by Patricia Fry
Wanda turned and headed toward the pick-up window. “Your order’s up,” she announced.
“Thanks,” Keith said, returning to their table.
When Michael joined him, he said, “Hey, that boot information might be important.”
“Why?” Keith asked, looking confused.
Michael smirked playfully at his brother. “And you call yourself an Eagle Scout?”
Appearing somewhat embarrassed, Keith asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Well, if we can get a bead on exactly what boot Scott Hanson’s wearing, we might be able to find a website that shows the tread pattern on the sole.”
“Ohhh,” Keith said, wide-eyed. He put his hand up for a high five. “Good job, Tonto.”
They were still laughing when Wanda appeared with their sandwiches.
****
Later that afternoon, the brothers walked into a small café known as Brody’s. After glancing around the place, they saw a man sitting in an adjoining room at a table with what looked like a ledger in front of him. He had shoulder-length gray hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and was dressed in camouflage.
“Hello,” Keith called.
“Oh,” the man said, standing, “didn’t see you come in. Was just going over the numbers—gotta stay on top of the numbers. The government won’t have it any other way, you know. It’s getting more and more expensive and complicated to be in business.” When the men didn’t respond, he asked, “What can I get for you boys?”
“Do you have iced tea?” Michael asked.
“Sure do. It’s brewed daily, as a matter of fact. Large or small?”
“Large. Thank you.”
“And for you?” the man asked Keith.
“The same.”
The brothers each took a stool at the counter and watched as the man poured their beverages. Once they’d received their tea, Keith asked, “Do you know who runs the lodge up the hill there? We’d like to book a cabin or maybe a room.”
He studied the men, then asked, “Are you here for the fishing?”
Keith glanced at Michael. “You might say that.”
“How long do you figure to stay?”
Keith winced. “Could be a few days or a week, maybe. Are you the proprietor?”
The man wiped his right hand on his slacks, then offered it to Keith. “Sorry about that. Yes, I own this place and the lodge. I’m Brody—Quinton Brody.”
“Keith Pettit,” he said, shaking Mr. Brody’s hand.
Michael also shook his hand. “Michael Ivey.”
“Just the two of you?” he asked. When the men hesitated, he said, “I’m asking that for a couple of reasons. I don’t want no loud parties going on there. You boys look like you’re beyond the college years, but college students will come up here and even some grown men—you know, trying to get away from the missus. They party hearty, break things, and disturb my other guests.”
Michael stirred his tea with a straw, then removed it. “What do you have available?”
Quinton Brody pulled a stool closer and sat down. “Here’s the deal, boys. I’d really like to turn the place over to a responsible party to take care of while I’m away for a few weeks. My chief cook and bottle washer will run this place, but he doesn’t want any part of the lodge.” He leaned forward as if telling a secret. “And I don’t want him involved over there, if you know what I mean.”
“So you want to rent the whole lodge out? Is that what you’re trying to do?” Keith asked. “You want someone to run it and rent rooms while you’re gone?” He shook his head. “I don’t think we want to do that.”
Michael put up one hand. “Wait.” He turned to Brody. “How many rooms are in the lodge? Is there a kitchen?”
“Oh yes. I’ll walk you over and show you around. But yeah, there’s a fully equipped kitchen. I normally employ a cook, but I’m letting her go on vacation too. I planned to close the place up because I haven’t taken any reservations, you see.” He motioned toward the back room. “But as I looked through the books—you know, my business finances…” He slapped a hand against his forehead. “…I realize I need the money.”
“How many rooms are there?” Michael asked again.
Keith frowned at his brother. “We don’t have time to be renting out rooms. What are you thinking?”
Michael grinned at Keith and looked apprehensively at Brody, who explained, “There are eight rooms in the lodge, then there are seven stand-alone cabins you may have seen scattered across the property. Five are occupied—a couple of them through,” he looked at a calendar that was tacked to the wall, “a week from next Saturday. So that’s almost two weeks.”
“What do you want to rent the entire lodge for a week?” Michael asked
Brody shook his head. “No good. It’s gotta be two weeks.”
