Hi, My Name is Tessee

[stjwelding]

Thanks Pac for the new chapter, I hope they get the fence up before anyone else decides to take a shot at the family.
Wayne

[PacNorWest]

#21

Bright and early Monday morning the electric company truck rolled into the yard. Will let them in on his way out to work, and Mark waved as he followed Will down the driveway.

By evening, the trencher and packer had dug the length they needed to bury the incoming line and the farm was hooked up to the grid.

The ladies were silently cheering and the men acted nostalgic for the 'good old days' as the noise level indicated frantic activity. Once again high pressure chased out the clouds and stormy weather and the sun shone with a new intensity.

Small green shoots of crocus awakened, the pussy willow buds swelled with Spring fervor. Once again the washing machines went into overdrive and sheets and work clothes were pinned to the clothes lines to dry.

Small boys trembled in fear, Milo kept disappearing into the school room to stay out of the line of fire but that didn't always work.

Clora tore all the bedding out of her bedroom, washing out the flu germs and sick smell. She was mostly recovered from her illness, but still tired easily so the cleaning went in spurts as the energy accumulated. The light breeze accelerated the drying and when the wind shifted around to the West, the smell of the evergreen tract of the tree farm wafted gently over the farm.

Ev was outside sniffing the air. It smelled like home to him and he was struck by a pang of longing that overwhelmed his senses. Sticking his head in the kitchen door, Ev invited Cheryl outside. "Tell me what it smells like," he teased.

Cheryl drew a deep lungful. "It smells like Evergreen," she blurted out. "Oh, it smells like home, it smells like home," and she started to cry. "I miss our cabin so much." Ev nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

The greyhaired couple stood in the sunshine and looked to the North East where their home had once been. "I know I said I would wait, but I've got to go, got to know what's left for us. Do you understand? Cheryl would you think bad of me if I left right now?"

Cheryl stood on tiptoe and kissed her husband of many years. "Go, but promise you will be very careful, I've grown pretty fond of you over the years." she smiled and pushed Ev toward the house. He walked with her, practically dragging her along in his haste.

"Why don't you take the dog, she does hear better than you do. That would be a perfect time to wean the pups, and I would feel a lot better if she went along." Cheryl gasped, almost out of breath as Ev double time to the house.

Ev considered, and then agreed. "OK, the dog it is." Faster than Cheryl thought possible, Ev loaded his gear, the dog, conferred quickly with Ben and was driving down the driveway. Cheryl looked at the disappearing pickup and felt he had a bit of unseemly haste, but that was Ev for ya.

Ben related to Lainey that Ev was headed out. "That's kind of rotten, leaving one man to protect the whole farm," she said with tightened lips; "especially when there are those unknown people spying on us, probably just getting ready to shoot us when they discover your the only man left.' she said bitterly. "You don't even want to build the fence," she said accusingly. "Ben, we have to keep our children safe, what are you thinking?"

Ben paused, drawing a deep breath. "Lainey, do we want to be beholden to Mark," he said reasonably, hoping they could discuss the problem.

"Beholden my foot," Lainey said with unreasonable anger. "You might as well come out and say what you are really thinking, you don't like Mark and don't want him involved in anything that has to do with the farm. Right?" Lainey had a full head of steam. "Ben, I live in constant fear of a sniper picking you off, you move around outside like it is no big deal, but let me assure you; it is a big deal from where I'm looking at the problem. I hate this place. Ever since we've been here, every possible outrageous calamity has happened that possibly could. Ben, we need to do something different to protect our children."


Ben stood at the window, hands jammed deep in his pockets staring out at what had been an enjoyable afternoon. "Everything you have said is true, I don't deny it. Up to what you said about this place, places are not evil Lainey, but I can't tell you why so many problems have happened here." Ben turned around and stepped toward the table, as the shot broke the glass.

[sssarawolf]

Oh OH i hope he got out of the way in time.

