Chapter 43

Dammit, here I was in the middle of the old sheriff's greed again. I wondered how much more contraband we were going to find. He still had several properties we hadn't even looked at yet. Well, this time I wasn't going to take any chances. I was going to delegate, and go home to be with my granddaughter. I turned to Charlie and made my intentions clear.

"I am turning this over to you, Charlie. I have a scared granddaughter at home and we just got back together. You know what has to be done and I have it all in motion. This is now your responsibility, Commander."

"I understand, Harry, but you need to stay near a land line just in case I need something I can't get. You have all the pull and I want to be able to use it if I need to."

"Charlie, it's yours if you need it. You have my home and cell numbers so don't hesitate to call me if you need something. The man from Nellis is an old war buddy of mine so I will offer you a suggestion. Don't piss him off, and the most important thing with him; don't try to throw your weight around. He will quickly tell you what you can do with it."

I watched him for his reaction and he was smiling from ear to ear as I finished my words of advice.

"Sounds a little like you, if everything I have heard is true, Harry. Don't worry, he is the most important person here today. I sure as hell don't know anything about explosives. I just hope he doesn't blow me up before I get a chance to buy one of those Harleys from you."

"Shit, Charlie, if he blows you up the Harleys are going to go too, so you will have something to ride to wherever you plan to go, up or down."

He busted up laughing as I dropped him next to one of his Troopers, who had come to pick him up.

"Ok Harry, you got me on that one. Give her a hug for me, will you?"

I headed for home talking to Mark as I went. I had forgotten to ask Doris if Jimmy drove, or how he got around. I figured I would find out when I got to the cabin. I felt a little guilty turning it all over to Charlie, but I realized her plea to me had touched a nerve. I was all she had, and at this stage I didn't even have legal custody of her. I had what I would call possession only. I decided Monday I was flying to Columbus, and get it all legal. I had a will to change and a lot of other legal stuff to do to take care of her. I pulled up in front of the cabin and had to laugh at the moped sitting there. I bet he had to push it all the way up the drive to get up here. When I pulled up, Sandra came running out of the cabin with Jimmy two steps behind her, with a big smile on his face. Sandra jumped in my arms and almost knocked me down with the force of it.

"Oh, Grandpa, I'm so glad you came home. Do you have to go back or can you stay with us?"

I looked over at Jimmy and he seemed to be waiting on my answer as much as Sandra was.

"I think I will stay unless Charlie lets it get away from him. I think Jimmy better stay too because his moped might fall apart if it has to go up and down the driveway too many times in one day."

They both were laughing when Jimmy finally said to me.

"It has never been off the road before. I did have to carry it up the last part. I have a Jeep but I never drive it. The moped's easier in town and I only live ten blocks from work. Aunt Doris always says she can walk faster than that thing runs. I like it because if it breaks down I can always carry it to work and fix it."

Sandra was giggling like crazy as she looked at him then the moped.

"Sis, it's not funny. It is easy to fix and carry."

"It might be easier if you packed it in your lunch bucket. It's bigger than the bike is."

This time they both were laughing like crazy. I just walked by them and headed for the house and the coffee pot. I was halfway up the steps when she caught up with me still laughing.

"He can be so funny sometimes. He reminds me of some of the stories Mom used to tell me about you and the situations she got you into when she was little. She used to tell me those stories and she would laugh and giggle like crazy. She said she did it just so she could watch the expressions on your face. She thought they were funny."

"Well don't you get the idea of doing it. She did a lot of things she used to get in trouble for. We both did a lot of things we got in trouble for."

"I know, Grandpa, and it helped her to talk about it toward the end, when the pain was bad and they couldn't give her anything more to help. I have relived those memories with her many times and it just made me look that much harder to find you."

I hugged her to me and smooched her on the forehead and heard Jimmy laughing. I looked down at her and she was sticking her tongue out at him.

"Now that's not very ladylike. Put that thing away or I might have to tape it to your lip."

They both were laughing as we went into the house together. I noticed Sandra pushed Jimmy so she could slip in first. I went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee, while Sandra got two Pepsi's and gave one to Jimmy. These two were a trip, and I could see he actually thought of her as his little sister, and she accepted him without reservations. I sat down at the table and sipped my coffee while they sipped their Pepsis. I caught onto the fact they were copying everything I did and seemed to be trying to out do each other.

"Ok, you two, try doing your own thing and quit doing what I am. You're both being a pain in the rear."

They were both smiling at me when I finished my little speech. I didn't think it was very funny but those two did, and they were laughing at me again. I was getting tired of this little exercise.

"You two need to find something to do, or I am going to send Jimmy home and you to your room, young lady."

They both got up and went into the front room leaving me alone with my thoughts. It was a few minutes later I heard them start up on the banjos. This I wanted to hear so I went in and sat in the chair across from where they were sitting. Abe had left a small electric organ and I thought it was some kid's toy but when Jimmy sat down behind it I quickly changed my mind. He did something to it and now it sounded like an electric guitar. He was doing something to the pitch and when he got it right he told Sandra to start. She started playing the theme from Deliverance. Man, these two were good, and they added their own stuff to it and it just seemed to make it better. Jimmy stayed at the little organ and they switched to Dueling Banjos and then they started speeding up and then it seemed like the both of them were just a blur while they were playing. I watched their hands, and half the time I couldn't see them they were moving so fast. They finished and I started clapping.