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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 6, 2022 15:24:35 GMT -6
Chapter 48
After filling his tanks, Chase Cameron pulled over into the parking area at the Love’s Travel Stop outside of Binghamton, New York. He needed a stretch break so he walked around and checked the tires on the truck even though he could do from the cab. He was mostly looking for cuts, lodged rocks and any other minor damage. His tire system would automatically warn him if there was anything more serious. He had taken out the gas buddy out of the storage trailer and had filled the portable gas tank also. He checked the tie-down for it and made sure it was secure. Stretching one more time, he walked inside the Travel Stop to buy a few groceries in the well-equipped truck stop. He was craving grapes and needed ice for his small cooler to keep his water bottles chilled. Two truckers started fighting in the restaurant area and Chase quickly put his selections on a partially empty shelf and left the building. He couldn’t chance getting involved in even the most minor way, even as a witness. Quickly hurrying to his truck, he pulled out before the police arrived. He could resupply down the road in Waverly.
Brian and Jeremy cruised around in the hovercraft, dropping a scoop of fish food at each habitat location.
“My eyes are whacky or my imagination is going crazy but it looks like the bluegill are getting bigger.” Jeremy said.
“Brian chuckled. “More than likely wishful thinking. When are you going to get your boat?”
“They said it would be in next week. As soon as they email me I’ll go to Little Rock and pick it up.”
“Make sure you pick up an extra trailer tire. It wouldn’t be fun being stranded between here and Little Rock with busted tires.”
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s the last bucket.”
They headed back to the boat house and ran the hovercraft up on the flatbed trailer and moved it back into the boathouse.
“I may have a wounded goose coming in.” Jeremy said.
“Do we need to set up quarters for him or her?”
“It’s a him, and no, they said he has his own rig. We can set him up in Jason’s old spot.”
Emma and Jenna had come over to help pick string beans and can. Emma had bought Jason and Freya an American canner and a dozen cases of pint jars. While Jason, Freya and Jenna were picking beans, Emma was in the house prepping for canning, putting water in the canner and running the jars through the dishwasher. They had planted more beans than they realized and had almost a half bushel basket picked by mid-morning. Freya took what they had picked and took them back to the house to wash, string and break them. Jason took a break and sat on the patio drinking water to cool off. He would wait until the cooler areas of the afternoon to finish picking the beans. It looked like he had only a couple of pecks to pick. The women had planned to take two days to can. After stringing and snapping the beans, they boiled the beans for five minutes and hot packed them in the jars. At the end of the afternoon they had 48 pints canned. The women stopped at that and left the jars on the granite countertops to cool. All went out on the deck to cool off and found Jason in the hammock snoozing. He soon woke up and went to pick the rest of the beans.
With the beans canned they next began harvesting corn. They had only planted the Golden Bantam heirloom seeds and had a pretty good harvest. They blanched and froze a quarter of the ears and canned the rest. Jason pulled the stalks, gave them to the yearlings, and seeded one row with turnips and planted another row with cabbage plants.
Jeremy had a pie-eating grin when he drove up to the boathouse. He had called Brian earlier and told him to meet him.
“Well, that certainly isn’t a Bass Tracker.” Brian said.
“Nah. This can also be used for night fishing. I liked the raised platform and the trolling motor up there.”
Jeremy backed the boat down the ramp and Brian unhooked and pulled the boat back in by the bow line. The both goth on and used the trolling motor to move the boat into deeper water before starting the 115 horsepower motor. Jeremy cruised around the lake then Brian took the helm and reversed course around the body of water. Brian slowly moved the boat onto the submerged trailer and Jeremy clipped the winch cable to the bow. After securing the boat, Jeremy pulled the boat out, and parked the truck to let the water drip off the trailer and boat.
“It’s a nice one.” Brian said.
“Yeah, I think I’m going to enjoy this baby.”
Chase didn’t stop until he got to Elmira and stopped in at a Wegman’s. He set up the Travel Berkey to fill his water bottles and went inside. Getting a small grocery cart, he headed to the Deli area and got a Roast Beef and Provolone half-sub and then on to the produce area. He got 2-lbs of seedless red grapes a container of melon chunks and searched around until he found the trail mix. Picking up a bag of ice, Chase paid for his purchases and went back out to the truck to eat his late lunch. He transferred the water to his water bottles and packed them in the cooler then sat at the dinette to eat his sandwich. Feeling better, he used the toilet and prepared to continue his journey. When I-86 ended and merged with I-90 Chase check the fuel gauge his tanks were still half fuel so he kept going. He stayed the night at a rest stop near Mentor, Ohio before taking the by-pass and catching I-71. The next morning he was awakened by the pinging of an incoming message on his phone, “34°49'46.30" N 93°57'20,47"W (907) 795-8866.” Chase frowned. That was an Alaska area code. He sent back a reply, “R…CC,”
He got up, took a shower and dressed in shorts and a pull-over shirt. Slipping on his top-siders without socks, he went forward and punched in the coordinates on the truck’s GPS. He didn’t even check the final destination. He was hungry and wanted breakfast. He pulled some grapes out of the fridge, put them in a cup, and drove until he spotted a Love’s Travel Center and stopped for fuel and breakfast.
Emma poured the boiling water over the watermelon rind, wiped the rim of the jar and place the lid and ring on Freya pick up the jar with the jar lifter and set it in the canner.
“I love candied watermelon rind!” Freya said.
Emma smiled. “I craved these things like the dickens when I was carrying you. Speaking of which when….”
“Momma, I didn’t want to carry a child in the summer time. Jason and I talked about it and maybe in the fall.”
Sean was setting in the den and listening. “Makes sense. Deer rut in the fall and have their young ‘uns in the spring.”
“Sean! Our daughter is not a deer!”
“No matter. Ends up the same way.”
They put the last jar in the canner, secured the lid and turned on the heat. When steam came started coming out of the vent, they timed it for ten minutes then dropped the weight on the steam vent and timed it for another 20 minutes.
Jason rolled the last bale of hay off the trailer and got on the tractor. Backing the tractor up to the end of the bale, he pushed the hay spike in and carried the bale over near the pasture fence and dropped it. Looking at his watch, he hurried back to the equipment shed and parked the tractor in the bay. He went to the house pulled his range bag out of a closet, dropped in three boxes of ammunition, checked he had ear and eye protection and went to the kitchen.
“I’m headed over to Brian’s. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay Honey.” Freya called after him.
