A small snippet of “A Sudden Departure” April #9

Raw and unedited as usual. Not the main story line but interesting I hope.

Jonathan was sitting by the stove, sharpening his ax. It was warm now, almost too warm, because he’d been able to cut some limbs and deadfall finally to feed the stove extravagantly. The snow was receding around the chalet and the slope behind them. It was still deep in the shadows and on the north side of the hill across from them.

In the last three days he felled seven trees and trimmed the limbs from two of them. Six of them he got to fall pretty much up-slope and he hoped to drag them down most of the way to the cabin with a cable and a come-along. The one that didn’t fall right was slotted between standing timber, and he might just leave it for now until warm weather and cut it up in place.

The ragged snarl of the vuvuzela actually made him jump, but then smile. He still looked downhill carefully with the binoculars from further back in the living room, not showing himself at the window. There were three horses down at the bottom of their meadow, it would never be a lawn again he suspected. He’d emptied an old washtub that had been used as a flower pot, but the bottom was rusted through so he hung it as a gong. However, Victor Foy was smart to use the horn. That told him they had visitors and who.

Jonathan was concerned with the size of the party until he looked closer. The second horse held a thin man with a beard. But the third horse held a woman and young girl, which helped him relax. Then with a start he focused the binoculars with extra care. It was their daughter.

Looking back at the bearded man he decided that it could be his son-in-law. But bearded and forty of fifty pounds lighter he sure looked different. The fellow had already started on a middle aged paunch early the last time he’d seen him. He had a pistol stuck in his pants on one side and a pair of bulky tan gloves on the other. Jon doubted he’d ever touched a pistol before the day, and he was too dainty back then to do anything that need gloves. Both horses had some baggage lashed on across their rump , and when his horse got nervous and side stepped a little Jon saw he had a small backpack.

“It’s Cindy,” Jon confirmed to his wife Jenny who’d joined him in the living room. I think it’d safe to walk down with me if you want.”

“Why don’t you just wave them to come on up?” Jenny asked.

“Sure, that makes sense,” Jonathan said, embarrassed he’d grow so cautious.

Victor might have been of a like mind, because he had Cindy, with their daughter Eileen sitting in front of her, lead the way up the gentle slope to the chalet. They tied the horses up on the porch railing and Vic took the precaution of hobbling them in case they pulled that loose.

Jenny hugged the woman and girl too overcome with emotion to speak.

FREE – this weekend 1/21 & 1/22 – “Going Up?”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IGMRUOI

Oops…

Can’t use Kurt. Already have a character Kurt started in the last book…Oh. Got Kurt and Karl transposed a couple times. Fixed it and uploaded to Amazon. And nobody caught it….

Free –

“Common Ground and Other Stories” will be free 1/9/2017

Can’t get it to display right or link……..

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050YYVHY

Paper…dead trees

I’m working at getting the print on demand version of “Family Law” available again. Then on to”April” and the others..

A short snippet from April #9

Aaron was almost done with his supper. Karl figured he better ask him for the favor before he stood up. Aaron wasn’t big on patience to stand and listen when he was ready to march off.

“Keith Petros has a new concert recording out that everybody says is just tremendous. Do you think you could loan me two bits until payday to get it?” Karl asked.

“You’re broke before payday?” Aaron asked disgusted.

“There was stuff,” Karl said, and shrugged.

“And you didn’t keep any back to dip into,” he asked further.

“Well yeah,” Karl lied, “good thing because I needed it too.”

“I won’t loan it to you, but I’ll pay you a bit to run an errand for me,” Aaron offered.

“The download is two bits. He’s got a following. The guy is worth it though,” Karl said, enthused.

“Petros may be worth two bits, but the errand isn’t,” Aaron said. “No deal.”

“I’ll run your errand and owe you another,” Karl offered.

“Run the errand and owe me two,” Aaron demanded.

Karl didn’t like that and didn’t say anything.

“Or wait until payday,” Aaron suggested. “No skin off my nose.”

“OK, now and two whenever,” Karl agreed. Aaron keyed his pad and aimed it at Karl’s. The transfer registered and Karl immediately bought his music.

“Here, take this,” Aaron instructed, handing him a standard memory card between thumb and forefinger. It had no printing and could be any size. Probably cheap generic if it didn’t have a logo.

“Go down by the cabbage mines, on the tunnel to the elevator. You walk in the tunnel a couple meters and there’s a glow panel up high on the wall. Just sit this on top of the panel and leave it there. You’re as tall as me, so you can reach it if you stretch. Feel along the top and if there’s another one up there bring it back to me.”

“Now?” Karl asked.

“You’ve been paid already haven’t you? Now.”

“OK, Karl agreed and wolfed down his last couple bites and headed out the back access. He didn’t play his new music. He wanted to savor it in his bunk undistracted.

There wasn’t anything on top of the light. He felt carefully with his fingers hooked over the back edge and slid it off the end so if it was there he wouldn’t knock it off behind. There wasn’t any gritty dust at all which also surprised him. He left the card and headed back to the singles barracks.