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Post by ydderf on Oct 29, 2021 9:10:55 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by udwe on Oct 29, 2021 18:17:45 GMT -6
Getting better all the time!
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Post by 9idrr on Oct 29, 2021 19:32:37 GMT -6
Just a heads up on continuity. You have Grace talkin' about paint colors at the same time she' in the shower.
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Post by gipsy on Oct 29, 2021 21:22:13 GMT -6
Just a heads up on continuity. You have Grace talkin' about paint colors at the same time she' in the shower. Remember they have an outside shower beside the tent right now so that would not be hard to do.
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Post by texican on Oct 29, 2021 21:25:54 GMT -6
Why do I sense a hint of something in the song reference? Grace was singing: "…now I shout it from the highest hills Even told the golden daffodils At last my heart's an open door And my secret love's no secret anymore" bf2, The hint was more than a hint. Now did Gil catch it? Texican....
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 30, 2021 0:06:02 GMT -6
Chapter 20
Gil stopped and got deli meats, a container of potato salad, some potatoes and carrots, a small sirloin roast, and a loaf of butter bread and went on to Bluff View. He saw a sign pointing to the Hawkins County Extension Office and took the turn. Going inside, he talked to the local agricultural agent who handed him a handful of brochures on vegetable gardening and other stuff. All Gil wanted to know was what the frost line was, but he did get some useful information. Finally getting home, he made a couple of sandwiches and washed them down with well water. Putting everything away, he headed up the ridge to the spring on the Rokon to check the mineral blocks. There were a lot of deer tracks around the spring and the mineral blocks, fresh ones too. He headed back down to the house site and parked the bike out of the way. A teleloader was bringing logs up from below and another one was lifting logs up to the men on the scaffold to set the log in place. They would lay a strip of something, insulation he supposed, then place the next log on top. They weren't hurrying, but the logs were going up quickly. Gil watched the painters applying the stain with sprayers and touch-up brushes, careful not to not over-spray. Gil found Jack inside, talking to the finish carpenters working on the staircases.
"What do you think, Gil?"
"I'm pleased. I was afraid you had forgotten about the garage buildings when you let the crane go."
"No. It's just that the teleloaders are faster and more efficient than the crane, plus, they don't have to lift the logs up two stories."
"Oh, I see." Gil left and went back down to the camp but then thought about bringing a couple of the guns down from the Tunnel to clean them up and take a closer look at them. He needed something to wrap them in to keep them from being damaged, bouncing around in the trailer. Taking three blankets and a roll of one inch Gorilla Tape, he went back up the other trail to the Tunnel. He pulled the one-wheel Rokon trailer out into the open and got a headlamp out of the saddlebag and put it on. Taking in the blankets and tape with him, he went back to the main room, picking up the Browning spotlight on the way. Going over to the stacked boxes, he opened the first case and got a rifle out, wrapping it in a blanket and securing the blanket with the tape. On closer inspection, there were also some small oilcloth wrapped bundles in the box. Opening one, Gil found a .58 caliber Minie ball bullet mold. He unwrapped one end of the bundle and secured the wrapped bullet mold and re-secured the tape. He took the bundle over to the tunnel entrance and leaned it against the wall. Going over to the other box where he had found the strange rifle, he took one out of the box and wrapped it into a blanket. Before securing it, checked the box and sure enough, it had bullet molds also. Adding the mold to the bundle, Gil secured everything with the tape.
He went over and got out two of the revolvers and two extra cylinders, along with their bullet molds, and wrapped and secured them in the blanket.
The rifles weren't light, so he took the bundle with the pistols out to the trailer and laid them in first, then hooked the trailer to the Rokon. Going back inside, he retrieved the two rifle bundles and slowly went back down to the camp. Pulling up next to the trailer, he opened up the ramp and opened one of the rifle bundles, spreading the blanket out. He then unwrapped the other bundles and laid everything out on the blanket. Getting his cleaning kit out of the trailer, he proceed to clean the weapons.
Gil heard a truck coming and looked around the trailer and saw it was Don.
"Gil, I wanted to see if you…." and stopped dead in his tracks. "Where did you get those?"
"I guess you could say they've been in the family for a while. I was about to go on the internet to see what I had."
"I can tell you EXACTLY what you have!"
Picking up the first rifle, Don turned it over, inspecting the gun.
"This is a .58 caliber Springfield Model 1855 Rifled Musket, also known as the 'Mississippi Rifle'. Deadly at 1000 yards. This other one….MY GOD! This is a Whitworth rifle, made in England. It was frequently used by Confederate snipers. These things are rare! The pistols…These are .44-cal. Beals revolvers, made by Remington. How many of these do you have?"
"Well, six of each of the rifles, and a dozen revolvers. How do you know so much about these guns?"
"I'm a Civil War buff. We sometimes do re-enactments down in Bulls Gap. You wouldn't be interested in selling a set, would you?"
"Heck no I won't sell! But I'll trade you." Gil grinned.
"Trade? For what?"
"Make a branch off the drive to the house that goes to the garages and the containers."
"Gil, those guns are worth a hell of a lot more than what that would cost!"
"Not to me. You want to trade or what?"
"Hell yes, I'll trade! Could I take a look at the other guns?"
Gil thought a moment. "Sure. But not right now, Come back Sunday afternoon and I'll show them to you. Take these and if you find something Sunday you want more, you can swap them out."
"You got a deal. I need to talk to Frank and make sure the site is okay for the containers. He said earlier his dad should be here in a couple of hours with the containers."
"Okay, I'll finish cleaning up these guns. Don't forget and leave them."
"NO WAY IN HELL!"
Don drove on up to the building site. Gil decided he'd show Don the Tunnel Sunday. If Don could sell the rest of the guns for him, he was to the good.
Gil finished cleaning the guns and built a fire in the SOLO. Taking out the 2-quart Dutch oven, he cubed up the small sirloin roast then floured and browned the meat in a little olive oil. Adding diced potatoes, carrots, water, spices and four bullion cubes, he set up the tripod and hung the pot over the fire then went into the screened canopy and got on the internet to look up the guns.
Becky and Grace we on the hunt for curtains and hardware. Since they had nowhere to really store anything at Bluff View, Becky said she could keep them at the office.
"You better keep your eyes peeled. Reba Sturnes, over at the diner, is asking all kinds of questions about Gil."
Grace's eyes narrowed. "I'm not concerned about her."
"Oh yes you are, by that look on your face."
"Where can we get some accent pieces for the house?" Grace said, changing the subject.
"Your best bet is to go down to the flea market in Kodak on the weekend and look around. Debbie Moore gets her things from there for her shop, then jacks the prices up."
"I think I'll do that. It will be a chance to get Gil out of town."
Becky grinned.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 30, 2021 0:16:57 GMT -6
Chapter 21
Don came back down and picked up each gun individually, looking them over. "What are you going to do with the rest of the guns?"
"I don't know. I'll probably give a set to the Bulls Gap Railroad Museum. After all, the guns were from this area. Check with your re-enactment buddies. Maybe they'd like to buy a set."
"I'll check around. All right if I wait here for the containers to arrive?"
"Of course you can. There's cold water in the cooler."
