by A. American
Mike yawned. “Don’t have to ask me twice.”
• • •
Jamie pulled her bag up tighter around her. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn’t.
“Hey, Perez, you think the guys started that fire?” she asked.
Perez was lying behind the SAW, giving his eyes a break from the NVGs. He hated wearing the things—they always gave him a headache. He sighed. He was looking forward to Jamie going to sleep. When she was awake, she yammered on incessantly, and that wasn’t helping his headache any.
Perez sighed, “I doubt it. The object is to not be seen, not go starting a damn inferno. Besides, there wasn’t any shooting. If they were involved, I’m sure we would’ve known.”
Jamie thought for a minute, then closed her eyes. If it wasn’t for Perez, she would have run over there to back them up, but he made her stay. Oh well, maybe tomorrow we’ll find out, she thought to herself.
Perez was thankful for the silence. He listened to the breeze as it sighed through the trees above. Periodically, he would hold the NVG up to an eye and scan the area. He liked it out here, no one around—well, almost no one. Of all the things he missed, it was his solitude. He lived alone and liked it that way. During the day he drove his truck, a terminal freight, around town. Even with this he didn’t have to talk to too many people, just back up and get loaded or unloaded, then back on the road.
Perez was twisting a strip of palmetto frond around his finger when he heard something. He paused and waited to see if he’d hear it again. Again, he heard it. He quietly picked up the NVG and peered through. About five yards out, at his eleven o’clock, a skunk was nosing around the scrub. Perez’s eyes went wide. That thing better not come over here, he thought. He watched as the rodent searched for its dinner, the white stripe running down its back glowing in the goggles. After a while the animal wandered off, leaving Perez with his thoughts and, finally, some quiet.
Chapter 11
It was getting late in the day and the sun was beginning to wane. We started smoking the gator we weren’t going to use for tonight’s meal, knowing it would probably take a couple of days to finish it. Danny, Jeff, and I were cutting the rest of the meat into strips while Thad tended the smoker. Taylor and Little Bit were sitting around the fire. It was then I heard the first buzz, that high-pitched annoyance that can only mean one thing: mosquitoes.
“Well, it had to happen eventually,” I said.
Danny looked up. “What?”
“You heard any skeeters yet?”
“No, you?”
“Just did, first one.”
“What are we going to do about them?” Jeff asked. “Out here, they’ll probably carry you away.”
“Oh yeah, in the summer, they can be a bitch,” Danny said.
Jeff stopped cutting. “Damn! First bite of the season! Man, I would give my left nut for a can of Off.”
“There’s a couple of natural remedies, not as great as Off, but better than nothing,” I said.
“What’s better than nothing?” Thad asked as he came for more meat.
“A cure for the skeeters,” Jeff said.
Thad looked around. “Yeah, it’s ’bout that time of year. What kind of ideas you got, Morg?”
“We need to get some myrtle berries and leaves, boil them up, and use the extract. It’s a technique the Seminoles used.”
“Nice. I think we should build a cover over the table too. The rainy season’s gonna start soon,” Thad said.
I nodded. “Excellent plan, my brotha.”
Jeff smirked. “Well, aren’t you two just the nature nuts.”
Mel came out of the cabin with some bags for the dried meat. “Hey, hon. Where’s Lee Ann been? I haven’t seen her all day,” I said.
“She’s lying in her bed,” she said, nodding toward the cabin.
I looked back at the cabin. “Is she feeling okay?”
“She’s on her period. She was complaining earlier.”
“Is that all it is? She seemed a little off this morning.”
“She’s been acting a little weird lately,” Mel said as she tucked dry gator into a bag.
“Weird in what way?”
“Have you talked to her much recently? She’s been awfully mopey.”
I thought about it for a minute. “I guess I haven’t, not much anyway, not since the whole thing with Ashley went down. I’ll go talk to her later. The girls wanted to go for a walk the other day. Maybe I’ll just ask her to go.”
