A Dangerous Garden

PART ONE

SUMMER

Chapter One

Daniel filled the five gallon buckets from the trickling creek, comfortably cool in the deep shade of the poplars and the alders, the icy water refreshing on his bare legs and hands as it spilled and splashed from his makeshift pouring container. He stood up straight when he had finished, stretching and mentally preparing himself for the climb ahead. He strode out into the open, a pail in each hand, his muscular arms tensed from the weight. The sun beat down on his tanned back and shoulders, the thin mountain air lending little protection against the powerful ultra-violet rays. He glanced around making certain no one was within sight, scanning the sky for any sign of a plane or helicopter. He began his climb, following no trail, back and forth up the steep hillside, sweating and grunting until he was forced to yield to exhaustion and halt for a brief rest. He had to balance his pails carefully on the uneven ground, not wanting to spill any of the precious fluid inside. As he rested, he looked out over the valley below, all of it his property, wooded slopes and a few large fields, his cabin set in an open spot, merging seamlessly into the scenery with its cedar shake roof. The sky was a cerulean blue, without a sign of cloud in the distance. Higher hills blocked his view in all directions, and the winding creek below flowed beside the equally winding dirt road, both with the same name, Copper Creek and Copper Creek Road. A raven called as it floated in the up drafts below him. He enjoyed briefly the silence and the feeling of being above it all, then continued his trudge up the slope.

He reached the first of his plants, inconspicuously placed beside a dense soapberry bush. Carefully Daniel scooped out water into the small dammed area at the base of the plant, allowing it to soak in slowly. Sawdust, six inches deep, covered the ground inside the dam, preventing as much of the moisture from evaporating as possible in the sweltering heat of the mountain summer. When he had finished he wound his way up further to the next plant. Half an hour later he made his way back down to fill his buckets and repeat the process twice more. He examined each plant carefully, they were healthy and growing well, he pinched the tops of some of them, in that way encouraging them to grow bushier and less tall. If he neglected this topping, they could well reach over three metres tall, and be much too conspicuous. None of them had exhibited signs of gender yet, as soon as they did he would have to mercilessly pull the males.

He abandoned his buckets hidden under cover next to the hillside creek and walked back to the cabin below. It was empty, a simple rectangular log structure he and his partner Brian had built, clean and tidy, silently awaiting future occupants. There was an upstairs but no stairway, providing no access to the second floor without the ladder they kept hidden in the nearby trees. Resting inside the cool building, he sat at a handmade bench at a plank counter, everything surrounding him constructed of different types of wood, a rustic and comforting atmosphere.

He left, shutting the door behind him without locking it, as there were no locks, and walked down to Copper Creek Road where his pickup truck was parked. He drove down the road, dust billowing behind, as it had not rained in more than two weeks. A deer ran off the road when he rounded a corner, a typical sight. Trees lined and shaded the lane, conifers, fir, larch, and pine, mixed in with the leafy cottonwoods and poplars. He was in the midst of the Pine River Forest, or what was left of it after fifty years or more of logging. Just a kilometre later he reached his home place, the valley opening up to a shimmering green meadow, three creeks flowing languidly through it, sheep and horses grazing placidly between their cool waters.

Daniel parked on the road rather than going around on his driveway. That way he could do without opening the gate and at the same time he could walk through the meadow on the way to the house in order to check on his animals. Automatically he counted his sheep, none were missing, then scanned the edge of the field to see if his horses were all present with their rambunctious foals. He made his way past the fenced-in garden, checking to see if the sprinklers were still going and if his son Jesse had moved them as he had been asked to. He stopped at the chicken coop and let the flock out to forage for the remainder of the afternoon.

He strode up the narrow dirt path that led to his house on the hill overlooking the meadows. He halted at the crown of the hill to catch his breath, it was a fairly steep climb but nothing he was not accustomed

to, and then turned to gaze out over the valley, not to rest his body but to rest his mind with the peaceful scene below him. The late afternoon sun was before him, its rays glinting off the flowing creeks and reflecting in vibrant emeralds off the well-watered fields and heavily wooded hills to the west. His garden broke the openness and the cluster of log barns and wooden poultry coops relieved the dominant green of the valley. The slope beside him was high with wild flowers, the animals not having grazed it yet that season. The cottonwoods at the base of the hill below the house stirred gently in a mild breeze created by the rise of air out of the cool valley. This was his valley, he owned it, his private kingdom, shared with his animals and the wildlife of the forest.