“Okay,” Michael said, “for two weeks. How much?”
Keith continued to gaze sideways at his brother.
Brody looked Michael in the eye, glanced at Keith, and said, “For the lodge for two weeks, without the cabins, running water, wood for the fireplace, cooking and serving utensils and all, $3,500 plus a $2,000 refundable deposit—refundable when I get back and find everything in order.” He squinted at Michael. “So you want to go into the vacation rental business, do you? I’d advise against it myself. But if you just want to try it out, this is a great opportunity to do that.”
“Michael,” Keith said quietly, “we don’t have time to play land baron. What do you have in mind?”
Michael smiled at his brother. “I think this would be a great place to vacation with our families.”
Keith’s face lit up. “Oh! Hey, that sounds like a good idea. Yeah, let’s go take a look around and see if it would be suitable.” He punched his brother good-naturedly. “I like your way of thinking, guy.”
****
Savannah, Holly, and Gladys listened intently after dinner that evening at the Pettit home as Michael and Keith told them about the rustic mountain lodge.
Holly frowned at her husband. “You rented it without consulting us?”
“Yeah, how rustic is it?” Savannah asked. “Does it have indoor plumbing?”
“Good question,” Gladys said.
“Yes, it has a fully-equipped kitchen, bathrooms, all the modern conveniences…” Michael started.
Keith jumped in, saying, “Except for a dishwasher and a washing machine.” Before anyone else could speak, he quickly added, “But there’s a small Laundromat in the village.”
“Which isn’t too far away,” Michael said. He moved to the sofa and sat next to Savannah. “Hon, you don’t have to come up there if you don’t want to. I’d understand. But we have the money to spend…”
“That’s right,” Keith said. “Brandt is, you might say, financing the search.”Michael continued, “And we thought this would make it more convenient for Keith and me. But it sure would be nice to share this beautiful spot with you gals and the kids.”
“Oh, you smooth talker,” Holly said, laughing.
“Isn’t he?” Savannah agreed. “Yeah, I’d like to see the place and maybe we could stay for a couple of nights. Let’s check it out—what, tomorrow?”
Michael squeezed her hand. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”
Keith looked at Holly, who said, “Yeah, I’m game to take a peek at it.” She addressed Gladys. “What do you think? Is this your type of adventure or not?”
Gladys swooned. “I love the mountains. I remember going to Yosemite with my folks when I was young. And we came to Colorado once…visited Aspen and Colorado Springs. Yeah, I’m a fan of the mountains. I’d like to go on the look-and-see trip.”
Keith smiled. “Okay. And if you decide you want to stay for a few days or the whole two weeks, we’ll come home and load up what you need.”
“Or,” Michael said rather dramatically, “we can pack for a week-or-so-stay and, if you don’t want to stay, you gals can come
back home. If you do…” he winked at the women, “… want to stay, that is, we’ll have what we need.”
“How far away is this lodge, anyway?” Savannah asked.
“It took us nearly two and a half hours to drive home from there this afternoon,” Keith said.
“Oh, so it would save you guys a lot of driving time if you were staying up there.”
Keith nodded.
“Do you think you know where Scott Hanson is?” Holly asked.
“Generally,” Keith said. More meekly, he added, “Maybe.”
“Okay, let’s go home and start packing,” Savannah suggested. She turned to Michael. “What about food?”
“You just went shopping, didn’t you? Bring what you can. There’s a village about thirty minutes away and a café within walking distance.”
“Wow,” Gladys said, “when I offered to come to Hammond and help you with the children, Vannie, I had no idea how much my life would change. It’s one adventure after another.” She grinned. “I’m having such a good time.”
Savannah smiled at her mother. “I’m glad you’re enjoying our crazy life, Mom. It’s so neat having you be a part of it.”
Michael pulled his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at Keith and announced, “It’s Buck.” Once he’d finished reading the text, he said, “It’s that information I asked for about the boots. Can we use your computer to see if we can get a look at the soles? I want to find out what sort of pattern we’re looking for.”
