“I’m okay!” Momma Peach cried out and tried to stand up. As she did, a third explosion blew the souvenir shop to smithereens. Momma Peach was thrown down onto the ground again. Pieces of shattered wood and glass began raining down on her. She covered her head and more explosions erupted under the town. One by one, each building began crumbling down into the earth following each explosion, until they formed one giant dark hole. The flood waters began pouring into the dark hole, forming a raging river. But that wasn't the worst of it. Momma Peach heard the street cracking under her body and the ground starting to give way. “I ain't ready to be planted six feet under!” Momma Peach cried out as she watched the earth pull and then gobble up the rental car into its watery depths.
Michelle managed to get to her feet and run over to Momma Peach. “Run!” she yelled and grabbed Momma Peach up by her shoulders. Momma Peach scrambled to her feet and started to run. As she did, Henry's Mustang appeared in the distance. Henry raced his Mustang down to Momma Peach and Michelle and slid to a stop perilously on the wet ground, not ten feet from where the massive sinkhole threatened to swallow them all. “Get in!” he yelled as he flung open the side door. Momma Peach ran and dove into the back seat. Michelle dove in on top of her. Henry threw the Mustang into reverse and squealed backward out of the way just as the street began caving in under his car. He stomped on the gas pedal and raced backward at full speed. “I can't see and I don't know where I'm going!”
Jack rolled down the passenger's side window. It was hard to maneuver with Melinda sitting in his lap, but he managed to stick his head out of the window. “Straighten your wheel, son!”
Henry straightened the steering wheel. The street was caving in at full force, chasing the Mustang at a dangerous speed. “How's that?”
“Good!” Jack yelled.
“Bless that child,” Momma Peach told Michelle, “Oh, bless that child! I am gonna bake him a lifetime supply of my famous peach pies.”
Michelle eased up off Momma Peach and sat down in the back seat and then helped Momma Peach up. The ground beneath the Mustang was shaking and rattling so violently that she was sure the Mustang was going to be swallowed up. She closed her eyes and began praying. Momma Peach followed suit. A minute later, the ground calmed, and finally stopped shaking until the Mustang was traveling on smooth, if wet, road. Michelle opened her eyes and looked over at Momma Peach in shock and relief. “We're alive.”
Momma Peach reached over and patted Michelle's hand. “Yes, we are,” she said and paused when she saw Old Mac begin crawling off her shoulder. “Oh, go on with yourself,” she told Old Mac, “I ain't afraid of you no more. I kinda like you now anyway, you hairy old rascal.”
Henry managed to get the Mustang turned around and sped away. Minutes later, he saw his parents’ van on the side of the road with Sam parked on the road next to them and stopped the Mustang. The rain was still pouring down from the stormy sky, but the flood waters were racing toward town and into the giant hole, decreasing any risk of drowning. “Here we are,” Henry told his parents. He ran over to them and hugged Michael and William tightly. “I'm never letting you two out of my sight ever again.” Michael and William hugged Henry.
George looked over at Sam who was leaning against the passenger side of his truck. “Thanks,” he said in a voice that told Sam all he needed to know.
Sam nodded his head. “No thanks needed,” he replied. He watched Jack and Melinda get out of the Mustang with Momma Peach and Michelle. “You guys okay?”
“I want a bonus,” Jack joked and slapped Sam on the back.
Melinda frowned as she gazed into the distance in distress. “Oh, Sam, your town...it's...gone.”
“Good riddance,” Sam said and looked toward what had been Gold Dust, Nevada. “That town was cursed from day one. Now it's dead. That's the way it's meant to be, I guess.”
Momma Peach walked over to Sam and handed him Old Mac. “Take your critter, Mr. Sam,” she smiled. Sam smiled back with evident surprise and took the spider from Momma Peach. Momma Peach looked into Sam's eyes. “Are you going to be alright?”
“I will be,” Sam promised and let the heavy rain fall on him like it couldn’t hurt him anymore. Momma Peach smiled, snuggled up to Sam's side and put her arm around him. “I will be, Momma Peach,” Sam said again and rested his heart.
