Chapter 8

John Carter, William's older brother, squatted down by the campfire and picked up the coffee pot. While pouring a cup, he asked, "So what do you think of Betsy's legal problems?"

Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "I don't know what to think. I keep hoping that the father will drop the charges. It would be a disaster for the prison system if she were to go to jail. The thought of that sends shivers down my spine."

John laughed and asked, "What do you think the chances are of him doing that?"

William held out his cup for his brother to fill while he answered, "Pretty good, actually. I'm sure that he doesn't want to testify about what happened to him. It's pretty embarrassing for a man his size to say that someone Betsy's size did that to him. I also think he's the kind of person who would ask for money to put an end to it."

"You're probably right," John said as he poured some coffee into his brother's cup. The odor of fresh coffee filled the air.

"I'm not sure that is the best thing that could happen for Betsy. She needs to learn control."

"I keep wondering when she'll start her service to the Gods and Goddesses," John said putting the pot back on the fire. He chuckled and said, "Can you imagine what will happen when the Gods and Goddesses direct her energy at some problem?"

"The thought of it scares the daylights out of me," William said with a snort. He could just imagine her stopping a riot single- handedly. It would make Custer's Last Stand look like a picnic in the park.

"I've got to admit the idea scares me a little," John said. He sighed and said, "It's a shame that we didn't get to spend a little more time with her while she was growing up. Same goes for Eddie, too."

"I know what you mean," William said.

John looked over his shoulder at the tent and wondered when Momma Linda would wake. Glancing at William, he asked, "Should we wake her?"

"No. Let her sleep. She was pretty tired last night. She's not used to riding around out here," William answered. He looked over at the sun that was just above the eastern horizon and knew that it wasn't even seven in the morning.

"It sure is a nice place you've got here," John said looking around at the landscape that surrounded them. He stood up and moved to the edge of their camp. This was the active time of the day when it was cool enough for animals to move around without overheating. He glanced down and watched a desert mouse scamper around the base of a tumbleweed. The mouse was busy collecting seeds. In six weeks, or so, the top of the plant would break off from the stem and shed its seeds as it rolled under the guidance of the wind.

"Thanks. We'd have never found it without Daddy Ed's help," William said.

"No one knows Arizona better than Daddy Ed," John answered still watching the mouse. The fight for life always amazed him.

Seeing what his brother was watching, William asked, "How goes your work?"

"Susan and I get to travel the world looking at exotic plants and animals. We've gotten a couple of species put on the endangered species list. It is a hard fight sometimes, but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life," John answered. He was fortunate that his wife and he shared the same passion and interest in the natural world. There weren't too many women who would enjoy sleeping in a tent in the middle of some mosquito infested swamp. Susan not only enjoyed it, but she looked forward to it with the same degree of anticipation as most women viewed Paris.

"Where are you off to next?"

"We're heading out to the Congo," John answered. There was a major problem with hunters taking bush meat and killing off thousands of animals.

"Sounds dangerous," William said.

"No more dangerous than the Amazon Basin was," John said. The danger didn't come from the animals, but the people who lived there.

"You're lucky that Susan shares your passion," William said.

"Yes, I am," John said. He looked around the camp and said, "This is one of the few times that I've been camping without her. I'll admit that I had a little trouble falling asleep last night. I get worried when she isn't around."

Laughing, William said, "Don't worry about her. I'm sure that Lucy is taking good care of her. In a couple of hours they'll be heading to the mall for a little shopping."

"That's what worries me," John said with a laugh. He turned away from the tumble weed and returned to the fire. Shaking his head, he said, "Last time she went shopping she got a camouflage colored baby doll negligee. She beat me up when I laughed at it."

"Where on earth did she find something like that?" William asked.

"I don't know," John admitted. He grinned and said, "She looks good in it though."

William laughed. He was enjoying the chance to talk with John. It seemed like too many years had passed without them having a chance to get together like this. He asked, "Are you going to have kids anytime soon?"

"I don't know," John answered with a frown. Shaking his head, he said, "I keep thinking about what kind of life we'd be giving a kid. Susan and I would be miserable living in a house, but raising a kid in some of the places we go to would be nearly impossible. The Gods and Goddesses have given us immunity to the diseases we encounter, but I'm not sure that our children would have the same benefit. You can't imagine the germs, viruses, and parasites that we encounter."

"I hadn't thought about that," William said.

"Besides, can you imagine what it would be like growing up while tramping around in the wild?"

"That doesn't sound all that bad to me," William said.

"Come on, William. You know better than that. His home would be a tent. The only toys he would have would be those that he could carry in his pack. He couldn't have a pet and half the animals he encountered would want to eat him," John said. Shaking his head, he added, "Besides, what kind of education would he get?"

"I don't know, but your children would have two of the greatest parents any child could possibly want. That's got to count for something," William said looking over at his brother with a smile.

"Maybe," John said with a sigh. Looking at William, he asked, "What about you?"

"We're planning on having a whole bunch of kids, just not anytime soon," William said.

"Why not?"

"We need a chance to grow up a little," William answered.

"You're the oldest person I know," John said.

"What do you mean? I'm younger than you," William said. For some reason, that comment had hurt his feelings.

"You were more mature than I am now when you were three years old. You've always looked at the world though old eyes," John said looking over at his brother.

William didn't reply in words. He snorted and shook his head.

John said, "I remember when you wouldn't talk with people because the conversations were too superficial. You preferred learning from books than people because you didn't have to deal with people."

"Okay," William said with a frown.

"I bet you can't name three teams in the NFL," John said.

"Sure I can. I've studied the economics of sports," William replied.

John laughed at the admission and asked, "Who won the super bowl last year?"

"I have no idea," William answered.

"That's my point. You're above that kind of stuff. You may have lived around people, but you don't really live with people," John said. He wondered how many real friends William had. He couldn't see his brother having a friend that he just hung out with to pass the time.

Linda slipped out of the tent and watched the two brothers talking. She had been listening to them from about the time they started talking about Ed helping William find the property. The direction of the discussion was beginning to bother her.

"Do you think I don't have friends?" William asked.

"I don't know."

"Spirit of Desert Rock is a friend of mine. So is Kotyit. Happy Harry was a friend. I'm friends with Oscar Meyers, too," William said.

"Kotyit is an old man and so was Happy Harry. I see you as being about their age. I can't say too much about your friendship with Oscar Meyers, but I'm pretty sure that you don't sit around and drink beers with Dale," John said.

"We don't drink beers. Our Native American blood doesn't make that a very good idea," William said.

"You know what I mean. Do you and him get together just to talk about stuff? Do you go hunting and camping together? "

The question bothered William. He frowned and answered, "Dale and I don't do stuff like that."

"That's my point. You don't do stuff like that. You don't engage people like other people do. Everyone else around you is an employee," John said looking at his brother. He knew that he was the only one who could say something like that to William and have him take it seriously.

"Kotyit once told me that a war party of three wasn't much of a war party."

From behind, Linda said, "Kotyit is a wise man."

When Lucy thought of shopping with another woman, the kinds of stores she considered going to did not include sporting goods and hardware stores. However, those were the only stores that Susan even considered visiting. Since this was really the first chance that Lucy had to get to know her sister-in-law, she had gone along with her.