Oregon Trails

by Olivia Gaines

  By the time Paul returned home from work on Monday evening, Kalinda greeted him on the front porch with a full binder.

  “What’s that?” He asked out of curiosity.

  “Reservations for the season. Paul, we had so many I had to run to town to buy a binder to keep up with them all,” she said with a grin.

  “Wait? What?”

  “Paul, we are completely booked for the whole summer,” she told him. “I opened up a Tuesday and Wednesday night stay on cabin number five for seasoned hikers, and those are all gone as well.”

  Smiling, she handed him a loose sheet of paper. “Here are the calculations for figures with the added days. If we can maintain this, it is going to be great,” she said to his unsmiling face.

  “Kalinda, I’ve never booked anything during the week because I am working. I can’t be here and there,” he told her.

  “You don’t need to be. I can get George to be here during those two days in the week. Hell, I was thinking about hiring him to help us keep up with the cabins, the sites, the trash, and maintenance. I am even willing to personally buy him his own tiny house so he can have some privacy when he is here,” she said looking at him sideways.

  “Oh, I see what you are doing. You are sideways slipping George in here to help us. He will be around all the time,” Paul said with a frown.

  “There is safety in numbers, Hubby,” she said. “What if there are two men who rent during the week and I am in this canyon all alone? I would feel much safer having George around. You said it yourself, you have to work. I on the other hand, have to make this place work without working myself to the bone.”

  “You’re right,” he said scowling. “Is George okay with this?”

  “Yes, he said he wants his tiny house painted pink,” Kalinda said.

  “Over my pink sparkling spot you will! Tell that numb nut that pink is bad for the environment and it will confuse the birds,” Paul said.

  “Will it? I mean will it confuse the birds and make them crash into the building?”

  “No! But he doesn’t know that!”

  Kalinda was grinning. “Get inside this house, Paul Darton, and let’s get you fed,” she said with a half-smile.

  The week sped by with Paul and Kalinda barely having enough time to share anything other than pleasantries over a meal. As Thursday arrived, she too realized that even though he had meat and potatoes on Wednesday, they had not shared an intimate moment all week. It was only the second week of marriage and so much was happening so fast. George’s tiny house arrived on Wednesday as well with pink trim on the brown house that was cute as a button and placed on the opposite side of the office.

  Her phone rang. She answered it, not looking down at the number or name.

  “Hey Honey! Has my cute little house arrived yet?” George mewled into the phone.

  “It came in yesterday. Thank goodness it was a house already made for the site, and the exterior was painted to fit your request,” Kalinda said cheerfully.

  “I sure hate I missed that man with the Joey,” George said with a chuckle.

  “No, his name is Joey Two Legs,” Kalinda corrected.

  “Honey, I know what I said. I saw a picture of that joker and that thing looks more like a Joey trying to hop out of its Mama’s pouch!”

  “I am not talking to you anymore, George,” she said laughing.

  “You may as well get used to me, Girl. I am packing my Louis’ and heading your way. I am planning to stay all summer. You did say I get paid, right?”

  “Yes George, but it is not going to be whole lot to start,” she told him.

  “Water and power is included and I paid half on the house. The other half you can get for renting it in the off season, that is, if I don’t decide to stay up there myself. I do want a garage though for my baby. I can’t have my Merc sitting out in the elements,” he told her.

  “We will see what we can do. What time should I expect you tomorrow?”

  “I should be there by 10ish, before the weekenders arrive,” he said. “Listen at me sounding all professional and hikery.”

  “That isn’t a word,” she told him.

  “Neither is Fuckdom, but you know where I am talking about when I say some people moved right out of Fuckdom to Fuckville,” he said happily.

  “What am I going to do with you, George?” She said into the line.

  “Love me to pieces. Ooh gotta run. I have to stop by the store and pick up something for Buster,” he said with a grin.

  “You aren’t fooling anyone. You are moving up here to help Buster more than us,” she said.