[PacNorWest]

#21b

Instinct had Ben ducking the flying glass that exploded next to him. In one heart stopping minute, the world was turned upside down by the fear Lainey had predicted might happen. "Lock down," Ben shouted, as he grabbed his rifle.

Lainey doused the lights, took the children to the relative safety of the bathtub and grabbed her own weapon.

Cheryl heard the shot, and she and Christy followed their own lock down procedures.

Clora called for Milo to race to the bathroom, get in and lay still. Clora shut off her lights and crouched low as she went to the back of the kitchen to shut off the washer and dryer.

There were seven more shots. All placed accurately through the washing hung neatly on the three different clotheslines. Cheryl used her phone to try and call Ev, but he was behind the hills and the call wouldn't go through. Then Cheryl called 911, specifically requesting Will but the deputy wasn't available. The dispatcher promised to get a hold of Will as soon as he was out of a meeting.

Mark was on his way home, close to the wide sweeping curve before the driveway, when he was stopped by a roadblock.

Dressed in his suit, Mark got out of the Jeep and approached the closely aligned sheriff's cars. "What's happening?" he inquired nervously."That's my place up there, what's the matter?"

"Sniper," an older deputy replied. "You any relative to Will?"

"He lives with us, he's not hurt is he?" Mark questioned, looking around for the deputy.

"He's on his way," the first officer replied. "Someone with a long range weapon is holding the place hostage. "I hate coming to this place, it's a nightmare with the long sloping open area and the houses clustered at the top."

Mark quickly explained the dug in observations they had found on the tree farm land and mentioned that if they were interested, there was a way to access the area above the buildings and come in behind the shooter or shooters.

"Don't make the mistake of showing yourself to the houses, My wife is an excellent shot, as is my brother in law, his wife and the couple in the last house. We have been shot at so much, they are nervous and trigger happy."

[Rabbit]

Lainey won that argument the hard way. Who is shooting at them now? Thank Pac.

[sssarawolf]

gads the new shooters need a butt whooping

[bad_karma00]

Wow. I'd say it's time to go on the offensive. But some people say I'm prone to over react

Thanks for the new chapters Pac. It's amazing how you're able to draw us in, and make us worry over a fictional family.


Bad

[PacNorWest]

#21c

Ev was having the time of his life. Window down, the rushing chilly air blowing the straggly hair and bushy beard hard enough to tickle his neck and ears. The dog sitting on the front seat finally relented and settled down, her nose close to Ev's leg. Ev had no problem talking to the red heeler, finally announcing,"I might as well call you Ruby, it's the best name I can come up with. Sure hope you are as good as the first Ruby was; if you are, we're gonna have us a fine adventure."

Down past the burned out diner where they had camped, and out onto the two lane that took him closer to the forest cutoff to Evergreen. The old pickup rattled, belched a little diesel smoke now and then as they drove through the settling evening. It was dark when Ev found the cutoff, easing up the rutted road. Unused as a road for quite a while, Ev got as far as two pretty good sized firs that blocked the now overgrown road.

Ev got out, smelled deeply of the crisp, cold air and began setting up camp on his tailgate. Ruby2 got out and circled the pickup a couple of times, anxiously watching Ev and her new surroundings. Ev got out a bowl of dog food and a bowl of water and placed it next to the front tire. He watched Ruby2 sniff at the food, look over her shoulder at him, and then delicately pick up the crunchies one by one.

"So your a lady huh?" he teased as the stew in the can started to bubble on the camp stove. Tomorrow, he would have a campfire and get out the grate to cook his meals. Ev rubbed his hands together in anticipation, he hadn't felt this type of excitement for ages. It sure would have been better to have company, but he felt the urgency to do this trek right now.

Using a serving spoon, Ev ate his warmed stew listening to the night fold down around him. All the sounds that once were so familiar, were brought back fresh into his memory. There must have been a lake nearby, coots and loons were calling in the last vestiges of light as they settled in for the night.

