Aunt Ruth glared at him. "You won't be ready to sell until you drop in your tracks out there. Meanwhile, your daughter's working with men like Jed Swenson, when she should be thinking about a home and family."
When Gib refused to respond, Aunt Ruth looked at Tess, and said, "What did you do yesterday, sweetie? We were half expecting you to spend the weekend with us."
Tess stared at her aunt, while deliberating whether to reveal exactly where she'd been for the past two days, or whether to concoct something in order to keep the peace. Although her father claimed that if she chose a life with Zak now he wouldn't stand in her way, she wasn't so sure she wanted to test that right now, with all the other problems at camp...
"Honey, are you okay?" Aunt Ruth asked, when Tess didn't respond.
Tess nervously dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a little tired."
Aunt Ruth glared at Gib. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Tess is out there running that place when she should not be--"
"Aunt Ruth," Tess interrupted. "I'm not tired from the job. I was in Navarre with Zak."
No one spoke. All that could be heard was the sound of utensils clinking against china.
Tess looked at Aunt Ruth, whose face appeared pale, then at her father, who continued eating as if nothing had been said. Glancing at Aunt Ruth again, who shrugged as if confused, Tess resumed eating. After a few minutes Gib speared another slice of meat, and said to Aunt Ruth, "This is one hell of a good ham."
Tess glanced at Aunt Ruth and caught her startled look before a slow grin started to spread across her face and she winked at Tess. Tess looked at her dad, who clearly had no intention of making an issue over Zak, then covered her mouth with a napkin and burst out laughing.
Gib looked from one to the other. "What the devil's wrong with you two women?"
Tess stood, then bent over her father and kissed him on the cheek. "You," she replied. Then she whispered in his ear, "I love you, Dad."
Gib flushed. "How about passing the yams?"
"Sure." Tess smiled at Aunt Ruth, served herself, then passed the bowl on.
Gib spooned yams onto his dish and passed the bowl to Aunt Ruth, then said to Tess, "Northwest Tire called... looks like the skidder tire's been shot with a high-powered rifle. They're able to fix it though. The shot didn't damage the sidewall."
"I'll call the police when I get back to camp," Tess said. "I hope they nail Swenson."
"What makes you so sure he's the one doing everything?" Gib asked.
"He's the only one with a motive," Tess replied. "He's mad because I fired him."
"It seems like pretty drastic steps to take just because a person's mad," Gib said.
"I agree, but I'm sure he's behind it all," Tess insisted. "Everything started happening right after I fired him. And we already know he has a hot temper. I hope he also has a big savings account because he'll need it to pay for everything."
"I suppose I have to agree with you since I can't think of anyone else with a motive," Gib said. "Better keep a eye on him. I'm glad Zak's in the cabin next door."
Tess looked at her father with a start. His smile was her final assurance that he'd truly accepted Zak in her life. Smiling back, she said, "How about a game of chess after dinner?"
Sparks of challenge lit his eyes. "Kiddo, you're on."
Three hours later, Tess conceded the game to her father. "You'll get your come-uppance next time we play," she said. "It's all starting to come back now."
Gib's face sobered, as he looked across the chess table at Tess, and said, in a solemn voice, "Just don't stay away from here too long, honey, okay?"
Tess looked at her father's anxious face, and replied, "Don't worry, Dad. I'm through running away."
***
Tess resumed logging operations after the Memorial Day weekend, and the first day passed without incident. Ezzie showed up as promised, a bright smile on his face, sparks dancing in his eyes, and it was obvious to everyone that he was in love.
After work, Tess stopped by Zak's cabin, but he wasn't there. She checked again later, but found the cabin dark and knew he wasn't back from the nest climbs he'd mentioned earlier. Ever since she'd returned from her father's, she'd been anxious to tell Zak that at least one old man wasn't standing in their way. She was even ready to tell him that she'd had enough substance, and wanted to get on with the sex. Feeling depressed, she returned to her cabin, soaked in a hot bathtub and slipped into her gown.
