Nathan's Clan of Deadheads Page 19

  “Ha! It’s not like you haven’t gone there yourself. You admitted as much.”

  “I’m not saying anything, I’m just asking. To each his own.”

  “Just yanking your chain.” Zach tilted his head in thought, and a grin spread over his face. “’Course, I have seen him trying to hide a log of wood when the girls are working in those shorts and thin blouses they bought on the last trip into town. So, who knows, maybe he’s just a normal, horny seventeen-year old kid.”

  “I suppose. We need to get this bunkhouse done, though. You never know when Heidi is going to show up with another one.” More than double the size of the other cabins on the compound—except his own which was about this same size and held communal meals during inclement weather—this one would house three bunkbeds, a chair and side table for each of the six inhabitants. It would have a cold-water sink, as soon as the pipe from the spring could be extended. Nathan shrugged and bent to his work, putting a tape measure to another length of board. “This is all happening at a much faster pace than I ever imagined.”

  With the eight existing cabins already full, it forced the original inhabitants to double up. Heidi had brought six kids; four girls and two boys. The youngest, a little dark-skinned girl of six with the curliest hair Nathan had ever seen, the oldest a fourteen-year old boy as thin as a cornstalk; all battered in one way or another; verbally, mentally, physically, or all three at once. How many more did they expect him to provide for? Yet, each new arrival broke his heart and getting one decent gander at them made it impossible to send them somewhere else. To see these children flinch and shy away, to have them hide like rabbits in a hole…he couldn’t imagine what things they’d been forced to endure.

  Heidi brought them—how he didn’t know and, furthermore, didn’t want to—and stepped clear of them. Cooing reassurances they were safe, Sarah and the other women surrounded the kids before they could shake themselves awake. Nathan sure did bless those women for having the gentleness and patience of a mama sheep. Lord, almighty, a couple of the youngsters had to be coaxed out just to use the outhouse.

  The exterior walls lay on the floor, framed and ready to stand. Nathan, Zach, and Marcus finished securing the first in place when Sarah showed up with a pitcher of cold water. “Straight out of the spring.”

  Nathan wished, not for the first time since returning and embarking on the chores around the compound, that Shelly was the one standing with the sun glistening off her hair, offering her smile and encouragement. Nights were the worst, as he lay on his bed imagining her body curled around his, listening to her even breathing as it moved into a shared tempo with the songs of crickets and nightingales, and the occasional hoot of an owl.

  After wiping hands on jeans, the men accepted filled glasses with a trio of “thank you.” Nathan took several swigs before noticing Marcus chugging his and nudged him with an elbow. “Slow down there, or you’ll be retching it all back up.”

  Zach sat on the newly constructed porch and wiped sweat from his body with his shirt. “This one’s finally beginning to take shape. How’re Steve and the guys coming along on the other building?”

  “Well, not to encourage competition,” Sarah paused and grinned at the sound of hammers pounding filtering across the distance, “but, they’re about to start putting trusses on for the roof. Look for yourself.” She pointed to a framed-out structure to the south of Nathan’s cabin. “It’s gonna be a real nice place to gather for meals and such. I expect you’ll be happy to have your place back to yourself, huh, Nathan?”

  “I haven’t minded, really.” That wasn’t the exact honest truth, but like his Mama told him once, ‘white lies spare feelings. That goes twice for girls. You remember that when you get hitched and you’ll have a good marriage.’ He nodded toward the other building. “I wonder if they’d be willing to come over here and help us catch up.”

  “Lunch’ll be ready soon. You could take a look at how far they’ve come and judge for yourself,” Sarah suggested. When Zach excused himself, and headed to the brush, she refilled their glasses and placed the pitcher on the porch. “I better get back. Bring that with you, if you would. Glasses too, if you expect to be able to drink anything with your meal.”

  “Are you telling me we need to get more kitchen things?”

  Sarah stopped her trek across the meadow. “Might be a good idea, Nate. I can go into Roanoke this afternoon, and take a couple of the girls with me to help.”

  Making his way back out of the bushes, Zach returned to the conversation. “Do you think that’s a good idea? What if they’re recognized? You know, from posters or something? You never know how far and wide these Amber Alerts reach.”

