It was a start. Leaving the shade of an abandoned ranch house, Jamie stepped out into the pleasant June sunshine and watched Lame Wolf put the finishing touches on their wickiups. The larger of the two would serve as living quarters for Jamie, Anika, and their son Cody. It would be fun—like camping out, only better because this land belonged to them. The long years of preparation were over, and now their boyhood dreams were about to become a reality.
"Can't you just picture it?" Jamie exclaimed. In his mind he saw it all clearly—the big stately residence, the barn, the horses grazing. And boys! Boys flowing in from broken and abusive homes, boys in trouble with the law, boys in need of love and guidance.
Lame Wolf stopped his work and came over. They were both stripped to the waist—Jamie, a youthful image of his father, Spock; and Lame Wolf, with the smooth brown skin of Shoshone men. They had been friends since their middle teens, and now high spirits made them start to tussle and chase one another around the wide meadow with Jamie's dog, Dusty, on their heels. Soon Anika and Cody would be joining them, but for now they were like two boys on summer vacation.
Back at the old ranch house, they stopped to catch their breath, then ventured inside. The windows had all shattered in the California earthquakes, and the roof sagged precariously. Years of rain and snow had ruined the interior, but the foundation was in good shape and most of the framing was solid enough to support a second story. By autumn, the renovations would be complete.
Out past the wickiups, a heap of weathered boards was all that remained of a barn. They would need to build a new one from scratch, but fencing would come first. The property had two vast meadows connected by a narrow gap in the forest, perfect for pastureland. As soon as they were enclosed, Jamie and Lame Wolf could bring in their horses. What good was a ranch without livestock? But Dreamcatcher was destined to be so much more than a horse ranch. Someday soon it would live up to its name—a refuge where troubled boys could escape their pasts, build confidence, and find new hope for the future.
Workers arrived the next day. Emerging from air trucks, they unloaded piles of lumber and other building supplies. The noise of their equipment chased off the wildlife, but Jamie and Lame Wolf didn't mind. It was a good sound—the sound of progress.
On Saturday, Jamie drove along a gravel road to meet his family at the nearest transporter depot. His air car skimmed over ruts and potholes that would have brought ground vehicles to a halt. Before long, he arrived in Weaverville. Though the town was founded in the nineteenth century, it had always remained small—a tight-knit rural community hemmed in by mountains. During the Great Evacuation, locals scattered throughout North America and few of them ever returned. But it had been years since those catastrophic earthquakes, and now that the government was encouraging settlers with the lure of cheap land and low-interest building loans, the town was shaking off the effects of the disaster. The historic Joss Temple had been restored, as well as a jailhouse museum dating back to the Old West. There were two churches and a few businesses, including a doctor, a dentist, and the veterinary clinic where Anika would be working part time. Although a school was under construction, Cody, who was almost five, would receive his lessons from a computer Outreach program.
The boy could barely contain his excitement as they left the depot and drove back to the ranch. Jamie felt the same happy glow. His family was back together and they were here to stay. While the car glided along, he reached over and tenderly clasped Anika's hand.
They soon arrived, and Jamie parked near the old house. Cody cast off his seatbelt, threw open the door, and ran over to greet their frolicking dog.
Turning to Anika, Jamie said, "Well, you'll be roughing it now."
She laughed as she got out of the car. "With a portable toilet and a food keeper? A sonic shower and a fresher for our clothes?"
It was true. They had just brought in a "comfort shack", along with a stock of meal packs in case they didn't feel like cooking over a camp stove.
"Well, you have a job," he replied with a smile. "You have to be presentable. We all do. The local Doc is sending some counseling my way, and a business in town wants Lame to do some bookkeeping."
They had hardly arrived and already their talents were in demand. So far, Jamie's Vulcan appearance had not caused him any problem. Here in the wilds of California, specialized skills were in short supply and no one seemed to care about the cant of an eyebrow or the shape of a fellow's ears.
oooo
The weeks passed swiftly. Before the residence was half finished, Jamie and Lame Wolf had the fencing in place. Horses grazed contentedly in meadows turned golden from the sun. Early on, Lame Wolf had tilled the soil of an old garden plot and planted some vegetables. Now they had their pick of beans, chard, tomatoes, and ears of sweet corn from stalks grown taller than Cody. Jamie cleared brush from an orchard behind the house and pruned away the dead wood and overgrown branches. A few small green apples hung among the leaves, but next year the crop would be better.
