by Reed, N. C.
-
While Nate, Titus, and the rest were 'goat wrangling', the remainder of the group was still at the market, though it was beginning to wind down. Once you had seen everything, there wasn't much left to do. There were no food vendors selling corn dogs or funnel cakes, there were no carnival rides, or shows, or anything else that might once have accompanied such an event. Just people who had things they hoped to trade for other things.
Having made the only deal he intended to make, and not having intended to make that one, Clay continued to walk the street with Lainie until they, too, had seen it all. He had stopped to converse with a handful of people he remembered from his teenage years or, less likely, had reacquainted himself with since he'd been home. He exchanged a brief greeting and social pleasantries with Dawson and Pickett, who looked very pleased with themselves, all things considered.
“I'm hoping to add to it as time goes on,” Pickett informed him. “Maybe some kind of entertainment, and some food items as well. Anything we can get or think of for people to enjoy.”
“Might want to look into domino tournaments, or Rook card tournaments,” Clay suggested. “Always a crowd pleaser.”
“Damn, that's a good idea,” Pickett muttered. “Thanks, Clayton!”
“Welcome,” the younger man nodded. “We're gonna load up and head home, I think. You all take care.”
Once they were sure everyone was loaded and no one was missing, the short convoy headed for home.
-
As luck would have it, the two groups arrived about five minutes apart, the market group getting there first. The first problem developed immediately as the ranch dogs indeed reacted poorly to the arrival of the two Aussie Shepherds.
“Well, this is an issue, I see,” Clay rubbed his face with both hands. Nothing was easy.
“Bruce, go lay down!” Jake ordered. The large dog looked at Jake for a moment before going and plopping down in the shade of a tree.
“My dogs are usually well behaved, but since Jill was shot, they've been more aggressive,” Lacey offered by way of apology and explanation.
“It'll work out, one way or another,” Clay decided, just before two of the Kangals arrived to investigate the 'disturbance', and immediately went into attack mode, or maybe defense mode.
“Stop it!” Sam hissed at both pups, and the two dogs immediately sat down, each licking their face.
“Damn,” Clay's eyes widened. “That was cool.”
“We should get a dog,” Lainie whispered.
“Can you not see that we have plenty of dogs?” Clay snorted. “We went from none to. . .what do you call a herd of dogs, anyway?” he asked to the crowd in general.
“I don't think dogs come in herds,” Titus Terry replied for the group. “But goats do, and we got a buggy full of 'em. including one great big evil looking sucker named Diablo.”
“Diablo?” Clay groaned. “Really?” He turned to look at Lainie.
“You see what I do for you?” he joked, winning him a big smile and a kiss.
“You're wonderful,” she whispered back.
“I really hate to break all this up,” Kevin interjected, “but we need to see about a place for these goats, and for her things. Sometime today, probably.”
“She's got probably thirty cattle panels that we need to try and go get, Uncle Clay,” Gordy mentioned.
“Thirty-seven, in fact,” Lacey informed them. “Bought two and three at the time whenever I had the money.”
“Well, we can use those to build a permanent pen for the goats, just like she did,” Gordy ignored the irrelevancy.
“Okay,” Clay nodded. “You work that out, Gordy,” he ordered, surprising his nephew. “Rest of you, there should be a place for the furniture in the back of Building One, I think. May be room for all of it. Miss Lacey, you need to separate out what you want to try and keep with you. Where did the twins get off to?”
“Want me to call 'em?” JJ Jackson asked from the door of Building Two.
“No, you can answer my question I imagine,” Clay replied. “Is there an empty bunk upstairs?”
“One,” JJ nodded. “All the way to the back, on the left.”
“When Miss Lacey gets her gear together, can you show her where it is?” Clay asked.
“Sure,” JJ readily agreed. “Need any help?”
“That would be wonderfully nice of you, young man,” Lacey nodded as she sorted through the contents of the trucks.
“Well, that seems to take care of that,” Clay patted himself on the back.
