Layla pulled away, drawing a ragged breath and finally glancing into her rear view mirror to see him standing at the curb with his hands thrust deep into his pockets. He was cloaked in a mist of disappointment and frustration, and she wondered exactly what he expected from her anyway.
No, she hadn’t forgotten about Ramon at all. She’d seen him from a distance, but after her ordeal at the hands of Max, she wasn’t feeling too flirtatious, and she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. Everything she’d seen in the past year had made her doubly suspicious of any man’s motives, and her run-in with Senator Blackwell only served to confirm that dark secrets could lurk behind even the most upstanding image.
She could see that Ramon’s smile was genuine, but something about him unsettled her, and she preferred to avoid that feeling. She had plans, and she mustn’t allow herself to be sidetracked from her mission. She shouldn’t risk getting involved with someone who could prove to be so… so… disturbing. She took another deep breath and brought her hand to her throat, twisting the pearls on her choker one by one like a strand of worry beads.
She had a sudden urge to go shopping.
~
Chapter Three
CLEANED UP
~
Caledonia threw a roll of tarps onto the massive bonfire, standing back with Michael and Calvin to watch the burning plastic send greasy black smoke spiraling into the sky. Recent wet weather made it safe to conduct a burn, but the rains also made a muddy mess of the trails leading into the remote encampments, so even after a few sunny days getting around in the backwoods was proving to be difficult.
Still, the three of them were making great progress. It was their second full day of cleanup, and they were finally wrapping up their demolition of the last of the makeshift camps.
“They’re not gonna like what they find when they get back,” Calvin said, heaving the final armload of splintered drying racks onto the bonfire.
“Good,” Caledonia replied. “Then they’ll get the message that they’re no longer welcome.”
The mild climate and rugged terrain that nurtured the dense redwood forests also made them an ideal location to conceal pot farms, and illegal growers had taken advantage of the property’s enormous size to build a sizeable marijuana operation on her land. Smaller operators had flown under the radar for years, but now Mexican cartels had taken over the spot, and Caledonia was dismayed to discover that a number of new plots had sprung up, tucked into hidden ravines and valleys. She vowed to rid her property of them once and for all.
So alongside Calvin and Michael, she set out with ferocious determination to root out each encampment and lay it to waste. The trio dismantled makeshift kitchens, latrines, and drying tents. They tore apart fire-pits and obliterated pathways that had been beaten through the dense undergrowth.
They dismantled elaborate irrigation systems, tearing out what seemed like miles of plastic pipes that diverted natural springs and seasonal creeks. The grower’s activities had silted up waterways, causing erosion that had interrupted more than one ancient salmon run. Caledonia did her best to restore everything back to its natural state, hoping that she had gotten to them in time.
It was late in the day by the time the last fire started to wind down. “Is that all of it?” Michael asked hopefully. He’d tried his best to keep up with Calvin, but the backbreaking work was taking its toll, and he was exhausted.
“Yep. I think we’re done,” said Calvin, brushing his hands off on his jeans.
Cali gathered up their tools and packed them onto the back of the bikes, and the three of them stood back to watch the fire consume every last trace of human presence. Purification complete, Caledonia nailed several “No Trespassing” signs onto some of the bigger trees. The three of them climbed back onto their bikes for the long trek down narrow trails back to civilization.
They finally arrived at a freshly graded and graveled area where their truck waited for them, and Calvin lowered the ramp from the tailgate to guide the bikes into its bed. Caledonia’s former home was tucked on the far side of the clearing, and if a new visitor didn’t know it was there, it would be easy to overlook the mossy little structure.
A door opened to reveal a wizened old man with long gray hair worn in two braids. Jesse shuffled out to greet them, receiving a hug from Cali and friendly nods from the two young men. He stood with Cali, leaning on his walking stick as they watched Michael and Calvin secure the bikes for the drive home.
“How’d it go?” he asked her.
“We got the last of it,” she replied with satisfaction. “There isn’t one thing of theirs left up there.”
Jesse nodded thoughtfully, “That’s a start.”
Calvin hopped down to join them. “Have you seen any signs of them?” he asked anxiously.
Jesse shook his head no. “Nothing yet. But I’ll keep my eyes open.” He turned to Caledonia, “I found something in the house you might be interested in. It was hidden under a loose board in the floor.”
“What is it?” asked Caledonia, curious.
“It looks like a journal, or a diary. It must have been your father’s.”
Caledonia’s eyes lit up, “What does it say?”
Jesse looked surprised, “I dunno. It’s private. I left it on the table inside.”
Caledonia whirled around to race into the cabin, and Calvin watched her disappear inside. He turned back to Jesse. “When do you think these guys will be back?” he asked the old man.
“They plant around the end of May,” Jesse said, “But they might send scouts ahead of time to set up the camp.”
“They’re sure gonna be surprised when they see what we did to it.”
Jesse straightened up with a grunt, his ancient eyes grave when they met Calvin’s. “You do realize… That this is war.”
“I know,” Calvin nodded solemnly. “I know.”
