The Horse Soldier: Beginnings Series Book 10

by Jacqueline Druga

  “I should be leaving now.” Andrea said. “I’ll go back out the back.”

  “There really isn’t any need, Andrea, but let me walk you. I’ll leave that way too.” Rev. Bob told her.

  “Thank you.”

  ‘Shit!’ Robbie heard them coming and quickly darted back into Rev. Bob’s office.

  “Remember, Bob,” Andrea spoke as they passed his office, “some secrets are best kept hidden.”

  “Thank you for telling me that, Andrea.” Rev. Bob blindly reached into his office, flicked off the light and pulled the door closed. He checked the lock.

  In the dark office, Robbie stood cringing at what he heard. There could be a hundred explanations for what conversation transpired between Reverend Bob and Andrea and Robbie promised himself he would keep that in mind. But first he would finish his rounds and find his father to inform him of what had just transpired.

  ^^^^

  Bowman, North Dakota

  Hal’s elbows rested on his desk and his fingers massaged his temples as he stared down at the marked maps before him. “Two.” He raised his eyes to the scout that stood before him. “This one here. Wyoming is too small but, this one in Calgary, Canada bothers me.”

  “Too close to Beginnings,” The scout stated.

  “That’s why they keep getting hit. How many did you say there were?” Hal pulled the scout’s notes closer and squinted his eyes, blocking out the tension headache that built.

  “Too many to count. It looked like an Indian reservation. Tents. Fires. Animal hides drying out.”

  “And what made you and the other scout draw the conclusion that this was a savage camp?”

  “Sir?”

  “Sorry. Wildcats.” Hal studied the information.

  “They had found a man, sir and . . . besides the look we know well, the fact that this man was cooked on a fire like a pig gave it way. He was still partially clothed.”

  Hal swallowed. “The whole town?”

  “What was left of it. As you can see in our report . . .” The scout pointed. “They had pretty much wiped out the buildings outside of Calgary and set up camp.”

  “Why there?” Hal thought out loud. “Why there?”

  “Mountainous range. Safety. Well hidden. We wouldn’t have found them had we not followed a pack of four back there. They . . . they speak their own language, sir. All the details are in my notes.”

  “And they didn’t appear to be moving?” Hal questioned.

  “No sir.”

  “O.K.” Hal handed the scout his notes back. “I head to Beginnings in three days. I need you to work on a very detailed report of both camps. The Calgary one and the smaller one you discovered by accident. I need your observation, approximate head counts, what you saw as weapons, and lifestyles. You hid for two days. You know this, so report as much as you can come up with. I will give you better maps to draw what you and Tom saw as well.”

  “Yes sir.” The scout took his notes and nodded. “I will give you what I have daily and should you have any questions, just ask. That way I can have the completed report ready for when you leave.”

  “Thank you.”

  Giving Hal a departure salute, the scout left the office.

  Hal looked at the map that remained in front of him. Hal was aware of Savage camps and he knew Beginnings was aware of them also, but Hal was willing to wager, like him, Beginnings had no idea of the organization and size of camp so close to the border of the state they call home.

  ^^^^

  Binghamton, Alabama

  He remembered the melody well, but the words were a little lost. In Frank’ mind, as he lay on his bed still awake, he replaced those words. He would do anything at that moment to make the visual in his mind more real. Him and Ellen.

  He held her in his arms, a memory that had happened years before. They danced slowly to a song that everyone griped was on the jukebox. A song Frank thought was annoying at first, until he started to pay attention to the words and then the song became special.

  Though a tad different in his head, the words still meant the same and the memory frustrated Frank even more. He flung the covers from him and slipped out of bed, adjusting his boxer shorts. He moved across the dark room and turned on the light. Rubbing his eyes then scratching his head, Frank walked over to his dresser. He caught a glimpse of his reflection and his hair that was tossed about. “Fuckin’ hair.” As he patted it, his eyes shifted down. He saw what he wanted resting against the mirror. With the song so strong in his head Frank lifted the photograph that he sought out, needing to see. He pulled it closer to his view. His eyes closed only briefly and he let out a long heavy sigh, staring at it. “I miss you El. I miss you so much.”