  “Now, I didn’t think of that. You could be right.” Sarah inhaled and held it for a moment. “Well, I guess it’ll have to wait, then.”

  “I think we’ll be in need of the next batch of building supplies by mid-morning tomorrow, anyway. If you make us a list, it’s just as easy to grab that while we’re there.”

  “I can do that.” Sarah resumed her trek to Nathan’s cabin.

  Marcus piped up for the first time in more than an hour. “How’s come ya’ll keep making these trips? Why don’t we get all we need to finish this at one time instead of back and forth?”

  Nathan scowled at him, but chuckled. “And have the building supply store call the county? Before you could crack a whip on a pony, the authorities would be swarming this place like ants on a sack of sugar in the root cellar. Inspectors crawling up our butts? Them asking all kinds of questions? No thanks.”

  “Kid,” Zachariah said, “if you think multiple trips is bad, you should’ve been here for building the other places. At least we have an ATV and trailer to haul supplies along the route through the trees you developed using that Google Earth thing. We used to have to drag everything almost a mile from the parking area.” His expression changed and he burst into laughter. “One time we were hauling a big load across the footbridge and Nate, here, slipped and tumbled halfway down the gully. Took a full two hours to get him and all the supplies up. Then he barked out an ‘ouch’ with every step the rest of the way up here. I swear to you, I spent three hours of my evening with a pair of tweezers pulling bramble stickers out of his ass.”

  “I’m glad ya’ll are getting so tickled over my discomfort,” Nathan said, through a laugh as full-throated as Marcus’. “But, you know, Zachariah, you stretch that yarn more every time you tell it.”

  “It’s all true, Marcus, every word of it,” Zach said with a wink at Nathan.

  Nathan glanced skyward. “Well, come on now. We best get back to work. Looks like a right-big storm could be brewin’. It’d be good to have the wall frames up before we head over for lunch.”

  An hour later, as they wrestled with the first roofing truss, Sarah’s voice reached them, “Nate, Zach, Marcus, lunch!”

  Zach stood spread-legged across a corner on top of the joists. “Let ’er down, Marcus. We’ll get it later. Maybe this wind will die down a bit. If those clouds don’t dump buckets, we might even get the roof on by sundown.” He jumped down from his perch, and grabbed his shirt off the floor. “I suppose if we don’t dress, there’ll be hell to pay.”

  A scrunched-up expression hit Marcus across the face. “I’m hot and sweaty, and I have to be dressed for lunch?”

  “Well,” Nathan paused, pulling a t-shirt over his head. “My Big Mama would slap me up the backside of my head, grab an ear, and send me off howling. ‘You wasn’t born in the barn Nathaniel Ray. You know better’n to come to my table like that.’ We’ve got a gaggle of kids here now. We need to teach them some manners.”

  Zach punched Marcus on the shoulder, and moved upwind of him as they headed to the main cabin. “Whew. Boy, you’re lucky he doesn’t make you go take a bath first.”

  Marcus flipped him a middle finger, then indicated the mouth of the path. “Looks like we got us another one.”

  A young boy, about twelve-years old, stood gaping around the
meadow. A woman old enough to be his mother had a hand on his shoulder. Sunlight glared off a cast on the boy’s left arm. A voice called out, and the two moved toward the group already gathering around the tables set up under the shade of the largest cottonwood tree.

  Nathan’s chin dropped to his chest and he sighed. When would there be time to enjoy life, that’s what he wanted to know. After all, isn’t that what this jumping into bodies was supposed to be all about? Lord, how he wanted to go back to Cleveland and Shelly. Each time the solar and satellite systems got set out, he wished he’d asked for Shelly’s email if she had one. Every trip to a neighboring town, he reached to turn on his phone to call or text, but some issue cropped up to distract him. By the time he managed to retrieve his brain for his own purposes, they’d be out of range of any cell towers.

  Days were stretched to the limit with chasing after one or another of the children, scolding, instructing, or fixing something. Sarah and the other women worked non-stop in daily chores. Some adult-sized help needed to show up or they’d all be frazzled to their wits’ end. He peered over to watch the new woman make her way. She moved with an obvious limp in her gait. But, maybe, if she wasn’t in too bad of shape, she might could chip in.