When Jason got to the range, Joe, Brian, Jenna and Dave were setting up targets. Jason cleared his weapon, laid it on the table and grabbed a target.
Chase made his way around Columbus on the outer loop and stopped at a Kroger’s and bought a prime beef ribeye steak for his dinner. He picked out a few mushrooms, a tube of garlic paste and a jar of beef bouillon paste. He picked up a bag of freedom fries to cook in the air fryer.
After turning into the Alton RV park, he paid cash for the overnight stay and pulled into a slot. Chase took the steak out of the package and let it warm up. Going outside, he pulled the outdoor rug out of the storage area and rolled it out, then extended out the awning. He pulled the gas grill out of his slide out storage area and p0rayed a little grilling spray on the grate. That would make it easier to clean later. He went back inside, got out a cutting board and frying pan and slice up the mushrooms. Adding a little olive oil and a quarter stick of butter to the pan to sauté the mushrooms, he let them cook for a minute, then added a little garlic paste, water, broth paste, water and salt and cracked pepper. Setting the pan to the side, he got out his notebook computer and brought up Google Earth. When he typed in the coordinates sent to him in the Telegram messaging app, the screen zoomed in to a spot in forests of west central Arkansas. Looked like he was going to have a little redneck rendezvous.
Jeremy read and acknowledge the message telling him Chase would arrive within 24 hours and headed into town to pick up a case of beer and a few groceries, except for eggs. He stopped by Brian’s on the way home to get a dozen eggs from them. When he got out of the truck he heard shooting coming from the range. Getting back into his truck, he drove down there.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 6, 2022 16:58:48 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by solo on Jul 6, 2022 19:13:40 GMT -6
Excellent addition! Thank you!
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Jul 7, 2022 17:17:05 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by udwe on Jul 7, 2022 19:25:45 GMT -6
Thanks! been gone a few days!
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 8, 2022 10:05:07 GMT -6
Chapter 49
Jeremy got out of the truck and walked up behind the tables. He was watching some world class shooting. Jenna was drawing a face on her silhouette with 9mm rounds. They finished their magazines, cleared their weapons, loaded their carry magazines then holstered their weapons.
“You want to do a few magazines?” Joe asked.
“I shot out at the lake yesterday. Good shooting Jenna.”
Jenna grinned. “I always wanted to do that since seeing Mel Gibson do it in that movie.”
We’ve got a wounded goose flying in within the next 24 hours, so if you see a stranger, then don’t shoot first.”
“You know him?” Dave asked.
“Know of him. He’s been very busy and probably needs some down time.”
“This is Cameron. I’m at the coordinates.”
“Pull on up and turn left. I’m sitting 100 meters up the road. Follow me.” Jeremy said.
Jeremy watched in his side mirror as Chase made the turn. Jeremy pulled off and led Chase to Washita Lake.
At the lake, Jeremy guided Chase onto the pad. Chase connected the water line and went back around the truck.
“Do you have a black water line?”
“No I have a cassette toilet.”
“Well you can park the trailer anywhere out of your way. Ready for a beer?”
“Sure.” Chase replied.
Chase got in Jeremy’s truck and rode with him the 500 feet to Jeremy’s house. Jeremy got a couple of beers and they sat on the shady deck. They were relatively quiet until the 4th beer.
“You seem sort of tense. Are the missions getting to you?” Jeremy asked.
“I’m more frustrated more than anything. It seems we aren’t doing that much.”
“Oh, you’re doing more than you realize. We try all types of methods to reveal the depth of corruption in the media, our government, our legal system, and monopoly corporations. When all else fails it may come to selective elimination of key players, the heads of the snakes. By slowly taking the heads off the snakes we are making the rest of the bodies slow and lose their momentum and if they step up into a decision making slot and reveal themselves, then we retarget.”
“I’m beginning we don’t have enough bullets to kill all the rats, Jeremy.”
Jeremy grinned. “Bridge abutments work pretty good too. Why did you start accepting the missions Chase?”
Chase took a sip of beer and thought a minute.
“Jeremy, we didn’t control our lives. In war, when you're getting overrun, you shoot everything you think is a danger to you. You had a flood, you stacked sandbags and hope it keeps the water away. In life, you fall in love and hope she doesn't break your heart, then she does. If everything is right in the world, you come out unscathed, but it’s just a roll of the dice. It was all up to Fate. When the Democrats regained power, they screwed everything up. They changed everything. You could no longer tell if your life was really what it was meant to be or was it the progressive messing everything up. I’m relatively young, But I was getting tired and worn out. I had been glued, screwed and tattooed. I wanted to just set against the trunk of a tree and wait for it all to end. I just wanted to wait for the end, however it happens. I’d reached the point to where I realized there was no one who would be special in my life, that I was probably going to die before my so-called time, and the world isn’t so special that I needed to stick around to enjoy it.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Janie and Bill. It was like a breath of fresh air.” Chase chuckled. “Bill used to say all he had to do was turn me loose and stand back. I started seeing a change but the organizations would regroup and bound back. I worked harder and they did too. Sometimes I think the Russians or whoever would be doing us a favor to nuke Washington. Sorry, for going off like that. Must be the beer. I don’t drink at all when I’m working.”
Jeremy grinned, “In vino veritas.”
Chase rolled his head back on the chair.
“Shit! You boozed me up just so I would let loose.”
“Chase, it’s better to let it out. Janie said the psychiatrist couldn’t get much out of you. You can hold it inside you, it will eat you up. Keep this in mind, we’ve had to do things that we never wanted to do if we want to keep this country from slipping into a socialist dictatorship. There won’t be medals or parades, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing you did your part to keep the people free to make their own decisions. Janie saw you were wound up. It’s time for you to take the bench and let someone else carry the ball for a while. Relax and get refreshed, you’ve earned it.
Brian met Chase the next day when he went to the lake to feed the fish. Brian had pulled the trailer out of the boathouse and cranked the engines. Chase had finished his run and was cooling off when he saw Brian moving the trailer out. He watched as Brian cranked the engines and backed the hovercraft off the tilt trailer. Brian had turned the hovercraft toward the lake when he saw Chase. He killed the engines, stepped off the hovercraft he walked over to Chase.
“You must be Chase. Hi, I’m Brian.”
“Chase shook his hand. “Yeah, Chase Cameron. What are you doing?”
“Getting ready to feed the fish. What to come along?”
“Sure.”