Forty-five minutes later, the trucks pulling the containers on road dollies arrived. Don and Gil led them up to the drop site with the Gator. Within an hour, all three containers were in position and leveled.
Gil was checking the beef stew and adding pearl onions and a little corn starch when Grace came home.
"Hey girl! What have you been up to?"
"Curtains, linens, towels and sundry things. How was your day?"
"Pretty good. The garage buildings are going up quickly and they are working on the stairs in the house. The containers were delivered."
"Gil, I wanted to get some accent pieces for the house. Will you go to the Flea Market in Kodak with me Saturday Morning? I'd like your input on the things I select."
"Sure, we can have breakfast again in Bulls Gap on the way."
Grace grinned. "Thanks. Can we go see the house?"
"Sure. The stew's ready. Do you want to eat now, or later?"
"Let's eat later."
Gil raised the pot on the tripod chain to keep the stew warm and added a chunk of wood to the coals. They got in the Gator and went to the site.
Grace was pleased at progress that had been made. Sheetrock was going up and the stairs were almost completed. Jack climbed down off the scaffolding from inspecting the roof and walked into the room.
"Well, you have a roof!"
"Great! You all have been busy today."
"Yes, we'll have the garage walls up by tomorrow afternoon and start working on the roof on Monday."
"Great! The stain looks good."
"They'll get the stairs stained tomorrow so it's ready for the finish next week. The electricians are just about finished. About all they have left to do is the light fixtures, outlet and switch plates."
"This is going to be so beautiful!" Grace said.
They walked outside and the stone footing walls for the porches and the deck were coming along nicely.
"They should have these footing walls done in another four to five days." Jack said.
"When will they do the outdoor kitchen?" Grace asked.
"As soon as we get the composite deck boards down, Knoxville Land Design will come out and install everything."
Grace squeezed Gil's arm. "This is going to be so nice!"
Gil and Grace left Bluff View early so they could have breakfast in Bulls Gap. After feasting, they drove on down to Kodak and parked at the Flea Market.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Asked Gil.
Grace frowned. "I don't know." Then she grinned. "But I will when I see it!"
Gil rolled his eyes. Grace stopped at each and every booth and table. She started buying things and Gil ended up carrying them. Pretty soon, he had her stop in place so he could go unload her purchases in the truck. When he got back to her, she had already drifted down two tables. She went nuts on some hand-made lace doilies and bought several. Gil didn't know about that. There were a lot of small things that he couldn't figure out what they would be used for, but she got them. They ended up going by every table. Why did they need that old cast iron bell pot? He wasn't understanding the use of most of the things, but he let her follow her vision. They had lunch before they went back home and she had him to stop by the hardware store to get boxes to store all her purchases in. They drove up to the house site and put the boxes in one of the shipping containers.
"Gil I….."
"Nope! I'm not doing anything else constructive today. I'm going to take the hovercraft out."
"Can I go with you?"
"You certainly may."
Gil got up on the trailer and added fuel to the hovercraft and checked the oils.
"Fuel, I don't want to always be filling up 5-gallon cans."
Gil backed the truck up and connected the trailer and Grace jumped in the truck. He drove down the farm lane and out onto the southern hay field. Stopping the truck, he off-loaded the wings and backed the hovercraft off the trailer and parked it. Attaching the wings only took a couple of minutes. Opening the gull-wing doors, he got Grace settled on the in-line seat and handed her the noise suppression VOX headset.
"What is this for?"
"The engines are kind of loud. This gives us the ability to muffle the noise and still be able to talk."
Gil got in, put on his headset and cranked the engines. He lifted up and did a broad turn in the field, opening up the throttles when they were in line with his entry point to the river, Grace scooched up closer to him and had his waist in a death grip, and gripped tighter when she saw the drop off. Gil winced when Grace screamed into the boom mic as the hovercraft suddenly gained more height and sailed over the bushes, then began to float down toward the river surface. They didn't even touch the water for almost a mile. Grace's grip around his waist finally loosened.
"This is neat!" Grace said with glee.
Gil settled the hovercraft for about 20 seconds on the water then took off again, staying airborne all the way down to the Cherokee Lake Campground, about four and a half miles downstream. Gil made a sweeping left-hand turn and started going back up the river, lazily 'flying' all the way back up to the TVA boat ramp off of 344. Turning back, he went past the hay fields and turned to get lined up on the hay field entry point. As he cleared the edge of the water, Gil gunned the throttles and the hovercraft lifted a few more feet into the air and cleared the bushes. Moving over near the truck and trailer, Gil settled the craft to the ground. The silence was deafening after the noise of the engines.
""THAT WAS GREAT! Grace squealed, and hugged him.
"I almost couldn't breathe there for a while, you had such a grip on me." Gil grinned.
"We have to do that every weekend from now on for the rest of the summer!" Grace laughed.
"Well, I got the heater package for it, so we can do it in the winter too." Gil replied.
"I LOVE IT! Grace said, dancing around.
Gil show her how to detach the wings, sitting them beside the trailer. Then he had her sit in the driver's position and, sitting behind her, coached her in driving around the hay field. He finally had her stop behind the trailer and she slowly drove it up the tilting bed. Getting out, she tightly hugged him again.
"That was so much fun!" Grace squealed.
She helped him load the wings onto the trailer and strap them down.
Driving back up to the camp, Grace couldn't be quiet about how much fun she'd had.
They put everything away and went into town to do some grocery shopping, picking up a couple of 9 ounce ribeye steaks, baking potatoes and salad fixings for dinner.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 30, 2021 0:23:44 GMT -6
Chapter 22
Sunday morning, Gil was up at dawn. Starting a fire and setting a coffee pot on, he took his computer into the screened canopy and began taking some notes and thinking of what he wanted to do about fuel. A little after sunrise, Grace came out of her tent, poured a cup of coffee and sat down with Gil. "Gil, do you ever go to church?"
Gil laid down his pen, took a sip of coffee and looked at Grace.
"I was raised a Southern Baptist but became jaded watching how the church members acted during the week versus how they acted on Sunday. Later, in the military, I had an momentary instant conversion to Catholicism when during a freezing rain, we were given a choice of attending mass in an old barn, out of the rain, or attending services under a dripping oak tree with the Protestants."
"Seriously, do you pray?"
"Oh, all the time. There are no atheists in foxholes. I prayed my friends and companions come out in one piece. Sometimes the prayers didn't work out just right. That happened to me in Iraq. We almost came through the whole deployment with only bumps and bangs when Jimmy caught a 12.7 in the lower leg and took his foot completely off….."
"Jimmy Knight….was from……Greenville, Tennessee! His father owned a fuel distributorship there! Maybe they would have an solution to his problem! He made a note to find the number and call in the morning."
"You're dodging my church question. Will you go to church with me next Sunday?" Grace asked.
Gil studied Grace's face. "Yeah, I'll, go with you. I don't have anything fancy to wear though."
"It's not about being fancy, it's about worship."
"Okay, I'll go with you."
Don arrived at 2:00. Gil put fresh batteries in two headsets and placed them in the saddlebag and had Don help put the sidecar on the Rokon.
"I'll take it slow, but hold on tight."
