Second Chance:

CHAPTER 49

Charlie woke the next morning and listened to the early morning sounds of the forest around them. Birds were already starting to chirp and the sun was peeking over the hills, shining down on the beautiful valleys of East Tennessee and West North Carolina. He attempted to sit up, but remembered having an additional occupant in the tent that morning. Erica was still asleep with a content look on her face. He managed to slip out of her hold and grabbed a long sleeve shirt from his bag since it was somewhat chilly that morning. Unzipping the tent as quietly as he could, he saw Erica was still fast asleep and had rolled over and grabbed at the pillow. Heading outside, he saw he wasn’t the first person to wake up.

“Morning,” said Mack as he grabbed at the battered percolator style coffee pot and filled it with water.

“Morning,” said Charlie as he stretched out and wandered over to the fire.

“Something we didn’t really establish yesterday was the bathroom area,” said Mack.

“Any place in mind?” asked Charlie.

“Already established,” he chuckled. “Down the hill about seventy yards or so I set up your portable potty.”

“No problem,” yawned Charlie as he poked at the fire and added another smaller piece. Mack had already gotten it going again after waking up. “What got you up this morning?”

“Call of nature. Plus just wanted to see it peaceful out here,” he said as he lit the eye on the stove and set the pot on top.

“Weather is about perfect for camping. I’m glad Mitch suggested it,” said Charlie as he dug out his own coffee stuff.

“Little chilly this morning, but made sleeping about perfect,” said Mack. “I’ve got enough for everyone here.”

“We can use that for breakfast. I’m looking for something quicker,” said Charlie as he started the other eye and put a pot of plain water on.

“How can making coffee be any quicker?” asked Mack.

“I’ve got my own ways,” said Charlie as he dug out his French press and added in the grounds.

“We’re camping and you pull out your foo-foo coffee maker,” laughed Mack.

“Easier and quicker to make. Yours will only be half ready by the time mine is. But be nice and I’ll give you a cup,” said Charlie with a grin.

“I’m bigger than you are. I might just take a cup,” said Mack.

“Coffee is worth fighting for,” laughed Charlie.

“I happened to notice you had another occupant in your tent this morning,” said Mack.

“She got cold,” said Charlie with a smile.

“And you forgot your spare blanket for some reason?” asked Mack with a smile.

“Something like that,” said Charlie.

“You two make a good couple,” observed Mack.

“Yeah, she’s a good woman,” said Charlie.

“You’re a pretty decent guy if nobody ever mentioned it before,” said Mack.

“Depends on who you ask,” laughed Charlie as he checked on the water. It was starting to bubble up in the bottom of the pot.

“I’ve got a question for you Charlie,” stated Mack.

“Go ahead,” said Charlie as he stretched out his arms and remembered for the umpteenth time he wasn’t young anymore. He was a little sore from carrying the gear up and down the mountainside from yesterday.

“Cindy ain’t your niece,” said Mack as a statement rather than a question.

“What makes you say that?” asked Charlie, figuring this conversation might have come sooner rather than later.

“I’ve known you a long time and know you have no idea where your family is from much less if they know you are alive. And suddenly someone claiming to be your niece shows up at your doorstep? I was born at night, but unfortunately for you, it wasn’t last night. What’s going on?” asked Mack.

“Well, maybe they tracked me down,” said Charlie, somewhat defensively, but remembered the Reynolds’ were good people and probably could be trusted.

“And they know you well enough to send their niece to you when they are having trouble? It doesn’t add up brother,” said Mack.

“Family is important to some people,” said Charlie.

“Listen, look at this from a parent’s perspective. If I was to suddenly realize I had a long lost brother, I would take the time to get to know him. For all I know he could be a drug addict, a child molester, a criminal or something of that nature. I surely wouldn’t send in my child to live with him indefinitely until I got to know him. Now, you might have made contact with some long lost family, but I figured you might have mentioned it to me by now as you’ve had plenty of opportunities to do so. So who is the girl and how did she end up here all the sudden?” asked Mack.

“It’s a long story and I’m looking out for her safety,” said Charlie evasively.

“We’ve got all weekend,” said Mack.

Charlie let out a sigh and looked at his old friend. He knew Mack could be trusted and knew he wouldn’t like what was going on any better than anyone else did. So Charlie came to a snap decision and decided to tell his friend the truth. He spoke about how he and Cindy had met and he had taken her in. About her trip back to New York and the troubles that caused and her eventual return to Tennessee seeking help once again. “So you see why I’m not eager to speak about it.”