Ev tidied up his kitchen, placing the stove and food in the front seat. He threw in a doggy blanket for the dog and arranged his new fandangled sleeping bag across the back seat. There was a bit of mumbling when he realized he had forgotten his pillow, so he wadded up his coat and used that. The seat wasn't long enough for Ev to be comfortable, but gosh darn it was gonna get cold so he made do.

The next morning, Ev unfolded himself to the sounds of creaks, groans and popping joints. Cheryl had been right, he wasn't a kid anymore. A cup of instant coffee quickly heated and a pouch of breakfast 'something' started his chainsawing marathon. Cutting the center section out of the downed trees, Ev fashioned a passage through.

There were three more trees in the way, and it was past noon when Ev topped the hill and looked at the ruins of the town. From his vantage point, he pinpointed the jail, the hardware, the cafe, places that had been, that were no more. It appeared that 99% of the town had burned. The chimneys rose stark naked, what they had been attached too, long gone.

The road out to the cabin was in such poor shape that Ev drove on the tops of the ruts. Coming around the corner past Evie's long gone house, Ev stared at his partially burned cabin. The barn was gone, and the woodshed and cabin was a jumble of half burned logs that had caved in the root cellar.

For a long time he just sat there, the crushing disappointment of reality a blow that was hard to recover from. In his heart, he had hoped that by some miracle the fire had missed his place. Ruby finally whined to be let out, and Ev came back to the present.

Getting out of the pickup, Ev finally put his feet on his own ground. Morosely he walked around the cabin, peering down into the blackened mess that had once been his home. What hadn't burned, had been ruined by exposure to the elements. Ev walked around and sat on the tailgate, suddenly he didn't feel well. Sick to his stomach and trying to breath against the crushing chest pain that radiated all the way down his left arm, Ev toppled over in the pickup bed.


Clora was as mad at Mark as she possibly could be. He had promised to get her a cell phone, and somehow it just hadn't got done. Now she wished she could be in touch with him, if for nothing else, she didn't want to mistake him for the sniper and shoot her own husband.

Mark suddenly had the same thought, kicking himself for not paying closer attention to that detail. As he stood there, the wail of an oncoming police car sounded in the distance. Will skidded to a stop, cursing under his breath. Wayne came humming along behind, not paying attention until he was right on the mêlée. The screech of tires had the officers whirling around to stare down the oncoming pickup. Wayne clamped down on the brakes and nearly hit bumpers with Will's car.

Wayne was in a happy fog. He had invited the gal in the shop for coffee, and she had accepted. After work they had gone to the coffee shop near the equipment yard and sat and talked. He could see that she reluctantly finally had to go, and he felt as reluctant to see her go. It was a fine beginning. Wayne was pleased.

Will was advancing on Wayne's happy face, intending to tear a strip off his hide and spit it out in the wind. When he got to the pickup cab he was all cop, barking his displeasure at Wayne's goofy grin. No matter what Will said, it barely penetrated Wayne's happy place.

"What's happening?" he questioned, "is the bridge out?"

"No," Will snapped roughly. "Some lowlife sniper has the farm under lockdown. nobody's hurt that we know of, but, it's hard to tell what might happen."

Mark was thanking his lucky stars Milo wasn't with him tonight. He wasn't worried about Milo being with Clora, his woman was more capable than most people with a rifle and a shotgun. Mark had finished work early and had dropped by Borg's place. In his old room, he had cleaned out his clothes closet and piled it all in the back seat. Right on top were his cammo fatigues and boots. Under the cover of approaching darkness he changed clothes, shucking his suit and getting ready to go fight for his family.

[nancy98]

Oh NO! :-(

Thanks for the new chapter.

[DustMusher]

Hoooo Boy looks like the party is on.

Thanks for the chapters, PAC

DM

[bad_karma00]

Is that the end for Ev? To go all that way and perish all alone?

Will Mark get shot by accident? Will Lainey beat Ben over the head with a skillet?

For these and more answers, tune in for the next episode of The Hanson Clan!


