Note: See Part 1 for disclaimers.
THE ONLY EASY DAY IS YESTERDAY
"The Journey of Jeremy Keller"
Part 14
Jeremy sat up in the pile of hay he had used as a bed. "Where
am I?" he said as he tried to clear his head and remember the previous
day.
"Your trespassing." the old man grumbled.
"Sorry, Sir, I just needed some place to crash before I put it in
the ditch." Jeremy said motioning toward the Harley. The bike sat
bathed in the morning sun of the open door.
The man loosened a bit from Jeremy's attitude. "The name's
Henry Wilmont, Hank to my friends."
Jeremy stood up, dust himself off and offered his hand.
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Wilmont, I'm Jeremy Keller, and I really
thought this was an abandoned barn. I didn't mean to intrude."
The old man must have been in his seventies or eighties but still
had a good firm handshake. "It is an abandoned barn, haven't used it in
years. If you hadn't left the door open, you probably could have been in
here for weeks and no one would have noticed.
"If you like blueberry pancakes, Mandy always makes enough
extra for a lost soul or two."
"Well sir, I appreciate the offer, but.."
"But nothing, lets go."
Jeremy knew he had lost this battle so he picked up his bag and
followed the old man across the dew soaked field to a neighboring farm
house. The old man spoke as they made the trek. "My dad gave this
parcel of land to my brother just before the War. First thing we did was
build the barn." the man shrugged. "He never came back so we just
left it go, stored hay in it for awhile, never really made much use of it."
The farm house sat back from the road with several large trees
in the front yard. It was an old two story with white wooden siding, a
detached garage and a newer poll barn in back. A mid seventies Chevy
pickup shared the driveway with an assortment of farm machinery.
Approaching the front door, Jeremy felt the presence of another
immortal. He did his best not to react to the rush, but unexpected buzz
always made him flinch some.
"Mandy," Hank called out as he led the way into the house
"hope you don't mind we have a guest for breakfast..."
A young woman came out from the kitchen. She was about five
and a half feet tall dressed plainly in a long cotton dress. She wore no
make up and wore her hair pulled up in a tight bun. Her figure was full
but she was not fat, she was the stereo-type of a farmer's wife.
The old man stopped talking when he saw that the woman was
holding a sword in her left hand. The weapon was almost hidden in the
folds of her dress. Hank immediately turned around leveling the
shotgun at Jeremy. "Son of bitch, I didn't know he was one of them."
The woman placed her hand on the shot gun lowering it as she
stepped out to meet Jeremy. "I'm Mandy Wilmont." She said offering
her hand "You'll have to excuse Henry, he gets a little over protective
sometimes."
Jeremy shook hands with his hostess and introduced himself,
explaining he was not a hunter, and didn't have any idea she was here
when he stopped.
"Well, didn't Henry say he offered you breakfast? Have a seat.
Hope you like blueberry pancakes and maple syrup."
Jeremy dropped his duffel on a nearby box seat then sat down at
the table. Mandy had mounted her sword back in a rack in the dining
room. It appeared to be a Civil War saber, a small plaque under the
sword read "Col. William Henry Wilmont,6th Cavalry".
They talked about country and the farm, but they never made it
really clear how Mandy and Henry were related. Mandy had lived on
the farm for a very long time. She loved farming and the country life so
much that she would live here as long as possible then go away to
school or something. After awhile she could come back as a grand kid
to "help out on the farm".
During their conversation, someone spotted a neighbor lady
coming up the driveway carrying a fresh baked pie. Mandy sighed,
"Ethal, and I had work to do today." A gleam then sparked in her eyes.
"Jeremy, I don't think we want Mrs. Jordan to interrogate you, we'll
need an excuse for you to have to leave."
"I don't need an excuse," Jeremy laughed "Thanks for the
breakfast and the company, I can just be on my way."
The door bell rang.
"Too late." Mandy said as she headed for the door. Then called
out "Good morning Mrs. Jordan! How are you today?" Mandy was
opening the door for the visitor as Jeremy headed for his duffel.
"Mrs. Jordon, I'd like you to meet my cousin Jeremy." She said
intercepting Jeremy's break for the door.
"Jeremy, what a nice name." the old lady said "won't you join us
for pie and tell me a bit about yourself?"
Mandy interrupted "So sorry he can't Mrs. Jordon." she said
with Jeremy smiling in agreement. "He has to run an errand for me."
"What?"
"Remember, you promised to run into town to pick up some
feed for me." She then reached into a pile of debris on an end table and
produced a set of keys. "Here are the keys to the truck." she said
pushing the set on him. "We'll just drop your stuff in here to get it out of
the way." Mandy then lifted the lid on the box seat and dropped
Jeremy's duffel in. She then pushed him out of the house.
On his way out Mandy spoke quickly telling Jeremy it was the
least he could do for his one nights room and board. Besides, Mrs.
Jordan's pies were an acquired taste. She then gave him quick
instructions into town and the feed store.
Jeremy drove off down the road in the Wilmont pickup. How
did this happen? Yesterday, he was a loner, a wanted man running for
his life. Today he's acting like a farm hand fetching supplies. Mandy
Wilmont was indeed a very irresistible woman. Commander Parker
had told him one time that not all immortals would be after his head,
some would accept him immediately like a long lost relative. What ever
had brought him to this point, didn't matter. He would finish this errand
and give Mandy enough time to deal with her neighbor without having
to field too many questions, it would be better for everyone.
As Jeremy crested a hill and disappeared from sight, a group of
motorcycles crested one behind him and approached the Wilmont farm.
to be continued...............
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