“I can see why,” said Mack thoughtfully. “I figured she was a runaway or something. But didn’t figure any Muslims or something like that in. This is like something out of the news.”

“Yeah, it’s happened a few times in the past,” said Charlie.

“And Mitch knows the whole story?” asked Mack.

“Everything. Who do you think allows her to stay at my place and the fact there is a wedding certificate at my place claiming Erica and I got married a few months ago?” asked Charlie.

“Why is that?” asked Mack.

“Apparently the State won’t let her live in a single male’s residence. So Erica and I got ‘married’ for the sake of letting her stay,” said Charlie using the rabbit ears to emphasize “married.”

“Sensible even though you’re the last person on the planet that would ever take advantage of a young girl like that,” said Mack. “Who else knows?”

“Just you, Mitch, Sarah, Erica, the mayor and Jeff Tilson from around here. Couple of deputies, State Troopers and the social worker. Maybe two dozen people in the State know the full story,” said Charlie.

“And you told Jeff Tilson why?” asked Mack.

“He figured it out on his own. Put two and two together and paid me a visit,” said Charlie.

“He can keep a secret with the best of them,” said Mack.

“I never told you the truth since Cindy gets put in more danger with more people knowing. So the cover of her being my niece was put in place,” said Charlie.

“I can see why you never told me,” said Mack.

“And I’ll ask you keep it to yourself. I mean, I’m sure you’ll tell Jennifer, but please nobody else,” asked Charlie.

“Your secret is safe with me,” said Mack. “Need any help?”

“No, I think I’m covered for the most part,” said Charlie.

“Planning on adopting her?” asked Mack.

“Adopting? No,” said Charlie with a chuckle.

“If the courts were to pull her from her family or if something was to happen, she’ll need a good place to stay,” said Mack.

“If the situation was to arise for some unknown reason, yes, I would consider taking her in. But she has family in California that could take her in as well. But we are hoping everything works out in New York,” said Charlie.

“Are you really?” asked Mack.

“Yes, of course,” said Charlie wondering why Mack would ask such a question.

“Charlie, you’re a good man and you deserve a family that was robbed from you a long time ago. It seems like Cindy has given you that opportunity. It won’t be easy to let go you know?” said Mack.

“I understand,” said Charlie and effectively ending this line of questioning.

“But no matter what, you need some help, you let me know,” said Mack.

“I will,” said Charlie.

“Those Muslims are dangerous sorts,” said Mack.

“And the group she was mixed up in are the worst kind,” said Charlie.

“Fundamentalists?” asked Mack.

“Extremists like the Taliban,” said Charlie.

“I’ll keep my comments to myself regarding them,” said Mack.

“Again, I ask we keep this between the two of us,” said Charlie.

“I think I’ll write an article for the newspaper,” chuckled Mack.

“I’m sure,” laughed Charlie. “Water looks ready.”

“I think what you are doing for Cindy probably puts you in the top ten dudes in the world. Not many wouldn’t have tried to take advantage of the situation,” said Mack.

“There are some that would. But she needed my help and I couldn’t take advantage of that,” said Charlie.

“Not many think like you do. A good old fashioned gentleman,” said Mack.

Charlie saw the water was about ready to boil and pulled off the pot. Pouring it into the plastic tube of the French press, he let the grounds swirl around and put the cap back on top. “Give it about five minutes or so.”

“Fairly quick,” said Mack.

“You were the one making fun of my foo-foo coffee maker,” laughed Charlie.

“Hey, as long as it produces,” said Mack as he heard Jennifer rustling around in their tent. She came out with a serious case of bed head and bleary eyes.

“Bathroom?” she asked quietly in deference to the other sleepers.

“Down the hill that way,” said Mack as he pointed towards the makeshift bathroom. She grabbed an additional roll of toilet paper and headed that way. Charlie pushed the plunger down on his French press and had finished making his pot of coffee. He grabbed his camping mug and poured a cup before offering the press to Mack. They both wandered over to the fire and sipped at the hot beverage and stared at the fire.

“Okay, I’m not making fun of your foo-foo coffee maker any longer,” said Mack with a second sip.

“Takes a few minutes to get over the plastic taste, but it’s a lot easier than perking it every morning,” said Charlie.

