The city limits sign showed a population of 178. There was one so-called small convenience type store that was only open half the time and had very little in it. It was also a hangout for many of the questionable people in town.
After a long discussion, we finally agreed as quickly as possible, to put up a roadblock on each end of the road and have it manned. Jim Simpson had the biggest objection as he said that it would be against the law and we could get into trouble. After using a little logic with him about getting in trouble with who as there wasn’t any law enforcement that any of us had seen, he finally agreed to be a part of it.
Mike had the objection that we didn’t have the manpower to cover the roadblocks effectively. He was right, but I told him we didn’t have much choice. Everyone agreed that Mike would be in charge of scheduling the manpower to cover the roadblocks once we implemented it. Mike wasn’t thrilled with the idea, due to the lack of manpower but he reluctantly agreed.
At the end of the meeting, we all agreed to have a weekly dinner meeting every Sunday. I also offered a departing gift. How much depended on the size of the family but we offered them toilet paper. It may sound like a strange gift, but they all reacted as though we were giving them steak dinners. People don’t realize how valuable it is until they run out of it.
Everyone walked home, except for the Jones’, which we drove home. Afterward, we delivered the toilet paper to each family.
As soon as I got back, Paul and Kim were in the kitchen talking. As soon as I hit the door, Kim asked, “Why don’t you let Paul go shoot a deer for the Jones and we’ll can the meat for them?”
I thought it was an excellent idea, but I did remind them that we couldn’t do this for everyone that we may see in the future. Paul looked at me funny at first, but after giving him the same talk as I did the group earlier, he understood.
“Wait until the morning to do it. You want the temperature as cool as possible because, with this heat, we’re going to have to cut it up right away.” The next morning, he shot a young doe. I showed him how to cut the meat, which he finished and all five of the ladies canned the meat. It took most of the day, and we ended up having to bag part of the deer and put in the freezer as we were getting low on canning jars.
After waiting 24 hours for the jars to seal properly, Paul drove the meat down to the Jones’s. When he returned, he had tears in his eyes as he said that Mrs. Jones broke down crying when he gave it to them, and even Mr. Jones had tears of relief in his eyes.
“They promised to return the jars as they used them.”
Shortly after that, I noticed Carmen, Mia, and Kim, and Mike talking seriously. They all looked at me.
“What?”
Kim spoke up, “We think we should be included in the roadblocks and patrolling.”
“Absolutely NOT!”
Mike spoke up, “Wait a minute dad. I agree I’m not real big on the roadblock idea, even though there may be a time we may need them but what about letting them patrol the farm itself, maybe on horseback.”
I stood there shaking my head no.
“Now think about this. You guys are shorthanded. As Mike said, we don’t have the manpower to cover the roadblocks, patrol the area and patrol the farm.”
Mia jumped in, “We go horseback riding anyway, so if we patrolled the farm, that would open up two more of you guys to do the other patrolling.”
Carmen was so obvious with her silence. I glared at her as I knew she was behind this. Obviously, they had this planned and just had to get Mike to agree. Carmen just shrugged her shoulders and had a look like, “I’m just here supporting them.” I looked her in the eyes, “Don’t even try it.”
The idea did make sense; they do horseback ride. After a few moments, I said, “Alright.”
They cheered, and then all three of them walked up and gave me a kiss on the cheek at the same time. More proof this was a laid-out plan on their part.
“BUT, it’s always two at a time, and both always carry a radio and a rifle and handgun. Also, you only patrol the borders of the fields. I don’t want you guys riding deep into the woods. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” they all stated. Then Kim said, “Thank you honey.” Then she looked at Mike, “Thank you, Mike.”
I looked at Carmen who had that famous “Carmen” sweet smile on her face, and she quietly mouthed the words “Thank you.” Then she gave me a kissing gesture. All I could do was shake my head side to side and smile.
After dinner that evening, us guys started telling old army stories, and the women were talking about patrolling the farm. They were excited about it and even though I’d never admit it to them, it made me feel good to see how proud they were to be taking part in securing the farm. What they’d been doing was invaluable, but it was a bit mundane. They did the cooking, the gardening, the canning, the cleaning, and washed the clothes. Definitely, jobs that feminists wouldn’t approve of. So, I thought I’d give an additional surprise to at least one of them.
“Mia,” I said, rather loudly. She looked up with a smile.
“Are you ready to fly again?”
“Is it ready? The runway is ready?” She asked getting all excited.
“Give me three more days for us to cut some trees down at both ends, plus level it out a few more times, and it’ll be ready.”
Kim with worry in her voice said. “Vince, are you sure? The idea of that scares me to death.”
“Yes, I’m sure, or I wouldn’t be taking the chance. Mia handled landing the plane with the trees and a rough crop field. Compared to that, we’ve got it looking like the runway at KCI. I know I could take off from it, so if Mia can’t, I’ll take over.”
Mia gave me a look like, “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
“You’re going to?” Kim asked nervously.