"Where are we going?"
"To see the guns."
Gil rode slowly up the trail and stopped in front of the opening.
"What is this? A mine?"
"No, I don't think so. Follow me."
They entered the tunnel and turned on their lamps. Gil retrieved the Browning spotlight he'd left beside the opening to the big chamber. Walking over to the stacked cases, Gil turned to Don.
"Here they are!"
"My God! You mean they've been here Since the Civil War?"
Gil shrugged. "I guess.
Don opened the first long case and saw the other five Mississippi Rifles with their bullet molds. Gil showed him the case of Whitlocks and the case of pistols.
"What are in the smaller cases?" Don asked.
"I opened one and it had prepared paper cartridges. I assume the rest do too."
Don picked up one and grunted. "This damn sure isn't cartridges!"
Don took his buck folder out of his belt pouch and pried a board off the top of the box.
"It's full of small lead ingots to make bullets."
"Why don't we go back and get the Rokon trailer and carry the guns down?" Gil asked
"Good idea."
They went back and attached the trailer and took everything they could find to wrap the guns in, then decided to just leave them in the cases and bring the cases back. Grabbing some straps, they headed back up the ridge. Carefully carrying the cases out to the trailer, they got them strapped down.
"I want to check out the other boxes." Don said.
Gil shrugged. "Sure.
They went back in and Gil showed Don the small box he had opened. Don took out one of the cartridges and slowly took it apart. Taking the contents a few yards away, he lit the powder and it definitely burned. They examined the Minie ball and Don put it in his pocket.
He picked up another box and it was light also. Prying off the lid, he found it had more paper cartridges. They checked and cleared the boxes, separating the cartridges from the lead. The last two boxes were a littler larger and were stuck back in a jagged corner of the chamber. When Don reached down and hooked his fingers on the raised slats that were on the ends of the box, he gave a grunt and the whole end of the box tore off. Out of the box tumbled what seemed like hundreds of coins, their gold color shining brightly in the light of their lamps.
"Jesus....."
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Post by texican on Oct 30, 2021 0:44:41 GMT -6
When Don reached down and hooked his fingers on the raised slats that were on the ends of the box, he gave a grunt and the whole end of the box tore off. Out of the box tumbled what seemed like hundreds of coins, their gold color shining brightly in the light of their lamps.
And ncsfagm has the gold show up.
A 18 year old wife to be, now gold and large caves for long term survival.
How many millions will these old gold coins be worth to Gil the multi millionaire?
Did Gil tell Don not to reveal the cave to anyone.
Texican....
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Post by gipsy on Oct 30, 2021 6:58:32 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. Like he needs more money.
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Post by iamnobody on Oct 30, 2021 7:04:29 GMT -6
I hope Don is VERY trustworthy.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 30, 2021 15:18:48 GMT -6
Chapter 23
"Sorry, I guess I'm stronger than I thought." Don said. "Well, that box has been sitting here a while. After 150 plus years, you might not be in good shape either."
"I wonder what this is about." Don mused.
"Could have been a payroll or something. For sure, whoever left this here didn't live to come back for it."
"What are you going to do about it?
"What do you mean 'What am I going to do about it? You found it!"
"Well, it's on your land."
"Okay, I'll split it with you."
Don stared at Gil. "Are you serious?"
"Hell, I don't need the money. Hey, maybe I'll have Frank drill out some holes in the mantel and epoxy coins across the front."
"Gil, get serious, these things are worth a lot of money!"
"Yeah, I know, I've got seven million worth in a bank in Knoxville." Gil picked up one of the coins. "…except mine weren't made in 1863. These are Double-Eagles…$20 gold pieces, worth somewhere between $1600 and $2500 apiece."
"What are you going to do?" Don asked.
"Well, I'm not going to announce to the world what we found, for one thing. IRS will be on my ass, collectors will smother me, thieves and treasure hunters will be combing the whole ridge looking for more. Best thing we can do is sell them off privately a little at a time, don't draw attention."
"Okay then, I'll take a few."
"And you should. Whether you like it or not, I'm giving you a hundred of them. We found it together."
"But you found the tunnel."
"You broke the box, now we've got to clean it up and find something to put it in. That's got to be 60 - 70 pounds. Wait, I've got an Alice ruck pack in the trailer we can put the spilled coins in. Hold on, we better check the other box first."
Don carefully slid the box out. This one too, had a padlock on it, but the box remained intact.
"Leave it. We'll take the guns down, lock them in the trailer, then come back and get the coins."
When they had everything moved down to the camp Gil got a set of bolt cutters and cut the other lock. It was filled with gold Eagles.
"Gil, I don't feel easy with all this gold. What are you going to do with it?" Don asked.
"My portion? Give it away. I don't need it. I'll occasionally drop a few coins for something. You, on the other hand, may have a problem getting rid of it without people asking a lot of question.
"How much do you think all that gold is worth?"
"I'm not sure what the spot gold prices are right now, but old gold Double Eagle numismatic values I think were around $2,500 per coin, depending on their quality, and these appear to be freshly minted. So for your coins you could get $250,000.
Don's face turned white.
"Gil, how do I explain where the money came from? The taxes will eat me alive.
Double bill me for work. I don't care. I'm going to have more work for you. You just don't want to all of a sudden have a $250,000 deposit in your business or personal checking account. I'll sell your coins for you through my lawyer. You can add another $250,000 in business earnings without someone smelling a bad fart. You now have an alibi.
I have a built-in alibi. I can just say the coins were my grandfather's, which technically, they were. He owned the land. The guns, I will be selling or donating them…. from my Grandpa's collection I don't think he knew he had. The big thing is, you can't be telling anyone, not even your wife, about our find. People, for all different kinds of reasons, will be sniffing around 24/7.
"You have my word Gil. This is amazing, after all these years!"
"Stranger things have happened, and usually for a reason."
When the footer walls were complete, the crews began laying the boards for the floors and deck. They were done in two days. Furniture began coming in and flooring laid, beginning in the kitchen so the appliances could be delivered. Plumbers had completed their work but they had one stick around to take care of any problems that might pop up. Gil's tractor arrived along with all the attachments and the first one he tried out was the trencher. He wanted to run a water line down to the hay barn, now his equipment barn. With the advice and help of the plumber, installation of the freezeproof water hydrant was a piece of cake.
Becky and Grace refused to let Gil anywhere near the house, wanting the final reveal to be a complete surprise. He wanted to work in one of the completed garages, setting up a woodwork shop, but Grace said it was too close, so Gil spent his days doing other things. He got the number to Knight's Fuel Distributors and called. The receptionist put him on hold and the next person on the line was Jimmy Knight himself. Jimmy invited Gil down to talk face to face so the next day Gil went to Greenville.
It was only about a 45 minute drive. When Gil walked into the office there stood Jimmy, grinning like a mule eating briars.
"Gil! You son of a gun! Come on in!"
"So, you working with your dad now?" Gil asked.
"Nope, running the whole shooting match. Right now, Mom and Dad should be sunning themselves down in Tarpon Springs. So, did you get out of the Army?"
"Yep, the politics were ruining the Army. My grandfather died and left me some land up near Rogersville, so I'm settling down there, building a house and going to shake the weariness out."
