AFTER THE DUST SETTLED (Countdown to Armageddon Book 2) (8 page)

     Had that not been the case, he’d have seen the two men who were two hundred yards farther up the highway from where he turned off of it. They were walking toward him with the sun at their backs.

     And although Tom never saw them, they certainly saw him.

-13-

     It was an absolutely beautiful day. And for a change, the group was more or less caught up on their chores. The corn was growing quite nicely in the north field, the animals were all happy and getting fat. Duchess was ready to give birth any day, and they still hadn’t had any trouble with marauders.

     It was too gorgeous a day to let go to waste, so Scott announced that he and the boys were going fishing.

     “Oh really,” Joyce said. “Just like that?”

     “Yep. Just like that.”

     “And what if Linda and I want to take a day off and go fishing?”

     “Then you can come along. Sara can watch the monitors and call if she sees something out of the ordinary.”

     “Oh, yeah? Well, what if she wants to go too?”

     “She doesn’t. We already invited her. She said she hates fishing.”

     Then Linda started in.

     “Wait a minute. You invited Sara but you didn’t invite us?”

     “I thought it would give her and I a chance to bond a little. You two have bonded with her, but I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had a chance to.”

     But Joyce wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily.

     “So you figured you guys would just go relax by the side of the lake, and then bring back a big bucket of smelly, slimy fish that Linda and I would have to clean and cook for you. Is that it?”

     Scott gave up. He rolled his eyes and said to
Jordan, “Tell them, son.”

     “Dad wanted to surprise you. We were going to catch a few catfish, and we were going to clean them and cook them with some cornbread and beans, while you two took a night off from the kitchen and watched chick flicks with Sara.”

     Joyce and Linda looked at each other and suddenly felt foolish.

     Then they burst out laughing. Linda said, “Well, far be it from us to dampen such a great plan.”

     Joyce added, “Yes, indeed. Happy fishing, men. As you were and all that. Better get on your way now, the fish aren’t going to wait for you forever, you know.

     As
Scott, Jordan and Zachary headed out the back door, Joyce caught Scott’s eye and blew him a kiss.

     She said to Linda, “You know, dear, that husband of ours isn’t such a bad guy after all.”

     The fish were still getting used to the new pond that Jordan had dug out for them the previous summer. Presumably, there were still worms coming out of the new mud. And a swarm of mayflies had swept through the area a couple of nights before. Many of them stopped for a sip of water and drowned or were eaten as they skirted the top of the water.

     Whatever they were full of, the fish showed little interest in the bait the guys were offering. At least at first.

     That gave them plenty of time to talk.

     “You guys remind me to plant some trees along the bank of this thing so we can have some shade to sit in later on.”

     “Where are you gonna get trees, Dad? Aren’t the nurseries like, closed and stuff?”

     “Don’t listen to him, Dad. He’s such a dork. They don’t have to be open. They deliver. Duh…”

     Scott laughed at both of them and shook his head. Sometimes they seemed absolutely clueless.

     “No, I’m thinking a couple of oak trees. I’ll gather some fresh acorns and bring them down and plant them sometime in the next few days. Right next to the water. And then mother nature will do the rest.”

     “And that’ll make shade next time we go fishing?”

     Scott laughed again.

     “No, but we’ll twist the green branches if we need to to make sure a good strong branch goes directly over the water. In your lifetime, you’ll be able to watch your grandkids swing on a rope into the water below. And you’ll remember this day, when we sat here cursing the fish for not biting and saying we wish we had a shade tree.”

     “I can’t curse the fish. Every time I say ‘damn’ you yell at me.”

     “I do not. Only when your mom or another female is around.”

     “Why only then?”

     “Cursing is like farting. It’s okay to do it when you’re around your friends, or other men. It’s part of being a guy. Women say we’re barely civilized. We like to scratch our ass when it itches, fart when we want to, tell dirty jokes and curse. But women are more refined. They’re God’s gift to man. They make our life so much more pleasant. So we treat them with a little more respect. We do things like open doors for them and compliment them when they’re feeling a bit down. We tell them we love them so they know they’re appreciated. And sometimes we give them a night off from cooking and hope the
damn
fish are biting. But we don’t fart in their presence or use foul language. It’s just disrespectful. They don’t like it and shouldn’t have to listen to it. Women are soft and sweet and refined, compared to us.”