Mel smiled. “That’d be a good idea.” She took the bags of meat and headed back for the cabin.
“Kids, what can you do?” Thad said.
“No, Thad. Girls. Whole different universe,” I replied, causing Thad to laugh.
“Better you than me,” Danny said.
“Shit, those girls are as much yours as they are mine. Little Bit already calls you her other daddy.” I turned to where she was sitting by the fire. “Isn’t that right?”
She was poking at the fire with a stick and looked up. “What?”
“Isn’t Danny your other daddy?”
She sat back in her chair and smiled. “Yep, I got two daddies!”
I looked back at him and smiled. “Ha, by the way, you owe me about four years’ worth of raising our kid.”
Thad laughed, slapping the table. Danny laughed too. “More like three, maybe two, as much time as she spends at my house.”
“Okay, you got me there.”
“You guys ready for some of this for dinner?” Thad asked, holding up a piece of the tail.
He was met with a chorus of Hell yeahs! Thad smiled and took the meat to the smoker. With it, we were going to have a pot of watercress. Mel and Bobbie were going to take care of the veggies. They had gotten pretty good at steaming the tender leaves on the fire.
“Hey, Danny, you want to come give me a hand real quick?” I asked.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“We need to set up a warning system out by the pigs. Someone’s been sniffing around over there.”
Danny’s head snapped around. “Who? What?”
“Thad saw some tracks over there. I’ve got a little something to give us notice if they come back.”
“Hold on. Tracks, like people tracks?” Jeff asked.
As I started toward the pigpen, I looked back over my shoulder. “Yeah.”
Danny and Jeff both caught up quickly. At the pen I showed them the tracks, which were faded now. I took out the kit I had and explained what it did.
“That’s not going to do much,” Jeff replied with a frown.
“No, but whoever is keeping watch will see it, plus whoever trips it will know that we’re watching and probably haul ass,” I replied.
It was nearly dark when we set the flare up and ran the wire. The trigger for the simulator was a spring held under tension. If the wire was tripped, the spring would release, pulling the igniter and lighting the flare.
“We need to pay special attention to this area,” Danny said. “Some fucker thinks he’s going to come in here and steal our hogs.” His voice grew increasingly irate. “I’ll kill his ass. I’m taking the first watch tonight.”
“Calm down, man, we don’t know if they were after the hogs. We don’t know what they were after.”
“That’s what I’m worried about—they may see the pigs as a bonus,” Jeff said.
“We need to make sure the girls know someone is poking around,” Danny said. I nodded my agreement.
Later, as we ate the delicious gator dinner that Thad had prepared, I cleared my throat.
“All right, everyone. We noticed some tracks down by the pigpens. We need to be cautious and watch out for any possible intruders,” I said.
I went on to stress that everyone needed to keep their weapons handy, just in case. Of everyone, it was Little Bit that was the
most bothered by the news. She was scared the hermit was coming back to get her, she told me, burying her face in Mel’s side.
“He’s not coming back, baby,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
Without telling why I was so sure, I replied, “Positive, he’s never coming back.”
“Don’t worry, Ashley. We’ll protect you,” Taylor said. I smiled at her—I was happy she was being a good big sister.
Her other sister, though, kept silent during this whole exchange. Lee Ann was picking at her plate and didn’t even look up during the discussion. I imagined that dealing with her period under the current circumstances wasn’t pleasant, and I hoped that was all that was wrong, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Dad, can I stand watch too?” Taylor asked.
I didn’t answer right away, as there was a lot to consider in response to her question. She had a weapon and knew how to use it, but the biggest question was if the time came, could she shoot, and would she do it fast enough.
Before I could answer, Danny looked up from his plate. “If it’s okay with your mom and dad, you can hang out with me tonight when I’m on watch. I can show you what to do.”
She looked over at me and Mel. “Please?” she asked, drawing out the word.
