Chapter 9

The next morning after breakfast I headed into Kerrville and bought fifty sticks of half inch rebar, three hundred push on insulators, two rolls of electric fence wire, and a sun-powered charger. I paid way too much for the charger, but it had a lifetime guarantee and I intended to keep a close watch on the papers that came with something for once.

The man what sold it to me might know or he might not, but I'd danced a step or two with fence chargers before and I already knew a close lightning strike would knock their dicks in the dirt. I hadn't been around Cowboy Jack's place long enough to know for sure, but I figured lightning was a pretty common experience up on the side of that short mountain where his place was. I intended to get my money's worth out of the guarantee.

I also picked up a short handled two pound hammer, a nice old fashioned wooden handled Plumb they musta had for years, a hundred feet of good garden hose, and a country bathtub for a watering trough.

Next stop was a welding supply where I bought a cuttin' torch and all the trimmings and leased a bottle of oxygen and one of acetylene. I headed back to Jack's place and started cutting electric fence posts out of the rebar. It took me all damned day to get the job done.

The next day was spent pounding the cut off rebar into the ground for posts, putting on the insulators, and then stringing the wire. I finished this chore a little before sunset and I hooked up the charger and called myself done.

"I might ought to get a bigger dynamo," Cowboy Jack said, "It wouldn't hurt to have a light bulb or two around and we'll need some juice to run a circle saw when we start on the barn."

"I'll pick one up. I saw some at the welding supply and I might get a deal if I buy a Lincoln Welder at the same time," I said.

The next morning I headed right back into Kerrville, dragging my show horse trailer with me. I stopped at a lumberyard first and got down to business on barn material. They wanted to sell me some package deal and I saw right away it didn't amount to shit, and besides, it was a bunch of custom cut lumber that was too small to make a decent barn in the first place. I knew damned well they had mostly used cut offs from around there and were trying to sell 'em like they were worth real money.

I bought thirty creosote treated posts twenty feet long with six-inch tops and a bundle of two by sixes fourteen feet long. I figured it was about all I wanted to carry in the trailer. I did order twenty each of five on twelve trusses to span thirty-six feet though. They said they'd have to deliver them after they made 'em up and I told them I knew it all along.

I dragged the trailer off after they got the posts and two bys inside and made my way back to the welding supply. Hell, I hit it just right there since they had a deal on the diesel powered Lincoln welders and they even cut a hundred off the biggest Generac dynamo they had for me buying both of them at once. My pickup was loaded down on the way back.

Of course there was more I needed to buy, like a couple of ladders, a hand saw, a circle saw, nails, a couple more hammers, and some corrugated galvanised iron for the roof, but I saved that for another trip.

We got started the next day and like he promised, Jack watched me close while I dug every posthole. I ended up thinking me and Cowboy Jack did a pretty good job getting the barn up in just four weeks.

It was time to make my pitch to Amos then so I lit out early the next morning and made it back to his saddlery. When I got him hemmed up in his office I asked him straight out if he'd do a couple days worth of custom saddle making and rope braiding for me for twenty-five thousand bucks. He nearly shit.

"Why hell yes I will."

"Well it ain't as simple as it sounds, so let's us get another cup of coffee and let me spin you a yarn."

I gave him the deal then and he looked at me about like I'd looked at Cowboy Jack when he told me this tale. Then I hit him with the clincher. I put twenty-five thousand in cash on his desktop and said it was his to keep for just coming out to try it.

He looked at the money and he looked at me and then he looked at the money again.

"When do you want to try it, and how long will I be gone from home?"

I told him about the fifteen minutes then and it nearly queered the deal.

"You're telling me it'll only take fifteen minutes and you're willing to pay me twenty-five thousand dollars. I'm a good mind to take you up on it just to see what happens."

"Remember, there's a chance you might get kilt in a sword fight."

"The best way to win a sword fight is with a pistol," he said.