It was not all work at Dreamcatcher. There was plenty of time for horseback riding and other outdoor fun. Now and then they fished the riffles of the Trinity River and swam in icy, sheltered pools. On those days, Lame Wolf cooked trout and salmon like his Native American ancestors, over an open fire. They all sat together, watching the stars appear in the sky, and when the campfire burned to embers, they slept in the shelter of their wickiups.
One late August morning, Jamie awoke to the sound of raindrops striking the roof of pine boughs. There was a chill in the air and the family shivered as they pulled on some warm clothes. In the pale light of dawn, they dashed over to the "shack" where Lame Wolf was already waiting with the heater on. They chose their breakfasts from the meal packs and sat on folding chairs while the storm intensified. Now and then a construction skimmer whined in for a landing.
As Anika drove off to the clinic, Cody gazed out forlornly at the rain and asked, "Daddy, what do we do now?"
He happily followed Jamie and Lame Wolf to the construction site. A new upper story was in place, and since the entire structure was enclosed, the crew could work on the interior in any weather. The pleasant scent of sawdust took Jamie back to his boyhood at Plum Creek, where he had passed many an hour watching carpenters transform an old barn into a Yanashite retreat house. He wondered if, deep-down, his undemonstrative father had felt this same sense of excitement.
All morning long, Jamie and Lame Wolf helped hang wall panels while Cody played with chunks of scrap lumber. After lunch the wind picked up, throwing rain against the newly installed windows. Thunder began to rumble. The sky blackened, and bolts of lightning streaked from the clouds. When a huge boom made the old foundation tremble, Cody ran over and clung to his father for dear life.
Lame Wolf laughed at him. "You think the spirits are angry?"
Cody was not in the mood for teasing. Tears glistened in his brown eyes as he said, "I want Mommy."
"She'll be back any minute," Jamie promised, but a glance at his wrist phone told him that she was already late.
Outside, rain sheeted from the flashing sky, but in the house everyone was safe and dry. The deluge continued for half an hour. Then the clouds parted, the wind died down, and sunlight broke over the meadow. Horses moved out from under the trees and resumed grazing.
Suddenly Jamie's phone pinged. It was Anika. Partway home, the air car had given out. She was trying to make it on foot, but found her way blocked by a torrent of runoff.
In an age of interstellar travel, Jamie turned to his son and said, "Let's saddle up. Your mom needs help."
Outside, he put his fingers to his mouth and gave a shrill whistle that brought horses running to the pasture gate. Lame Wolf saddled Warrior, and Jamie rode double with Cody on Starburst. Leading a third horse, they rode down the old gravel track to the washout, where Anika waited beyond the rushing water.
oooo
The car was in the shop, so next morning, Lame Wolf and Anika rode into Weaverville on horseback. With little else to do, Jamie decided to make some repairs on the road. Mounted atop Starburst, he pulled his son up behind him and rode the leopard Appaloosa to the neighboring property. The fine clear day seemed to bring out Starburst's mustang blood, but Jamie was an expert horseman and had no trouble handling her.
They arrived just as the sun was topping the trees. Mr. Jenkins had his tractor already fitted with a grading blade. Jamie tied Starburst in the shade, and holding Cody on his lap, drove the open-cabbed tractor to the old ranch road. It was not his first time at the controls; before Anika and Cody arrived, he had rented the same tractor for other work.
Arriving at the washout, he let Cody down and got busy. Now and then he glanced over at the boy and always found him at a safe distance, watching. The sun rose in the sky. It was getting hot when he finished the section and turned to call Cody. The road was empty. It was a narrow stretch, hemmed in by dense forest, and the boy was nowhere in sight.
With his heart in his throat, Jamie turned off the tractor and yelled for his son. All was silent. He got down, cupped his hands to his face, and called into the trees. It seemed like a long time before a small dark head peeked out from behind a pine trunk. Cody skipped over to him as if nothing in the world were wrong.
Jamie was torn between relief and anger. "I told you not to wander off," he snapped. "Now get up here—we're moving on."