"I hear you. You married?"
"No, I'm still unscarred."
"Oh don't go there. I know we saw and experience some messed up stuff but not all women are that way. Hey! I found me a nice one and will be getting married in September. Give me your address and I'll make sure you get an invitation."
"You, married? The Last Days MUST be near!"
"Gil, I'm happier now than I've ever been. You're not seeing someone or anything.?"
"Not exactly. There's this girl…."
"I knew it, you old dog! I knew you'd grow out of your He-Man's Woman Hater Club."
"I didn't hate them, I just didn't trust them."
"You said 'didn't.' That's past tense. Does that mean you've found someone you can trust?"
"Yeeaah."
"Good for you!"
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 30, 2021 15:25:43 GMT -6
Chapter 24
"Jimmy I need to talk to you about fuel and storage." "Sure, what do you need to know?"
"Well, the land I'm building on, I want to make it a kind of retreat."
"You mean like you used to talk about….200 acres with a house in the middle and a minefield all around it?"
"Nothing quite that drastic, but I want to have plenty of fuel to last me a long time."
"I see. What kind of fuel do you need?"
"I have very few gas engines. Most are diesel. Oh, and propane, I'll probably need propane.
"Well, a thousand gallons of gas and say, three thousand of diesel? 2000 propane?"
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Do you want above or below ground tanks?"
"Above ground I think. I don't like the idea of the tank's contents leaking into the ground water."
"Oh, the EPA doesn't like it either. That's why the under ground tanks are at least double-walled. I've never heard of one leaking. They are a lot less conspicuous too."
"Can you set me up?" Gil asked.
"Sure. Hang on a second."
Jimmy went into his files and pulled out a sheet, hand drawing something on it.
"We can put you in four 1000 gallon tanks. Have the holes dug to these dimensions and these distances apart. I've already got the tanks and pumps on hand so when you get the holes dug, just give me a call. I assume you want the propane near the house, so dig the holes for them the same dimensions."
"Thanks Jimmy. Do you need a deposit or anything?"
"Nope. I know you're good for it. Hey! We need to get together with our girls. What about lunch Saturday at Bulls Gap? It's only a 20 minute drive for both of us."
"Let me call Grace and see if she has anything going on."
Gil called Grace.
"Grace, do you have anything planned for Lunch Saturday?"
"Noooo…why do you asked?
"We're having lunch with some friends. Mark your time."
Gil hung up and sighed.
"What's wrong, buddy?"
"This will be our first 'date', date."
"Way to go, Gil, you are now on the road to redemption."
"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, we'll see you Saturday at 1230 then Jimmy."
"Great!. It's good to see you Gil. Be safe going back."
When Gil got back to Bluff View, he called Grace to see where she was. She and Becky were up at the house, working as usual. Gil decided to wait to talk to Don about the tank holes. He'd wait until they came to do the driveway.
He went to the equipment barn and hooked up the bottom plow to till the garden space he'd picked out to prepare for next year. Gil had never plowed a field in his life. He had a quarter of an acre to practice and get it right and in a half hour, he was plowing fairly straight rows. He worked the rest of the afternoon, testing speeds and depths of the plow blade and using the best combination. The disk harrow was easier, although he had to get the best speed to do the best job. By the end of the day, he had a nicely plowed field.
Gil put the equipment away and disconnected the disk harrow. Going back to his computer in the canopy shelter, he went online and ordered a 30 GB plan from HughesNet to have internet. Hot spotting off of his phone was getting expensive. Since he couldn't go up to the house, Grace would have to take care of the installation guy. He would be out tomorrow before 2:00. He started to order DirecTV, but decided to wait until he sat down with Grace to make decisions on programming.
With nothing else to do, he cleaned his Glock and the AR-15 carbine clipped to the inside wall of the trailer, next to the door. He had the parts for the AR-15 laid out on the take-down mat when Jack came up.
"Expecting trouble?" Jack ask.
"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, Jack."
"I heard that. Say, I saw you had a propane cook stove, where are you going to put the tank?"
"Already being worked on. I'm burying the tank, Don will do the excavation, a company out of Greenville will do the tanks."
"Grady Knight?"
"No, Grady retired. His son is running the company now."
"Well, it's a good company. Okay then, As far as our portion is concerned, we're done. Grace has to get everything, 'just right', she says, but you'll probably, get to see the house soon."
Grace drove up in the Gator and jumped out, glaring at Jack. Jack jumped up, palms toward Grace.
"I DIDN'T say anything, Grace!"
"You better not have!" Grace said, hands on her hips.
"What?" Gil said.
"Quiet" Grace said. "Jack was just leaving, weren't you Jack?
"Oh, yeah, I need to get going. I'll see ya'll later."
"Grace, what was that all about?"
"Oh Gil, I'm just so afraid you're not going to like what I've done at the house." Grace said, her eyes misty.
Gil pulled her to him, slowly rubbing her back.
"Grace, I trust you to have everything right. I trust YOU. I haven't said that to a woman since my Mother. You mean a lot of me and I have complete faith in you.
Grace, her head pressed against Gil's chest sniffled.
"Reba Sturnes has been asking around about you."
"Reb Sturnes? Isn't that the red headed waitress down at the diner? Well, she can ask all the questions she wants. Next time she asks something, you answer for me. I have no interest in her. I have a lot more interest in dirty face blondes who beach their canoe on my land in the middle of the night."
"It was early morning. I'm in love with you Gil."
Gil pulled her chin up with his hand and kissed her.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 30, 2021 15:36:10 GMT -6
Chapter 25
Grace told him the reveal would be Friday afternoon, but he had to stay away from Bluff View the whole day until 3:00 so she could finish preparing. Gil shrugged and she went back up to the house. He opened the trailer door and continued shrink-wrapping the coins into ten-coin tubes. Grace hadn't seen the gold yet, he was waiting for the right time. Gil decided to take a few coins down to Knoxville to Kit's Rare Coins and get Don some pocket change. He selected out four Eagles and four Double Eagles to take with him. On second thought, he added four more Double Eagles to the lot. That evening, Grace was still mum about the reveal but insisted on laying in the hammock and viewing the stars.
The next morning, after they had eaten breakfast and cleaned things up, Grace shooed he out of the camp and he headed for Knoxville. He had to call ahead to make an appointment, but he had plenty of time to make it. He wanted to make enough time to stop by the jewelers.
The appraiser ushered him into the room and Gil laid the coins on a cloth covered tray.
The appraiser examined them closely, then called in someone else to take a look at them also.
"Mr. Conner, this coins are in excellent condition. Where did you obtain them?"
"They were part of my grandfather's possessions he left me when he died."
"I see, my condolences. These coins would be graded at a 70, that means they have no post-production imperfections at 5x magnification. We would be able to offer you $8500 dollars each for the Double Eagles and $7800 for the Eagles.
"I'll do that." Gil said.
The appraiser waved a lady in and she brought some paperwork and the appraiser filled out some papers. Gil signed the paperwork and moved the papers back to the appraiser.
"How would you like your funds?"
"Cash." Gil replied.
"The appraiser agreed and went to get his funds.