"Don't I know it, but guns won't go through. If we get in a fight there it'll be swords, bows and arrows, or knives and such. I know this sounds crazy, but it's the truth. The only trouble is when I show you, you'll be stuck there until I get done."

"If we ain't gone but fifteen minutes I don't see how I can lose. I know you said we might stay there longer, and it sounds like science fiction to me, but I'm willing to take your word for it as long as I get the twenty-five thousand first."

"Well there it is. Pick it up," I said, and he did.

He told his helper he wouldn't be in tomorrow and he called his wife and told her he'd be late getting in tonight. I'd told him where Cowboy Jack's place was and he told her, but of course there was no phone number to give.

He came out and got in his pickup to follow me and we headed back to the place.

I was ready to go, but I didn't try to rush him. When we got there I was going to introduce him to Cowboy Jack, but they recognized each other from somewhere. I noticed he got Jack off to the side and asked him something. Jack just laughed like hell and asked him where he thought I'd found out about the deal.

I knew I was taking a risk for the twenty-five grand. If the portal wouldn't accept him I'd be out the money. I figured it would though so we had a beer and then walked through the portal.

I don't know who was more surprised, Kathy Caretaker or Amos Kirtchen. Kathy just stood there looking and Amos turned to me.

"It's all true, ain't it?" he asked.

"Would I lie to you? Of course it's true, and that ain't all. As soon as I explain things to Kathy Caretaker she's gonna put you in the healing chamber and cure all your ills," I said.

"How did you know I had cancer?" he asked.

"I didn't until you just said it, but the healing chamber should fix that too. How 'bout it Kathy Caretaker? Will it cure his cancer?" I asked her.

"The rule book says it will. If he's well enough to get here he's well enough to get well, if that makes sense," she said.

She led him to the healing chamber then and put him in, then she came back to me.

"What's going on, Jack?" she asked.

"He's my Hero Companion, and don't worry, he's madly in love with his wife and he won't need any attention from you except for food and such," I said.

"I wasn't worried, but I just didn't expect it. You know it's recommended you tell your Caretaker before you bring a Hero Companion."

"Well it just sort of happened quick like at the last and you never did give me your phone number so's I could call ahead. I brought him because he's an excellent saddle maker and I haven't been able to find a saddle I like on Chaos," I said.

"I didn't realize one saddle was different from another," she said, as I put my arms around her and then gripped her ass cheeks with both hands.

"That's because you've never had your pretty ass in a saddle for days at a time," I said, and kissed her.

At least we headed for the bedroom before we got naked and down to a serious welcome back fuck, or three. I was surprised Amos was still in the chamber when we got out of bed and took a shower together. The threat of him coming out any time now put a halt to any more immediate sex play though and so I talked Kathy into ordering us some food. We'd just finished eating when Amos came out.

"How do you feel Amos?" I asked.

"My knee is perfect. The both of 'em are like new now and they both were starting to hurt a little, even before I got shot," he said.

"You probably won't know about your cancer until we get back," I said.

"Nope, I already know about it, sorta. I had prostate cancer a couple of years ago and it was removed and I got radiation treatment. The cancer spread though. I'm not absolutely sure the cancer is gone, but I know my prostate is back," he said, and laughed out loud.

"Well that's great then."

"Who you telling? My wife might make me give the money back," he said.

We spent about three hours while Kathy went over the Rules for Hero Companions with Amos. He listened carefully and didn't argue or interrupt. We ate another meal later and then Kathy called for some more of the wooden swords and she had Amos and me go after each other with them.

I was surprised at how much I knew now, but I guess Kathy caught on so she dressed out and put me back in my place. We tabled that motion then and Kathy showed Amos to another bedroom I didn't even know we had here.

When she came back she was on me like a duck on a June bug. I wondered what had lit her candle more than her normal burning blaze, but I didn't know so I concentrated on plowing her furrow and then I got down between her legs and licked for all I was worth.