Dad, a voice called from the screen door of his farm house. Daniel turned to see Jesse standing in the sunlight. He still was not used to the sight of his six-foot one inch son, just turning fifteen. He had only arrived at the farm six days before, and had grown markedly since the Christmas before when Daniel had last seen him.

I split some firewood and changed the sprinklers in the garden like you asked. When are we going down to Tommy’s? Jesse asked with a grin. Daniel grinned back, he loved his son immensely.

Great, Jesse. We’ll go pretty soon. I want to take a shower first. Can you go to the garden and pick some lettuce, spinach, green onions, and find some bigger carrots? he asked. And make sure you thin them, don’t pick them all from the same spot, he added.

Sure, Dad, I won’t do what I did last time, he laughed, walking down the path. Daniel smiled at his back, watching him stride ahead. Jesse was thin from growing so quickly, but still possessed strong legs and a powerful butt, like his father. His back and chest were not developed like Daniel’s were, but he had very little body fat, exactly like his Father.

Daniel entered the log house, cool and appreciably less bright than the outside, noticing that Jesse had been drawing at the table. He stood over Jesse’s work, it was incredible in detail, Conan-type men were hacking each other to bloody pieces while perfectly formed animals and trees overshadowed them. He was a very talented artist. Daniel’s ex-wife Sharon had complained to Daniel that Jesse must be sick to draw all these violent scenes, implying that somehow it was Daniel’s fault. Daniel laughed it off, he was proud of Jesse’s artistic ability and imagination and wanted to encourage it. Jesse was far from violent in his personality, always a big kid and never a bully.

He munched on a small carrot from the garden that he took out of a pottery bowl on the wooden kitchen counter, then went into the bathroom to have his shower. He loved his bathroom and shower, it had been years before he had been able to create a proper water system for his house, including an indoor toilet and a bathtub and shower. He used to carry water to the house and when he had a shower he would stand out on the wooden porch and pour the hot water from an enamel pitcher over himself in all kinds of weather. He actually missed that experience but none the less thoroughly enjoyed the present feeling of the hot water cascading down on him effortlessly from his shiny modern shower head.

He stared in the oval mirror hanging above his wide blue tile sink and slowly brushed his short blonde hair and closely cropped curly beard. His body was tanned almost black but his face remained perennially red and sunburned, the short beard reddish blonde, leaving his eyes to shine luminously with their brilliant blue clarity. Sometimes he thought of himself as good-looking and then at other times he was disappointed in his looks. He always took extreme care in his grooming, hoping to somehow compensate for not being handsome. Other people often found him extremely attractive, which always took him by surprise.

He could hear Jesse back up at the house and he went out to talk to him. Hey, buddy, I’m ready any time you are.

I got the stuff from the garden, Jesse remarked. I’ll just put a clean shirt on.

You had better bring a warm shirt for later, it’ll be cool by the time we come home. Daniel could not help but be the father.

They walked together back down to the meadow towards the road, stopping to round up the sheep. One went on either side of the animals, clapping their hands and calling to them as the sheep ran ahead, leaping the small creeks and then stampeding across the wooden bridge up into their log corral set on a flat above the largest of the streams, Copper Creek.

They got into Daniel’s truck and drove further down the gravel road, turning off into a rutted side lane two kilometres later, then followed it slowly, avoiding as many of the potholes as possible. After only a short distance they stopped in front of a solid log house and tooted their horn. One woman waved to them from an open window and a tall youngster ran down to the road to climb in the front seat beside Jesse.

Hi, Josh, Daniel welcomed the boy. He was not quite as big as Jesse although he was the same age, and a nice looking boy too. Jesse smiled and said hello. They drove another few minutes up the rutted

driveway before they came to a wooden cattle guard and passed over it into the yard of Daniel’s friend Tommy.

Tommy’s house was set on a slope before a large meadow, much more expansive than Daniel’s meadow, and backed by a steep and heavily wooded mountain. It was a remodelled log cabin, first built fifty years earlier by the family that homesteaded Tommy’s ranch. Daniel and the boys got out of the truck at the bottom of the driveway and walked up to greet Tommy who was standing out on his broad verandah, the front door wide open.

Danny-boy, Hello! Tommy shouted enthusiastically. And you’ve brought the kidlets, too. he added, laughing. The television is warmed up and running, guys.