“Herd… of… goats,” Kevin Bodee spoke slowly, reminding Clay that not everything was worked out.
“Yeah, damn,” Clay had forgotten. “Put them in the isolation pen for tonight,” he decided. “There's a little barn in there to give them shelter if they need it. What about your dogs, Miss Lacey? For that matter, JJ can you call Terri and tell her that one of Miss Lacey's dogs needs her attention?”
“Right away,” JJ moved back into the building.
“What do you mean, 'what about my dogs'?” Lacey asked.
“Are they gonna get along with the rest, or do they need to be separated, or what?” Clay asked her. “There's no way they can stay with you up there,” he pointed to the upper floor of the building behind him.
Lacey examined the scene around her. Bruce was still under the tree, watching the two Aussies but otherwise quiet. The Kangals had seemed to lose interest once they decided that the two shepherds weren't a threat, but that was subject to change in an instant.
“I'd like to say they'll be fine just staying outside, but with so many other dogs out here, I just don't know,” she finally admitted. “If there's somewhere else I can stay, then I can keep them with me,” she offered. “I don't usually have them in the house, but they are house broken.”
“Would they stay with the goats in the isolation pen?” Clay asked her, thinking.
“Well. . .probably,” she replied. “How big is this pen?”
“It's five panels by ten, with a small barn,” Gordy fielded that one. “It's empty at the moment. There's plenty of room for them, even in bad weather.”
“Then yes,” Lacey nodded. “Do you have anything I can feed them?” she asked carefully, aware of how much she had already asked for. “I have very little of anything left,” she admitted.
“Cliff, can you take care of that?” Clay asked. “Corn and oats okay for the goats?” he asked Lacey.
“That would be the best meal they've had in some time,” she nodded gratefully.
“Add some beef and rice for the dogs,” Clay added. The older man sketched a salute and headed to get the required items. Terri Hartwell arrived as Cliff departed, driving a golf cart that was assigned to the square of houses on the hilltop.
“JJ called and said one of our dogs was shot?” Terri asked, looking around. “Sorry I took so long. I had literally just walked in to the house when Trudy came and told me I had a call.” Terri had been among those visiting the market.
“It's Miss Lacey's dog,” Clay said, handing the last item on the list off to someone else. “Is that it, for now?” he asked the crowd. When no one replied, he waved a hand in a silent good-bye and headed for home, hand-in-hand with Lainie and her fruity soap.
A very expensive piece of fruity soap.
CHAPTER SIX
It turned out that the goats were a big hit with the kids. The first morning after Lacey's arrival, Clay made his way down to check on things and arrived to the sounds of laughing children and barking dogs.
When he got within sight of the isolation pen, he saw Lacey's male Aussie bounding around, barking in what Clay assumed was a friendly, happy fashion, considering that the kids were laughing and Bruce, lounging nearby, wasn't trying to kill the new dog.
In the shade of the barn lay the female Aussie, her wound freshly tended by Terri Hartwell. There had indeed been a hint of infection, but Lacey had held the shepherd's head while Terri expertly cleaned the wound and administ
ered a shot of penicillin. The bandage was now much smaller, Clay noted idly as he came to a stop behind Dixie Jerrolds.
“Field trip?” he asked with a smile.
“New animals in the zoo,” Dixie shrugged, returning his smile. “And the goats are a big hit.”
“Wait until they've got their own pen and start playing king of the hill,” Lacey chuckled. “The kids will probably want popcorn while they watch the younger goats try and knock Diablo off the top.”
“Speaking of which,” Clay looked at her, “why Diablo?”
“Oh, his attitude,” Lacey told him at once. “Ornery, obstinate, and sometimes just plain mean. Diablo fit him perfectly.”
“Shame the Old Man didn't live to see it,” Clay murmured, smiling faintly. “Well, enjoy your field trip kids!”
With that he headed to his small office to check on whatever fresh problem had emerged for today.
