Charlie stood straight with a twinkle in his eye, “You going to be nice to me?”
Ceara huffed but smiled a coy smile, “You have to sleep some time Charlie, don’t ever forget that.”
Ceara led the way out of the barn laughing, Charlie caught up to her just as Beth stepped out on the back porch, “Lunch is ready if you guys can let everyone know please….”
Charlie swatted Ceara on the tail and took off calling over his shoulder, “I’ll get them; you go ahead and go in.”
Lunch was quiet as everyone just relaxed, when the food was all gone and cleaned up Charlie took Ceara by the hand, “Ok guys, we have watch so we are going to get some shut eye.”
Alden and Heath had already headed outside but Colt, Beth and Tabitha agreed to wake them up in time for their watch.
Charlie stripped down to his boxers and headed for the bathroom, “I’m not about to crawl in the bed this dirty, you might kick me right back out.”
Ceara nodded, “I was about to do the same thing, but you go ahead and I’ll get one as soon as you are done.”
Alden and Heath walked back to the fence. Alden grabbed the bag of nails, wire and hammer. Driving a nail in with two hits he bent it up quickly. Heath looked at him, “How the hell did you do that so quick?”
Alden smiled, “practice… in a few days I’ll take a ride with you and show you how big this place really is.”
Heath laid the log on the rail and they moved to the next post. He watched Alden as he seemed to work methodically with the hammer and wire. It took him just second to hammer and tie off each log.
Both men stood as they heard a motor coming towards them. It was Colt on a camo colored four-wheeler, hauling a large trailer filled with logs. Colt waved as he stopped. “Damn you guys have hauled ass.”
Alden walked over and grinned, “Yep and now it’s your turn.” He turned to Heath, “You saw how I did it so you take over the hammer and nails and let Cowboy Colt handle the rails. I’m going to take the four-wheeler and lay out the rest of these logs.”
A half hour later Alden passed them heading back to the barn. Heath looked at Colt, “I swear that man never stops.”
Colt looked towards Alden then back to Heath, “I think he does it to keep his mind off of what his country has become.”
The two men kept at it for another hour when they saw Alden once again coming towards them on the four-wheeler. He seemed to be carrying some more wire and was stopping at each rail wrapping it around and then moved on. When he caught up with them he wrapped the wire around the top. Colt started to stand and reached for the top rail to pull himself up.
Heath started to call out, “COLT NO!!!”
It was too late Colt’s hand hit the wire Alden had just wrapped and jumped back screaming more in surprise than pain. “WHAT THE HELL. THAT’S SHIT HURT!!!”
Alden was laughing, “Well yeah it is. It’s wired to a battery back at the barn it’ll help keep the horse away from the rails.”
Colt looked at Alden, “And just how the hell do you do it without getting bit?”
Alden held up his hands to show he had on a pair of black rubber gloves, “Cause I’m not touching it with bare hands.”
Heath was laughing hard as Colt turned to him, “How the hell did you know?”
Heath smiled, “I saw the wire and knew that horse fences were commonly hotwired and when I saw him wrap the last wire I saw the gloves and knew I was right.”
Colt blew on his fingers. Alden took a look at them, “You’re good, it won’t scar.”
He turned and got on the four-wheeler. Starting it up he looked at them, “You guys got about another hour or so of daylight I’d lay a few more rails, then head on back. I’ll pick you up on the way.”
Colt and Heath laid eighty more feet of fence then turned to head back. It was then they realized they couldn’t even see the barn anymore. Colt looked to Heath, “How far out are we?’
“I don’t know but I would say at least a couple of miles. The two started to walk and were picked up by Alden a half hour later. The two climbed on the small trailer. Neither had realized until then how tired they really were.
The drone of the motor and both of them sitting side by side they soon had dozed off. Alden pulled up to the house, and Beth and Tabitha were standing on the porch. They looked to the trailer and saw the two men lying motionless in the back. Alden climbed off and headed up the steps stopping and smiling, “They’re all yours ladies.”