They walked up to the porch and greeted Tommy, Daniel putting his arm around the shorter man’s shoulder and laughing. Tommy was only about five foot six and quite round with a pronounced beer belly he displayed above a pair of cut-off shorts. He was a good-looking guy that obviously was not concerned about his general fitness. His arms were strong from working in the local sawmill and the little bit of farmwork he managed to do, but the rest of his body was typical couch potato material.

They went inside, Tommy had a roast cooking slowly in his beautifully crafted wooden cookstove, and the television on in his decidedly messy living room. Large windows fronted the living room and kitchen looking out over his eighty acre meadow and the mountains surrounding it. Daniel was at home here, Tommy was his closest neighbour and a good friend.

Tommy flipped rapidly through the television remote in his normal manner until he found a movie for the boys, both of them starved for television. Tommy had a satellite dish perched behind his log cabin, enabling him to view at least forty channels. A generator powered everything, right now it could barely be heard humming away down by his barn.

All right boys, we’ll be back in about an hour, if the girls come get them to check the roast and maybe they can put some potatoes on to boil. And put some wood in the fire, don’t be lazy little fucks and veg out on the TV! Tommy ordered good-naturedly.

The two men walked out the back door to Tommy’s parked truck. Two forty-five gallon drums in the back of the truck were being filled by a hose from Tommy’s house water line. Tommy immediately pulled out and lit a rolled joint of marijuana, sharing it with Daniel.

How’s the level of your well? Daniel asked.

Pretty good, luckily it was so wet this spring, even with the dry spell lately it’s up pretty high. I guess the barrels are full enough. We might as well go.

They capped the barrels and drove the truck down the driveway and then out onto a narrow track west of Tommy’s field. The track diverged several times and they kept west until they stopped at another crossroad that was blocked by a log and some. They got out and removed the barrier then drove up the track beyond. It quickly became very steep and Tommy put the truck into first gear, racing up the mountain until he braked abruptly at a barbed wire fence. They turned off the truck and remained quiet for a few moments, listening for sounds of human activity of any kind. Hearing nothing, they got out of the truck and went to the back to begin siphoning water into five gallon buckets. They carried these through a break in the fence that marked Tommy’s property line and on through the woods until they came to an opening and a grassy slope facing south. Here they quietly wound their way through a patch of marijuana plants, watering each of the fifty plants carefully. Each had a dam at its base to catch the water, and mulch consisting of grass and weeds to prevent the water from evaporating. Tommy spent a lot of time examining each plant while Daniel carried more of the water. Tommy found two males and called Daniel over to confirm his suspicions. They reluctantly pulled up the beautiful bushy plants and brought them back to the truck.

They stashed the plants behind the seat and drove back to Tommy’s cabin, covering the entrance to the road with the log and brush behind them. When they approached the house they spotted two women seated out on the porch soaking up the evening sun and drinking beer.

The Lazy Lezzies are here, I wonder if they brought their own beer? Tommy grunted.

The women he spoke of were their neighbours, two lesbians that Tommy thought of as very lazy and leeches as well. He did not call them the Lazy Lezzies to their faces at least. Daniel laughed at Tommy’s crudeness, although he quite liked the two women. They grinned and waved from their spot on the porch, looking relaxed and lazy as if to confirm Tommy’s claims.

They drove up the driveway and parked behind the house where Daniel inconspicuously took the two plants and put them in a shed behind the satellite dish. Meanwhile Tommy went out front to greet the Lazy Lezzies.

The three of them were laughing when Daniel arrived, Tommy as ever the good host. Carrie was tall and blonde, thin and remarkably mannish looking, while Tarawas short, plump and Jewish. Both were dressed in jeans and cowboy shirts, playing the cowgirls. Carrie was over fifty but looked very young, a remarkable horsewoman with three horses of her own. Tara hailed straight from Los Angeles, discovering and latching onto Carrie, her lesbian dream lover in the Canadian wilderness. Tommy had invited them over to play bridge and have dinner. Bridge was their passionate pastime, all four of them fiercely competitive in the card game. The two boys played as well, when they were given the chance.

Daniel walked into the house to check on the fire and the boys. When he glanced at the television he was appalled to see displayed on the screen two naked women and a man frantically cavorting in a sexual frenzy.

What the hell! he exclaimed and grabbed the remote to switch the channel. I don’t want you two watching the Playboy Channel!

Let them watch it, don’t be a prude! Tommy laughed, hearing him from outside the front door.

Daniel ignored him and cautioned Josh and Jesse. I mean it, you can’t watch that porno stuff. The boys grinned sheepishly and began to watch another channel.

You shouldn’t be so uptight, Tommy said, coming in from the porch and checking on the roast in the oven.

