Chapter Twelve

Riley was just putting the finishing touches on the pot roast when Sully came into the kitchen carrying his boots in one hand.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he sat down in one of the wooden chairs, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.

“Finishing up this pot roast for after church,” Riley replied.

Sully leaned back in his chair as if the act of coming down the stairs had been tantamount to a days work.

“Is there anymore of that coffee I smell?”

“Yep.” Riley gestured to the coffee pot. “Help yourself. I’m leaving in about half an hour if you want to eat. There’s some bacon and fried eggs on the stove.”

“Mmm!” Sully said happily.

He took the plate minus a greasy paper towel back to the table along with a mug of black coffee. He looked around as he scooped his breakfast into his mouth.

“You living pretty good out here.”

“I make do.” Riley poured himself a second cup of coffee and returned to the table where he had sugar and a container of powdered non-dairy creamer. He added a liberal amount of both causing Sully to grimace.

“Easy, cousin. Do you even taste the coffee?”

Riley shook his head. “Nope. I’m not much of a fan of the stuff.” But he had brewed a pot with the thought that Sully could use it in order to get moving. He had no intentions of leaving the man up at the house while he was away. Not with Stella and Adam nearby—and even if they weren’t.

Sully had never asked to move into the cottage. But one day he would and that might be the day that their friendship ended. Because Riley had no intentions of going against his granny’s wishes to never let any of them live on the property. It wasn’t a respect thing, although he loved his granny. But he’d seen what Sully’s family did to property.

Riley took a long drink of coffee and then placed the mug into the sink. “Hurry up and eat. We’re leaving shortly.”

Sully grunted and Riley went up stairs to finish getting ready. A few minutes later when the men stepped out of the house they both looked over at the cottage.

Sully ran his hands through his greasy hair and stared at the beautiful little cottage.

“I sure made a mess of things for you.” He said softly.

Riley climbed into his truck. “Don’t worry about it. It’s taken care of. I spoke to her last night.”

“Did you tell her that I’m sorry?” Sully asked while peering in at Riley through the window.

I don’t need a man to apologize for another man... “No. But I told her that I was.”

Sully nodded and then looked once again at the cottage. He got into his truck with its fading Confederate flag emblem covering the back window. It started with a loud rattle and a shot of black smoke and then he was speeding down the hill.

Riley sat in his running truck, fiddling with the radio until the clock indicated that church was due to start in less than fifteen minutes. He rolled off, checking the rearview mirror where the gingerbread house was in plain view. He watched its reflection grow smaller as he drove.

 

 

Stella looked out the window once she heard Riley and his cousin’s cars drive off.

Asshole.

Riley had let that man stay in his house all night. What had happened to protecting them when they were on his property? She tried to dismiss them both. She wanted to forget about the events of last night. She decided that she would make pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Her surroundings even inspired her to make it from scratch although she generally used a box of Bisquick when at home. Why not? You could make just about anything pastry related using Bisquick.

The night before, they had eaten the apples with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. She had to admit that it was surprisingly good and had not gotten as mushy as she had expected. She had even sprinkled a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar on them and it really was like apple pie.

Afterwards Adam had tried turning on the television set in the living room but all of the channels that came in clear were off line for the evening. So they had turned in early with Stella promising that they would explore the mountain the next day.

It was late in the day when they finally left the house. Adam tried bringing his Gameboy along but Stella nixed it.

“Nope. Leave it here. We’re going out to enjoy nature.”

“So you’re not going to check your Facebook?” he asked.

“Don’t be smart.”

“You want me to be smart.” He said while flashing her a dimpled grin.

“Yes, but not a smart aleck.” She lightly pinched his cheeks. He was just too cute.

The scenery was beautiful, the trees were in full bloom and if it weren’t for the fact that it was blazing hot out she would have suggested that they go on another hike. Instead they saw a creek and she found a safe place to pull off to the side of the road.

They walked down the slight incline and came to a small lake.

“Ooo! Mom, there’re fish! Can we go fishing?”

She was happy that he’d found something to interest him. “We sure can. I think that hardware store across the street from the market might sell some fishing poles.” Not that she knew the first thing about fishing. Well she knew you had to have a hook, those round floating balls and some bait. Yeah, that would be a good past time. In the mean time they skipped rocks, or rather they threw them causing big ‘plops’ and splashes.

They located another tree to climb and discussed how cool it would be to have a swing that swung right over the lake. And then there were all the ‘what if’ questions; what if the rope broke? What if you broke your leg and no one was around? What if you drowned?

“What if nothing happened except you had the best time in the world swinging over the lake?” Stella finally said. “Let’s head out. I’m getting hot.”

Adam had collected a pocketful of rocks that he liked and an old piece of tree branch that he swore was a witch’s petrified finger.

“Then why do you want to keep it?” She asked as they headed back to the car.

