House of Fallen Trees

CHAPTER NINE

The hike took over two hours, what with all the stumbling and climbing over more downed trees and wading through foliage allowed to grow wild for decades. Huge ferns and bramble bushes did their best to keep the trio from moving forward but move forward they did, Karen taking mental notes all the while.

It was because she was paying such close attention to her surroundings that she noticed the crows at all. There seemed to be an abundance of them — roosting in the pines all around them, walking around on the ground just past the tree line. A few flapping by above them, taking off from one branch to land on another further up the road.

She made a face, trying to recall what crows were symbolic of in literature. She couldn’t think of it off the top of her head, but had a feeling she might be able to use it if anything ever came of this tiny nugget of an idea for a new book. She’d have to remember to look up crows and their meaning on the Internet when they arrived at the house.

Saul followed her gaze with his own. “Tricksters,” he said. “In Native-American folklore.”

Surprised, Karen said, “Were you just reading my mind?”

“I know that look you had on your face. I get the same look when I study blueprints.”

“Ah. Well, there are a lot of them, huh? The crows, I mean.”

“There’s a lot of everything the further away you get from people. Don’t be surprised if you see an elk or two. I once saw a whole herd of them grazing in a clearing a half mile or so behind the house. Lots of deer out here too. Once in a great while, you’ll get to see moose. Bobcats. Grizzlies.”

Rory smacked him on the shoulder. “Don’t listen to him, Karen. This guy is so full of shit, his eyes are brown. You might see a deer. But probably, not including those crows, the most wildlife you’ll see are some squirrels, maybe a raccoon, or an opossum.”

“Hawks and falcons, too,” Saul said. “And I did see the elk.”

Rolling his eyes, Rory said, “Okay, okay. Maybe you’ll see an elk.”

But Karen was hardly listening to the two of them bicker. Movement just beyond the tree line had caught her eye and it was definitely no crow. It was low to the ground, with red fur, a long bushy tail and a black snout.

“What about dogs?” she asked.

“Dogs?” the men said in unison. Then understanding cleared Saul’s face. He looked at Rory and said, “Dusty.”

“Oh, yeah,” Rory nodded. “Dusty.”

Karen watched the dog, barely visible in the shadows of the woods, trotting along, pacing them. “Dusty,” she repeated. “Male or female?”

“Female,” Saul said. “She used to belong to an asshole in town named Richard Mallack. He had her for a good year and that dog never once saw the inside of his house. Kept her chained to a doghouse 24/7, every season, every kind of weather. His kids used to shoot BB guns at her. I was bitching about his treatment of that dog one night in The Lantern and Mike — the guy you met — got pissed off enough to go and snatch the dog from Mallack’s backyard. But, of course, she was skittish as all hell and not housebroken, which Mike was annoyed about. Anyway, he let her roam free and she just took off, came to live out here on her own where there are no people to torment her.”

“Jesus,” Karen said. “The poor thing.”

“Yeah, I tried to catch her a couple times myself, but no go. I don’t think she likes men much and I can’t say I blame her.”

“And Dusty just lives out here? How does she eat?”

“I guess she must hunt. Not sure,” Saul answered. “I suppose she might trek into town at night, get into trash cans and whatnot, but nobody ever sees her down there anymore.”

Karen watched the dog as it kept pace with them, keeping a safe distance. She thought Dusty definitely had an air about her — she seemed ready to bolt at the slightest hint of danger.

“One time,” Saul went on, “I was out in the woods and she damn near attacked me.”

“Really?” Karen asked. “She seems so timid.”

“She is. Problem was, some ruffian from in town must have had his way with her and then left her high and dry.” She looked at him, confused. Saul laughed. “She had a litter of pups. I was just wandering around like I do, minding my own business, and I got too close to where she’d hid ‘em. Get this — they were inside a hollowed out log.”

“Wow.” Karen was impressed. “Is that where she lived?”

He shrugged. “I guess it’s where she slept at the time. Eventually, when they were old enough, I gathered ‘em up and brought them into Indigo Bend with me. Found ‘em good homes.” Apparently Saul was able to read Karen’s face quite well by now because he quickly followed up with, “It was for the best. Can’t have a whole litter running around these woods. Something would have eaten them sooner or later. Not to mention they would have bred like rabbits, making the situation even worse.”

