Days of Love and Blood

revealing a pile of squirming earthworms.
    “That’s great, hon,” I said and tilted back in my chair to gain some distance.
    “Oh, wow!” said Ben. “Look at that! Are you going to go fishing?”
    “I was thinking about it. There’s a whole bunch of worms in the ditch out there. Do you think we could catch some fish with these?”
    “Are you kidding me?” Ben shouted. “These look like the best worms I’ve ever seen! Do you know how to bait a hook?”
    “Dad showed me how,” Ronan beamed.
    “Well, how about you and I go do some fishing?”
    “I don’t care who goes,” I cried. “As long as you get those worms out of my face!”
    “Really? Can I go, Mom? Can I go fishing with Ben?”
    “Yes, go - please!”
    “Alright,” said Ben as he stood up. “Let’s go get the rods I saw in the shed. Come on with me and we’ll get a bucket for those worms.” Ben led Ronan away and Ivy came out with a nice heavy glass of tan liquid for me to nurse.
    “That looks like trouble,” she remarked.
    “What?”
    “Cooper. Look.”
    Cooper was sitting atop the picnic table with one leg drawn into his chest. I watched him glare at Ben as he walked Ronan to the shed. I stepped to the railing and Cooper immediately looked up at me. His chest heaved up and down and I could see his downturned mouth from where I stood. He flipped his knife in the air, caught it and slammed it down into the table. He left the knife protruding when he jumped off the table and left. Seconds later he was ambling out of the driveway, gunning his truck engine.
    “Maybe you shouldn’t have let that happen,” she whispered.
    “Maybe,” I said. “But there’s nothing I can do about it now. Cooper just does that. He goes off to be angry instead of talking to me.” It was myself I was trying to coax but all the while my heart dropped further into my shoes. That was the last tether I had to Cooper. Ronan. It was only through Ronan that I had a chance of bringing him back into the community, back into any kind of friendship with me. Back into my heart. When Cooper came back an hour later and unpacked his tent, I knew that it was over.
    I calmed myself by waiting for Ronan. He was at the river with Ben who was teaching him how to fish. Ritchie taught him already but they had only gone fishing a few times before. It was good for Ronan to learn again from someone new. Ben was a nice person. For him to even take a child as small as Ronan out fishing told me he had patience. That was rare in a man. Ben was a good person. I needed to keep an open mind. Even if he didn’t appeal to me, he might be exactly what Ronan needed, and that was much more important than what I needed.
    In between my own contributions to the idle conversation on the porch, I thought briefly about Ben. I imagined what his touch might feel like, even his kiss. The thoughts weren’t guilty pleasures. They were forced. I tried to enjoy thinking about them for the sake of what Ronan needed. Every time Ben’s image crept into my mind, Cooper’s silhouette swayed in the background and never gave me a moment’s peace. I eventually gave up and asked for another drink. Ivy pointed me indoors.
    I was pouring a glass at the dry sink when I heard the first echo of a gunshot. I put down the bottle and headed back to the porch. Everyone was out of their chair and lined up against the porch railing.
    “What was that?” I asked. Another shot rang to my left and I ran to the left edge of the porch. “What’s going on?” I yelled.
    “We don’t know,” said Solomon. “Johnson just left for the lookout tower.”
    “Where’s Ronan?” Marianna asked from behind me. She had her two boys underneath her arms and was leading them inside. “At the river, behind us, with Ben.” She nodded and brought her children in the house.
    Then they were there. There had been no warning, no barking ahead of time. Suddenly there were ten or more beastly dogs in the yard, barking furiously. A crashing sound behind them told us that they were coming.
    “ Homicidals!” I screamed. “Get inside! Get inside! Now!”
    A flurry of frantic people ran up the steps while I pushed my way down. I pulled my packed scabbards on and ran to the forest line. The only chance I had to save my son was to take on the coming herd at the front and give my son the time to run from wherever he was. I hoped that Ben would be up to the challenge if we were overpowered. There was no time for me to waver about the