Rough and Ready

It only took her about ten minutes to find the divorce papers in Tom's file cabinet. She should not have been poking around in his private things, but this had to be resolved, not ignored. Ten minutes later, she was on her way to see Sarah on the Sportster. Tom looked up from what he was doing, but did not try to stop her. She was gone less than an hour. Tracey stopped and looked at Tom from the porch, before entering the cabin. There was no way in hell that the bitch was going to get him back.

Tom stopped splitting wood when Tracey called him for lunch. The hot Monte Cristo sandwich with a beer seemed to calm him down. They didn't talk until the meal was over.

"I need a new story to illustrate. You said you had several more ready. Can you get one together for me, so I can start on it?"

"Let me take a shower first and I'll take care of it. By the way will we need firewood at the new place?"

"The lodge has an oil furnace. We will need some wood for the fire place but not to heat with."

Tom paused for a moment and finished his beer. "I think I am going to sell most of the wood off behind the house. I have had several people asking about it. I don't think I want to split wood ever again."

Tracey watched without saying anything as he walked towards the shower. Maybe the call from Anne wasn't a bad thing after all.

Three days later, things were moving along nicely. Tanner and Sarah left for San Francisco and were staying at Tracey's place until they could get a place of their own. Tom had sold off all of the firewood, both split and un-split. The buyer even moved two loads of the split wood to the lodge, and stacked it, as part of the deal. Tom left all of the furniture at the cabin, since the lodge was fully furnished. The boys had to transfer schools, but didn't seem to mind too much. In less than a week, Tom had the cabin rented, with a years lease.

Tom's publisher was ecstatic about the recent book and the illustrations that Tracey had done. She was not able to get the pictures finished for the new manuscript because of the move, but promised Tom she would have them completed within the week. Tom had already started on a new book. Things were looking good.

The next Saturday was set aside for a road trip. The whole crew headed for the City by the Bay, since Tanner assured her it was safe to return. The Sportster was on the trailer so that Tracey could return it to Tiny, and square accounts with him. Her 883 would be coming back on the trailer, with them. Tracey agreed to let Bradley drive the RX7 back to the lodge, but only with her riding shotgun, Greg pouted a little at being left out, but she promised to make it up to him later. Tom and the boys were impressed by the condo. Tom had already concluded that there was more to Tracey than he originally thought. It was something that he hesitated to bring up, because he was afraid he wouldn't like the answer.

The trip was not all for pleasure. While Tanner and Tracey talked business, Sarah took Tom and the boys over to Japantown for lunch. They had a great time selecting sushi from the little boats as they drifted by the counter. Tom didn't enjoy it quite as much, since he was aware of the prices. He relaxed when Sarah assured him it was Tanner's treat.

Uncle Tanner's sudden appearance in the company boardroom had created all kinds of havoc. Darien Tremble was fired immediately and escorted from the building, where two US Federal Marshals were waiting for him. The rest of the group, other than Todd and Andrea, were given until the end of the day to clean out their desks. Andrea had a whole list of possible replacements lined up for Tanner to interview on Monday. Tracey was relieved that Andrea had not been one of the conspirators. Tanner also informed Tracey that he and Sarah were not planning on returning to Rough and Ready, and that the lodge belonged to her now, free and clear. Sarah had a package for Tracey that she passed to her secretly.

By three o'clock, the Henderson family, and Tracey, were ready for the trip back to the foothills. Tracey said a little prayer as Bradley pulled out with the rotary rocket. Tom followed right behind them with the trailer. The Wenkle was dying to move out and he was struggling to hold it back. Tracey was amused by the situation and decided to give him a break. She made a quick phone call to Tom and told him to meet them at The Pit.

"Okay Bradley let her rip. If you get a ticket, you pay."

The silver bullet hardly made a sound as it pulled away from the jeep. This was not something she would encourage on a regular basis, but she was feeling good today. Tracey let Bradley have his way with the RX7, until they were about ten miles outside of Sacramento. By the time they got to The Pit, he had settled back down to normal. Twenty minutes later, Tom and Greg arrived. Tom gave Tracey a small scowl, but it quickly changed to a grin as they entered for an early supper.

The next three weeks were like a dream. Tom's new manuscript was progressing well and Tracey was getting more proficient with the illustrations. The boy's school grades were improving with Tracey tutoring, and Bradley had his first serious girlfriend. Tracey got to parkour several times a week by herself and a few times with Bradley and Greg. Tom was no longer splitting wood.

It was a Tuesday morning, when she showed up.

"Hi. My name is Anne Henderson. I understand that Tom lives here now. I went over to the old place first." She was about five feet two inches. Her hair was shoulder length and a natural dirty blonde. She needed grooming and makeup in the worst way.

"Tom's not here right now Mrs. Henderson. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"And just who are you?"

"I am the house keeper. I believed we talked before."

Tracey did not invite her in. They stood on the porch, each waiting for the other to speak.

"Will he be back soon?"

"He is in Sacramento. I don't expect him back until after three."

"Are the boy's here?"