“I’ll say,” said Mack as Jennifer came back up the hill.

“What are we doing for breakfast?” she asked and took the last cup out of the press. “Want me to make another pot?”

“Nah, the percolator will be done by then,” said Charlie with a wave of his hand.

“You ready to fix breakfast?” asked Mack.

“Your son will be waking up soon and will probably start gnawing at the trees if we don’t have something ready or getting close to it,” she laughed.

“How does he magically become my son when he’s hungry or in trouble?” asked Mack.

“Because,” said Jennifer with a laugh. “It’s just like the drawbacks to pregnancy was your fault as well.”

“Annie used to give me down the road about that. Blaming me for swollen ankles and being hot all the time,” Charlie said with a nostalgic laugh.

The group fell silent as Charlie had rarely ever mentioned Annie since her death. It was as if it was some secret he kept stashed away in the recesses of his mind and never let them out. For him to bring up the subject without being prompted was a huge deal.

“Did I say something wrong?” asked Charlie after the silence got to him.

“No, it’s just that you never really talk about Annie,” said Jennifer.

“It was a long time ago,” said Charlie.

“But recently you seem to be more like the old Charlie we all remember,” said Jennifer.

“Hopefully not the teenage one,” said Charlie with a laugh.

“No, but it’s good to see you back to yourself somewhat,” said Jennifer. “Could it be a little girl and a certain doctor helping in that regard?”

“Maybe,” said Charlie.

“Charlie, you want to explain or shall I?” asked Mack.

“Explain about what?” asked Jennifer.

Charlie spent the next couple of minutes explaining the Cindy situation and had a polite nod from Jennifer when he was done.

“I kind of expected it was something like that. I had a feeling she wasn’t your niece,” said Jennifer.

“Is it that obvious?” asked Charlie.

“Not really unless folks know you well enough. You can’t lie worth a darn,” chuckled Jennifer. “But I think she couldn’t have picked a better man on the planet to help her out if she tried. That’s probably one of the most awesome things I’ve ever heard of someone doing.”

“Anyone would have,” said Charlie modestly.

“No, not just anyone. It takes a special man to do what you did,” said Jennifer.

“And the fact you and Erica make a darling couple just puts the bow on top,” said Jennifer. “A good couple to take care of her until she gets her life straight.”

“I do try,” said Charlie.

“And how are things going with Erica?” asked Jennifer as she heard another zipper being pulled back and saw Erica emerging from Charlie’s tent. “Oh, never mind answering that question.”

“It’s not what it looks like,” said Charlie.

“Right,” grinned Jennifer.

“Where’s the bathroom?” asked Erica as she shivered slightly in the chill.

“Down the hill over there. Hold on a minute,” said Charlie as he went back into the tent and came out with another long sleeve shirt for her. She had protested the packing, but he had thrown it in his gear since he knew she would probably need it in the mornings.

“I see why you insisted I bring it now,” she said and pulled it over her head and unzipped the collar. She headed off to the outdoor toilet and disappeared into the woods.

“But back to breakfast,” said Charlie as he opened the cooler and started getting out the eggs and bacon. “You two aren’t the only ones with a hungry teenager.”

“I was surprised at how much she ate last night,” said Jennifer.

“She burns it off quickly, trust me,” said Charlie and he continued getting everything ready. The second stove was set up and the cookware was set out as Erica came back up the hill and grabbed the bottle of hand sanitizer.

“And how was your first night camping?” asked Jennifer.

“Comfortable,” she said with a sly grin.

“Glad you came?” asked Mack.

“Yeah, it’s good to relax and it’s peaceful out here,” said Erica as she took in the surroundings. “What’s in store for today?”

“Fishing and relaxing,” said Charlie.

“And for those of us that don’t fish?” asked Erica.

“Relaxing. Get a tan by the river or just lay around with nothing to do. I’ve got to get my hammock put up as well,” said Charlie.

“A nap in the hammock sounds like good medicine,” said Erica as they heard Sarah and Mitch getting out of their tent.

“Want to wake up the child yet?” asked Jennifer.

“No, let’s at least get breakfast underway first,” said Mack, but he heard Toby rustling around in his tent getting dressed.

“Too late,” laughed Jennifer.

“Might as well wake Cindy up,” said Charlie as he started warming the skillet for the eggs and bacon.