She was on the verge of walking over to Zak's one more time before going to bed, when she heard knocks on the front door. She rushed to open it and found Zak looking at her.
"We have a problem," he said. He went over and lowered himself on the couch and sat with his shoulders slumped.
Tess slipped her arm in his and cuddled up beside him, and waited.
Zak drew in a long breath, and said, "After I dropped you off on Sunday, I was hiking around near the north end of the property looking for perch trees, and Jed Swenson showed up."
Tess's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What was he doing there on Sunday?"
"He brought in a backhoe to trench along the road to divert the water from Saturday's rain so the road wouldn't wash out again," Zak replied. "He was also putting in a culvert. So, I decided it was a good time to talk to him some and maybe ask a few questions."
"Sounds like a stimulating afternoon," Tess said with a wry grin. "Sorry I wasn't along."
"It may be more stimulating than you think," Zak said. "Anyway, while I was talking to him, trying to fish for information on his background, specifically if he'd had any military experience or knew anything about explosives, I found out he'd been in the Marines. He was reluctant to talk about it, but he did say he'd been discharged early. Then he changed the subject. I got suspicious, thinking he'd been given a dishonorable discharge, so I did some checking in Baker’s Creek."
Tess raised a hand. "Wait, let me guess. You found out he was discharged for accidentally blowing up the barracks while tossing a grenade to a friend."
Zak smiled. "Not quite, but I managed to pry out of him the date of his release, and that he returned to Baker’s Creek right afterwards. So I checked through back issues of the Baker’s Creek Gazette and I found this." He removed a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Tess unfolded the paper, which was a photocopy of a newspaper article, and read:
"While serving as Platoon Sergeant of Company G, Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Division, Sergeant Jedediah Swenson was severely wounded while evacuating a fallen comrade when the unit came under heavy automatic weapons fire from enemy forces. Despite his wounds, Sergeant Swenson ran across a fire-swept range, completely exposed to view, and delivered a hail of machine gun fire against the enemy. Fighting pain, weakness and loss of blood, he braved the concentrated fire and charged an estimated twenty-five enemy soldiers advancing to attack, continuing to fire until the enemy ran for cover. For courageous and inspired performance in the face of overwhelming odds, Sergeant Jedediah Swenson has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor..."
Tess stared at the paper, unable to process what she'd just read. But the words were there. "I can't believe this," she said. "Swenson actually received a Medal of Honor?"
"And a Purple Heart for his wounds. But that's not all," Zak said. "After I got out of him the information about being in the Marines, I asked him what the problem had been at Timber West and he just said he wouldn't work for a woman, so I dug a little more. Now get this." Zak looked askance at her. "Apparently Swenson was raised by six women--his mother, his grandmother and four older sisters. I think he's just had his fill of women telling him what to do. I also think you'd better take another look at Curt Broderick. Swenson has stuck to his story that Broderick cut the trees and I believe him."
"But that doesn't make sense," Tess said. "What would Curt have to gain by sabotaging Timber West? He's already woods boss. He can't go any higher."
"I asked Swenson that too."
"And?"
"He said he didn't know either, that all he knew was what he'd seen... Broderick cutting the trees."
"Well, I'm not saying Swenson's off the hook yet," Tess said, "but I'll keep an eye on Curt, at least see where he goes during his spare time... maybe find out who he hangs around with."
"You might ask him if he was in the service, and if so, what he did. Maybe he's our explosives expert. The job on the ridge road was done by someone who knows explosives."
"That's what Herring said," Tess replied. "Now that I think about it, Curt didn't have much to say about the whole thing. But still, there's no reason for him blowing up the road, and cutting down trees, and shooting a hole in the skidder tire. And incidentally, the tire was shot."
"Considering everything else that's happened, that doesn't surprise me," Zak said. "You know, Swenson's really not a bad guy. He's a hell of a worker. If you need a new woods boss, you might give him another chance."
