The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) (2 page)

Initially, Calvin was reluctant to assume the role of mentor, but all those years of bailing out his hard-partying brother had left him better equipped to run a household than he realized, and he’d been busy for the last few weeks of winter. He’d taught everyone how to drive, surprising Cali with his patience in walking
her cousins through the process of getting licensed and buying new cars. After a summer spent with Caledonia, Calvin was used to having to explain the most mundane day-to-day things, but even so, he was still surprised to find the twins nearly as ignorant of society as Cali had been.

The o
ne thing that Michael understood better than anyone else was electronic trading and money management, so he assumed the role of the banker of their household, shepherding their savings with an eye towards growing their investments. He set up an elaborate network of computers in his room, and when he wasn’t following Calvin around he was immersed in the virtual world of day trading, taking plenty of breaks for online gaming. Layla teased him that she didn’t see the difference between the two things.

Layla parked
the car and stepped out to see Tripod come hopping out from behind the bikes, barking out a warning into the night. She cast him an annoyed glare that sent him scurrying over to Cali’s side of the car, furiously wagging his little stump of a tail.

When Calvin laid eyes on Cali his face split into a huge
happy grin. She mirrored his emotion, her heart swelling with satisfaction. Their reunions were always colored with such sweet relief that Layla could taste it in the air between them.

“Oh…
you guys,” she muttered under her breath.

“Have fun?” Michael said, eyeing the armload of shopping bags that Layla unloaded from her car. He thought she s
pent too much money, but he dared not criticize her about it.

“Of course we did,” Layla replied with a matter-of-fact toss of her red mane, handing him one of the bags. “I got you a new outfit…
Will you try it on for me?”

“Sure,” Michael nodded, dutifully heading off for his room.

Layla followed him up the stairs to her own room, closing the door behind her. One of her favorite parts of shopping was coming home to hang her things up, organizing her dresses, skirts and blouses by color, and standing back to admire her handiwork. She found the order and abundance in her closet soothing, a controlled, safe part of the world she could breathe in. Half of the clothes in her closet still had tags dangling from them.

Relieved to be
home, Cali squatted down to greet her little dog with a pat, giggling as he lunged to lick her face. When she stood up she was immediately enfolded in Calvin’s arms.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey yourself,” she replied.

“How was it?” he asked her. “Did you get anything?”

She rattled a bag she carried, “Just dog biscuits.”

“That’s it? After shopping all day?”

“
Gourmet
dog biscuits,” she added.

Calvin looked down at the little dog excitedly dancing on his hind legs, circling all around them. “I think he knows,” he chuckled.

“How was he today?” Cali laughed.

“He missed you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “And exactly how do you know that?”

He drew her closer, pressing his forehead to hers, “Because I did too. What took you guys so long? I wanted to take you out on a ride before it got dark.”

She sighed. “You know Layla and the mall… We’ll get plenty of riding in tomorrow. We’re still set to get started in the morning… Right?”

He nodded, and she watched him flash dark blue with concern, “Uh huh. First thing.”

She kissed his nose, trying to reassure him about their plans. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

The softening air and bright leaves of spring heralded the arrival of a new growing season, but that only promised to usher in a whole new set of troubles. Once Caledonia had gotten into the far reaches of the land and taken a good look around, the situation she discovered there was much, much worse than she’d imagined.

The marijuana growers that had overrun the area had cleared out after the fall harvest, leaving behind terrible scars on the once pristine landscape. Denuded hillsides filled trout streams full of sediment, and abandoned mounds of trash stank in the rising temperatures. Worst of all, the area was strewn with the rotting carcasses of deer and boar that had been poached and butchered.

Cali’s friend and mountain-man Jesse warned her that the
growers would return in a few weeks for the spring planting, something that both Layla and Cali were determined to stop. They settled on a plan to clear away every last trace of the grower’s encampment and post “No Trespassing” signs all around in the hopes of sending them the message that they were no longer welcome on the property.

Caledonia was hopeful that they’d move on without a fight, a
s she was unwilling to involve Sherriff Brown. She didn’t want to be forced to admit to the lengths her parents had gone to in order to hide her, and she couldn’t bear the thought of getting Jesse in trouble because of his past association with the growers. She brushed off Calvin’s misgivings about going it alone, accustomed to doing things on her own.

Being brought up by his biker brother had
instilled a natural mistrust of the law in Calvin, but he feared the dope growers even more, and repeatedly tried to talk Caledonia into calling in the police. She stubbornly refused, and although he understood her protectiveness of Jesse he was deeply apprehensive. He tried to reason with her, explaining how ruthless these people could be, but she was adamant, unwilling to put her parent’s reputation and her oldest friend at risk.

“Let’s try it my way first,” she said confidently, refusing to be swayed.

After decades spent in the backwoods, Jesse was afraid to leave the property, and had nowhere to go anyway. Cali spent an emotional day spent boxing up her most sentimental items and moved him down from the mountains into her parent’s cabin, telling him she needed a guide and caretaker to stay there and keep watch over the property. It was the perfect arrangement, and the snug little cabin made for a luxurious retirement home in comparison to Jesse’s former campsite accommodations.

So plans
had been made for the following morning, and their new dirt bikes were ready to carry them to the most remote plots to get started on the demolition. Calvin and Cali walked into the house arm in arm, settling on the couch with the dog snuggled up between them. Layla came down the stairs and headed for the kitchen, calling out, “Does that beast really need to be on the furniture? Doesn’t it have fleas or something?”

