Mac showed up at the hospital on his four-wheeler early in the afternoon. Dr. Melton met him in the front lobby of the hospital. “Are you ready, Dr. Melton?” asked Mac.
“Please call me Sarah,” she said, flirting with a smile. “So you’re wanting me to ride on that?” she asked, pointing to the four-wheel motorcycle.
“Sorry, ma’am, but it’s all I’ve got,” he replied with his country charm.
“Well, I’ve been on worse, I guess,” Sarah said with grin.
“Where’s the other doctor?” asked Mac, as he was giving her a walking tour of the Ranch.
“Which other doctor?” she asked.
“The one with your same last name,” said Mac. “I mean, I haven’t seen him since John got…well, since the other night.”
“Not that it’s any of your business,” replied Sarah, “but he has gone to another one of our Church communities up in the mountains.”
“I’m sorry,” agreed Mac. “You’re right; it’s none of my business.”
“It’s fine,” confided Sarah. “I don’t keep a lot of secrets, and never have.” She continued: “I want children and he doesn’t. That’s about the short of it. It just took the power going out for me to realize that we were going different directions.”
They arrived at the Pavilion a few minutes later. “So where are the expectant mothers?” she asked. Mac and Sarah paid a visit to each woman. With Janie due anytime now, Dr. Melton suggested that she move to the hospital today, just in case there were any complications with the delivery.
“I don’t want to undercut the great nurses you have here,” said Dr. Melton to both Janie and Mac.
“Maybe I could have one of them assist when it comes time?” asked Janie.
“Absolutely,” replied Dr. Melton. “We would love to work with her.”
Mac took Sarah back down to the hospital, where she thanked him for the tour. He held out his hand, and she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Mac,” she whispered. “You’re sweet.”
She disappeared into the hospital and Mac rode off with a grin. I was good Bill, I promise I was, he said out loud.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Twenty-three ~ Raton, New Mexico
“Dad, it’s Mark,” came from the walkie-talkie. “I’ve got a guy named James down here and he says he has a message for you.”
“James who?” asked David.
“James Van Fleet, from your old work,” he said.
“OK, I know him. Send him up to the house. He’s OK.”
Five minutes later James rode up on his four-wheeler with a woman on the back. James was in his 50s. At 250 pounds and jet black hair, he could seem intimidating to some. His wife, Janice, also in her fifties, had the look of a former beauty queen turned rancher. She was still quite pretty but had some wear on her.
“James, how the hell are you?” asked David as he pulled up.
“Good, brother. It’s been a while. I thought you might be up here,” he added. “We have a mutual friend…well, I mean acquaintance. You remember Lance from college?”
“Sure. Of course,” recalled David. “You know him?”
“Not exactly, but he found me on the ham and asked me to get a message to you.”
“That’s asking a lot nowadays. Am I right?”
“Yep, and I hope he’s good for it,” replied James.
“He is. I can assure you that much,” replied David. “What’s the message?”
“He’s going to reach out to you on the ham at 9:30 tomorrow morning. I can give his operator, Jim, the necessary information.”
“That’s it?” asked David.
“I think he’s wanting to bring some friends this way,” he said. “But that’s up to you now,” insisted James.
“It’s good to see you, my friend. Do you want to stay for lunch?”
“Sure, David. We could stay for just a bit. I want to make it home before dark. I’m sure you can understand now that things have changed.”
“Of course, James. How far are you from here?”
“We’re about 30 miles down the mountain and about 10 miles from Weston. We have a ranch fairly well equipped, if needed. I think we may be able to work together if you’re agreeable,” said James.
“Let me check with our group,” noted David, “and I’ll get back to you as soon as we know.”
“On the lunch menu today,” announced Mabel, “is a special blend of preserved figs, pickles, and beef stroganoff, straight from my canning cellar.” The stroganoff was heated on a Biolite stove.
“These heater stoves are fueled by small sticks,” informed Mabel. “I just hope the rest of the people in our great country have similar recourses,” she added. “I want every child in this land to have a full stomach tonight.”
“This is the best meal we have had in some time,” remarked James’ wife as they were finishing up lunch. “Thank you, Mabel, for your generosity.”
After lunch James pulled David aside. “It’s good to see you, old buddy. Take care of your family. It’s about to get real bad everywhere.”
“Will do,” agreed David, “and thank you for delivering this message. I’ll talk with you later and see if we can help each other down the road.”
James and his wife left with full stomachs and a smile from James.
“This was a good thing we did,” he told his wife. “I believe David’s buddy Lance is going to come through on his promise as long as they make it this far, and I think we can team up with my old friend, just in case things get real bad.”
