Chapter 56

My cell phone rang waking me. I sat up and answered. Steve, one of the roadmen I had left at Paul's said, "Whoever you're worried about is here, and is thinking about trying to burn us out. I've called the Sheriff's office and a car is on the way. Whoever it is has already shot out one of the windows. He's yelling for Savannah."

I quickly told Steve, "Find a door away from where that guy is and get out of there. If you can flank him, try, but if you think there's more than one person, just stay hidden until the Sheriff's Deputy gets there. Help him if he needs it. I'll be there as soon as I can."

I was up, dressed, and on the way out of the door when Mom came out dressed. She said, "I woke D up and he will guard here until we get back. Let's go."

It wasn't that far to Paul's place. We could see the lights from the Sheriff's car flashing as we drove up his lane, and we also saw what looked like the side of the house was on fire.

Just as we were stopping, the side window glass of the truck burst as we heard a shot ring out. I looked at Mom and she said she was okay, but Ray Charles could see she was scared and pissed. We both jumped out of the truck and headed toward the Sheriff's car that was up behind a big black Buick. What I saw wasn't good as the Deputy was slumped over the seat in the open doorway. He had a good pulse, but I took a minute to use the car's radio to advise whoever was listening that a Deputy was down and we needed an ambulance and the fire department at the Swan place.

Mom moved up beside me and said, "I'll take care of the Deputy. Find that son-of-a-bitch and shoot him. Better yet, bring him to me and I'll shoot him."

The shots had come from the barn area, so now I needed to know where Steve and his partner were.

I called Steve's cell phone and when he answered, he said, "Mike, Don's been hit. I think I can see you by the Sheriff's car. Is the Deputy okay, I saw him get hit? I think there are three or four of them. I've called the Sheriff's office again and they are trying to get more men out here."

"Where are you?"

We're by the machine shed across from the barn. I think all of those men are in the barn, but I can't be sure. I saw your truck window get hit. I'm glad you and whoever is with you is okay."

"That would be Mom. She insisted on coming."

Steve said, "Oh shit, these guys are in trouble."

I told him, "Stay where you are, but watch for me. I'll try to get close enough to the barn for a shot."

I touched Mom, "Watch me, and shoot at the barn when I get over by that pile of wood so that they will shoot back. I need to see how many and where they are."

Now I wish I had a rifle, as it would be a lot easier to hit exact spots.

I stayed out of the glow of the fire that was eating the side of the house. I rested my Beretta on top of the stack of wood as soon as I was behind the woodpile and waited. Mom shot four times at various windows of the barn. There were shots fired from three windows and a doorway almost immediately. There were four people to contend with. I focused on one window and waited until I saw a movement and fired. I could see an object jerk in the dark. No one shot back at me as Mom fired four more times.

Flashes of gunfire came from two windows and the door again. I could see the shape of a man going back and forth from side to side of the door in the light of the fire. I waited until he had most of his body almost out of the door, trying to look at the Sheriff's car and the house. Mom and I must have had the same idea, as we both fired at the same time. Whoever was in the door jerked from both rounds and fell out the door.

A voice hollered, "Sonny, you all right?" A few seconds later the same voice loudly said, "I'm out of here, Pete and Jack. I'm shooting my way out. Follow me if you want." A figure came out from the side of the barn, but a rifle shot from the machine shed dropped him. Another guy ran toward the Buick and Mom put one into him just as I was going to yell for him to halt.

Sirens were coming up the drive. There were two Sheriff's cars, an ambulance, and the volunteer fire truck. Mom hollered at me, "Watch it, Mike, we don't know whether any of them that are down can still shoot."

The paramedics took over working on the Deputy and the Sheriff and a Deputy were checking the three exposed men who were on the ground. I told the Sheriff that one of the shooters had been in the barn firing out of the lower window. He sent a Deputy in to see about the shooter and the Deputy soon hung out the window and said, "He has a hole in his forehead. He isn't going anywhere."

The fire department had the fire out on the side of the house very quickly. At least the roof didn't catch on fire, but the house was severely damaged. It wasn't going to be livable for a long while.

Mom went into the house and made some coffee for everyone. She didn't have a key but just pushed the old door in. The Sheriff was on the phone with the FBI, telling them he had four dead and one was definitely 'Sonny the gun'.

None of the shooters lived to tell of their adventure, but Mom said she was going to write a story about it so that people didn't take farmers so lightly in the future. The Sheriff said, "I don't think any bad guys would ever want to run into you Graysons."

The Sheriff took our statements, then Steve's, while Don was being treated for a minor wound. It was while we were waiting to leave that the other Deputy said, "That car has about a half million in cash in the trunk. I guess that was running money. What should I do with it, Sheriff?"

