Homesteader Blues
Page 6
It knocked me for a loop when Jade turned up an hour early on Saturday driving her dad's old beater truck. The long face she wore was a real good indicator of a problem.
"Can I come in?" Jade asked as I stood there, holding the door.
"Yeah, sorry." I moved to one side and let her in.
The situation was way out of my comfort zone. And I wasn't sure where this was going at all. I was real thankful I'd just finished a spit bath in the sink and got dressed.
"Jade, you know this might just look real strange if some people were to get wind of your being here without the boys or Tina present."
"Sorry, Uncle Jim. We can go outside on the porch if you like. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Mom and Dad know I came early, and there's nobody here yet."
Wonderful. Now, what the hell would Tina think if she found out about it? I figured I needed to call her ASAP with this tale, whatever the hell it might be.
"Can I have a cup of coffee?"
"Sure, kiddo. Look in the cupboard over the coffeemaker. Since you're here, let's get to what the hell's got you looking so glum. Although, I don't know what help I can be here. Your mom should be a lot better with female hassles than I am."
Sitting down at the table with the coffee mug, Jade shook her blonde head. "Don't think so. I need a man's perspective here, and I'm not sure I can trust my dad's 'cause he's my dad."
Shit! I did not like the sound of this one bit. It took everything I had to sit and listen in that chair. "You're making me downright antsy here, girlie. Best spit this out before I hide in the barn."
Grinning at me, Jade shook her blonde head. "Calm down Uncle. It doesn't have a thing to do with stuff Aunt Tina might take offense to."
The grin faded. "I like being with Zach, Trooper Daniels. He treats me like you treat Aunt Tina, opens doors, shit like that. It's nice to be appreciated, but..."
Taking another sip of the coffee, she was quiet for a moment. Placing both hands on the cup, she looked up at me. "Mom and Dad knew each other forever. But, you and Aunt Tina... how did you know she was the one?"
It seemed this might not be as hard as I thought. "I was sitting in a restaurant in Anchorage and heard her laugh behind me. Then I turned around to see the woman who chimed like a bell when she laughed. Tina was the waitress that morning. When she turned around, her face was scrubbed clean of gunk, and she was beautiful. I had to find out more about her. Drank enough coffee to wire me for days. When she got off work, we sat in the cab of the truck and talked for a long time. I didn't want to come home without her. For a couple of months, I went back to Anchorage once a week. When I asked her to marry me, she agreed. End of story."
Her fingers tightened on the cup. "So you knew right away?"
"Yeah, I did. It took Tina a little more time to come to it. I didn't rush her. Marrying me and coming out here to live was a big step. She gave up her dream of going to college and having a career. That was a lot to ask of her."
Her face brightened as she sighed. "I didn't know if I should believe Zach or not because he told me that the minute he looked at me he knew I was the one. I care about him, but if he wants to advance in the corps, he has to move around the state and might be posted to some real holes in the wall. I've spent the last eighteen years in the back of beyond, and I'm not sure I can handle more of it."
"Jade, you need to talk to Tina. She can help you with the ins and outs of that far better than I can. You know, she came from Seldovia. That's a hole in the wall for sure. I believe she asked herself a lot of questions along the same line. She'll be back on Sunday. Why don't you come over Monday evening? I'll take the kids on a drive somewhere, and you both can discuss it."
"If you don't mind, I would like that."
"I don't care one bit. You need to be real sure about what you decide here. What are you and Zach doing in the meantime?"
She put the cup down after having taken a big drink. “We called a halt to everything. I don't want to go any further until I'm sure of what I want. Leading the man on wouldn’t be fair.”
"Good going, kiddo. If you can't make a go of it with him, it's better you cut him loose now. It's gonna be painful either way, but earlier is better than later for relationships."
With a thin smile, Jade nodded. Arne and Megan did real good. They raised a fine young woman, and I was proud to be her uncle. No matter how this worked out, Jade would be okay, and the man who won her would be a lucky S.O.B., just like I was.
"You finished with that coffee, kiddo? We've got a lot of shit to get installed into that bathroom today. I don't trust your Aunt Tina not to come popping in that doorway earlier than I need her to."
Jade laughed. "Oh, I got that! Well, let me wash out this mug and we'll get on it. The boys should be here soon. Where do you want to start first?"
Rising, I stretched my arms over my head. "I filled the tank overhead last night. Everything worked as it should."
Cocking a blonde eyebrow at me, she chuckled. "What time did you get to sleep? Bet pumping five hundred gallons took a while."
"I got enough sleep to get this finished. Let's get the john in first, and then the sink and shower. I need to make sure the things function before we don't have time to hit the hardware store for parts if necessary."
All the things I had to hook the water lines and septic tank to were on one side of the room. That made attaching all the lines under the house way easier. The skirting would go on after the fact. That way I could get under to fix anything that might be wrong.
And the skirting would get put on with galvanized deck screws. Out here the ground moves due to permafrost, being able to unscrew the skirting for adjustment was only reasonable.