Bad

[stjwelding]

Pac I see that cliff has made yet another appearance in your story, thanks for the chapters.
Wayne

[Sammy55]

You can't kill off Ev, Pac!! You can't!!

(I'm thinking that this is when Tessee makes her entrance. I bet Ev gets rescued by her.)

[sssarawolf]

What a time to have a heart attack, looks like wall would have been a very good idea.

[PacNorWest]

#22

"Sluurrpp, Sluurrpp," Ruby's tongue wetly sluurrpped along Ev's hand and half of his cheek. Ev came awake and discovered he couldn't see, he could feel the dog's wet tongue and what ever dead thing she had eaten. Her breath so foul that it made him want to retch.

"Ruby, is that you?" Disoriented, Ev fumbled to find the dog, she was lying nose to the top of his head. Slow awareness of the bone chilling cold crept along his wet cheek. He shivered twice and went to brush Ruby back and found his left side didn't work.

Opening his eyes wide to fight against his blindness, Ev turned on his right side to try and move. There!...there was a funny pale yellow light creeping into his wobbly brain. He must have hit his head on something. Blinking to ease the strain, the yellow light went out. Ev almost cried with relief. He wasn't blind, it was night.

He was in the pickup bed and it was night. A few hot salty tears escaped despite his resolve not to be emotional about his close call. Cold aching muscles protested as he tried to scoot off the end of the tailgate and stand up. The left leg was so weak it wouldn't support his weight as he shimmeyed off the bed. Going down toward the ground, Ev jammed his right leg, holding himself by his right hand caught in the tailgate mechanism.

Good, he could feel pain so he wasn't damaged all the way through. The effort it took to simply stand up left him drenched in clammy sweat and so weak he couldn't walk to the cab. Panting hard, Ev dug down deep into his inner man strength and forced himself inch by inch to the back door.

He didn't have the strength to push in the thumb latch to open the door. Time and time again he pushed weakly and didn't have enough to unlatch the mechanism. Then he thought to try the driver's door. Well used and time worn, it yielded to his weak thumb pressure. Opening the door inches at a time, he clung to the door frame until he could fit his body into the opening.

Staring dumbly at the lift he needed to achieve to get inside on the seat, Ev puzzled how he was going to get inside. His left leg wouldn't raise or support his weight, the right side was rapidly going south on him. Ev had a fresh wave of crippling pain stab through his left arm, crying out against the insidious hurt he passed out once again. Falling into the front seat, his broad shoulders wedged on the interior side of the steering wheel and into the back of the bench seat. Effectively wedged, he lay trapped half in the pickup cab.

[sssarawolf]

Ev needs help and fast.

[Sully]

I think this is the biggest cliff you've ever left us on....please don't leave us hanging too long!!!

Sully

[PacNorWest]

#22b

Wayne and Mark stood together, assessing the situation up on the hill. "Will, we want to go up and come back down through the tree farm. I'm sick and tired of all this." Mark stood with his arms crossed and a mulish expression on his face.

"Ten to one they will have replacements by the morning," Will replied with a patient tone. "Look fellas, no matter what goes on tonight, you go storming up there shooting and killing and we'll have to charge you with murder, please let us handle it. I know the farm, your loved ones are safe. We're just waiting for a drone with heat seeking capabilities. We want to know how many snipers there are, if they are still there, well, just yada, yada, yada."

Wayne nodded in the faint light, but Mark was busy thinking of a way around the declaration. "Linderman, I'm gonna cuff you to a car if you step one foot away from here," Will growled in a frustrated way, "just test me and I'll make your head spin. Besides, I'm plumb scared of Clora," he joked to make the words less harsh.

That made Wayne laugh out loud. He clapped Mark on the shoulder, "Believe him," he urged as he leaned back against the patrol car. "You should have seen Clora the afternoon you weirded out at Grandma's," Wayne laughed all the harder. "She about tore the hide off the old FBI dude when he hesitated calling in a medic for you. Believe me, a Clora in a full rage makes the world stand still, earthquakes happen and probably causes a pole shift ot two," he snickered.

