by Tonya Kappes
“Last night there was this guy I’d seen at the Old Train Station Motel.” I started to say before she interrupted me.
“You mean the stowaway Jay shot at? The one you were talking about?” She looked around the campground before she brought her gaze back to me. “I did heard Jay talking about it today at Grassel’s Garage. He was down there saying he was going to camp out or something to catch this guy. Seems this free-loader has been there a few times.” She chuckled. “Can you imagine old Jay camping on the ground with a shotgun up around his neck? He’d shoot himself. Crazy old coot.”
“Did you see anyone here last night?” I asked my question again.
It wasn’t unusual for Dottie to take a conversation in a completely different way and needed to be veered back a few times when we discussed things that included the campground. She was the campground manager and had been for years. Long before I’d even come here to live.
Dottie Swaggert knew the ins and outs of every type of camper, RV, or campervan. She even gave out checklists for every guest we had. She had a list for everything. Emergency list. Food supply list. Camping list. Camping hacks list.
Not only was she skilled in the camping world, she was also skilled in the snooping around, keeping an eye open, and blabbing about it world. This was one of those times I needed her to keep an eye out.
“Mmmmm.” Her mouth twisted side to side as though she were thinking about what I’d said.
“When I let Fifi out last night before bed, I noticed a shiny object moving around the campground. When it got closer, I saw a shadow, and when I asked if he needed something, Hank come out of nowhere and scared him.” I eyed Fifi to make sure she was still okay. She and the ducks were swimming in a perfect line around the lake. Goofy dog. “He took off and when he ran by, I didn’t see a face, but I recognized the compass pinned on the backpack. It was the same compass from the guy that Jay had shot at.”
“How do you know that?”
“I thought it was odd he’d made it all the way over here from there.” I shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t him.
“Hank saw him?” She lifted her chin.
“Saw him? He went after him, yelling police and stop and all this crazy stuff.” I paused when a couple of guests drove past us in their car. We all waved at each other.
“I just think he’s hiking all day and needs a place to lay his head at night. What do you think?” I asked and glanced over at the pond when I heard Fifi barking.
She was swimming around in circles barking at a duck after it had apparently gone rogue from the group and decided to swim off. Fifi quickly got the duck back in line.
“I’ve seen all kinds around here, and I don’t pay none of them any attention, but they should know better than to hide out in someone’s stable with a sign that clearly reads No Trespassing.” She tilted her chin in the air. “Especially when the weather is nice at night. I agree that Jay should’ve shot at the guy. Scare him off.”
“He’s obviously not taking Jay’s threats serious.” I glanced up at Dottie.
“He will if he gets a bullet in his butt.” She chuckled and took another long draw of her cigarette. “You leaving for the hoedown soon? I’m going to hitch a ride with Henry.”
“I should probably go get ready. Hank will be here soon to pick me up. First, I’ve got to get my dog.” I hurried off toward the lake. “I’ll see you at the hoedown.” I waved to Dottie over my shoulder.
I watched Fifi take part in the duck ritual. Initially, the ducks were scared of her, but Fifi didn’t mean any harm. I guess they realized she wasn’t going anywhere, so they might as well let her join in on their fun.
It just wasn’t fun for me. Every time she swam with the ducks, I had to give her a bath or her white fur would turn dingy, and her skin would get really dry, making me have to run her to the veterinarian. A bill I tried to avoid at all cost since any money the campground profited went right back into it.
“Fifi.” I teetered on the banks of the lake, wildly waving her over. “Fifi! Come here!”
“You’re going to fall in.” The slow southern voice behind me was one I instantly knew.
“Hey, Ty.” When I turned around to greet Ty Randal, I lost my footing, and in I went.
“Mae, are you okay?” Ty tried to be the polite gentleman he was as he attempted to contain the big grin creeping over his face. He took a couple of steps forward and stuck his hand out. “Let me help you.”
Fifi was swimming so quickly toward me the ducks even followed her.
“Let me get this goofy dog.” I groaned and waited for her to swim over.