Michelle walked over to Henry and gently kissed his cheek. “You will always be my hero,” she smiled.
“Does this mean you'll marry me?” Henry asked in a hopeful voice.
“Uh, no,” Michelle answered and giggled to herself. Oh, she thought, what a life.
“When I'm eighteen?” Henry begged.
“Dream on,” Michelle smiled and walked over to Momma Peach. “I'm ready to go home, Momma Peach.”
“Me too, baby, me too,” Momma Peach said and wrapped her left arm around Michelle as she stared down the road toward Gold Dust. “Poor lost souls,” she whispered and said no more.
The storm continued overhead but slowly began to weaken. By the time morning arrived, the storm was over and Gold Dust was nothing but a giant hole in the ground.
Sam sent George and his family on their way and drove back toward what was left of Gold Dust in his truck with Momma Peach and Michelle. He stopped at a safe distance and walked up to the edge of the massive hole and looked down. “Looks like the road caved in about a mile west. You ladies are blessed to be alive.”
Momma Peach cast her eyes up at the sky and watched a bright morning sun finally begin pushing away the last of the dark storm clouds. The surrounding desert was wet and injured from the storm’s ravages, but very much alive. The smell of wet earth filled the air. In the far distance, thin trails of smoke were streaming up from the middle of the hole. Gold Dust was no more. “Do you think Stephanie is dead?” Sam finally spoke.
Momma Peach lowered her eyes and looked toward Gold Dust. The little town was now part of the earth. “I don't know. Mr. Sam?”
“Yeah,” Sam said and shoved his hands down into the wet pockets of his pants. “There's always a chance, though.” Sam looked at Momma Peach and Michelle. “When I was in Denver, I discovered a very interesting fact that I never told a soul.”
Momma Peach eyed Sam with curiosity. “Oh?”
“Really?” Michelle asked and fought back a yawn. All she wanted was a hot shower, a soft bed, and a solid twenty-four hours of sleep. But for the time being, it was just enough to be alive and part of a fresh, new morning.
“Sheriff Dunfill,” Sam said and shrugged his shoulders, “well, as it turns out, that man is related to me.” Sam looked at Momma Peach again. “I guess there was a reason I was drawn to Gold Dust.”
“I guess there was,” Momma Peach agreed. “Now, Sam,” she started to say but stopped. Her heart felt heavy. “Mr. Sam...I know you want to stay out west, but I sure wish you would come back home to Georgia with me.”
“And do what?” Sam asked. “My life was this town. I lost...everything, Momma Peach.”
“At least you don't have to worry about that creepy old buffalo anymore,” Momma Peach tried to joke but failed. “I shouldn't be joking, Sam.”
“A little humor never hurts,” Sam tried to smile. “I guess I'll...figure out something. I'm not exactly rich anymore, Momma Peach, now that my town’s gone. I'll have to get a job and decide what path my old bones need to take.”
Momma Peach nodded. “I know you will choose the right path,” she promised. Momma Peach looked out toward Gold Dust again and sighed. She sure wanted Sam to return to Georgia with her. Sam felt like family – good family; the type of family a woman found comfort in. “Maybe I can bribe you with one of my famous peach pies?”
Sam looked into Momma Peach's eyes. “You're really serious, aren't you, Momma Peach?”
“I don’t chew my cabbage twice,” Momma Peach promised Sam. “My heart is big enough for you to live in it, too. And you won't ever worry about having to go hungry because I will feed you fully and if you get bored you ca
n talk to my Aunt Rachel for me.”
“Who?” Sam asked.
Michelle sighed. “Don't ask.” Michelle took Momma Peach's hand. “Ben is dead. But...justice has been served, I guess. Do you think Ben will ever...forgive me?”
“For what?” Momma Peach asked Michelle. “Michelle, you did your best to help a close friend and that's all anyone can ask of you. I’m proud of you.”
Michelle placed her hand on Momma Peach's shoulder. “Take me home, Momma Peach.”
“Take us home, Momma Peach,” Sam smiled and walked Momma Peach back to his truck as a bright sun began changing the eastern sky into a fiery pink canvas.
