Page 5 of Devil's Crossroad

Kylar

Callie and I needed last night, but I know this will be a two-cups of coffee morning. I ordered our breakfast last night, but nine in the morning came early when the last time I looked at the clock, it was four-fifteen.

I’m trying to be quiet, but everything I touch falls to the floor, or I knock something over. I hear a soft knock on the door. I go to the door and open it for the server. He attempts to push the cart in, but I block him. “I can do this. My woman is still asleep.” The server nods his head.

“Yes, sir.” Before he can leave, I grab his arm.

“We are going to need an entire pot of coffee.” The young man nods his head.

“Yes, sir. I will bring you a carafe.” I guess that is a pot of coffee in the server language.

“Thanks,” I tell him. The sooner he brings us more coffee, the better. I pull the cart further into the room and set it up. Instead of using the straight chairs we used last night, I moved the furniture around the room so one of us could sit on the sofa and the other could sit in the comfortable chair with all the cushions.

“That coffee smells amazing.” It’s funny that Callie says that. Until she was pregnant with Kason, our nine-year-old, she hated coffee. She would get her caffeine from a soft drink. Right after she went through a few weeks of morning sickness, every time I had a cup of coffee in front of her, she would sit close to me to smell my coffee better. She told me her mouth watered for a small taste but would never try it. She gave up everything with caffeine in it during all her pregnancies. She tortured herself every morning, making my coffee for my breakfast. I told her I could get my coffee at the clubhouse, and she wouldn’t let that slide. After she delivered our son, she tried a taste and has been hooked on the stuff since quitting breastfeeding. Every time she was pregnant, she gave up her one vise, but everyone was happy when she could drink the addictive drink again. “You’re remembering, aren’t you?”

“I’m guilty of going down memory lane. Eat your fruit, woman. We will ride hard to get to Pandora in time to get some site seeing in.” I have heard it is a beautiful town. Small, but beautiful. The rest of the things I have listened to are just bullshit. A city cannot be haunted. If I were to guess, the townspeople are trying to keep big businesses out of their town to keep town taxes down. It’s a brilliant idea, but there is no way I will buy into it.

“I am excited to get to Pandora on Halloween. Micah told me she looked up the town, and there is some folklore about the entire town being haunted on Halloween. I wonder how much is true, made up, and fake. I hope they at least have a haunted house we can walk through. We have been to some that try their best to scare people. They are so fake, and none of the people there have ever seen a real dead body.” Callie loves Halloween; besides Christmas, it is her favorite holiday.

“I remember that time we took the older children to Oklahoma City for the Haunted Trails, and you jumped and knocked one guy out.” I laugh through the entire sentence because the look on Callie’s face that night was priceless.

“He shouldn’t have grabbed me. I agree with the scare tactics, but people should know not to grab others in the dark. You hit the man again when he picked himself off the ground.” Callie is right. No one touches my family, anytime. Kellan and Killeen were right there to protect their mom behind me. Callie is eating and laughing. We have such great memories with our children. One more child wouldn’t be so bad. I would have time to enjoy raising another child if we did have another one. I have enjoyed t-ball and cub scouts with Karson and Kye, our five-year-olds. Kaleb and Kane enjoy fishing and camping, and I enjoy doing that with them. I shake my head at the possibility of the baby being a girl. I still can’t breathe right when Kimber and Kaitlyn, our eleven- and seventeen-year-old daughters. Nope, it could be a boy, and it would be all right, but no more girls. I have already built up an arsenal of guns. “What is that look you have on your face about? I thought we weren’t supposed to worry about the children on this trip; your rules, not mine. You only get that soft look on your face when you are thinking about our family.”

“You’re right. I’m guilty of thinking of our children.” Then Kylar gets that side smile smirk on his face. “I bet if I check your phone, you have texted all our children who have phones. I also bet you have texted your sisters to check on the younger ones. Have you texted your besties, Felix and Sarge, too?”

“Guilty, guilty, and guilty. I am a bad vacation mom. I only checked on Felix to see how him and his man were doing on their getaway, and I only texted Sarge to make sure that Micah wasn’t losing her shit. She wouldn’t text me, but she would tell her man. He would tell me.” Callie can’t help herself by checking to ensure everyone is all right. Her texting Felix doesn’t bother me, but being best friends with her ex still gets under my skin. We won’t even mention her ex-husband, Dra. She isn’t as friendly with him anymore since Maddie divorced him, and we heard of the abuse she endured while with him, but she still answers his phone calls. The asshole should disappear, but he is the father of two of Maddie’s children. “Okay, the soft look is gone, and a murderous look has taken its place.” There’s a knock at the door, and I get up and open the door, and the server is there with our coffee. I thank him and return to our makeshift eating area.

“This is the best coffee. I am eating heavily this morning so that we can make a short stop for lunch and fuel. I want to ensure we are in Pandora in time to set up everything for our dinner.” Callie laughs at me as I sit down in my place.

“Are you ignoring what I said about your soft and then murderous looks on your face?” Callie asks me.

“The thought of your two exes just drives me nuts, and your ex-husband makes me want to commit murder,” I answer honestly.

“No worries, you are entitled to your thoughts. Have you showered yet? I think I might need my back washed in a little bit. Since we should save water.” Callie is flirting with me to distract me from my thoughts. I like the way her mind works.

“Let’s finish our food and I can help you with that. I need a nice hot shower.” We finish eating, and then we shower, and I scrub every inch of Callie’s body. The best thing is that we never run out of hot water, and we both have another cup of coffee before we check out.

SEVEN

Callie

Our ride to Kentucky is beautiful. All the fall colors are in the trees and it is so peaceful. We had lunch at a small diner that was a gas station also. They had the best-chopped beef sandwiches that I have ever tasted. I don’t know if they were that good or if my ravenous appetite made them taste that way.

We stopped at a small fruit and vegetable market and bought fresh apples. They were crispy and mouth-watering. We bought a couple to take with us and a couple of pears. We both love fresh fruit, which will be our dessert tonight.

Our next stop was by a stream where people were fishing. Kylar had to make a pit stop for privacy in the woods, and then we talked to the people fishing. They were very friendly and when we told them we were headed to. They warned us about the town and its supposed haunting and supernatural happenings. They needed clarification on why anyone would want to visit Pandora on Halloween.

Kylar and I laughed it off and continued our trip to Pandora. On the outskirts of town, the temperature drops a good fifteen degrees. That was strange, and then again, it is fall.

We arrived in town at about two in the afternoon. We checked into our private cabin and went there to unload Kylar’s saddle bags to shop and get the rest of our supplies for tonight. The place is clean and homey. It isn’t luxurious like the place we stayed last night, but it is more to Kylar’s and my taste. It has a fireplace in case it turns cool tonight, with plenty of firewood and kindling. We have a big king-size bed. We might decide to stay here for a few days.

Kylar is doing his thing outside to make sure everything looks safe. He is also looking in the old shed outside.

I check the refrigerator to make sure it is working. The fridge even has an ice maker. I turn the range on to ensure the burners and oven work, and both work fine. I turn the water on in the sink, and it works. We have all the necessities in working order.

“Everything good in here, or do we go and complain?” Kylar asks me as he enters the cabin.

“Everything is good to go. Fireplace with plenty of wood, running water, the refrigerator and range work.” I tell my man. He goes into the bedroom and is gone for a few minutes.

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