Heckel Casey (22 page)

Hmm, that's what I like to hear.
"Excellent," she whispered into his ear. "You leave tomorrow. But first, let's have a little workout, shall we?" she asked aloud as she began to unbutton his shirt and nip his ear.

Chapter 19

As we approached the town of Flagstaff, we were greeted by a small group of riders. Justin and Luke were in the lead. They waved excitedly. Jack and Heckel rode out to greet them. I knew by everyone's smiles and handshakes that all was well.

The few miles into where the ABQ group was camped went by quickly. The field they chose was spacious, certainly enough to accommodate the McKinney clan. As we rode into the field, people greeted us and were eager to help us get set up. The most surprising part was when Luke announced that they had prepared dinner for all of us. I, personally, was ecstatic; I so didn't want to have to cook. Heckel found us a spot near Jack and Vonnie. He set up our little tent and made us a fire. After I took care of Tempest and Hope, I sat down next to the fire and fell asleep with Jerky curled up in my lap. In my dream, Heckel was working on our home; it was a pleasant cottage high atop a hill overlooking the ocean. I saw myself, very pregnant, sitting on the front porch. It was such an idyllic dream. I'm sure if anyone saw me sleeping, they noticed a huge smile on my face. Heckel said something funny, making me laugh. I suddenly felt the child inside give me a stiff kick, maybe as a warning. I stopped laughing as I looked past Heckel out to the ocean to see Madeline suspended over the water. Dark skies were boiling at her back. She leered at me and opened her mouth revealing long, spiky teeth. I screamed.

"Sela, are you all right?" Heckel asked, lightly shaking me awake.

I started to cry. He put his arm around me and held me close to him. The rocking sensation was very comforting. After a short while, I told him all about the bad dream. He wiped the light dampness from my forehead.

"You are safe," he said quietly. "I will always be there for you." He kissed me gently on the top of my head. The image of Madeline gradually faded from my mind's eye.

We walked down to a large stream to wash up. The water flow was strong from the winter runoff. Even though it was still icy cold, it felt refreshing and invigorating. I looked over to see Jerky take a drink of water and then groom herself as well.

The feast that the ABQ group set out was nothing short of miraculous, not to mention generous. Of course, the McKinney group contributed food and drink as well. Everyone enjoyed meeting each other, sharing stories and getting acquainted. Every so often I'd hear Heckel's name dropped, and I would try to overhear what someone was saying. For the most part, the snippets of conversation were very hopeful and optimistic. One woman said the word savior. I knew that word made Heckel feel very uncomfortable. I smiled proudly as we walked around the large gathering.

It was beginning to get late and people slowly started to drift off to their campsites. Heckel yawned in the middle of telling someone a story. I whispered in his ear, "We should get going." He agreed with no hesitation. We said our good nights and walked back to our camp. Heckel crawled into our tent and immediately fell asleep. I lay next to him for a while, listening to him snore softly. Memories of that dream I had started to filter back into my head. After tossing and turning for a while, I decided to get up and sit by the fire until I got sleepy.

Of course, Jerky followed me out of the tent to watch over me as usual. The fire hadn't gone out completely and a few choice logs brought it back to life. The warmth it gave off helped to take the chill out of the late-spring night.

"Can't sleep?" someone behind me asked in a soft voice. I spun around to see Vonnie standing in the shadows. "Yeah, I had a bad dream earlier and it's still haunting me."

"Want some company?"

"Absolutely. Sit yourself down."

"Would you like some tea? I have a pleasant Sleepytime blend that might put you at ease," she suggested.

"I'd much prefer a good belt of scotch," I answered.

"I don't think your baby would appreciate it," Vonnie whispered with a motherly smile on her face.

"How'd you know?"

"A mother can tell. Besides, I've noticed your morning sickness. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. I think I'm over that part."

"Tea? It doesn't have any caffeine in it."

"Yes, please. That sounds perfect."

While she was gone, I arranged a few more logs on the fire and blew on the coals. Staring into the glowing embers, that damn dream kept floating around in my head. I could see the demonic leer on Madeline's face.

"Here you go," Vonnie said, handing me an insulated mug. "This will help settle your nerves and get you sleepy. I filled us a thermos in case you'd like some more."

"Thanks."

We sat in silence for a while sipping our tea. Jerky decided to try out Vonnie's lap, approved and curled up tightly.

"How's Heckel doing?" Vonnie asked, breaking the silence.

"I worry about him. He seems to be…I don't know…getting older right before my eyes. I think his hair is turning gray quickly and there are circles under his eyes that weren't there when we first met. He's carrying around a huge bundle of grief and worry."

Vonnie nodded her head in agreement. "I'm sure he is, but we all believe in him and we will hold him up."

"I know. It's nice to have people you can believe in, trust and…um…love again."

"That sure is the truth. I just wish my sister were here. I miss her so much," Vonnie said quietly.

"Where is she?" I asked, blowing on the cup.

"Gone. She died during the drug wars. Remember all that mess?"

"Yeah, that shit had been going on for years before Bloody Super Bowl Sunday and the beginning of the collapse," I said, setting a few smaller logs on the fire. "It was another one of those incidents that killed a lot of people over the years. It was most likely something that Madeline had orchestrated as well."

"So many people got involved in drugs over a span of about ten years. I mean sure there was a problem with drugs in our country for a long time. Remember reading about the sixties? It seems that since the hippie years or even longer people did so-called recreational drugs, but progressively more and more people got hooked and I am sure those drugs were tainted, more powerful and more addictive. Unfortunately, my sister was one of those people. I tried to help her, but she wouldn't let me," Vonnie said with a tremble to her voice.

