by JQ Jones
“These guys are gangsters,” he said.
“By definition yes, but even they deserve to have a face-to-face explanation of my next business venture. Iona has already worked out a nice business plan and prospectus for more traditional investors. I plan on using those as leave-behinds for them to read after I explain it to them. I can go to the meetings by myself. You wait for me and I’ll call if I run into legal questions,” she said. She spoke almost flippantly but Clint noticed a bit of strain pass over her face.
“No. If you go to a meeting, I’ll go with you. You need to have your own muscle and having your lawyer present isn’t a bad idea either. You don’t seem to realize that people end up dead in your friends’ business.” Clint wanted to pick her up and hide her away at his ranch.
“Yes, I do. I grew up in this business. It happens more than people think. Of course all that would be nipped if you could grow your own but I’m just a hippie chick from the mountains, what do I know about the law?”
“Why are you changing this now?”
“I think that growing food hydroponically will provide a way for people worldwide to feed their families. It uses less space and water than any other way and you can up your production to three or four times a year and again, you can produce more if you use artificial lights. I don’t use them because I think it impacts the flavor.”
“You actually want to feed the world.”
“Feed the world and make a few dollars.”
“If you make it through the next few weeks alive.”
“Yeah, that staying alive part is integral to the entire plan,” Nora said. She laughed at Clint’s pained expression.
Chapter Five:
No Good Without You
Nora’s cabin was perched high on a mountain. Clint stood on the tiny porch watching as fog rolled down from the hills into the valley. The sun bounced off the puffy whiteness, giving the panoramic vista a golden sheen that belied the chilly temperatures. It was seven in the morning and about fifty degrees. Clint’s toes curled in his cowboy boots. Leaving thick socks and sweater at home was a huge mistake even for a quick-turnaround trip. He wanted to blow on his hands but was too embarrassed, especially after Sebastian ran out in the wooded area behind the house wearing only shorts with sturdy shoes and a thin jacket.
Nora came out after him at a dead run, helping him to add a pair of jeans and sweater to his clothing choice. Clint sighed. They looked happy until they got closer, and the tell-tale signs of wetness covered their faces. Nora immediately barked what she called her final house-closing orders. She wanted the house stripped of all non-canned food and boxed up for delivery to Nick on the way down from the mountain. Clint checked on shutters and secured the shed while Nora checked on the greenhouses.
As she went through them, pulling off a few extraneous leaves, she was more reflective than sad. She had no way of knowing if what was happening would do all the things she had glibly told Clint last night.
She accepted help from Clint as they loaded up her four-wheeler and trailer and drove away from the cabin. Sebastian sat sandwiched between Nora in the front and Clint behind. It only took a few hairpin turns before Clint leaned with Nora and Sebastian after his failed attempts to clutch with his knees like he did his horse. Nora barreled down the steep mountain making Sebastian squeal and Clint curse until they reached Nick’s.
Nick lived up a worn, beaten path that was only evident as you drove down it. The older man wasn’t at all what Clint expected. The description from the siblings had built up an image that was a cross between Hercules and Rambo, when in fact he was wizened, soft spoken and polite. He looked to be in his mid-sixties and was thin with a layer of muscles that covered his slight form. He and Nora went over what she expected him to do on a daily basis, including eating, sleeping and matters of hygiene. Clint and Sebastian stood off to the side, pitching pebbles into a stream that flowed beside the dirt road that ran beside Nick’s cabin, until Nora and Nick came to join them. Nora left with Sebastian to find the Goat for a formal good-bye, leaving the men in an uncomfortable silence that lasted for more than ten minutes until it was finally broken by the older man.
“Nora is a conscientious person and knows more about growing weed than anybody I know alive. She decided young, I mean ten years old young, that she would never grow any. It would be a shame to lose that kind of talent. But when you live a life that she lived as a youngster, isolated, paranoid, and alone because of what her father did for a living, you can understand. When she became a botanist and used her hydro know-how and then branched out into aquas, I was truly amazed. I’m so proud of her for sticking to what she believes in. I really want her new concept to work but I don’t hold out much hope for it,” Nick said in the voice of a person who was weary and leery of the world at large. He and Clint were standing alone in the yard as Nora and Sebastian quickly scouted the area to see if all the traps were gone. The two men stood close together, but they both decided to be badass, so they remained stoic and silent for long minutes.
“Sorry about that whole bump-on-the-head thing. I know from experience that it hurts like the devil when she pings one of those damn rocks off your head. She’s gotten me more than once. But she saves my ass all the time just by watching over me. I keep telling her that she spends too much time worrying about me, I’m not all that interested in keeping my old ass alive but Nora is. She’s a person who takes care of the people she loves. That’s why she took over for Esperanza after her father died, follows me around when I get my spells and why she’s working so hard on producing food instead of weed.”
The older man spit solidly toward the bushes on the side of the road before he glanced up into Clint’s eyes. “She wants to create a viable food system. It’s a very different concept using most of what she learned growing up about hydro, combined with solar and wind for electricity. She’s totally off the grid like her daddy taught her. But she’s working day and night on it because the heads of the three families—understand she thinks of them as her families—are getting older and she thinks they need to be out of the business. She’s a bossy little thing, always has been.” Nick left Clint without a word of good-bye to join Nora beside the four-wheeler parked in the overgrown yard.
