by Reed, N. C.
“I'm on ground watch in a few minutes,” her son told her. “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll walk you over there.”
“So nice to have a big, strong and reliable son,” Patricia kissed his cheek, causing Gordy to go into a sputtering fit.
“Mom!”
-
“You need to add Darrel Goodrum and Harley Jessup to this list,” Leon tossed it back. “Darrel is no older than Gary Meecham and strong as an ox. Harley needs to get off his ass and maybe the workout will sweat the liquor out of his system.”
“He's not going to be useful to us, Leon,” Clay shook his head. “And while Darrell might be, he's the only man here who can make horseshoes, let alone do anything else with that forge. There will come a time when we've got more people trained to do more stuff, at least I hope there will, but right now, we don't. And his son is on the list,” Clay added.
“Well, we still need to get them Jessups something to do,” Leon grumped. “They've sat around long enough.”
“Leon, they lost their son,” Clay sighed. “They're gonna need a minute.”
“I've lost sons,” Leon snapped back at him. “I know exactly what they're going through and I'm telling you now that they need to step up and at least take care of their own. They're not even watching over their own kids!”
“Nothing I can do about that,” Clay shrugged. “You, Dad, Franklin. . .you guys are gonna have to take care of that. Robert maybe, and Ronny. . .I don't know, but. . .I am done worrying over civilian bullshit, Leon. Done. You and Dad and the rest can deal with the Jessups, with Mom, with the Webbs. . .speaking of which, we need some kind of decision on them pretty soon.”
“What kind of decision?” Leon asked. “What do you mean?”
“To quote Vic, are they going, staying, helping or what? What are we doing with them? Luke and Sam are awake part time now and while Daisy and Jasmine are still. . .they're awake and aware, at least. John is plenty awake and aware, running his mouth every chance he gets. Seth and Lila are just sitting there, too. Something has to be done, and again, that's for you and Gordon and Robert and Franklin and whoever else, because I am not doing that shit any more. Period.”
“I heard you,” Leon growled. “I’ll try and see to them tomorrow,” he promised.
“Just let me know what happens.”
-
Leon sat on his front porch the next morning as Brick and Janice went to get his ‘parties of interest’ for the discussion about the Webb family. While he didn't want to make a decision without allowing them to speak, he wanted to have the group's decision made, subject to the Webb's reaction, of course. They needed a united front from now on and he intended to have it if he had to have Brick kick every ass on his front porch.
“Morning, Dad,” Gordon walked up the steps with Robert right behind him. “Good to see you out and about,” he added.
“Morning, Granddad,” Robert nodded a welcome. “You are looking better,” he agreed.
“Good to be out of that house,” Leon nodded. “Breathe some fresh air for a change.”
“Let out some of that hot air,” Franklin George chuckled as he climbed the steps. “Morning, Gordon… Robert,” he shook hands with the younger Sanders men. “Hello Leon. Good to see you up and around.”
“Thanks,” Leon nodded a reply. “Take a pew. We should have two more. . .” he trailed off as Mitchell Nolan appeared at the bottom of the hill with Beverly Jackson. At almost the same time, Gary Meecham came hurrying down the hill from the cabin area, still tucking his shirt in.
“And there they are,” Leon said with satisfaction. Below them Mitchell Nolan was heading away on his way to do a circuit around the ranch, leaving Beverly to climb the stairs to join the others, Gary Meecham right behind her. The two made their ‘hellos’ to the others and settled in, waiting to see why they were meeting so early in the morning.
“We got several problems,” Leon didn't waste time getting started. “Chief among those problems is what to do about the Webbs.”
“What do you mean?” Robert asked.
“They left here mad as hornets and telling us all pretty much we could go straight to hell,” Leon replied. “Three weeks later they're back, with Josh Webb clearly having sold us out to save his family. When he couldn't deliver, he pulled a gun on Clayton and then was put down for it. Now, John Webb is walking around here with a stick up his ass, telling anyone who will listen that it's all our fault, specifically, the Sanders' fault, that his family is in the shape it's in. We all know that's a load of horseshit, pardon the expression,” he said to Beverly, who snorted delicately and waved his apology off as unneeded, “but it does tell us what his attitude is and is probably gonna keep on being. I got no idea what the rest of 'em think and at this point, considering the damage Josh did to us I ain't sure I care. But,” he settled back again in his chair, “they're here and we need to decide if we aim to let 'em stay or not.”
“How can we not?” Gordon asked at once. “How can we send them away?”
“By putting them in that truck they came here in and pointing them toward Jordan, that's how,” Leon was brutal.
“That's not what I meant,” Gordon sighed. “I mean how can we turn our backs on them?”
“Same way they turned their backs on us,” Leon said simply. “The simple fact is that Joshua Webb almost certainly told Holman's people everything they wanted to know about our operation. I accept the blame for his being here, as it was me that invited him and convinced him to come here. I can't do jack shit about that, unfortunately. He left here in a huff, making a mistake that his whole family knew he was making but they went along with him regardless. Now, they're back, some of them, but trust is an issue at this point, most especially at this exact moment with John. Miss Beverly, I know you've spoken to Daisy and Jasmine, what can you tell us about their state of mind and their attitude toward us?”
