Shoe Strings

every day this time of year before the tourists started coming and the
mountains were just waking up from winter.  
    He pulled onto Main Street, honked at Bobby Joe under the
hood of somebody’s old Ford just to see him slam his head into the lift.   He chuckled as he turned off toward
Bloodworth Cabins.   He’d just passed
the grocery when some idiot in a brand new Land Rover swerved into his lane and
nearly caused him to run off the road.   “Damn tourists,” he muttered as he chugged along, the wind from the
doors he’d removed this morning rushing past so fast that he had to turn his
radio up to max volume to sing along with George Strait.  
    Jesse bypassed the main entrance, choosing to make the trek
to his dad’s on the rocky side road used mainly for hauling wood because it
always made him feel like the reckless teenager he used to be.   Seeing as how Ty was sliding headlong
into the reckless years, Jesse knew he needed to curb his indulgences.   But Tyler wasn’t there, so he geared
down and gunned the engine, nearly howling in delight as the car bumped over
rock and gravel.   He pulled to a
stop by the woodpile and hopped out.
    Cal’s car wasn’t parked in its usual spot along the garage
by the one-bedroom cabin he rented, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t up at the
larger cabin or fooling around in the storage shed.   Jesse made his way to his mom and dad’s
house just to be sure.   Funny how
Ellie Bloodworth had been gone for over a decade and yet Jesse still couldn’t
think about his parents’ house as anything but hers.  
    She was everywhere, from the flowers that lined the stone
walkway to the pink and white dogwood trees just springing to life under the
larger oaks and pines.   She’d spent
weeks planting those trees when Jesse was young enough to want to follow his
mom around and do whatever she was doing, be wherever she was.   If he’d known how much he was going to
miss her later in life, he’d have followed her around more often, instead of
chasing girls and getting into trouble with his buddies.    
    The door was unlocked and Jesse stuck his head inside.   “Dad,” he called.   He got no reply, save for the ticking of
the mantle clock in the living room.   He pulled the door closed behind him and walked down to the storage
shed.   The building was open, as
were all the buildings on the property, but sat dark and unoccupied.   Damn.   Jesse scratched the hair at the back of
his neck, made a mental note to get a haircut sometime soon, and let out a big
breath.   He was still hungry and now
that he’d stood still for a moment, he realized he smelled like a big rubber
flotation device.  
    He decided to grab a shower before heading back to town and
he made his way to the small cabin.   He threw his keys on the counter and walked to the bathroom.
    ***
    Angelita knew she’d overbought at the grocery store.   She confirmed it when it took her three
trips to unload the bags from the car and up the stairs to the cabin.   She was heaving for breath as she set
the last bags down and put her hands on her hips.   She was wondering where to store all the
food as she began placing items in the fridge.
    When she was done, she had enough supplies to easily last
two weeks and the time to indulge in one of her much loved pastimes,
cooking.   Cal had been right.   The grocery had a wide selection of all
kinds of food and, much to her delight, carried her favorite brand of coffee.   It was the last item she stored, in the
cupboard right above the automatic coffee maker.   She turned to the sink to wash her hands
and realized she’d forgotten soap.   Oh well, there had to be some in the bathroom.
    She’d just rounded the corner to the hall and had her arm
outstretched to grasp the knob of the door when it opened and Lita found herself
face to face with a wet, nearly naked man.   “Ahhhhh,” she screamed and backed into the wall behind her, knocking a
framed picture onto the floor and shattering its glass.
    “Damn it,” the man said as he tightened the towel around his
waist.   “You scared the shit out of
me.”
    Lita backed into the kitchen and positioned herself along
the counter nearest the block of knives should she need to use one in
defense.   She’d startled the man
and, despite the fact that he hadn’t made a grab for her, she didn’t want to be
careless.   “Who are you and what are
you doing in my cabin?”  
    “Your cabin?”  
    “I’m