"Clora?" Mark was suspicious of such a tale. "Why she's the sweetest, most loving woman I have ever met."

"To you maybe, but there was one time when we were kids I thought she was gonna break my neck for sassing Grandma. Whoo boy, I never did that around her ever again." Wayne rubbed his collar bone in remembrance. "That's one woman that can take care of herself in any situation."

Mark was shaking his head in denial, "I find this hard to believe," he finally said.

Will held his hand up, touching his ear bud, he said low, "the drone is crossing the farm in a grid. You said the dug in holes were in the northeast fence line?"

Mark said "yeah, that's what Ev and Cheryl said."

Will spoke to the man sitting in the van, and the man started punching buttons. He said something back to Will.

"There are two of them, trying to work their way out of the tree farm right now. We have men up there, just sit tight and it will soon be over, we want these guys alive. The chief is sick and tired of being called out here so frequently," the joke was flat, but true.

There was the sound of a rifle being fired, two quick pops and then there was silence.

"Guys, I think Clora found my night vision scope." Mark said into the silence.

[PacNorWest]

We leave tomorrow for Mr. Pac's monthly checkup, we will be back probably Sunday.

I had to think really hard on how to leave all portions of the farm hanging on the cliff. Do you think they will be tired by the time we get back?

This is a wellness check as his health seems to be doing well.

[Sully]

OHHHH Pac! I can't wait till you get back, but I do understand. I'm surprised you have the energy to write as often as you do..but it's probably a nice diversion to occupy your mind with with other things when you can.

My mother has Alzheimers and it's breaking my heart. I called her Dr. 2 weeks ago and he ordered a hospital bed for her because she would get up during the night and fall...thankfully no injuries. I thought that would solve the problem but she scoots to the end of the bed and gets out. So I bought a nanny camera which is also a motion detector that beeps when she moves and that helps tremendously. I miss the person she used to be but I sure don't love her any less.

Have a safe trip and I hope Mr. Pac's checkup is a good one.

Sully

[sssarawolf]

Thank Pac, will EV hold out? Will the farm, stayed tuned.

[Deena in GA]

ACK!!!! You're going to leave us all hanging like that?! Oh, Pac, you are a cruel lady... And to bring Ev back and make us all think he's going to make it after all and then he has another heart attack... Sure hope he's going to be okay, but it doesn't look good for Ev.

Oh, and thank you for the chapters, even if we are left hanging. They are excellent! We'll be praying that all continues to go well for Mr Pac.

[bad_karma00]

A writer's strike? Now? In the middle of Ev's dilemma?

Pac, please be careful and stay safe.


Bad

[sheilab15]

This is a great story. If I'm not mistaken isn't Ev in pretty much the same position as Wayne's late uncle? For different reasons of course, but stuck half way in a truck. And speaking of Wayne and Ev, I think there is a mistake in chapter #7.

"Rescuing the heavy tanks and steadying them, Wayne reached down to pick up Otis and free him from the mess. Otis, in the throws of battling the demons that were threatening him, promptly bit the hand that sometimes fed him.

Sharp puppy teeth sunk themselves into the palm of Ev's hand, and he yelled in surprise and flung Otis off. Milo was yelling as he scrambled to rescue the pup and Otis was yelping puppy indignation at the big man."

I think Ev was in his own house at the time and Wayne was the one who was bitten. I am a bit confused by it though. I'm really looking forward to more soon, Cliff can't stay forever.

[stjwelding]

Great job in leaving us hanging by our nails Pac. Thanks for the chapters and know that I will be praying for you and Mr Pac in your travels. We will all be waiting for your next post with much anticipation.
Wayne

[kua]

Safe travels Pac. And hopefully a good checkup for Mr. Pac. That will get your spring started off on the right foot. Just know that lots of angels are traveling with you.

[PacNorWest]

#23

Will swore under his breath,"I hope to God she didn't kill them, I'd like to get my hands on a couple of those idiot's."

