Straight Up Interfererence

by Rose von Barnsley

  "Not even close."

  I wondered why he hadn't picked up his mail the other times we had gone into town to buy seed. It became clear, when he turned the opposite direction than we usually went. He had mentioned there was a small town in this direction, but we had yet to venture into it.

  It looked like they only had one main drag that was on the highway. He pulled up to the little post office that looked more like a storage unit than a building. The walls on either side were lined with mailboxes, and there was a girl who sat behind a little counter with a couple of baskets of mail. She was too young and pretty for my liking. I really didn't want this to be Janey.

  "Hey, Janey," Daniel gave her that grin that was supposed to be mine. I didn't like it when he shared it with others, especially girls.

  Janey did a double take. "Daniel?"

  "Yeah," he rubbed his chin, and I realized he had probably had a beard the last time she had seen him.

  "Wow, you have a face, and a really nice looking one at that," she flirted. She was way too interested in him, leaning in toward him, like she was going to touch his face. That was not going to happen.

  I stepped forward and grabbed his elbow, effectively blocking her. He looked at my hand, and then shot me a smile. "This is Gabby, she's staying with me."

  "Oh, is she one of your sisters?" she asked, sounding way too hopeful.

  "Nope," he rocked on his heels, making me smile.

  "Well, then, that's something." She sounded like the wind had been knocked out of her sails. I wanted to say, "That's right, bitch. Daniel is mine." However, we were technically only friends, so I kept my mouth shut and hoped she assumed we were more.

  Daniel collected his mail and wished her a good day. I was glad to be out of there and contemplated buying him a mailbox to add to the rural mail route. I was sure I could find a cute one that would fit his personality.

  Our next stop was the volunteer fire department. He walked right into the building and shouted, "Olly, olly, oxen free."

  "Dan, my man, what's up?" a guy called, sliding down the fireman's pole. "Holy cow, you have a face!" he shouted with a huge smile.

  "Yeah, well, I thought it'd be cooler for the weather."

  The guy spotted me standing behind Daniel and nearly pushed him aside. "Can I help you, Miss?" he asked in a voice an octave lower than before.

  I held back my snicker. "No, I'm here with Daniel."

  "Daniel?" he glanced over at him, looking for some more information.

  Daniel stepped between me and the fireman dude. "Yeah, she's living with me. I just stopped in to let you know I'll be burning trash on Saturday."

  "Alright, maybe I'll come by to help make sure it goes smoothly."

  Daniel looked annoyed. It wasn't like he could tell the fireman he couldn't interfere with the fire.

  "While you guys are doing that, I can do the spring cleaning and have the shower ready for you when you're done. There's no way I'm going near that trash burning mess. You should probably check in with your sister, too, before you spend the day out there. You don't want to be distracted. The last thing we need is you burning our house down."

  I didn't want to upset Daniel by making him think I might be interested in that douchebag, so I did my best to make references without saying anything at the same time. The guy now knew I wasn't a sister, and hopefully he thought we were intimate by my mentioning cleaning the shower specifically for Daniel. It would be something a significant other would do for their honey. It was something I usually did, anyways, but I wanted it to sound like more, and I made sure this guy knew I wouldn't be around to chat up if he popped in. It was important to me that Daniel knew I wouldn't "bother" with this guy, either.

  Daniel scooted closer to me. He didn't outright grab me like I had grabbed him, but I wouldn't have minded if he had. I kind of wished he would have claimed me more. "Let's go to the café and get some pie. Matilda makes some awesome dishes."

  If Daniel wasn't going to claim me, then I was going to claim him. I grabbed his elbow again, giving him a big smile. "I'd love to."

  He shot fire jerk a cheeky smile, as we headed out the door, looking for pie. "Actually, I'm not sure I can make it this weekend. I'll drop you a line if I can," fire dork hollered after us, and we both seemed to relax a little.