Brian and Chase got the four 5-gallon buckets of food out of Brian’s truck and set them on the hovercraft. Brian got two life jackets out of the equipment locker and handed one and ear protection to Chase. Brian stood behind the handlebars, started the engines, and moved forward.
“HANG ON!
Chase held on to the light bar as they sped across the lake to the northwest corner. Brian watched the GPS and fish finder and slowed to a stop.
“Throw a couple of double-handfuls out here.”
Chase reached into the bucket and threw the food out.
“You don’t feed them any more than that?”
“Used to, but I’m slowly weaning them off so they will start to hunt for their own food.”
Jason set up the 6-foot 2x4s in several locations. Going back to the house, he lay next to the house and using his rangefinder, wrote down the distances on the terrain map in his pocket weatherproof notebook. He moved his “targets” several times until he had known distances to different areas at all points if the compass on the property. Taking the tractor and the three blade turn plow, he went to the northeast corner and plowed up a quarter acre area where there weren’t any trees and scooped up the soil and took it 50 meters to the south to build berm. Once he’d cleaned up the loose soil, he’d hook the plow up and start all over again, stopping once in a while to run the tractor over the piled up dirt to pack the soil down with the weight of the tractor and tamping it with the bucket. Finally, when he had reached the desired height, he set in ten foot posts and began dropping on used tires, staggering them. Once he had reached the tops of the posts, he filled in behind the tires with more dirt. When he finished, he had a good backstop for his shooting range and a new pond that was 8 feet deep on one end.
The women had been planning the menu for the 4th Beach Party for weeks. Jenna and Freya made a trip to Little Rock and came back with all kinds of patriotic decorations, tiki torches, theme paper cups, plastic flatware, napkins and table cloths. Brian laid on the meat, Joe and Dave got the drinks and Jeremy, Chase and Jason were going to handle the fireworks show. Mollie was donating cold watermelons and honeydew melons. Emma and Sean were providing 100 pounds of ice.
On the 3rd of July, Brian, Jenna, Jason and Freya hung the banners and bunting in and on the pavilion, filled and set up the tiki torches, and set up tables and chairs. Chase came down and raked the sand on the beach. They were ready to party!
Brian and Jenna were down at the pavilion by 10:00 to get the charcoal started and the snacking meat cooking. Jason and Freya, along with Sean and Emma arrived and they began filling the drink tubs. Dave and Joe had stacked the beer, sodas and water in the boathouse the day before. Once the tubs( actually 40 gallon heavy-duty oval stock tanks that Brian had gotten at Tractor Supply) were filled with cooling drinks, people began hitting the water. Brian watched from the shady pavilion, cooking the meat.
Mollie arrived with her daughter Faith and the melons. Brian got out another tub and iced the melons down as Mollie and Faith joined the rest in the water. Jeremy and Chase came down and joined Brian. Jeremy grabbed a beer out of the cooler and popped the cap, throwing it into a nearby trash can.
“That might not be cold. They were just iced down a little while ago.”
“Cold enough,“ Jeremy said, tipping the bottle to his mouth.
“Well, I’ll join you then,” Brian said.
Chase jumped up and got a beer for himself and one for Brian.
“Thanks,” Brian said. “To fallen comrades.”
“To fallen comrades.” Echoes Jeremy and Chase.
“We gathered a pretty good crowd,” Brian said.
“Yep, but I don’t see….there they come!
Hiram, Sally and Millie drove up. Jeremy and Chase helped unload the coolers of food and set them in the pavilion. Dave and Joe were close behind.
“Grab a beer Hiram!” Jeremy said.
“Don’t mind if I do.”
Sally and Millie pulled of their shirts and shorts, revealing matronly bathing attire and joined the others in the lake, Freya and Jenna came back up, draped in towels and grabbed a soda each.
“The water is great, but near the float platform it smells a little fishy.” Jenna said.
Brian grinned. “That’s not fish.”
Freya shot soda through her nose and Hiram bellowed, almost falling out of his chair.
“BRIAN CASSIDY! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!
“What?” Brian said with feigned innocence.
Freya wiped her nose with a napkin. “Girl, you walked right into that one.”
More people came out of the water and grabbed drinks. Suntan lotion came out and everyone made sure they were protected. The women began laying out the food and Brian calling for orders in the meat.
By midafternoon a few were in the water, a few were napping in chaise lounges in the shade and some were just talking.in a group. Brian noticed Chase staring at the lake, looked over and Faith, Freya and Jason were floating in the water.
“Why don’t you go join them. You haven’t been in the water yet.”
“I guess I’ll go swimming a little.”
Chase stripped off his shirt and took off his sneakers then walked down to the water. Walking out to where it was waist deep, he dove in and began swimming toward the platform and then on past it. When he was almost out of sight, Brian saw him turn and come back. He treaded water for a bit next to the platform then climbed on it.
Faith had been watching him also. When she saw him climb up on the platform, she turned and started swimming for it also. Freya looked at Jason and grinned.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 8, 2022 10:19:33 GMT -6
Another great piece. I have a question though, I can't recall who are Sean and Emma and when did they came into the story. Is that part of Jenna's family?
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 8, 2022 11:22:09 GMT -6
Another great piece. I have a question though, I can't recall who are Sean and Emma and when did they came into the story. Is that part of Jenna's family? Freya's parents
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 8, 2022 11:24:18 GMT -6
Another great piece. I have a question though, I can't recall who are Sean and Emma and when did they came into the story. Is that part of Jenna's family? Freya's parentsThanks, I was having a brain fart...
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Post by gipsy on Jul 8, 2022 18:55:38 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 8, 2022 19:43:45 GMT -6
Chase and Faith?
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 8, 2022 22:13:46 GMT -6
Parabellum List of Characters
John Brian Cassidy Hiram McGinna – Jenn’s Father Jeremy Cassidy – John’s Brian's Father Sally McGinna – Jenna’s Mother Jenna McGinna Cassidy – Brian’s wife Millie McGinna – Jenna’s Aunt Harold Gibson, Lawyer Dave Richardson – “Retired” Security Anthony Philmore – Accountant Joe Adler – “Retired” Security Jason Palmer-Operator Freya Maguire Palmer – Jason’s wife Chase Cameron – Operator Emma & Sean Maguire – Freya’s parents Mollie Hanson – Freya’s Aunt Faith Hansen – Mollie’s daughter
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 8, 2022 23:37:51 GMT -6
Chapter 50
Chase pulled himself up on the platform and lay on his back, put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He laid there as he heard the approaching splashing the turned his head slightly and squinted through one eye when he felt the platform rock as someone climbed on.