  “What can I say? I get paid and a poke! Later!” he said and hung up.

  Before Kalinda could set the phone down, an odd feeling crept up her spine, forcing the hairs on her neck to stand up. Her mother always told her, anytime that feeling came, arm yourself and be prepared for danger.

  Several times she had been meaning to mention to Paul about Betty, her Sig Sauer P938. It was her favorite weapon and for some unknown reason, she brought it with her into the office today. Her hand was under the desk, touching the handle when Luke walked in the front door of the Wide Open Spaces office.

  Kalinda arched one brow, indicating that she wasn’t surprised to see him. Luke was obviously disappointed to not see shock on her face when he stepped through the door. Her lack of fear angered him in a way that made him open and clutch his fists.

  “What’s a fancy fellow like you doing way out in a place like this?” she asked him.

  “I was coming out to check on the land my brother has once again blocked me from selling,” Luke said with a sneer.

  “I really hate you two are not getting along,” she said with sincerity.

  “Don’t try to pacify me. Half of this is your fault and that fairy of a cousin of ours. However, I have a plan,” he said with a look of evil on his face. He took a few steps closer to her and Kalinda did not move.

  “I hope it doesn’t involve you doing something stupid that we both will later regret,” she said calmly.

  “I regret very little in this life, other than not stopping this marriage,” he said to her.

  Kalinda, stood slowly, pulling the weapon with her, but Luke moved more quickly, rushing her, knocking her to the floor. His hand went to her throat, choking her, nearly cutting off her air supply. Her hand came up, the weapon pointed under his chin as she flipped off the safety, jamming it hard into his flesh.

  “You are messing with the wrong woman, Luke. I will put a bullet in you and have a cup of coffee while your body cools in the afternoon breeze,” she said. “Get off me or I will make you.”

  Luke released her throat to stand easily, allowing the expensive fabric of his pants to fall back into place without wrinkling the crease. Kalinda got to her feet, her eyes locked on her brother-in-law. The anger in her was taking hold so rapidly that she barely remembered bringing the gun up and busting his lips open with the handle.

  “You won’t walk away from me unscathed, you chicken shit son of a bitch,” she told him, hitting him lower in his man region. “You like to attack women and force yourself upon them? I will make it so you never can make another child let alone get this limp shit to work.”

  Kalinda came at him, kicking him harder. Luke, bent over, lips bleeding, ran from the office, back to his car.

  “You’d better run, you coward,” she yelled after him. “I won’t tell Paul about this if you make a point to never come back here. If you do, Luke Darton, I swear I will shoot your first and not ask as single damned question.”

  One hand holding his bloody lips, the other holding his crotch, he hobbled to the car, sliding in behind the wheel. A fresh white handkerchief was used on his mouth to apply pressure to his busted lips. As he pulled away giving Kalinda the stink eye, she shot him a bird.

  “I bet that asshole won’t try that shit again anytime soon,” she said, looking down at her watch. Tonight was a salad night with leftover beef roast. Tomorrow was the season
opener and she had welcome baskets to finish to get to the five mini houses. The new towels had come in as well, and George would be helpful in putting those out along with the new area rugs. But first, she had to stop shaking. Hugging herself, she tried to get a grip as she made a mental checklist in her head, desperately pushing out the interaction with Luke.

  Most of the pre-work was already done. Kalinda concentrated on making the final touches before the guest arrived which needed to be tackled. She put the safety back on the gun and slipped it into her back pocket as she went about the required tasks. The shelves were stocked with handmade soaps from a little country store she’d heard about over in a small town in Wyoming. The soaps were creamy like butter but the ones she ordered also had a natural bug repellent in them that would be a big seller for Wide Open Spaces.

  “Whoot!” she said as she shook off the rest of the willies from Luke and set to work. “The nerve of that damned man! Just gonna walk up in here and try to take what he wanted! He doesn’t know who he is dealing with!” Mentally, she’d already decided she wasn’t going to mention the unscheduled visit by Paul’s creepy brother. “Lord, I put this in your care,” she said aloud.