“Because it’s going to be my charm to ward against evil.”

“Evil? You’ve been playing too many fantasy video games.”

“I’m going to tie a piece of rope around it and wear it like a necklace.” He announced while holding it carefully.

“Yeah and it’s dirty.”

He wiped it gently. “No. It’s clean. Can I keep it?”

She shrugged. “Yes. You may keep the petrified witch’s finger.”

He made a few gestures in the air with it and then pointed the ‘finger’ at her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m including you in my protection spell.”

She smiled and chuckled. “You have such an imagination.”

As they drove they came across a small church sitting on a hill. Several cars were parked in front and the doors were thrown wide open allowing them to hear the sound of yells and shouts even from the street.

They were louder than the Baptists, she thought.

“Why are those people screaming?” Adam asked while peering out the window as they drove past.

“I think they are just shouting out their prayers.”

She saw him point the witch’s finger at the church. Jeez, I’m going to hide that thing.

They continued to drive and Adam turned up the Bruno Mars tune playing on the Satellite radio. They were singing along loudly when she thought she saw something that interested her.

“Is that…?” She abruptly pulled the car over and parked. She dug into the backseat for her water bottle.

“What?” Adam asked.

Stella got out of the car. “Come on. Follow me.” Adam followed his mother as she walked back along the side of the road. It was one of the few places that actually had a spacious area off the side of the road to park the SUV.

“Where are we going?” Adam asked. There was nothing to see but the side of a huge hill, which looked as if the road had been cut out of a mountainside. The ground was dirt and pebbles along with a few flat rocks that appeared to have fallen down from the side of the hill.

Stella pointed to a spot on the side of the wall of rocks. Adam squinted until he saw that the ground was dark and wet here. And then he saw that a trickle of water was flowing from a spot in the mountainside.

“I think it’s a natural spring.” She said.

Once they reached it they saw that there was a pipe jutting from the side of the mountain.

“Where’s it coming from?” Adam asked. “It didn’t rain yesterday.”

Stella pointed up. “From there. It’s the top of the mountain.”

Adam stuck a finger beneath the stream. His eyes widened in surprise. “It’s cold. How did it get so cold when it’s so hot outside?”

“The mountain top is cold. Should we drink it?”

Adam was unsure but tempted. “Is it clean?”

“Yes. It’s naturally filtered. They put this pipe here for people to access it. Or at least that’s what I read. Let’s try it.”

“Okay.” He held out his hands to catch the water but Stella stopped him. “The water is cleaner than your hands. Drink it like a water fountain.”

“So I have to be the taste tester?” He asked.

“Yes. You first. Someone has to drive you to the hospital if it’s poisoned,” she joked. He waved his witch’s finger at it. “Now it’s safe.” Then he drank. He didn’t stop for a long time. When he did he sighed and smacked his lips. “Good,” he said shortly before going in for round two.

“Okay stop hogging it up. My turn.” Stella said. Adam stepped back and Stella bent and drank. The cold water hit her lips and she opened her mouth allowing a flood of icy water to fill her mouth. It was so good that she wanted to call it sweet. She dumped the water from her water bottle and began filling it with the frigid spring water.

“I’m going to get my water bottle!” Adam sprinted back to the car as a dark SUV pulled up behind her. She straightened and shielded her eyes but all she could see were tinted windows. The window facing her on the passenger side began to glide down and she saw the face of a light skinned African American woman peering back at her.

“Are you okay?” the lady asked in concern.

“Oh. Yes, we’re fine. We saw this spring and thought we’d stop for some water.”

Both doors opened and the woman stepped out. From the driver’s side a huge white man stepped out as well. He dwarfed the woman especially when he walked around the car to stand next to her.

They made an odd couple, but Stella had no doubt that they were a couple. His hand went around her shoulder as he smiled in greeting. The woman had light skin and short hair pulled back into a ponytail, which sprung out in soft curls around the scrunchy. They were both attractive but the man looked like he could have modeled for…well for anything. He was probably the whitest man that she’d every seen with pale freckled skin and short, curly auburn hair along with a few days growth of a moustache and beard. His eyes were also very light so that you couldn’t help but to look into them. It should not have all gone together so perfectly and yet it did. He was gorgeous. But so was she.

“Daddy, can we get out of the car?” A little voice called from inside.

The man’s eyes scanned the area, locking onto her car and then to Adam as he jogged back to her.

“Yeah, baby,” he said, his smile returning. The back door opened and a little girl stepped out. She looked to be about six or seven.  A moment later a little boy followed.

The woman walked toward her with her hand held out.

“I saw you pulled over at the side of the road and wondered if you were having car problems. Cars always stop running on this hill,” she chuckled. Stella shook her hand. “Oh, I’m Ashleigh and this is my husband-”

“Christopher!” Stella quickly filled in.