The appraiser came back with a non-descript zippered bag and counted the 100's, 50's and 20 dollar bills.
"Mr Conner, If you decide to liquidate any more of your grandfather's estate, be sure to give us a call."
"Well, I am headed to a jeweler right now with four Double Eagles I plan to exchange for a diamond engagement ring and a wedding set."
"You wha….? Wait. I am sure we can give you a better price through our affiliate jeweler."
Gil waited. "So, who is your affiliate jeweler?"
"Right this way sir.
He was taken through a couple of halls and into the back of a jewelry store, There he was shown dozens of rings until one caught his eye. It was a 1.75 caret ring in a bed of emeralds. The price was $12,000 dollars."
"Do you have something in a diamond necklace that would match the ring?"
"Yes Sir, I believe we do." The clerk soon came back with a diamond pendent cluster that matched.
Gil turned to the appraiser. I will give you one Double Eagle and one Eagle for the ring and the necklace, with a future selection of a wedding set here, total not to exceed $20,000.
"Yes! Yes, we can do that. Please box his selection Harold."
Gil walked out smiling. He knew their proposal on the coins in the first place was low, he came out about right on the rings.
He still had hours to kill so he headed to Bass Pro Shops. He had a bite to eat in the Snack Bar and began strolling through the aisles and came up on the archery aisle. He spotted a recurve bow that looked interesting and asked the salesperson to look at it. It was beautiful, laminated with African cherry, rosewood, white oak, maple and green wood. This was nice!
Gil had trained with different Special Operations forces in different countries and had a chance to go through some combat archery classes a couple of times. He was once pretty good, but hadn't practice in a while. He lost some good gear once when his storage unit was broken into. The bow had a 50 pound draw, like he'd trained with. He bought the bow, and was offered a pack of practice arrows, but Gil declined. You go to war with what you train with. He selected a few packs of broadhead arrows, several packs of carbon arrows, replacement nocks and strings, a target, a release, different packs of screw in broadheads, packs of combo points, and a right-hand quiver. If he was going to hunt on his land, he didn't want to advertise it through gunshots.
Gil looked at his watch and decided to head back to Bluff View. Paying for his purchases, he loaded the truck and headed back. He pulled into the camp, and again it was deserted. Sighing, he placed the purchases, except for the ring and necklace in the trailer. Cars and trucks began going by and up to the house. Finally, he heard the Gator coming down off the ridge. He repositioned the bulges in his pockets and watched the Gator as it drove into sight. A grinning Grace skidded to a stop next to him.
"Come on!"
Gil got in and held on. Grace drove right up to the front door, jumped out and ran to the top of the steps on the porch.
"Welcome home, Gil."
Smiling, Gil mounted the steps and Grace opened the front door, taking his arm and escorting him in. As they crossed into the foyer, Grace released his arm and stepped to the side.
"WELCOME HOME!" The gathering of people said from the Great Room. Don and his wife Annie, Jack, Bill and Mollie and Becky stood there smiling. Gil walked in, looking around.
Now he knew why Grace had selected the things she had at the Flea Market. What he thought were inconsequential knick-knacks had brought the feeling of comfort to the house. She had almost turned the house into a home. They all toured the house and Gil was more than pleased with what he was seeing. Jack led him out on the huge deck and showed him the outdoor kitchen. Gil looked over the rail and saw the raked out soil and a couple of fake rocks and knew the propane tanks had been put in just that morning. Everything was top notch. Walking back inside, Becky and Grace served a variety of drinks, and there were finger foods and pastries.
Everyone stood around talking about how the great the house looked. Gil just stood there by the fireplace, drinking his drink. Grace slowly walked over to him.
"Do you like it? Grace asked, timidly.
"I like it well enough, but I'm missing something."
The gathering suddenly went quiet.
Gil set his drink on the mantel.
"Grace, the things you did preparing this house didn't make sense to me, but in the end, you have actually turned this house almost into a home. The only thing it's missing is you….as my wife."
Gil pulled the ring box out, opened it and kneeled on the hardwood floor.
"Grace, will you marry me?"
Grace stood there in shock. Becky, Annie and Mollie were wiping their eyes and the men were all grinning.
A tear was running down Grace's face. YES! Oh God yes I will marry you!"
Gil stood and placed the ring on her left hand and kissed her. Everyone clapped and congratulated them.
"I knew it!" Becky said. "Sparks always flew when those two were around each other!"
Grace looked up into Gil's eyes.
"I feel like I'm in a lovely dream." Grace said softy.
"It's better than a dream." Gil said, smiling. "This is real."
The house warming/celebration lasted a while longer and everyone left.
"I guess we should bring our things up here." Grace said.
"I suppose you are right, let's take the truck."
They took the Power Wagon and loaded just their clothes and things to get them through the next day and put them away in their bedrooms. Gil placed his toiletry kit in the en suite and came back out to find Grace standing in his bedroom.
Grace began unbuttoning her blouse.
"You told me you would let me select my own bedroom. I choose this one."
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Post by iamnobody on Oct 30, 2021 16:58:44 GMT -6
I'm reading this story and my phone rings Caller ID says Bulls Gap TN - a telemarketer, leaves no message Someone must be reading over my shoulder...........
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Post by texican on Oct 30, 2021 17:24:01 GMT -6
Just a heads up on continuity. You have Grace talkin' about paint colors at the same time she' in the shower. Remember they have an outside shower beside the tent right now so that would not be hard to do. Or was Gil in the shower with her? Remember her lover is now know. Texican....
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Post by texican on Oct 30, 2021 17:26:24 GMT -6
I'm reading this story and my phone rings Caller ID says Bulls Gap TN - a telemarketer, leaves no message Someone must be reading over my shoulder...........
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Post by udwe on Oct 30, 2021 19:37:08 GMT -6
Getting better all the time!
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 31, 2021 11:04:04 GMT -6
Chapter 26
Gil woke up in a very comfortable bed with a warm body draped over him. He looked around and remembered they had spent their first night in their new home. He slowly turned his head and watched as Grace opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I always know when you wake up." She whispered.
"Good morning." Gil said, smiling.
Looking at his watch, he remembered they were having lunch with Jimmy and his fiancé.
"We've got to get up. Remember, we are having lunch with Jimmy down in Bulls Gap."
"Hm-m-m-m, let's snuggle for a few more minutes." Grace murmured.
They finally got up and got dressed and showered and went down to the kitchen. Gil stood by the kitchen island and watched her as she made a pot of coffee. She had a glow about her this morning he had never seen.
"So how do you know this Jimmy?"
"He and I served together in the Army. We were on the same team in Iraq. He was medevac'd when he took a round in the foot. He lost his foot."
"That's terrible!"
"He's doing great now. He's sending an invitation to his wedding in September. Speaking of weddings, want to set the date?"
"Gil, I don't want or need a fancy wedding. I know, by law we need to get it officially recognized, but last night sealed the deal for me." Grace said, hugging him.
"Well, let's just do a civil ceremony and be done with it." Gil said.
"Suits me just fine." Grace said, turning to get the coffee mugs.
Gil and Grace pulled in right behind Jimmy and his fiancé. Jimmy and his fiancé wait while Gil and Grace got out of the Power Wagon.
