Keeping Watch 4
Denvil Caldwell stared out over the rim of his old round
glasses at the back of his son as they rode towards the bend on the path to his
own cabin. The still smoldering ruins they were riding from were enough to make
any man go mute, but Denvil suspected the door had also thrown his son’s
thoughts into a chaotic storm.
The door had lain as naturally in that bough of the oak as if God himself had allowed it to spring from the leaves. Denvil knew God had had no part in putting it there, though. The burnt husk of a cabin, Tom and Jessy gone, and the twisting of his guts at seeing his boy look so lost told him that.
Corvin was a silent thinker, so Denvil would never know the particulars of what was going through his head until Corvin had come to a conclusion and informed him of anything. He had been that way since he was little. He had once declared that he wanted to be an adventurer, and Denvil assumed that he would grow out of it once he was older. But one day, Denvil had come back from town and found Jane sobbing over his letter stating he had left home to see the world, with promises of returning.
Four years later, he had returned home with tales of his adventures, money to share with the family, and what had caused a real stir in the community: an Irish bride. She had skin as pale as moonlight, long and dark Raven hair, and the greenest eyes that Denvil had ever seen. Denvil thought she was as pretty as a flower, but as twitchy as a bird.
They had built her a cabin south of his own and had included a lot of her odd requests in its construction. Denvil once asked Corvin about it, but Corvin had just waved the questions off and laughed. The Irish are still a superstitious lot, he had said.
Once the house was built, she seemed to settle down a little, and they started having kids. Corvin’s Younger brother Thad had become a bit envious and decided to strike out and find himself an Irish gal, and departed soon after.
But now, after last night’s events and this morning’s discovery, Denvil wondered if there had been a reason for her twitchiness that they had been unaware of.
Denvil looked up at the smoke drifting over the trees ahead.
“Ma looks to be cooking up a storm, Cor,” He said. “They might be up there having some breakfast while waiting for us.”
Corvin didn’t say anything, but Denvil noticed he quietly heeled his horse to move faster, and he disappeared around the bend.
“Goddamn it! Pa!” Denvil heard him cry out. “Pa!”
Denvil kicked at ol’ Luke.
© Jeremy L. Heath, 2026. All rights reserved