  ^^^^

  Beginnings, Montana

  Ellen’s head sprang up and then her body slowly rose from her seat on the couch. How odd. She was just thinking of that song and now she heard it? Or was it her imagination? Ignoring Dean and Henry’s call of her name, in a trance-like state Ellen followed the music. It took her from the living room into the hall and to Josh’s room. She did hear it. Josh was playing that song. How did he get it?

  Her hand gripped on to the archway outside of Josh’s room as she drifted into the slow song that played. Without realizing it, while thinking of Frank, her head leaned into the door frame. She closed her eyes. Thoughts of Frank hit her as she got lost in the music. The feeling of missing him was so strong at that moment her chest actually ached.

  Ellen was entranced. She never heard the music stop playing or Dean and Henry call that it was ‘her turn’ in Monopoly. She never heard the bedroom door. If she had, perhaps Josh’s shriek of surprise when he saw her wouldn’t have started Ellen into screaming just as loudly as him.

  “Mom.” Josh grabbed his chest. “What are you doing?”

  “Sorry.” Ellen tried to calm her racing heart. “Josh, where did you get that song from?”

  “Dad’s things. Why?”

  “No reason. I just . . .” Ellen’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God, Josh, look at that room.”

  Quickly, Josh stepped into the hall and slammed the door. “What about it?”

  “Josh it’s horrible. I want that cleaned.”

  “O.K.” Josh shrugged. “I’ll do it now.”

  “Thank you and I’d better get back to the game.” Ellen pointed. “Clean that room before Dean sees it.”

  “Yep.” Josh nodded, waited until Ellen disappeared into the living room, and went back into his room, totally forgetting about the glass of water he left his domain for in the first place.

  Henry watched as Ellen took her seat on the couch and reached for the dice, rolling them. “You don’t get a double turn, El.”

  “I know.” Ellen moved her piece. “I won’t last too much longer anyhow. I only have forty-six dollars left.”

  Dean readied to take his turn. “That’s because Henry cheats.”

  Henry was appalled. “How do you figure that?”

  “You bought up all the property right way,” Dean said.

  “It within the rules, Dean.” Henry scoffed. “Read them and you owe me forty dollars rent.”

  “See.” Dean tossed him the money. “You bought everything you landed on. Now no one can build houses but you , because neither me or El has a grouping.”

  Henry snidely took the money. He took his turn, pleasingly landing on his own property.“Too bad. If you weren’t so cheap you would have bought some property the first time around.”

  “I ended up in jail,” Dean argued. He watched Ellen take her turn. “El, you OK?”

  “Yeah.” Ellen rolled. “Shit. How much, Henry?”

  “Only twelve, El.” Henry held out his hand happily.

  “Look at you,” Dean said with disgust.

  “What?” Henry responded.

  “Why are you still here?” Dean questioned.

  “I’m visiting, El.”

  Dean rolled and moved his piece. “Ha! No Henry rent. You’ve been here
since dinner. Go home.”

  Henry gasped. “Oh my God, are you rude. Tell him, El. He’s rude.”

  “You’re rude, Dean.”

  “Don’t listen to him, El.”

  “Listen to me, El.” Henry told her. “He isn’t very nice.”

  “Ellen take your turn.”

  “Don’t yell at me.” Ellen slowly took her turn.

  Dean tossed up his hands, bewildered.

  “See how you are, Dean.” Henry pointed. “That green monster called jealous is making you really mean.”

  “I am not jealous, Henry. Who am I jealous of?” Dean asked.

  “Me.” Henry rolled then moved his piece.

  Dean laughed.

  “Seriously, Dean,” Henry stated. “Next thing you know, I’m gonna have to start calling you Cindy.”

  Dean hesitated in his turn. “What?”