“Sure,” Keith said, leading the way into his office. He turned to his brother. “You really are Eagle Scout material, you know it?”
Michael smiled. “You think so? Hey, that’s cool.”
****
By eleven the following morning, the two families had loaded Keith’s utility trailer with some of their belongings and food, then piled into two cars for the trip to the lodge. At Cassie’s persuasive request, she rode in the Iveys’ car while Lily kept Bethany, Holly, and Keith company in the Jeep.
How’s it going? Savannah texted, after they’d been on the road for an hour.
Holly typed back: Aside from the bouncy ride, good.
Savannah laughed and asked Cassie, “Doesn’t your mom like riding in the Jeep?”
“No,” she said. “She says it’s too bouncy.”
Michael chuckled.
Savannah then typed, Is Lily doing okay?
Yes, Holly responded. She’s entertaining us with a song. Where did she learn ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat?’
Savannah laughed. She squeezed Michael’s arm. “Our punkin is performing up there in the Jeep—singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Gladys and Michael laughed and Savannah typed back to Holly, She had a swimming lesson a few weeks ago. While she paddled around on a noodle she started singing that song. I have the cutest video of her singing it in the pool. I’ll show you later, unless you’re already tired of hearing it. She added a winking emoticon.
Ha-ha, Holly wrote. Is Cassie behaving herself?
Sure is, Savannah typed. She and Mom are playing that travel game Cassie brought. She has spotted a cow, a red car, and a yellow bus. Mom is way behind with just one thing, which Cassie challenged because she didn’t see the dog in the car. Savannah added a smiley face, then wrote, Let us know if Lily starts crying for us or when you get tired of her song. By the way, she also knows ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ if you’d like to change her channel.”
“Hey,” Cassie called out twenty minutes later, “I don’t see my dad’s Jeep. Did we lose them?” she asked, sounding a little panicked.
“Yeah, I lost them in a clump of traffic a while back,” Michael said.
“You lost my mom and dad?” the six-year-old screeched.
Savannah chuckled. “They’re okay. They’re not actually lost,” she soothed. “We’ll all end up at the same place in an hour or so. No problem.”
Cassie continued straining to look behind them. “I think I see them!” she shouted. She then said, “Nope. That’s not them. Where are they?”
“Well, let me see,” Savannah offered, picking up her phone.
At the same time, Gladys smiled and said, “Well, hello there, little man. Waking up from your beauty sleep, are you?”
Savannah glanced into the backseat, saying, “Michael, we’d probably better find a place to pull over. He’s going to be hungry. He didn’t eat much at his last feeding.” She addressed Cassie. “Want to stop and get an apple juice or something?”
“Will my mom and dad stop, too? I want to see them.”
“I’ll send your mom a text and ask.” After a few moments, Savannah said, “They want to head on up to the lodge. Your dad says it might take them a little longer to get there because they’re towing a trailer, so he’d like to get a head start. Do you want them to stop and get you or would you like to stay in our car?” When Cassie hesitated, Savannah said, “They’re okay. They just have to drive a little slower than we do.”
After thinking about it for a moment, Cassie said, “Yeah, I want to stay with you. Can I get a soda when we stop? Mom lets me have a soda as a special treat sometimes.”
Savannah and Michael exchanged glances, and Savannah said, “Sure, why not? This is a special occasion, right?”
****
“We’re home,” Michael said as he drove into the driveway at Brody’s Lodge and parked behind Keith’s car later that day. When he saw Holly leading Lily and Bethany out onto the large porch he opened the car door and called out, “Holly, how was the bumpy Jeep ride?”
“Fun,” Bethany said. “Bounce, bounce, bounce.”
Lily jumped up and down and repeated, “Bounce, bounce, bounce.”
Holly smiled. “Yeah, I prefer my limousine, but you guys needed this four-wheel baby up here.” She looked at the Iveys’ SUV. “At least we’ll have a decent car for our treks to the village.”
“Decent?” Keith said, as he joined them. “The Jeep’s newer and shinier than your… um… limousine.”
“Not for long, if you bring it up here very often,” Holly said.