Down under the shattered earth, in the darkness, Stephanie gasped for air as she slowly emerged from an underground river.
Chapter Ten
Sam walked into Momma Peach's bakery looking pretty much like he did the first day Momma Peach met him in Gold Dust. He was smiling for a change. “Well,” Momma Peach said and folded her arms together and grinned, “what is Mr. Sam so happy about this early in the day?”
Sam walked up to Momma Peach, kissed her on the cheek, and then began to mosey around her bakery, exploring the delicious pies, cakes, and breads. Momma Peach watched Sam with curious eyes. “I talked to Nate Bedford an hour ago,” Sam said.
“Nate Bedford is your lawyer?” Momma Peach asked.
“That's right, Momma Peach,” Sam said. He turned and looked at Momma Peach with happy eyes even though his heart was still heavy with grief. “Here's the deal,” he explained. “All the gold under my town now belongs to me. The State of Nevada can't touch an ounce of my gold, even though every politician in that state is sure trying.”
“I guess Eric Milson would be turning over in his grave right now,” Momma Peach chuckled. She walked over to the front display window and looked out into a soft, beautiful morning filled with the sounds of singing birds and floating clouds. “You’re a very rich man.”
“Not just me,” Sam told Momma Peach. He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulder. “Momma Peach, all that I have belongs to you and Michelle, now.” Sam smiled. “I don't know how much gold is really under my town and I don't care to waste my time fighting with a bunch of liars and thieves over the gold. So,” Sam cleared his throat, “There's a company in Arizona that is very interested in buying my town. This company has the money and legal staff to fight the State of Nevada over my town. Me? I'm just not interested in dealing with all the legalities and aggravation of it all.”
“You’re selling your town?” Momma Peach asked. She turned around and straightened out the dark gray and blue shirt Sam had tucked into a pair of blue jeans.
Sam nodded. “For a whole lot of money, Momma Peach. I have Nate to thank because he was the one who contacted the company in Arizona for me. The company sent a man out to Gold Dust before I left out from there to move to Georgia. Long story short, there's a whole lot of gold under my town, but it's going to take a whole lot of money and manpower to start mining that gold, too. It's easier for me just to pass the ball to someone else, Momma Peach.”
Momma Peach looked into Sam's eyes. “What about Mrs. Sam? Andy Dannity? Mrs. Milkson...uh, Agent Lambert...the old man?” Momma Peach asked.
Sam looked down at his hands and then back up at Momma Peach with sad eyes. “Three bodies were pulled from the ground,” he explained. “Andy Dannity is still missing.”
“No Mrs. Sam?”
Sam shook his head no. “No,” he said and sighed. “Momma Peach, even if Stephanie survived...well, she's already dead in her heart.” Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “I don't see how she could have survived. My guess is she was washed away in that underground river.”
“You think that might not be true,” Momma Peach said as she read Sam's eyes.
“Well, no sense in letting the unknown ruin a beautiful morning,” Sam told Momma Peach and forced his smile back. “Because I have full legal rights to my town I can sell it to the company in Arizona. Nate is in the process of getting the legal papers together for me. With that said—”
“You want to move out of my guest bedroom and buy that old house down the road from her,” Momma Peach smiled.
“I do like that old farm house,” Sam confessed. “I also like the back pasture. I was thinking about getting me a couple of horses, too. Also, that old barn needs a lot of work and my hands are itching to pick up a hammer.”
“I’m not offended,” Momma Peach assured Sam. “I’m going to love having you as my neighbor. Now,” Momma Peach wiped her hands on the white apron tied around her dress, “I have some baking to do and you can help me.”
The door to the bakery swung open. A woman with graying red hair walked into the bakery wearing a long, black overcoat even though the morning was very warm. When Sam saw the woman, his eyes went from relaxed to alert. He backed up to Momma Peach and pushed her behind him. “What are you doing here, Nadine?” he asked the woman in a hard tone.
“Who is this woman in my bakery?” Momma Peach demanded.
“Stephanie's younger sister,” Sam explained.
The woman closed the front door and then turned and focused on Sam. Without saying a word, she reached down into a black purse she was holding and took hold of an ugly gun. “My sister is dead,” Nadine said in a furious tone. “You killed her. You killed my father. You destroyed everything, Sam. And now I finally tracked you down to make you pay.”