With Cody on his lap, he repaired a few more potholes, moving the tractor quickly, pushing the blade back and forth until the roadbed was smooth. His hands were busy on the wheel. One last turn and he would head back to get Starburst. But as Jamie swung the tractor around, Cody left his lap and tried to stand. The boy lost his footing and Jamie grabbed at him, but the tight turn send Cody over the side. There was startled yelp. Before Jamie could hit the brakes, the tractor ran over him.
The machine skidded to a stop.
Weighed down with horror, Jamie made himself turn around and look. Cody lay on his back in the dirt, eyes wide open. The legs of his pants were soaked with blood.
oooo
A somber group gathered at the regional hospital where Cody had been taken. Spock, T'Naisa, and T'Beth had beamed in to offer their support. As Jamie paced the waiting room, Anika suddenly rose up and embraced him. He wondered how she could be so forgiving. He should have known better than to put Cody on that tractor. Just a few inches difference and the boy would have been crushed to death. Jamie could still hear his anguished cries as they awaited the medivac.
"How could I be so careless?" he fumed.
"One learns from errors," Spock remarked from his seat.
"Amen to that," T'Beth seconded. "Jamie, he'll be alright. The surgeon said."
"Yes, thanks to modern medicine." But how could strangers trust him with their boys when he had failed so badly with his own?
"God deserves our thanks, too," T'Naisa reminded him.
Jamie nodded. Since moving to Weaverville, he had found too many excuses to miss Sunday Mass. The very next weekend, he drove into town with Cody on crutches, and they attended church together at St. Patrick's. On earlier visits he had received some curious glances, as if to say, a Catholic Vulcan? But the parishioners were already becoming used to him. Only the priest knew of his connection to Spock of Starfleet, and that was how Jamie hoped to keep it. Not that he didn't love his father, but paternal fame could be burdensome. A young man needed to build his own reputation and carve a niche for himself in the world.
oooo
The days grew shorter. October daubed the forest with bright splashes of autumn color. The sky turned deep blue, and high overhead, formations of honking geese winged southward. Darkness descended with a chill, but inside the residence everyone was snug and warm. The renovations to the building were complete. Lame Wolf had his own living quarters in a semi-detached cottage with a private entry. Jamie and his family had their own private area on the ground floor, which also housed a kitchen, spacious dining room, computer classroom, and a recreation facility. Upstairs, a row of bedrooms awaited the boys who were to come.
They already had one. Jamie had been counseling Mark on behalf of the Juvenile Court, and last week the judge ordered the ten-year-old removed from a chaotic, neglectful home. Mark was scrawny from malnourishment, but intelligent and surprisingly well-mannered. Now that his initial shyness had fallen away, he seemed to crave the security and guidance Dreamcatcher Ranch provided. As everyone gathered for dinner, Mark chattered about the day's work on the new barn and the ponies Jamie had brought in for smaller boys. Before Mark arrived, Cody had picked one for his very own—a tan gelding with a blond mane and tail. Cody's legs were fully healed, but there would be no more riding double on spirited horses. He would be safe on Buck until he was old enough to handle a full-size mount.
Monday through Friday, the two boys studied their lessons in the classroom. Each had his own computer curriculum through the Outreach program, and there was always an adult on hand to supervise. After school came ranch chores and time for play. By November the barn was up and its loft filled with hay for the coming winter.
Late one afternoon, the weather changed. Snowflakes drifted down as Mark and Cody helped the men settle each horse and pony in its stall. On the way back to the residence, everyone brought in some firewood for the hearth. Tonight there would be marshmallows to toast, and Lame Wolf had promised to help the boys make Indian snowshoes. Tomorrow, sleds would be streaking down some icy slope.
They went into the house together, shedding their jackets and mucky boots in the entryway. Anika was home and she had been cooking. As they sat down to eat, Jamie offered a simple prayer over the ribs and beans, the salad and cornbread. He filled a plate and passed it to Mark, who was always ravenous at mealtime. Good food had put some meat on his bones, and in the happy glow of the boy's eyes, Jamie saw the fulfillment of his dream. Even if he could never help another child, the Dreamcatcher Ranch had already served its purpose.
oooOOooo