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Carlie had almost finished unloading when Loretta pulled up behind her truck. After setting the last four boxes on the ground, she waited for Loretta.
“Well, how is Cecil doing?”
“He’s pissed. He only had birdshot in his shotgun. Birdshot ain’t much good against a 150-pound wolf. He’ll know better next time.”
“God, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. He’s got himself one hell of a story to tell.”
Picking up two boxes, Carlie could only shake her head and laugh.
When Carlie had finished unloading the boxes, she spotted Loretta in what would be an exceptionally beautiful spot in the backyard come summertime. Loretta had dug a hole deep enough to keep curious animals away and buried Carlie’s beautiful little family of cardinals.
As Carlie approached her, Loretta was forming a makeshift cross out of two pieces of wooden fencing.
“I want to make sure we can find this spot in the spring. We’ll make a proper marker after the snow melts.”
Carlie knelt beside Loretta and ran her hand over the tiny mound of fresh dirt. Carlie started crying.
Putting her arm around Carlie’s shoulder, Loretta pulled her close and just held her. Rocking her gently in her embrace, Loretta let her friend grieve.
Sitting at the kitchen table, Carlie finished making a list of everything they were going to move to Dexter’s house. With Loretta’s pickup, they would be able to finish in two trips.
It was late afternoon, and the sun would be going down soon. To give them the light they were going to need, Carlie made a trip out to the barn and turned on all the floodlights. Tonight, she wanted the farm lit up like a football stadium.
After Cecil’s run-in with the wolf, they decided that they would take turns loading. Loretta would take the shotgun first.
The farm was deathly quiet; even the wind had stopped blowing. Carlie got a creepy feeling that moved from her spine to her stomach. Something wasn’t right. Stepping back, Carlie tugged on the back of Loretta’s jacket, making her follow her into the house. Slamming the door shut and locking it behind them, Carlie ejected the shells she had in the shotgun and reloaded it with deer slugs. “Something isn’t right. The birds are gone.”
Before Carlie was finished loading the shotgun, Loretta was on the telephone.
“Kenneth, we need your help. … I’m at Carlie’s. … I don’t give a damn. It’s probably a rerun anyway. … Kenneth, get your dead ass off that couch and get over here, NOW, and bring your big rifle. … Yes, it might be the wolf again.”
It was still light out, but after what had happened to Cecil, Carlie was very leery of moving the journals to her pickup bed until Kenneth arrived. They were heavy and cumbersome, and she was afraid that carrying them would make her and Loretta easy prey for any wild animal, especially a full-grown wolf.
The two women carried the heavy boxes and stacked them just inside the front door. As Carlie set down the last box, there was a loud knock on the door. Carlie pulled back the corner of the curtains and saw Kenneth and Cecil standing on the porch. Nodding her head, Loretta opened the door and pulled them both inside the house by the front of their jackets.
“What in the hell are you doing here, old man?” Loretta asked.
“Moral support. Figured you might need some.”
Kenneth picked up his rifle and headed to the front door. As everyone except Cecil fell in behind him, he handed his rifle to Loretta and picked up four of the boxes of journals. Carlie unlocked and opened the door for him. Loretta moved out onto the porch first and scanned the driveway for any movement.
Kenneth made short work of the heavy boxes. In less than an hour, he had both Carlie’s pickup and Loretta’s completely loaded and ready to take to Dexter’s house.