  No sooner had the women of the clan surrounded the newcomers than Jenna and Heidi stepped clear.

  Chapter 40

  Nathan watched Jenna turn a full three-sixty and take in the structures that ringed the glen. She nodded. “It looks as if you’re holding up your end of the bargain.”

  “We can’t keep up with all the kids.” Nathan faced Heidi. “You have to find somewhere else to take them.”

  “There is nowhere else, buttface.”

  Nathan’s hands balled into fists. “Do you understand, there’s no running water, no electricity, we use wood stoves for heat. These children have a tough enough time, and you expect them to adjust to a place like this? Bathing in a creek, using outhouses? This place was not meant for a village.”

  “So, what’s your problem, jerk-off? Fix it.” Heidi moved closer, her stance that of a challenging wrestler.

  A small voice from the group asked, “Who’s he talking to?”

  “I think he’s just working something out in his head. He does that sometimes, talks aloud to work through an issue,” came Sarah’s response.

  Jenna moved between them. “Stop. Both of you.”

  “We’ve run out of room. The two structures here,” Nathan pointed out the framed-out buildings, “are as far as we can go without calling attention to ourselves.”

  “Would you be willing to show me around?” Jenna headed toward one of the small structures.

  Nathan’s shoulders drooped. “Sure. Why not?”

  They walked along the perimeter of the meadow. Jenna poked her head into each cabin. A might on the rude side and nosy for his taste. But, intimidation held his tongue.

  When they stood on the far side, in front of the beginnings of the new bunkhouse he, Marcus, and Zachariah toiled over, Jenna sat. “How much land do you have here?”

  “I don’t know for sure. Couple thousand acres, I guess.”

  “And this is the only spot capable of housing?”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “I’m just thinking out loud, here.” She stood and moved toward the foot path. “What if you were to build a real place. Dormitories. All legit?”

  “I came here because it provided a refuge for us,” Nathan pointed out. “For me, Sarah, Steve, Zachariah, Marcus, and…well, people like us. A place we could live without fear of discovery. Some left because of the trouble I caused. Now, you want me to tell the ones who stayed that they have to give this all up?”

  “You knew you were breaking the rules. This was the deal. Besides, how can you deny helping those kids?” Jenna pointed to the picnic tables filled with people in front of Nathan’s cabin.

  “What you’re asking would require architectural plans, permits, contractors, and workers crawling all over my property. This is pristine land. I won’t have it ruined.”

  “I’d take a close look at what she’s suggesting, if I were you.”

  “Marvin, I told you to stay in the car.” Jenna’s expression matched that of a a bull about to charge.

  Marvin shrugged. “I wanted to see the place. So, sue me.”

  Nathan ignored him. “Besides, it would cost four or five million.”

  “More like ten or fifteen. That’s a drop in your bucket, and you know it.” Marvin poked a finger into Nathan’s arm.

  It was true Nathan had amassed a solid fortune over the years. Though the mine operations had been sold off years before, the companies leased the land. New contracts every few years upped the income and his equity continued to build. Not only did the investment company manage his trust with expertise, Nathan kept expenditures to a minimum. Yes, he admitted the winter excursions could be indulgent but he never outspent the income.

  These Watchers, or whatever they called themselves, stole a blooming relationship away from him. They breached his privacy. Now they wanted a big old chunk of his fortune. They wanted his land. Moreover, they were endangering his people. The very ones who’d put their trust in him to maintain a certain level of privacy up here in the hollers. His jaw locked tight, his hands clenched. The gall of these people incensed him. “And exactly how do you know that?”

  “Let’s just say I know how to make use of my old boss’ computer programs,” Marvin said.

  “I don’t care what you think you know,” Nathan continued his denial. “We are not capable of providing for these kids. They need counseling, they need schooling, they need medical attention. We have no teachers, we have no therapists, and we have no doctors or nurses. Like my grandpappy said, ‘You cain’t get no roast beef out of a sow’s belly.’ No. We can’t do what you’re asking.”