"They are in school. Won't be home until three thirty."

The pauses between the bits of conversation were maddening.

"Don't you want to tell me why you are here?"

"I just want to get back with my family. I made a big mistake and now I want the chance to straighten things out. I need to talk to Tom. He will understand."

"Why do you think that is the case?"

"We are still legally married. We are still a family. The boys need a mother and Tom needs a wife."

"They needed a mother two years ago. Where were you then?"

"Like I said, I made a mistake. I am here now to correct things."

"You won't be able to correct anything, if you keep on lying."

"Who the hell are you to accuse me of lying? You have no right."

Tracey glared at her and motioned for her to wait, as she entered the house. A few moments later she stood there with the envelope that Sarah had given her.

"Let's try this one more time Mrs. Henderson and if you lie to me again, I will kick your butt off this property so fast that you won't know what happened."

Anne stood still, without speaking.

"What happened to the flyboy that you ran away with? Where is he right now and why aren't you with him?"

Anne tried to straighten herself up before replying.

"He was transferred to Thailand and didn't take me with him. He left me in Baltimore with no money and no job. I didn't know what to do."

"So you decided to crawl back to the man you deserted and lie to him?"

"I made a mistake when I left. He will take me back. He has to."

Tracey reached into the envelope. "You see this report? It is from the Washoe County Court House in Nevada. It states that your divorce from Tom Henderson was legal and binding. You are no longer married to Tom Henderson in any manner. It is over. Do you understand?"

Anne was hanging her head. She didn't say anything, but just nodded her head.

"You lied about working in Baltimore also, didn't you?"

She just looked at Tracey without saying anything. Tracey looked carefully at the paper in the envelope indicating that Anne had been arrested for solicitation. It would be so easy to threw it in her face, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She could tell Anne was hurting and she was sure that she would have resorted to prostitution only as a last resort.

"Anne, do you want to talk about your arrest in Baltimore?"

"Oh, God. Who the hell are you. How do you know all this? Does Tom know?"

"Tom doesn't know and the boys don't know. As far as I am concerned, they don't need to know."

"What do you want? What am I supposed to do?"

"Why did you abandon your two sons? Leaving for another man is bad enough, but how could you just walk out on those boys?"

"Daniel was charming and generous. I met him at an art store in Yuba City. Tom was usually busy, so it was easy for me to get away to spend time with Daniel. He told wonderful stories about all the places he visited. He lived the type of life I always wanted. I was stuck in a shack in the mountains, with a semi-recluse husband and two young boys. Looking back, I had no idea how lucky I was. When Daniel got transferred he asked me to come with him, but alone. It was a very difficult decision for me. The boys had a closer bond with Tom than they did with me, so I made the choice and left them with their father."

"I stayed with Daniel for two years until he got a transfer to Thailand. It was an unaccompanied tour, but I could have gone with him. Our parting was a little bitter. He told me he didn't want to take hamburger to a steak dinner."

"You screwed up."

"Don't I know it?"

"What about the arrest?"

I worked at a Taco Bell during the day, but could not pay the rent. I got a second job at night cleaning at an oriental massage parlor. One night they got raided. I was the damn cleaning lady and got charged with prostitution along with the rest of the girls. That's when I called you."

"Anne, Tom does not want you back. Your sons feel the same way. Believe me, you do not want to face them. They are old enough to realize what you did and how you hurt their father. They love him and will stick by him no matter what you say or do. I don't care what you do. I was just trying to make it easier for Tom and the kids."

"What can I do? Where can I go?"

"I can help you out. I can give you some money to get started someplace else, and I will not tell Tom or the boys anything about what happened. You can send them birthday cards and a Christmas present every year, but please don't visit."

"Why should I do anything you say at all?"

"Anne, listen real close. Your husband hates you for what you did and wants nothing to do with you. I told him when you called last time and he ripped the phone out of the wall."

"That's why I couldn't call him back."

They both stood quietly on the porch. Anne was shuffling her feet and looking at the ground. "How much money?"

"I'll give you ten thousand cash and a ride to the bus station, if you promise to stay away."

"You're a heartless bitch. Do you know that?"

"Yes, indeed. Do you want that ride or not?"

Two hours later Tracey watched as Tom turned into the driveway with a new Subaru Outback Wagon. She got a couple of cold beers while he parked in front of the lodge.

"What took so long?"

"They had the wrong hitch installed. I had to wait until they replaced it."

"Do you like it?" They both sat on the porch rockers and propped their feet on the railing.

"Of course I do. What's not to like?" He popped the tab on his beer and smiled at his benefactor.

"Your wife was here today."

"Is she coming back?" Tom followed the question with a big swig of the canned brew.

"I don't think so."

"Good." The silence that followed was like a sigh of relief.

"Tom. Did you read the papers in that folder that Sarah gave me?"

He finished the beer and crushed the can. "Of course I did."

Tracey stood up and took the empty from his hand. "We have time for a quick shower before the boys get home from school. Are you up for it?"

Tom smiled and took her hand as they walked into the lodge.