     Zachary looked at him.

     “Dad, I’ve heard mom curse. Sometimes she’s worse than you.”

     Scott pondered his words for just a moment.

     “Yeah, well, she’s not
always
refined. Sometimes she just gets down in the dirt with us apes and wallows around in it for short periods of time. But generally, treat her with the respect she deserves. Joyce too.”

     He looked at
Jordan.

     “And Sara as well. She’s turning into a woman. If you two stay in love, then it’s likely you’ll marry someday. Always treat her with dignity and respect. Don’t ever lay a hand on her, and watch the words you say to her. Angry words can hurt more than a slap to the face. If you love her, tell her often. And more importantly, show her. Be kind always.”

     Jordan merely nodded as he absorbed the advice.

     Zachary said, “I’m still not happy that I don’t have a girl. I mean, you’ve got Joyce and Butthead has Sara. Even Mom has Mr. Haskins. Shoot, Duke has Duchess. Who do I have?”

     “You’re young, Zach. There’s plenty of time for you to find a special girl. I’m hoping with all my heart that the world calms down enough someday to allow us to venture out. There will be other survivors, and some of them will be girls about your age. And I’m sure some of them would love to spend time with a boy like you.”

    
Jordan couldn’t help himself.

     “You mean a brainless freak?”

     “You must be looking in the mirror, shithead.”

     “All right, you two. Be nice before you scare the fish.”

     “What fish?”

     The fish must have heard
Jordan’s words. For it was at that exact moment that Scott had his first nibble.

     They’d finally decided they were hungry after all, and within another hour the three were on their way back to the house with a stringer full of catfish.

     “Dad,” Zachary asked as they walked along. “Do you think Amy is okay?”

     Amy was the love of Zachary’s life, his one big crush, and the girl he reluctantly left on the outside when they left
San Antonio.

     I think so, Zach. I’m sure she has a mom and a dad who care just as much for her as we care for you. And I’m sure they’re doing all they can to keep her safe.

     “If we can go back to the city sometime, I want to find her again. I think she’s the one I want to marry.”

     As promised, the boys cleaned the catch while the girls relaxed. Well, most of the girls. Sara had security duty, so she sat at the console watching the monitors and occasionally stole a glance into the den. When
Hope Floats
was finished, Linda put in
Pretty Woman
. Joyce switched places with Sara, since Sara had never seen the movie and Joyce had watched it a thousand times.

     In the kitchen, Scott had cornbread in the oven, battered catfish fillets in the deep fryer, and ranch style beans on the stove. Jordan and Zach were teaming up to make Cole slaw with cabbage
and carrots they’d picked fresh from the garden out back.

     For some reason,
out of the blue, Scott thought of his friend and neighbor Tom Haskins. He didn’t know whether Tom even liked fish, but he wished he’d invited him over for dinner. It was probably too late now. Tom had told him before that he liked to eat early, so he could turn in as soon as the sun went down and he turned his generator off.

     He decided that he’d take the leftovers to Tom the next day, find out if he liked fish, and invite him to come along the next time they went fishing. Tom was a good man. God fearing, honest and tough. Scott had liked him the first time they’d met two years before when Scott walked into the feed store where Tom had worked, and they’d become good friends since.

-14-

     Just after midnight, the group was awakened by a flurry of gunshots. Scott, Linda and Joyce went running downstairs to the security console, but there was nothing to see. All of the cameras were operating properly, but showed no prowlers, no sign of movement at all.

     “Which direction did they come from?”

     “I’m not sure. I think from the woods on the other side of the power lines. But it was hard to tell.”

     “No. I think it was more in the direction of Tom’s place. I hope he’s okay.”

     Scott picked up the walkie talkie. “Tom, this is Scott, can you read me? Just want to make sure you’re okay.”

     Nothing.

     Scott wasn’t surprised. Tom had said he only turned the walkie on when he was going to call them. He said he wanted to conserve the batteries. It had sounded like a good idea at the time. Now it sounded like the worst idea in the world. It hadn’t occurred to anyone that there might be times when the group might want to call Tom.

     Scott made a mental note to give Tom more of the rechargeable batteries, and to tell him to leave the walkie on all the time.

     He tried again.

     “Tom, this is Scott. If you can read me, come in. If you’re under duress, key the mike twice.”

     Still nothing.

     “I’m going over there to check on him.”