She thought about that, then asked, “But what about Dusty? Didn’t she wonder where her babies went?”

Saul smiled sadly. “I’m sure she did for a while. Not a lot you can do about that though.”

Karen sighed. “She must have been worried sick. Thinking that a cougar or something got them.”

“Okay,” Rory cut in. “Enough, you two. Animals don’t have the same emotions as people. You don’t have to get all teary eyed about her feelings.”

Neither Saul nor Karen responded to this remark but they exchanged a knowing glance that said, shows what he knows. After a few minutes, the dog fell back, but continued to trail behind them for the rest of their journey. It wasn’t until they came into the clearing where the house was that she disappeared for destinations unknown. The house itself was a sight to behold.

Karen’s breath caught in her chest when they stepped out of the brush and there it was, looming before them like the fossil of some prehistoric colossal beast. It seemed hugely out of place here in a vast green forest, the way London Bridge must have looked in the middle of the desert.

“Home sweet home,” Rory smiled. “Not what you were expecting?”

“It’s…” Karen started. “It’s a ship.”

“Amazing, huh? The guy who built it was a captain and known to be quite eccentric.”

The three of them moved forward across a long grown-over and mostly dissolved circular driveway, Karen with her head back, gawking up at the stern.

“Amazing is one way to put it,” she agreed. “It looks like a real ship.”

“From the outside, it is a real ship,” Rory agreed. “But there are only a few rooms inside where the shape of the house is obvious.”

Karen nodded, mute.

“The guy’s name was Captain Frank Storm. Legend has it he was a pirate.”

At this, she had to laugh. “In 1899 America? And people actually believe that?”

“I don’t know if people believe it,” Rory said. “But I’m pretty sure they don’t disbelieve it either.”

“Interesting,” Karen said. “And Frank Storm is a great character name. Surely it’s made up.”

Neither man responded, already climbing up the rickety steps to the wide wraparound porch, which was built to look like a ship’s deck, the railings finely scrolled and weathered as if they’d spent many years at sea; water, wind, and sun sanding them down to a velvety softness.

Saul saw her admiring the railings. “We’re gonna keep all that. Beautiful, huh?”

“Very.”

Unlocking the front door, Rory stepped aside, making a grand gesture with his hand. “All aboard.”

Karen stepped over the threshold first, into darkness that was almost, though not quite, complete.

“Light switch on the right,” Rory said, coming up behind her.

She reached out, touching the wall with her fingers until they found the old-fashioned switch with two copper buttons. She had to push the top button hard to get it to depress and then the front room filled with an orangey glow, as if it had been lit suddenly by candles rather than electric lights.

Moving into the room, Karen shivered. “A little drafty,” she said, more to herself than to anyone else. The temperature change was odd though, as it felt colder inside than it had outside.

Rory and Saul followed her in and Saul closed the door behind them. All three of them immediately set the bags they’d been lugging over their shoulders on the hardwood floor with sounds of relief.

“You should’ve seen it when I had to bring tools up here,” Saul told her cheerfully. “Just about broke my damn back.”

The foyer they were in was a relatively small room, coat racks hanging from one wall, a basket in the corner containing a single twisted mahogany cane and a black umbrella, a rubber mat on the floor beside it, most likely the place where Frank Storm had placed his boots after coming in from particularly wet or muddy adventures.

“Is all this original?” Karen asked. It certainly looked original.

“This stuff is, yeah,” Rory said. “The place came furnished, if you can believe that. Some of the stuff was crap though and we carted a lot of it out into the little barn at the back of the property.”

“Stable,” Saul corrected him.

“Whatever. But Sean and I really wanted to salvage as much of the Captain’s stuff as we could, thinking it would lend an air of authenticity to the B&B.”

“Do you actually get tourists up here?” Karen asked.

His face fell, as if this was a sore subject with him. “Not many at this point, but that’s because Fallen Trees doesn’t have much to offer yet. I’m working on that.”

“Rory really will own Fallen Trees when all is said and done,” Saul said, giving Rory a pat on the back. “He’s a regular entrepreneur.”

Karen smiled. “Very impressive.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see,” Rory said. “Let me show you the rest of the place.”