Mark said "Let us go up in the yard and 'stand down' the clan. If she has the scope, she'll take out a patrolman or two before we can get her stopped."

Will held up his hand to stop the men from moving, "let the drone make one more pass, we don't want any nasty surprises, then if the Incident Commander agrees, you can go on up."

The minutes stretched out forever, before Will waved them forward. "It looks clear, but be alert and please get Clora under control. The two bodies are alive but working their way out of the tree farm. We have men waiting for them, but we DON'T want them shot."

Mark and Wayne went tearing up the driveway, honking their horns and skidding to a stop in front of Ben's place. Mark hustled out of the Jeep and went bounding up the porch steps, jerking open the front door he started hollering for Clora.

"Clora, Clora are you and Milo OK?" Mark was shouting.

"We're OK," Clora had to yell back to get Mark's attention, "Hold on a minute, I've got to put the safety on. I found two of those buggers trying to slip through the tree farm and drilled both of them in the legs. I wanted Will to be able to get information from them."

"Good plan," Mark approved, "How are you Milo?"

"Holy cow," Milo came running to jump into Mark's arms. "Auntie Clora had to shots them fellas. I was scared but I put a towel in the bathtub to lay on and got my pillow. I had to sing to pretend I was brave."

"Way to go Milo," Mark patted the young man on the back. "I'm glad you listened to Auntie Clora, that proves to me you are becoming a big boy."

Clora gave Milo a pat on the leg as she walked into the living room to peer outside. "Who's here and did anyone know who these crumbs might be?"

Mark reached over and took his weapon from Clora, she handed it over happily. "That gun is heavy, but that scope is really neat, I need one of those."

"I'm sure you do," Mark said dryly, "Nothing would be safe."



Ev was sure he could hear his sweet Cheryl calling to him, in his fuzzy delirium he was positive he could hear her voice. That putrid smell was near, Ev coughed and tried to retch again, wondering what could smell so rotten. Breathing hard against the pain he tried a swimming motion to pull himself further in the cab. Giving a lunge, he was able to grab the arm rest from the passengers side and use his right hand to slide further in the cab.

Something cold and wet brushed against his hand and a pitiful whine sounded from below him on the floor. Ev's useless left arm flopped down by the gear shift, banging his knuckles on the metal collar surrounding the shifter boot. The hurt was almost welcome, it was proof he could still feel and was alive. Scooching himself forward until his head mashed into the armrest, Ev had to rest, he was totally exhausted. The light was either fading or strengthening, he couldn't tell, but he was so cold and his hand wouldn't work.

Now Ev was down in the crevices between the bench seat and the back. His hips had barely cleared the narrow space between the seat and the steering wheel. His feet and legs were in the way, the door wouldn't close. How to get his bad leg in the cab where it wouldn't respond, and how the heck was he gonna get the door close. It was getting darker, and colder. His arm had Ruby trapped against the bottom of the seat and the dash.

"Ruby, how am I gonna do this?" Ev whispered to the dog. Her whine was proof she was alive and listening. Struggling to get up and shake off the dead weight of her human's arm, Ruby strained against Ev.

Ev raised his good leg and tried to push himself up to lay on his side so he could bend his knees and fit inside the cab. He rocked the cab and the door partially closed against his straining muscles. He either went to sleep in this position or simply couldn't move any more, it really made no difference at this point

[juco]

Yay! Pac is home!

I sincerely hope Mr.Pac got a good check up and is doing well.

Now to get some help for poor Ev....

[wab54]

I hope all is well with Mr pac and you? Glad to see you back.


WAB

[PacNorWest]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Mr. Pac had a fine checkup and bone prognosis. Praise the Lord!!!!

We had a wonderful visit with son and DIL. We are so blessed to have a strong family that we are so proud of, I've got to tell ya...it makes this old gal's heart swell with pride.

[sssarawolf]

Great report Pac and thank you for the new chapter.

[Siskiyoumom]

Good to hear the report on how well dear Mr. Pac is doing!
Hope your have a nice day of rest this weekend.