She thought it was play time. Every time I reached out to get her, she turned on a dime and swam the other way. Ty Randal was doubled over, laughing.
“Here.” He reached out again. “She’s not going to come to you.”
“Fine.” I waded through the mud of the banks and took his hand. “Thank you.”
“I remember the last time you fell in.” His blue eyes glistened under his blond shaggy curls. He smelled of fried chicken. My stomach rumbled.
“Let’s not talk about that.” I patted my belly. “I’m obviously hungry. Do you have to smell so good? Just like fried chicken.”
“Coke Ogden had the diner cater the hoedown, and I’m talking hundreds of fried chickens. I’ve got war wounds from making it all.” He held out his hand and showed me all the little blisters. “Grease pops up and gets me every time. You know my dad, he keeps telling me to ‘wear them gloves’ when I use the fryer, but I like to get my hands on the food and know it’s perfect.”
“Your food is perfect.” I could taste his good country cooking now.
Ty was even perfect. Too perfect. We’d tried to date when I first moved to Normal, but he was too nice for me. I know that sounds terrible and should be something I want, but his attentiveness was a characteristic I sure didn’t want in a future husband. I liked to have my alone time, and that was probably why I had no idea my husband was a crook.
“You need a ride over there?” he asked.
“No, Hank is going to be here soon.” I looked back at the camper Hank had rented and noticed his car wasn’t there, which was odd since he was supposed to get off an hour before me.
“Are you sure? I just saw him at Deter’s Feed-N-Seed, working on the break-in.” Ty made me jerk up.
“Break-in?” I asked.
“Yeah. There was a break-in at Deter’s sometime last night. It has been closed all day. Cops going in and out of the joint.” Ty’s brows furrowed. “You hadn’t heard?”
“No. I’ve been so busy checking in guests all day that I didn’t even have my phone on me at the office.” I gnawed on my lip, wondering if I should take Ty up on his offer to hitch a ride and meet up with Hank at the hoedown. “Did they steal anything? The burglar?”
“Yeah. Took some camping equipment. An axe and some picking stuff, like hoes and shovels.” He bent down when Fifi finally got out of the water.
Her fur was dripping around her, but Ty was so good, he still picked her up and let her get him wet. “Hey, sweet girl.” He let her kiss him. “You’re just so full of life.”
She wagged her tail and continued to lick him on his chin as he talked baby talk to her.
“I can’t believe the Laundry Club gals didn’t drive out here since I saw them all pressed up against the glass.”
The Laundry Club was really a laundromat that Betts owned and located across the median on Main Street from Deter’s.
“You should’ve told Abby to come tell me.” I tsked, bringing up Abby’s name so I could ask him what was going on with the two of them.
They’d seemed hot and heavy a few months back. There’d not been much talk from Abby about him nor have I seen her hanging out at his camper at Happy Trails.
Ty and his father, along with his two brothers lived in a camper full time. His father had run the diner all his life and recently handed it over to Ty. I got a sneaking suspicion his dad was still a big par
t of the diner.
“Let me know if you need a ride.” He completely skipped over my mentioning of Abby and put Fifi back on the ground. “She’s a ball of energy.”
Both of us laughed, watching Fifi kneeling down in a crawl. She took turns twisting her body side to side in the grass, drying herself.
“If you think that’s going to stop me from giving you a bath, you’ve got another thing coming, little girl,” I warned her and patted my leg. “Let’s go home.”
“I’m leaving in ten minutes if you want a ride,” Ty said.
“I’ll let you know.” I headed back to the RV where I put Fifi in the shower with me since we were both stinking of pond water.
I did check my phone before the shower, and Hank had called a couple of times but didn’t leave a message or text.
“Hey, I saw you called.” I scrubbed the towel on one side of my head while I called him back.
“Why didn’t you answer?” he asked.
“I left my phone at home this morning, thinking I’d be able to bring Fifi home for lunch, but we were so busy with guest check-ins that before I knew it, it was time to close the office. We are swamped.” I looked out the window to see if he’d made it back to the camper while I was in the shower. “You aren’t home. Does that mean you’re not going to pick me up because of the break-in?”
