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She looked at the clock on the stove; it said three forty-five. Aidyn had been gone for two hours. She’d done very little today but she was tired again.
Lara came back into the kitchen, poured her hot water from the tea kettle they’d pulled out for her and her mama to have tea, and laid two white pills on the counter. “These are aspirin. They’ll take your headache away. Sit down and have your tea and try to relax. I’ll shoo Shianne out the door as soon as she’s finished measuring your mom. She’ll be excited to shop anyway.”
“Thank you, Lara. You’ve helped Mom and me so much and we do appreciate it.”
Lara turned and leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. She grinned as she watched Shianne measuring her mom. “You know, you and your mom have helped us all too. I’m fascinated with how you lived up there. I grew up with modern conveniences. You didn’t and look how well you’re adapting. Plus, you’re teaching me some things too. I didn’t know that chamomile and basil got rid of headaches. But I’ll order some herbs and try it to see if it works.”
“You order herbs? From where?”
“The internet.”
Elena’s eyebrows rose into her hairline, and she took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“How did you get them?”
“I grow them.” She sipped her tea. “I mean, I used to.”
“You should keep doing that. Do you know how much money you could make selling herbs? Good lord there’s so many people looking for natural remedies to everyday things.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Selling them fresh you’d make a killing.”
She swallowed and let her mind turn this over. She wanted to grow plants, but she meant herbs and things she used. She liked flowers but up on the mountain it was hard to grow them and she didn’t have the time up there to keep a flower garden. It was all she could do to keep her potatoes and carrots. Keep the firewood stacked up and gather herbs for the elixir.
“Lara. Do you have books on herbs and where they sell them?”
“Okay. Let me set you up. Sit at the counter, I’ll be right back.”
Elena poured a bit more water into her teacup, then settled onto a barstool. Shianne was now measuring her mom’s breasts and she saw her mom glance at her once then look away. Her mom was sixteen years older than she was and had never had her breasts measured. But she handled it well.
Lara came back into the kitchen with a rectangle box. “This is my tablet.” She set it up on the counter, it had a stand that it stood against, and she touched the screen and it lit up. “This is an electronic tablet.” She tapped a few times. “This is the internet. From here you can scroll and find anything in the world you want.” She pointed to a white bar at the top. “Type in herbs and you can find anything.”
She tapped the white bar and a little box with the letters of the alphabet popped up and she typed herbs. Lara then showed her where to tap and a long list of herbs popped up. Pictures of herbs and names and so much more. “Now, you tap on any of these names or pictures and the descriptions will come up for you.”
She tapped on basil and so much information filled the screen. She began reading all about basil and some of the other things it was good for. Then she tapped on rosemary and read about rosemary. Before she knew it, Aidyn and the operatives had come home from the meeting and Shianne was gone. She didn’t even hear her leave.
ChapterForty-Three
He finished his last bite of the pizza Lara had ordered and sat back. Tate was recounting the meeting.
“So Gerard, Kent, and Jasiah came down the mountain today. Craig refused. I guess he’s in a bad state right now. No one can reason with him at all. But we came to some agreements. Those who want to, can come down the mountain and work. The town council will call a town meeting and talk to them about the truce. Special invitations will be sent out to everyone explaining that their input is vital. Fair wages will be paid, of course. The BRR people will have to get social security cards and receive payroll which also means they’ll pay taxes. They’ll also begin paying real estate taxes. How they handle that up there is their business. If they want their people to begin paying property taxes, they’ll work it out. We suggested a one-time concession of wiping out the taxes that are currently due to the town of Glen Hollow. But, beginning immediately, they will incur real estate taxes. For their taxes, the town will begin bringing improvements up the mountain. Electricity and water first. It’ll take time and we are all aware of it.”
Aidyn watched Elena as Tate spoke. She asked, “What happens in the meantime?”
“Until the town council has met, and we all have an agreement, nothing. They do agree to only come down here on peaceful terms. If they want to begin looking for jobs, they can do that.”
Grace nodded. “Most of them are peaceful. And if they can keep Craig under control, the rest will fall in line.”
Lara asked, “What about last night? What will happen in regard to the shootings?”
Aidyn responded. “Nothing. Spencer and I were protecting ourselves. Ramsay and Brennen came here and shot up the house first. The fact that we followed them was in question as we became the aggressors, but we got Casper on the phone and he smoothed it over with the sheriff and the mayor. So no charges will be filed against Spencer or me and no charges will be filed against Ramsay and Brennen.”
Grace laid her fork down quietly. “Are they still alive?”
Tate shrugged. “At the time of the meeting they were. We haven’t heard otherwise since. We did offer to help them see the doctor down here. Kent said he’d speak with them.”
Lara turned to Tate. “Is Kent sincere in helping solve all of this?”