-
“Are you telling me nothing is wrong?”
Clay was looking at the Duo and their two Minions, all standing together in Operations, as they explained what was going on across the farm.
“Nothing,” Leanne and Leon echoed one another.
“Nothing at all,” JJ was nodding.
“We're all good!” Janice Hardy beamed in her own, unique way.
“You're sure,” Clay stressed, looking from one to the next.
“Positive,” the twins replied in unison. Leon offered a clipboard with the current operations that were ongoing, but Clay raised a hand.
“No, I trust you,” he assured them. “I just wasn't sure I heard you right. Well,” he relaxed slightly. “That is a refreshing change.”
“Ain't it though?” JJ grinned.
“This calls for a celebration,” Clay decided.
“What?” four voices asked as one.
“No, no,” he waved a hand. “No, I meant for me. I can't recall a day since this started that something didn't need my attention.” He paused again, considering.
“I'm going swimming,” he decided, turning on his heel and heading out before anyone could ask him more.
-
Lainie had returned home while Clay was changing into his swim trunks and wolf whistled as he came walking into the living room with a towel.
“Well, hey there, Cowboy,” she smiled broadly. “Don't you look sexy,” she practically purred.
“Thank you, dear lady,” he bowed slightly. “It was brought to my attention just minutes ago that there was absolutely nothing wrong at the moment, anywhere on this farm. An unheard-of occurrence during this experience which I intend to take full advantage of.”
“By doing what?” she asked.
“I'm going swimming.”
-
“This is nice,” Lainie remarked as she laid back onto a beach style blanket, sunglasses over her eyes. She was wearing a red bikini swimsuit that Clay heartily appreciated and approved of, though it was modest enough for PG company should that happen.
“Thank you,” he nodded, tossing his towel onto the blanket beside her. The small water hole was something he and Gordy had constructed by damming a small stream using wooden boards and street sign poles, which allowed them to slot the boards into place, but then raise them if needed during a heavy rain. The result was a clean, moderately deep pond with clear, normally cool water from the spring fed, rock bottomed creek. The rocks washed the water clean as it ran across them and left the little pool bright and clear in the sun. That also helped with the danger of snakes, since the clearer water allowed everyone to see the danger before it could threaten them.
“Gordy and I did most of the work on it. Built it not long after I got home. I actually put the sand here as an afterthought, since I wasn't expecting anything to survive,” he recalled those dark days somberly.
“Hey,” Lainie snapped her fingers repeatedly at him. “Nice, sunny day, with no problems here. Focus, Cowboy. Having a good time, remember?”
“I'm not likely to forget that with you looking so awesome,” Clay assured her.
“Why thank you, Cowboy,” she smiled lazily. “I do try to entice you whenever I-,”
“Whoooo Hooooo!” a suddenly appearing JJ Jackson shouted. “CANNONBALL!” Two seconds later a wave of water washed up, splashing them both.
“-get the chance,” Lainie finished with a sigh. “So much for necking on the beach,” she laid back once more and closed her eyes.
“Weeeeee!” Leanne literally screamed as she ran and jumped into the water, Leon right behind her.
“Damn kids,” Clay muttered as he joined them in the water.
-
Gradually, word spread that the swimming hole was open. Drifting in by twos and threes, there was soon a small crowd of semi-rowdy people around the small pond, about half in the water while the other half reclined on towels or blankets to watch the fun. Clay was pleased to see that everyone who had been trained to defend the farm had also brought their weapons and gear. He also noted that several of them would be fighting in swimsuits of one kind of another, but that was a problem for some other time. He made his way out of the water and over to the blanket where Lainie was still lounging.
“Was this what you had in mind?” she asked humorously as he plopped down beside her, not quite sullen.
“No,” he sounded put out. “But, what the hell,” he shrugged helplessly as he laid back beside her. “Look at the fun they're having, ya know?”
“Definitely a party,” she nodded adjusting her position so he had room on the blanket to join her comfortably.