“You swam a long way.” The girl said.”
“Not too far.” Chase replied, keeping his eyes closed.
He sensed her laying down and it was quiet for a few minutes.
“I haven’t seen you around before.” She commented.
“Haven’t been around. Just got here a few days ago.”
“Have you been in to Waldron yet?” She asked.”
“Nope, just drove through it.”
There was more quiet.
“My name is Faith I’m Freya’s cousin. I work with my mother at the Farmer’s Market.”
“My name is Chase, and Im not working right now.”
Frustrated, she looked toward shore then back to Chase.
“They are cutting the melons. Do you want to go get some?”
“Sure,” Chase said sitting up.
They both stood and Faith said “Race ya!”
They both dove into the water and she looked and didn’t see him. She turned back to the platform then back toward shore only to see him surface and start swimming toward the beach. He beat her by almost three body lengths…his body length. He stood up and walked up on the beach, shook the water off of his arms and waited for her.
“You cheated!” Faith said.
“How?”
“You made me turn to look for you.”
“One thing you need to learn in life, look out for yourself first and finish the mission. My mission, in this case, was to beat you. Let’s go get some watermelon.”
They walked together to the pavilion and got slices of watermelon. Chase took a spoon and started digging out pieces of melon.
“You’re not eating it right!” Faith said.
“What?”
“You’re supposed to pick it up and eat it like this!
Faith picked up the slice and took a big bite, her face glistening with juice.
“I’ll get sticky juice all over my face!”
“Then go jump back in the lake when you’re finished and wash it off.”
Chase grinned, spooned another piece of watermelon and ate it.
“I’m saving time and energy.”
Faith grinned and shook her head, but continued to eat her melon.
A few minutes later Faith set her half-eaten rind down, scooped out the red meat with her hand and rubbed it on Chase’s face.
Chase looked at her, threw his rind in the trash can and started for her. Faith squealed and ran for the lake and dove in, Chase right behind her.
“Mollie, that girl’s got an itch.” Emma said.
“She’s growed. She can take her own chances.” Mollie replied.
They all heard the laughing and splashing from the lake as the darkness gathered. Finally Faith and Chase came back up and dried off. Chase put his shirt and shoes back on and he and Jason went off to set up the fireworks show. Freya walked over to Faith.
“What’s going on with you and Chase?”
“Nothing. Just having fun.”
“Okay. I’ve got a blanket. Let’s spread it out on the beach and watch the fireworks.”
“Okay.
The next morning Jason drove the Gator over to the lake to take a swim and as he drove up to the beach, Chase was coming out of the water.
“How’s the water?”
“Great!”
“How far did you swim?”
“Just to the dam and back.”
“Just for your information, that’s a little over one and a half miles, one way.”
“It’s a good swim, especially this time of the morning.”
Jason grinned. “No faith to distracted you?”
“Yeah, I guess so. She is distracting.” Chase grinned.
“After I get done with my swim, I’m checking my zero on my long gun. Want to come over?” Jason ask.
“Yeah, I’d like to check mine out too. What time?”
“Say 9:00?”
“I’ll be there.”
---News Flash---
”This morning agents of the FBI are looking into the strangely coincidental suicides in California, New York, Illinois and Washington state of prominent but controversial District Attorneys. The spokesperson for the FBI is not forthcoming with what information they have but aggressive investigations are ongoing.”
Jason laid his shooting pad out and extended the bipod legs on the rifle. He laid a box of match ammo out as Chase drove up in Jeremy’s Gator. Chase took left his shooting gear in the Gator and walked over.
“Nice. I like the MK21.” What’s it chambered in?”
“.338 Norma Magnum. We’ve only got 500 meters here, sorry.”
“No problem.
Chase walked back over to the Gator and got his hearing protectors and shooting glasses out of his range bag and a spotting scope. He set the scope up over to the side. Chase saw there were two targets set up.
“Which one are you shooting at?” Chase asked.
“The left one. Going for a head shot.”
Jason looked at the grass blowing on each side of the targets and set a click of windage. He got his breathing right and squeeze the trigger slowly. The gun went off and Chase said, “Center.”
Jason settled down and the gun went off.
“Center.”
Again, Jason sent another round down range.
“Center.”
Jason cleared the rifle and left the bolt locked back. Chase got his gun bag and mat out of the Gator and set up.
“M40A5?”
“Yep, it’s an oldie, but goodie.”
Chase set up and Jason moved the spotting scope over to his mat. Chase looked at his notebook and subtracted a couple of clicks on his elevation and one click windage.
“Ready.” Said Chase.
“On you.” Replied Jason.
Jason steadied his breathing and sent a round down range.
“Center.”
Jason shifted a little, steadied and released another round.
“Center.”
Chase took a little long on the third round because of a gust of wind.
When Chase released the third round, Jason called, “Center.”
Chase left the bolt open and got up.
“Let’s go check ‘em out!” Jason said.
They rode down in Jason’s Gator and up to the berm.
“Damn! I drifted one!” Jason said.
It looked like all three bullets had gone through the same hole but on close inspection you could see a slight elongation to the right. They looked at Chase’s target and there was just one hole with no elongation in any direction.
“You got me this time.” Jason said.
“Your shots were still kill shots. We’re not striking kitchen matches here.” Chase replied.
“Hey, that’s a good idea. Let’s try that next time. This is all I’ve got time for this morning. I’ve got to go into town and get chicken feed. Have you been to Waldron yet?
“Nah, I drove through it on the way here.”
“Come go with me then and I’ll show you around.”
“Okay, that would be great. I need to go put my stuff away.”
“Go ahead, I’ll drive around and pick you up. I need to talk to Jeremy and Brian about improving the trail so we can drive trucks over it.”
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Post by gipsy on Jul 9, 2022 8:01:30 GMT -6
Your a mind reader. I was just thinking we needed a cast listing. Thanks for the update
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 9, 2022 22:47:10 GMT -6
Chapter 51
Jason picked up Chase at the RV pad. As they were driving to the gate Jason asked, “What is that…thing…you are living in?”
Chase chuckled. “That ‘THING’ is a Global Expedition UXV.”
“I wasn’t trying to put it down, I’ve just never seen one before.”