Beverly hesitated, clearly torn between her need to help those around her and her own requirement to protect the people who were, even technically, her patients.
“I realize this puts you in a hard spot,” Leon said softly, surprising everyone but Gordon with how gentle he sounded. “But we have to know if they're a threat to us. If they are, we have to be able to protect ourselves, and our children.”
Hearing the word children made her think of JJ, and then of the other children in their own little group, then to the twins and finally to Alicia Sanders and the baby she was carrying.
“John is bitter,” she said slowly. “That bitterness isn't going to go away, and I can't promise you that at some point it won't manifest itself in some way that may be harmful to someone. I just don't know him well enough to make that kind of call.”
“Jasmine is still in fugue, what you could call a disbelieving daze. She doesn't deny what happened, but her mind hasn't processed it yet, either, and that includes, or appears to include, the fact that Matthew is gone. She's caught in between and as long as she is, she's pretty much useless to herself or others. She can tend her own needs, but otherwise she just. . .sits. My attempts to engage her have met with only limited success and I don't expect that to improve in the immediate future.”
“Daisy. . .is angry. Very angry, in fact, but not at you,” she continued after a minute to think. “She is angry at Joshua for taking them away from here, at Micah for agreeing with him, at herself for not standing up to Micah, and... .at Micah again for being dead. She blames what has happened to her squarely on Joshua and on Micah's following him blindly. Her attitude toward the rest of the Webbs is going to be questionable in the future because of what happened to her. I don't know what she was like before she married into the Webb family, but it's clear that she has issues with their clannishness, for lack of a better word. I sense an underlying current of hostility about it that hasn't come up in direct conversation yet but it's there, bubbling. All it needed was a catalyst and this seems to have been it.”
“Best I remember, she was a Callum,” Leon mused, n
odding. “I knew her grandfather a bit and no, they weren't like that, not really. Her family was outgoing and sociable in a way that Josh and his brood never was. Moved up toward Oak Ridge years ago as I recall. No idea how she hooked up with Mike, but I reckon there's no accounting for folks when it comes to that. Lord knows my Elizabeth, bless her memory, had no reason at all to be with me other than she loved my charming nature,” he finished with a grin.
“I'm sure that had to be it,” Gordon snorted, earning a baleful glare from his father.
“Samuel and Luke,” Beverly continued after a few seconds of laughter among the group, “are hard to categorize. Both are angry at the loss of so much of their family, of course. Neither was married, but they feel the loss of any of their family sharply and they lost more than one. They were angry that Bernice had miscarried after Mark died, but they didn't blame anyone for that other than the people that shot him. They didn't share Joshua's need to blame any of you.”
Bernice Webb had been expecting her first child, what would have been the first child of the next generation of the Webb family, when Mark was killed weeks before. She had miscarried two days later, just after the decision to depart the farm and return home. Patricia had helped with her physical recovery in secret, Daisy having been brought to the farm by Deborah and two of her sons in the truck that had taken them away. None of the group sitting there had known that, as Deborah had asked for privacy so as to help keep Joshua from knowing they had asked for help. Normally Deborah would not have needed assistance but Bernice was very near to term and beyond what Deborah could handle on her own. Fearing for her daughter-in-law's life, she had made the trip in the dark of night to ask for aid.
Patricia, Kaitlin Caudell and Tandi Maseo had worked deep into the morning to stabilize the young widow so that her mother-in-law and two of her brothers-in-law, Samuel and Luke to be exact, could return home with her and put her to bed. All had sworn not to speak of it, but Beverly had been awakened to talk to Deborah while the others worked. She knew what had happened, but until now had not even mentioned it in passing.
“Their attitude toward you about their father is confused,” she went on before too much time could be spent on what was being said. “They're angry he's dead, of course, and grieving him, but. . .they are both having a difficult time dealing with the fact that their father tried to trick all of you and then tried to kill Clay when it didn't work. It confuses them, of course, because they want to be angry but at the same time realize that had one of you did the same thing to them, they would have reacted the same way. Until the two of them can come to some kind of. . .closure about it, there won't be any way to determine how they're going to act.”
“Seth and Lila don't know what to think or to feel,” she finished sadly. “They saw their father die, of course. They know their mother will probably not wake up, or if she does she won't be the woman they remember. They've seen the shape their sisters-in-law are in... .and, they're listening to John tell them whatever poison he's whispering in their ear,” she finished with an exasperated sigh. “There is absolutely no way to know what state they are going to be in by the time their emotions finally stabilize. They are still young and their emotions are out of balance to begin with at that age. And now, have literally been through hell from an emotional standpoint, for all that they alone among that family are physically unharmed. Where their father is concerned, they knew what he was doing when he brought them here and were against it, but just like the rest of them, followed along with him anyway.”
Silence reigned among them for a full minute or more as everyone digested Beverly's report. So much pain and suffering. So much of which could have been avoided, or at least lessened.