“Yeah,” Clay snorted. “Great party.”
-
“You notice there's nothing to clean up?” Leon asked as he, Leanne, JJ and Janice all headed home from a hard day at the. . .pool.
“Everyone cleaned up after themselves,” JJ said approvingly.
“No,” Janice shook her head, her pony tail swishing behind her. “No, that's not it. There's no bottles or cans, no plastic or aluminum bags, no trash like you would normally see. Not just there, but anywhere,” she added. “There's no more disposable society, now.”
“True,” Leanne nodded, wrapping her towel around her like a sarong. “I hadn't considered that, Janice, but you're right. That's all gone, now.”
“Maybe it's better this way,” the older girl remarked. “Better for nature, I mean,” she clarified. “I've seen pictures of animals trapped in those plastic things that hold soft drinks together? That won't be a threat any more. Same for rusty cans or broken glass to step on around water like that,” she motioned over her shoulder toward the water hole they had just left. “All of that has to stop, now. At least for a while.”
“I hadn't considered that, either,” Leanne admitted. “And you're right, of course. We've always had difficulty with people using our road to ride and drink beer, then tossing their bottles and cans out on our property. It takes a long time to police this entire place for litter. And it's a pain.”
“Haven't had to do it once since the lights went out,” Leon mused. “I guess there are a few silver linings after all?”
“Only a few, but yeah,” his sister agreed.
“Yeah,” JJ sighed. “Only a few.”
Good mood thoroughly soured, the quartet parted ways to go home.
-
“Well, that didn't end the way I wanted it too,” Clay mentioned as he and Lainie walked home hand-in-hand.
“No, I'm sure it didn't,” she sounded amused as she replied. “Poor Cowboy.”
“I'm not really complaining,” he told her, smiling. “Especially once you take a look at everyone who came out and had a good time. We needed something like that, and the market was a bit of a letdown, I think.”
“Except for the goats,” Lainie interjected immediately. “The goats were a very good thing.”
“You do smell very fruity,” Clay teased and Lainie blushed as he sniffed her ear. “And milky. In a goaty kind of way,” he added with a soft laugh.
“Stop that!�
� she shoved him away. “It tickles!”
“I can't help it,” he grinned. “You smell so. . .yummy,” he grinned lecherously.
“You are the absolute worst,” she shook her head, but smiled as she looked down. “The worst.”
“Aren't you glad?” he kept on, and she nodded slowly.
“Yeah, Cowboy. I really am.”
-
“That's not how that goes.”
“I have been doing this all my life,” Jake groaned, glaring at Sienna Miller as the two laid beneath a truck they were trying to repair. It was an older model they had found abandoned on the interstate that should be running, but was not. If they could repair it, then it would become a valuable trade item.
“Apparently not the right way,” Sienna shot back with a nasty grin. “Those bolt holes don't line up like they should,” she pointed out.
“Yes, they. . .don't,” Jake's voice trailed off slightly as he realized she was right. Again. Grumbling under his breath he turned the small pan until it was properly aligned and began to bolt it back in place. The pan covered a group of wires that Jake had checked to see if they were the problem.
“Are you distracted by something, Big Guy?” Sienna asked playfully. “Can't keep your mind on business? Something catching your eye, maybe?”
“Do you ever just hush and enjoy the silence,” he asked her, though there was no heat in it. He enjoyed her company, and her playfulness, and she knew that, now.
“Never,” she assured him. “Life's too short to be quiet.”
“You are definitely from Texas.”
“Why, thank you!”
-
“Ya know, this would be awesome if the world hadn't ended like it did,” Talia Gray remarked as she sat beside Greg Holloway in the cupola over Building Two. There was a spectacular sunset to the southwest, the kind they didn't get to see often. The sun was reflecting off of some stray clouds, further lighting up the growing dark.
“It's awesome anyway,” Greg shrugged. “For us, at least. You know, in some places, I guarantee they don't realize anything even happened,” he assured her.