If any of them wanted to read, they would have to sit at the kitchen table, huddled close to the tiny candle. It was more work than any of the three women felt like putting out after the grueling day they had. All three women curled up on the couch and took turns loving on Crank as they engaged in idle chitchat. An hour after the children were asleep, the women moved to the back of the house, leaving Crank inside, and went to bed themselves. The little dog made his way around the dark interior of the house, inspecting nearly every inch of floor, furniture and walls. After his inspection, Crank retired to Essie’s room, where he jumped up on the bed and curled up next to the sleeping child.
The five men moved only as fast as the horses could draw the heavy car, which wasn’t fast enough by John’s standards. No one liked being on the road, but there were no other options if they wanted to use the VW to pull the trailer back to the ranch house. The men took turns driving the little German car as the two horses dragged it slowly down the country road. Calvin had loaded two large five-gallon containers of water for the horses, and at the first stop they drank greedily.
John moved to Jared’s side. “What do you think about sending the kid out ahead to scout?”
Jared pursed his lips as he thought about it. “I like that idea a lot more than I like walking straight down the middle of this road, I’ll tell ya that much,” he replied matter-of-factly.
John nodded. All he wanted was Jared’s approval, and now he had it. “Hey, Devon,” John called to the teen.
Devon was sitting a short distance away, with a weed hanging out of his mouth like some old-school farmer, when John called out to him.
John walked over and squatted down. “What do ya think about going out ahead of us and doing some scouting? Let us know if there’s anything or anyone in our path?”
Devon thought for a second, then bobbed his head. “I’ll go.” With that, he got to his feet, hefted his pack, and started off.
“Whoa there, cowboy. Let’s talk about a couple of things first,” John said with a smile. “If you can get back to us before we get into a place of no return, do it, but if there is something for whatever reason that we need to know about right now, you fire three shots as a signal. You good with that?” John asked, his face growing serious.
“Yeah, three shots—got it,” Devon said, fidgeting with the safety on his Ruger rifle.
“We’ll give you half an hour start; then we’re going to move. When you reach the intersection at the bottom of this road, hunker down and wait for us,” John added.
Wordlessly, Devon turned and started off. Jared watched the boy for a moment, but something in the teen’s posture and mannerisms told him the stars were not aligned in the lad’s life. Jared took off after the boy, jogging to catch up. John watched, but made no effort to interfere. When Jared was abreast of Devon, the two walked for several yards before Jared spoke.
“You understand John is not asking you to go out there because he wants you out of our hair, right?”
Devon turned his face up towards Jared. “Seems like it. I always get sent out by myself, and you guys always go together—but it’s okay. My parents were kinda the same way,” Devon said dismissively.
“Ah, it ain’t like that at all, Devon. John is a certified badass, and he sends you out after he talks to me about it. He sends you out because he is amazed by how proficient you are at working alone. He’s asking you because you’re the best out of all of us at doing stuff like scouting and creeping around, finding trailers and whatever else you end up doing for all of us so we can live and be more comfortable,” Jared cajoled.
Devon scrunched his mouth sideways and rolled his head slightly as he ran his index fingers around the edge of his thumbnails. After a moment, Devon looked Jared square in the eye. “Do you think I’m good at that kind of stuff?”
Jared knew any hesitation would kill what little progress he’d made with the young man. “Fuck yeah I do,” Jared blurted out with a grin.
“And you’re not just trying to get rid of me?” Devon pressed.
“I am telling you the straight truth here, man,” Jared said, his voice conveying his seriousness.
“Okay—that’s cool,” Devon murmured. The teen glanced up briefly at Jared and gave him a small smile and was off. His shoulders were held a little higher, and he stepped with more vigor as Jared watched him drop off the side of the road and vanish into the thick brush.
When Jared got back to the VW, the horses were watered, and the men leaned against the tiny car like they were high school kids at a drive-in.
“He thought he was being used; thought we were getting rid of him by sending him out on these little details you’ve given him. Sounds like his parents were pretty crappy to him. I didn’t get into it with him, but I don’t think his family spent a lot of time with him,” Jared solemnly informed the group.
Chapter 40
Half an hour after Devon set off, Calvin rousted the horses, and away they all went, with Jared seated inside the VW. He tried to