Savannah chuckled. She stepped out of the car and reached for Lily. “Hi, punkin. Did you have fun riding with your cousin, Bethany?”
Lily continued to jump. “Bounce, bounce.”
“Well, bounce over here and give Mommy a hug, will you?”
At that, Lily rushed to her mom and fell into her arms, and Savannah twirled around with the toddler, who squealed with delight.
Meanwhile, Cassie skipped excitedly toward Holly, who wrapped her arms around the child. “Were you a good girl?” Holly asked.
Cassie nodded. She looked up at Holly, her eyes wide. “Mommy, you should have seen Rags!” She frowned. “He got a time-out, didn’t he, Aunt Savannah?”
Savannah tightened her jaw. “He sure did.”
Keith chuckled. “What did he do this time, moon someone?”
“No,” Cassie said. She tilted her head. “What does that mean, Daddy?”
He grinned at the child, then asked, “Did he throw kitty litter out the window at passing cars?”
“No, Daddy,” Cassie said, impatiently. “He took an ice cream cone from a little boy and made him cry.”
“Ohhh,” Holly said. “Poor kid. He did that when you stopped to feed Teddy?”
Cassie nodded. “Grammy and I took him for a walk so he could—you know, go potty.”
“But, as usual,” Gladys said, while stepping out of the car, “he wanted to run amok.”
“Yeah,” Cassie continued, “Rags saw this boy eating a strawberry ice cream cone and he jumped up on him and made him fall and drop the cone.”
“Was the boy hurt?” Keith asked.
Gladys shook her head. “No, just startled. The cat probably weighed more than he did. Rags must have looked like a lion or a tiger coming at him.”
“Uncle Michael bought Randy—the kid’s name was Randy—a new ice cream cone.”
“And Rags go
t the one he dropped?” Holly asked.
Cassie shook her head. “He wouldn’t eat it after all. I guess he doesn’t like strawberry.”
Holly relaxed. “Well, I’m glad no one was hurt and Randy got his ice cream cone.”
“But that’s not all, Mom,” Cassie said.
“Huh?”
“When Grammy and I were trying to walk Rags back to the car so we could leave, he jumped into the wrong car and wouldn’t come out.”
“And not just any car,” Michael said, joining the others. “Tell them what kind of car it was, Cassie.”
She grimaced rather dramatically and said, “A police car.”
“What?” Holly said, laughing loudly.
“With a prisoner in the back seat,” Savannah added.
“Yeah, a prisoner,” Cassie repeated. She frowned. “I don’t think he liked cats. He looked pretty mad at Rags.”
Gladys shuddered. “I don’t think that criminal likes anyone. He was one scary-looking guy. I had to go face-to-face with him when I went in after Rags. I’m just glad they had him cuffed and behind that wire shield.”
“You had to go in the car after Rags?” Keith asked.
“Yes,” Gladys said wide-eyed. “I don’t know where the police officer was, but he left the car door open and in Rags went. The leash had looped around something in there and I couldn’t get him to come out.” She narrowed her eyes in Rags’s direction. “For all I know, the wily cat orchestrated the whole thing.” When the others looked confused, she said, “He probably tangled himself up on purpose.”
“It was rather a comedy of errors,” Michael said, resting his arm across Gladys’s shoulders. He looked down at her. “Although, you didn’t seem to see the humor in it at the time, did you?”
“I still don’t,” Gladys insisted.
“So how did you get him out of the cop car?” Holly asked.
Gladys put her hands up to her mouth and started to chuckle. “Now here’s where it got funny.”
Michael smirked playfully at her. “Yeah, maybe for you, it did.”
“What happened, Michael?” Keith asked eagerly.
“Well, I’d just finished apologizing to the little boy and his oversized, muscle-bound father and got the boy settled with a new ice cream cone, when I look over and I see my mother-in-law and your daughter about to crawl into the police car. After getting a few chuckles out of it, I decided maybe I’d better intervene before the two gals and the cat were given a free ride to the nearest police station. But as it turned out, I got there just in time to keep Gladys from falling on her behind.”