Ashleigh’s head tilted. “Do we know you?”

“No,” Stella chuckled. “I’m sorry. We were at the market yesterday and the lady working there asked if we were here to visit Ashleigh and Christopher.”

Ashleigh laughed. “Right. Because all black people know each other.”

Chris moved to lift the little boy up into his arms. He looked to be about two years old. The little girl was light in coloring like her dad and had the same light eyes and long auburn hair. But the boy was brown, even darker than his mom with brown curls and hazel brown eyes—but he looked just like his dad. Stella understood why people stared at her and Adam because she couldn’t stop staring at the little family.

“This is Chris Jr.,” the man said with an accent that sounded exactly like Riley’s. “And this is our daughter Brianna.” Stella shook the man’s hand. Even though she was pretty tall, her hand felt like it was enclosed by a baseball mitt.

“I’m Stella Burton and this is my son Adam. We’re here vacationing for the summer.”

“Oh nice!” Ashleigh said excitedly. “We do the same thing. We stay with Chris’s mom for a few weeks each summer. Our place is right up the road off Patsy. It’s the big A-frame. Where are you and Adam staying?”

“We’re staying in the little gingerbread house on the Pranger’s place.” Stella replied.

The smile fell from Chris’s lips. “The Pranger’s house?”

“Yes. Well, the cottage.”

Ashleigh clasped Chris’s hand. “Riley’s a good guy.”

“Hmph.” Chris said shortly.

“What?” Stella asked while looking from one to the other.

Ashleigh smiled. “My husband doesn’t get along with a few of the Prangers.”

Stella’s lip twisted mirthlessly. “Yeah.  Can imagine.” She looked at Adam. “Go ahead and fill your water bottle, sweetheart.” Brianna followed him. Once he was at the water pipe Stella turned her attention back to Christopher and Ashleigh. “I met his cousin, Sully last night.”

Ashleigh and Chris exchanged concerned looks.

“Do I need to go and whup his ass?” He growled. Ashleigh placed a placating hand on his forearm. Stella smiled in appreciation at the offer.

“No. I handled it.” She frowned to herself. “Besides, I think Riley might have done it already.”

“Riley isn’t like the rest of them.” Ashleigh said. She looked up at her husband. “Right Christopher?”

He grunted. “He alright. For a Pranger.”

As the grownups chatted Adam appraised the girl. He’d seen other multi-racial children at his school. Sometimes they passed each other in the halls and even though they had never met it was like they knew each other. It was like that with this little girl. He knew her because they were both in an exclusive club of being black and white but being truly neither. It wasn’t something that other black people understood. Even his mother who was the smartest person in the world didn’t really know. She said that he was black but sometimes the black kids called him whitey and the white kids asked what he was. If he said black they said that he wasn’t. If he said that he was both sometimes they said that he couldn’t be white if he was black because white had no colors mixed in...

He filled up his water bottle as the girl watched and then he drank a long swig.

“You want some?” He offered the bottle to her.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “We’re almost home but my daddy saw your car and thought you got a flat tire or something.”

She accepted the bottle and drank. “It’s good,” she gasped when water dribbled down her chin. “Cold.” She handed the bottle back to him.

“My mother says its because it’s water from the mountain.”

Brianna nodded. “This is one of the places where the spring comes out. We come here with jugs. My grandma sometimes make ice tea just by sitting it on the back porch with tea bags inside.”

“You don’t need hot water to make it?”

“It gets hot. Then grandma puts sugar water in it and pours it over ice. It’s good.”

“We had some roasted apples last night. It tasted like apple pie. We put it over ice cream.”

“You ever had home made ice cream?” Brianna asked.

“No.”

“We make it and put berries and fruit inside. It taste better than store bought.”

“Do you live here?” Adam asked.

“No. We just come out and visit my grandma. And we visit my grandpa and uncle Walt and uncle Ray and a whole bunch other people that I never met.”

Adam frowned. “How do you visit people that you’ve never met?”

Brianna smiled. “We visit them in the cemetery. Each grave is like their own little house. I knock on their gravestone and say, ‘Hello grandpa. How are you today? It’s me Brianna and we’re visiting grandma.’ Then I tell grandpa all the people that I visited.”

Adam dug into his pocket for his witch’s finger and showed it to her. “You should get yourself something like this. It will protect you from the evil spirits.”

Brianna poked at it. “That’s cool looking. But my daddy protects me from the evil spirits, me and my mommy and brother and all the people in our family. He’s a Marine.”

Adam looked at the huge man. “He looks like a wrestler on television.”

Brianna nodded. “He can fight better than anybody on television.”

“Adam,” Stella called. “Would you like to visit with the Jamesons? They invited us to their house for lunch.”

Adam nodded enthusiastically while Brianna clapped her hands in excitement at the prospect of making a new friend.