End of Innocence
Chapter 6
Cimarron, Colorado, December 2013
Morning broke clear and cold on the mountain. Reese was up with the sun and ready to do some physical work today. He cooked a couple of eggs and a few strips of bacon, like years ago with his dad. With a little bread and a mug of coffee, a good breakfast to get him started.
Out in the shed, Reese'd found an axe hanging on a wall, but he'd need to sharpen the blade before he could use it for splitting the logs. He took his time with the sharpening.
Had to expect it'd take some time – to get back to the rhythm of a normal life again. Maybe like riding a bike, he thought – once you'd learned the skill, you'd never forget how to ride. How hard could it be, then, to remember the way to a normal life?
Soon he had a good sharp edge on his axe.
He headed for the deck in back and pulled a couple of logs from the stack. Steady work out there for an hour and he'd split the logs all the way down to a good stack of kindling for the woodstove. He filled the basket with some and then put the rest in a pail on the deck. Felt good to be active again. Reese brought the basket inside.
Kneeling down next to the stove, he noticed a feeling on his side that hadn't been there the day before. Didn't pay much attention at the time. He figured he might have strained himself swinging the axe. Reminded himself to take things easy while the wound was still healing.
Reese'd planned to get the rental car back to town and pick up Chase's truck at the bar today. He'd borrow the truck for now, until he could find one of his own to buy. Nothing fancy, but something to haul things when he needed to, and one that'd get through the weather in the mountains. He'd have time to look later in the week.
Before he left the cabin, he'd stoked the fire and washed up the morning's dishes, took stock of what he had on hand for meals and made a list for himself.
Reese ran the rental car back down to town. He stopped at a carwash to get the road salt washed off and then gassed it up before he returned it. That made the rental agent happy, and he'd offered Reese a ride over to the bar.
Chase had parked his truck there, with the key under the floor mat. Too early for the bar to open yet, so Reese slid into the truck and drove off.
Made a couple of stops in town for supplies, picked up a newspaper, and drove back to the cabin. After he'd put away the groceries, he poured himself another cup of coffee and sat down at the table with the classifieds from the paper. Maybe he'd find a truck in the ads.
Later, after lunch, he noticed he'd started to feel – off. Couldn't really tell why. He felt chilled, even though the cabin was nice and warm. And it felt like his skin was over-sensitive to touch. He felt tired, too. Couldn't seem to shake it.
Reese laid down on the couch and pulled the quilt over him. Thought he'd take a nap and see if that did anything.
Shaw pulled her bag down out of the overhead and rolled it along the aisle. She'd managed the last available seat on the plane so it would be a while before all the people had filed out ahead of her. Still had a long trip to go, so she'd better eat something first.
She rented a car, and drove away from the airport toward town, 'til she found a diner tucked back on the side of the road. It looked clean. She walked in and glanced around. Plenty of locals there. Took a seat in one of the booths where she could keep an eye on things. Nobody seemed to take notice.
The food showed up fast, and Shaw dug in. Didn't know when the next meal would come her way, so better fuel-up now. Washed it down with cups of coffee. Over by the cash register on her way out, they had a map hanging for the out-of-towners like herself. She browsed her route while the manager rang up the meal. Seemed overly-chatty to her, and she'd answered with just a word or two until she could get away.
The road down stayed low, away from some of the more picturesque spots on the other route through the mountains. This wasn't the time to see the sights. Shaw had a mission. The sooner she got there, the sooner she'd know what she had.
All she had right now was a bad feeling about things.
And the only thing to do with that? Go there and check it out for herself.