Hortons Bend

the coat rack and headed for the table. They both sat down and smiled at one another before beginning to dig in.

    Chapter Three
    The next morning Brody rose much earlier than his wife and made coffee. He sat in his recliner reading his journal which he had started when he began researching sites in northwest Georgia. He wanted very much to sit and talk with Lacy this morning but she had not risen yet and would give her time to wake up with coffee before bringing up the sore subject. Within thirty minutes she came into the kitchen wearing her favorite robe and rubbing her eyes. Brody had already started some can biscuits and micro-waved eggs for breakfast. They sat quietly and ate their breakfast watching the morning news. “What’s on the gander today?” she asked him with a laugh. Brody couldn’t help but smile since it was his wife’s inside joke. Brody’s mom, who passed away some five years earlier, used to struggle with words and often used the word gander for agenda. He looked at her and said “I’m going out to the King place this morning.” Immediately Lacy tensed and stood up. “Jesus Paul…this again. Do you really think they want to see you? Or anybody for that matter.” She walked over to him and looked him straight in the eyes. “Honey they’ve been through enough. I know it was a long time back but they’ve kept to themselves this long. I just don’t see any good coming from this.” He looked away. Brody knew he could not win this argument but he needed some answers. He needed to satisfy this one curiosity. Lacy left the room and walked into their bedroom. Brody gathered his satchel and walked outside to crank up his rig.

    Driving over to Mrs. King’s house, he thought of what he might say. Brody knew that the King’s had endured a tragedy which had occurred in the latter part of 2008 and it had changed everything about their family. Who was he to intrude? He felt certain she had dealt with the silence of suspicious looks during her visits into town. Time didn’t always heal all wounds. Hell he didn’t know what to ask. Maybe he could start with asking to see some artifacts. Everybody in this town had recommended seeing Ronnie’s collection if you wanted to know about the archaeology in this area. He had always collected rocks and bits of pottery they said. Would’ve been better if he had been looking for a nice little wife to settle down with was the other suggestion local folks had to offer. The fact was that Brody just wanted to know more about a single section of the river in order to confirm or disconfirm the existence of any Spanish artifacts. He was truly sorry that a tragedy had occurred but science marches on. Brody chuckled to himself and thought “Yeah use that line…..besides getting cussed out I would probably get my assed kicked by some family member”. He would sympathize but move on if he got no response. He already knew the response he would get over at the Horton farm. His daydreams of getting permission to put in test units were just that: dreams. He put that behind him long ago and could now only hope for a small miracle in the hopes that something could be found in the assemblage long ago collected by Ronnie King.

    Brody came upon the battered mailbox of the King residence and slowly pulled into the driveway. Lacy had told him the place used to be well kempt when the two brothers were there for their mother. The house was in need of a scraping and a new paint. Shrubs were long overdue for trimming and the adjacent pasture needed to be bush hogged in the worst way. He came to a stop next to an old pickup truck that was parked near the front porch. An old tabby cat came out from under the porch and lazily rubbed up against his legs. As he started up the steps, Mrs. King opened the screen door and looked at him. “Help you with something?” she asked. Brody didn’t notice a scowl but she wasn’t being overly genial either. He cleared his throat and spoke “Yes ma’am I’m Paul Brody.” He caught himself stammering for just a moment and regained himself. He smiled and said “I work for the museum in town and have been interested in some sites along the Oostanaula River.” Mrs. King stared at him blankly and gave him one of the longest pauses of his life. She gave a shrug and said “Well go find them….you oughta know there’s Indian stuff all over the fields.” Brody felt stupid and wished he had more charm to offer. He was losing her fast. As