I glanced at Mel, who said, “As long as Danny’s there, then yes.” Taylor smiled and went back to eating. I looked at Danny with a grin, he nodded his head slightly and returned to his dinner as well.
“Thad, this lizard is good,” Jeff said.
“Thanks! Did what I could with it. A little salt and pepper go a long way. Wish the old man was here: he’d love this.”
“Yeah, he’d been aching to shoot one,” I said with a smile.
Chewing a bite of the watercress, I looked at Mel. “What’d you guys do to this? It’s good too, even better than the last time.”
“We spiced it up a bit, added some garlic and butter powder,” Bobbie replied.
“It’s damn good,” Thad added, and pointed across the table at Little Bit. “Even she likes it.”
Little Bit scrunched her nose. “It’s okay.”
I laughed. “Yeah, she’s just hungry.”
“I hear you guys are going to build something over these tables,” Bobbie said.
“Yeah, we’re going to use some of the river cane and build a canopy,” Thad said.
Mel looked up, her eyes bright. “Oh, like a tiki hut? I’ve always wanted a tiki hut.”
Thad laughed. “Somehow I don’t think whatever we come up with will look much like a tiki hut.”
“Sure it will. If you make it from that bamboo-type stuff, with a thatched roof, it will look just like one.”
“We aren’t going to be thatching the roof. We’re going to use plastic sheeting. Sorry, ladies,” Danny said.
“That’s going to be ugly as sin,” Bobbie said.
“I think you should use palmettos or something and make it look like a tiki hut,” Mel added.
Danny, Thad, and I were laughing. “This isn’t a design contest, it’s just to provide some shelter over the tables. With the weather warming up, it’s going to start raining a lot soon, and we need somewhere to get out of it besides the cabins,” I said.
Mel looked at Bobbie. “Don’t worry, they’ll thatch it.” Bobbie nodded her agreement, leaving us menfolk to stare at one another. Jeff was the only one laughing now.
“Lee Ann, can you and Taylor clean up the dinner dishes?” Mel asked.
Lee Ann leaned forward. “Mom, I don’t feel good. I want to go to bed.”
Mel looked at her closely. “Lee Ann, you just came from bed. Are you sure you’re okay? Is it just cramps or . . .” She trailed off.
Lee Ann replied with an edge in her voice that I had never heard before. “Jeez, Mom, I’m fine. I just don’t feel good, that’s all.”
Mel opened her mouth to say something, but Jeff interrupted.
“Don’t worry, Mel, I’ll help,” Jeff said as he stood up and started collecting plates.
“Can I go, please?” Lee Ann asked.
“All right. Go to bed. But I don’t like that attitude you just gave me.”
Lee Ann walked away toward the cabin, shoulders slumped. “Whatever,” she muttered.
“I heard that! Lee Ann Carter, you don’t whatever your mother!” Mel yelled after her.
“I’m SORRY,” Lee Ann yelled back, slamming the door to the cabin.
Taylor and Jeff looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
“Mel, I’m worried about her,” I said.
“She has been acting strange,” Bobbie said.
“I just don’t know what to do. She won’t get out of bed, now she’s giving me attitude,” Mel said. “I don’t think it’s just her period.”
I nodded, but couldn’t think of any solution. “Maybe she just needs some alone time. We’re all in close quarters,” I offered.
“I guess,” Mel said, not looking convinced.
Taylor walked back up with Jeff, so we stopped our conversation. I didn’t want her to hear us talking about her sister.
She slung her MP5 and sat on the table. It was obvious she was excited to be standing watch. I just hoped she was ready for it. Danny came over and took a seat by the fire, laying his carbine across his lap.
“All right, Ashley, time for bed,” Mel said.
“Ah, come on, Mom! I want to sit by the fire for a while.”
Mel pointed toward the cabin. “Nope, time for bed, let’s go.”
Little Bit put on her best pout. I nodded toward the cabin. Very reluctantly, she walked over to me, falling face-first into my lap. I gave her a hug and told her good night. She mumbled a muffled good night into my lap and stood up.