Grace watched Gil come to a stop and stared at the woman standing beside Jimmy.
She was BLACK!
"Nice tan." Gil said with a straight face.
Grace turned even whiter and gasped!
"Get over here and give me a hug you bad-ass honky!" The woman said laughing.
Gil laughed and picked her up and whirled her around.
"Jimmy didn't tell me you were the one he was chaining himself to for the rest of his life, Doris!"
"Well, give me the word and I'll hide his fake-ass foot!" Doris laughed.
"Doris, Jimmy, I'd like you to meet MY fiancé, Grace." Gil said, wrapping his arm around Grace's waist.
"You….you know her?" Grace asked Gil.
"Grace, Doris was Jimmy's Physical Therapist at Walter Reed. She watched over him like a Mother Hen."
"Hey! My stomachs growling!" Jimmy said.
They all headed into Yoder's Country Market and got a table.
Gil and Jimmy went to get their orders, leaving Doris and Grace to talk.
"So, tell me, what did you slip into Gil's drink to rope him in?"
Grace unabashedly told her story, all the way up to the point to where Gil asked her to marry him.
Doris nodded. "Yep, you are right, he is a real Dudley Doo-Right, but that man saw something in you he'd never come across before. Gil is picky when it comes to relationships. I thought for a while he was gay, but Jimmy clued me in. He's just a good man who doesn't take crap off of anybody; he won't hurt a woman, but a man? Jimmy told me of some of their episodes. There are a lot of fake and cruel people in this world and they try to stay clear of them. Now, tell me about this home you two have built…."
The guys came back the barbeque special plates and things got quiet for a few minutes.
"Was it your company that filled the propane tanks?" Gil asked Jimmy.
"Yep, Jack called and told me what Grace was doing and we sent a 5000 gallon tanker along with the tanks. As soon as they were covered we started pumping them full."
"I appreciate it. I was very pleased at how things turned out." Gil said, squeezing Grace's hand.
"You two need to come up some weekend and ride in Gil's hoverthing." Grace said.
Jimmy gave Grace a puzzled look.
"It's a hovercraft. It has wing extensions that will allow it to glide above the water between three and six feet." Gil explained.
"OH! It does more than that! I almost peed my pants the first time I rode in it, then it got really fun. Hey! Why don't ya'll come up tomorrow afternoon after church!" Grace said.
Doris gasped. "You've got Gil going to church?"
Jimmy slapped his forehead. "He's ruined! Taken a fire extinguisher with you or the church may burn down!"
Doris poked Jimmy in the ribs. "Stop it! The next poke is goin' in your eye!"
Gil and Grace laughed at the two.
"So, When are you two getting married?" Doris asked.
"We're going have a civil ceremony. Gil nor I have any close family, and we've just recently started having a small circle of friends. As far as I'm concerned, we are already man and wife. We're just going to make it legal in they eyes of the law." Grace said.
"I hear you girl!" Doris said.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 31, 2021 11:05:16 GMT -6
Chapter 27
On the way back to Bluff View, Gil asked Grace "How did you get all that furniture put together and placed?" "Jack and his guys helped us." Grace replied.
"Then I owe Jack and his guys a bonus." Gil said.
The next morning Grace laid out a nice shirt and pants for Gil to wear to church. They attended services at a small church not far from them on Melinda. Road. The people were friendly and Gil got a chance to talk to some of the men before and after church, standing under the shade trees. Going into the church, a lady was handing out church bulletins as people went in. When they took their seats, Gil began glancing over the bulletin and there was a paragraph about donations to repair the church roof. Gil pulled out a donation envelope out of its wooden holder on the back of the pew in front of them and slipped in two Double Eagles, sealed the envelope and waited for when the collection plate came around. When the sermon started, Reverend Jim gave a sermon filled with meaning, not with fire and brimstone like Gil had heard as a boy. Gil almost wanted the sermon to continue longer, but the reverend kept it to 50 minutes and not a minute longer. He stood at the door and shook Gil's hand as they left and a couple of men he was talking to before church pulled him into another conversation. Grace was nearby, talking to a group of women. After 15 minutes, Grace came over and said they had guests arriving and had to get home.
"Thanks." Gil said as they walked to the truck. "I thought they were going to talk into next week about old trucks."
Grace grinned. "At least it wasn't about canning baby Gherkins, but I came away with some ideas."
They went home and changed into more casual clothes then had a salad and club sandwiches for lunch. Jimmy and Doris drove up around 2:00.
"Wow!" Jimmy said. "This is some place!"
Grace led them through the house on her tour and served iced tea when they returned back downstairs. They moved out on the deck, Doris exclaiming about the beautiful view.
"You don't need that minefield, Buddy, you've got a moat around most of this place. A few well-placed Claymores and you'd be safe as a bug in a rug!"
Gil grinned. "I'd put that on my 'To Do' list.
"Let's go!" Grace said, pulling on Gil's arm.
They towed the trailer down to the hay field and Graced backed the hovercraft off. Before they attached the wings, Gil had Grace give Doris and Jimmy rides around the hay field. She was skittish to fly the hovercraft over the bushes, so Gil did the honor of taking Doris on the first ride. She, like Grace, squealed as they made the leap over the bushes and down to the river. Gil took her down to the campground then back to the hay field. Doris squealed again as they cleared the bushes. After setting down, Jimmy got in and off they went.
"This is great Gil!"
Gil took Jimmy on the same route and on past the hay fields on to the Melinda bridge then back to the girls.
"That's no fair! He got to ride longer than I did!" Doris complained.
"Well, get back in!" Gil shouted.
Gil went out over the river again and set the hovercraft down on the water. Lifting up the gull-wing, he had Doris get in the driver's position and moved in behind her. He talked her into getting the hovercraft moving but she didn't want to fly it, She finally said she was ready to go back so Gil had her remain on her seat and flew the hovercraft from behind and back to the hay field.
Grace declared it was her turn so Gil had her get in the seat Doris vacated and talked her through what they were going to do. She was going to jump the bushes and take them over the river. Gil would tell her when to use max throttle and he would have his hands ready to take control. He told her to go to half power and they started moving forward. He got her aligned on their river entry point and told her to go to three quarters power. As they got within fifty feet of the bushes he had her go to max throttle. They flew over the bushes and slowly settled down close to the river. She flew all the way to the campground and Gil showed her how much to bank so she wouldn't clip the water. After successfully clearing the bushes she stopped the hovercraft behind the trailer.
"OH MY GOD DORIS I FLEW IT!" Grace screamed as she got out.
Laughing, Gil got out and began detaching the wings. Grace got back in and drove the hovercraft on the trailer and Jimmy and Gil secured the wings. Back at the house, Gil started up the grill in his outdoor kitchen to heat up. Doris and Grace brought out the salad and kabobs and put the salad in the outdoor kitchen refrigerator and began making a pilaf. Gil began grilling the kabobs. While they were grilling, Gil opened a bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass. Jimmy volunteered to take over cooking the kabobs.
After their meal, they sat talking at the table on the deck.
"That was some good lamb, Gil." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, It's better than that mutton we ate for weeks in Tunisia. I still can't eat mutton."