[nancy98]

Thanks for sharing the good news PAC.

And thanks for the new chapter.

[PacNorWest]

#23b

In his foggy pain Ev could hear Cheryl calling to him and he struggled to answer. "I hear you Cheryl," he said aloud into the frigid dark, "I just can't do it. Are you sure I can do it, OK, I'll try." Ev surged against his pain and weakness. With a mighty push that came from his secure knowledge that if Cheryl thought he could do it, he probably could; he just had to try.

Boy!, Ev thought Cheryl might be over estimating his ability as he tried to flex muscles that were screaming cold and stiff from the awkward position he was in. A little bit of Adrenalin rush had Ev folding himself in the cab and using the toe of his boot in the indentation of the arm rest to bring the door closed.

Shivering hard against the effort, Ev dreamed of the warmth the sleeping bag in the back seat would give him. He felt the warmth cover him, the cloth seat under his cheek heating ever so slightly. Now, Ev had a logistics problem. How was he going to lift himself with his only working hand, and grab the sleeping bag and pull it into the front seat. He had to think on that problem. The warmth on him right now, shifted and settled back down. It was more than a one dog night, but that all he had, so Ev made do.


Ben and Wayne went to Ev's to check on the Wilson Family. Cheryl hated to tell them Ev had gone off to Evergreen, and they were a little surprised he would go alone. "Why?" Wayne was miffed that Ev would take off when Ev knew how much Wayne wanted to go along.

"He was like a man possessed," Cheryl shook her head sadly, "If I didn't know better, I would call it his middle age attempt at a second childhood lark."

"Yeah, that was a bird brained thing to do alright," Wayne agreed. The farm houses stayed dark, as the members made do with reheated food from the fridges. The dark gave them a sense of security, as the shades and heavy drapes were pulled to enclose the family's from the bumps that happened in the night.

Wayne had supper with Clora and Mark and Milo. The blessed warmth from the Monarch range enveloped them in the kitchen and the chili was as good as the teasing whiff's of the spicy concoction promised. Will came in later, with news of the two shooters that had been shot.

"Cambodian, as far as can be understood from what they are saying. They are here legally, and were contacted to take on a killing for quick cash from an 'unknown' person. Yeah right!" Will snorted as he scooped some of Bossie's sour cream on his bowl of red.

Bossie was mad, right down to her little bitty shiny black horns and started a fuss that had Mark listening to the bellowing going on outside. "Poor cow, I bet she hasn't been milked, I'll run out and do that. No Milo, not tonight. I don't want to have you outside this late."

Milo was one very put out boy, but held his seat when Clora asked him to stay inside. Mark made quick work of Bossie's problem, fed the cows and the horses and was back inside looking for dessert.

"How about some peach cobbler," Clora put the pan and bowls and spoons on the table. She had been craving peaches all day, smelling the dessert as it cooked in the morning. Taking a big bite of the cinnamon sweetened fruit with the buttery almond crust, Mark said "Yumm, Clora you keep this up and some day I'm gonna marry you." he teased with a satisfied smile.

"Hell, I'll marry you," both Wayne and Will chimed in, shoveling in large spoonfuls and pretending to swoon.

"Me too," Milo wasn't going to be out done.



Cheryl and Christy made do with sandwiches and canned pears and went to bed early. Cheryl had horrible disturbing nightmares, waking up many times to a feeling of fear and dread for Ev's safety.

Early the next morning, Cheryl waylaid Wayne before he went to work and asked him to take her to Evergreen.

[bad_karma00]

I'm glad you got a good report Pac! The Lord watches over us, and hears our prayers.

Welcome home.


Bad

[Rabbit]

Glad you and Mr. Pac are safely home and thank you for the new chapters.

[Sammy55]

Thanks, Pac, for the wonderful chapters! And praise God for the good news on Mr. Pac and for the blessed time you spent with family.

I'm glad you are home safe.

[kua]

Good news to hear Mr. Pac is doing so well, and by the sounds of your comments, so are you. Happy day for all!

