
“Any idea how many head you were running?” Ronny asked as Kade and Titus went to get feed from the building.
“It varied of course,” Sam shrugged slightly. “Daddy mainly raised show cattle and breeding stock for others. Every one of those animals is registered to a champion blood line. I…have you checked the outside holding pens?” she asked suddenly.
“I don't even know where they are,” Ronny admitted.
“We 'll have to drive for a minute,” she told him. “I'd take my four-wheeler but I doubt it will run now.”
“We can ask about taking the Humvee,” Ronny told her. “What do you want to check on?”
“I'm hoping Lancelot is still alive.”
“Huh?”
-
“Good God,” Ronny blurted as the Humvee came to a halt. They were about one mile from the house. Nate Caudell had driven them, with Gordy and Sam in back and Zach in the turret.
“That is one big ass cow,” Nate muttered.
“Whoo, what a bunch o' steak that is!” Zach exclaimed.
“Poor baby,” Sam cooed as she got out. “He's lost weight.”
“He's lost weight?” Ronny goggled as he left the vehicle. Gordy raised the back cover and removed a bucket of sweet feed they had brought with them.
Lancelot turned out to be about two thousand pounds of registered, champion breeder Black Angus bull.
“He looks healthy other than losing weight,” Sam noted as she took the food from Gordy and approached the fence.
“Careful now,” Ronny cautioned but Sam waved him off.
“I raised that bull from a calf,” she told him. “He'll remember. Won't you Lancie?” she turned to baby talk the giant bovine.
The hulking bull looked at the human before him, cocking his head to the side as he examined her. There was something vaguely familiar about her. The smell of delicious sweet feed hit his nostrils and he moved toward her, stopping just at the edge of the fence. The electricity to the wire that kept him from breaking down the fence was long gone but he wasn't aware of that and still respected a fence that could put even him on the ground.
“Here ya go, Lancie-poo,” Sam cooed again as she eased the bucket under the fence where the bull could reach it. He sniffed at it hesitantly and then dove in, getting his first taste of anything other than dead grass and a bit of hay in months.
“Poor baby,” Sam murmured to him, scratching at the hump above his rear. “All alone out here with nobody to talk to.”
“As touching as this is,” Ronny tried to keep from laughing at the sight of such a small girl treating such a massive animal like a pet, “we really need to be getting loaded.”
“You should load the others first I guess,” she sighed, leaving him. “It would be better to load him first, though, because then the others will file right inside.”
“Think so?” Ronny mused.
“Absolutely,” Sam nodded.
“Well, we 'll try that, then.”
-
“Look man, all I'm saying is we need to take as much of her stuff as we can manage.”
Titus Terry was arguing, debating really, with the rest over loading any more of Sam's furniture.
“Why?” Corey demanded. “Hell, we don't got nothing ourselves! She's already got more than we do!”
“You're making my argument for me,” Titus nodded. “If we had the chance to get any of our stuff wouldn't we take whatever we could? What would you give for a chance to have pictures of your folks, or some of the things from their room? I'd give anything to have my mom's bible, but it's nothing but ash, now. I'm not gonna begrudge nobody being able to get that kind of stuff, man. This is a one-time chance for that girl to have some of her life back. And as bad as we had it 'fore Gordy found us, she had it ten times worse.”
No one argued that point, having heard about the conditions where Sam and the others had been found.
“Fine,” Corey grumped. “I don't really care no way. And it ain't like I hate her or nothing. C'mon. Sooner we start, sooner we're done.”
“That's my man!” Titus exclaimed, slapping his friend on the back.
“While that's a lovely sentiment,” Clay told them, “remember that we already put a lot in there. When she gets back she can…” He trailed off as he heard the Humvee returning.
“Never mind. Corey, Titus, you guys and Gordy will fin
ish here. Ronny and Kade found some cattle so we need to get them loaded in the hauler. All the essentials have been loaded as far as I know so whatever she wants that will fit and you guys can load is fine with me.”
“Roger that.”