Jimmy laughed and turned to the girls.
"We had been eating mutton until it was coming out our ears, usually drenched in olive oil in some manner. One night one of their so-called waiters heard Gil say he wished he had a steak. The waiter came over and said 'You want steak? I get you steak!' A few minutes later, they brought Gil a piece of goat, dripping in olive oil and French fries soggy with olive oil."
"That was one place I never want to see again!" Gil chuckled.
"So, what is your next project in improving your 'Retreat'?
"Well, If we are going to have a garden here next year, I'll have to fence the garden or the deer will eat everything. Other than that, I'll add projects as I go along." Gil replied.
"Ah, a life of leisure, working when you want, no worries….."
"Oh, I've got plenty of worries, the political situation, the weakening of the military through asinine social gestures and programs, the economy. Should I go on?"
"No, I get you. Sometimes I get so caught up in work, those things kind of get pushed back to the back burner."
"Well, my work now is to make sure that Grace and I, and any children we may have, can weather any storms that will come. I can't afford to push things to the back burner."
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 31, 2021 11:07:20 GMT -6
Chapter 28
The next morning, Gil was out of bed at dawn. He thought he'd sneaked out, but as he picked the coffee pot up to fill it with water, Grace appeared by his side. She got out a large bowl and began making scratch biscuits. Once she had the biscuits in the oven, she sliced up a jar of dried beef and made chipped beef gravy. Gil stepped in and whipped up scrambled eggs. When the biscuits were done, they ate. "You told Jimmy you had to make sure we could weather any storms. What do you and I need to do?"
"Well, we need to make sure we have at least the essentials to survive. For instance, what if the economy were to collapse? What would we need?"
"Food, medicines,…..we have everything else, I think."
"Okay, we have shelter, we have water, we have a degree of protection, which I need to get you involved with…so we need to add food and medicines. What about a few comfort things. Spices, to enhance the flavor of food, would be nice. Think about things we could stockpile for a long time and still be usable."
"I'll do some research today." Grace said.
"I need your help this morning to bring some things in." Gil said.
"Okay let me know when you are ready. I'll be on the computer.
Gil hooked up the trailer and backed it to the basement outside entrance. Using a set of hand trucks, he moved the cases of guns to a corner of the basement, covering them with a tarp. Going back out to the trailer, he loaded the Alice pack with the wrapped Double Eagles and went through the back door and into kitchen area where Grace was at her computer in the breakfast nook.
"Grace, could you come to the office with me?"
"Sure"
Gil climbed the stairs and went into the office and over to the gun safes, stopping in front of the left one.
"The combination of this safe is your birthday and the day date of when I met you, the 22nd. Go ahead and enter the combination. When the light flashes green, spin the handles to the left and pull the door open."
Gil watched as she entered the combination and opened the door. Taking the ruck off of his back, Gil opened it and pulled out a roll of coins.
"Grace, I found a cave, well it's not exactly a cave, but there was some things in there from back in the Civil War. There were guns and this gold. Depending on how you want to sell it, there's as much as $1.2 million dollars in this pack. These are Double Eagles, $20 gold pieces from 1863."
Grace's eyes were about to pop out of her head.
"This is all yours?"
"Ours, and a small portion belongs to Don…he helped me find it. There are only three people who know about the guns, gold and cave. You, me, and Don, and I want to keep it that way. You must never mention anything about this to anyone, for a number of reasons."
Gil knelt down and started stacking the rolls of coins in the safe. When he finished he stood up.
"I've got one more load.
A few minutes later Grace heard him coming up the stairs with another ruck load.
"These look different, Gil."
"These are Eagles, from the same period."
After completing the stacking, he talked Grace through closing up, securing and checking the safe.
"I feel better getting this stuff locked away." Gil said.
"What are you going to do with all that gold?"
"Well, I owe Don $250,000 of it. I will sell a few coins at the time and pay him in cash. The rest, I think will go to charity. I slipped some coins into a donation envelope yesterday for the church roof."
They were interrupted by a knock at the front door.
Grace hurried downstairs to answer the door, Gil, setting the ruck inside the closet, followed her.
"Reverend Jim! What a surprise! Please come in! Would you like some coffee or iced tea." Gil heard.
Gil walked into the Great Room, passing Grace who was heading for the kitchen.
"Reverend Jim, welcome to our new home!" Gil said, smiling.
"You have a beautiful home Gil. You should be proud."
"We are, but we are still getting used to it. We've been living out of tents for quite a while."
"I'm sure. The reason for my visit is I was wondering if you knew anything about this?"
Reverend Jim laid out the coins from the collection plate onto the coffee table. Grace, bringing the tea to Reverend Jim came to a stop.
"I won't deny it Reverend. When I saw about the need for repairs to the church roof, I slipped them into the plate."
"I assume these aren't ill-gotten gains?"
"No Reverend, they were part of my Grandfather, Jim Conner's estate."
"Yes, I remember him, a good man. Well my concern is, I really don't know how to get these into usable money."
"Take them down to Kit's Rare Coins in Knoxville and sell them. Don't settle for less than $7500 per coin."
The Reverend's eyes widened. "Why, that would be much more than the cost of repairing the roof!"
"I was thinking more in the line of completely replacing the roof, maybe a metal one, and giving the church a fresh coat of paint."
Reverend Jim nodded.
"What's left over I'm sure the church could find a use for."
Thank you Gil…and Grace. You both are very kind. You two aren't married yet, are you?"
Grace blushed. "Well no, Reverend, we're not."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to condemn you to Purgatory for living in sin, but I would like to see a fine couple like yourselves in the state of matrimony."
"We didn't want a big wedding Reverend. We were just going down to the Magistrate and be done with it."
"Well, may I suggest you get your marriage license and I could marry you?"
Gil looked at Grace and she smiled and nodded.
"Thank you Reverend, we'd like that."
"Very well then." Reverend Jim said, handing Gil a business card. "Get your license and give me a call. I can't think of a better place to marry you than right here in your lovely home."
"Thank you Reverend, we'd like that. We'll go down to the court house today."
Reverend Jim got up. "That's fabulous. Let me get going. Mrs. Palmer is sickly and didn't make it to church yesterday. I wanted to go by and see how she is doing. Before I go, would you allow me to say a Blessing over your new house?"
"Of course Reverend, please do." Said Grace.
They all bowed their heads.
"Lord, we pray Your eyes will be open and Your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this home so that Thy Name may be here forever, so that Your eyes and Your heart will always be here. In Jesus's name we pray, Amen."
"Thank you Reverend. We will give you a call soon." Grace said.
"You are more than welcome, and thank you for the generous donation."
They walked out on the porch and watched as Reverend Jim drove away.
"Well, I guess we need to get to the Courthouse." Gil said.
Grace, grinning, ran to get her purse. Not wanting to unhook the trailer, Gil locked it up and they took the Jeep.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Oct 31, 2021 11:09:21 GMT -6
Chapter 29
When they got back home, Grace called Annie and asked if she and Don would stand as witnesses at their wedding to be held the next day at 5:00 PM. Annie was thrilled and said they certainly would. Grace put her phone down, grabbed Gil by the ears and kissed him hard. "Thank you!"