“Well, to tell you the truth, without the trailer, I could drive it over to your house through the trails as it is. If I had a swivel pintle all terrain trailer I could go just about anywhere. It’s built as an expedition vehicle and has almost all the comforts of home.”
“Almost?”
“What?”
I saw you watching Faith leave the party. That girl has fallen for you in a big way,"
Chase looked at Jason, but Jason kept his eyes on the road.
Jason mused. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it," this time looking at Chase. "What? Don't tell me that you didn’t see it," he paused. Jason was quiet the rest of the way to the COOP. They picked up the chicken feed and headed back. Chase finally spoke.
“Jason, about Faith. I can get involved with a woman, especially her right now. I have to keep my edge on.”
Jason was quiet for a few minutes.
“Chase, I was in the same place you are one time. I had to keep my edge. But I realized something was missing. The first moment I saw Freya, I knew I would die for that woman. It has actually sharpened my edge. I actually have something I can fight for instead of just faceless millions.”
Chase just looked out the window as they traveled back to the lake. The only thought in his mind were those Nordic blue eyes.
When Chase got back to his pad he lowered the tailgate on the trailer and backed out the street legal Rokon. Next to come out was the custom pull behind cargo trailer for the motorcycle. He’d had the Rokon paint changed from the cherry red to bland color so it didn’t stand out so much. Someone once called it “urban camo.” The trailer was painted in the same paint scheme. Opening the cover on the trailer, he pulled a helmet out and set it on the seat. He hooked the trailer to the bike and donned the helmet. The bike started right up and he headed up the trail on his first excursion alone away from the lake. He took the back roads into Waldron headed for a grocery store, but the first thing he saw was a barbershop and he wheeled in to get a haircut. He was getting a little shaggy.
He left the barber shop feeling good and saw a Farmer’s Market and decided to stop in to see what they had to offer. Chase left his helmet hanging from the handlebars and walked in. A Farmer’s Market has unique smells about it that blended into its own unique smell. He stopped to look at some plums and check out some peaches when he heard a voice say, “We have some very sweet melons, but you have to eat them just the right way.”
Quickly turning, he looked straight into her Nordic blue eyes. “I couldn’t possibly eat a whole one by myself.” Chase said.
“If you asked nicely, I would help you.” Faith said, her face cracking a smile.
Chase smiled. “I forgot you said you worked in a Farmer’s Market.”
“Then you didn’t come to see me?”
“No…I’m riding a motorcycle…” Chase said, flustered. “I mean I’d like to take you out but my only mode of transportation is a motorcycle and I’d like to ask you out but I couldn’t ask you to ride that.”
“I have a 1969 Cobalt Blue Camaro sitting in my garage. I could pick you up.”
“I’ve got to go pick up some groceries. I’ll be in touch.” Chase said and spun around.
“Mom! I’m leaving for a bit!” Faith shouted.
She caught up with Chase as he was putting on his helmet.
“Got another helmet? You said you didn’t know where anything was around here. I can guide you to the grocery store.”
Chase opened up the cover on the trailer and took out another helmet. It made her look like Atom Ant. Chase smiled and got on the bike. Faith got on and wrapped her arms around him and said, “Keep going down this street and take a right at the next intersection. Basically, the just went around the block and headed back the way he had come into town.
“I could have just turned around in the parking lot of the market.” Chase said loudly.
“But this way took longer.” Faith shouted back.
She guided him to Harps and grabbed a cart as they went in.
“What are you looking for?”
“I want to make spaghetti.” Chase said.
Faith went down an aisle and got a box of spaghetti, Chase picked up a jar of sauce.
“Ground beef or meatballs?”
“Meatballs.”
She went over to the frozen foods area and picked up a bag of a dozen meatballs.
“I’ll need some Parmesan cheese.”
“Can or block?”
“Uh…can.”
She went to another aisle and picked up a large shaker can.
“My storage space is limited.”
Faith swapped the can for a smaller can.
Chase grabbed the front of the basket and went over to the meat section and picked up a package of Black Forest Ham then a package of American cheese slices from the dairy section. He grabbed and container of Gatorade powder off another shelf, peanut butt, jelly from another and headed for the bread section. A loaf of bread was placed in the cart, followed by a baguette that Faith put in. They went into the produce area and Chase got a couple of tomatoes and a small bag of Coral lettuce. Faith put a plastic container of watermelon chunks into the cart. They went to checkout and Chase went to an empty self-checkout. As he ran the groceries over the scanner, Faith bagged them. They carried the bags out to the motorcycle and placed them in the cargo trailer. Donning their helmets, they rode back to the market. Chase shut the Rokon down and Faith took off her helmet.
“Would you like to dine with me this evening? Chase asked.
“Are we having spaghetti?” Faith asked.
“The finest cuisine I can make.”
“My favorite! Let me get my Jeep and I’ll follow you.”
“I thought you said you had a ’69 Camaro?”
“I do, but I drove my Jeep in today.”
“I’ll go ahead and leave. You’ll have no problem catching up with me.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
Faith ran inside and told her mother where she was going. She stopped and grabbed two bottles of wine and caught up with Chase five miles of town. He was driving sloooow. She dropped a car-length behind him and kept pace. Finally, the reach the gate and Chase punched in a code and they drove through. He made a turn to the right as they got to the lake and ended up at a truck-camper looking thing.
“Welcome to my home…as it is.” Chase said.
Faith helped carry in the groceries. It was a little tight for two people to be moving around so Chase had Faith sit at the dining table while he put things away. When he was finished she went out to the Jeep and brought the wine in. Chase got a wing corkscrew out of a drawer and gave it to Faith.
“You open the wine, I’ll set up the patio.” Chase said and went outside.
He went around and pulled to chairs and small folding table and the artificial grass mat out of storage and brought it up to the awning.
“Chase, where are the glasses?”
“Look in the cabinet next to the dining area. Up top, you should see a couple of camper’s wine cups.”
Chase let the awning out and laid the mat down, setting the chairs up with the table between them. Faith came out with the wine cups. Chase took one of the wine cups and her and to help her down the steps.
“Oh, this is nice!” Faith said.
“Thank you ma’am.”
“Where are you from Chase?”
“I was born and raised in Ohio. I was a late surprise for my parents and didn’t get many years with them. They both died when I was in college. My father from a stroke and my mother I think, from a broken heart.”
“I’m so sorry!”
“Death is a natural condition. It comes to all of us.”