“Well, it's safe to say that Joshua is still giving us hell even from the grave, I guess,” Leon said at last. “So, now we know the state of them that's left, what do we do?” He looked around the group. “I am dead serious, too,” he added when no one spoke at once. “We have taken all the risks we can afford to take, people. We are riding a rail straight to ruin if we don't get control of this mess, and I mean as in yesterday. Might as well start with what looks to be the worst decision, and that's the Webb family, or what remains of them. Deb has to stay, of course, since she can't be moved.” He paused, a frown creasing his features.
“I don't want to make any of them go to be honest, but we've done all the charity work we can afford. . .no, we've done more than we can afford and now we're paying the bill for it,” he amended. “We can't take care of everyone and that is just a plain, hard fact. Everyone had better get that through their heads before we go through another round of anything. There is a bottom to our resources and we're not just approaching it, we're scratching it.”
“I dislike the idea of making them leave,” Franklin George finally took the plunge. “At the same time, we have to protect this place and our families. I think we, as in all of us here, need to talk to them and see what we can discern. We do so without letting them know we have spoken to Beverly, and we start out like we can hold out as my mother used to say. If we don't intend to let them stay, then just say that at the start, and our discussion becomes about when they leave. If there are conditions to allow them to remain, then we decide them beforehand and stick to them. It sounds as if John is the one we need to be concerned with most at the moment. He has to be brought to heel. Perhaps the older brothers can do so in a non-violent manner.”
“I like that,” Robert nodded. “Let Samuel and Luke talk to him if they haven't already. I think it's a good idea that we talk to them as a group first and see how the others react to anything John might have to say.”
“You're throwing good money after bad,” Gary Meecham was shaking his head slowly. “I like the Webb family and always have, but you will never meet a more clannish, standoffish bunch than they are. Josh's death won't be forgotten by any of them, at least not the blood relatives. Daisy and Jasmine might be different. And,” he held up a hand, “I will admit that this whole affair may well have made them change how they see things, too. The rest I mean,” he clarified. “I'm not against it,” he told Robert. “I'm just warning you that you're asking for a lot on that one. Be prepared.”
“Both of you are right,” Gordon looked almost sad. “I hope… I pray, that the survivors will see some kind of reason. But we have to be prepared for them to be belligerent. To be adversarial. If they are, by which I mean if they are a threat, then what will our next step be?”
“As soon as Samuel and Lucas are able, we put them in their truck with a few days food and water and send them on their way,” Franklin George looked as if he were announcing the death of a family member. “We can't carry them and if we can't trust them not to turn on us or betray us then they have to go. I am sad to say it,” he told them mournfully. “I wish it weren't so. But it is.”
“I'm afraid it is,” Gordon agreed, his expression also one of mourning. “I hate it. I hate it with all my being. But I won't risk my grandchildren over Joshua Webb's legacy of stupidity. We were in a strong position with a good method of sustaining ourselves and he has done more damage, single handed I might add, than any group has done to us so far. We can't take any more.”
“Then I guess it's time to go and talk to the Webb family,” Franklin said.
“Got more to talk about first,” Leon held up a hand. “We got other problems knocking on our door that can't wait. First in line is the fact that we got too many jobs for too few people. One of the worst problems we got is that now our secret is out. Holman and the rest will know there's only a dozen or so people protecting this place. So, that's got to change.”
“How can we do that?” Franklin asked. “That's all there is.”
“We have to train others here on this farm to protect it,” Leon said flatly. “Anyone who can make it through the training has to go. And those who can't will have to pick up the slack in other areas to let them get it done. Now we're not talking about putting people who ain't soldiers in an armored c
ar and having them running around playing soldier, but we are gonna need people in fighting positions as Clay calls it. People behind fortifications that can help throw off an attack like that last one. Clay and the rest went through the list and singled out eight candidates along with three maybes. Basically, anyone above the age of sixteen who can pass the physical is gonna have to do it, folks. They won't be fighting like Clay or even Gordy and the other boys, but they are gonna have to fight. And like I say, the rest will have to take up the slack. This is another effect of Josh Webb's dumb ass moves, and again I have to take the blame for him being here. I thought he was a good bet and I was wrong. I can't fix it and we can't afford to ignore it. I'm sorry,” he told them all, words he rarely spoke.
“There will be some who won't like that,” Franklin George. “Malitha among them, I suspect, as Marcy will be sure to be on that list.”
“She is and so is Darrell's son,” Leon sighed. “There's a handful left off because of where they work, or because they can't shoot or drive-,”
“That lets the twins out, don't it?” Robert snorted.
“They're doing other work at least and a lot of it,” Gordon defended his youngest grandchildren.
“They are,” Robert patted his father's shoulder. “Sorry, I meant it to be funny. You have to admit the two of them aren't that great with mechanical instruments.”
“Janice was exempted because she's got an entire encyclopedia in her head,” Leon nodded.
“What?” This was news to Meecham and George.
“She's got a photographic memory,” Beverly provided. “And she spent part of one winter in the library in Nashville trying to keep warm. Reading the encyclopedia Britannica.”
“Are you saying she knows the entire encyclopedia?” Gary Meecham was incredulous.
“Yep,” Beverly popped the 'P' in her reply. “And everything else she has ever seen. If you can trigger her memory, she can recite it, word for word.”