Chapter 20

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, wandering back and forth between this house and that one. The emotional toll of this all was coming down on us. Pap and I went back over for the third time and wandered around some more. It was hard to imagine why anyone had done this. We were going to the barn when Cletus came out and met us. "Pap, Steve."

"Cletus," I said and Pap just nodded his head.

"I think it might be a good idea if Connie and I stay in the bunkhouse. The animals are all still pretty skittish and someone should be close."

"Sounds like a plan." I said.

"Be any damage to the bunkhouse?" Pap asked.

"Some of the glass broke and some cracked; Connie and I cleaned it up earlier. We can replace the panes easy enough."

"I'm worried about you not having any protection and being out here away from the rest of us."

"They took my rifle after Clem and Bob, they didn't take all of my guns."

"Connie be a feelin' safe stayin' here?" Pap asked.

"She doesn't feel real safe anywhere now but safer staying with me."

"We should see about getting some walkie-talkies then," I said.

"That be a makin' sense to me," Pap added.

"Sounds like you and Connie are staying here then Cletus."

"Any of the stock be hurt?" Pap asked.

"Nothing looked hurt Pap but I am keeping an eye on them all just in case. Good thing the corral was on the back side of the barn."

"My Pap built there when he was 'bout near Steve's age, said I wasn't one agreeable to the fragrances of nature when I was a youngin', would keep him and my Mam up nights." We had a chuckle at that.

"How long are the investigators going to keep working on the house?" I asked.

'They seem to be thinning out since Connie and I came back this afternoon."

"Let's go over and find out." So we walked over and a large black man came over to greet us.

"Afternoon. I take it this was your house."

"It was," I said.

"Sorry about your losing it."

"So are we," Pap said.

"We're just finishing; we have all that we need."

"So what do you think happened? I asked.

"If I had to guess, someone filled the house with gasoline, turned the pilot lights off and turned the stove on."

"Why did it blow up if the pilot lights were off?"

"Something sparked. Given how the metal that held the first floor joists was twisted, I think the propane traveled down to the basement and the water heater pilot ignited it. Whoever turned off the pilot lights forgot about the water heater."

"Any other possibilities?" I asked.

"Always other possibilities but the evidence of the floor joist brackets makes it the most logical conclusion."

"I didn't get your name."

"Sorry, I'm Alan Thomas Junior, folks call me Little Al."

"Little Al?" I asked.

"Yea, my father is Alan Thomas Senior. I'm larger than him now, but since I was a kid I was always Little Al. And you know that once your co-workers find out..."

"Be a joke with all of them never lettin' it go," Pap said.

"Exactly, the whole team is called by their childhood nicknames."

"Is there anything that we can salvage in there?" Cletus asked.

"It's not likely; the fire burned hot so most everything is either burned past recognition or melted. We have pumped the water from the basement but anything still in there is covered in muck and has water damage."

"Is it safe for us to look around?"

"We supported some of the floor that didn't burn all the way through, but that support isn't stable for the long-term. It would be safer if you took it all out and then looked around if you wanted to do that."

"Ya'll turned off the propane and the electricity?" Pap asked.

"The fire department did that before we arrived. Well, if you don't have any more questions I am going to go check on the rest of the team, and if they are all done, then we will be leaving." We all shook his hand and thanked him and his team for their work.

We turned and walked back to the bunkhouse. "We could have been killed if we came back here from dinner and opened the door and had it explode." I said.

"That is what I am a thinkin'," Pap said.

"We need to get some security here until this is over. I need to call my Dad and see if he has any idea where we can find someone who might know someone."

"Your Dad is a long way away to be a helpin' with that. I be a thinkin' the FBI might know where we can be a lookin'," Pap said.

"Do you think Bobby might have asked them?"

"Yep," Pap said.

"You ask him to?" Cletus asked.

"Yep," Pap said smiling thinking he had been ahead of us again.

Harry and Tammy came walking over towards the barn from the other house. They saw us and changed direction to walk over by us. Tammy walked right over and kissed me. There was some small talk exchanged and then the three of them left. Cletus stopped at the bunkhouse to get Connie while Pap and I walked back to Hap and Rachel's.