–
“Why not load them first?” Clay objected. “They're here, you're here, what's the problem?” He was pointing to where a grand total of forty-two registered Black Angus cattle were bawling and shoving around troughs of sweetened feed. Less than a quarter of their champion blood line had come to the bell.
“Those cattle are going to be skittish,” Sam told him. “They've been through rough times just like we have, only they don't cope so well as people can. Feeding them will help and so will talking to them, but we need to be careful. And having Lance already on board will convince them to come along without trouble.”
“Lance?”
“Man, you won't believe it,” Ronny shook his head. “She's got a bull over there,” he pointed, “that has to weigh a ton, and she treats him like a puppy. Damn thing is huge, I'm talking.”
“Really?” Clay looked thoughtful. His one great hope had been to find a good bull here. His own family raised Angus as well.
“Really,” Ronny nodded. “And she's right about the loading. If he really will steady that bunch down, it will help.”
“Well, carry on then,” Clay shrugged. “But let’s get moving as quick as we can. Sam, you need to let them know what else you want from the house before you go back. Corey and Titus will load whatever they can into the truck for you. They decided to help you get as much as possible,” he smiled.
“That's very sweet of them,” she blushed the tiniest bit. “Thank you.” She headed for the house, Gordy following, a slight scowl on his face.
“Careful now,” Clay whispered. “They're trying to give her something they can't have themselves.” Gordy's face showed recognition and his scowl evaporated. Clay hid a smirk at how easily Gordy had taken the bait. The idea that his friends might be making a move on Sam had been all it took to bring out his true feelings.
-
Samantha turned out to be quite the young cattle woman and proved it as she expertly loaded the huge bull onto the hauler, then returned to do the same to the cattle that had answered the bell. Clay had watched in silent amazement at how easy she made it look. Clearly, he had underestimated the small woman.
“She's something else,” Ronny shook his head. “I would never have guessed.”
“Me neither,” Clay admitted. “She hunts, did you know,” he added. “Including bow hunting. Got a pink camo compound bow of all things,” he shook his head in amusement. Her family were big time hunters and had the trophies to prove it. He'd had no idea.
Finally, an hour after Clay had wanted to be on the road, they were loaded. Clay started ushering people into vehicles as Sam and Gordy returned to the house for 'one last look'.
Gordy hid his impatience as he followed Sam inside. He couldn't imagine what else she wanted. She already had her keepsakes and had taken the jewelry from her mother's dresser. Considering the shape the house had been in he had been surprised to find it undisturbed, but apparently whoever had made the mess had really just wanted shelter. And food. There wasn't a scrap of food left in the house outside what had been stored in that remarkable safe room.
“We already got everything from there, Sam,” he told her as she keyed the door for the safe room once more.
“Not everything,” she told him quietly. She entered and he stood in the doorway to make sure it didn't close. There might be a way to open it from the inside but he didn't know for sure. He watched as Sam made her way to a gun cabinet they had emptied and opened the door. She pressed something he couldn't see and moved back as a hidden drawer popped out. She quickly scooped the contents into a large leather bag she had on her shoulder, then moved to the next cabinet, and then the next. At each one she repeated the steps until the bag, obviously much heavier now, was bulging.
“Want me to take that?” he offered.
“Thank you,” she smiled and let him. He was shocked at the weight but handled it easy enough.
“Please don't tell anyone about this,” she asked. “I don't mind you knowing of course, but I'd rather no one else did.”
“Well, I don't actually know what's in here,” he admitted. “I guess money or jewelry. Something like that?”
“Let’s just say it's my dowry,” she smiled very faintly. “Anyway, that's everything I want. Other than to have things back like they were, anyway.”
“Then let’s go home,” he told her, smiling. “It 'll be okay, Sam. I promise.”
“Thank you, Gordy.” They headed outside where a clearly impatient Clayton was pacing.
“Let’s go you two,” he said at once. “You can play around once we get home,” he added.
“That ain't funny, man,” Gordy said at once. “She was just getting one last thing and checking to make sure we didn't leave nothing important. You got enough from her today you can afford her five minutes to say goodbye.”
Caught off guard by Gordy's retort, Clay just nodded.
