Southern Oregon – East of Ashland
Tom looked over Granny B’s shoulder at Jackie, talking with Rick down by the lake. Granny B didn’t want to add more people to the group. “I think Rick is a good man, but where do we draw the line? Tom, are you listening?”
“Yes, and I agree on limiting the size of the group. We’ll be home tomorrow and won’t be in contact with outsiders, but we have to face it that some of our new friends have relatives that might want to join us. Besides, Jackie appears to be smitten with Rick.”
“Let’s add Rick, but I’ll balk at adding anyone else. Rick will be a big help if we get into a fight. Thank God, we have better weapons over at the ranch. Let’s go tell the others.”
The day quickly passed as they packed up their supplies and camping gear to prepare for the short trip to the ranch. Tom gave Rick a tactical vest, a 9mm pistol, and a Ruger 10/22 rifle. “Sorry about the dinky .22 rifle. That’s all we have until we get to the ranch. We’ll also have to scavenge the area and find some ARs and AKs. There has to be plenty of them in abandoned homes and shops.”
Rick disagreed. “The gang has been methodically taking all weapons, even .22s. They don’t want to take a chance on an uprising.”
“I hope we can stay below their radar and not worry about them,” Tom replied.
Before they drove away, Granny B gave Rick her .308 rifle and took his .22. “I want you to ride in the back watching for that gang you told us about. This rifle will reach out and touch them.”
Tom sat down beside Granny B. “I’m going to take 66 to Corral Creek Road and then drive cross-country as Grandpa showed me to get to the back of the ranch. This old Dodge is a four-wheel drive. It should be a piece of cake.”
Jackie exclaimed. “In the dark?”
“Sis, you’ll have to up your game, or we’ll get wrapped around a tree.”
The drive over to the ranch was similar to the one on Dead Indian Road. There were few houses, and the road was like a rollercoaster with its ups and downs and lefts and rights. Tom drove with Granny B and Jackie in the cab. His sister used the night vision scope to assist, but the moon was three-quarters full, and Tom could see well enough to drive without it. Jackie concentrated on looking in front and behind the truck to see any vehicle lights a long way off.
Tom drove at thirty miles per hour and was only a short distance to their left turn up into the mountains and their ranch when Rick beat on the cab. “Lights are coming from the front.”
Tom knew there were several driveways up ahead and watched for one. He saw the lights dancing in the trees above the hill in front of them when he braked and made the turn on two wheels. The passengers in the back had braced themselves for the turn and were okay but a bit scared when the truck tipped over a bit. Tom hit the brakes and stopped, barely off the driveway.
Several trucks thundered past them and were soon out of sight. Tom looked at Granny B. “I hope they didn’t come from our ranch.”
“Let’s drive on up and approach the ranch from the backside, as you suggested. We can stay in the old cabin out by the creek until we can scout the ranch.” Granny B patted the dash and said, “Old girl, don’t fail us now.”
“I’m glad I filled it up while taking Bill and Betty to Medford.”
The road ended, and a dirt trail continued up the hillside into the woods. The road hadn’t been used by anyone but a few hunters and Tom’s grandpa over the years, so it was overgrown with grass in places and covered in pine straw the rest of the way. Tom stopped and turned the wheel over to Jackie. “I’ll walk and lead you on up to the cabin. It’s maybe a mile or so.”
“Brother, I’ve been up this cow path a time or two. Let’s go.”
Tom was tired from walking uphill the entire way but wouldn’t give his sister the pleasure of hearing him complain. Just when his calves were burning, the old cabin appeared through the branches of the pine trees up ahead. His thoughts went back to the home's history and how much it meant to him over the years.
The old cabin was the original home built on the property dating back to the 1870s. A farmer who wanted to raise apples on the hilly land had built it. The farmer had cleared several acres of trees and planted apple trees in the rich soil. The last of the family died during a cholera outbreak. The homestead had been abandoned until Tom’s great-grandpa had bought the land and built the ranch. There were still apple trees all over the place. The cabin had been added onto as the family had grown and was now a three-bedroom home with a large room for the kitchen and a living room. The bathroom was behind the house and was a two holer. Baths were taken in front of the fireplace in a big galvanized tub in the winter and the creek during warm weather. The cabin was at the far end of the eight-hundred-acre ranch, and no one besides Grandpa and Granny B knew about the rustic cabin high up in the woods.
Tom could barely make out the cabin through the branches as his mind drifted back to stolen nights with Gwen making love in the house to get away from the others at the ranch. The rough-hewn logs looked just as solid as they did a hundred some odd years ago.