“Put the gun down, Nadine,” Sam said in a careful voice. “There's no sense in acting like this.”
Nadine searched the bakery with red, tear-soaked eyes that sat deep in a bony, evil face. “My sister had it all worked out for us. I offered to help but Stephanie told me to stay out of her way, so I did. I was never smart like she was and I would have just interfered in her business,” she finished bitterly.
Momma Peach looked down at the floor. She spotted Old Mac crawling dangerously close to Nadine's leg. She had come to think of Old Mac as a close friend and didn't mind letting him roam around her bakery hunting for flies. Oh, the flies. “Old Mac, do get to work,” she whispered and slowly placed her hand down on the front counter next to an old metal stapler she had been using to staple photos of her newest peach pie up on the walls.
“I loved your sister,” Sam told Nadine. “I only wanted to help her.”
Tears began dripping from Nadine's eyes. “You loved my sister?” she asked. “Sam, you killed my sister...you killed me. You killed my family. Now you must die.”
Momma Peach knew from the look in Nadine's eyes that the woman was surely going to shoot Sam and then shoot her. She had to act. “Easy,” she whispered at Old Mac. Old Mac seemed to hear Momma Peach. He slowly walked over to Nadine, unseen, and began crawling up the front of her overcoat. Momma Peach carefully pulled the stapler into her right hand without Nadine noticing, grateful that Sam was blocking the view.
“You can kill me, Nadine,” Sam said, “but you'll be killing an innocent man and you know that.”
“You deserve to die,” Nadine told Sam in a voice that was on the verge of collapse. Unlike Stephanie, Nadine was weak and timid. Weak and timid or not, though, the woman was bound and determined to carry out her intentions. She aimed the gun at Sam's chest. “I know my father and sister were not honest people, Sam. But the world isn't an honest place. We all have to do what we need to in order to survive, right?”
“Ma’am?” Momma Peach asked.
Nadine looked at Momma Peach. “What is it?” she asked.
Momma Peach pointed at the front of Nadine's overcoat with her left hand. “Old Mac don't like bad folk in my bakery.”
Nadine glanced down at the front of her overcoat. She saw Old Mac clinging to her and screamed.
“Down!” Momma Peach yelled at Sam. Sam didn't hesitate. He dropped down to his knees. Momma Peach sent the stapler airborne. The stapler went flying through the air and struck Nadine square in the face. Nadine stumbled backward and toppled down against the front door.
“Great shot!” Sam yelled as he ran over to Nadine and disarmed her. Old Mac crawled away unconcerned, no doubt searching for more flies to eat. Old Mac knew Momma Peach didn't like flies and, well, because he was fond of Momma Peach, he had decided to lend a helping hand.
Momma Peach walked over to Nadine and looked down at the unconscious woman. “Poor soul,” she said in a voice filled with pity. “I didn't want to hurt her.”
Sam stared down at Nadine. “Stephanie's alive, Momma Peach. Nadine would never have come here on her own.”
Momma Peach nodded. “Yes, I know Mrs. Sam is alive. I feel that is true deep down in my gut.” Momma Peach patted Sam's shoulder. “I better call Michelle.”
An hour later, after Nadine was hauled away in handcuffs, Michelle left the bakery only to return before Momma Peach closed down her bakery for the day. She found Sam sweeping the kitchen and Momma Peach washing up a few baking pans. “Uh...Sam,” she said in a hesitant voice.
Sam stopped sweeping the kitchen floor and looked at Michelle. He liked how his new family member looked in her black leather jacket – real tough and cop-like. But the look Michelle was giving him wasn't tough and cop-like. “Yeah?” he asked.
Momma Peach stopped washing a baking pan. “What's the matter, baby?” she asked Michelle.
Michelle stared at Sam. “A Georgia State Patrol pulled over a woman driving a red rental car about two hours ago. The woman...had a gun,” Michelle steadied her voice, “she started firing at the State patrol officer...in return she was shot dead.”
A Peachy Mess Page 14
