Nathan's Clan of Deadheads Page 20

  Nathan stood on a hilltop more than a mile from the compound, looking out at the tops of timber that already showed signs of the oncoming spattering of blazing colors impossible to recreate from a painter’s palette. Any day now, it would happen overnight if the coolness in the air was to be any judge; they would wake to trees dressed in scarlets and oranges and tans. He separated himself from Erick. Something he’d taken to doing every so often despite the looming threat of Jason’s appearance, and what the repercussions of doing so meant to each of them. It provided time to talk in a more normal manner.

  Erick didn’t move, as if mesmerized. “It’s so beautiful up here. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of this.”

  Nathan nodded. “This is the best gift I ever got.”

  “Have you seen it all? Every piece of it?”

  “You mean walked it? No. There’s something about the thought of it being pure in every sense of the word that always stopped me.” Nathan sat on a large granite boulder between two trees.

  “I do thank you. Really. This is a tranquility I would’ve never known.” Erick breathed deep.

  “I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t done what you did in the mall, called out to me like you did, I’d be… well, I don’t want to think about it.”

  Nathan’s soft laughter brought Erick to sit next to him. “It’s all missing one thing, though.”

  Despite the quiet sense of dismay that poked Nathan’s heart at the loss of her, it was good to hear Erick express his feelings; the same feelings Nathan himself had for the bitty woman who’d touched his heart in such a large way. “Shelly. Oh, how I wish… But, I’m sure she’s moved on. Probably forgot all about us, if she hasn’t burned us in effigy a hundred times for leaving the way we did.”

  Erick pitched a small granite stone over his shoulder. “It’s not like we didn’t have it coming.”

  “Ya’ll think she got as smitten as we did?” Nathan wanted to believe she had.

  “That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” Erick pulled the jacket closed. “Well, what say we try to find out when the snow starts?”

  “If things have progressed far enough with the new campus, I think I might could get on that buckboard. The way Marvin jumped right into the challenge impressed me. That Davy guy he brought to us is a might excitable, but I’ll admit he sure does get things done.”

  “I’ll say. And the people he managed to rouse is amazing. When we looked over the plans, and I said it looked as if Frank Lloyd Wright had done them…the withering expression and the way he said, ‘Imagine that.’ stunned me. I mean, think about it. How does he do it?”

  “He’s got a way about him, that’s for sure. He’s a bit on the nelly side, as my daddy would call it, but it serves him well ’cause he sure is a likable sort. According to deadheads, he pulled off the most elaborate wedding ever witnessed for Jenna and Marvin. Out in the middle of the Caribbean, no less. If he puts the same level of detail into this job, this will be some shelter.”

  Erick moved across the small clearing, scattering a cloud of gnats as he walked through the grass. Putting a hand to his brow, he asked, “Where is it from here?”

  “You won’t be able to see the site. Not even from up here.” Nathan joined him and pointed to the northeast. “About three miles that way. Zachariah says it’s far enough away to ensure no one interferes with us, close enough to keep an eye on. Though, it’s beyond me what we need to watch over. I’m just glad it’s out of sight. Still sticks in my craw a might, knowing it’s making a mark on the land.”

  Agreeing to build surprised him as much as it did the folk around these parts. The construction made a splash farther than one would imagine, though the locals had no idea as to the real purpose.

  “Did ya’ll think ever in your life that the Crockett land would see some high-falutin’ huntin’ lodge built on it, of all things?” went the wagging of tongues in the four counties the property touched.

  “Never,” came each and every response Nathan had heard about. “The way I figgered it, that family would hoard it to themselves past the second comin’.”

  Erick dropped his lookout stance. “If it makes you feel any better, Davy did say it would blend into its surroundings so well you’d need a hawk’s eyes to make it out.”

  “That there remains to be seen.”

  “And, if it keeps us on our communal path, it’s worth it, right?”

  Nathan had to agree. Odd at first, this free sharing of information was much better than mining for information, or hearing Erick’s thoughts burst forth in his head. That was downright freakish, though it had saved their collective bacon more than once during the drive from Cleveland to home.

