“Is that… is that the gate?” Charlene asked, pointing off along the left edge of the low tops of the trees.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Buddy took a pair of compact binoculars from his jacket pocket. “I can’t believe it! That is the gate. Man, you have good eyes.” He handed the binoculars to Charlene.
Charlene smiled as she took a look through the binoculars.
“Get a little higher and you could see the first hundred yards or so of the trail, as well as the gate and the stretch of road. Man. And look at this southern exposure. And the trees all around. Plenty of firewood for years if it’s managed well. This looks great! What do you think?”
Buddy’s enthusiasm was catching. It was beautiful up here, for sure. She didn’t realize they had climbed so high until she’d seen the vista. “It is beautiful. I’m not 100% sure exactly what you were looking for, but you sure seem like you found it.”
“Too true.” Buddy turned and went into the stand of trees to the north. There should be another boundary marker somewhere in this direction. Charlene handed Buddy the binoculars and strode beside him as he roamed over the acreage.
She was tired, but exhilarated when they got back to the truck. Buddy had exclaimed about feature after feature of the terrain. It really was pretty, but that had been the least of Buddy’s concerns it was now obvious.
Buddy turned the truck around and they headed home. “I know it wouldn’t be suitable for most people, what with the lack of good access and utilities, but it has almost everything I want. For me, it would be worth double what it’s listing for. I’ll gladly pay the asking price.”
“Good,” replied Charlene. “I’m glad it’s what you were looking for. I must say, I haven’t been up in the mountains for a long time. I’d forgotten how much cooler it could be up this high. And doesn’t the snow hang around well into summer up here? I’m still trying to picture what it looks like here from the city.”
“Snow does hang around longer due to the altitude, but it’s on the other side of this range that really holds it, because it’s the north side. This south facing slope gets lots of sunshine. And Bobby was right about the wind. It’ll be perfect for a wind-powered generator. Solar panels, too, eventually. Photovoltaic panels, I mean. I’d build solar panels for space heating and water heating initially.
Charlene sat quietly, responding to Buddy as needed from time to time as he explained what he wanted to do with the property. It was late in the afternoon when they got back to the city. Buddy had brought along a couple of canteens, so they’d had water, but they were both very hungry when they got to town.
Buddy dropped off the papers at the barbershop. Bobby only worked a couple hours in the morning on Saturdays so he was long gone. When Buddy got back into the truck he looked over at Charlene and said, “I’m starving. You want to stop and get something to eat at The Steakhouse?”
“Sure,” Charlene replied, content to spend the time with Buddy.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Charlie took the ten dollars from the grounds man at the country club golf course. He’d helped him rebuild a storage shed on the back nine. He’d seen the ad for the job on the community bulletin board at the grocery store where he’d restocked a few food items with his small amount of cash.
There was a construction site nearby in which he’d found several large drainage pipes stacked out of the way with some pallets of stuff stacked at one end. There was a gap in the fence they didn’t seem too anxious about, so he’d started sleeping in one of the pipes. There were chemical toilet huts on site so he had a good bathroom. He was careful to only be around after hours. He left before the guys came to work and went back after they left.
The YMCA wasn’t too far away and he’d been able to get a shower and change into his good clothes before he went to the golf course. He carried one of his buckets with the few tools he had in it. It was a long shot that paid off. The grounds man had seen his professional grade hammer and hired him for the job.
“Charlie, why don’t you come back tomorrow. I’ve got a couple more projects I could use some help with until my helper gets over the flu.”
“Sure, Mr. Cunningham. I’d be proud to. Thank you.”
“Okay then. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll let the gateman know you’re coming so there won’t be a problem at the gate. Oh. You won’t need your tools tomorrow. We’ll be using the course’s stuff.”
“Okay, Boss. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Charlie’s steps lagged when he saw the man waiting near the drainage pipes. Maybe he would at least let Charlie get some of his stuff. Charlie stopped a few feet away from the man, in case he tried something. Charlie would have a better chance of getting away with some distance between them.
The man dropped his cigarette to the ground and put it out with his boot. “You the one been staying here?”
The light was beginning to fade, but the man could see Charlie nod. “How long?” the man asked, hitching up his pants.
Charlie got ready to run. “A week. I’ll get my stuff and get out of here. I don’t want any trouble.”
“You take anything?”
Tense, still ready to drop the bucket and run, Charlie shook his head. “No sir. I’m not a thief. I’m homeless but no thief. I even worked today. Out at the golf course.”
“I see. You seen anyone else hanging around when we’re not here?”
“No sir.”
“How long you plan on being here?”
Charlie watched the man for a few moments. “If there wasn’t any trouble I was planning on moving on when they got ready to install the pipes.”
The man nodded and lit up another cigarette. “I’m not going to give you a hard time. But if anything turns up missing I’m gonna be on you like a duck on a June bug. You understand me?”
“Yes sir. Thank you. But I better just get my stuff and go. I don’t want to be in the middle of trouble if something does turn up missing. That’s not unusual in an operation like this.” Charlie began to gather the few things he left in the pipe each day.
“Wait. You’re right, I guess,” the man said. “Look. Just don’t cause any trouble and I’ll leave you alone. I can’t guarantee about anyone else, especially the cops, but nobody here will hassle you if you don’t cause the problem.”
“Wow!” Charlie said softly. “Thanks, man.” He held out his hand.
After a moment the man took it in a firm handshake. “I’m Clyde. Keep your nose clean and there won’t be any problems. Keep a low profile. I can’t say my bosses would do the same.”
“You’ll barely know I’m around,” Charlie replied.
Clyde turned and headed for his pickup truck, parked just outside the gate of the security fence.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Having another period of free time, Edward went to the website he’d been in before. He whistled when he saw the costs of the various shelter systems. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it. He could. But it was still a lot of money for something that would probably never be used. Though, with the things he’d been seeing in the news lately, that thought was changing significantly.
When he’d talked to the Tennessee banker, after finally recalling his name, the man had said he had purchased a top of the line six-person model. Edward frowned as he studied the specifications on the computer screen. The six-person would certainly work for him. It was only him, his wife, and the two kids. Even if he took in Courtney... Still… The other bankers weren’t anywhere near as well off as Edward. Edward owned two banks and was having a new branch built. The others only owned, at best, one bank. Most were actually just mangers at small independent chain banks.