“Sorry,” he raised his hands in surrender. “Just kidding,” he added. He could see that Samantha was hiding a small grin at how Gordy had taken up for her though, and had to stifle a laugh. He followed them onto the Cougar and nodded to Zach, who put the rig in gear and started down the drive.
“We're rolling,” he said into the radio. “We 'll kick the speed up slowly until we see how things go. If anyone needs to slow down just say so. We're in a hurry but we're not in that big a hurry.”
And with that the small convoy started for home.
CHAPTER EIGHT
-
“That is a major fire,” Abby almost whispered as she looked at the take from the drone Deuce had launched. He had elevated the drone to near its ceiling before they could get a good picture. While she couldn't see the fire itself, she could gauge the size by the smoke column. Her father stood behind Deuce looking over his nephew's shoulder.
“Looks like it's up near Haleyville? Somewhere around there?” he commented.
“About there probably,” Abby nodded absently, still examining the fire. “Lot of homes in that area,” she sighed. “I hope they got clear.”
“Haleyville had a fire department,” Robert pointed out. “Maybe their truck is still working. If so-”
“One or two trucks won't stop that fire,” Abby spoke with the confidence gained from three years of fighting fires just like the one they were watching. “Might help protect some of the structures but that's about all they could do. And that's assuming a good water supply, which they may not have if their well pumps aren't working. And they may not have any fuel for their rigs. And, and, and,” she sighed again. “So many variables to it with things the way they are now. They need help in a major way.”
“You aren't thinking about going up there are you?” Robert asked, concerned.
“No,” Abby shook her head. “No, I doubt I can help them at this point anyway, but my only concern is right here. So many families here, so many children. I can't abandon them.” She looked at her father.
“My priority has to be this ranch and the people on it.”
“Good,” he nodded. “With things the way they are now I don't want you off doing stuff like that anymore. And I'm glad to hear you say that this place and its people are your priority.”
“Me too,” a new voice said and they all turned to see Mitchell Nolan standing behind them. “I hear there's a big fire close by?”
Abby just nodded and handed him the monitor. He looked at it for a minute and then passed it back.
“Is it coming this way?” he asked.
“Can't tell yet,” Deuce said as he guided the drone back to Earth, the battery draining. “Battery's gone,” he told his cousin. “Take me about five minutes to change it out, but I only have the one extra charged. You want to use it now or have it for emergencies?”
; “How long to recharge it?” she asked, considering.
“For a full charge it takes about forty-five minutes to an hour. I've got other batteries that I 'll start charging now, but I only have three chargers. I don't like to leave them under charge all the time because it shortens the battery life. When these are gone, the drones are done,” he shrugged.
“Then no,” Abby shook her head. “Save it. It gets dark about four-thirty, so we 'll take another look about fifteen till four. Will it still be light enough to see?”
“Yes.”
“Then that's what we 'll do. Meantime I got work to do. Getting that plow running just became a whole lot more important.”
-
“I didn't say it wouldn't run,” Jake sounded almost defensive. “I said it was gonna run rough for a while assuming we could even start it without a lot of work. This thing sat idle for months, including through winter.”
“It was in good shape when the Storm hit,” Abby semi-objected.
“And that was how long ago?” Jake demanded. “And not to make you feel bad, but you didn't exactly do a great job of removing the gear, either.”
“Did I mess something up?” Abby asked, her heart skipping a beat.
“Not bad enough I couldn't fix but it still took a while. And it may not have been you,” he allowed. “Could have been just normal wear. Still, I had to patch one of the plug wires and the cap is bent. I hammered it out but don't be surprised if it goes dead on you at some point. It may have left a short in that wire. If we could still order parts it would be no big deal. But, we can't.”
“Well, great,” Abby sighed. “Still, it's all we've got and we're gonna need it. There is a hell of a fire just north of here.”
“How north of here?” Jake gave her his undivided attention.
“Close enough Deuce can show it to me with a drone,” she shrugged. “I would guess about thirty miles or so, but I don't know for sure. Dad and I both guessed it was near or at Haleyville. But that's just a guess.”
“We 'll make it work,” Jake promised. “One way or another.”