Sebastian ran over to Clint, grinning up at the large man the same way Nora did. Clint felt a kick in the area of his chest, and he rubbed the sweat away from the back of his neck before it could trickle down his back, wondering if this was what women called a hot flash.
“I won’t see Nick for a while but I’ll be back. Just like Nora, she’ll be back. I like Iona and CJ but I don’t want to not be with Nora.” Sebastian’s voice strained with an obvious attempt to not cry.
Clint picked Sebastian up to place him on the low banisters, in an effort to make them eye to eye and failing by a half a foot. “I promise you man to man that I will bring your crazy sister back to you. Plus, you will be back here so fast, you won’t even have time to miss the Goat or Nick.” Clint stuck out his large hand. Sebastian looked deep into the huge man’s eyes before placing his tiny hand into the offered handshake. They spent a lot of time shaking vigorously.
* * * *
The last stop before they left the mountains was at the cabin of Willie Mae Dollar Menendez and her partners Jeff Anttoni and Linc Davis. Willie must have been watching for them because she stood in the driveway beaming as they pulled up.
“I heard the four-wheeler, although I think you should get a vehicle that has a roof and doors. You and Sebastian use that thing year round unless it snows then you use the snowmobiles. Clint,” Willie jumped into a hug with the tall man. “I can’t wait to show you the house. Jeff and Linc had it done well but you know guys, even gay ones, they don’t remember the little homey touches. I hope you guys can eat something. I’m very disappointed that Sebastian didn’t stay with us but we understand that you want him to have a little vacation, too. I talked to Mama this morning and she was actually dancing around the house because she was goin
g to have a little one to take care of. Which meant that made her immediately start in on me about when I’m going to have a baby. She thinks because I live with two men one of them should have the cojones to get me pregnant and on and on and into infinity. Between her and Abuela you’d think I was pushing fifty instead of thirty.”
Willie was the adopted daughter of the Menendez family. She was a small brown woman with curly hair who almost never stopped talking. Two tall men stood in a light hug in the doorway waiting for their guest. Linc, Iona’s brother, had a very slight smile for Nora and Sebastian but looked openly hostile at Clint. His partner, Jeff, smiled wider at the siblings and frowned deeply at Clint as both men nodded in greeting. Linc pulled Willie so that she shared the two men’s embrace. She wiggled for a minute before she settled back into their arms.
“Princess, if you don’t stop talking, Jeff and I will be forced to make you remember your manners,” he said.
Willie blushed then wiggled back into the two men standing like a solid wall of flesh behind her. A coy smile spread across her face but she didn’t say a word, for a few minutes anyway.
“Nora, you know Sebastian is welcome to stay here right?” Jeff said.
“Iona asked first. Besides it’s going to be such a treat for Spot to be out in wide open spaces. It is wide open spaces, isn’t it?”
Willie Mae laughed. “If there’s one thing Mama and Papa have it’s wide open spaces. Mama told me that she was going to arrange for somebody to teach you to ride. Any of my brothers should be able to, they’re cowboys. All my brothers should be there except for Moises, I think he’s in Argentina, and maybe Mano. It’s hard to keep track of Mano. We have horses but no ponies but I think that Iona’s horse, some kind of Icelandic something, is small enough for you. My brother Marco is a rodeo cowboy and he’s wonderful at teaching people to ride. He taught me when I was younger than you. Of course, he had help.” Everyone, including Sebastian, was used to Willie Mae’s soliloquies. As quiet as her partners were, Willie Mae made up for her partners’ silence by her constant chatter. This time she actually paused to take a breath before continuing.
“Clint used to take me out riding when none of my brothers wanted to be bothered. It didn’t matter because Clint is way better on a horse than anybody else. Don’t tell my father or brothers I said that. Anyway come in and have a little something to eat before you leave.”
“I won’t be at the ranch. I’m traveling with Nora,” Clint said.
Willie Mae’s mouth snapped shut. Jeff and Linc frowned harder. Nora looked as innocent as Sebastian standing beside her. “I didn’t know you two knew each other. Every time Clint comes up here he never goes further up the hollow than Iona’s house.”
Clint could see the ‘why’ question coming from Willie Mae as he cut her off. “We met yesterday.” He said it without blushing. “I told Iona that I’d bird-dog Nora for the next few weeks. That means I’ll be traveling with her while she visits some business associates.”
Willie looked from Clint to Nora with narrowing eyes. “I’ve never known you to go off with a woman you didn’t know. I thought you were celibate.” Before she could say anything else, Nora stopped her.
“We can’t stay. I’ve mapped out a very tight schedule. But thank you for thinking of us. Linc, these are the keys to the four-wheeler and the house. I think I turned off most of the appliances. Nick is taking care of the sheds so you don’t have to worry about them. You’ve got my number,” she said. She hugged all three partners and Sebastian did the same. They were in Clint’s car and almost around the bend before Clint let out a heavy sigh.
“Nora, what’s cel-cel-celebration?” Spot said. He was on his knees looking out of the back window.