Beth smiled at how the men looked; both fast asleep. It had been a very long time since she had seen any of them sleeping as soundly as they were. “Tabitha, why don’t you go in and see about fixing them up some plates of whatever you can find in there, and I will try getting them inside.”
Tabitha looked at Beth, “Are you’re going to get those big boys in and be a den mother?” Beth turned and shot her a look, “Well I can go inside if you want, and leave it to you…. Your call doll?” she asked, and then gave her a wink.
Tabitha turned and walked inside, “No way, you already spoke up so this is all yours, I will be right back.”
Beth looked over to Alden, “So how’d it go out there?”
Alden walked to the back of the trailer and smirked, “They will all sleep sound and wake up sore tomorrow and not in a good way. We did a hell of a job out there, and within a few more days I’d say we will have this area secured pretty good.”
Alden began banging the side of the metal trailer the sound made the men move. Colt sat up startled, “Everything ok?”
Heath looked startled, “What’s up boss?”
Alden smiled, “You all need to get your smelly asses out of there and go get cleaned up. You all did a damn fine job and now we all need to rest for the night.”
Just then Tonto and Maximus came running outside and went right up beside Alden. Maximus jumped up in the trailer and began nuzzling the men and his tail was wagging wildly with excitement. Colt and Heath both laughed and got out of the cab with both of them holding their sides.
Beth held onto Colt and just as she made her way up to the steps Tabitha walked back and quickly grabbed Heath then followed Beth and Colt into the house. “Tabitha I suggest you get Heath ready for a shower then I will get Colt out of his clothes cause the last thing we want is those dirty clothes on our furniture.”
Colt looked over to Beth, “You just want to get me naked huh?”
Both men looked at each other wondering why the women were acting like they couldn’t walk by themselves. Heath smiled and winked at Colt, “Damn Tabitha, I ain’t never been so sore.” Suddenly Heath had a limp.
Beth walked into the bedroom and guided Colt with her then parked him in front of the bed. “No, I’m not just trying to get you naked, goofy. Now strip and when Heath is out of the shower you can take yours. In the meantime, I will get you some of my homemade sweet tea if that is ok with you?”
Meanwhile Tabitha led Heath into the bedroom, “You stand right there just a minute.”
She went into the bathroom, retrieved a towel and came back then placed in on the bed. “You may sit now.”
Heath laughed, “Oh well thank you for giving me your permission.”
Tabitha got down on her knees and helped him get his boots off. “You get your shower and then Colt can get his, but try to remember not to use all of the hot water, because Colt needs some too.”
Heath stood up and unzipped his pants, “Well darling, we aren’t women and it doesn’t take us an hour to take a shower.”
Tabitha stood and put her hands on her hips, “Well you don’t have long hair so you don’t have to worry now do you?”
Slipping off his jeans Tabitha began to blush and she quickly turned to leave. Heath spoke right up and didn’t want to pass up this opportunity, “What no come back for that?? What’s wrong Tab?”
Tabitha stopped after she got out of the door and turned, “Tab?! And just where did that one come from? Feeling a bit cocky tonight?”
H
eath turned and with a huge smile questioned, “Cocky?? What on earth are you referring to?”
Tabitha quickly noticed that he now only had on his boxer shorts and turned back to head out to the kitchen, “My name is Tabitha”, she giggled.
Heath stepped into the shower. Letting the hot water pour down his body he could feel his muscles start to relax. As he washed himself, he thought back over the past weeks and even months. He realized he had not done this kind of work in a long time. Finishing up he stepped out and dried himself off and went back to the bedroom. There on the bed was a fresh clean pair of jeans, socks, tee shirt and boxers. Dressed he walked out and headed to the kitchen where he could hear voices. Walking past Colt’s room he called out, “It’s all yours buddy, and damn does it feel good.”
Sitting around the table were Beth and Alden. Alden had taken a chair with his back to the wall so he could look out the sliding glass window. Tabitha was sitting on the kitchen counter, her legs crossed. She smiled and jumped down turning quickly and got Heath a cup of coffee.
“You grab a chair Heath and here you go. As soon as Colt’s done, we’ll eat.”