  “Cindy.” Henry said with fact. “You know instead of Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. You’ll run around going . . . . Henry, Henry, Henry.”

  Dean couldn’t help it. He laughed harder. “That wasn’t Cindy who said that. It was Jan.”

  “It was not,” Henry argued. “It was Cindy. She was the baby of the family and was jealous of her older sister.”

  “Henry, learn your Brady Bunch. It was Jan. She had the middle child syndrome. You can relate to that. You had it.”

  “I hope you aren’t insulting me, Dean. I can’t help it if I am a middle child.”

  “I’m correcting you. It was Jan.”

  “Cindy.”

  “Jan.” Dean raised his voice.

  “Cindy.” Henry saw Ellen stand up. “El, who was it.”

  “Laurie.” Ellen spoke softly and walked into the kitchen.

  Henry scratched his head. “Laurie?” He looked at Dean. “Was she a Brady?”

  “Wasn’t she the cousin that came to live with them?”

  “No that was Oliver.” Henry said. “Laurie?” Like a light lit above his head, Henry shined. “Oh no, El.” He saw he return with her coffee mug. “You’re thinking of the Partridges,. Laurie Partridge. I don’t think she even knew Marcia.” Henry finally took his turn again. “I never liked that show. You Dean?”

  “No. Reuben got on my nerves.”

  “Oh my God, that is so true. El isn’t that . . . El, are you sure you’re all right?” Henry asked her.

  Ellen smiled. “I’m fine. I wanna quit though. My head hurts. You guys finish.” She picked her pile of money and handed what was left to Dean. “You can have this.”

  Aghast, Henry’s mouth dropped open when he watched Dean take it. “Now see, that’s cheating.”

  “No it isn’t, Henry.” Dean combined Ellen’s money with his. “We’re married. Read the rules. When playing with your spouse and your spouse leaves the game you can take over everything they have. Community property.”

  Henry immediately grabbed the box lid.

  Ellen’s mind was elsewhere and she knew exactly where that was. Not on a board game, but on Frank. Wanting to be alone with her thoughts, she leaned down to Dean on the floor to kiss him. She paused when she heard the knock. “I’ll get it.” She walked over to the front door. Upon opening it, she saw Robbie and Joe. “Hey.”

  Joe stepped in and kissed Ellen on the cheek. “You look tired.”

  “I am. I’m going to bed. Why are you guys here?”

  Joe pointed to Dean and Henry. “I need to speak to them.”

  “Good luck.” Ellen said. “They’re stuck in the seventies.” She smiled at Robbie, knelt down and kissed Dean, said goodnight to Henry, who didn’t hear her, and walked slowly off to bed.

  Robbie shut the door. “Kids in bed?” He moved to the couch and sat down.

  Dean looked up. “Yeah. What’s going on?”

  Joe explained. “We have something to discuss with you. Henry. Henry? Henry!”

  Henry looked up from his box lid. “I’m not finding that rule, Dean, anywhere. Oh hey, Joe. When did you get here?”

  Joe grunted, reached out, took the box lid, and tossed it aside. He held out his finger to Henry before he could whine. “Seems we’ve had very informative night in Beginning, gentlemen. We had the Jason information. We had the revelation of the rigged temperature gauge and now . . . we have what Robbie is going to tell us. Robbie.”

  Robbie usually grinned when he knew something no one else did. This time he didn’t. He looked so serious and a little sad. “Seems like the investigation may be taking more of a turn than we thought it would. Unfortunately it’s in a direction none of us want.” With solemness to his demeanor, Robbie began to inform all of his newest revelation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  September 23

  Beginnings, Montana

  In the little Beginnings cemetery, Dean and Ellen sat on the grass at the foot of the tiny grave of Brian. The sun was bright and it warmed them some whenever the fall wind wouldn’t kick up.

  Ellen released the strands of grass from her hand as she faced Dean. “Do you realize that it was one year ago today that Frank found out you and I had slept together?”

