Chapter 38: The Restoration

Callie paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. She was shaking and tears were pouring down her face. Angie tried to comfort her, but Callie refused to be comforted. Jessica, Harley, and Ashley watched their mother pace. Her behavior was upsetting to them. Lonnie sat next to the children, attempting to comfort them, but he didn't know what to say. Things did not look good for Cade.

The hospital was located an hour from their house and Callie arrived just in time to see Cade being wheeled in for emergency surgery. He was unresponsive and didn't even know she was there.

Time dragged by slowly as they waited word from the surgeon, and every time the door to the surgery unit opened, they looked up with expectation. Callie could not stop bawling no matter how hard she tried. Finally, she turned and hugged Angie, sobbing for all she was worth. Ashley's lips quivered and shook and she began to cry too. Lonnie stood up, "C'mon kids, let's go outside and stretch our legs for a few minutes." He knew the children were scared watching Callie behave the way she was.

"No," Jessica protested as Lonnie attempted to take her hand. She ran to her mother.

"C'mon, we'll come back in a few minutes," Lonnie said quietly and he gently pried Jessica away from her mother and led the three children outside the hospital into the clean crisp air. None of them wanted to leave, yet they didn't really want to stay either.

"What if he dies?" Harley asked when they were outside.

Ashley whirled around and glared at Harley through bloodshot eyes. "Don't you dare say that, you'll jinx things."

Lonnie shook his head, "He's not going to jinx things honey. Whatever happens to Cade is out of our hands."

Jessica stuck her thumb in her mouth in agitation. "I want my daddy," she said as if she were three-years-old.

"Shut-up you baby," Harley scolded her in irritation, feeling as if he might slug her for good measure.

Lonnie put his hand on Harley's shoulder. "Your dad is a strong man. He's been through a lot in his life. I'm hoping he can survive this gunshot wound."

"What if he don't?" Harley asked. "What then?"

Lonnie looked at Harley, "Then you'll grieve for him, remember him, and somehow find a way to go on with your life. It's what he would want."

"I'd kill Drake Pennington if he wasn't already dead," Harley said with venom.

"Son," Lonnie said quietly looking Harley in the eyes. "It was revenge that got your daddy into this mess, so I hate to hear you talk like that."

Harley didn't want a lecture from Lonnie. He wanted to hit someone or something. His dad was dying and it wasn't fair. "Leave me alone," Harley said and he shook free from Lonnie's grasp and ran off.

"Harley, don't run away." Ashley called after him.

Lonnie watched Harley and then he looked down at Ashley and Jessica, "Whatever happens to your dad, life will go on. It always does, whether you want it to or not. Your dad isn't dead, so keep your chin up, and keep praying OK?"

Ashley did not believe in God, but at this point, anything was worth a try, even prayer. She took hold of Jessica's hand and led her back inside to the hospital waiting room. Lonnie began walking in the direction Harley had run. He wasn't sure if he should go after Harley. He knew that sometimes a boy needed space, especially when his dad was dying. He took his time.

Harley had charged into the field next to the hospital. He was on his knees tearing up clumps of weeds and dirt and hurling them in all directions. He was angry. He finally had a dad, but his dad was going to die, and he was angry.

Lonnie watched Harley from a distance and when the boy finally collapsed from exhaustion, Lonnie slowly walked over picked Harley up. Harley hugged Lonnie with all of his might and sobbed against his chest. "It's not fair." Harley cried.

"It sure as hell isn't," Lonnie agreed and he let Harley cry until he could no longer cry anymore, and then he led him back to the hospital.

When Lonnie and Harley returned, Cade's surgery was over. He was in the intensive care unit recovering. His family stood helplessly outside the glass barrier, watching. Cade lay very still with all sorts of machines attached to him, but he was still alive. The hospital staff wouldn't allow anyone to get close to him.

The surgeon appeared tired as he talked to Callie about the surgery. He told her that Cade had done much better than expected, but it was touch and go for him. Cade had lost a lot of blood, and the bullet had done a lot of damage. The next 72 hours were critical and the hospital staff would need to monitor Cade carefully.

Gary Holmes was sick about what had happened at the cabin. He was unable to sleep or eat. He drove out to Cade's farmhouse and slowly got out of his car. He looked at the charred ground where Cade's garage had stood. The house looked as if it might fall down if a gust of wind caught it just right. The exterior was in a sorry state of disrepair. Cade had done all he could to fix up the place, but it was still in need of a face-lift.

