“There’s the cabin. Park behind it in case someone drives by from the ranch.”
“Tom, you act like you know our home has been captured by some thugs.”
Tom was worried. “Rick said the gang has taken several ranches and farms. We also saw a caravan of trucks on Highway 66. I ain’t optimistic.”
Granny B and Jackie laughed at Tom. “Your grandfather kept the place a secret for over thirty years. He only told his closest Army buddy about the ranch. It’ll be just like we left it, and Jack and June will greet us when they see us.”
Tom tried to be upbeat. “I hope so. Let’s grab a bite, and then I’ll take Rick down to the ranch house to scout the area.”
Granny B hadn’t been up to the cabin since before her husband had died. Tom opened the door with a gun in hand, and they heard the scurrying of little feet across the floor. Granny B jumped backward. “Get rid of those critters before I go in there.”
Jackie had a smirk on her face. “Granny B, you’re not afraid of any man and can throw a calf to the ground. Why are you afraid of a few rodents?”
“Just get rid of the bastards!”
The inside of the cabin was decorated in used and abused cast-off furniture from the ranch. The couch had several patches sewn on to keep the stuffing contained. The chairs were a mixture of 1950s and 1970s styling—nothing matched as one would expect at a hunter’s cabin. The fireplace had an oak mantle and still had the large andirons and various hooks and iron rods to hold cooking kettles.
Jackie gasped when she started cleaning the kitchen. An old Coleman cooler still had several cans of beer and moldy sandwiches, which stank to high heaven when she lifted the lid. “Tom, you said you took care of this over a year ago!”
“Oops!”
Tom and Rick chased and killed mice while Jackie, Brenda, and Sam swept the floors and dusted the furniture. The kitchen countertops had been hewn from a single cedar tree and then smoothed with a hand adze ax. Even after over a hundred years, the surface was still rough as the dirt roads covering the mountains after a spring shower. The cabinets were made from the same logs, and rustic didn’t do them justice, but they weren’t fashion statements back then. They just had to hold food and dishes. The bedrooms were filthy with dust and mice droppings. Sam made the men take the featherbed mattresses outside to shake the dust, and mice poop off them. She swept, mopped, and cleaned the cedar plank floors.
Granny B and Jackie placed Tyvek over the windows, so she could light a couple of the kerosene lamps stored at the cabin. “Tom, you and Rick need to go on down the hill before sun up. The ladies and I will clean this place up a bit in case we need it for company.” Granny B was always impatient and didn’t know how to rest.
“As soon as I swallow this last bite of rabbit stew, we’ll be gone. I want to savor the wonderful taste of rabbit.”
“Follow me around the pasture to the ranch house. I want to approach the house from the west, so we can keep the barn between us and the house when we get closer.”
Tom led the way through the woods and only stopped a couple of times to listen for other people. He was eager to see Jack and June to find out what they knew about the area and what had happened when the lights went out.
Jack and June were a young couple Granny B hired several years back to work on the ranch. Jack was the grandson of Tom’s Grandpa’s best friend and wandered onto the property one day, asking for a job. They had a small cabin on the property and took care of many of the chores. They had become close to the family and volunteered to stay at the ranch and take care of things while Tom took everyone to Hawaii. Tom was to make up for it by sending them to Hawaii for a very late honeymoon. Tom knew the two couldn’t handle all the work if he and his family were too late getting back to the ranch.
Tom had his .308 with the night vision scope mounted, and Rick packed Granny B’s .308 rifle. They didn’t talk and moved silently through the woods toward their objective. The early morning temperature was in the low forties, and their breath made clouds that trailed behind them. The smoke from a fireplace hung heavy in the air, and Tom was surprised to see smoke billowing from Jack’s cabin and the main house. Tom abruptly stopped. “Who in the hell invited all those people to the ranch?”
Tom referred to the half dozen pickups and SUVs parked in front of the house. Rick said, “Does your ranch hand have a large extended family?”
Tom’s heart sank when he saw his new Jeep Rubicon and the new 2038 Dodge pickups. “What a waste of money. Those vehicles will never run again.”
Tom was enraged that so many people were occupying his home. “Not that I know of. He was the grandson of my grandfather’s best friend. I see Jack’s F250 over by the garage, but I never saw the others before. Let’s move in a bit closer.”
They