James and his wife were just about halfway home when he saw the log pile barricade on the logging road he rode up on just a few hours before. It was only 30 or so yards up ahead and he hadn’t been able to see due to the tight left turn of the fire road. Now it was too late, as he skidded the four wheeler to an abrupt stop.
“Mama, this isn’t going to be good,” he declared. “I want you to run into the woods just off the road and stay low. If I don’t come back for you, head through the woods until you hit the road again and follow it back home.”
“I don’t want to leave y….”
“Go now, Janice,” he asserted, “and don’t look back.”
James had his 40-caliber Ruger pistol out of its hip holster and readied for a fight. “Lord,” he prayed aloud, “I hope this isn’t what I think it is. Either way, please guide me and Janice to the other side.”
James got off his machine, ducked down and chambered a round in his M&P AR-15 rifle he took from the case on the back rack of his vehicle.
“OK, boys, let’s get this done so we can go home,” he mumbled under his breath.
James waited a full 30 seconds before a voice came from behind the barricade. The man was standing now, with the logs of the road obstruction coming up to just above his knees. “Turn off your vehicle and put your gun on the ground,” he yelled.
“Or what?” yelled James, wanting to know where he stood sooner than later.
“Or we just take it. We can see you’re alone and no match for us.”
They didn’t see Janice, James thought. Thank you, Lord, for that.
“You’re right,” James called out. “It’s just me, but I can’t give my four-wheeler and gun to a stranger.” Why is he still standing? thought James. He’s either not very smart or he’s got some friends out of sight.
“We will give you 30 seconds to surrender if you want to make it home. 30, 29, 28…”
James had no plans of surrendering, knowing it wouldn’t guarantee his or Janice’s safety.
“Forgive me, Lord,” he muttered as he fired his AR-15 towards the man at the barricade. The bullet caught the man in the upper right thigh. James held back, expecting fire from both sides of the road that didn’t come.
A couple minutes later, the man alone was yelling, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you.
Please don’t kill me. I just didn’t have a choice. I have a family and I didn’t know what to do.”
James made his way to the barricade slowly, rifle at the ready. “What’s your name?” he asked with a stern voice.
“It’s Jason…Jason Davis, and I just want to feed my family, that’s all.” Jason was tall, fit, and appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
“Where do you live,” asked James, as he was confident Jason didn’t have a weapon of any kind.
“Down the road, 15 miles or so,” he replied.
“Exactly where?” asked James in a loud voice, realizing it would be close to his ranch.
“County Road 227 and Blue Ridge Highway.”
That’s about three miles from our ranch, thought James.
“What the hell are you doing up here—trying to steal property from good people?” asked James.
“I honestly don’t know, sir,” he replied. “I am not this person you are looking at. I’m in a lot of pain but I’m so sorry I did this to you. My family is hurting and I wanted to provide for them as a husband and a father. Will you please forgive me? I am unarmed and am ashamed for my actions today.”
James, convinced that Jason was unarmed, called Janice out from the woods. She walked reluctantly from the trees to the barricade.
“We need to patch Jason here up,” said James. Janice was a nurse’s assistant in a past life but never lost the passion for it.
“I’ve got my kit on the four-wheeler,” she replied, as she walked back towards it. “I’ll get him looked at but I’m not sure he’s worth it,” she added.
“Janice, let’s just get him patched up and we’ll see.”
Janice had Jason’s wound dressed in about 20 minutes. “He’s ready to go,” she announced, “to wherever that is.”
“We’re headed home,” stated James, “and you can walk, or ride on the front of my machine where I can keep an eye on you. Your choice.”
“Thank you, sir. I choose to ride. I am so sorry that we met like this.”
James maneuvered around the barricade and with three now on his machine it was slower going.
An hour later James was passing his farm without emotion or indication of his homestead, headed to Jason’s house. “It’s over here, right on the left,” called Jason, pointing ahead.
James pulled the four-wheeler into the front yard of the double-wide trailer, as a lady and three girls came running out.
“Daddy! Daddy!” came a chorus from the girls.
When they saw his bandage, the oldest one said, “Oh, Daddy! What happened to you?”
“It’s OK, honey. These nice people saved my life and I will always be grateful for that,” he told her, now looking at James and Janice.
James pulled Jason aside and asked, “How are you all on food?”
“We’re out. There’s none. I don’t even care if I eat anything, but my wife and the girls should be able to eat. That’s the only reason I was out there today.”
“What are you willing to do to feed them, besides what happened earlier?”