The metal plates on top of the foundation pilings could be moved up and down using huge nuts. I didn't need the whole thing to become useless because the water was no longer draining due to lack of proper slope.
Jade attached the light fixtures while the boys and I muscled in the dryer and toilet. The whole thing went easier than I thought it would. By 4:00 p.m., everything tested out, and Tina's bathroom was a reality.
Come Sunday morning, I would add all the finishing touches. I ran a hand over the real granite countertop and the stainless steel under-the-counter mounted sink. Tina would love this. Jade startled me out of my thoughts when she echoed my sentiments.
"Aunt Tina will show this off to everyone. Dad is in real trouble. Mom is gonna rag on him like a raven on a dead fish until she has the same thing."
Damned if she wasn't right. There would be a lot of bitching going on when the other guys got wind of my latest project. That caused me to chuckle. Too damn bad. They would have to deal with their women on their own.
We called it quits, and I went out to the barn to tend to the animals. I would be real glad to see my oldest, Kyle. It was easier for him to get the eggs out of that chicken coop than for me.
Tired, I was so ready to talk to the woman. It wouldn’t take much to get the place in order on Sunday morning. I wasn't ready for the call I got from her about two hours early.
"Jim, what on earth is a Trooper coming out to the house for? What's wrong?"
My immediate thought was, God damn the tundra telegraph all to hell and gone! But I was smart enough to keep from blurting it out.
"Whoa, babe! There's nothing wrong here. That was Daniels. He has a thing for Jade, and she and two boys from the church were helping out for a little cash. Seems they have a trip scheduled, and I hired them to help out since the kids weren’t here."
"Oh. When I heard that a trooper was at the house, and I was afraid you might have hurt yourself and didn't want to say anything, 'cause you didn't want to worry me."
"You want to tell me which busy body upset you? I have a few words to say to the individual who got you rattled!"
"No. Now don't get your back up, Jimmy. They meant well. Someone called to make sure you were okay."
"It is not friggin right to upset you. Not one iota. I
don't need you worrying about me while you're gone. Everything here is fine. If you want to come home early tomorrow honey, you do it. Just wait until it’s light out to get going. I don't want you driving up Eureka Pass in the dark. There are too many moose coming down out of the hills now."
I was hot, and Tina knew it. Now, she was trying to calm me down. It was time for some long nosed, old vulture to keep her talons out of my business. If I even got an inkling of who felt the need to call Tina and upset her for no damned reason that person would hear from me.
"Honey? Jimmy, they were just concerned about you out there all alone."
"Then they can get their concerned ass over here and check on me in person. I don't know what someone thought I was up too here, but the whole thing smacks of some sharp-nosed bitch."
“James Robert Dewey! Calm down honey, I love you, and I'll start home about 10:00 a.m. I can't wait to get home, God, have I missed you! Thinking about it, it’s the first time I've been away from you for over twenty-four hours since you carried me over the threshold of the place."
Was I, or was I not going to let her placate me? Yeah, I suppose. She had lowered her voice to that lovely soft little whisper that promised me something as soon as possible once she was home.
That well and good as far as it went, but I would find out who made that call. Ah, yes. Tina's cell would tell me which mouth got opened. There would be retaliation. I would keep it between that person and myself, but someone would know how displeased I was.
But the most important thing right now was making sure Tina didn't have one lousy little thing to bother her on the way home. She needed to concentrate on the road and get home safe. I had to make that happen now. It a priority for this phone call.
"Sweets, Jade needs to talk to you about her relationship with the Trooper when you get back. I told her to come over on Monday night, and I'd take the kids for a ride somewhere and give you both time to discuss it."
The small hesitation and the slight sigh on the other end of the call let me know I had said the right thing. "Has Jade talked to her mom and dad?"
"Yeah. But, part of what's bothering the girl is something they don't understand. Jade isn't sure about marrying a trooper and being shuttled here and there. There are some real backwaters in the State. Jade knows your situation when we got together is real close to hers."
"Jade opened up to you about it?"
"She wanted a guy perspective on love at first sight. Daniels told her she was "the one" and he knew it when he first saw her. Jade wanted to know if it was possible, or if he was feeding her a line."
That got a chuckle out of her. "I bet that one knocked you sideways."
"Sure as hell did. When she opened the discussion, I almost ran and hid somewhere."
My beautiful woman was laughing on the phone. Thank goodness! The nasty little seed that some ass planted in her got jerked up by the roots and tossed in the garbage where it belonged. We were good again.
"Oh, love. It will be so wonderful to see you. I was worried about you at first. But you sound like your usual self. I'm so glad nothing is wrong."
"Told you, babe, the only thing wrong with me is absence of Tina. When I get my hands on you, I think maybe we should take a nap. I need that bedroom to smell right. It hasn't smelled of hot sex in days, and I'm having withdrawals."
Her belly laugh pealed out of the phone, and my heart did a double back flip. I wanted that woman like a drunk wanted a bottle. Tomorrow, Tina would be home. I just had to get through the night.