“We have something for her to munch on before we get breakfast started?” asked Erica.

“The string cheese should be enough,” said Charlie as he cracked the eggs and started whipping them up with a fork.

“Want to just make one big community breakfast for everyone? Seems like we all are having eggs this morning,” suggested Mitch as he poured a cup of coffee from the pot and got another pot of water started for Sarah. She preferred tea first thing in the morning as opposed to coffee.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” said Mack.

“Sounds easy enough,” said Charlie as he took the other bowl from Jennifer and passed over the bacon. He saw Cindy emerging from the tent with her early morning grumpy look and stomped straight for the fire. Toby had much the same look as he wandered straight for the cooler looking for something to eat before breakfast. Jennifer handed him an apple after wiping it off and he headed towards the fire as well. The pans didn’t take long to warm up and the smell of cooking bacon permeated the air before long.

“Apple wood smoked?” asked Mack as he set out slices of bread on the toaster.

“Yeah, got it from a guy in the south of end of the county that smokes his own,” said Mitch.

“The same guy that cooks it for the Ramp Festival?” asked Jennifer.

“The very same,” said Mitch. “It doesn’t get much better than his.”

“This much is certain,” said Charlie with another deep inhale through his nose to take in the smell. “Want to take that widow maker after breakfast?”

“Yeah, then head down to the river,” said Mack.

“How are we cleaning up?” asked Erica.

“Baby wipe shower,” said Charlie. “That and a dip in the river.”

“That sounds refreshing right about now,” said Cindy. “Is it cold?”

“Not really this time of the year,” said Charlie.

“What’s left to be done?” she asked.

“Nothing except gathering the firewood. Hopefully enough to last the weekend,” said Mitch.

Breakfast was served and everyone complimented the bacon since it was local and had a great taste. Charlie remembered the fellow who made it and decided to give him a call to work out a barter of some sort to get a few pounds for his freezer. After breakfast, the teenagers were put to cleaning up while the others started changing into work clothes to get the oak tree completely felled and cut up to size.

“Let’s head on over and take a look,” suggested Mack as he grabbed the chainsaw and refilled the oil and gas.

“Sounds good,” said Charlie as he saw Cindy and Toby having a discussion over something or other.

“You can’t use soap on that,” he said.

“Don’t use soap? There’s like germs and stuff on there! Are you crazy?” she asked and looked at the cast iron skillet.

“It ruins the seasoning,” he said quietly.

“Seasoning?” she asked.

“Cast iron has to be seasoned with oil before use,” he tried to explain.

“Oil?” she asked.

“Yes, cooking oil and stored that way. That’s why you can’t use soap,” said Toby.

“That sounds dumb,” said Cindy. “I’m cleaning it with soap.”

“No, Toby’s right. You have to just use hot water to clean it,” said Charlie walking up behind the two.

“I’ve been cleaning your skillet at home using soap,” she said, not wanting to lose the argument.

“I didn’t realize you had,” said Charlie. “I’ll have to season it again.”

“You two aren’t pulling my leg and this is some weird camping joke is it?” asked Cindy.

“No, let me do it and you can watch,” said Toby.

Cindy looked at the dirty skillet and at the two of them suspiciously before waving her hands at the pot. She watched as Toby took to cleaning the skillet and adding in more boiling water to clean the remains of the bacon from that morning. After the second time, he made sure it was hot from placing it on the eye of the stove and added in a light coat of oil.

“That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Cindy.

“That’s how good cast iron gets cleaned,” said Toby.

“It’s still weird,” said Cindy.

“I guess so,” said Toby as he set the skillet off to the side to cool.

“Going to teach me it fish today?” she asked.

“You want to learn?” he asked.

“Why not? I’ll work on my tan a little and swim a little bit, but figure I’ll need something else to pass the time,” she said.

“Why not ask your uncle?” he asked.

“Maybe I want you to teach me,” she said.

“Oh,” he said shyly and blushed up.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

“No,” he said and went back into shy mode once again. Cindy sighed as well and figured she would continue the conversation at a later time. She would talk to Erica about why boys were so backwards. She liked Toby, but didn’t know if he felt the same way. He headed out with the others as Cindy was banished from the dangerous work for the moment. She stomped back over to the fire and added in a couple of extra small pieces before hearing the voices discussing the best way of taking out the tree. Toby came back several minutes later looking around the camp.