I told the Sheriff, "It's money lost on Paul's place. He ought to get some. The County could take the rest, but he should get a chunk of it."

The Sheriff smiled and asked, "Don't you want any?"

"No, I'm fine, and I'm not retiring. Give some to Paul and Jan so that they can have that life in Florida they're dreaming of."

We would later learn that the Sheriff gave Paul half and put the other half into the County treasury. It wasn't the legal way maybe, but it worked for me.

It was sunrise by the time the firemen were cleaned up. The ambulance had taken the Deputy to the clinic, but the man wasn't too badly hurt. Don was going to be sore, but okay. Now we had to go tell Paul that his house caught fire, but didn't burn down.

At home, Mom and I went into the house and found everyone waiting breakfast for us. We sat and talked about what had happened. I took Savannah into that room the she had slept in and told her, "Your ex died last night. Is that going to cause a problem for you or your kids?"

She shook her head, "They might be sad, but they knew their father was a mean man and was hunted by the law. They knew it could be this way. Just don't make a big deal out of it and wait for me to tell them later."

I was hungry and enjoyed our traditional breakfast. Paul, Jan, Savannah, and the two boys enjoyed eating one of our big breakfasts with biscuits and gravy.

I gave Paul a tour of the stock in the new pasture after breakfast, then walked him back to look at the all of the calves that we had. He gave me a compliment by saying, "You really are diversified. I saw your vineyard and orchard, along with what looked like a distilling building. Everyone knows about how huge your produce garden is, and how Kroger spends nearly a month picking sweet corn. You're really running a farm here, Mike, plus you've taken over both Pete's and Bert's places."

It is amazing to hear old farmers giving me compliments. I had to think of my dad, and what he had taught me as I grew up, whenever someone told me something like that.

I told Paul, "We should go over and see what kind of damage the fire and the water to put it out made."

The two boys stayed at the house, but Paul, Jan, and Savannah went with me to see about the house. I called Raul on the way to see if he could look at it and give us an idea of what it would take to put it back together.

Jan and Savannah cried, but they both agreed that it could have been worse. Paul went to where his hidden safe was and emptied it into a box for them to keep with them. Savannah asked for her parents' forgiveness for getting involved with the man who had sired her boys. She said that the man had been wonderfully gentle and kind before they married, but he became violent later, after they married.

Jan said, "I think I'm ready to move now. Sell the place and let's go south, Paul. Savannah, if you and the boys want to come with us, you know that you're welcome for as long as you want to stay with us."

Savannah hung her head and told them, "I need to find out if I can be a productive citizen. I've been to nursing school, but I've never been a nurse. That I passed the State boards only means I knew what I was taught. I need to find out if I can be a nurse."

We drove back home, where I let them settle in the living room to watch the kids play with each other. I took Savannah's boys and Mato out for a walk to the far side of the mountain to see how the vineyard and orchards were doing. The boys enjoyed the walk, as I'm sure Minya would have enjoyed it, but she wanted to be around the new lady in our home. Minya was always watching the other females in our home to learn how she should act. I hoped she would take after Mom, Sissy, and Millie rather than others who might pass through.

Paul wanted to go see Benson about selling his place, so I called to see if he was busy. His secretary was making excuses as to why I couldn't talk to him. She continued until I told her, "Look, if Benson isn't in, say so. If he's in the office, but fooling around with some babe, tell me that, too. I need to talk to him, and if you don't come clean, I'll just call his cell phone."

I heard the gasp each time I told her something ridiculous, but I wanted her to know that I wanted a straight answer. She finally said, "Mr. Benson went home early because he said his wife wanted him for something personal. I am not at liberty to tell you what she wanted him to do."

I laughed at her, but gave her a compliment, "You did good, Lady. You are protecting Benson very well. I'll give him a call on his cell so he comes for supper tonight."

The woman said, "Oh, you're that Mike Grayson. I'm very impressed with everything you've been doing in the community."

"Thank you, Ma'am, now I need to call your boss. It's important."

Benson immediately answered when I called his cell, so I knew he either wasn't doing anything, or he was already done with the fun.

"Benson, this is Mike. Come for supper tonight because I have something that you can help me with. I'm calling Maude to get her out here, too. Can you come or do I need to come to you?"

There was a pause while I heard him talking to his wife. "We'll be there for supper, Mike. I'll try to come a little early to talk to you about whatever you want to fund or talk about."

That took care of the business side. I sat down on the couch with Millie while she nursed the twins. I am always amazed at her motherly ability to nurse both twins at once. She sat with her top exposed as she fed both babies. Savannah even remarked at the ease Millie showed while nursing the two together.

As she held our babies to her breasts, Millie asked me, "Now that Savannah's independent, will you let her stay with us while she finds her way?"