  Luke became the least of her concerns when her phone rang again. This time it was her mother Annie.

  “Hey, Mama,” she said in the phone.

  “Just calling to let you know that the airport you have me flying into for my visit in two weeks is two hours away from you,” Annie said to her.

  “Yes. I will drive over to Pendleton to pick you up,” Kalinda told her.

  “Baby, that is four hours’ worth of driving for no good reason,” Annie said.

  “It’s not trouble, Mama. I have already worked it out,” she said to her mother. She was up to something. Kalinda could feel it in her bones.

  “Well, when I mentioned it to Hurley, he said it was so much trouble, all that driving, so he decided he is coming with me for the week. He will rent us a car and we will drive over together,” Annie said.

  Kalinda’s knees buckled and she collapsed in the chair. “What?”

  “Yes Baby, your parents are coming for a visit,” Annie said. “Love you! See you soon.”

  Just like that, Annie hung up the line. Kalinda took a seat on the couch and that’s where she stayed. When Paul walked through the door that evening, Kalinda was still sitting in the same spot, holding her gun.

  “Kalinda...is everything okay?” Paul asked cautiously.

  “Hell no! My Mama just told me that she and Hurley Lancaster are coming together for a visit. My parents are coming here to stay for a whole week!”

  “Okay, but what’s with gun?”

  “I have it out so you can fricking shoot me with it!”

  Chapter 25

  A nger .

  All he could feel was anger.

  And pain.

  Pain from where the bitch kicked him in his junk. He didn’t know what made him get in the car and drive all the way to Imnaha that morning. A new kind of jealousy consumed him when he heard George had purchased a tiny house to live on the mountain and eat berries and shit in a hole just like his insipid brother. This meant two more Darton men would never sign over the 10,000 acres for him to harvest. Whatever George wanted, his Uncle Jonah supported. At times, he believed the two men shared a brain.

  This also meant that if George and Jonah bought off on Paul’s grand idea, his Grandma would follow along with the other sixteen family members and that land would be gone. Luke thought of her .

  That woman that Paul had been engaged to...what was her name ?

  It didn’t matter.

  Once he’d gotten rid of her, his dreamy-brained brother moved to the other side of the state. If he could get rid of Kalinda, he knew Paul would abandon his dream of hiking trails and nature preservation and go hire a Sherpa to live on a frozen rock in Tibet or something. The plan to scare off Kalinda had failed. Where did she get a gun?

  Does she know about me?

  Did Paul tell her I was a rapist?

  I’m no rapist.

  I am a convincer .

  “I’m not done with her yet,” Luke said as he gripped the steering wheel hard. He tried to pull off on the soft shoulder of highway right outside of Portland so he could make a U-turn, but it was too sudden. The truck behind him was moving faster than the allowable speed limit to slow down enough to avoid collision. He clipped the rear side of Luke’s vehicle, careening it down a hill.

  Darkness filled the interior of the car as Luke’s limp body slumped behind the wheel. The last thing he heard were voices as hands grabbed at him, pulling him from the car, dragging him from the wreckage.

  T he call came in a little after 10 o’clock, jolting Paul from the bed. He grabbed his cell phone, eyes wide, heart racing.

  “Hello,” he said into the line.

  “Paul, this is your mother,” she said with a sad voice.

  “Mom, what’s wrong? Is Dad okay?”

  “Yes, he is fine. It’s Luke. He was in a car accident tonight,” she said with a sniffle.

  Paul held his breath and waited for the news.

  “Luke is okay. Both of his legs are broken, but he is alive. Lord, I tell you. It is going to be a long recovery for him Paul, but we will get him the best therapists to get him on his feet again. The doctors were worried initially that he may have a spinal injury, but thankfully, if that is the right word, he can feel all the pain. I think he even broke his damned toes,” Beverly said to her son.

  “I can be there in the morning,” Paul said to her.