  “Brake, Nathan, brake,” shouted in his head. Nathan’s attention returned to find he was about to drive right up the hind end of a tractor-trailer. A foot slammed down on the pedal, while the opening bass drum salvo to “My Hero” thumped and resonated in his chest. The old F-150 squawked and shuddered its way to a halt about eighteen inches from disaster. “What the hell. If you can’t stop thinking about Shelly, maybe you should slide on out and let me drive.”

  “Erick?”

  “Don’t Erick me. It’s one thing to let you use my body, and I can see I’d be just fine on the other side, but I’m not ready to die just yet. Now, pay attention.”

  “Sorry.” Nathan drew a deep breath. Thank goodness Heidi looked to be sleeping or she’d be bitching in his ear. At least Erick faded into the background. When traffic cleared, he pulled around the semi and continued.

  The next day, rounding a bend on a backroad, Erick again jumped to the rescue. “Bike! Bike!” The image in his head of Shelly dissolved, and Nathan pulled the wheel to the left and swerved. The kid on the bicycle flipped him the bird and yelled “Asshole.” But at least he was able.

  The genuine friendship felt good and right. Particularly here on the grounds of the Crockett property. Nathan knew his host cared about the land, loved it as much as he and, should Jason catch them separated, Erick would continue to protect it. With the requisite paperwork completed naming Erick as guardian, or whatever the lawyers had cited as the proper term, he would see that it stayed pristine. And the clan protected.

  Nathan placed a hand on Erick’s shoulder. “Well, I suppose we should get a move on. Dinner’ll be on soon.”

  Erick sat on the boulder and waited. Nathan slid in and headed back to the compound. He ambled along, taking his time to gawk at trees, listen to birds squawk at his passing, and critters rustle through the underbrush as they scurried away.

  Before he broke through the woods at the north end of the meadow, the aroma of roasting apples and pork drifted into his senses. Zachariah had made good on his promise of one more pit-fired barbeque before the weather snapped. The crowded tables played a dissonant symphony of discussion and laughing.

  A single voice stood out from the rest. “Who’s that?”

  Nathan followed the extended finger. And ran.

  Chapter 42

  Halfway across the glen, all doubt dissipated. The brown hair was a might longer, but the small, slight frame made denial impossible. Her unmistakable voice called out to him, “Nathan!”

  He picked up speed. His arms opened wide, spread to sweep her off her feet. She jumped into them instead. When they came up for air after a hundred kisses, he managed to ask, “Oh, my lord, how did you get here, how did you find this place?”

  Shelly separated herself from his grasp, and pointed to the carrier on the ground. “Him.”

  Nathan stared with his mouth agape. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either, but he did.” Shelly laughed, and picked up the carrier and pulled the blanket away from the baby’s face. “Nathan, I’d like you to meet Daniel. Somehow, this little guy told me exactly how to find you. Every road, every turn. The precise place to find the rutted path to your parking area; everything. I’m not sure I believe in telepathy, but I don’t know what else to call it.”

  “He’s
yours?” Nathan stared down at the most angelic face he’d ever laid eyes upon. Bright blue eyes stared up at him from under light brown hair.

  “Ours,” Shelly said. “Daniel, this is your daddy.” The tiny face broke out in a smile, and a giggle broke forth as Shelly placed him into Nathan’s arms. A tiny hand worked its way from under the blanket and reached out.

  Nathan had heard folks talk about instant, unconditional love. It never occurred this would happen to him. He’d never have a family, a real family; it couldn’t be possible. Yet, here she stood. A woman he cherished. And now a son. My God, a son. If any one of his clan members asked him to describe what he felt right now, his mama would be telling him to shut his trap lest he swallow a dragonfly whole. “Hello, Daniel. Welcome home.”

  He wouldn’t relinquish Daniel, so Shelly grabbed the carrier. Halfway to the crowd gathering for dinner at the picnic tables, Shelly stopped and pulled on his arm.