I assured Millie, "Of course, I will. They can stay with us while Savannah learns how to be a nurse. I'm sure that Sheryl will let her do some on the job training so that she can become more than a bed changer."

Millie told me, "I like her, Mike, but I don't think she would be a good wife for us. We will take care of her and her boys, but I think she will be independent and not want to learn to live with us."

That was very observant of Millie. I wondered if Mom had something to do with her assessment, or was it Millie's intuition that made her feel this way. Savannah came to sit on the other side of Millie, and because she could see the babies just mouthing Millie's nipple she picked Karen up to burp her. Millie burped Kevin while giving him a kiss.

Rosita took each baby one at a time and put it into its crib. When Rosita took Kevin, Savannah said, "Your family is so peaceful and loving. I've never been around another family as gentle as you people are. Even Mom and Dad were not as calm as you."

Rosita had come back and sat on my lap. She leaned over and kissed Millie on the lips, then said to me, "It's very nice to have another woman here to be with us. Are you interested in her?"

I wanted to laugh, but thought better of it, and did reach over to pat Savannah on the arm. I told Rosita, "You know that you wouldn't want someone to tell you that you should be interested in someone. I want Savannah to stay with us as long as she wants to, but she won't be another wife."

I caught Savannah's eye and winked at her before she became upset or overly involved in the conversation. I told her, "Millie wants me to have many wives and many children. I think I'm fine right now."

Savannah sat up straight, sticking her small chest out for me to appraise. She said, "I don't think I should be considered someone to throw back. I might be the perfect woman to help you raise many children."

Just what I needed, someone to encourage Rosita to become even more aggressive.

Paul and Jan had been huddled with Benson for over an hour. They finally sat back as Benson reviewed what he had written on his long legal pad. He was obviously confirming each item with Paul.

Mom had been sitting with them, so I knew that she would be looking out for my interests, but that she was always fair.

Benson called me over and began going over each item. Everything sounded normal until he said, "If you agree to help Savannah until she can become independent, Paul is willing to give you his property as it stands, in the condition that it's in, for the price of one dollar. If you feel you can't abide by this agreement, now or during the execution of the agreement, the land is to be appraised and you will pay the appraised value less twenty-percent."

Mom said, "That's more than a fair deal if we can keep Savannah for a year or so. She needs the stability of our home and the boys need someone like you to teach them to be farm boys, Mike."

I looked at Paul, "That's not a very good deal for you, Paul. Let me give you a fair price for the land."

He said, "Mike, if you hadn't come along and helped us, you would be in town visiting Jan and me at the funeral home. You saved us and Savannah, but more importantly, you saved the boys. For that, there is no price. Take it and farm the land, Mike. Teach the boys to be good men and farmers. We'll be back often enough to see how you're doing, so take the property and grow what you need."

I told Savannah, "I can have the house rebuilt so that you can live there without interruption."

She told me, "No, don't do that. Tear the place down, and if you want a farmhouse, build another. Dad did have a good storm cellar that they haven't used for a while. I think the place needs a new beginning. Let the insurance give you some cash. That will make the land worth that much more."

Mom said, "We'll go round up the chickens that they have and bring them here. You do what you want with the house, Mike, but you should probably rebuild out there so you have a place for someone to live in and to work the land."

Benson and Maude appeared next to me, and Maude said, "We'll work out the dollars and cents for you, but I'm not sure I can find a dollar in what you have in the bank. Do your thing and work the farm, Mike."

Benson privately told me, "You have worked your magic again, and have bought another place for nothing. One of these days, someone will ask you what you were blackmailing them with. You paid them with someone else's blood this time." Benson looked both ways and told me, "I called that FBI Agent you gave me the number for, and he told me that the four men were the whole of Sonny and his men. He was about to rip off one of the cartels, but it never happened because he was obsessed with getting the boys. He would have died ripping the cartels off. It's just as well he died out here instead of in Chicago."

Bernie called to ask if he could get an interview with me about the gun battle at Paul's. I begged him, "Bernie, see if you can get a generic interview with the Sheriff or the Deputy who was hurt. Please do us a favor and don't mention anything about Mom or me being out there. We have to stay out of the picture in case some other bad guys decide to get in on what they might think this Sonny guy was trying to do."

Bernie thought about it for a few seconds before agreeing. "You're right, Mike. This type of news isn't good news. I'll report on what happened in the Lexington news, but leave ours open."

"Thanks, Bernie, I owe you. Let me know when you want an interview. I'll come on and talk, plus answer callers' questions for you. They did re-elect me, so I should be accessible."

"Hell, Mike, I can easily keep you out of the news for a deal like that. Come in from noon to four all week while I'm on the air."

