Over
dinner with the sisters, Will and Luke talk about how they feel, now
their father is dead.
Luke
followed his brother. "What's wrong this time?"
It
was his friend, Albert Travis. The other man could only gasp and
point behind him. Up at the top of the hill, where Luke had proposed
to Dollie, the sheep shed was on fire. There was nothing else up
there, but the flames leaped higher, threatening the trees and grass
around it. If that caught fire, their mother's home was in danger.
They
leaped into Will's truck. Gunning the motor, he rushed down the road
to the dining hall. He picked up as many men and teenage boys as
would fit in the truck. Armed with buckets, blankets and rakes, they
hurtled up the mountain. The roof of the shed had already collapsed,
the flames leaping through the gaping hole.
The
women changed into dungarees and shirts. Quickly putting scarves over
their hair, they got their own supplies and drove up after the men.
Stopping at the Henry house, they picked up more men and buckets.
"Thank
God for the pump," Dollie said as they jumped out of the car.
Joining
the bucket line, they handed one bucket after another to the men
fighting the fire. Wetting blankets, they passed them up too. The men
knocked in walls with axes, burying them in dirt. They slapped at the
flames with the wet blankets and poured water on the rest.
After
several long, arduous, grueling hours, the fire was out. There were
still coals and hot spots, but the men moved around with shovels and
rakes layering the debris with more dirt. Though some of the
surrounding area was blackened by the flames, at least the fire
hadn't spread.
Luke
and Will surveyed the damage noncommittally. Filthy and sweating,
they stood with their hands on their hips, taking it all in. Their
uncles and cousins joined them.
"Well,"
Uncle Wilt said, spitting into the wet dirt. "Damn place needed
rebuilding anyhow."
"Yep,"
Will agreed.
"I
had in mind to build my house up here," Luke said. "So
Dollie and I'd have a place to live when we got married."
"You're
getting married too?" Their younger brother Jacob crowed.
"Why
the hell didn't you say so?" Wilt asked, clapping him on the
back.
"Wasn't
quite the time," Luke said quietly. "Not right on the heels
of Ginny's and Will's news."
"Well,
by damn!" Wilt grinned. "You boys done good with your
fillies. I'm real proud of you, son."
Luke
had always liked his father's younger brother. He was everything Earl
wasn't, warm, friendly and loving. He'd been the one to explain the
birds and the bees since he knew his brother wouldn't. Wilt thought a
man should have some idea what he was doing before he had to perform,
so he took their education on himself. Both of them were mighty
grateful he had. He was far more like their father than Earl had ever
been.
Sometime
during the battle, the sheriff and some of his deputies had joined
the fight. They walked through the ruins looking for clues as to how
the fire had started. Though he didn't say so, Sheriff Squires was
sure it was arson. If Earl had still been alive, he'd have suspected
the sorry no-count for sleeping off a drunk and falling asleep with a
lit cigarette. But Earl Henry was dead and buried.
"Sheriff,"
Deputy Clive Hull called.
"Yep!"
The
younger man motioned his boss over, saying nothing to alert the crowd
of onlookers. Despite the efforts of the other deputies, they
lingered. He pointed to an area not far away from his left foot. The
sheriff squinted to see what had drawn his attention. Frowning, he
squatted in the blackened debris. Nudging something aside with his
boot, he gagged.
"Get
these goddamn people out of here," he ordered. "And call
Phil Odom of the state police."
"Is
that what I think it is, sir?"
"Son,
we got us another body. Go on. Do what I told you."
"Yes,
sir."
He
hollered at the other deputies. "Clear these people out. Time
for y'all to go on home now. Ain't no more to see up here! Go on
now!"
The
sheriff walked up to Will and Luke. "Fellas, as it's your
property, I got to tell you something."
"You
found someone dead, didn't you," Luke said quietly in a very
matter-of-fact tone.
"How'd
ya know?" Sheriff Squires squinted one eye, suspicious of the
younger Henry.
"Cause
wasn't nothin' else would make a man like you turn pale and gag like
that. And it smells liked burned meat over there."
"Well,
you're right. We don't know who the poor bastard is. I guess we'll
have to wait and see who turns up missing."
"You
think he was there when the fire started?" Will asked him.
"The
roof caved in on him. It fell before the rest of us got up here,"
Uncle Wilt said. "Dead or not, he was in there when it started."
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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