  Daniel and I weren't something, but we definitely weren't nothing anymore. I just wished we were a little closer to something rather than nothing. I ignored the tightening of my chest. I knew it wasn't a good idea to want him, and so I did my best to push down those feeling. There was no way I would push him and make him feel uncomfortable in his own house, not to mention my worry from before. I really didn't want him to ask me to leave. I had to do my best to keep myself from turning into a gooey-eyed girl who was obviously pining for him. He seemed more amused by my antics today than anything. I just hoped he didn't hold my actions against me.

  Chapter 18 – Things that Go Bump…

  While we were in town, Daniel grabbed a carton of rocky road ice cream to eat after dinner that evening. I would have been lying to say I wasn't excited about it. I loved ice cream way too much, and he found my speed in which I made and served dinner amusing.

  "So, you pretty much took the day off work. How do you do that? Do you report to someone or something?" I asked, curious.

  "No, I work on a contract basis. As long as I get my work done by the deadline, I'm good."

  "Oh, that's nice. I don't think I could do that. I'd end up goofing off, I think. I usually am good about projects, but nothing more than a month, and I tend to overdo it." I glanced down at my arms. The scars were the result of my overdoing it. If I hadn't done so much research, I would've had fewer pictures, and I most likely would've finished the project early. I should've done less and insisted on using a regular poster board.

  I felt his knee bump mine. "You alright?"

  "Yeah, fine, sorry, I lost myself for a minute there."

  "So, I was thinking..." he started and gave me silly grin.

  "Don't think too hard, you'll hurt yourself," I teased.

  "We need to have dessert outside. It makes perfect sense to eat the ice cream by the fire tonight."

  I looked at him confused. "It does?"

  "Yeah, because it's like s'mores in ice-cream form. You have the chocolate and the marshmallows, but instead of graham crackers, you have nuts, which are better for ice cream, because it'd get soggy otherwise."

  I laughed, because in some twisted way, it made sense. "We could eat it with graham crackers instead of candy bars."

  "Genius!" he shouted, jumping up.

  He started pulling out the stuff to dish out the bowls, and I decided to go out and start the fire. There was some firewood stacked on the back porch next to the door, along with a bucket of kindling. I was making a fire, when I heard something moving in the forest.

  I had never been afraid to be out here in the dark before, but it gave me an unsettling feeling. I darted into the house, slamming into Daniel. He had two bowls in his hands and held them out of the way. I wrapped my arms around him, hiding my face in his chest.

  "Hey, girl, what's, ah, going on?" he sounded a little nervous, but set the bowls down and wrapped his arms around me.

  "There's something out there."

  He glanced out the back door window. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes, no, I don't know. I was starting the fire, when I heard something in the forest, and then it felt like something or someone was watching me."

  He rubbed my back and told me to stay inside. I was worried he was going to call me crazy, but instead, he grabbed a gun and a battery-powered spotlight.

  He pulled out a sawed-off shotgun instead of his rifle. I hadn't seen this particular shotgun before. I really needed to take the time to see what else he had stashed in that hidden compartment in the couch.

  He asked me to point out where I had heard the noise, and I did. He shined the light there, as he stepped out onto the porch and cocked his shotgun with
one hand. I watched from the door with baited breath. This felt like a scene out of a horror movie. I made plans to snatch up the rifle if I had to.

  He walked right into the woods, and it really was freaking me out. I saw his floodlight scan the forest around the area, flashing all sorts of eyes up in the trees. I knew that wasn't it, though. I knew there was a mess of raccoons, possums, skunks, and all sorts of other creatures out there, but they never gave me the creeps like this one.

  I saw the light tip down, and I freaked out. I opened the door and shouted for Daniel, worried something had taken him by surprise. "Daniel!"

  "Yeah," he sounded casual and not in pain.

  "You scared me. The light tipped down, and I thought something…"

  "I'm okay, Gabby, I was just looking for tracks, so I could get an idea of what to look for."

  "And?"

  "I see some, but they're nothing to worry about, probably just a stray dog." His voice sounded strained, and I didn't think I believed him. "Why don't we eat inside, just to be safe?"

