“I know she’s sweet on Junior.”
Cooper dropped his eyes to the ground and waited.
“But, I can’t help but wonder if it’s more than that.” Miles’ voice was filled with pain and embarrassment. Cooper was surprised at his admission to someone he’d just met. But, I guess Brushfire Plague has shattered all sorts of social conventions. Rampant death has a way of slashing and burning them to the ground.
Cooper placed a hand on his shoulder, “You got enough worries. I wouldn’t take one on, unless you’re sure of it.”
Miles caught his eye, “You’re probably right.” He shook his head slowly from side to side, as if to banish the thought. “Nonetheless, Hodges is a problem.” Cooper nodded in agreement.
The sound of rubber tires tearing through gravel as a pickup truck came roaring up the driveway made them jerk their heads around as one.
The pickup, a bright red Ford, lurched to a stop just a few yards away from them. It hadn’t even fully stopped when the passenger leapt out. Miles’ calm kept Cooper’s hand from reaching for his pistol. The man was a shade under six feet and he wore sturdy work pants and a green flannel overshirt. A revolver was holstered at his side. His face was contorted and flushed.
“He’s gone and done it now,” the man roared at Miles. It was like he didn’t even see Cooper.
Miles raised his hands, “Slow down, Keith. What are you talking about?”
The driver stepped forward to join them. He had moved slowly, more deliberately. He was dressed in a similar fashion to Keith, except his flannel was gunmetal gray. As far as Cooper could tell, he was unarmed.
“He’s crossed the line,” he said in tones as measured as his walk.
“Robert, why don’t you tell me just what the hell you are talking about?” Miles answered, as Dranko, Angela, Buck, and Bethany approached from the house.
“He’s trying to get my wife into bed!” Keith gasped, spittle flying from his mouth.
“What?” Miles responded, flummoxed.
“As a way to settle his levy debt,” Robert said calmly.
Miles started laughing, “This is a joke, right?” Bethany’s face grew dark, angry lines etching across her forehead and drawing her mouth up tightly.
“No! It’s not a joke. Bastard said I could either give up my only rifle as my tax or let him have one night with Valerie. Dirty runt has had his eye on her since high school!” Keith was out of breath when he’d finished spitting the words out.
Miles looked at Robert, who nodded in confirmation. Miles staggered back. His hands came to his head and he grasped it in disbelief.
“Wow. This is a whole new ballgame.”
“He’s crossed the line, right?” Keith pleaded for agreement.
“You sure he wasn’t just joking around? You know how he can get sometimes,” Bethany proffered.
Both men turned on her in disbelief. “If you’d seen how he was looking at her, you’d know he wasn’t joking. He was nearly licking his lips right in front of me,” Keith responded, biting the words out between his clenched jaw. His words startled Bethany and she turned quickly and walked away. Cooper had seen the hurt that flashed across her eyes. No doubt that something is going on between her and Junior.
“What the hell are we gonna do?” Keith’s voice was choked in desperation.
Miles and Robert looked at each other blankly. The voice of Cooper’s father came back to him, “Strength in numbers. It’s all the little guy has against the big man. Follow those who unite the little against the strong. Be wary of any who divides.” He didn’t imagine his father had ever thought his son would be confronting a local strongman as part of a tax revolt. Nonetheless, his words came back, wise and strong.
“How many can we rally?” Cooper’s voice was resolute, commanding. He deliberately said ‘we’ and not ‘you’.
“Whatcha mean?” Keith asked.
“How many of your friends and family will stand against Hodges once they hear this news?”
Fear came and usurped Keith’s rage in heartbeat, “How can we stand against him?”
Cooper’s own face flushed and he drew his face up against Keith’s, “How can you not? Didn’t you just tell me he wants to take your wife into bed? To pay your taxes, man? You gonna stand for that?”
Keith’s back stiffened, “Hell no.”
“Good. Now you three tell me who else will stand with Keith. If it’s his wife today, it’s gonna be someone else’s tomorrow. Or their daughter. Or, who knows what else he will begin to demand.”
“Bullies push you ‘round until you don’t push no more,” Lily Stott added. Cooper hadn’t noticed that she had walked up.
Miles, Robert, and Keith started discussing names of others they knew in town. Cooper ignored the names. Instead, he kept a mental count of anyone that they all agreed would stand against Hodges. When his mental count reached twenty, he stopped them.
“That’s enough. You have twenty. More than enough. He can’t just kill twenty men.”
“Why shouldn’t we get more?”
“Two reasons. First, your first twenty are your best twenty. The ones you think of first are always the strongest ones. Second, twenty is big enough for protection, but not so big that it will feel like a mob.”
The others nodded in agreement.
“Let’s gather them all here, tomorrow at five. We’ll make a plan. Sound good?”
Keith nodded his head vigorously, “Yeah. Sounds good. Junior said he’d give me three days to make my decision.”
Robert nodded slowly and turned to get back into his pickup. Keith took Cooper’s hand and shook it rapidly.
“Thank you, Mister. Thank you!” He turned and scrambled back into the truck. His hand stopped at the handle and he turned as if to ask something else, but then got into the vehicle.
“Something else, isn’t it?”
Cooper turned toward Dranko, “What?”
“You can lead people who you just met and don’t even know your name!”
He contemplated the comment for a moment, “Hmmm. I guess you’re right.” A self-satisfied smile crept onto his face.
“Oh no. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything to make you even more arrogant!”
“It isn’t arrogance if it’s true,” Cooper shot back.
“Dear Lord! Help me!” Dranko responded, drawing his hands into prayer and gazing longingly skyward.
“You guys are a regular Laurel and Hardy,” Miles said, chuckling.
“Yeah, just remember, he’s the skinny bird,” Dranko said, jerking a thumb in Cooper’s direction.
“And… he’s the lardy one!”
“Ouch! I guess I walked into that one,” Dranko lamented.
He shrugged his shoulders in response.
“Miles, we should get back to Dranko’s place. Let’s meet at four tomorrow to get ready for this meeting.”
Miles nodded, “Right. See you then.”
Cooper, Dranko, Angela, and Buck clambered into the Jeep and began driving back to Dranko’s place.
“You just can’t help getting caught up in the middle of what’s happening, can you?”
Cooper looked at Angela, “Guess not. I see a need, I try and fill it. Been like that since I was a kid.”
“It’s admirable,” her eyes shined with respect as she said it.
Cooper looked at her for a moment longer than he probably should have before looking away, “If you say so. I never could stand a bully, anyway.”
“Yeah, neither could I,” her words were laced with contempt. “It’s going to be fun taking that bad boy on.”
“Fun wasn’t the word I was thinking of. It’s going to be dangerous,” Dranko disagreed.
Cooper turned to look at him, surprised, “You in?”