They’re too young and that stuff gives them the wrong idea about sex. Daniel said mildly, not concerned with trying to convince Tommy of anything, merely determined not to let his son watch the Playboy Channel.

It’s sex, how could it be the wrong idea? Tommy laughed in his good-natured way. Both the women came in at the same time and Carrie stirred the potatoes boiling on the stove.

That stuff is disgusting, Carrie added, I didn’t know they were watching it.

It would be all right if it was just women, Tara added with a giggle. Tommy laughed and leered at her, both of them bursting into laughter.

As they finished preparing the supper Tommy lit up another joint, passing it to the two women and Daniel. The girls sucked greedily on the marijuana, then commented on how powerful it was.

This is your own, isn’t it? Carrie asked.

Yes, pretty good eh? Tommy bragged and then proceeded to pull a baggie out of a drawer and put it on the table. He proudly showed the women the plump purple and green buds inside and rolled up another couple of joints. Daniel watched quietly. Unable to alter Tommy’s garrulous nature, he merely accepted it.

They sat down together at Tommy’s pine dinner table, handmade by a native friend of their’s and paid for with marijuana. They ate with relish, the roast, potatoes and salad from their own cattle and gardens. The two boys stuffed down the food as only growing young boys can, while Tommy and Tara were not far behind. Daniel and Carrie were more conservative diners, savouring each bite. Tommy and the women polished off another beer before quickly clearing away the dishes and readying the table for bridge.

Tommy and Daniel started out as partners and it was not long before Tommy was yelling at Daniel for his liberal bidding. Daniel laughed it off and managed to play his bids mostly to his advantage. The two women argued as well, all four were so competitive they rarely gave each other a break. But they laughed and joked continually, changing partners and arguing some more. Tommy kept rolling the joints and opening the beer, Daniel cleaned up and did the dishes when he was the dummy and out of the game. Eventually the two boys were given a chance to play, both were fair players but no match for the viscous foursome. Even Daniel with his mild temperament whooped it up gleefully when he won, which was often, angering the others who were losing. But when Jesse and Josh were playing he was kinder and never blamed them for bad bidding or playing. Jesse played like his father, bidding outrageously, but without the skill when the play began. They laughed more than they screamed, and all thoroughly enjoyed the game. Towards the end of the evening, Tara passed a joint to Josh, who took a drag and passed it on to Jesse. Jesse took a quick puff and passed it on, glancing at his father.

What are you doing? You’re not smoking that stuff! Daniel demanded sternly of his son.

Sorry, Daniel. I thought it was okay. Jesse giggled, calling his father by his given name, which he did quite often.

It’s not okay. I don’t want to see you smoking pot. Since when have you been smoking it? Daniel asked. The rest of the table was absolutely silent.

For a while, Jesse answered reluctantly.

Hey, give him a break, Tommy interrupted, laughing. There’s nothing wrong with him having a toke. You smoke the stuff all the time.

We’re not giving the stuff to kids, Tommy. You know how I feel about that. Daniel replied. Jesse smiled quietly, glad to be out of the argument.

Yes, yes Mr. Righteous. Tommy joked. Let’s play some more, deal the cards. You kids go in and watch some more of the Playboy Channel, oops, I mean Sesame Street. he added, jabbing Daniel in the ribs.

Daniel grinned and continued dealing the cards. He was worried as he watched his son leave the table but decided to leave it until the next day when they were alone. Besides, he was winning constantly, the others were drunk and stoned, while he did not drink and only played better the more marijuana he smoked.

Is Melissa coming up soon? Carrie asked at one point. Melissa was Daniel’s long-time girlfriend, and also a close friend of Carrie’s.

Yeah, she’ll be up next week. She has two weeks between tree-planting jobs. Daniel replied.

I don’t know how she does it. Law school all winter and then she has to go out and work tree-planting all summer. Carrie sympathized. Down-trodden hard-working women were Carrie’s passion.

She does it with a lot of help from Daniel. Tommy laughed. He knew that Daniel regularly gave money to Melissa but not how much. Tommy thought Melissa was a slut and using Daniel for her own purposes.

She is such a saint, I can’t wait to see her. Carrie remarked. Daniel grinned, knowing full well how both Tommy and Carrie viewed Melissa.

Well, you’ll have plenty of squealie-squawllie when she gets here. I know you’ve been saving it up! Tommy kidded, digging Daniel in the ribs again and placing his arm drunkenly around his shoulder. Daniel returned the grin shyly, not comfortable talking about sex. Tara laughed brazenly, but Carrie smiled sympathetically at Daniel’s discomfort.