“Well yeah. I’m the only other pilot here, and Mia doesn’t know the area that well. Plus, she needs someone to observe while she flies,” I could see Kim was nervous, so I went over to her and gave her a hug and whispered, “We’ll be fine, I promise.” She smiled and put her head on my shoulder.
“Tomorrow I need to take one of you out to show you how and where to patrol. Whoever you elect is going to have to train the rest of you, so they better take it seriously.” She agreed.
We were all so tired from the work we had put in, everyone took their showers and went to bed early. Paul and Mike both volunteered to take the night watch. Mike said he wanted to work on the patrol and guard schedule anyway.
After several showers, everyone had gotten used to the cold water. Trust me, it was still cold, but we had adjusted to it a bit. The ladies still seemed to get in their warm baths though.
I stayed up with Mike and Paul for a while, to help Mike work out the schedule and to spend some alone time with them.
Chapter Twenty-Five
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
The next day I woke up in considerable pain, so I took my pain pills and fell back asleep unintentionally. When I did wake up, I felt really good after a couple of cups of coffee and a homemade breakfast sandwich that Kim had made for me.
Red and Wit were already on patrol on their motorcycles. Mo and Tag were getting the chainsaws ready to start cutting trees. Of course, Paul and Mike who stayed up all night were still asleep. Kim, Mia, Brandy, Angela, and Lulu were already working in the garden. Carmen, who was with them, when she saw that I was up, went out to the horses to saddle them up.
I walked out to Kim, “You guys are hitting the garden early.”
“Yeah, I decided to look it over this morning and noticed all these green beans that needed to be picked. We have to get it done babe.”
“So, I’m assuming that Carmen is going out with me?”
Kim smiled, “You know as well as I do that this patrol on horseback was her idea.�
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I gave her a look and growled, “Yeah but you guys were sure involved in the conspiracy, weren’t you?”
I walked up to Mo and Tag, “Do you guys remember which trees to cut?”
Tag said laughing, “Yeah, all of them.”
Mo jumped in, “We got it. I know you’re mainly concerned with cutting out the hillside, plus the little ones on the other end by the fence line, right?”
“You’re right. Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
“No, we got it. Anyway, it looks like someone else needs you.” Tag said with a laugh as he looked at Carmen.
I pointed at him with a chuckle, “Don’t start.”
As I approached Carmen, she got up on Ornery but didn’t say a word. She just looked at me as though she was asking, “Come on, what are you waiting for?” She had on form-fitting camo that fit perfectly. Obviously, an outfit she bought some time back. She was wearing her radio, her handgun on her belt, and the Marlin 30.30 rifle over her shoulder, just as I had instructed.
I laughed out loud and climbed on Lucky. I thought to myself, “Good golly, she looks so sexy sitting there like that. That look of a girl in uniform.”
Then I told myself, “Stop it.”
I almost had an argument with myself as my mind asked, “Why stop it? Obviously, she does look sexy. There is nothing wrong with noticing it.”
It was like the adage of a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The devil was repeating what Mo asked, “You realize you could have that, don’t you?”
Then the angel was saying, “Don’t even think about it. You think that way, and you’re going to get yourself into serious trouble.”
I chuckled again, and this time Carmen asked, “What?”
“Nothing.”
Then I thought I would drill her a little and see what she had learned from Mike.
“Why did you pick the 30.30?”
She smiled, “Because the M-4’s and M-16 need to be with the people on road patrol, at the roadblocks, and the reaction force, once they’re set up. I chose it because it holds seven rounds with one in the chamber. It’s a lever action carbine, which makes it faster to shoot and due to the fact, it’s shorter, easier to handle, especially on horseback.”
“Why didn’t you pick the .40 or 9mm carbine?”
“I could’ve, as they both have a 15-round extended magazine and they have the quick acquisition of the red dot scope, but I wanted the longer range of the 30.30, plus it has more knock down power and is less likely to ricochet if it hits brush.” She answered with a smile.
“Very good. I’m proud of you.” Then I intentionally paused and said, “Or maybe I should be proud of Mike instead, for teaching you so well.”
She knew I was giving her a hard time and smiled, “Well, maybe both of us.”
“Ok, if you guys are going to do this, I want you to do it right. So, I’m going to show you where you need to check.” I started riding towards the corner by the road, which is a very short distance from the house.
“Why up here? Anyone at the house can see this area.”
“Because I want you to ride the fence line. First of all, unless someone is in the tower, we may not be looking this way. Plus, from the house, we can’t see through the fence lines because of the brush and trees. Riding this close, you can. Now don’t start up here each time because you don’t want to set a routine schedule because if someone is watching us, they’ll look for that if they know what they’re doing.
Also, don’t look for a whole person. Look for movement or a clump on the ground that doesn’t fit. It’s kind of like deer hunting. When you’re sitting quietly in your deer stand, you’re always looking around, looking for movement. Now many times, the deer will just appear. It’s like it came out of nowhere. Other times, depending on the terrain, you may hear it walking or running before you even see it. But most of the time, you’ll pick up movement. You may see just an antler moving or see a tail flicker.