  When he backed toward the house instead of turning around, I knew something was up. He told me to grab the bowls of ice cream, and I did, following him to the couch. He put the gun away, but still looked worried. "We should eat in the kitchen. Maybe set up the chessboard on the table." I could tell he was trying to relax me, but something was up.

  I knew he was trying to be discreet, but I caught it when he flicked the lock on the back door. He had never locked it before, and it was really starting to scare me.

  He set the graham crackers on the table, and then he passed me the chess set. "You set this up. I need to log off from my computer."

  I heard the distinctive click of another lock and knew he had locked the front door as well. He typed something out on his keyboard and then came over smiling, like everything was perfectly fine. I wanted to call him out on it, but I was scared at what the answer he would give me might be.

  After our chess game, he started a fire to "keep the place warm" and settled down on the couch to "watch it." I didn't buy that for a second. He insisted I go to bed, so I lay there and pretended I was asleep.

  I was just about to doze off for real, when I heard Daniel start to talk. I thought he was talking to me for a minute, but I realized rather quickly he was on the phone. "It's me. Someone came out here tonight and scared the crap out of Gabby. She didn't see who it was, but there were definite tracks of a human, most likely male by the size of the print."

  I heard him get up, and I listened to him pace. He let out a deep breath. "Just our family, I don't want anyone else, and it'll be under the guise of a friendly visit. They can check the trails during the day. The brush is pretty dense out here, so whoever they are will have had to clear a spot to camp out if they're still on the property….no, we would've heard someone if they had come up our driveway. The gravel makes it obvious. If they bring Santino's Pinto, I could probably hide it in the shed…no, we'll do it when she's in the shower. Hopefully, she won't notice their car went missing."

  The next morning after breakfast, we heard a car come up the driveway. Daniel met the car out on the front porch with his rifle, like he had any other time someone had visited.

  The two men, who looked very much like the other Bartoli men I had seen, nodded their heads at Daniel in a standard man greeting, and he opened the door, inviting them in.

  "You must be Gabby," the shorter one said, as he shook my hand. "I'm Luciano, but you can just call me Luke, and this is my brother, Santino. Ann Marie was saying you and Daniel had been sprucing things up out here. We thought we'd come take a look."

  "You cool if we take a look around?" Santino spoke, sounding like he had never met an English teacher.

  "Yeah, Gabby, are you going to get dressed? I'm sure they'd like you to show them around the trails," Daniel nodded.

  The three guys all looked shiftily at each other. I knew it would be best if I played along. "Sure, let me catch a quick shower."

  I didn't take long. I suspected they would be moving their car like Daniel had suggested. I dressed comfortably for the warm weather. My arms were uncovered and showing my scars, though, and I thought about putting on a hoodie, solely to keep them hidden.

  When I stepped out of the bedroom, Daniel, Luke and Santino were coming in the back door. Daniel looked at my hoodie and frowned. "It's gonna be too hot to wear that today. Make sure you take some water with you guys. Gabby, can you show them where the backpack is?"

  I hesitated in taking off my hoodie. I didn't know why I was suddenly so self-conscious about my scars. Maybe it was because these people knew how I had gotten them and why I was here. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about.

  I grabbed the backpack and pulled out three of the four canteens Daniel had. I filled them up and packed the backpack with the water and a few pieces of fruit. My insecurities were playing off each other…between my scars, the guy in the woods, and new people in the house, I was on the verge of losing it.

  I set the backpack down and walked over to Daniel, who was in the study. I tapped his shoulder, and the look on my face must have given everything away. He stood up and took me into his arms, letting me hug him tightly, and then he kissed the top of my head. "You're going to be fine. Santino and Luke are good guys. Out of all my brothers, they're my favorite," he whispered in my ear. I took a deep breath, feeling a lot better after a hug from Daniel.

  I stepped back and took off my hoodie, draping it over the back of the couch. Santino glanced at my arms. Luke noticed and punched his shoulder. I went to grab the backpack, but Santino waved me off. "I got it."

