#23
Ev squinted at the hours sign posted on the door. "We've got 4 hours until they open at 5. Might as well rest as much as we can."
Yawns met his announcement and the group in the back huddled together and pulled the few blankets they had around them tightly.
In the front, Cheryl started crying silent tears. All of the hard work they had put into their homestead, gone. The shock of loosing so many years of their life stuck in her throat and opened the flood gates of pent up emotion. "Oh, I can't believe it," she sobbed. "It's all gone. Just gone. What are we gonna do?"
Ev reached over Christy's sleeping form and touched his wife tenderly on the cheek. "We will do, darl'in, we will do."
Cassy and Willie curled together, the expectant mother uncomfortable in the tight confines of the back seat with Willie thrashing around in his sleep.
Evie leaned against the door window, enjoying the coolness of the night as it sucked the fever hotness from her face. There was no denying the fact that she needed to see a Doctor. Sitting so long had caused her feet to swell, and with the infection in her toe she could feel her heartbeat thumping away.
In the quiet, as everyone tried to snitch a few winks of sleep, Evie stayed awake praying for Inga. There was no sleeping for the Grandmother of the clan, she was on prayer duty.
When Brett came to work, there were already customers waiting for the cafe to open. The ratty looking old pickup was crowded with a group of unsavory looking characters. Brett would have looked away, but there was no mistaking the face of his Grandmother looking back at him.
Swallowing hard, Brett walked to the pickup and opened the door for Evie to speak to him. At the noise, the dogs barked, and hands flashed as guns appeared ready to defend what precious little they had.
"Whoa, guys. I didn't mean to startle you. What's going on, you all lost or something?" Brett's attempt at humor fell flat as he really looked at his family and friends. "Geeze, what happened?"
"We got burned out." Clora told him in a tired voice. "A forest fire burned it all. The ranch, the town, everything. We lost it all.
As sad as I am, I've got a good notion to climb out of this pickup and punch you in the nose for running away." The more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed, and she got down by swinging her legs over the side of the box and sliding down to the ground.
Rolling up her sleeves, Clora advanced on her brother, fully intending to keep her word. Both Wayne and Will jumped down behind her and grabbed her arms as Clora drew back her right hand to vent her fury on Brett.
"Clora!" Evie's shocked admonition had little to nothing effect on Clora's hard headed anger.
"Sis!" Wayne shouted, causing the dogs to bark, waking the kids and creating a general hub bub.
"Hey," Wayne had his hands up in front of him, "Take it easy."
"Maybe she can, but I can't" Ben came around Clora and struck Brett with a hard driving right hand. "Don't you ever do that again, do you hear?"
"I hear," Brett mumbled as he rubbed his jaw, "loud and clear. Look, no more beating up on me, I have to work." he dusted off the seat of his britches. "Give me 10 minutes and I can open the cafe."
True to his word, Brett unlocked the door and waved his arm to invite the sorry looking group in. Every one piled out of the pickup and headed inside.
"Hey, where's Grandma?" Sandy questioned.
Evie was sitting in the pickup, unable to use her feet. Tears brightened her eyes and she sniffed hard. "My foot is so bad I can't walk on it." she sniffed again.
Husky Brett swooped in and scooped Evie up, carrying her inside the cafe. "I need to use the bathroom," she whispered in Brett's ear.
"Please take me there right away."
"How about a tickle," Brett teased back. "Would that solve the problem?"
"Don't you dare," Evie severely warned her Grandson. "Just hurry."
"Clora, Sandy, get yourselves over here, help Gram." he requested.
Evie had her black stocking pulled over her foot but it was really obvious that her foot and toe were grossly swollen. "Stop looking at my toe and help me get to the toilet," that was an order to be obeyed! Promptly!
Standing outside the ladies bathroom in order to give their Grandmother a bit of privacy, Clora and Sandy looked at each other in concern. Evie was in danger, no two way's about it. She was going to the doctor, no matter how she objected.
Brett fed the crew short stacks and eggs, using the grill to the best of his ability. The party of 12 ate gratefully, the men pulling wadded and crumpled money from their pockets to pay for their families food. It didn't cover the bill, but it was all they had. Brett figured he would kick in the balance, it was good to see everyone.
Evie let them pay, but slipped a fifty under her plate. She couldn't eat, and naturally Brett's coffee was weaker than Clora's so she sipped on the insipid brew and pretended that it was her preferred strength. Her stomach was rolling and churning, protesting her state of affairs.
Willie and Christy played chase around the table, bouncing it and sending the opposite table leg bumping into Evie's hurt foot. Evie passed out and slid out of her chair and onto the floor. No one noticed as they were talking and eating. It was Christy who said in a loud voice, "Hey, something's wrong with Grams."
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