Heath took a sip then looked at them. “What the hell??! Did someone fry chicken?” Beth giggled, “No silly, it’s fried rattler.”
Tabitha jumped back up on the counter and in her best southern voice giggled, “AND I HELPED!”
Heath rose and walked over to the stove lifting the lid on a cast iron skillet he reached in and picked out a small chunk of meat popping it in his mouth. “Damn that’s good.”
Alden chuckled, “Well thank God he didn’t ask for honey dipping sauce like you two did.”
Sitting back down and Heath smiled, “You two did not ask that? I mean what the hell you think this is…. Wendy’s.”
They all started to laugh as Colt walked in, a towel was draped over his shoulders as he used an end to dry his hair, “Damn, I need a haircut.”
Beth laughed, “You all do!”
Colt glanced to the stove, “What smells so good?” He lifted the lid and snagged a piece, popping it in his mouth, just as Heath let him know what he was eating. Colt stopped chewing and looked at all of them to see if they were joking, he finished chewing and swallowed. “I seriously just ate snake?”
Alden nodded, “Not just snake but the best tasting snake, not to mention that meat was going for thirty dollars a pound last time I checked.”
Colt licked his fingers, “Well, I have to admit… it was pretty tasty. Needs ranch though.”
All the others started laughing, but Colt looked confused, “What?”
Ceara rolled over waking Charlie up, “Damn, I was sleeping good.. is it time to get up?”
Ceara grabbed her wrist watch, “Close enough but I smell food and I am starving!” She swatted him on the rear, “Come on, get up!”
Charlie grabbed her back down pinning her to the bed, “You are getting pretty brave lately!”
Ceara pushed him off to the side, “You don’t scare me!” She leaned over giving him a quick kiss, “Come on, get up…”
Charlie pushed himself up, “Fine… shit I’m sore!” he mumbled.
After getting dress they both joined the rest in the kitchen.
Charlie sat down as Ceara grabbed some plates and placed the fried meat on them. She turned smiling, “Look Charlie, they fixed chicken nuggets.”
She popped one in her mouth. Charlie reached down on the table and picked up a large rattle that had been removed from one of the snakes and shook it lightly. It rattled loudly and Ceara stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth no longer chewing, she frowned as Charlie reached out and took the plates from her.
Charlie looked at her and in a calm voice, “Sweetie you ate half of it and thought it was great why not finish it.” She swallowed slowly and scrunched up her nose then grabbed a glass of water.
“Why didn’t you all tell me that was snake?”
Alden smiled at her, “Cupcake you never asked?”
The whole group laughed as she refilled the glass and took another big swallow. Charlie on the other hand was sitting there popping the little nuggets in his mouth one after another. “Damn these are good. Why didn’t they sell these back when things were normal?”
Heath poured a cup of coffee and took a sip. Using his best English accent and smiling, “Because Charles, those bite size morsels were thirty dollars a pound back then.”
Charlie popped another one in his mouth, “You don’t say? Well now I do feel privileged.”
Ceara looked at Charlie then went to the cabinet and grabbed a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter. “I’ll just have a few of these, thank you very much.”
Charlie finished eating and poured a cup of coffee then made a fresh pot. He walked to the bedroom and came back with two jackets and two sweatshirts. “It gets cold out here at night so we’ll need these.”
Alden got up, “No Charlie you won’t need those. This house is well built and with winter coming on we might as well stay warm and comfortable during watch.” He walked to the window and reached for a cord. “You just pull this rope on each window and it will lower a wooden shutter over the window.”
The shutter came down slowly. Alden pointed to a cross cut in the shutter. “I was waiting to see if any you of you would’ve noticed this but I guess not. This is not a religious symbol. These are carved in every window they’re for the gun barrel. You can aim left or right to a point and up and down. Larry loved the old west and wanted his house to be as close to original as he could. You see these in a lot of the old movies and tintype pictures. Everyone thought they were for Jesus…. Nope, these were to save you from meeting him prematurely.”
He sat back down. “All you cupcakes have to do is stay awake and check on things if you hear any noises and keep the fireplace fed to keep the rooms warm.”
