Page 42 of Gideon

“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins insisted. They wanted to help, but they’re in their seventies. They were part of the small group of voices that protested the totems being installed in the first place.”

“It’s a lot of wood to burn up.”

“They’re glad to be of service.” She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just tired. I don’t think I’ll be able to lift my arms tomorrow.”

“You didn’t have to push so hard.”

“We needed to get out of the park.”

“When we get to the farm, you can take a break. We’re not in a hurry anymore.”

“Don’t worry about me. I know my limits. I can pull my weight.”

“He’s right,” Gunther said. “Don’t overdo it. We all know you’re tough as nails. You don’t need to prove anything.”

She twisted in her seat. “Are you picking on me?”

“No, all I’m saying is I’ve known you a long time. You have a tendency to push hard. That’s fine when it’s necessary, but this is not one of those times.”

“Will it make you all feel better if I say I promise not to hurt myself?”

“Much,” Gideon said. “How much farther?”

“About another mile. Then we just need to get far enough away from the highway that no one will see the fire.”

“They don’t care where we do it?”

“Not on this part of their farm, no. As long as we don’t set the whole field on fire.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence, and when they turned onto the dirt road, Gideon had to focus on avoiding potholes.

“Up around this bend should do it,” Nikki said, and Gideon found a rocky patch behind a copse of trees, where he parked.

“We’re going to sleep well tonight,” Ty said as they unloaded the logs into a pile.

“It could still be a while yet. We can’t leave the fire burning. There’s minimal risk of it spreading here, but I don’t want to take any chances with everything so dry.”

Once they were done, Gideon poured gasoline over the wood.

“You guys step back,” he said as he lit a match and tossed it in the pile.

With a whoosh, the flames licked the sky and crackled.

“Whoa,” Ty said, shielding his face.

After a couple minutes, when the flames didn’t die down, Nikki said, “Shouldn’t that fire be backing off by now? Maybe you didn’t need the extra fuel after all.”

“My God is an all-consuming fire,” Gunther whispered.

“We may get to bed earlier than I thought,” Gideon said.

They continued to watch the fire in silence as the pile of wood quickly burned down to ash.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ty said, shaking his head. “I guess that proves it.”

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