“Well, sure, why not? Uh, do I follow you, or what? Where’s you car, or truck?“ she asked, looking around.
“Oh, I walked down here. I was out lookin for some turkeys when I heard the commotion here. Shot at one, before I run across you, I mean, but missed.“
“Well, how about I give you a ride?“
“Sure thing. Let’s roll em’” he said as she unlocked the doors.
As they headed out she asked, “So, is that what you do in your spare time now, hunt? I assume you’re retired.“
“Oh, I do a little a’ this, a little a’ that. I’m the caretaker for that cemetery we just left, matter of fact. I was doing that even before I retired. Let’s see, forty years I guess, give or take. My daddy did it too, sort of a family tradition. We are, what he called, ‘The Keepers of the Souls of the Mountains.’ Say, you mind running a little out of the way, I want to grab a peach milkshake from Hardee’s. I’ll buy you something too, for yer’ trouble.”
“Not at all, I don’t mind.”
After getting his shake, and a vanilla one for her, they left for the man’s home. The drive wasn’t a very long one. His house was at the very bottom of a narrow, winding road down into what he called a “holler.”
His house was small, but impeccably kept, and there were a few chickens walking around the yard that scattered as she pulled in the driveway and parked beside his 1970-something Chevy pickup.
Killing the engine and climbing out, she saw a large, neat stack of firewood on the porch, and the sweet smell of smoke from a burning fireplace permeated the air.
“You make sure you tell Connell I’m gonna’ skin him good when I see him, don’t you forget!” he said as they walked up the front porch steps.
“Oh, well, in his defense, he didn’t know I was going there. I just wanted to put fresh flowers on Jenny’s grave.” she explained as the front door opened.
A short, gray haired woman, stooped over, appeared in the doorway. Her face brightened when she saw it was her husband, and they had company. She rested her weight on a wooden cane as she smiled and waited.
But Aisha stopped in her tracks as the largest, meanest looking Rottweiler she had even seen came lumbering up to the woman’s side, where it sat down on its haunches. Still leery of any dogs, other than Thelma and Louie of course, she took a step back.
Seeing her fear, the woman said sweetly,“Oh, honey, Diamond Jim won’t bother you, he’s jest’ as sweet as can be, unless someone tries to hurt us or something. He just heard the old man talking and came to see if he brought him his peach shake from Hardees.”
“It was for him?” she asked, turning around and laughing at Ted.
“Yep. Lay down baby, daddy’s got your shake.” he said as he pulled the lid off and set it down on the porch. The beast thumped it’s nub-tail happily against the floor and stuck his muzzle down into the cup, lapping up the creamy contents inside.
“Well old man, who you done brought home? Here I am in this raggedy old housecoat. I told the old fool when he brings people to call me on that cell phone the kids got us for Christmas.” she fussed as she took Aisha’s hand and lead her inside the house.
“ Woman, I done told you a hunnerd times that dag-blasted thing don’t work down in these hollers! CAN YA’ HEAR ME NOW? Speaking of those commercials, hell NO I can’t hear them now!” he said with an aggravated look. Turning back to Aisha he said, “ I told them not to believe them commercials, and besides, the only reason why they want me to have one is so they can call me and aggravate me all the time about coming to live with them down in Atlanta. Those city folk can keep that cesspool all for themselves, it's not for this ol’ country boy, no-sir-eee Bob! I told them kids I was born in these hills, and gonna’ die in these hills. The day the angels come calling for my old hide, I‘m gonna’ be lying in bed in the same room I was born in. No sir, ain’t gonna’ have to hunt for this old soul.”
Sarah shook her head at her husband’s ranting and waved her hands in dismissal. “Don’t pay no attention to that doddering old fool, dear. My name’s Sarah, by the way. And just who are you, young lady?”
As she was about to introduce herself Ted cut her off by looking at his wife and saying, “Now Sarah, don’t you go acting like you don’t know who she is. You know good and well who she is, you jest’ don’t know her name yet. Her name’s Aisha.“ he finished as he took her arm and lead her to an overstuffed lazy boy recliner by the fireplace.
She flinched in spite of herself as the dog trotted towards her and sniffed at her hand, the tip of his nose still sticky from the peach milkshake.
“Honey, like I said, don’t you worry about that dog, he likes you. Besides, I’m sure you don’t have any reefer in your pocket, and that alone makes you safe.” Sarah laughed as she sat down on the couch beside her husband.
“You mentioned something about that before, I think.” Aisha said hesitantly, looking at Ted.
“Oh yeah. You see, our grandson was a K9 police officer with the Sheriffs Department, worked under Sheriff Berry he did. But him and two of his childhood buddies joined the marines after that 911 tragedy, he got killed in Iraq just two days before he was to come home. Well, actually none of them made it back home alive, sad to say.” he said as he wiped a tear out of his eye. “Anyway, Diamond Jim was his police dog partner while he worked as a Deputy, so, as a show of respect to us, Sheriff Berry bent the rules a little when they retired the big fella’ and let us have him. Good man, he is, one of the best. But ol‘ Jim there” he said, pointing to the dog as it began licking the back of her hand, “ ‘bout his only problem is he likes his marijuana a bit too much.”