  As we stepped out onto the back porch, Luke started talking. "This place looks like a person actually lives here now. The pond added a nice touch. Why don't you show me the new trail?"

  Instead of walking to the trailhead like they expected, I led them over to the area Daniel had searched last night. "The noise came from over here. I suggest we start here if we're going to try and follow a trail."

  The guys looked at each other and then back to me. "Are you okay with this?"

  "You have guns with you, right?"

  "Yeah, were both packing."

  I nodded at them. "Good, we should be fine then, let's go."

  It was easier for me to maneuver into the bushes, because I was thinner. "Whoever was here last night used the thin deer trails as their pathway." I was able to get closer to the ground with my narrow body and spot the tracks in the soft dirt.

  We had walked quietly for a way, when Santino broke the silence. "So, you and Daniel, what are you two, anyways?"

  "Friends, roommates, chess opponents, project assistants, we're a lot of things, we keep busy."

  "So you're not, you know, bumping uglies?"

  Luke smacked the back of Santino's head. "Why you talking like that to her? You know Ann Marie said she's off limits."

  "To us, not to Daniel, I was just wondering if he'd made his move yet." Santino seemed a bit slow on the uptake.

  Luke gave him another smack on the head. "Shut up!"

  "No, he hasn't made his move yet." I think I surprised them both when I answered him.

  "Haven't you been out here, like, forever? Oh shit, I was right. That little bastard's gay. You remember how he'd hang out with that little fucker, Jerry. That nasty was always eyeing me and Santino both."

  "That's because he's bisexual," I cut in.

  "Daniel's bisexual?" Santino freaked out.

  "No, Jerry. Daniel's not bisexual or gay."

  "And you're sure about this how?" Luke pushed this time. He had too big of a grin on his face.

  "We bumped into each other coming out of the shower. He really likes boobs."

  "Oh!" they both shouted and started laughing. A bunch of birds flew out of the trees around us, reminding us to be quiet.

  After another ten minutes of tracking, the trail opened up to one that had been recently cleared.

  "You and Daniel didn't do this?" Luke asked.

 
I looked around, but I didn't recognize anything. We were standing at the obvious end of a trail, and we were not at the cabin, spring, valley, or grove, so no, we hadn't cleared this one. "This isn't one of ours. I'm sure of it."

  They nodded, and Luke had me stand between him and Santino, as they moved forward quietly.

  I finally recognized where we were, when the grove came into view. Off to the side, behind some thick trees and fallen logs, someone had set up a campsite.

  "Stay here," Luke whispered to me and nodded to Santino to follow him.

  They flanked either side of the logged hideout, and then shouted in surprise, when they found someone they apparently knew. Santino shouted, "Gino, Vito, what the hell are you two doing out here?"

  "Boss told us to hide out here and nip some little girl from his brother-in-law."

  "No, you kidding me?" Santino sounded shocked.

  "Yeah, he said Junior wanted a crack at her. Figured if we could catch her and he could knock her up, she'd be more agreeable. I don't see how that'd work, though. My old lady's a bitch when she's pregnant. There's nothing agreeable about her then. Three times, I should know."

  I knew right then I was screwed. It looked like Santino and Luke worked for the Valente’s, and if the Valente’s wanted me for Marky, there was no way I could get away and back to Daniel. It just wasn't physically possible to fight off four grown men with guns. Yup, I was definitely screwed.

  Chapter 19 – A Bird in the Bush

  I slowly started to back up on the path. I didn't think I could outrun them, but I believed once we got into the brush, it would slow them down. I hoped I could push through it fast enough to get to the house and get the guns, before they had a chance to grab me. I knew Daniel would stop them from taking me.

  I heard a gun cock and saw Daniel standing on the far side of the grove, where our path was cut. "Where's Gabby?"

  The other men raised their guns, and I freaked out. I dove into the brush. I hoped if Santino, Luke and Daniel thought I had run off, then Daniel would leave, too. I didn't think Santino and Luke would hurt him, but I didn't know about the other two guys.