  “What if I told you we know someone who could accomplish what is needed without disrupting one more wild daisy?” Marvin jutted his chin at the flowers dotting the meadow.

  “I’d say you were trying to feed me Rocky Mountain Oysters and pass ’em off as Swedish Meatballs.”

  Jenna swiped a hand through Marvin’s arm. “What do you think you’re doing? How many times do I have to tell you to stay—”

  “Helping you both get what you want.” Marvin’s tone tinged with anger. “How is arguing and threatening him accomplishing anything? Let me handle this.”

  Nathan didn’t like where this was headed, but he’d seen his folks get into rows and knew better than to infringe. Best to take a step back and let it play out.

  “You?” Jenna asked. “You’re going to make everything right with the world here?”

  “You don’t think I can help? You’ve gotten so full of yourself, you’ve lost touch with what others might be able to offer. Or is it that you just think I’m lazy—or incompetent?”

  A rather rapid train of expressions crossed Jenna’s face before she said, “Oh, go step in front of a bus.”

  Marvin’s lips pursed and he shook his head. “Nope. Now it’s my turn to tell you that isn’t going to work. Not this time. Sorry, kiddo. So, why don’t you and Heidi take your pushy, self-important bullshit back to Dayton?”

  With a grim smile on her face, Jenna folded her arms. “Hmph. And what are you going to do? Stay here? There’s no Hilton nearby, you know.” Her head shook in a slow, sad rhythm. “Marvin, this is way out of your league.”

  “You think I can’t live without luxuries? You think I can’t help these kids? I got news for you.” Marvin turned away and walked toward the gathering.

  Jenna let loose with an exasperated sigh.

  Nathan put his hands up to ward off any incoming wrath. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be the cause of trouble.”

  “It’s not… Never mind. Look, we need a place for these children, and women if the one I brought is any indication.”

  “She can stay if she can help tend to the little ones,” Nathan acquiesced.

  “She has to st
ay. Didn’t you get a look at her? Bruises around her neck, a black eye, contusions and lacerations. Nathan, she’s as battered as her son. We had to bring them both.”

  An extended growl emitted from Nathan’s midsection. “I best be getting some fuel put into my stomach. There’s a lot of work to be done yet before the sun goes down.”

  He left Jenna standing at the head of the path, and gave a nod as Heidi passed on her way to catch up. He stopped, turned around, and called to her. “Heidi, wait…” He closed the gap between them. “I’ve been meaning to say thank you. Really, I mean that. What you do…it’s…it’s a good thing, and I apologize if I’ve acted like a mule’s back end.”

  “It’s okay, Nathan. I get it. I know I come off…well, like an angry bitch sometimes. It just tears me up to see anyone in pain, no matter what the cause.” She brushed the back of a hand at the tears forming. “But, what people like these have been put through, especially kids, it hurts me so much that I can’t stand by and watch it happen.”

  Nathan studied her for a moment. “You know, if I’d been paying attention, I might’ve seen that heart of gold sooner.”

  He hugged her, then held her gaze for a moment, and walked away. When he reached the outskirts of the group of picnic tables, he hesitated and watched the two women vanish down the path into the woods.

  Marvin appeared at his side and murmured, “Go fall down a flight of stairs.”

  Nathan didn’t want to pry, but there was a wistfulness to the statement that touched him, and he thought again about Shelly and wished she was here with him. To put Marvin at ease, and to stop brooding over Shelly, he asked, “So, what did you have in mind?”

  Chapter 41

  Tufts of cottonwood and dogwood had ceased floating on the breezes that alleviated the heavy humidity. Summer passed into a slow emergence of normalcy. The new bunkhouse and common buildings had been finished and outfitted. Yet the place again stood about two folks past exploding. The boys came around to acceptance faster than the girls as chores were augmented and seasoned. At first, they lamented the lack of electronic gadgets. But as the days wore on they found things to occupy the time. The boys teased with frogs brought up from the stream, or all manner of toads and bugs captured in the woods. The girls fed the fun with screams. Raucous laughter in voices high and low played on into dusk hours chasing fireflies.