We walked back and once we got in the house I saw that nothing much was going on in the way of dinner. "Looks like we're having dinner out tonight." I said.

Lana came over and kissed me and said, " I love you, and yes, no one much felt like cooking."

"I love you too. I can understand that; where does everyone want to eat?"

Pap spoke up then, "We're a goin' to the steak house."

"Oh no, not the steak house Pap, don't make me go." I couldn't hold it together anymore and just started to laugh. After the rest of them had gotten the joke they were all laughing too.

"Hap, Rachel, don't be a givin' me no talk 'bout you not a goin'," Pap said.

That took everyone out of their doldrums. Mam called over and got us a reservation for 7:00. Cletus and company came back, and once they were all cleaned up, we loaded up for the drive. We didn't get there right at 7:00, but they had held our reservation so we were seated right away. Hap blessed the food and we enjoyed the meal. We were about done when Rachel asked, "Have you and Lana come up with any names for the baby yet?" The table got quiet, so I thought it was time to give a little back to my mates.

"We tried the other day Rachel, but they just didn't seem to sound right. I was thinking if it was a boy we would call him 'Paam" And if it was a girl we would go with 'Mapa'. Each of those in honor of Mam and Pap." Rachel gasped and then the boo's started with someone tossing a roll at me. Lana was just sitting there giggling while all of this was happening but no one seemed to take notice.

"Is this any way to treat the head of the clan?" I asked.

"It is when he's a goof ball," Shana said with the big wide smile that I just love so much.

"He's not a goof ball, he's just a city boy and can't help himself," Jana said. That of course got all the table laughing.

"It seems I am outvoted. I open the baby naming sweepstakes to all of you." The poor waitress thought we would likely never leave. There was a baby book full of names given and voted on. Pap and Hap were wise enough to keep quiet but the rest all gave and voted. Lana never said a word and just enjoyed the closeness of the family.

Pap paid for dinner and Hap started to say, "I'm paying for..." And that was all he got out. The look from Mam at Rachel and then from Rachel to Hap settled it. We stopped for a pressure break and then loaded up and headed out. It was after our bedtimes; Connie and Cletus had Tammy and Harry riding with them, so they delivered them to the house, and then they left for the bunkhouse. The rest of us went inside, said our good nights, and went to our respective rooms. Very soon my mates and I were finished with the bathroom and in bed, and I was delightfully sharing kisses with each of them. After I had finished with Jana and got in the bed Shana said, "We fixed the bed."

"How?"

"Lie down and see."

I did and there was no sag or lip where the mattresses met. "Wal-Mart had some contraption to fix it, so we got it today," Shana said.

"Well if it lets me be closer to each of you then I'll enjoy having that contraption." That got me smothered in kisses again.

We were just about to fall asleep when I asked Lana, "What names do you want?"

"Timothy James or Kathryn Lynn."

"TJ or Kitty, I like them both."

I got a slap and then a kiss. "I love you, you goof."

"I love you too Angel."

I was starting to miss that rooster. It was near dawn and I was the middle layer of a Steve sandwich, which is not a bad at all unless you need to use the bathroom, which I did in a big way. I had felt Lana get up a couple of times during the night but was just too comfortable to get out of bed then. So now I am stuck, and the pressure, while giving me a morning rise, is also pushing on my bladder something fierce. So I started to move and that woke Lana, which got her headed off to the bathroom in a hurry. Once she'd taken off, I did move out of the bed and neither Shana nor Jana woke. That gave me a moment to readjust but then the pressure was right back. I slipped on my pants and walked out to the bathroom just as Lana was washing up. She opened the door and I kissed her; she returned that kiss and held me tightly as she did it. I reluctantly broke out of the kiss and said, "As much as I love you kissing and holding me, the floor is going to be wet in a moment..."

'Spoilsport," she said and let me pass. It took a minute for Lana's rise to fade away, and then I used the facilities. I found a razor, shaving cream, tooth brush, toothpaste, and a towel all laid out for me. I opened the door and saw that no one was waiting then closed it and got shined and polished. I was back in the room and the three of them were still in bed. "Rise and shine my Angels." And I went over and kissed each of them.