“Good night, Little Bit,” Danny said.
She went over and hugged him around the shoulders. “Good night, Danny.”
With shoulders slumped, a very sad Ashley trudged up toward the cabin.
“She’s such a little character,” Danny said with a smile.
“Yeah, she’s the littlest of the prettiest,” I said.
Taylor’s head popped up. “Hey!”
I laughed. “I said the littlest of the prettiest. You’re the biggest of the prettiest, and Lee Ann is the middlest of the prettiest. See how that works?”
She smiled. “Oh, now I see. You’re funny, Dad. Hey, Danny, when are we going to start our watch?”
Danny let out a loud burp. “We already have.”
Thad came from behind Danny with some wood for the fire. “That was a nice one.”
Danny smiled. “Thanks.”
“What do you mean we’ve already started? I thought we would go hide or something.”
Thad tossed a piece of wood onto the fire, causing a shower of red sparks to rise up into the air.
“Nope, this is pretty much it. We just sit around and keep an eye on things.”
It was clear that standing watch didn’t seem so much fun to her anymore. “Oh,” was all she replied.
Jeff reappeared with his AK in hand and took a seat by the fire as well.
“Man, I wish we had some coffee,” Jeff said as he plopped down.
“Me too, I’d kill for a cup right now,” Thad said.
Suddenly, I had an idea. “Danny, you still got all that stuff you used to steal from hotels?”
Danny stared into the fire for a moment. “Ha! I forgot all about that. I think I do,” he said, hopping up.
“Never pegged Danny as a thief. What sort of stuff did you steal from hotels?” Jeff asked.
“You know, the coffee, the tea bags, the stuff they leave out for you.”
Thad’s head snapped up. “You think he’s actually got some coffee?”
“I’ll bet on it. I just can’t believe I didn’t remember he had it till no
w.”
Danny came back carrying two-gallon Ziploc bags, stuffed full. He opened one and dumped its contents onto the table. Packs of coffee, sugar, and creamer spilled across the table. Thad smiled and jumped up, grabbing a pot and filling it from the bucket filter at the end of the table.
Danny was picking through the pile. “Here you go, boys.”
Taylor cleared her throat.
“Sorry, boys and girl. Man! I can’t believe I’d forgotten all about this stuff,” he said as he sorted the items into piles. When he finished sorting, he counted out twelve packs of coffee.
Jeff stood over the loot, rubbing his hands together. “Ooh, we’re gonna make some coffee.”
“Let me see three or four of them bags,” Thad said, a giant smile on his face. Danny tossed them over.
“Thad, I haven’t seen you this happy in a long while,” I said.
“Well, Morg, it’s been a long while since I had a decent cup of coffee. I figured we were out forever.”
“I want some too,” Taylor said.
“You’ll get the first cup,” Thad said.
Mel and Bobbie walked back out. “Get her to sleep?” I asked.
“Yeah, only took two stories, and some groaning from Lee Ann. What are you guys doing?” Mel said.
“Makin’ coffee!” Jeff said excitedly.
“Oh nice! I want some too,” Mel said.
“You can have mine,” Bobbie said.
“What? You don’t like coffee, Bobbie?” Thad asked.
“Nope, never have. Now, if we had some beers . . . that’d be a different story.” We all laughed.
The coffee began to bubble and Thad pulled it off the fire and set it on the table. Cups were quickly produced and sugar and creamer packs were passed out to those that wanted it.
“Oh my God, that’s good,” Jeff said as he stretched out in his chair and rocked his head back.
“Yeah, after going awhile without it, it’s really nice,” Thad said, holding the cup between his hands.
I was sipping on my own cup and started to giggle. “Ain’t none of us going to be able to sleep tonight.”
Bobbie laughed. “That’s why I don’t drink the stuff.”
“Yeah, guess it was a bad idea to drink it right before bedtime,” Jeff said.