Beth walked in drying her hands on a cup towel closely followed by Colt. He was rubbing both his neck and back. “Beth…ummmm… do you think maybe I could get a back rub?”
Beth glanced back at him, “Maybe, we will see if you are good tonight.”
Colt got a mock hurt look, “When am I not good?”
Beth raised an eyebrow, “Do you need a list? Top of the list was getting yourself shot”
Ceara chimed in, “You got my dog shot!”
Colt gave her a look, “No one yanked your chain, damn it, ain’t like I did any of that on purpose!”
Charlie started laughing, “Calm down killer, she was just kidding.” He glanced over at Ceara, “You were weren’t you?”
Ceara gave a little head nod, “Yeah, kind of.”
Charlie looked back to Colt, “See she was playing. You guys get to bed and we see you in the morning.”
Colt led the way still not sure if either of the women were joking or not. He stood by the door as Beth followed him in, he silently closed it. Beth went about getting ready for bed but Colt started looking around their room. In the couple of weeks they had been there and this room had really become theirs. The large queen bed was a rustic four post oak that which was also Colt’s hat rack. Beth had found a handmade patchwork quilt that gave the whole room the feeling of family.
In the corner, set an overstuffed hunter green chair that moonlighted as a clothes rack. A large inlaid window held a window seat. Colt went to the dresser pulling off his watch and emptying his pocket, he glanced in the mirror to see Beth smiling at him, “What?”
She had already gotten in bed, “Quit sulking and come to bed, we really were playing, you know?”
He made his way to the bed; he slid out of his jeans and sat on the side of the bed. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure. Well I thought you were, but then Ceara said what she did, and then I wasn’t sure.” He looked over his shoulder at her, “You know I don’t screw things up on purpose don’t you?”
Beth pulled him back into bed, “For heaven’s sake of course I know that, and what’s more you haven’t messed up as much as you seem to think. Now do you want that b
ack rub or not?”
Colt smiled, gave a quick kiss and rolled over, “YES MA’AM!”
Heath looked at Alden, “You think we could use the generator to watch some movies?”
Alden grinned, “Sure why not. Go pick something out and I’ll get it all setup.”
Heath got up and walked over to the wall of tapes and DVDs. Tabitha joined him as they went through the variety. Tabitha pulled out a copy of Day of The Dead. Heath just shook his head, “No, I think we can do without that one for the rest of our lives.”
He then picked out a copy of Band of Brothers. Tabitha did the head shake this time.
Heath reached up and smiled as he pulled a colorful DVD off the shelf. He showed it to Tabitha as he pointed back to Alden, “It even has someone he can relate too.” Tabitha giggled as they walked back to the TV.
Heath sat on the couch, while Alden had taken a seat in a large brown leather recliner. Tabitha sat next to Heath and picked up the remote off the table and looked at Alden, “Does this control it all?” Alden smiled, “Yeah, Larry was a Sony man through and through.”
The TV came on and the screen color was great. The look on all of their faces was actually funny. It had been a long time since any of them had even heard a radio let alone watched a TV.
Charlie and Ceara joined the group, sitting on a loveseat next to the couch. A small oak table separated it from the couch. Tabitha leaned over and whispered to Ceara, “Watch Alden’s eyes we want to see how he reacts to this.”
The movie suddenly came on, it was cartoon of wild animals. Ceara was like a little kid when she realized what it was…. ‘“MADAGASCAR!!! I LOVE THIS MOVIE.”
Charlie looked at her surprised, then at Heath, “What the hell is Madagascar?!”
Even Alden looked surprised, “Charlie, you mean to tell us you’ve never heard of this movie either. Hell, even I like it.”
Everyone in the room turned and looked directly at Alden and in unison spoke one word
“REALLY?!”
Tabitha sat on the couch indian style, “Oh my flipping God!!!! The one and only ALDEN likes Madagascar!!!! Seriously?!?”
Alden sat back and looked over to Tabitha, “I bet you thought I only like Rambo & Arnold?”
Surviving Day By Day (Book 2): Fears, Flames, and Future Page 44