  “No, no, not necessary. Plus, isn’t the grand opening today? You have worked so hard to walk away right now. You and Kaluah do your thing,” she told him.

  “Her name is Kalinda, Mom,” he said impatiently.

  “Whatever, dear. I will keep you posted on your brother’s progress, but he is going to be a real bitch throughout the whole process. I hope not, because if he is, I am shipping him to you and putting him in one of your little Goldilocks’ houses,” she said with a half chuckle.

  Paul could almost see her face making an attempt at a smile but appearing as if she had indigestion. Emotions rushed through him as a selfish thought settled in his chest. If he is laid up, he can’t come back here to harass us .

  “Keep me posted and I will get there soon,” he told her.

  “Sure thing, Paul. Kisses to Kaluna,” Beverly said.

  “Kalinda,” he repeated.

  “Whatever, Dear,” she said blowing smack kisses in the phone and hanging up.

  The room, semi-dark, lit only by his small night stand lamp, cast a faint light on his wife’s face.

  “Paul, what happened to Luke?”

  “Car accident right outside of Portland,” he said softly.

  “Is he alright?”

  Paul lay back in the bed, reaching for her, pulling his wife into his arms. “No Kalinda. Luke has never been alright. He has broken both of his legs and will require a couple of surgeries and intensive therapy,” he said as his hand rubbed her arm.

  “What else...you are holding something back,” she said quietly.

  They had only been married for less than a few weeks and already, she could read his moods.

  “Kalinda...honestly, the first thing that came to my mind was that he would be out of our way for a while, so you and I can focus on us, our life, and Wide Open Spaces. I was seriously worried that he was going to pop up like some nasty little rash and infect everything around here,” he said to her.

  “You and I together, Paul,” were the only words she spoke as she rested her head against his chest and tried to calm her hammering heart. At this point, she saw no reason to tell him the nasty little rash had shown up today and tried to chaff her butt. It was her sincere hope that Luke would take the time to think about being a better person since he’d come so close to death.

  “I love you,” he whispered to her.

  “I love you, too,” she replied, settling in close to her big hu
nky husband and falling to sleep.

  T he morning started with a bang as the first guests arrived a little after ten, which was ten minutes after George pulled up. He wore pink lederhosen with brown suspenders and rolled down pink socks cradled over brown hiking boots. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was very happy to see the man.

  George pulled out site maps, provided safety briefings on the area and what to look out for as the weekenders picked up keys to tiny houses, purchased tea, soaps, and whatever else the little office had to offer.

  “I want one of those badges,” a young man in his mid-twenties said.

  “Sure thing, as soon as you hike, Greenhorn, you will earn the first one. That one is Elkhorn,” she said pointing at the green and orange badge. “You earn that one after you hike trail number five, which is about 15 miles roundtrip if you are moving at a clip. That is about three miles per hour.”

  His mouth dropped.

  Kalinda thought it was cute.

  “Considering the elevation up here, I would estimate it will take you two miles per hour. Greenhorn is the perfect trail to get you started. You can come back as often as you like to day hike or try to book something,” she told him.

  While she spoke to the young man, a few other people showed up trying to get a campsite. Before she could turn them away, George took their credit cards, handed them a map, and made a circle on it.

  “You two set up over here, and you two set up over here, and you three can park your camper downstream over here. Do not contaminate that water or I will slap you with a fine so big, your great grandchildren will still be trying to pay it off after you have turned into fine white powder,” he told the man. “That is our water supply, so keep your wiener out of the water and anything else that may float!”

  “George!” Kalinda called out.

  “What? He is sleeping in his vehicle and those two are popping tents to sleep on the ground,” he said. Hit with a brilliant thought, he went out on the tiny house’s office porch. “Hellooooo, everyone. While you are hiking, look for the perfect stick on which to roast marshmallows around the campfire on Saturday night right at dark. Do not, I repeat, do not break any branches or maim any foliage. Find a loose stick perfect for holding a marshmallow or some wienies!”