“You sound like my philosophy professor in college.” Faith said.
“Are you still attending?”
“No, I graduated with a BA in business. I only went to help Mom. I brought back a little knowledge to bring more money in at the market and she is doing really well, so it was worth it. What do you do?”
“I do contracts for the government in different areas. I get to travel a lot, see a lot of places, but I guess it was wearing me out. So I’m here to rest and recuperate.”
“What do you do for fun?”
“Exercise. I do my routine in the mornings when it is relatively cool, run, then swim.”
“And that’s all you do?”
“Pretty much.”
“Boy! You need a tune-up!”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you have planned this weekend?”
“Exercise and sleep.”
“Can that! I’m picking you up Saturday morning and we are going to have some fun!”
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Post by gipsy on Jul 10, 2022 6:30:50 GMT -6
You are such a match-maker. Thanks for the update.
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Post by rep1270 on Jul 10, 2022 7:07:13 GMT -6
Thank you for your post they are great. Thanks again. Ralph
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 11, 2022 9:38:56 GMT -6
Chapter 52
Brian sat the basket of fruit next to the empty basket at the oak tree and looked around. Out of the edge of the big trees stepped a big female, you could tell by the relevant female parts showing through the hair, leading a young Howler. It wasn’t the same one; this one was smaller. The two walked up slowly to Brian and stop a few feet away. The big female did a kind of whining, clicking moan and held the little one’s arm up. Here was a shallow gash in the little one’s forearm and it was suppurating. Brian ran over to the Gator and grabbed the first aid kit off the back of the driver’s seat and walked slowly back to the pair. Taking out some 4x4 pads and surgical soap, Brian kneeled and cleaned the wound and the area around it, rinsed the soap off with sterile water, followed by hydrogen peroxide. He kept applying the peroxide until the wound barely bubbled then dried it off with more clean 4x4s. The wound wasn’t deep enough for sutures (Thank God!). He had antibiotics in the bag but he wasn’t sure of the dosage and wouldn’t be able to keep up with a regimen anyway, so he got out a tube of antibiotic ointment and applied it liberally to the wound and around it. Getting out two more 4x4s, he laid them on the wound and wrapped it with black 4” bandage wrap he used in the horses. He closed up the medical pack, waved at the two and moved slowly to the Gator. When he looked back, the two were heading back into the forest; the female carrying the basket of fruit. Brian went back to the tree and retrieved the empty basket. He hoped the little one would be okay.
Jeremy threw the lure and caught another 5” bass, or maybe it was the same one. Whatever, the bass seemed to love these small Mepps minnow lures. He let the fish go and using the trolling motor, moved the boat to another structure about 30 yards away. This structure was for crappie and they were definitely there. He could feel them hit the lure and occasionally catch one on the minnow lure but they were still small, the biggest he caught was 3”. He reeled in the lure and put the rod down. Stowing the trolling motor, he cranked the engine and cruised over to the dam area and inspected the overflow, the emergency spillway and along the shoreline, looking for signs of muskrats. Those things could do a lot of damage to a dam. He cruised the southern shoreline and headed back to the boat ramp.
Saturday morning, Faith was at the gate early. Chase hopped in and Faith headed south on 71.
“Where are we going?”
“To have some fun!”
They talked until they arrived in Mena.
“Let’s get some breakfast then we’ll go up to Rich Mountain Hideout Store and look around until the zip line opens up.” Faith said.
“Jesus, the last time I was on one of these I had to drop 25 feet into a cold-ass lake.”
“Suck it up. I made reservations.”
After eating they rode up to the Rich Mountain Hideout Store. The claim to fame was that area was used by well-known bandits such as Jesse James, the Daltons and the Youngers to hang out. It was a favorite place to bring their herds of stolen horses and to lay low for a while until the posse was off their trail. The store had some interesting relics and Southwest and Indian gifts and crafts for sale at tourist prices. Faith did buy Chase a real hand-crafted blanket.
The finally spent most of the afternoon on the zip lines and had a lot of fun. Faith wasn’t scared of the heights but would squeal in exhilaration. They stayed until they had done all the lines and decided to call it quits. They were tired anyway. Getting an early dinner at the Chopping Block Steakhouse, they drove leisurely back to the lake. When they arrived back at the UXV, the sun was still a couple of hours from setting so Chase rolled out the awning and set up the sitting area while Faith went in to pour some wine for them. Chase met her at the door and help her down the steps.
“Did you have a good time today?” Faith asked.
“I did. I don’t usually allow myself many diversions but today was fun.”
“Did you see the camper area down there?”
“Yeah, they had a pretty good setup.”
“What do you called this thing anyway?” Faith said, pointing toward the vehicle.
“It is a Global Expedition UXV, well technically it’s a UXV-Max. The UXV is built on a pickup frame, this one is on a Freightliner chassis. I don’t think you’ve had the tour, have you?”
“No.”
“Well, come on in.”
“Over here on the left is clothes storage, there’s the bathroom and shower, more storage, granite counter tops, sink, stove, dinette, more storage, queen bed, more storage up there. It has LED HDTV with swivel wall mount, Bose home theater sound system CD, DVD, AM/FM, USB, Bluetooth connection and sound bar, KVH satellite dish, rear backup camera, drinking water filtration system, and an exterior shower with hot and cold water so I can wash off after my runs.”
“It’s like a small apartment! This must have been expensive.”
Chase’s face darkened. “A buddy and I, before we went to Iraq, put each other as beneficiaries on our insurance policies. I made it back.”
“Oh God Chase!”
“I bought this thing so I would always have his memory with me. I even call it ‘Razor.’ Razor was his callsign.”
Faith put her wine down, stood up and pulled Chase out of his chair. Pulling him to the door, she opened it and went inside. Turning, she started unbuttoning his shirt.
“I’m not going home tonight,” Faith whispered.
“Your mother is going to be pissed.”
“Let her fuss.” Faith said, pulling the shirt down his arms.
Jeremy, along with Dave and Joe, helped harvest the last of the garden. Brian added a little more compost to the tilled up the garden, then rebuilt the raised beds. They planted carrots, turnips, garlic, leeks, onions, bunching onions, shallots, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, mustard greens, broccoli, cabbage, collards and brussels sprout for their cool season crops. Joe and Dave gladly helped in the planting. They too were beneficiaries of the bounty. The Howlers seemed to like cabbage too. He had put a head one time in the basket and watched as the little one walked off, taking bites out of the cabbage so Brian started adding one to the basket. The little one must have healed okay because the next time he saw the little fellow he was missing the bandage and didn’t seem any worse for wear.