“Celibacy, it’s another one of those grown-up things people do when they get older and less confident in themselves. Turn around and put your seatbelt on,” she said.
“Does it hurt? Will Clint be OK?”
“Next time you see him he’ll be entirely cured.”
* * * *
It was a quick flight to the private airfield on the Davis Ranch. Sebastian was full of questions for Nora that she answered with her usual honesty. Clint was in the cockpit and out of the small boy’s reach after the first few minutes when Clint allowed him in the cockpit. The rest of the trip Sebastian and Nora were in the cabin alone and talking quietly.
They were met by a tall, muscular man who casually lounged in the open door of a waiting SUV. Miguel Menendez flashed beautiful teeth that were set off by the deep-tanned brown of his skin. He was a little shy of six feet, broad shouldered, with thick muscular thighs that were shown to their advantage by the tight jeans he had on. He had two dimples on either cheek that stood out prominently as he greeted Nora and Sebastian. He chatted with Nora as he stored Sebastian’s bags in the backseat of the SUV along with Clint’s overnight bag. Nora left her things on the plane. He smiled broadly as a scowl spread across Clint’s face.
“What’s this deal of having all these hot, petite beauties coming out of the wilds of West Virginia? I thought it was the inbred capital of the country. But based on you, Iona, and Cynthia, it’s the home of the African queens,” he said. He was driving with one hand on the wheel and the other hanging out of the window. It was hot but he didn’t turn on the AC. Wind whipped through the open windows as they sped along a smooth, unpaved road. He had a steady smile and kept a close eye on Nora and Sebastian sitting together in the back seat.
“Of course, there is always a slightly higher incidence of inbreeding in remote areas of any country, the Ozarks, Appalachians, Falkland Islands, Iceland. But in the Davis family there are two disparate strains of DNA that have been intermingling since the late 19th century so there are an infinite number of human possibilities,” Nora said. She blinked rapidly as hot air and dust from the barely paved road enveloped her.
“Where did the short gene come from?”
“I think we are the descendants of the only known strain of pygmy slaves in the country,” Nora said. She and Miguel laughed at the joke while Clint gripped the dashboard a little harder.
They crossed onto the main area of the Davis ranch in about fifteen minutes. There was a change in the color of the wooden fences that delineated between the forest green Davis section of the ranch and deep red the Menendez. In front of the Menendez ranch house, two older people stood watching the car pull up. Adriana Menendez, a beautiful, full-figured woman with dark hair with sprinkles of gray, immediately opened the door to introduce herself to Nora and Sebastian as she escorted them into the house.
“I don’t get a ‘hi’ anymore, Adriana?” Clint said.
“Hello, Clint. I wanted to get the boy into the house so he can get settled before his sister leaves. And Nora and I have to talk about what the little one likes and doesn’t like. I also know that you need to go home and change luggage. So go, do.” She shooed him away.
“Damn, man, that was total dismissal,” Miguel said. “But she didn’t say anything to me either so welcome to the club.”
The older man, tough-looking and wiry with a small and hard body who had to be Miguel’s father, shook his head. “Your mother is baby-mad these days. All day long she’s been talking about how great it’s going to be to have a young one in the house again. I keep checking to make sure she’s still on the pill.”
“Ewww, don’t say any more, Dad. Come on, Clint, let’s go get you home,” Miguel said.
The trip to Clint’s house, seven miles to the east of the Menendez ranch house, back to the other ranch, took less than twenty minutes. That included the time it took for Clint to drop one overnight bag in his bedroom and pick up a larger garment bag. He traveled a lot with CJ and Iona and found that it made sense to have different bags packed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
They arrived back to pick up Nora in time to see her head pressed close to Sebastian’s as the siblings held each other tightly on the front steps. The little boy held a tight grip on his sister’s nec
k.
“Don’t worry about me, Nora, I’m going to learn how to be a cowboy. You come back get real quick, OK? I promise I’m not crying, my allergies are acting up,” Sebastian said.
“I know they are terrible this time of the year. I love you, baby boy. Make sure you do your chores.”
“I will. I need to go up to my room to check it out again,” he said.
“Don’t worry about hurrying back, I’ll be glad to have him around the house for company for as long as you need him to stay,” Adriana said. “I’ll go get him some homemade peach ice cream. He’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
“Thank you again. We should be back by next Thursday,” Nora said. She slid into the back seat, allowing the tears to silently flow. Clint got in beside her, handing her a handkerchief.
“Damn, it’s monogrammed and everything,” Nora said between hiccupping sobs.
“You need to stop crying, your nose is red and your eyes are swelling up. You don’t cry pretty,” Clint said.
“That was wonderful to hear,” Nora said. She began to laugh and cry at the same time. When they reached the airport where the plane waited, she was only laughing.
Chapter Six:
Don’t Change a Hair for Me
They arrived at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport at 2:00 p.m. After making sure the plane was properly taken care of and being checked over by the ground crew for a flight out tomorrow, Clint and Nora went to the local car rental counter. Armed with her discreetly stored bundle of cash, Nora fumed when Clint handed the pretty young woman his black card before she could get her money out of her back pocket.