May 2010
Reed slowed the big four-wheel drive truck, looking for the driveway. Everything was so overgrown and wild now. It had been years since anyone had been here. He wasn’t even sure he could find it himself even though he had grown up here. Being away for so many years could fade a lot of memories. He had just passed a huge boulder when he spotted the rutted drive. Now he remembered the rock had stood at the entrance to the ranch. It had been a long time since he had sat on that very rock and drawn whatever his imagination could come up with. He pushed the childhood memories away and turned onto the dirt track. He took his time covering the mile long drive. Surprisingly, the house was still standing. No one had lived there since his father had died close to ten years ago. He got out and walked up onto the porch, being careful to avoid the rotten boards. The front door swung open with a push and the sound of small animals scurrying away made him shake his head. Maybe trying to move back here wasn’t such a great idea after all. As it stood right now, the house wasn’t even fit for the animals that had taken up there, much less humans. He made his way to the living room, glad to see the stone fireplace was still in good shape. The windows were still intact as far as he could see. If the rest of the house was fairly decent, he could just camp here instead of making the long drive back to town. This would almost be considered luxurious compared to some of the places he had slept in during his travels. He wandered through the rest of the house. It was a lot smaller than he remembered. The floor plan was one big room with only the two bedrooms and two bathrooms closed off for privacy.
Without a lot of square footage to cover, he quickly found himself on the back porch looking out over the meadow. It certainly hadn’t changed. The deer and other animals kept the overgrowth down with their grazing. It always amazed him to see just how things stayed the same when humans stayed out of the way. He could have still been five years old, waiting breathlessly for his first glimpse of a wild animal. His father had built this place from the ground up on weekends and days off and they had moved here to get away from the pressure of living in the city. His father had been a writer and when he had finally written the best seller they had all been waiting for, he had bought this land and they had left the rat race behind. It had been a turning point in Reed’s young life. He had thrived in the wilderness, spending hours in the woods. His mother had home schooled him and when he went to the local community college, he had been way ahead of his fellow students. Her death when he was nineteen had sent his father straight into the bottle and he had not seen a sober day from then until the day he went out into the forest and shot himself. Reed had left as soon as the funeral was over. With enough money to do whatever he wanted, he had bought a camera and set out to see the world. Along the way he had discovered his talent didn’t lie so much in taking pictures as in solving problems. Now he had come full circle. His own fortune was made and he had come back to the only place he had ever considered home. The morning sun was bright in his eyes and the day was already starting to warm up. May in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico was still the most beautiful place in the whole world to him.
Reed stirred the fire in the old stone fireplace, grateful for the warmth. The smell of the steak on the grate wafted through the house, making his stomach growl as he reached into the cooler and pulled out a cold beer. His muscles ached from the long day of work but he had gotten the inside of the house cleared of debris. His father had built the house from the best materials he could find and the wood was still as solid as the day it had been cut and nailed. He would need a new pump for the well and the plumbing and electrical would need to be redone but overall the house was not far from being habitable. He smiled as he listened to the sounds of the wilderness at night. He had missed the music made by the animals. The crickets, the frogs, the coyotes, even the occasional mountain lion. He pulled the steak off the fire and set it aside to cool. Rummaging around in the kitchen, he found the cabinets just like they were left the day his father died. No one had come to the house to clean or pack because Reed was the only one left. No brothers or sisters, no aunts or uncles. Just Reed. No one had any reason to be there and it was far enough into the backcountry that no one came snooping. There was evidence that a few hikers had taken refuge there, probably during a storm, but no damage had been done. He savored the taste of the rich beef, wondering just what it was that made food cooked over a fire better. He smiled as he remembered the various things he had eaten over the years. He’d take a good American steak any time.
Reed leaned the axe against the side of the house, pausing to wipe the sweat from his forehead and take a long drink of icy water. June was in full force and even here in the mountains, the heat was oppressive. He looked around, taking stock of what he had accomplished in the last month. The old homestead looked almost like it had the last time he was there. He smiled in irony. It was amazing what a cell phone, a name, and money added to sheer hard work could accomplish. There had been a steady stream of delivery trucks in and out for the last few weeks and all the creature comforts a man could want were at his disposal now. He had been lean before but six weeks of physical labor had added several inches of muscle to his tall frame and his skin was a dark bronze from the sun. His eyes glittered like the deepest emeralds as he watched a hawk soaring overhead. He could easily spend the rest of his life here perfectly content.
Deciding he had enough fence rail split for today, he grabbed a towel and bar of soap off the table by the back door and headed down to the creek. The sun made the water glitter like diamonds as he quickly stripped and waded in. The sudden chill made him inhale sharply but it was welcome after the heat of the afternoon. The deepest part of the stream was about fifty yards up so he made his way slowly through the swift moving water. He enjoyed his daily ritual of bathing outside; winter would come soon enough and he knew there would be days on end when he would be stuck inside. Unconcerned with his nudity, he dipped his head under and lathered up. His eyes were closed as he squatted in the thigh deep water to rinse the soap from his hair. The soft breeze was cool on his body, making him shiver but the sudden distinctive sound of a pump shotgun changed it to a cold chill. He froze, his hands still in his hair, every muscle in his body tight. Son of a bitch! The first thing he had learned when he left home was to always be on guard and here he was, literally caught with his pants down! Hell, he wished he had his pants! The sound had come from his left so he turned very slowly in that direction, still keeping his hands up but easing them down just a bit as he pushed his hair back from his forehead so he could see. At least whoever it was had waited until he got the soap out of his eyes! Sure enough, there on the hillside above him stood a tall figure in dirty coveralls holding a shotgun. He was unable to clearly see the man’s features because he had a baseball cap pulled down low on his head. He was tall but didn’t seem to be a very big man but it didn’t much matter if he was a midget; the shotgun was all he needed to have the advantage at this distance. They stood motionless, staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Reed was reluctant to start the conversation-he liked for his opponents to make the opening move when they were the aggressor. It gave him a better idea of what he was dealing with.
The stranger’s voice was husky, almost feminine when he finally spoke.
“You mind telling me what you’re doing on my property?”
Reed frowned. His property? As far as he knew, no one else had ever lived up here but him and his family. Just his luck he had probably stumbled onto some crazy ass tree hugger who thought wherever he was, he owned it. He would ask that later. Right now he just wanted to get out of this freezing water and get some clothes on! If he stood here much longer he would be able to get away because the guy was gonna drop his shotgun laughing. No man would be able to resist cracking a joke about the state of his manhood right now regardless of the situation they were in!
“Don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” he said cautiously. “My name’s Reed Callahan. I live here.”
The stranger raised an eyebrow, looking around the clearing where they were standing.
“Don’t believe I see any houses around here,” he said. “Unless you live in a tree house that I haven’t found yet, I have to say, Mr. Callahan, I’m having a hard time believing you.” He seemed totally unconcerned with Reed’s state of undress.
“Do you mind if I grab my towel while we continue this conversation?” Reed asked, beginning to get irritated with the whole thing.
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