Joe, Dave and Jeremy ate supper with them that night. Dave had kind of hinted he hadn’t had chicken fried steak and gravy in a long, long time and Jenna took the hint. She didn’t mind. Both Joe and Dave were like uncles AND friends. She topped off the meal with strawberry shortcake and rich, homemade whipped cream.
After supper, Jer, Joe and Dave were sitting out on the patio, enjoying the evening air.
“A Porter is coming in tomorrow afternoon to pick up 25,000 rounds of 5.56mm. Can you two handle it?” Jeremy asked.
“They want any tracer with it?” Dave asked.
“Yeah, make it 1 to 5.”
“They better hope they get here before those storms get here tomorrow evening. We’re supposed to get hit tomorrow evening.” Joe said.
“We can get it loaded on a trailer, park it at my place, keep the radio on and play chess. If they come early, they come early. That Porter driver seems to like bad weather anyway.” Dave replied.
“Brad plays it on the edge. He’ll watch the weather and get out of here just ahead of the front. It’s only going down to Sardis anyway; not that long of a flight.”
“Seems like there’s some shifting goin’ on. Anything we need to be concerned with?”
“Nah, just moving chess pieces.” Jeremy replied
“Is that why Jason is here?”
“That’s a different story. They rode him hard and put him up wet too many times. We’re trying not to repeat the mistakes of Afghanistan and Iraq. We’re getting enough people to keep the rotations down. We don’t need to be burning people out.”
Brian came out with four glasses and a bottle of Whistlepig rye. He sat it on the table and Dave was the first to pull the cork and pour three fingers. Jeremy and Joe quickly followed. Finally, Brian followed suit.
“The little one’s bandage was off when I dropped the basket yesterday.”
“Where do you think they come from?” Joe asked.
“Who knows and does it really make any difference.” Jer asked. “They just need to be left alone. We need to keep the curious away.”
“Yeah, it wouldn’t do to have someone catch a glimpse of them, Joe said. “However, people have been so ridiculed when they have reported sightings that no one but an idiot would report anything now unless they are a sucker for punishment. Others, well, they’ll see something odd, a shadow or whatever, and being believers report it as a true sighting. The human brain is capable of making up explanations for events it can't immediately interpret, and many people simply want to believe they exist.”
“I’ve heard some say they are hybrid bears.” Dave said.
“Well, they aren’t bears. They have too much intelligence and are built to walk upright and have opposing thumbs.”
“I think they are friggin’ aliens.” Joe said.
“Like I said, it doesn’t make any difference.” Jer said. “Leave them to live like they want and we’ll keep their secret. Except for one possible contact in Russia, I don’t know of anyone who has had physical contact with them except Brian, and I’d just as soon keep it that way. People are animals too but they act worse than animals when it comes to something they don’t understand.”
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Jul 11, 2022 10:16:51 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by gipsy on Jul 11, 2022 11:31:14 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by biggkidd on Jul 11, 2022 16:21:59 GMT -6
Chapter 52
People are animals too but they act worse than animals when it comes to something they don’t understand.”
So very true!
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Post by imahic on Jul 13, 2022 16:45:28 GMT -6
Chapter 52
People are animals too but they act worse than animals when it comes to something they don’t understand.”
So very true! Giving animals a bad name to compare them to some humans.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 13, 2022 20:58:29 GMT -6
Chapter 53
Freya and Jason were breaking open the dried okra pods and removing the seeds. They had marked one plant of each of the heirloom vegetables to be used for saving seeds.
“Did the tomato seeds dry all right?” Jason asked.
“Yes, but next time, remind me to lay them out on cheesecloth. They stuck to the newspaper and I had to scrape them off.”
Freya pulled out a seed storage envelope and the Sharpie.
“These…are…the …Clemson…Spinless….Okra.” She mumbled as she wrote on the envelope.
They were saving more than double the amount of seed needed in case some didn’t take. Freya’s mother, Emma, had taught her to save seeds. Emma never threw anything away, especially Sean’s medicine bottles. For years, that’s what they had saved seeds in, but they took up a lot of space. Frey found an hinged-lid wooden organizer, complete with dividers, at a yard sale that would handle three times the seeds they were saving. Heck, it was only two dollars.
“Where are you going to keep the seed box?” Jason asked.
“On the shelf in the dry storage area of the root cellar.”
Sean had come up with the idea of using a buried 40’ shipping container for a root cellar. The doors had been welded shut and the inside had been divided into three sections; two 16’ and one 8’. A hole was cut in the top of the container for stairs. Bulkheads were built to section off the insides. The stairs, actually more like a ship’s ladder, came down in the center. The entire inside and outside were sprayed with a rubberized paint. One of the 16’ sections (they decided the one on the left as you went in) would hold the vegetables that required more humidity, the other 16’ section would be for dry storage. Vent pipes were added to each section. To go into the cellar, you went into the outhouse façade (complete with the moon on the door) and went down the stairs. Jason had gone to Tractor Supply and purchased two 200 watt PV panels, a charge controller, two inverters and two heavy duty batteries. built built a shelf under the stairs to mount the batteries and controller, wired the two 16’ rooms, one with a humidifier and the other with a dehumidifier. The PV panes were mounted on the top of the outhouse.
They had carrots, turnips, cabbages, potatoes, pumpkins (only a few, they gave most of them away), winter squash, onions, turnips, apples, pears (bought at the market) and tomatoes. The green tomatoes were individually wrapped in kraft paper (another yard sale find, two 300’ rolls.) and placed in boxes. You could either eat them, like in fried green tomatoes, or if you placed them in a paper bag with an apple, they would ripen. Their canned goods went into the shelter food storage room.
“I sat down with Jenna and have been working on a food plan.” Freya said. “I know we are good right now on LTS foods, we’ve got two 2-year family units, but we should get that up to 5 years’ worth and I’d like to go up to Fort Smith to stock up on some things.”
“Wow, you’re really getting into this!”
“Jason, I’m planning on a family.”
“Yes ma’am, just tell me when you want to go. I really need to get an enclosed trailer to haul and secure things like that.” Jason replied.
“Couldn’t you get one in Fort Smith?”
“I’ll check and see who has what.”
A few minutes later Jason had found a trailer sales business just on the outskirts of Fort Smith.