At that moment Josh called from the living room, I see headlights coming! Tommy stood up quickly and moved to the window to stare out into the darkness. A wave of paranoia swept the room briefly as Daniel grabbed the bag of marijuana lying carelessly on the table top and hid it in one of the kitchen drawers.

Who is it? Tara asked the obvious in a drunken slur.

Tommy was watching closely and was able to identify the vehicle only when it approached his driveway which was illuminated by the yard light he had strung up in one of the fir trees below the house. It’s Brian Graham, he announced. They all sighed with relief, it wasn’t the RCMP or the CIA come to catch them smoking dope. Or their mothers.

Shortly Brian arrived at the door, Tommy greeting him heartily and the others welcoming him in. He was a tall man, two inches over six feet, with a slight stoop from looking down at everyone else. He was thin but muscular, a neighbour rancher from down the road, and a partner of Daniel’s in cattle raising, amongst other things.

Brian smiled his handsome grin and joined the table, asking Tommy to light up a joint if he had one and accepting an offer of beer.

I see you didn’t bring any beer of your own, you fucking cull! Tommy joked, although actually meaning it. Brian was a notorious miser, rarely buying for anyone else.

I’m sure you have plenty, Brian replied without a flinch.

They continued their bridge game while smoking more marijuana, Brian taking turns playing as well. He couldn’t resist staring at Tara’s large braless breasts, as she hid her cards behind them. Carrie moved jealously closer to her girlfriend, although it was no secret that Brian and Tara disliked each other immensely.

Before the bridge game broke up Brian managed to get Daniel aside. He quietly asked him to come down to his place the next day and help him with watering the secret garden the two of them were growing there. Tommy knew about it already, Brian and Daniel had been working together before Daniel and Tommy, but the two girls did not know, although they had their suspicions. Brian was more discreet than Tommy and liked to keep his affairs as close as possible. Daniel agreed to meet him the next evening in the quiet hours between the sunset and the summer darkness.

A little after two in the morning, which was late for Daniel, the party broke up and Daniel and Jesse drove home. He drove slowly up the winding mountain rode, he had smoked a lot of marijuana, and he was well aware that a deer could leap out without warning at any moment on Copper Creek Road. Jesse was still wide awake, he was much more of a night person than his father, but he would sleep late in the morning, and Daniel would be up very early regardless of how late he went to bed. They stopped in the darkness on their driveway for Jesse to open the gate into their property. The rushing of the creek could be heard in the background as it roared beneath them through a large metal culvert. The highways department had just that year replaced

a smaller one that had washed out in May during the spring runoff. Jesse quickly shut the gate in the red glow of the pickup’s taillights and jumped back into the safety of the warm cab. No telling what was lurking in the dense and dark trees surrounding the road.

Guinevere, their border collie, ran up the driveway to greet them and followed the truck up to the cabin. Daniel had left a kerosene light burning on the kitchen counter but blew it out after Jesse had found his way upstairs to his bedroom, then felt his way to his room in the familiar darkness of his own house. Once in his high bed he lay down contentedly and listened to the quiet, one of his windows was always wide open in the summer warmth, yet screened against the ever-present insects. The distant sound of the creeks could be heard in the meadow below, but otherwise their was peaceful silence. Reassured, he passed into a deep, untroubled sleep.

Chapter Two

Daniel woke early, light from the east flooding his bedroom window. As he did every morning, he rolled over and gazed out the window at the meadow behind the house. Dew was still on the fields where the sun had not hit yet, the meadow green with waist-high grass. A wandering rail fence line and the deep forest bordered the field. The sky was clear again, with no sign of clouds, the sun still below the eastern hills. He contemplated the peaceful scene briefly as he woke up and began to plan his day. He jumped down from his bed, naked, and stretched with a satisfied groan before dressing in cutoff jean shorts and a thick warm sweater against the chill of the summer morning in the mountains. He then went downstairs to the kitchen to light a fire in the green enamel cookstove. Kindling and paper were always on hand, a task Jesse would be taking over for the summer. Daniel basked in the pleasant warmth of the fire as he filled the tea kettle and put it on to boil.

He slurped up a hasty glass of milk from the propane fridge then went outside to breathe in the fresh mountain air and head down to the lower meadow and the barns. His first chore in the morning, besides lighting the fires, was to check on the animals. He fed the chickens and geese their