"He doesn't work for women, remember? Meanwhile, I have some good news, at least I think you'll like it,[?]" Tess said. Zak eyed her with curiosity and waited. "My father's no longer objecting to us. He didn't so much as blink when I told him I'd been with you for two days." She went on to explain her father's reaction to her announcement about being in Navarre.
Zak smiled. "Well, that's one bullheaded old cuss out of the way. Now, we only have one more to go, and I think you've just about got him wrapped around your little chess finger."
"Did your mother say something to him?" Tess asked.
"She didn't have to," Zak replied. "Anyone who'll be Father's chess buddy is in. So I guess our only problem now is how to keep the two old goats from butting heads."
Tess sighed. "I don't think that's possible. My father never has a good word for yours, and I'm sure it's the same with your father."
Zak agreed. "But there's sixty miles separating them, so maybe they won't kill each other."
"But you said there was a problem. This all sounds good," Tess said.
"There is a problem, " Zak replied, "and I wish I could put it off, but I can't."
The subject was serious. Tess could see it in his eyes, and in the furrows in his brow, and the way his jaw clenched. Then he looked at her soberly, and said, "You have to stop operations near the ridge. You're logging in the primary zone of a perch tree."
Tess stared at Zak in disbelief. "You can't be serious. It's only a perch tree? An empty tree."
"It's also an alternate nest tree."
"But the nest has been empty for years," Tess said. "Besides, we don't plan to cut that tree down, or even the timber around it, only the pole timber in the area."
"It still could disturb the birds."
"How can you do this, Zak? You and I are trying to get our lives together, my father has finally accepted you... Do you have any idea what this will do?" She moved away from him and folded her arms.
"I'm sorry," Zak said, "but I can't let your father dictate how I do my job."
"Fine, but you'd better understand one thing," Tess said, her fingers drumming against her folded arms. "If my father wants to keep cutting, we'll keep cutting, and the only way you'll stop us is to have me arrested, unless, of course, you want to arrest a sick, old man." She looked directly at him. "And I thought I was naive at seventeen."
Zak's eyes narrowed. "Don't put me in this position," he warned. "No one should be arrested."
"Then don't shut down Timber West," Tess pleaded.
Zak drew in an exasperated breath. "I'm not shutting down Timber West. I'm only telling you to stop logging within six-hundred feet of the perch tree."
"That's over twenty acres," Tess said.
"You have other timber, and other areas where you can log," Zak replied.
"The pole timber's what's keeping us going right now," Tess said. "We just wiped out the last of our working capital in order to make our quarterly tax payment, and in ten days we have a loan payment due, and that's just the beginning. We owe money for skidder tires, and equipment repairs, and wages, all of which could be paid if we harvest pole timber." She paused to settle her erratic breathing.
"I know you're struggling financially, and I'm sorry about that," Zak said, "but you'll still have to stop logging near the tree."
"I'll do whatever my father decides."
Zak glared at her. "Then you might end up in jail. You know what he'll decide."
"Yes, I do," Tess said. "So I suggest you stay clear of him after today. You won't be very popular with him... again." Tess held his unwavering gaze for a long, silent moment.
When she offered nothing more, Zak stood, splayed an agitated hand in the air, and said, "Fine, have it your way. It's out of my hands. The report's already gone in." He threw the door open, sending it crashing against the wall, and walked out. Moments later, tires spun as the truck lurched forward and sped into the darkness.
Tess slammed the door and stared at it, her heart racing, blood rushing to her face. Zak's crusade was very noble, but he was carrying things too far. And the one thing she refused to do was to stop logging because of an empty nest!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tess stood on a rise at the edge of the forest, looking across the clearing to where logs were being stacked on the landing. In the distance she heard the buzz of chain saws cutting trees and the whine of the skidder hauling logs. And beneath her feet the ground vibrated with the rumble of the bulldozer. Normally, she gave the noise little thought, but for some reason, today the clatter from the machines grated on her nerves. She suspected it was a combination of lack of sleep, and Zak's angry exit from her cabin three nights before. She hadn't seen him since, and his abrupt departure hung heavy on her mind.