~
Caledonia was preoccupied the whole drive home, clutching a dog-eared journal to her chest.
“What do you have there?” Calvin asked.
“Jesse found a diary,” she said in a small voice. “It’s in my father’s writing.”
He reached down to squeeze her thigh reassuringly. When they pulled up to the house Michael climbed out of the truck and stretched out his arms, “Man! I’m gonna be sore tomorrow. I better go hit the shower.”
Calvin looked over to see Caledonia’s serious face. “I’m going to go take a look at this,” she said, excusing herself to go upstairs to their bedroom. Calvin realized that she needed to be alone with her latest discovery, so he grabbed the remote and flopped down onto the couch, dog-tired. He promptly nodded off, only waking to the sound of Layla’s keys turning in the lock. He sat up blinking, surprised to see from the dark sky that hours had passed.
“How’d it go today?” Layla asked, closing the door with her foot.
“Good,” Calvin rubbed his eyes. “We got everything cleared out. How about you?”
Layla juggled the shopping bags in her arms, walking past him to set them down on the kitchen table. “I’ll have the road permits tomorrow, so we can start taking bids. Plus, I got a tip about an architect that might be able to draw up some plans for the house.”
That’s good,” he yawned.
“Where’s Cali?” Layla asked. She told herself that she wanted to show her cousin the things she’d bought, and give her the news of the day. More truthfully, she wanted to talk to someone about her run-in with Ramon.
“I’ll go check on her,” Calvin replied, trudging up the stairs.
“Tell her I want a word with her,” she called after him.
Calvin ducked his head into the room to find Caledonia sitting cross-legged on the bed.
“Can I come in?”
She nodded. When he got closer he could see that her eyes were a little puffy, like she’d been crying, and he slipped in to sit down next to her. “You okay?”
She nodded, “Yeah.”
Calvin snaked his arm around
her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He looked down at the notebook. “What does it say?”
She heaved a sad sigh. “It’s a bunch of letters my dad wrote to my mom… Things for her to read when he had to go away into town or something. Things to keep her calm and tell her what to do if anything happened to him.”
“Oh,” his cheek pressed against hers and there was nothing to say. He reached over to take her hand with such sweet empathy that she couldn’t help but feel better.
“Did I just hear Layla get in?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said, “She wants to talk to you. I can tell her you’re busy if you want.”
She squared her shoulders and gathered her emotions. “That’s okay. I’ll go see her.”
Calvin stretched out his stiff shoulders, “I need to hit the shower.” He smiled hopefully, “Wanna come join me?”
She patted his thigh. “You go ahead. I’ll see what Layla wants.”
Cali went downstairs to find her cousin sitting at the table with a checklist of tasks in front of her and a pen in her hand. She was twirling a stray lock of hair with a scrunched up look on her freckled face. “How did it go with Miss Millie?” she asked.
Layla looked up, startled. “Fine.”
Caledonia came closer to sit at the table. “Calvin said you had something to tell me.”
“Yeah! I think I might have found someone who can draw us up some building plans.”
“Who?” Cali asked.
“Millie’s grandson. I’m going to meet her for lunch tomorrow to talk about it.”
“You and Millie?” Cali asked.
“And the grandson. I guess he’s an architect over in Ukiah.”
“Is he qualified?”
“Millie seems to think so, and I might as well see what he has to say. The sooner we can get the plans drawn up the sooner I can start taking bids from construction companies.”
Caledonia scrutinized her cousin. “So… what’s got you so edgy then?”
Layla’s eyes met hers and they smiled wryly at one another. “I saw Ramon today. You know, the cop.”
“The cute cop?” Cali asked with a friendly smirk.
“Yes,” Layla sighed.
“So? What did he say?” Cali asked, her smile widening. She recalled how the sparks flew when Layla first met the handsome deputy.
Layla thought about their encounter and buried her face in her hands with a low moan. When she looked up a rainbow of flustered emotions came flooding out of her. “He probably thinks I’m such an idiot! I must have looked like such a klutz!”
“What happened?” Cali was alarmed.
Layla looked back up with pained eyes. “I tripped and fell right in front of the court house! My heel caught in a crack and I went down like a ton of bricks.”
“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
She grimaced. “Only my pride. Ramon saw everything.”
“What did he do?”
“He helped me up.”
Caledonia raised her eyebrows at her, “And?”
“He asked how I liked it here… He asked how you were doing.”
“What did you say?”
“I said we were fine and got out of there as fast as I could!”
“Why? I thought you liked him!”
She looked at Caledonia with serious eyes. “He’s suspicious of us. I think he might know something about what’s been going on with our land… I bet he thinks we’re in on it.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He was asking about my new car… And he was definitely overly curious. The way he looked at me…”
Caledonia frowned. “Well, nothing will be going on anymore. We burned the last of it today. If the growers come back they’ll get the message.”
“What if they don’t?” Layla asked.
“They don’t know that we haven’t called in the police. I think we can handle this without involving the authorities.”
“I sure hope so,” Layla said. “The last thing we need right now is a bunch of cops snooping around here… Even cute ones.”