  Dean looked shocked to hear this. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Ellen shook her head. “Nope. One year.”

  “Whoa.” Dean looked at the grave. “A lot has happened in that one year.”

  “Yeah it has.”

  “El, do you remember when you wanted to get pregnant with Brian?”

  “Very well. Dean, you were so appalled that I came to you and asked you. You were funny now that I think about it.”

  “No.” Dean grinned. “What is funny is how I actually agreed to it.”

  “We wouldn’t have had the time with Brian if you didn’t.”

  “Yeah.” The smile fell from Dean’s face. “I have to tell you, El. It was one of the hardest things I did. You know, pretending he wasn’t mine especially when we knew he was.”

  “But you got to know him as your son and we didn’t even think that would happen.”

  “Who would have known Frank would have let me..”

  “Frank.” Ellen’s head dropped.

  “I know you’ve been missing him.” Dean reached out and took her hand. “I miss him.”

  Ellen raised her eyes. “You do?”

  “Hell, yeah. You don’t think I miss fighting with him?”

  “Is that why you fight with Henry now?”

  Dean’s mouth opened some. “You uh . . . you could say that. El, since we moved to the Frank subject, I need to talk to you.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “It is.” Dean nodded once and moved closer to her. “I feel . . . I feel it won’t be long before George places that call.” He watched her expression totally change. “We have to face it. I will be leaving Beginnings soon.”

  Ellen closed her eyes. “I hate the thought of that. I hate the thought of you going out there. Trusting your life to him. How do we know.”

  “We know because Frank called that one day. Frank’s alive out there, El. They have him and me going is the only way to get him back. You know it.”

  “I know,” she spoke sadly.

  “And even though I know it’s gonna be another war between the two of us over you, I really can’t wait to see him.”

  “You do know I owe you for doing this.” Ellen looked deeply at him.

  “You don’t owe me anything. I’m not just doing it for you. I’m doing it for the kids, for Joe, Robbie, and though I’m not allowed to tell Frank about him, Hal.”

  “He’s going to be surprised,” Ellen said.

  “Yeah he is.” Dean smiled. “Especially with Hal being at the breakin to the Society camp. Hal can be so dramatic.”

  “Look at his uniforms. But they are cool.”

  After a moment of silence, Dean spoke again. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

  “I don’t like the tone.”

  “It’s important.” Dean’s fingers played around with Ellen’s hand. “Even though you and Robbi
e and Joe know why I am leaving Beginnings, the people in the community do not. They cannot. They cannot even suspect that I am up to something.”

  “I know this.”

  “Good. I’m glad you do because here’s what you need to do for me.” Dean’s voice softened. “You are to act like everyone thinks. You are to turn your back on my memory because you think I went to the Society.”

  “Dean I can’t do . . .”

  “El, no arguments, OK? Listen to me. The people in this town, they’re tough. They are not going to trust a single thing I have worked on since I am gone. If you stay dedicated to me, they won’t trust you either and . . .” Dean moved his face close to hers. “We worked too hard on what we have to let it go to waste to not be trusted. Now maybe some of the stuff . . .” He snickered. “But for the most part, our work is for the good and you have to continue it. You have to act as if you do not want my name spoken around you. Dean who? Hurt? Not Ellen. Not you.” Dean swayed his head. “You have to get cold. You have to act cold. Do you understand?”

  Ellen slowly nodded in agreement.

  “You have to move on quickly as if you are saying. ‘I’ll show him’.”

  “Dean, come on that is pushing it. You’ll be back.”

  “I know.” He kissed her. “I will and this whole thing will be over when I am. Frank will be back, the community will know why I left, and we’ll pick up where we left off. Until then . . . you’re disowning my memory. You disowning me and moving on is the only way to secure people’s trust. They have to continue to trust you, El, in order to trust our work. You may have trouble gaining trust. You may have trouble at first, but I know you’ll show them.” He winked. “I know you won’t let it bother you.”