Unable to help it, Aisha began laughing and said, “You mean he likes marijuana, and he was a drug dog for the police?”
Sara smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Martin, he was our grandson, said he got that habit one day when they did a drug raid on a little country store not far from town. Seems these boys from Lee County thought they could mask the scent of drugs if they wrapped raw hamburger around the stuff. So when Diamond Jim alerted, I s’pose he was hungry at the time too, he tore into the stuff before anyone could stop him. Well, he got a belly full of meat, and pot too, and since then he’s been hooked.“ she laughed, remembering how frustrated her grandson would get with his dog partner.
“Yeppirs.” Ted nodded solemnly, then said, “Our Martin told us Jim likes the ‘Chronic’ best, which is what he happened to eat that first time. Later on, after we got him, we even took him to Jenny, since she was a great Vet, thought she’d be able to get him off the stuff, but they don’t have no rehab for dogs. So she kept him for a week, hoping to dry him out. He stayed off for a while, but a lot of kids, well, grown ups too, I reckon, grow pot in these hills, and he couldn’t hold out. One day he caught a whiff while we was out huntin, and he took off. Stayed gone for two weeks, getting high on that giggle weed. When he came back all he wanted to do was sleep, fart, and eat.”
Aisha threw hear head back and laughed until tears came from her eyes. The dog wagged his nub tail excitedly as she looked down and finally petted him, stroking his head. She wondered if things were always like this for normal people, with normal grandparents. If she was the granddaughter of this couple, she could sit and listen to their stories for hours on end. True, she had had a grandfather of her own, but she had reached puberty before she ever got the chance to know him. Although he was a kind man who was always good to her, he was mostly a businessman, and most of their conversations had been about her education, and business practices. He had wanted to make sure she could take care of herself once he was gone, and taught her the art of making business contacts, etc. But never any heart warming stories about dogs or cell phones. These were the things she craved and had never had as a child: Warmth, love, and humor flowing through an entire home.
“Be right back.” Ted said and excused himself.
She petted Jim some more as Sarah regaled her with tales of moon shiners, who, surprisingly, still operat
ed in the mountains, even in modern-day times.
A short time later Ted came back from the kitchen with a tray of coffee and homemade coffee cake.
Thanking him, she sat back and sipped coffee, nibbled at the cake, laughed and talked, completely losing track of the time.
*******************************************************
Connell paced the porch, worried. He and Jonus had looked every place they could think of, and Aisha was still missing. He had tried her cell phone, but only got a recording, “We’re sorry, the number cannot be completed as dialed” and figured if she was Ok, she was almost surely in a dead spot for cell phones. The mountains were full of them. He had called Carol Ann, Helen, and his mother, all to no avail. No one had seen her. Him and Jonus had driven to town after that to see if they could spot her Explorer, but met with similar failure.
“I’m sure she’s ok, probably out shopping somewhere. Maybe I should call Magic Mart, I know she likes to going there.” Jonus said as he watched Connell pace back and forth anxiously.
“Daddy, where’s Aisha? She said she would let me make a pizza tonight.” Abby asked as she stepped out the kitchen door and onto the porch.
“Tell you what, why don’t I help you with the pizza.” Jonus said, then picked the girl up and took her into the kitchen.
“What if Leroy and Billy…” Connell muttered, not liking the direction his train of though was headed.
Hearing a vehicle approaching, he looked up to see Ben’s Chevy pickup pull in the driveway and stop. He and Helen both got out and approached him with worried looks on their faces.
“Ben, thank God you’re here. I can’t wait another minute, I’m going out to look for her again.” he said.
“Alright, I’ll help, we can split up. Helen, call the Sheriff, we’ve waited long enough. Tell him this is not like her at all, see if he can spare a deputy or two to help us search.” Ben said.
“Oh, well, speak of the devil.” Helen said, then pointed.
They turned and looked as another vehicle approached from a distance, mint-green in color. Aisha’s Explorer.
Pulling up and parking beside Ben’s truck, she got out and waved to everyone happily, looking as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Relieved that she was Ok, but angry at her at the same time for not calling, Connell yelled, “Where in the hell have you been? I’ve tried calling you a hundred times! And even if your cell phone wasn’t working, they do still have payphones here and there still, in case you haven’t noticed! You could at least let a person know where you’re at!“
Reaching in the back seat, she grabbed what looked like a Tupperware cake container, closed the door with her foot, then turned to face him, her smile vanishing.
“WELL?“ he said.
“Oh shit, here we go again.“ Ben muttered, then turned around, looked up at the stars, and began whistling softly.
“I was jess out, massa! I shore-lee is sorry I didn’t call! Sorry I forgot I need yore permission to leaves! Now why didn’t my po’, igno-runt self think to call!” she mocked, making him even angrier. Setting the cake on the hood of Ben’s truck, she stood there tapping her chin with her fingers as if contemplating her answer. Snapping her fingers, she stalked up to him, stood on her toes, and wiggled her fingers in front of his face. “I know why! Oh my goodness, look at this! There’s no ring on this finger, is there? I’m single! I’m also a GROWN WOMAN, free, and I can go where I please, whenever I please, however much I please!“
Turning, she snatched the cake off the hood of the truck, then thrust it into his arms.