Cali pressed her lips together. “Layla, you don’t need to avoid him. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
Layla looked sideways at her with a snort. “Are you serious? We’ve done nothing BUT wrong. At least me and Michael have. If Ramon knew what the professor had us do… Not to mention Max!”
“That wasn’t your fault. You were only children, and you didn’t know any better.”
“Whatever,” she said irritably. “If he found out he wouldn’t like me anyway, so there’s no point in getting to know him.”
Caledonia shook her head no. “I don’t know about that. He seemed like a fair minded person.”
Layla shook her head vigorously. “I should stay as far away from him as possible. It’s for the best.”
Caledonia’s serious blue and green irises met her cousin’s worried green and brown ones. “You know Layla… You’re going to have to take a chance sometime.”
Michael came bounding down the stairs, heading for the refrigerator. “Take a chance on what?”
“Nothing,” both girls said simultaneously.
“What’s for dinner?” he asked, opening the doors to look inside.
Layla rolled her eyes. “Honestly Michael! You’re like a stomach with feet.”
Caledonia got up from the table. “I’ll make something.”
“I thought you said that you weren’t going to be his maid,” Layla commented sarcastically.
Caledonia shrugged, “I like to cook, and these guys worked really hard today.” She started rummaging through the pantry, pausing to look back at her cousin with a smile. “And since you’ve had a pretty easy day… I nominate you to do the dishes.”
~
Chapter Four
FIXED UP
~
Calvin woke up to the sound of ringing, cracking open a bleary eye to take a look at the bedside clock. He was surprised to see he’d slept in so late, and he groped for the phone. He rubbed his swollen eyes, squinting to see it was Jarod calling.
“Yeah?” he answered, his voice rough.
“Hey little bro,” Jarod’s voice had a story in it.
“What’s up? Is everything okay?” Calvin asked.
“I have news.”
~
When he made his way downstairs Calvin found Layla and Cali sitting at the kitchen table having coffee. Cali smiled up at him, and then her brows knit together in concern.
“Uh oh.”
“What?”
“Come here,” she said, patting the chair next to hers. She took his face into her hands and turned it from side to side with worried eyes. “Looks like you got into some poison oak yesterday.”
“That explains it,” he said. “My arms are itching like crazy.”
She ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead, “I’m sorry. Try not to scratch it, okay? I have to go into work for a little bit this morning, but I’ll stop by the store on the way home and pick something up for it.”
“Will you be back in time to go out to lunch with me?” asked Layla with anxious eyes. She looked to Calvin hopefully, “Both of you should come! I’m going to meet Millie and her grandson. He’s an architect, and she thinks he can help us with the house.”
“Lunch with Millie? Uhm… No thanks,” said Calvin.
Caledonia smiled apologetically. She didn’t like Millie’s disapproving glares any more than Calvin did. “You’ll be fine,” she patted Layla’s arm. Cali could see that her cousin was nervous about going back into town on her own, and she knew why. “You can tell us how it went tonight. I gotta get going.”
She headed up the stairs to get dressed, passing Layla’s brother on his way down. “Good morning,” Michael said, going over to the counter to help himself to a cup of coffee. “Hey Cal… Wanna go check out some dirt-bike trails today?” He turned back towards the table, “Whoa! What happened to your face?”
“Michael!” Layla sco
lded him.
Calvin groaned, “Poison oak. I think I’m gonna be taking it easy today.”
Layla looked up hopefully, “Hey Michael… How about you come with me to town?”
“What for?” he asked, pulling up a chair.
“I’m having lunch with Millie and–”
“That old bat?” Michael interrupted. His guilty conscience had its limitations. “No thanks.”
Layla sighed, conceding defeat and following her cousin up the stairs to get dressed. She sat in front of her vanity for a long time, brushing her fiery red hair absentmindedly and pushing back the images of Ramon that kept invading her thoughts.
She applied her makeup carefully and got up to dress, laying one outfit after another across her pink bedspread. She finally settled on a wrap dress in a muted floral print, choosing a pair of neutral pumps to go with it. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she took her time sorting through her jewelry box for the perfect earrings and necklace.
Before she knew it she was running late, and she hurried to get out the door. When she arrived in town she parked in front of the courthouse and looked around nervously, relieved to see no police car in sight. She stepped out onto the sidewalk gingerly, flushing blue with shame when she imagined how she must have looked when she toppled over.
She stepped inside the door to see two pairs of eyes looking up expectantly. Millie did a quick appraisal of her outfit and went lavender blue with approval. Layla focused on the man seated by Millie’s desk, surprised to find him younger than she’d imagined, and much much better looking. He was green with irritation, leaning forward in his chair, squirming in a cloud of uneasiness.
Millie stood to gesture towards her, “Conrad, here’s the young lady I was telling you about.”
All at once he looked pleasantly surprised, rising to his feet and holding out a polite hand for a shake. “Miss Mackenzie? Conrad Smithson. Pleased to meet you,” he said with enthusiasm.
The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) Page 3