  “Are these all your kids?” More than a tinge of apprehension poked through.

  “In a manner of speaking, you might could say that. Yes, ma’am.” Nathan gave her a tug. “Come on, you’ll understand when I introduce you to everyone.”

  Zach met them halfway across the field, and he winked. “I suppose this means we have to find room for two more.”

  “I suspect so, Zach. This is Shelly. Shelly, this here’s Zachariah. He’s my right-hand man around here, and—dare I say—best friend.”

  The slightest blush traveled up Zach’s face. “Pleased to meet you. Here, let me take the baby’s carrier for you.”

  “Zachariah. What a pretty name.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that,” Zach said, hooking an arm around hers as they continued their way to the group, “but it’s what my folks stuck me with, so I suppose it’ll have to do.”

  All chatter ceased when Nathan halted their tangential parade at the head of the line of tables. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Shelly. And, this here little fellow is my son, Daniel.”

  Cooing and babbling like a bunch of hens in a coop, every woman jumped from her seat and ran to see the baby. Zach nudged Nathan. “Congratulations. Why didn’t you say anything? I would’ve found a way for you to leave.”

  “Firstly, I had no idea. Secondly, how could I leave? You know what Jenna and them laid on me. It’s on me, it’s my responsibility.”

  “Are you gonna tell her?” Zach jutted his chin in Shelly’s direction.

  Nathan blew out a stream of air. “If I can figure how.” Then he raised his voice. “Well, come on, then. Ya’ll scoot over and make some room. Sarah, Maryann, get the lady a plate and something to drink, if you would please. She’s got to be hungry after such a trip. Steve, Marcus, and Zach, would all ya’ll help me get her things up from her car after we’ve gotten our bellies filled?”

  Three heads bobbed assent.

  During supper, with Shelly next to him and Daniel in his carrier on the bench to the other side, Nathan couldn’t keep from watching his family. “There’s a lot to show you here. And a lot to catch up on. A lot to explain.”

  “Well, sometime real soon, I’ve got to call my dad. I tried from the road just before I pulled in, and again after I parked. Couldn’t get a signal.”

  “Oh, sorry. There’s not a cell tower within miles. We’ll have to take a ride into Roanoke for you to do that. How is your father?”

  “Well, that explains why my calls and texts kept saying you were ‘Out of range.’ As for Dad… Let’s put it this way, if he could find you, he’s got a shotgun he’d like to introduce to you. To be brutally honest, I was ready to do that myself until Daniel pointed the way here.”

  “Oh, no. I surely did not intend for that.”

  A woman from the opposite end of the table asked, “Do I hear a wedding march in your future Mr. Crockett?”

  “I expect so,” Nathan responded. Then he smiled at Shelly. “I surely hope so.”

  “Well, I might agree to that. If I can be sure you aren’t going to send me a note and gift and go running off on me.”

  “About that. I surely do apologize. My mama raised me better’n that, and I promise to stick by like a burr; you’ll get downright tired of me and probably send me off packing.”

  “Well, then—”

  Davy’s excited voice broke out. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! A wedding? When? No, wait, we have to get this project done first. But, I’m thinking maybe right here in the meadow.”

  “Think quieter, Davy. You’re scaring the wildlife,” Marvin said to laughter from those who could hear him.

  That night, Nathan couldn’t sleep. He slipped on pants and a shirt. After Heidi showed up with the first young girl, the menfolk being naked halted like a gristmill with a boulder stuck in it. Chalk up one more thing to the plus side once the shelter was finished: The freedom to return to the kind of lives they’d led for more than one-hundred years.

  He slipped free of Erick, and sat on the edge of the porch. “How can we explain this to her?”

  “You’re asking me? You’re the one who’s been at this for almost two centuries.”

  “She’ll take off like a freed badger.” Nathan sent a small plume of dirt and grass through the air with a swift kick. “I’m afraid to lose her.”

  Erick looked down at him. “We love her, right?”

  “We do.”