“I figured the gals called you. Queenie was the first one there. She’s got that scanner on all the time.” There was annoyance in his tone.
There was a sound of a car driving past my RV that made me glance out the window. It was Henry heading toward the front of the campground.
“They didn’t tell me.” I put a scoop of Fifi’s kibble in her bowl then walked back to the bedroom where I looked through the small closet with not a whole lot to choose from. Becoming a minimalist was probably one of the hardest thing RV living had to offer.
There was a pause where I knew his mind was going through the options of who told me.
“Ty told me. In fact, he also told me that he’d take me to the hoedown. I’m assuming you’re going to meet me,” I said.
“You know how it is with my job.”
Of course, I knew it. I was always put on the back burner when it came to his job, and that was okay in the beginning of our relationship. There was a sudden realization that this might be a permanent thing… back burner to his job. I gulped away the thought.
“There was another break-in at the Cookie Crumble too. Apparently, whoever the thief is, he or she is planning a long camping trip. Which makes me wonder if it’s the guy we saw last night. Do you have a good description of him?”
“Not really. How long can a person live on cookies and cupcakes?” I joked.
“Eggs, bread, milk, Crisco, and sugar, along with a few more things, were stolen.” He rattled off the basics. “Christine Watson keeps a two month supply and some in the freezer. The thief literally left her with a couple weeks as if he knew she’d need some to keep going.”
“A polite thief?” I couldn’t help think this person wasn’t going to do harm. “Maybe this is the last time he breaks in anywhere else.”
“Who cares,” he said blankly. “I’m still going to find this guy. It’s still a crime.”
“I never said it wasn’t.” I didn’t like how he was acting on the other end of the phone. “Just tell me if you’re going to the hoedown or not.”
“Are you mad?” he asked. “I can’t help if my job doesn’t have regular hours.”
“I’m not mad. I just want to know if I need to go to the hoedown alone and meet you there.” He was right about his hours, and he couldn’t schedule when crimes took place, but I had to decide if what he could give to our relationship was enough for me.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make it at all.” Those were words I didn’t want to hear. “I promise to make it up to you this week. What if we go to the Red Barn for supper one night?”
“You don’t have to make anything up.” Even though I truly had to question what I wanted in a relationship, it wasn’t fair to be mad at him or upset because he was working. “I’m just happy you’re there to help because that department would be lost without you.”
Fifi was too busy darting around the RV, rubbing her wet fur all over the furniture, to even notice I had put food in her bowl. She put a lighter feel to my feeling down about going to the hoedown alone.
“You’re the best, Mae.” There was some talking in the background, and I could tell he was hurrying me off the phone. “We’re good?”
“Yeah. We’re good.” We hung up the phone, and I quickly texted Ty to tell him to wait for me.
I decided on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt along with a pair of cowboy boots. I didn’t have time to straighten my crazy hair, so I parted it down the middle, tying it down in two low ponytails.
“Come in!” I hollered from the bathroom when I heard someone knock on the door, knowing it was Ty. I headed down the hall.
“Better grab an umbrella. They’re calling for rain,” he said.
“Really? Gosh, I didn’t even have time to have the radio on today.” I headed back to the bedroom where I kept a few coats and accessories. “Thanks for the ride. You were right about Hank. He doesn’t even know if he’s going to make it at all.” I opted for a rain jacket instead of an umbrella.
“I’m excited to see what all Coke has done for the old train station.” He held the back of the coat while I put one arm in and then the other.
“I was shocked to see how pretty it is. The architecture is unbelievable.” I grabbed my keys and crossbody purse. “You be a good girl.”
Fifi had found her food and was too busy to even hear me. I checked her water bowl to make sure it was filled before I headed out the door where Ty was standing next to the passenger door, holding it open for me like a good gentleman.
“Do you mind if we stop by Hank’s and let Chester out?” I asked and glanced down toward Hank’s rental.