“Work,” suggested Jason. “I can work hard, do whatever it takes to feed them.”
James looked over and saw Janice talking with Jason’s wife and girls. They were all smiling.
“All right, Jason. I’ll be back in an hour or two with some food to help out a bit.”
“Sir, you really don’t have to do that, after what I’ve done.”
“I know,” agreed James. “I’m guessing you walked 15 or so miles up the mountain so no one would recognize you.”
“Yes, sir,” Jason admitted.
“So,” continued James, “me shooting you in the hip is either poor marksmanship or divine intervention. I can assure you I am one hell of a good shot. This is your second chance, Jason. There will not be a third. Sometimes in times of desperation good people do bad things, and I will not be talking about what happened up on that mountain anymore. Understood?”
“Yes, yes sir. Thank you.”
Janice got back on the four-wheeler with James. “Looks like about three hours or so until dark,” commented James.
“Did you change your mind about him?” asked Janice. “Did you?” asked James.
They rode the three miles home in silence. They pulled into their ranch and stopped in front of a heavily fortified barn.
“It’s the girls,” remarked Janice. “They are so sweet and respectful.” James was well aware of his wife’s soft spot for kids. They had tried seemingly everything over the years to get pregnant, including in vitro fertilization several times. They had both wanted a big family to share the ranch with. A couple years back they even took a series of classes and got licensed to adopt. At first it seemed promising. They were looking for a multiples group of up to ten years old and had no preferences in regard to race or gender. They just wanted a large family.
Three times they were in the running and got so close that they got to read the children’s permanent files. The permanent files can be difficult to read, as many of the children in the system had been abused, usually by family members or close family friends. There were very few they heard of who actually were orphaned by an accident. Most were taken from a judge that declared the biological parents unfit for one reason or another. Still, they just wanted a group of brothers or sisters, or both. Each of the three times they were not chosen, citing since they didn’t have any children of their own they would not be able to take care of multiples. After a while they just gave up on the dream.
“The girls,” warned Janice. “They’re completely out of food.”
“I know, honey. That’s why I pulled up to the barn.”
“I’m still not sure about Jason,” she asserted, “but I do really like the rest of them.”
“Oh, I think Jason’s going to be OK,” said James. “Men do some stupid things when their families are desperate. They are a package deal, you know.”
“What does that mean?” asked Janice, with a defensive tone. “Mama, I’ve known you for a long time, and watching you talk to Jason’s wife and their girls told me everything I need to know. I give you about a month before you’re ‘Grandma Janice.’”
“We’ll see about that,” she questioned. “We don’t even know them… I’ll get my medical kit (the good one) while you grab some food,” offered Janice.
They made it back to Jason’s in just over an hour. “We’ve got about an hour and a half,” James told Janice. “Get his wound done up good and maybe we’ll have some visiting time.”
Jason’s wife pulled Janice aside and said through her tears, “I am so sorry about what happened up on the road. I can assure you that is not like my husband or my girls’ father.”
“Things happen for a reason, both good and seemingly bad,” said Janice. “God was watching out for all of us today. Let’s move forward and not bring this up again. Agreed?” asked Janice.
“Yes, of course…and by the way, my name is Lauren…Lauren Davis.”
“Nice to meet you, Lauren,” replied Janice, “and that’s James over there,” pointing across the room.
Lauren reminded Janice of a younger version of herself. Both with medium-length blonde hair and a face men had always found attractive.
“What about us?” asked Lauren’s youngest, overhearing the introductions.
“This here is Jenna, and she’s 4.”
“Four and a half, Mommy,” Jenna added.
“Our other two are Candice, now five and a half; and Carla, our oldest, is seven.” All three girls have their mom’s beautiful hair and good looks, thought Janice.
“Mommy, I’m so hungry,” pleaded Jenna.
“I know, honey. I’m sorry.”
“Not for long, young lady,” announced James, holding out two large canvas bags in front of him.
“Is it OK if they have an apple while I make some dinner for everyone?” asked James.
“Oh yes, sir. They would just love that!” replied Janice.
“Three apples, and one more for Mommy coming up! And please just call me James.”
“I’ll get Jason’s wound dres
sed and we will be back in a jiff,” said Janice.
“Let’s take a look at that wound,” she told Jason. “I’ve got to do a proper cleaning and it’s going to hurt. I brought you some hydrocodone James had left over from a fall last year. There are about 30 in all. Take one every four hours for the pain. Only if you need them; this is all there is.”
Jason was careful not to yell out, so as not to scare the girls, and 30 minutes later it was done.
Next World Series (Vol. 1): Families First Page 21