If they were forced to stop logging the pole timber, she didn't even want to think about her father's reaction when he learned Zak was behind it. Meanwhile, the more timber she could get down, the less she'd hear from her father when and if it came to that.
She watched Curt Broderick lower the blade of the Cat and start shoving limbs onto a burn pile. During her wakeful, restless nights, she'd pondered his reactions to the various incidents, suspicious that he might actually be the one behind it all, in spite of the fact that there seemed to be no logical reason why he should sabotage his own job. She'd also gone over in her mind what she'd say to him today, in an effort to draw him out.
But in the clear light of day, as she watched Curt operate the Cat, she questioned her reasoning. She wanted to point a finger at someone, and before reading the article in the newspaper, that person had been Swenson. Now, she realized, it was time to start asking questions, beginning with Curt. While she waited for him to finish moving limbs and brush, she saw her father's truck lurching up the rough road. When he pulled into the clearing, she noted that he was wearing his hard hat and work boots. From the pleased look on his face, and the spring in his step, she could tell he was excited about something, which he confirmed when he said, "I just got word that the price of pole timber went up again, and this stand is top grade. It might just keep us in business."
Tess forced a smile, but inside she felt the sting of Zak's ultimatum. "That's good. We should be done here in less than three weeks." She scanned his hard hat and work clothes. "I hope you aren't planning on operating any equipment," she said, "because I know you're not supposed to be doing that."
"I just came out here to see how things were going," he replied. "Any problems?"
Tess relayed to him what she'd learned from Zak about Swenson getting the Medal of Honor, then offered her reasons for suspecting Curt of sabotaging the place. "He was the first to discover the landslide, he's woods boss so he's first on the job every morning, he'd been working on the Cat the day before the steering hose broke, and he was also the first to discover the hole in the skidder tire, claiming it ran over a spike. And now we find out it's been shot with a high-powered rifle. He keeps one on a rack in his truck."
"So do lots of people," Gib said.
"But Swen
son says Curt was the only one around when one of the two trees went down that Jean-Pierre de Neuville claims was on his property. Regardless of whose property it's on, you didn't order it cut, I didn't order it cut, and neither did Mr. de Neuville."
"That may all be true," Gib said, "but the fact remains, why? Curt has no damn reason."
"That's what I hope to find out."
"Well, you'd better keep him on until we get this pole timber down," Gib said. "Without it, the whole crew might be looking for new jobs."
"That's another thing I want to talk to you about," Tess said in a tight voice, broaching the next subject with trepidation. "There's some old-growth fir among the pole timber and one of them has an eagle's nest in it, and we're not supposed to log within six-hundred feet of the tree."
"That nest has been inactive for years," Gib said.
"Yes, but the eagles are still using it for a perch tree."
"Then they'll have to find another place to perch. There's no way in hell I'll stop logging just because of an empty nest."
"What if we're ordered to stop?"
"Then send whoever does the ordering to me and you just keep logging. No one's going to order me to stop cutting my own timber because of an empty nest!"
"We do have other areas where we could log."
"We have pole timber right here that needs cutting while the price is high and I don't want to hear anymore about it." He turned and got in his truck and slammed the door. As Tess watched her father's truck pitch and buck down the road, she desperately hoped that Zak would not carry out his threat.
She looked toward the creaking bulldozer and saw it lumber to a halt. Curt jumped down to toss scattered limbs onto the pile. "Curt!" she yelled, motioning to him.
Curt walked over to where she stood, and said, as he approached, "About two and a half weeks and we should have this area cleared."
"Good," Tess said. "My father's thinking about putting it into grass and leasing it for pasture, so as soon as the timber's down, we'll need to do something about these stumps."
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