Mom smiled at me, knowing how I hated to be in the news, especially a newscast that could reach Chicago. If we were lucky, no one would miss Sonny and the three derelicts he brought with him until long after they were buried in county plots.

Benson and Maude left for home. Paul shook our hands, and Jan gave us all hugs. I watched as the two hugged each other as they walked to their room, knowing they were relieved to be free of their obligations here and that their daughter was taken care of.

We were sleeping soundly when the dogs began licking me and growling. They had never done that before, so I knew something was up. I quickly dressed and was putting my boots on when Mom came from her room dressed. She asked me, "What's with the dogs? They are having a fit over something."

That's when we heard the guineas begin making noise. Something, or someone, was coming up the lane. I told Mom, "Call the Sheriff and tell them we have an intruder. You stay inside and be a last line of defense for the family."

She didn't like that, "I need to back you up, Mike."

"No, Mom, you need to stay right here and keep the family safe. I'll holler when I want to come back in."

I made sure there would be no lights behind me as I slipped out of the door with the dogs. I had a Winchester and my pistol, with plenty of ammunition for both. The dogs ran toward the road, but I slipped around the house to get behind the smokehouses so that I could observe what was going on.

The dogs hurt someone as I heard a scream of pain. There was more growling, but no shots were fired at the dogs. As I came around the side of the new smokehouse, I saw a shadow move toward the pump house near me, but it only stood on the side of it. I watched as another shadow went toward the barn, but a four-legged shadow was following it and leaped at what was in front of him or her. There was a lot of yelling until there was no sound. The shadow that stood beside the pump house was watching for movement. I waited because I wanted to see what he would do. I so much wanted to have a silencer for the Beretta at that moment.

As I watched and waited, another shadow came up to the pump house, and I could hear them talking.

"I think Curt was taken out by the dogs. I saw Fred with his throat torn out, so we're alone. Is this job worth it, or has Sonny promised a big bonus?"

"All of the above, Man; Sonny promised us a hundred grand apiece to kill all of them but the boys. Let's watch a minute or so, then we'll bust in, do all of them, and grab the boys. Remember, no witnesses."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I would have never left that guy alive, but he was torn up everywhere. I figured him for dead."

The other shadow said, "He wasn't dead, and he gave the cops our descriptions right down to the little scar by your eye. Let's finish this deal. Do you know where those dogs are?"

"I haven't seen them, so they are probably eating Fred and Curt. Let's get this done and get paid."

That's when I said, loud enough for them to hear and understand, "You will live if you stay still. If you move, I'll kill you, or my dogs will do it for me. What do you want to do?"

The one man almost got his gun out of his side holster before the Winchester took him out of action, and put him out of his misery. The two dogs had come up on the other man, and were growling as I leveled at the guy. I told him, "It's your choice. Live and go to prison, or die where you are. Stand and raise your arms straight over your head. Do it now or I will shoot you."

The man's hands went into the air, but I saw something in his right hand. "Drop whatever is in your right hand, or you won't have a hand to hold it any longer."

The man turned toward me, trying to see me behind the woodpile and threw something that stuck in a log in front of me. I put two rounds into him as he reached for his handgun, one in the chest and one in the face. It was like target shooting.

I stayed still down behind the woodpile, watching and listening. The dogs came up to me and sat beside me as we heard a siren coming toward us. I waited until the Sheriff's patrol car was stopped before I walked around to where the Deputy was. I told him, "The dogs got two, and I shot two. Call the coroner so he can check them out. I don't see a car, did you see one on the way in?"

The Deputy said, "There's a big Cadillac down by the road. I'll check it out as soon as I determine if all of the men up here are dead or are in need of receiving treatment."

One of the men the dogs had attacked was indeed still alive. The guy had acted dead, but had been severely bitten by the dogs while they were trying to subdue him. He was bad enough off that he couldn't get to his pistol. The other man the dogs captured had his throat torn out, and I could see that both dogs and not just one had finished him...

The Sheriff and coroner were loading up the bodies to take them to the county cooler an hour later. The Sheriff said, "It looks like the same story. Someone found out you were keeping the Swans and came for you. This is getting old, Mike. I'm going to leave a car out here for a few days to make sure you don't contribute to our dead guy count around here. I know you were in the war, but this is the States, and we don't have body counts."

Mom made us all come in for coffee and fed us all some of her apple crisp. Paul, Jan, and Savannah were awake because of the rifle shots. Millie and Rosita were huddled on the couch, watching to make sure everything was all right.

The Sheriff saw everyone's concern, and told us to go to bed, get some more rest, and he would get our statements tomorrow. He said to his men, "Let's all go home."

I watched everyone leave except one patrol car. It sat across by the shed to watch the lane road. That car made the dogs uneasy, but I calmed them and lay down with the ladies for another hour of so of sleep.