     But the women didn’t think it was such a good idea. And they ganged up on him.

     Joyce said, “No you’re not, Scott. If he’s under fire, he’s capable of defending himself. And if he needed your help, he’d have called us by now.”

     Linda added, “She’s right, Scott. If you go out there and there are bandits at Tom’s place, you’re likely to get shot yourself. And what good is that going to do to help the situation?”

     “I can’t just leave him over there by himself. He may be outgunned.”

     “Scott, stop and think about this. He is a strong man. He’s old school. He’s an experienced cowboy. He can defend himself. He said as much when we tried to talk him into coming in here with us, remember? He said not to worry about him, to worry about whoever tried to come after him instead. He said it with a laugh, but he was confident he could defend himself and his property.”

     Linda added, “And we’re not even sure where the shots came from. They may not have been anywhere near his place. But here’s what we do know for sure. He’s got a walkie talkie and he knows how to use it. And he knows we monitor channel five twenty four hours a day. If he needed your help, all he had to do was turn on the walkie and say so. And he didn’t. So that means either he’s got things under control, or the shots didn’t come from his property, or he’s still sleeping soundly and never even heard them.”

     “Linda’s right, Scott. If he needed help he would have called by now. If you go over there in the dead of night and start poking around, he may think you’re a prowler and you may get shot yourself. And that’s a tragedy none of us are willing to risk. In the morning, if Tom hasn’t called in, you can go over there and check on him. But you’re not going anywhere until morning light.”

     The kids were all up and watching the debate. Scott looked at
Jordan for support but could tell by the look on Jordan’s face that he agreed with the women. The kids liked Tom Haskins just as much as the adults did. He was kind to them and funny in an easy going way.

     But none of them thought it wise for Scott to risk his life to help a man who didn’t ask for help and in all likelihood didn’t need it.

     Scott was all alone. So he finally surrendered. Joyce made hot chocolate for everyone, since they were up anyway. Scott monitored the security console, and picked up the walkie at least five times to make sure it was on and the volume was up. His sons raided the refrigerator and heated up leftover fish and cornbread in the microwave.

     Joyce and Linda stood in the
kitchen, watching Sara watch Jordan eat. They sat at the dining room table together, holding hands and staring dreamily into each other’s eyes.

     None of the romance movies they’d watched the previous evening had anything on these two. They were watching true love blossom before their very eyes.

     Joyce eventually relieved Scott at the security station and he went to bed. He slept fitfully, still worried about his friend and might have happened at his place during the night.

-15
-

     Scott was up well before dawn and had already formulated his game plan. Just in case Tom’s place had been overrun during the night and was occupied by marauders, he decided not to show up in a vehicle. They’d be able to hear it coming, and would likely shoot him off of it as soon as he came into view.

     He also thought it was a bad idea to enter from the front of the yard. If marauders were expecting the cavalry to come, that’s where they’d be watching.

     No, Scott had a better idea. His property and Tom’s shared a common fence line, on the north side of Scott’s property. It was barricaded by toppled mesquite trees now to prevent intruders from sneaking up on the group, but that wasn’t a problem.

     Just before sunrise, Scott put his side arm on, threw his AR-15 over his shoulder, and kissed Joyce goodbye.

     “Please be careful,” was all she said.

     Scott walked out the front door and north of the compound. He climbed aboard the Bobcat and drove it to the fence line, where he tied a chain to the trunk of one of the mesquite trees and dragged it out of the way.

     Then he very carefully climbed over the barbed wire fence and made his way slowly toward Tom’s ranch house two hundred yards away.

     As he neared the house, he wasn’t sure what he’d find. The handgun he carried on his side was already charged and ready to fire. He carried the AR-15 at the ready, just in case.

     And he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no marauders in Tom’s yard. Instead, he saw Tom himself, working underneath the dashboard of his old Ford Galaxy 500.

     The hood was raised, and Scott assumed he was having trouble getting it started.

     “Good morning, Tom.”

     Tom crawled out of the car and offered his hand.

     “Well, good morning, good neighbor. Where in hell did you come from?”

     Scott laughed.

     “I took the scenic route, through the back door, so to speak.”

     He pointed in the direction he’d come from.

     “We heard some shooting last night, and we were afraid it may have come from here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

     As he spoke, he cleared the
rifle and put it back on safe. Then he leaned it up against the rear fender of the old Ford.