“Oh lighten up Layla,” Calvin said, ruffling the dog’s fur and getting an adoring look in return. “Poddy’s a good boy.”

“He had a bath last night,” Caledonia called after her. Her eyes met Calvin’s. “What did you just call him? Poddy?”

Before he could say anything Layla was back. “Hey Cali? Do you want to come into town with me tomorrow? I need to go to city hall to check on the permits before we can start getting bids on the road grading.”

Caledonia grimaced, “And deal with Millie? No thanks.”

“Oh, come on,” Layla sighed, “
She’s not so bad when you get to know her. Millie’s really been going out of her way to help us cut through the red tape.”

Caledonia shrugged, “Sorry, but I’m going up to the site with the guys tomorrow
anyway. Jesse says we need to get started cleaning up if we want to beat them before they come back for the spring planting, and it’s finally dry enough to get the bikes back in there.”

“Suit yourself,” Layla sniffed as she flounced back into the kitchen. “I’d much rather deal with Millie than tramp through a bunch of muddy old weeds.”

Calvin took Cali’s bag and pulled out the dog treats. Tripod’s ears shot up and he jumped down to sit expectantly at Calvin’s feet. He cocked his head from side to side, licking his chops.

“Watch this,” Calvin told Cali. He addressed at the dog, who was now practically vibrating with crimson excitement. “Poddy… Roll over.”

The dog complied, wavering a bit as he struggled to sit back up without his missing leg. Calvin tossed him treat, laughing when he lunged to snatch it out of mid-air. “Good boy!”

“I told you he was a smart one,” Cali laughed.

Calvin feigned offense, “Don’t I get any credit?”

She smiled with amusement. “For teaching an old dog a new trick?”

He reached over to pull her closer, kissing her cheek before whispering, “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

She g
iggled when his warm breath tickled her ear. “I’ll be the judge of that,” she replied, just before she turned to face him for a real kiss.

~

Chapter Two

TRIPPED UP

~

Layla was in high spirits as she drove into town that beautiful spring morning. She parked in front of the courthouse and stepped out onto the uneven sidewalk, bending to adjust the strap of one of her sling-back sandals. She stood to straighten her skirt and smooth her hairdo, tucking a stray curl back into her tidy French twist. She strode into city hall with the confidence of someone who was going to get exactly what she wanted.

She
had proven to be the best one in the household to deal with bureaucracy, as she excelled at cutting through even the most exasperating red tape. Layla had the uncanny knack of determining exactly what motivated each person to perform as she wished, and she managed to charm her way through every obstacle with ease. Even the town busybody had quickly warmed up to her, and only partly because of the way Layla wielded her special power.

Once
Millie had gotten over Layla’s uncanny resemblance to her storied grandmother, the old woman found that she approved of everything about the pretty young redhead. First of all, unlike most young girls of her generation, she always dressed like a lady, favoring modest blouses, skirts and heels. The old woman much preferred Layla’s attire over the torn jeans and heavy motorcycle boots that her wild-haired blonde cousin sported.

In addition to that, her manners were polished, and she was always respectful of her elders, reminding Millie of herself as a girl. Layla listened without interrupting, said please and thank you, and always sat upright with her ankles daintily crossed in front of her. There was something so refreshingly old-fashioned about her
; she was unlike all of the young hooligans running around these days, their faces always glued to their phones.

Finally, Millie was mightily impressed by the Layla’s desire to re-build an area landmark,
no matter how notorious its former occupant had been. The girl seemed interested in everything Millie had to say, providing the old woman with a rapt audience for her never-ending stories about the town and its denizens. When Layla’s flashing green and topaz brown eyes met hers, Millie felt more important than ever.

Millie liked to feel important.

She looked up when Layla walked into the courthouse, taking note of the girl’s luxe but modest attire with a nod of appreciation, “Why, Good morning Miss Mackenzie. What a pleasant surprise.”

“Good morning Miss Millie.
You know that you can call me Layla,” she said with warmth, immediately putting the older woman at ease. “I’m here to see about the permits for the road grading. The ground is finally drying out, and we’re all eager to get started on the construction.”

Millie waved her around the counter, gesturing to a chair next to her desk, “Well sweetheart, why don’t you have a seat and I’ll look for that paperwork… Say, I was just about to fix myself a cup of tea…Would you care to join me?”

Layla smiled pleasantly, “Earl Gray?”

Millie nodded with approval at how Layla always remembered every little detail, “It’s my favorite.”

“Yes please. I’d love a cup.”

Soon the two women were sipping tea,
with Layla listening politely as Millie rattled on about some local scandal involving an ugly divorce. She watched the old woman’s colors brighten and shift as she recalled the outrage, and she inclined her head in sympathy. Millie finally checked herself, stopping to take a breath.

“That’s enough said about that… Say! I did a little digging into the town archives, and found out a few more things about the Mackenzies that you might find interesting.”

Layla leaned forward in her chair, her patience rewarded. “How wonderful! What?”

“I was talking to Jenny down at the diner and she told me that Joan over at the salon has an uncle who…” Layla nodded, trying to keep her eyes from glazing over as Millie ran down the provenance of the latest rumor.

“… and it seems as though her grandfather was a bricklayer, and she remembers him talking about working on the house.”

Layla perked up, “My grandmother’s house?”

“The very same. Up on the mountain.”

“Did he know my grandmother? Did he say anything about her?”

Millie smiled, meting out the juiciest information at a slower pace, “Apparently, she showed up at the site quite often to check on the progress, and
he
said she was really picky about how the work was coming along.”