Free Ancient History by CW Hawes Page B

a good idea.”
    I set up the stove on a table and poured dehydrated chili into a pot with water and set the pot on the stove. Garth came out of the tent and I went in and put on a dry pair of cargo pants. When I came out, he was stirring the pot. He’d also put up a line and had his jeans hanging on it. I added my wet cargo pants.
    “The line was a good idea, Garth. How’s work?”
    “Thanks. Works going well. I’m up for a promotion. Facing some stiff competition, though. If I get it, I’ll have to do some traveling. It’ll be worth it. Much more pay.”
    “That’s good. Money’s always good. Hope you get it.”
    “Thanks, Ron. How’s your job?”
    “It’s a job. Pays the bills.”
    “You making money off your blog?”
    “A little.”
    The chili was heated through. We split the pot and ate in silence. I’d wanted this time together and now that we were here, together, Garth and I, I had nothing to say. It was as if it no longer mattered whether there was anything between us or not. I was beginning to think this was a big mistake. Amy was ancient history. What wasn’t were all the years of neglect we’d poured into our relationship after she’d left me and gone off with Garth. Like this logging camp, neglected and falling to ruin, all that was left between us was the fact we shared the same parents and same last name.
      Thunder rumbled and the windows rattled. I looked up at the roof. “Might be getting a little wet in here.”
    “Does the water work?”
    “It did. But that was a long time ago. Let’s find out.”
    We grabbed flashlights and made our way to the kitchen. Just inside the doorway I found a light switch and flipped it. Nothing happened save for the click sound the switch made. We entered, playing our flashlights around.
    “The sinks are over there,” I said and pointed. “But with no electricity, there’s probably no water.”
    Garth walked over and turned the handle on a faucet. Nothing came out.
    “I’ve heard that people have been here fairly recently,” I said, “using this place as a base for hiking in the forest. I wonder where the well is? Someone might have pulled off the well head and used a bucket to get water.”
    “I don’t think we want to look for it now.”
    I nodded my head in agreement. “We have enough water for today. Maybe tomorrow, if we’re careful.”
    We made our way back to the tent. The air suddenly became chill.
    “I don’t know about you, Garth, but I’m going to crawl into my sleeping bag.”
    “Yeah. It got kind of chilly all of a sudden.”
    We put our stuff in the tent and again I made sure my .357 was within reach. We hung up one of the lanterns in the tent for light. I took off my boots and climbed into my bag. Garth did likewise. Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out a novel, Any Human Heart , and began reading.
    After a few pages, I looked up and saw Garth playing a game on his phone.
    “You might want to save that. No electricity to recharge the battery.”
    “No reception out here.”
    “Still might want to save the battery.”
    “I suppose you’re right. You usually are.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Nothing. Sorry I said it.”
    I turned back to the novel, although now I had no desire to read. Truth be told, I was pissed. I was willing to forget Amy, forget the two of them cheating on me behind my back. After all, maybe it was all my fault. But Garth’s comment? It could only mean he was still hanging onto the stuff from our childhood. Could I help it if I was, in fact, right most of the time and he wasn’t? Garth made bad decisions. It was as simple as that. Always had. More than once I had to bail him out of some disaster he’d created and being kids I made sure he knew how stupid he was.
    This trip was a bad idea. I could see that now. I should have left things as they were. Dead. At the moment, though, I could do nothing about it. The rain was coming down cats and dogs. We were stuck here for the night.