“Not at all.” Ty put the car in reverse and turned it around to Hank’s camper.
“How’s your dad and brothers?” I asked like a polite southern lady would do.
“He’s good. He’s getting around better and the boys”—he put a flat palm above his head—“They are going to be taller than me.”
“That’s crazy. They are good boys.” I put up a finger when he stopped in front of Hank’s camper. “I’ll be right back.”
I dug down into my crossbody to get out the full set of keys from all the rentals I kept with me. I thumbed through them until I got to Hank’s spare and unlocked the door. Chester was already there to greet me. He was so sweet and loved affection.
It was probably a good idea for me to just take him back to my place so he and Fifi could be company for each other.
“I’m going to walk him up to my place,” I told Ty through his rolled down window. “Meet me up there.”
The short distance between Hank’s place and mine was enough for Chester to do his business, stretch his legs, and be ready to hang out with Fifi.
“Everything all good now?” Ty asked when I got back into his car.
“All good,” I confirmed. “I just hate Chester to be alone if he didn’t have to be.”
“You’re a good person, Mae.” Ty glanced over at me, his blue eyes captivating. “I heard you even cleaned the Old Train Station Motel.”
“I helped Betts tidy up, but really Coke had it all clean. Everything went dandy except for the whole bloody incident with Jay and that guy hiding out in the stables.” I looked out the window as we drove past Dottie Swaggert’s camper. There was a shadow that walked past her front window in her camper. “That’s strange.”
“It’s not strange that Jay would shoot at someone. I’ve known that old man all my life,” Ty said.
“It is strange that Dottie is still home. She told me she was riding with Henry to the hoedown, and I just saw her move past her window.” I melted back into the seat, looking straight ahead.<
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“Do you want me to stop so you can see what’s going on?” he asked.
“Nah. She must be getting a ride later.” I reached for my phone in my crossbody bag to text her but got interrupted by a text coming in from Hank saying that he was going to meet me at the hoedown after all.
SIX
After Ty had dropped me off at the entrance of the Old Train Station Motel so he could find a parking spot, I walked across the courtyard where Coke had put the red carpet for everyone to follow to the barn where the hoedown was taking place.
The bluegrass sounds of Blue Ethel and the Adolescent Farm Boys came from the barn. Strings of twinkling lights were all over the property, dangling off trees and the barn. In the distance, the stable lights were on. There was a black cloud drifting over the area that was sure to bring the rain that was predicted.
“Welcome,” Coke Ogden greeted me at the sliding doors of the barn. “I’m so glad you made it. All your friends are over there.” She pointed into the crowded barn.
“Thanks.” I took off the rain jacket I’d brought and hung it on one of the pegs in the wall next to the other coats. “I hope the rain holds off.”
“Me too.” She patted me. “If it comes, we’ll all have good music and food to dance it away.” She winked and waved to another guest.
I couldn’t see through the crowd to where she’d pointed out my friends.
“This is great. Congratulations.” I reached out and squeezed her arm.
“Thank you.” She leaned in and yelled about Ethel Biddle’s squealing into the microphone. “If I could only get Jay to hurry up and get on out of here, you and Hank can be my first wedding.” She looked at me serious like.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Is he here yet?” I asked.
“He didn’t come with you?” she asked.
“No. He’s meeting me here. There was a break-in at Deter's Feed-N-Seed and the Cookie Crumble Bakery that’s got him working later. You keep an eye out for anyone suspicious,” I told her and headed in the direction of where she pointed out the Laundry Club gals.
There were party lights strung along the rafters of the barn that weren’t there yesterday. The old bourbon barrels were set in place and were used as bar tops like I’d thought they were going to. Big electrical wire spools were used as seats, and I found that to be very creative. There were four different bars set up, one in each corner, and along the right side was the food station where I noticed Christine Watson talking to Trudy, the waitress from the Normal Diner. Ellis Sharp, Hank’s sister, was also standing next to them but didn’t appear to be in the same conversation.