Well, you need to do the same thing looking for people. And at the same time, you need to look for fences that’s been cut or an area that has been traveled on. It may be a very small area.
One other thing; don’t forget to look up. Check out the trees. Make sure no one is perched in one.
You need to make it second nature. Constantly looking for something that just isn’t right.”
“Wow. There is a lot more to it than just looking around. Teach me more.”
“Yeah, it’s a never-ending learning process, but after a while, you’ll go by your gut as well as what you see. You’ll almost develop a sense that tells you, something just isn’t right. And that can be confused with fear. You have to learn the difference. But remember, you can never be too careful unless it prevents you from doing what you have to do. Most of the time, being careful may slow you down a bit but being too carefree can get you killed.”
I could tell Carmen was hanging on to everything I was saying. She genuinely wanted to learn all she could, and I knew she’d teach the others well.
I continued, “Now if you guys ever spot something, I don’t want to you engage it. You call it in on the radio, and as soon as you do, you guys get out of there. Just remember the location and their movement.”
“What do you do if you spot someone and they haven’t spotted you. I mean if you’re concealed and moving may give you away?”
“Then you stay concealed and report everything you see. Remember, you’re the scout. It’s your job to let us know what’s going on. But you need to remember that doing it on horseback is a problem. Even if you’re concealed, you have to remember that the horses may give you away. They could make a sound or their movement of their tail or whatever.
If you’re in a concealed situation, always remember; one of you observes, and the other one covers your back and makes sure no one is sneaking up on you. That’s why you always patrol as a team.”
We rode the perimeter, and I showed her all the borders. While we patrolled, a perfect example came up. As we were riding, I spotted a deer that was frozen in the woods watching us. I told her that there was a deer close but didn’t give her a precise direction. She looked and looked, and then gave up. Finally, I got off the horse and started walking towards the deer, and it flagged his tail and ran off. She was amazed how close it was, and she didn’t see it. I told her that could’ve been a man hiding with a gun. She got the point quickly.
On the way back, Carmen said, “Vince, I want to thank you for this, and I’d like to tell you something, but you have to promise me that you won’t interrupt. I want you to give me your word that you’ll just listen.”
“Ok.”
“No, I want you to give me your word. I want to hear it from you. I know if you do, you’ll keep your word.”
“Ok, I give you my word.”
She then cleared her throat a couple of times, “Again, I want to thank you for allowing us to do this. It’s important to me. I know what you said when I asked you the first time, but I still want to contribute to everyone’s safety as much as you try to keep all of us safe. I know you said no because you want to protect us and we love you for that, but I want to be part of the team. Like I said, your life is a heck of a lot more important than mine.
I also want to thank you for the last few years. If Mia and I hadn't met you two, we would either be dead or worse right now.
You’ve taught both of us so much. I can say you have changed my life.
If you knew how I used to be, you’d understand. I was a typical model for a long time, but after a while, I started shutting people out. I got to the point where I didn’t trust anyone, except for Mia and my family.
My romantic life seemed to consist of one disappointment after another. I dated who you’d expect me to date. You know, the hunks that all the girls want to go out with. I dated celebrities, jocks, and men in my field. Most of them were the biggest jerks on the planet that thought they were the center of the universe. To them, I was just an asset to ad
d to their collection and someone that was there to please them.
When I met you guys though, … or should I say, when I met you, I found the kind of man I wanted.”
I started to say something, but she cut me off, “You gave me your word, …. plus, if I don’t say it all, you’ll misunderstand what I’m really trying to say.”
I nodded my head yes and closed my mouth.
“I want a man that I can be myself with and not feel at risk. Someone that knows the real me. Someone that I can let my guard down completely and be comfortable.
Vince, you’re that man. You know me better than most because I’m able to be the real me around you and even Kim. I can let go and be free with you. You don’t judge me for my mistakes, you listen to me instead of just hearing the words, and you talk to me, not at me. You’re the kind of man I would want to spend the rest of my life with.
But I know that can’t be. I thought about every reason there is why we couldn’t spend the rest of our lives together, and I can’t find one that would be a valid reason, except for one; the only one. You are already taken, and by someone I adore, and I’d never betray or hurt in any way.
But I still want you to know all of this, my thoughts about it and what I really want.
I don’t care about your age, and I sure don’t care about your body not being in the shape that it was while you were in the Army.
Look how you saved me from those two jerks at the casino. You put your body in harm’s way for me, knowing there was a chance that they’d hurt you because both of them were a lot younger than you, … and I know you realized the pain you’d feel afterward, either way. Not very many of those jerks I dated would have done that.
I tried fighting off these feelings, I really did. But they won.
So that’s when I let myself start accepting the feelings that I’ve been developing for you. Unfortunately, though, it comes back to the only thing that really matters. You are already taken and by someone that I love and respect.
So, I’ve decided that I want to be as much of a part of your life that you and Kim allow. If that means only being typical friends, so be it.”
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