[stjwelding]

Pac it good to see you are home and that all went well. Glad to see you posting already, first chance Iv'e had since you left for Mr Pac's exam to check. It was a pleasant surprise to find chapters waiting for me, thank for posting. I spent yesterday in our capital with 3,000 to 4,000 other New Yokers telling the Governor how unhappy we are about him taking away our 2nd Amendment Rights and literally making us criminals if we refuse to give up our 2nd amendment rights.
Wayne

[PacNorWest]

#24

It took Cheryl an hour to get her all together's together. Wayne traveled lighter, but it took a twenty minute phone call to get a 'mental health day' from work and call Andi to cancel the afternoon coffee date. The date was the hardest to accomplish, cause Andi was suspicious Wayne was canceling for no good reason.

Finally satisfied that Wayne actually had a minor emergency, Andi let him go with a stern admonition to get him self to work tomorrow and no begging off their coffee get together. Wayne meekly said "yes Ma'am, I'll be there for sure." and he must have sounded convincing, cause Andi said, "then I expect you to be careful, RIGHT?" Wayne agreed, there wasn't anything else he could say.

Ben was upset that Wayne would be gone overnight, right when they were having a crisis. That left them shorthanded for protection and total manpower. Will agreed to change shifts and stay at the farm for the day, while Mark was at work and then the two men would change responsibilities when Mark got home.

Christy would be in charge of milking for the next couple of days, also tasked with the chicken chores. Lainey and kids were brought up to the main house so all the family's were easier to protect.

Lainey had spent the morning in as close to a snit as she could manage. Ben was being stubborn about the fence, and Mark had brought him the estimates and the company's substantial deduction for cash. The fence company was desperate for business, the economy had dried up the call for fencing of any kind, and the men needed work.

Lainey and Clora spent the morning talking about the pro's and con's of the fence. Lainey was flaming angry that Ben was being such a aggravating man about the subject.

"I just don't understand," she said for the hundredth time. "Mark is willing to foot the bill, so am I as a matter of fact. I want the protection the fence will give us. Is it the total answer, probably not, but it sure will help."

Anne took her cue from her mother and was fussy all morning. Milo and Teddy played together with their cars and ate and went down for a nap willingly.

Clora and Lainey did hot roast beef sandwiches with vegetable soup for the lunch and both of them rested in the living room, while discussing Cheryl and Ev.

Lainey debated about bringing up a sensitive subject and then decided she and Clora were good enough friends so she could speak her mind.

"Clora, just between us two, I need to know how committed you are to this place." Lainey said into the comfortable silence.

Half asleep, Clora said "Huh?'

"Have you ever considered the total amount of trouble that has happened since we came here? Now I know Grandmother Evie liked this place and seemed to decide that this is where we should live, but I am wondering if that has been the wisest move for all of us." Lainey finally said what she had been thinking for a long time.

"Whatever, whomever is causing all this grief for us, seems to want us off of here. So any thinking person would begin to ask themselves why, what is here that someone else would covet? Is it the location, the land or soil, the way we got the land, relatives of Walter's that are mad, com'on here, get in gear and give me more ideas," Lainey insisted.

"I haven't got a clue, haven't thought about it at all," Clora said thoughtfully. "Just a minute, let me go get Grandma's journal and see what she had to say. There are a lot of written predictions I don't understand."

Lainey was disgusted, and had to work hard not to let it show. Why, she was thinking, should an old dead lady control them all from the grave. Lainey couldn't see the blind devotion to what Evie proclaimed had to be. Ben was just as goofy as Clora was acting when it came to the rigid behavior of Evie's proclamations.

Clora returned with the gray tweed looking journal and flipped to the back. Returning two or three pages, Clora got absorbed in reading the scratchy, spidery writing.

Lainey waited a good while before she interrupted Clora's musings. "Well? Does Evie give any clues as to what's happening here? Has she written she's against the fence," the latter was a bit waspish from the good natured Lainey.