She paused for a moment before continuing. "The drug cartels coming in from Mexico became bolder and more violent, gaining strong footholds in the southwest. It was a war zone all along the southern borders and the cartels inched farther and farther into the northern states. Madeline was Director of Homeland Security at the time, I think. It was one of her first assignments. She sent in the National Guard and it became a mess all along the southern borders. Lots of innocent people were gunned down. Later, I heard a rumor that she actually was helping the cartels by supplying them weapons. Can you believe that?"

"Actually, yes, without a doubt," I said pouring myself another cup of tea.

"I'll never forget the day my sister died. She was an artist, living down in Sedona, Arizona. She did sculptures, mostly marble, and did quite well financially. Too bad, she pissed all her money away on drugs. Anyway, she was killed during a bust that had gone very bad. As she was purchasing…um…whatever she used, a bunch of undercover agents stormed some deserted warehouse. She was caught between the drug assholes and the agents. Her body was shredded beyond recognition. They said that she looked as if she had gone through a meat grinder. I had to fly there and identify the body. I still have nightmares about how awful she looked. I couldn't even recognize her face." Vonnie stopped talking abruptly and tears streamed down her cheeks.

I got up, sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

We sat there for a long time just staring into the fire.

"Do you have any other brothers or sisters?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I have a brother, but I don't know where he is. I lost contact with him over a year ago. The last time I heard from him he was somewhere out in Montana. How about you?"

"Nope. I was an only child. I think my dad would have liked to have had a son to go fishing and hunting with, not to mention having help on the farm. However, the bond that formed between us was tight, and I got to benefit from all those manly things, like being well taught on how to handle a rifle and hunt. That has come in handy many times over the last year or so."

Jerky stood up on Vonnie's lap, arched her back high into the air and yawned. She gingerly stepped over Vonnie's lap and strolled into the tent. A few minutes later, Heckel poked his head out of the tent. "Everything all right?" he asked, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Just fine," I whispered. "You go back to sleep. I'll be in shortly."

He yawned, and nodded his head slowly as he ducked back into the tent.

"I should be going. I'm sure it's late," Vonnie said, standing up.

"Thanks for the visit. It was great to spend some time with you and get to know more about you," I said, standing up as well.

"Likewise. It's been a while since I had a BFF," Vonnie said giggling.

"BFF? What's that?" I asked.

"Best Friends Forever. Remember the whole texting business?"

"Oh, sure, that's right. I never did that texting thing much. Didn't have a BFF that I remember."

"Well, you do now," Vonnie said, giving me a strong hug. "Sleep well."

"Thanks. You too."

I watched Vonnie slip away into the shadows. It felt good to have a BFF. I moved a few of the big logs around to help the fire go out and looked up into the night sky. The stars were especially bright. "Ah, the Milky Way," I muttered as I admired the heavens. After I crawled into the tent, I pulled off my pants and slid into the sleeping bag. Heckel was warm; it felt wonderful to spoon him. I kissed his neck and immediately fell asleep.

The sun warmed the insides of the tent quickly. I pushed the sleeping bag off me and felt for Heckel; he was gone. A momentary panic set in until I heard him whispering to Jerky outside the tent. I stretched, yawned and rolled onto my back to sleep some more. That idea fizzled when I felt Jerky walk on my legs. The heavy cat inched its way up my belly and sat on my chest. She looked at me and I swear, she smiled. "Well, good morning to you too," I mumbled. "You're a tad heavy." A nip on my nose, followed by the sandpaper-like tongue on it, pretty much ended my idea of getting any more sleep. "What's for breakfast?" I asked the cat. The mere thought or mention of the word food could send Jerky into a tailspin. The cat bolted from my chest and darted out of the tent.

I shielded my eyes as I emerged from the tent. "Wow, it's so bright." A gentle breeze danced on my cheek, playing with my hair. The air smelled like it had just been born.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. How do you feel?" Heckel asked as he stirred a pot of oatmeal.

Yawning and stretching, I said, "Like I could eat a horse."

Heckel flashed a look of concern.

"Oops…poor choice of words. Oatmeal sounds fabulous."

"Did you have a nice visit with Vonnie last night?" he asked as he hugged me.

"BFF," I muttered.

"Huh?"

"Yes, we did. It's been a long time since I had a girlfriend to talk with."

"Yeah, I really like Jack too. It feels good to have people you can trust again."

"So, what's on today's agenda?" I asked as I spooned some brown sugar on my oatmeal.

"Well, I think we're going to meet with the leaders of the ABQ group and plan our next move." Heckel said mumbling with a large mouthful of oatmeal.

"Vonnie and I are planning to do some laundry today down by the creek and maybe do a little hunting later."

"Great. So Vonnie's a hunter as well."

"No, she's never been before, but wants to learn."

"Well, she's got a good teacher," Heckel said planting a kiss on my cheek. I giggled; he always made me giggle like a little kid. I loved it!

It was midmorning after I cleaned up the breakfast dishes, washed up, fed the horses and aired out our sleeping bags. Jerky had gone off hunting. Heckel was at the meeting.

"Sleep well?" Vonnie asked as she walked into our camp carrying a large laundry bag.

"Like a log. How about you?" I asked as I finished putting my hair into a ponytail.

"It took a while. I guess I was a bit excited thinking about my first hunting expedition. Am I dressed properly?"

Vonnie had on a pair of old camouflage pants, a dark green sweatshirt and hiking boots.

"Where did you get camouflage pants?" I asked with a grin. "That's so cool."

"They're actually Jack's pants. A little big," Vonnie said as she rolled up one of the pant legs higher up on her ankle.

"You look perfect. Give me a second to grab our laundry and soap."

We chatted about the weather and other innocent topics as we made our way to the stream. Other women greeted us as we approached the water. The winter's runoff was abundant. The water was cold and flowing strong.