The Secrets of Bailey

Chapter 7

When Jake woke up, breakfast was the only thing on his mind. As the sun rose, he quickly packed up his camp and hiked to where his SUV was parked. While putting his pack in the back of his vehicle, he noticed a smudge on the rear window. When he closed the back hatch, he looked closer and chuckled to himself. It resembled an immense face. His friend’s claims of bigfoot in the area must be getting to him for him to think that.

His drive into town was slow-going. The winds had brought down trees and branches in the area, blocking the road in places. Jake stopped and assisted in clearing many of them as he went. He was about halfway to town when he encountered a group of locals working to clear a massive oak that fell across the main road and a private drive when its roots gave way. He immediately pulled off the road and got out to help.

“Can you all use an extra pair of hands?” Jake asked as he jogged to the older man of the group.

“With something like this, always. You know how to run a chainsaw?” the man asked.

“Sure do, and I’m not afraid to move wood either. Whatever you need, point me in that direction, sir,” Jake grinned.

“Sir? Nope. That won’t work. Call me Junior. These are my boys. The one with the saw in his hand is Cody, the one over in the driveway is Andy, and that big one is my oldest, Matt.”

“Jake,” he said, sticking his hand out and shaking Junior’s.

“Jake? You must be that professor who is down here camping. My wife Rhonda told me about you,” Junior grinned.

“I am. I met Rhonda yesterday and was heading into town for breakfast. I’ve been helping to clear trees all the way from the parking lot at the wilderness area to here.”

“Well, we’ve been clearing from town this way. After we get this tree out of the road and Kaitie’s driveway, I’ll buy you breakfast to say thank you. How does that sound?” Junior offered as he led Jake to the tree, and they got to work.

“It isn’t needed, but it sounds great. I am starving. I made the stupid decision not to cook anything last night after I gorged myself on breakfast and lunch at the café. It was a huge mistake,” Jake said as he hefted a large branch out of the road. “I could swear I kept smelling pie or cake half the evening.”

Junior and his sons all stopped what they were doing and looked at Jake. They looked at each other and began laughing, leaving Jake to wonder why.

“I promise I’m not crazy. I was probably just hungry and thinking about food,” Jake said.

“Or you were smelling the blackberry cobbler that Kaitie made for us last night. She had her kitchen exhaust fan on ‘cause her kitchen was gettin' hot with the oven on. Where you were camped was downwind of her. It’s not too far from that area to her house if you hike straight through the woods,” Junior explained.

“You should have followed your nose and joined us,” Cody smirked.

“Oh no. I have already been warned to stay away from her house,” Jake laughed as he returned to work. “The sheriff marked her house on the map as a place to avoid, and I plan on listening to him.”

“Wise choice, but Kaitie isn’t that bad. If you need help, she will help ya. She might give you a good lecture as she does, but she’ll still help,” Junior chuckled.

The group all resumed their work. Even with the five of them working hard, clearing the massive tree took over an hour. At one point, Junior had left to get a larger saw to use on the tree trunk, giving them all a short rest. When he returned, they quickly cut the trunk into manageable pieces and finished clearing the road.

By the time they finished and Jake climbed back into his SUV, he was dirty and sweating profusely, even with the cold temperatures. He had pulled off his heavy coat as he worked. He was a bit embarrassed to go to the café and eat in the state he was in, but Junior and his sons all insisted that it was fine. They said they were wearing clean dirt, not dirty dirt. They had then explained that clean dirt was fresh from working hard just before they stopped to eat. Dirty dirt was dirt people had on their clothes for a while or had not bathed, making them stink.

Jake was shaking his head as he started his vehicle, and he thought about that explanation. In a way, it made perfect sense. He was covered in sawdust, mud, and sweat from helping to clear the road. While it was dirt, it was very different from if someone was simply unwashed and carried a lingering odor.

Jake followed the men to the café and pulled into the lot, parking near them. They all went in as a group, talking and laughing as if they had known each other for years. Jake liked that. Bailey was different from any town he had ever visited. It felt welcoming even though he was an outsider. They all sat at a table together and continued their conversation.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Rhonda said as she went over to give them all coffee. “Do I want to know what brought all of you in together?”

“Jake here helped us clear out the big oak that was across from Kaitie’s road. It fell in the wind last night. It blocked the whole road and her drive,” Junior told his wife.

“Thank you, Jake. That was nice of you,” Rhonda told him.

“No thanks needed. I was happy to do it,” Jake told her. “I like Bailey and want to help out while I’m here if I can.”

Junior grinned, “And that right there is why we all told him that if the weather gets to be too much, all he needs to do is call one of us, and he will have a place to stay. He’s a good man and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.”

“I don’t know about the good man part, but I’m not afraid to work hard,” Jake said. “That being said, the offer of a couch, if the weather does get too bad, is greatly appreciated.”

“Of course, Hun,” Rhonda smiled warmly. “Now, what can I get all of you for breakfast? Does everyone want their usual? Jake, you want the same as yesterday?”

Everyone agreed to their usual orders, and Jake happily accepted the offer of the same as the day before.

“Great, I will have Big Mike get right on that, and in the meantime, I’ll bring you a big plate of cinnamon rolls for you to share. They’re on the house. Since I made them and own this place, I don’t think the house will argue,” Rhonda chirped before she turned and headed toward the kitchen. She promptly returned with a platter heaped with fresh cinnamon rolls, leaving it on the table before continuing to check on other patrons.

“Jake, it sounds like you made an impression on Mama yesterday for her to remember your order,” Andy said as they all took a cinnamon roll to enjoy.

“I don’t know why. All I did was have breakfast before going out and then come back in for lunch when the sheriff asked me to join him,” Jake told him.

“How many questions did you ask her?” Cody asked.

“Not many. Most were about good places to hike, camp, and any special sights to see while I’m here. It was nothing special, really,” Jake answered.

“That might be why you stuck out so much,” Matt grinned. “Most strangers who come through here ask about things that live out in these woods. For some reason, people think there are monsters that live out there and come to hunt for them.”

“Your mom mentioned that yesterday. I know one of those monster hunters. He is one of my best friends, and I think he is out of his mind. IF, and I mean if, there is something out there, it should be left alone. I have gone with him on a few of his hunts just to prove there was nothing there. I will even admit, he asked me to come here and look into things,” Jake said.

“What?” Junior asked with a scowl.

“He asked me, but that is not why I’m here. I looked into the area and decided to come here and spend my break here as a vacation. I am not looking for anything, especially something that, if real, could quite literally rip my leg off and beat me to death with it,” Jake told him. “When my vacation is over, I can go back and tell him there is nothing here and to leave this place alone. That’s all.”

“What if you do see something? Are you gonna tell him?” Matt asked.

“No. I would document it for my own knowledge but would say nothing to anyone. I am an anthropologist. I have seen what can happen to a tribe or culture if they are interfered with by the outside world. Again, IF anything like that exists, they have done quite well without interference from the outside world that we like to call civilized.”

Junior told him, “I’ll give you credit, Jake. You do seem to have good intentions, so I’ll let you in on a little secret. Those things are real and have been here a long time.”

“Junior Mullins! Are you out of your mind?” a voice demanded from a few feet away.

Everyone turned to see Kaitie Bailey standing before them. The fury of hearing what Junior had told Jake was evident as she glowered at him. Her blue eyes flicked from Junior to Jake and bore into him.

Junior sighed, “Well, this is gonna go over like a turd in a punch bowl.”