  “Then we have to trust her. She’s bound to find out sooner or later, don’t you think?” Erick nudged Nathan’s leg with the side of his foot.

  “I suppose,” was Nathan’s desultory response.

  “How is it that son of ours told her how to get here? You’d think that alone would’ve freaked her out.”

  Nathan stood. Walking into the dew-laden grass, a shiver ran through him. “Did you see him wave at us? And I swear I heard him in my head.”

  “Nathan?” Shelly popped her head out the door. “Who are you talking to?”

  “Myself. I do that sometimes when I need to work something out,” Erick sounded like a magpie in the explanation given earlier that summer to one of the children Heidi brought. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Daniel woke. He’s hungry. I have a bottle warming on the stove.” Wrapped in a blanket, she stifled a yawn as she moved to stand beside him. “I thought you said you were talking to yourself. It’s cold out, aren’t you cold standing there in the grass like that?”

  “Who are you talking about? No one’s there.”

  “I see him. Just like I saw the two guys, Marvin and Davy, at the table tonight. Just like I’ve seen people on that side all my life. That Davy guy is funny; the way he flapped his hands and blathered on when he heard the mention of a wedding cracked me up.”

  Another moment of amazement for Nathan. “Shelly…”

  “Yeah?”

  “How freaky would it be,” Nathan began, moved to stand next to Erick, and nudged him.

  “If Nathan,” Erick continued.

  Nathan slipped in, “and I were the same person. Sort of.”

  “I’d say I’ve seen it before.” Shelly slid an arm around his waist. “If you’re trying to tell me that you were in there the whole time in Cleveland…Nathan, I don’t care. You’re the guy I met and fell in love with. You’re Daniel’s father.”

  Nathan pulled her into an embrace. “That is a load off the mule. But, someday, I’d like to talk about it at length.”

  “I don’t have a problem with it, really.”

  “No, that’s not… What I mean is…” Nathan shrugged. “About how you’ve always been able to see and hear the other side. Someday, I’d like you to explain it to me.”

  “I’m not really sure I have an answer for that.” After a moment, she pulled from his embracing arms. “Tomorrow, would you take me to see the site for the shelter?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’d be pleased.”

  Shelly tugged on his shirt sleeve. “Come on, then. Come back to bed.”

  Nathan sat on the bed and watched her pick Daniel from the carrier. A splatter of mi
lk on her wrist prefaced the tilting of the bottle to the ready mouth. Nathan held out his arms. “Can I?”

  Chapter 43

  Nathan woke early the next morning. He stepped off the porch and waved to Sarah as she headed toward one of the outhouses and he circled around the back of his cabin. This was getting to be tiresome. But normal had marched into history like last year’s Hit Parade. Still, the schedule needed to be pushed. The compound had to be returned to the clan members, that’s all there was to it.

  Personal need satisfied and back inside, Nathan heard Daniel mewl in his carrier. “I’ll get him, darlin’. You go back to bed.” He pulled the infant into his arms, prepared a bottle and placed it into a pot of water on the wood stove. Too cool. He tossed a small split log in. “We need to get you a crib, little man. I think a major shopping trip is in your future. Let’s just hope your mama isn’t a complete typical female and has you trying out a hundred beds before buying one.”

  “I heard that,” Shelly said, and rolled in the bed. “When, sir, did I ever give you the idea I was a typical female?”

  Nathan grinned at her. “Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am. That there was just man talk.”

  “Man talk already? Are you planning on teaching him to believe such terrible things?” Shelly rose and pulled on her jeans and blouse. “So, tell me, how does this whole commune thing work? Shouldn’t I be out there helping get breakfast ready?”

  A loud laugh broke from Nathan, and a small gurgle from Daniel. Based on the smile, Nathan swore a laugh issued from the bundle in his arms. “Your mama is going to fit in here right nice,” he said to his son. “They might appreciate an extra hand, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “I’m happy to. It’ll give me a chance to get to know them.” Shelly shoved her feet into shoes, then pointed at the computer in the corner. “Does that thing work?”