“Freya, have you decided when you want to go?”
“What about Saturday?”
“Saturday is fine. We can just leave a little early, get a trailer and go to Sam’s.”
“Sam’s doesn’t open until 10:00 for regular card holders.” Freya said.
“I’ll fix that when we get there. What kind of food plan do you have?”
“Actually I have three; one year, three year and a 5 year food storage plan. We’re up on one year.”
“Okay, let’s work on the 3-year plan then and we can flow into the 5-year plan. Might as well build it up while we can. Food and gas aren’t getting any cheaper.”
“I can keep watch on sales too.”
The plane banked, aligned slightly and sat down on the grassy strip. The slight rise in elevation in the pasture helping slow the plane. The pilot turned the aircraft around and killed the engines. Joe opened the cargo door on the Porter as Dave carefully backed the trailer up to the plane In less than five minutes, Dave pulled the tractor and trailer away from the plane as Joe and the pilot strapped the cargo down. Joe jumped down and secured the door as the pilot started the engine. Revving up the engine, the plane rolled and lifted in a short distance, turning southeast to go through the pass and only started to gain altitude after it was miles away from the airstrip.
Chase walked around the edge of the lake, occasionally skipping a stone across the water and thinking. Life was offering him a new direction and he was in a quandary about which path he should take. He made his way slowly to Jeremy’s place and knocked on the door.
Jeremy answered and invited him in.
“You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“Yeah Jer, I do. I don’t know exactly how to explain it.”
“It’s Faith, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, partly. I want to keep helping but I was close to the point of losing it. I am mentally beat and am going to need some time.”
“Chase, why do you think Joe, Dave and Jason are here? They reached that same point. Even myself. I am a director and I switched to the auxiliaries for the same reason. You did a great job but there are others to take your place. They will have to step back some day too. There is nothing shameful and you aren’t letting anyone down. There may come a time when we might have to kit up and help out on something but there are other things we can do in support. Now, what about Faith?”
“I’ll admit, I have feelings for her, strong feelings. I don’t know if it’s love, but If it isn’t, it’s pretty close.”
“Well, When you wake up in the mornings and your first thoughts include her or when you see something and wish she was beside you to enjoy it, then you are pretty close. Your heart will tell you and all off a sudden you are so full of it that it comes pouring out and you tell her before you even think about what you are saying.”
“Well, I guess I’m in love then.” Chase said, nodding.
“Well, test the waters and see where she stands. Oh, and give her this,” Jeremy said, writing something on a note pad. “It’s her own code for the gate.”
“Thanks Jer. I need to go into town and find some other transportation other than the Rokon.”
“Take my truck. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. There’s a few of those bass that need taming.” Jeremy said, handing Chase they truck keys.
“”Thanks Jer. I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. Take Faith out to lunch too.”
Faith inventoried and inspected the boxes as they came off the truck. When she was finished, she handed the sheet to Mollie and she ran up the total and paid the driver.
“You’re awful quiet this morning.”
“Faith sat down on a stool and watched her mother check out another customer. When the customer had gone, Mollie turned to Faith. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Chase hasn’t told me he loves me!”
“Well, have you told him that YOU love him?”
“Not exactly… but…”
Faith. Some guys won’t say those words until they are absolutely sure. Chase seems like he’s that kind of guy. I don’t think you have any reason to worry. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Just give him some time. Let’s start getting those boxes emptied.”
Jason stood and looked across the tilled garden.
“What are you thinking?” Freya asked.
“There’s a company up in Mansfield that builds greenhouse kits. We could grow food year round.”
“How big are they?”
“I think the biggest they have are 12’x20’ but I would get two of them and build them end to end. That would give us plenty of space.”
I like the idea but what about when the temperature drops down below freezing? Sometimes we get days of low temperatures.”
“I can run PEX from the outdoor boiler and lay a heating grid in the concrete floor of the greenhouse when I pour it. The boiler can heat two different zones. It would keep the greenhouse at whatever temp we want. The boiler we have will heat up to 4,000 square feet so it can handle the house and the greenhouse.”
“Well, looks like we have a greenhouse to build.”
Chase did a double take as he passed the car lot. Sitting there was a relatively new Jeep Wrangler. He turned into a business parking lot and went back to the car lot to check it out. Getting out of the truck, Chase walked over to the Jeep and looked at it. A salesman walked quickly to his side.
“She’s a beauty, ain’t she?”
“Yeah it is.” Chase said.
Opening the door, Chase sat down and read the odometer…6528 miles.
“Not been driven much.”
“No sir, the man that own it lost his shirt in a bad investment and sold his toys off. This baby has a 3.0L EcoDiesel V6, Nappa leather seating with quilting and Caramel stitching, along with blind-spot monitoring, Rear ParkSense, and an 8.4-inch infotainment touchscreen with upgraded audio. It’s pretty much loaded and still has a good warranty.”
“When the salesman told him the price, Chase didn’t even flinch. He liked the Jeep.
“Can I test drive it?”
“Sure, let me get the keys.”
Chase and the salesman drove for about 15 minutes before he stopped in a grassy area beside the highway. He crawled under the Jeep and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and when he lifted the hood saw no leaks. The engine was clean as a whistle. They drove back to the car lot and the salesman wrote up the paperwork. The salesman called Chase’s bank to clear the check and he was now the owner of the Jeep Wrangler.
“Do you mind if I leave the truck here for bit? I want to go register the Jeep and get it tagged. I’ll come back with someone to pick the truck up.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Chase drove to the DMV and called his insurance company to add the Jeep to his policy. Luckily, there were only four people waiting in line and he soon had his tag and was out the door. He drove up to the market and walked in. Mollie was at the register so Chase walked over to her.
“Ma’am, could I borrow Faith for a little bit? I need her to drive my vehicle I just bought back to the lake for me.”
“Sure, that won’t be a problem.”
Faith walked out of a back room and saw Chase. She quickly walked to the front.
“Faith, you can take the rest of the afternoon off.” Mollie said, smiling.
Faith turned to Chase.
“I need you to drive my new, well, new to me, Jeep back to the lake for me. I’ve got Jeremy’s truck.”
“Okay,” Faith said, taking off her apron.
Chase had her drive the Jeep to the car lot where he got the truck and drove back to the lake.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 13, 2022 21:58:19 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by udwe on Jul 14, 2022 13:13:33 GMT -6
Thanks for the update, now get Chase to tell her!
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