The oddity of the feelings engulfing him made Cotter want to pack his overnight bag and get the hell out of the house. As the three of them sat around the table eating dinner, the conversation, totally monopolized by Johnnie, reminded him of the days when his father would come home off the road. Cotter would fill the table with every detail that Boubacar Wihlborg missed in his absence while making money for his family. His sisters, Alayna and Susie would get in a word every now and then, but while his father was away, Cotter was the man of the house. He had to fill his Pops in on man details and how he kept the house safe.
Footsteps.
Outside of the backdoor.
Crunching on the snow.
Cotter held up his hands, pointing at the two womenfolk, asking them to get down under the table as he went for his bag and retrieved the 9mm gun. Walking softly, he made his way towards the back door, cutting the kitchen lights and crouching under the window. Giving his eyes time to adjust, he raised his head to peer out the window and spotted a man. Yanking the door open, he pointed the gun at the man’s head, who was very surprised to see him.
“What the fuck you doing here?” Cotter asked.
“Shhherrrriffff,” the man stuttered.
Cotter reached behind the door and flipped on the light to see the Sheriff’s uniform and lowered his weapon. Grabbing the doorknob, he walked out and pulled the door closed behind him and put his weapon in the waistband of his pants. He eyeballed the Sheriff with suspicion.
“Why are you sneaking around at the back door instead of coming to the front and where’s your vehicle?” Cotter asked.
“It’s about a mile down the road,” the Sheriff replied. “I saw a couple of vehicles come this way and one was, I guess, your truck. Didn’t know anyone was still here. Just wanted to peer in before I knocked and got my fool head shot off.”
“Sheriff, you still nearly got your fool head shot off,” Cotter said, not wanting to invite the man inside, but he knew the Sheriff’s type. He would continue to come back again and again until he got to see inside. Allowing the timber of his voice to rise enough for Judy and the kid to hear him he asked, “You wanna come in for coffee? It’s a cold night.”
“A cup of coffee would be real good right now,” the Sheriff said.
“Come on in,” Cotter offered.
****
JUDY AND JOHNNIE CROUCHED under the table, listening to Cotter talk to the Sheriff. It had been years since the sheriff had been out to the place, and each time he’d come, Caleb wasn’t anywhere to be found. Each time he’d conveniently dropped by with one excuse or another, she only referred to Caleb as ‘my husband’, never giving his actual name. Whispering in Johnnie’s ear, she provided the child instructions on what to do when the Sheriff came inside the house.
“You understand, Johnnie?” she asked, clinging to the child.
“Yes, Mama,” Johnnie replied as the sound of the back door opened, bringing in a brisk of cold air, Sheriff Rottingham, and the man she was going to call her own. At least for tonight.
Climbing from under the table, Judy quickly cleared the dishes and grabbed two cups for coffee. Using a couple of Johnnie’s new barrettes, she quickly smoothed down her hair, clamping away the wayward strands. She didn’t have any dessert to offer, leaving the coffee to be just enough to get the man in and out of the house. A phony smile plastered itself on her face as the men came inside from the cold.
****
“DADDY!” JOHNNIE CRIED out, running to Cotter and flinging her small body at him. He lifted the girl into his arms, holding her close to his chest.
“It’s okay, sweetie, it’s just the Sheriff. There’s no need to be frightened,” he said in his best, put on Daddy voice. “Honey, let’s get the man some coffee to warm him. It’s cold out there tonight.”
“Sure thing,” Judy said, pretending to feel better than she did. “Sheriff, you want milk and sugar with that coffee?”
“No ma’am, black and strong is how I like it,” Sheriff Rottingham said, cutting his eye at the woman.
“My Judy knows I take mine the same way,” Cotter said. “Nothing like a good, strong, black cup of anything to make a man anxious to get home and protect what’s his.”
“You travel a lot there, Mister...?”
“Wihlborg,” Cotter said. “Cotter Wihlborg. Used to drive over the road for a while, then took a bit of contract work, but all that is behind me. I’m home to stay.”