Gary thought of the many years he had been involved in the feud between the Holmes', Pennington's, and Harrisons. He tried to hate Dusty as much as Drake hated him, but had always found it difficult. Dusty had been easy to like. He had an easygoing demeanor and a gregarious and outgoing personality. Gary knew why Drake hated Dusty; it was jealousy and the fact that Drake's father had poisoned his mind against the Harrisons, but everyone else liked Dusty.

Gary was happy to leave town to go away to a private school, while Drake stayed to contend with Dusty. Drake had not always been bitter and angry, but after years of ridicule from his father, he had formed an intense hatred for Dusty. Drake's father, William, had been a harsh taskmaster, with an intense hatred for Walt. He pushed Drake beyond his limits and roughed him up whenever Dusty outplayed him on the football field. It made Gary's flesh crawl to think back on it. He had ignored those things in his youth, but now that Drake was gone, they seemed to stand out in his memory.

The alliance was strong between the Homes' and Pennington's, and Gary's Aunt Martha marrying Walter Harrison had been the ultimate betrayal. Cade was Gary's blood relative, and that meant those sweet little kids of Cade's were also his relatives. Gary realized it was time to end the madness before it was too late. He realized as he stood there what he needed to do. He pulled out his cell phone and made a phone call to Carl Grant, a local contractor. "Meet me at the Harrison Farm," he instructed, and then hung up and walked toward the house. Gary didn't know if there was an afterlife, but he felt terrible inside and he knew he needed to make things right.

When Carl arrived at Cade's house, Gary was waiting on the porch, and he walked out to greet him. "Good to see you Carl."

Carl looked at Gary as if he had lost his mind, "What can I do for you Gar?"

"How much would it cost for you to build another garage out here?" Gary asked.

"A lot," Carl said in an uninterested voice.

"How much to give this old house a face lift, you know, maybe put some new shingles on the roof and some new siding?" Gary asked.

Carl looked warily at Gary, "You're talking about a lot of money for all of that, why do you care?"

"How much would it cost?" Gary asked.

Carl sighed, "Well I'd say at least $100,000 and probably double that, but I'd have to write up an estimate."

"If I asked you to do it, could you complete the work in a couple of weeks?" Gary asked.

"What?" Carl was certain that Gary had lost his mind. "No, we don't even have blueprints for the garage. Why would do you want to do this?"

"Cade is my great-nephew or something," Gary said with a smile. "His grandmother, my Aunt, never got her inheritance and I want to make things right."

"I thought Cade killed your best friend," Carl said.

Gary laughed. "Cade didn't kill Drake it was Lonnie Jameson that killed Drake. Drake shot Cade before he had a chance to defend himself, and then Lonnie shot Drake when Drake shot at Lonnie. It all happened fast."

"Oh," Carl scratched his head.

Gary took a deep breath, "So what do you say Carl?"

"We can't possibly get that much work done in two weeks," Carl said.

Gary made more phone calls and finally he had three contractors. They all met him at Cade's farm. "Can all of you get your crews together? I really want to do this."

"We would need a blueprint for the garage," Carl muttered.

"This is a ridiculous idea Gary, have you lost your mind?" Another of the men said.

"No, I haven't lost my mind," Gary assured them. "Round up your men and if you get all of the work done in a week, I'll give each of you a $10,000 bonus."

The four looked at one another. This might work if they worked together and did things just right. Gary wanted them to start that minute, and after some debate, they agreed. Gary broke into Cade's house to see if he could find a blueprint for the garage. He realized after awhile that the house had a basement, so he knew he would need to break into the basement when he couldn't find any blueprints in the house. He made friends with Buddy the dog, which was no easy task, and eventually, Gary was in the basement looking for the blueprint. "That old bastard Walt must have kept everything he got his hands on," Gary muttered in frustration.

When Gary found the pictures of his Aunt Martha in one of the boxes, he stared at her picture. He also found the locket and letters after digging through every old box he could find, but he could not find a blueprint for the garage. He stopped looking when he heard the men arrive with their crews. He walked out to greet them. "I can't seem to find the blueprint for the garage," he said in defeat.

Carl laughed, "The town keeps a file of blueprints, and they just happen to have one drawn up by James and Walter Harrison." He spread out the blueprints for Gary to see. "We think we can do this Gary, but we need some money to get started."