"Wow! For what?"
"For coming into my life like a Champion on his white horse. I love you so much!"
"Yep, that's me, the Champion, racing across the hay fields in his green Gator, rescuing damsels in distress. Hey, are we going to have a dinner after the wedding tomorrow?"
"Yes, but let's keep it simple, like the wedding. Steaks, baked potato and salad. We can go to the market in the morning and pick everything up. Oh! I get to use my new dishes for a party!"
Gil rolled his eyes. "Oh, wait here, I'll give you your wedding gift early."
Gil ran upstairs and got the wedding rings and the necklace and brought down.
He opened and handed her the necklace first.
"Oh Gil, it's beautiful! It matches my engagement ring! Gil, how did you know the Emerald was my birthstone?"
"I didn't. When I saw the ring, it just seemed it was made just for you."
"I love you!"
Gil unlocked the trailer and began carrying his guns and ammo into the basement and stacking them to the side. When everything was unloaded, he tidied up the inside and locked it back up, pulled it behind one of the garage buildings and unhooked it from the Power Wagon. Going back inside the basement, he began carrying the gun cases, two at a time, up to the office. He took each gun out of its case, inspected it, and set it in the right-hand gun safe. He repeated this until he had all the rifles, shotguns and pistols stored in the safe. Vests and other clothing were hung in the closet. Going back down stairs, he was greeted by delicious smells from the kitchen.
"What are you cooking? Gil asked Grace.
"Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, spinach, and yeast rolls."
"Whoa! A meal fit for a king!"
"Or my Champion." Grace said, grinning.
After dinner, they sat and watched a movie on the Lifetime channel. It was sappy, but had a decent plot and occasionally Grace would wipe away a tear, so he sat through it. He spent a good bit of the time glancing at websites on his iPad mini that sold long-term storage food packages. The thought kept coming back to him about people in wilderness Alaska and Canada building a place that they could survive in, in case the main cabin burned down. Apparently, that happened often, especially in winter, because of the wood structures and heating with wood. He made a note to review that later. Maybe there was a use for the Tunnel chamber after all.
The next morning, Gil and Grace went into Rogersville. Gil drove his truck to do the shopping and Grace drove her Jeep. She said she had some things to pick up. When Gil got back home, he broke the lettuce up and added tomatoes, onions and radishes and covered the bowl with plastic wrap, then placed the bowel in the refrigerator. Cleaning the baking potatoes, he sprayed them with water and covered them in Kosher salt then wrapped them in aluminum foil. He would put them on to bake later. It was another hour before Grace came home with bags in hand. Gil watched her go upstairs, not asking her any questions. Gil sat there in his chair in the Great Room and wondered how this was going to work out. He was 11 years older than she was. He had been reluctant to make a move on her but she slowly broke down the barriers. She'd never mentioned the age difference though. He felt her arms moving across his shoulders, his snuggled between her breasts.
"What are you thinking about?" She said softly.
"You, and the differences of our ages." Gil said.
"Are you worried about it? Because I'm not. This is all that matters to me." Grace said, as her hands moved to rest over his heart.
Gil pulled her around and sat her across his lap and kissed her.
"I am so lucky!" Gil said.
"We're both lucky." Grace said, snuggling her face against Gil's neck.
Don and Annie came early, so Annie could help Grace get dressed. It must be a woman thing. Grace had been putting own her own clothes for as long as he'd known her. Annie was also carrying a small three-tiered wedding cake with the miniature bride and groom on top. Dan was bearing a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey. Gil didn't drink a lot, but he did feel a small drink might settle his nerves. When he gave Don the envelope from the latest coin sale, Don looked inside and quickly went and locked the envelope in the toolbox on his truck.
"That looks like a lot of money." Don said.
"I got a better deal than I was expecting." Gil grinned.
At 4:30, Gil went to his office and dressed in his suit and shiny shoes. He came back down to find Reverend Jim had arrived and was talking to Don on the deck. At 4:50 Gil, Don and the Reverend were waiting on the deck when Annie opened the French doors and Grace came through with a simple, but beautiful dress and her hair in a loose French braid, carrying a small bouquet. The necklace he had given her was hanging jest into her cleavage. She moved up next to Gil and they faced the Reverend. Gil didn't remember much except the parts where he was supposed to say, "I DO", slipping the rings on, and the kiss of his new wife. Annie and Don threw a small amount of rice. Congratulations were said and Gil and Grace went upstairs to change into casual clothes. Coming back down, Grace checked the baked potatoes in the oven and shut the oven off. Gil turned the grill on to heat up as Grace came out with the platter of ribeyes.
When the steaks were done, Gil plated the steaks and Annie brought out the basket of baked potatoes she had brushed off of the salt with a pastry brush. The Reverend blessed the gathering and the food and everyone filled their salad bowls, added the sour cream and butter to their potato and the eating began.
"The Reverend wiped the last of the steak juice out of his plate with the roll and crossed his fork and knife on his plate, pushing it away.''
"I don't know when I've eaten a finer steak. Gil, is that a propane grill?"
"Yes Reverend."
"How did you get that smoke flavor?"
The grill has a box you put wood chips in for the smoke."
"Ah, I see."
Grace poured the Reverend more tea and picked up his plate. "I hope you saved some room for piece of cake, Reverend."
"Maybe a small piece, Dear."
Don went and brought the cake out and Annie had Grace and Gil pose with the cake knife for pictures. Grace and Gil cut their piece and fed each other, symbolizing a commitment to provide for one another and a show of love and affection. Annie finished cutting pieces for everyone else.
They all helped clean up and retired to the Great Room for a short time.
"Well Grace, how does it feel to be a newly married woman?"
"Reverend, I don't really feel any different. My love for Gil is so great I already felt like we were married. We worked around here together, cooked our meals together. Did laundry together, shopped together….the only thing we didn't do together was sleep. We had separate tents. So, in most cases, it was if we were already married."
The Reverend nodded. "Very good. You two are so good together, may you have a long and lasting life."
"Thank you Reverend."
"Well, I should be going. Congratulations and I hope to see you in church Sunday."
They walked him out and watched him get into his car. Annie and Don came out, preparing to leave.
"Annie, thank you so much for your help!"
"Don't mention it. We'll get out of here and let you two enjoy the rest of your evening."
As they drove down the drive, Gil turned and went back in to the kitchen. Grace came in behind him and went up the stairs. He took the bottle of Champagne out of the fridge and after opening it, scooped up the glasses as he went out. Taking the steps two at a time, he went into their bedroom and closed the door with his foot.
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Post by cavsgt on Oct 31, 2021 11:27:56 GMT -6
Fantastic Love the story. Thank You for the update now I can go and get something done.
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Post by texican on Oct 31, 2021 12:30:53 GMT -6
ncsfsgm,
Thanks for the multiple chapters. Good read for a Monday.
Texican....
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Post by iamnobody on Oct 31, 2021 12:47:29 GMT -6
ncsfsgm, Thanks for the multiple chapters. Good read for a Monday.Texican.... I didn't know you lived that many time zones ahead of us. Its still a rainy Sunday here
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