The Sheriff took a swig of the coffee, asking a few more questions as Johnnie sat in Cotter’s lap, looking with one eye at the Sheriff as if he would harm her “new Daddy.” Judy sat across the table, giving Cotter a look of love and admiration that warmed him all the way to his toes. She clung to his every word as if he were Moses sent to deliver the Commandments to the Hebrews, thirsty from wandering about the desert.
“Sorry, I don’t have any dessert to offer you, Sheriff, but I can make you a chicken sandwich to take with you,” Judy said.
“Naw, coffee is just enough,” the beady eyed man said, getting to his feet. “I hope that gun of yours is registered.”
“All my weapons are registered,” Cotter offered him with a smile. “I was wondering though, since this is my land, can I hunt on it all year? I mean, when the game is in season.”
“Yeah, you can, but we don’t have much in the way of processing places, other than ole Jeb, who is blind in one eye and got a cataract in the other,” the Sheriff said.
“No need for all that,” Cotter said. “I can field dress anything and barely leave a trace of blood.”
It was the way he said which made the Sheriff shiver. “Cotter Wihlborg, you said?”
“Yep, Wihlborg,” he replied, spelling it out for the man. “W-i-h-l-b-o-r-g.”
“Nice to see you, Judy, Johnnie,” the Sheriff said, headed for the front door. “Sorry to interrupt your meal and scare the little one.”
“It’s quite alright. It’s time for a bath, story time, and bed anyway,” Cotter said.
Johnnie was still in his arms as he escorted the Sheriff out the front door, offering him a ride back to his vehicle. The Sheriff stopped on the front porch, looking about the snow-covered yard. It was good land. Land he’d wanted for himself.
“Is Johnnie in school?”
Cotter was grateful for the information shared earlier by the kid. “In the fall. Johnnie just turned six a little while ago. Judy’s working really hard teaching her math, reading, and how to write in print and such, so the munchkin won’t be behind when school starts.”
“Good to know,” the Sheriff said, touching the brim of his hat and walking out in the dark of night.
Cotter put Johnnie on her feet, gently pushing her away from the door as he watched the Sheriff’s body disappear into the wood line. The man made him uneasy. He’d come to check on the woman. His words, double edged, were a warning and Cotter fired back with subtlety. A sense of pride filled him at Judy and the kid’s quick thinking. The Daddy thing was a nice touch. It felt real to him and to the Sheriff’s eyes, but trust was hard won in Cotter’s. That man was up to something. Closing the door slowly, he could hear the wood hitting the burning logs in the fireplace as Johnnie added a log to cut the chill.
Securing the door, he faced his new family, watching their faces. “Nice touches,” he said.
“That man is a menace,” Judy said. “He sneaks about the place often, looking in, checking, for what I’m not sure.”
“It’s not very late, but does he come by often?”
“At least every other month,” Judy said.
“How many times has he met Caleb?”
“He’s never met him, and I only gave him my maiden name, Morgan,” she said.
“Smart. Really smart,” Cotter said, smiling at Johnnie. “That Daddy thing was a nice move.”
“I don’t know what all Caleb was involved with and with whom,” she told him. “The less people know the better. I see you gave him your name and the spelling.”
“The best way to lie is to tell the truth,” Cotter said. “He’s going to check me out.”
“Those things you said, contract, over the road driver, those things were true?”
“Are true,” he corrected, looking about for his bag. “I need a shower. Does the water get really hot?”
“Shower’s broken,” Johnnie said. “The tub also leaks water on the floor. Me and Mama usually wash off in the sink, but we hadn’t been able to do that in a while, you know, frozen well and all. I sure would love a bath and to wash my hair and put in those really pretty barrettes.”
Johnnie eyeballed Cotter when she said the words and he frowned. A hot shower sounded amazing, but now he couldn’t have one. He was too much of a man to wash off in a sink and needed an alternative. Two of the three large water bottles sat in the kitchen. The kid would only need half of one to get the crud off her tiny body. Judy maybe the other half. He was going to need a whole one.
“What next...damnit?” he exclaimed, looking at them both. An idea struck him and he planned to go with it. Smiling as he set his idea into motion, Judy and Johnnie watched the man go to work. As understanding dawned, they too began to smile at his idea.