“Help you with something?” asked Cindy.

“Where’d Mister Gray put that big rope?” he asked.

“Over by his pack,” said Cindy as she retrieved the rope and handed it over. “What are you guys doing with that?”

“Going to anchor that dead tree to a live one and hope it kicks the way we want it to,” said Toby.

“Kicks?” asked Cindy.

“Yeah, falls where we want it to,” said Toby.

“How’s that work?” asked Cindy.

“It’s complicated,” said Toby. “I need to get back.”

Cindy went back to the fire and peeked through the woods trying to see what was going on. She heard several grunts and groans coming from that particular area and saw another smaller tree being bent over. She had no idea what was going on and saw the tree stop and heard the four men speaking. Eventually the chainsaw started up and she heard some cutting before the motor cut back. She saw the smaller tree straining somewhat and the chainsaw starting up once again and starting to cut deep into the dead tree. She heard something large break and saw the smaller tree snap back up into place, swaying back and forth. The large widow maker came down off the live tree with a crash and she could see the group scrambling away from the falling tree. She could feel the thump against the ground and heard it roll slightly before coming to a rest.

“Okay, everything’s good,” said Charlie as he came back in and retrieved the axe, hatchets and bow saws.

“Can I help now?” asked Cindy.

“Sure, just be careful. We’re still going to be running the chain saw,” he said and saw a worried look from Erica. He waved his hand at her, a silent signal not to worry and headed back to start lopping off the branches and limbs for more firewood. She and Toby got the shuttle duty and started bringing the branches and cut logs to the campsite for later cutting and splitting. It was hard work and the remainder of the group joined in before long and helped out before the fishing trip to the river later that morning.

********************

“John, hate to stop you before you head out. But we’ve got a problem,” said the man from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office.

“What kind of problem?” asked TBI Agent Anderson as he stopped getting into his vehicle for the weekend trip to Cherokee Lake with his family.

“Got a call from a reporter from Wolf News. Asking some pretty pointed questions about a certain situation we both are familiar with,” said the man.

Anderson stopped and held up his finger to his wife before walking away from the vehicle. After getting a safe distance away, he asked another question. “How much do they know?”

“They know about the situation, but none of the names for the moment. They also know about the Circuit Court order and also something we just found out. Apparently New York talked to the Justice Department around the same time we filed with the Circuit Court,” said the man.

“They contacted Justice? And what happened?” asked Anderson.

“Don’t know and we haven’t heard anything just yet. So for the moment we are playing it as if it hadn’t happened yet,” said the man.

“How does this help or hurt us?” asked Anderson.

“We’re not sure yet. We are hoping Justice stays out of it,” said the man.

“Fat chance with this administration,” said Anderson.

“One can hope,” said the man. “But still we wanted you to know about the questions that were being raised.”

“Okay,” said Anderson. “What’s the reporter want?”

“They want to know our side of the story. We thought she was fishing at first, but she has some pretty good background,” said the man.

“How much is pretty good?” asked Anderson.

“Enough to run the story. The Governor already knows as does the Attorney General. They are making a press release for when the story hits,” said the man.

“Great,” said Anderson with a sigh. “A little more time to work things out with New York might have been nice.”

“Couldn’t keep it a secret forever,” said the man. “Can you call your friends in that part of the world and let them know?”

“Yeah, absolutely. I was heading out for a weekend trip, but I suppose that’s on hold now,” said Anderson.

“The reporter said it wasn’t going to run for another week. You should be okay,” said the man.

“You trust a reporter?” asked Anderson.

“About as far as I could throw them,” said the man with a laugh. “If anything changes, I’ll give you a call.”

“I’ll have my cell phone on. But if I don’t answer, leave a message,” said Anderson.

“Have a good weekend,” said the man as he ended the call.

Anderson pulled up the number for Mitch Brewer and called it. But there was no answer and the phone went directly to voicemail. He tried the sheriff’s office and was notified Sheriff Brewer was out for the weekend, but in an emergency could be contacted. Anderson informed them it wasn’t an emergency, but to have him call as soon as he got back into civilization. As he ended the call, he started to worry about the story in the news and worried about the consequences of the story. While the Governor’s office had been preparing the political response to the situation, Anderson still worried about the press and how they could slant the story to either side. He hoped the situation would turn out in Cindy’s favor and the matter was on his mind throughout the entire weekend.

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