“What…?"
“Here! Ms. Sarah wanted me to give this to you, special. And if you MUST know where I was, I was at their place, spending time with them! And you think you have a right to be angry? Well let me remind you, Mister Get Your Panties In A Wad Over Nothing, seems you conveniently forgot to tell me you went to a certain bar not long ago and beat up two men! Over me!“
“Ohhhhh shit.“ Ben muttered. He glanced quickly at Helen, who was now giving him the old hairy eyeball, looked away quickly, and whistled a little louder.
Jonus, who had just peeked outside, slunk back into the kitchen quietly.
“That’s right, Mister Man! I happened to “meet” them today, and Mr. Teddy had to run them off.” she said furiously.
“What do you mean, Mr Teddy had to run them off?“ Connell asked incredulously. “I thought I made myself clear to them!” His face suddenly took on a grim look that calmed her down instantly..
Biting her lip, she thought, Oops, me and my big mouth!
“Well, what happened?“ he asked again, his voice quiet but deadly.
“I….I was at the cemetery, to put flowers on Jen….her grave..and…“ she stammered, trying to think of a good lie. She didn‘t want him to go and do something stupid that everyone would regret. “Mr..Mr… Teddy, he saw them drinking out there… and knew about the fight ..so he told them to leave. That’s all.” Lord, don’t strike me down for this lie, but I don’t want my man to go and kill somebody…she thought miserably.
Connell’s eyes narrowed to slits. “They didn’t say anything to you? They said something to you, touched you, didn’t they? Don’t lie to me!”
The silence was like a vacuum, and even Ben had stopped whistling.
“ANSWER ME, GODDAMMIT!” his voice boomed, making everyone jump nearly three feet into the air.
So this is what everybody was talking about, when it comes to his protective nature. Crap! Think, girl! She knew she had to do something, and fast. Going up to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him her big, innocent, doe-eyed look that she knew always melted him. “No, they never touched a hair on my head“ she said, which was technically not a lie. “And I’m sorry I worried you. I got to talking with Mr. Teddy and Ms Sara, they were telling me stories about when you were little and your father would bring you over to visit them. They told me how sweet you were, and how well behaved you were, too.” she cooed as she reached up and stroked his hair, letting her nails scrape his scalp lightly. It always drove him crazy. “ I just loved hearing stories about you and Ben, and lost track of the time. Sorry.“ Standing on tip toe even higher, she pulled his head down and whispered, “I’ll make it up to you later tonight, I promise.” then nibbled his earlobe.
Nodding meekly, he handed the cake back to her, then turned and walked off, asking Ben if he would help him lock up.
Ben followed and winked at her, knowing that she had just played his friend.
Going to the porch, she glanced at a stunned Helen.
“Well, I’ll be damned! The great Connell The Lion has been tamed. You had him eating out your hand, can you teach me how to do that?” her friend said.
She giggled as they stepped inside the house.
***************************************
“Well, do you believe her, that they didn’t bother her?” Ben asked as they saw the women disappear into the kitchen.
Nodding his head in the negative, Connell smiled, and his eyes took on a wicked gleam. He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed a number while his friend waited in silence.
“Hello, Sheriff? Hey, Dave, it’s Connell. Look, Dave, you remember when you told me in private, the night of Aisha’s birthday party, that you would be glad to help me take care of my problem with those Harrington boys? Well, seems they were up at the cemetery today, while she was there also. Mr. Teddy ran them off, he happened to come along, thank God. But there‘s something she‘s not telling me, I just know those two fuckwads were trying to do something to her.” He fell silent and stood listening for a few moments, nodding his head occasionally. Finally he laughed and said, “Ok Dave, thanks!” He flipped the phone shut and put it in his pocket.
Been stood patiently as he watched his friend, knowing the gears were turning inside the man's head.
“She wasn’t fooling me…“ he said as he finally looked at Ben. “I don’t know wha
t happened, but I’m gonna’ find out, believe you me!“ Chuckling, he said, “She thought she would cool my jets by promising to lay some loving on me later. Well, I AM looking forward to that, but nothing is going to stop me from going after anyone who thinks they can fuck with my family. So, I played along. After all, I didn’t want to disappoint her.”
Ben laughed. He didn’t know what the good Sheriff and his friend had up their sleeves, but he knew it wouldn’t be good for Leroy and Billy. He knew Connell would fill him in when he was ready. And already he couldn’t wait to get in their truck and tell Helen the juicy bit about the make-up sex.
*************************************************
“Dang it, why did you let that nosy old fool stop you? She was right there, and WITHOUT all her diddy-bop buddies, for crying out loud!!” Patty complained as she slapped Billy’s grubby hands off her breasts and tried to pull her bra up and button her low cut blouse. After all, she had promised to only give up the goods if they put a hurting on the woman, the one who was standing between her and the man she wanted.
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