After a nice weekend, Monday dawned cold and gray, more the kind of weather Danny had in mind when he thought about winter in Spearfish Lake. By now, he was starting to get his body on Spearfish Lake time, and he found his father up and getting ready about the same time he did, as his mother was getting set to head for the door – the Record-Herald opened at eight, while Spearfish Lake Appliance didn’t until nine. "You want to go to breakfast with me?" his dad asked.

Danny agreed readily – he’d gotten used to a light breakfast for years, just coffee and cereal or granola, but out in Nevada he’d begun to appreciate something a little heavier, and a lighter lunch. It took a little hustling, but in a few minutes, he and his father were in the appliance store van. "Guess we’ll head over to Rick’s today," his father said. "I try to go there now and then, but usually I head out to the café."

"Whatever, works for me," Danny agreed. He knew, of course, that there were a number of breakfast/lunch restaurants around Spearfish Lake, mostly with a different regular clientele. Even when Danny had been in school, his father had had breakfast in one of those places most mornings. Most often it was the Spearfish Lake Café, out next to the railroad crossing at Central Avenue, not far from the state road, but he tried to put in an appearance elsewhere now and then because it was advertising, in a way. Someone would gripe at him about a problem they were having with a washer or something, and the next thing you knew, they were down at the store, looking at a replacement.

"Hey, Danny," his father said, "I didn’t quite get the chance to say this yesterday, but thanks for being cool about Tara, especially Saturday night. She’s still pretty spooky around us, and she didn’t want to let it out in front of Garth and Michelle. Especially Michelle."

"I can understand that," Danny said. "Once she got me off in a corner and told me the story, I said just enough about the Redlite Ranch to keep Michelle sniping at me and not thinking about her."

"I realized that," his father said. "That’s what I meant, thanks for being cool about it. That was the first time she’s been together with Garth and Michelle since she told us, and we were worried a little about what would happen. But it worked out all right."

Going to bed late, Danny hadn’t been too aware of what was going to happen Sunday morning, but he got up to discover Garth and Michelle and the kids loading up and getting set to head back to Milwaukee. It had been their plan to leave on Sunday morning, but Danny hadn’t realized it would be quite that early. At least he got to say goodbye to everyone before they left. It had been good to see Garth again – it had been a long time – and the quiet one-on-one time they had shared late at night had made Danny realize that not all was quite sweetness and light there. He wasn’t sure how much the rest of the family might know about some of the things that Garth had told him, but suspected they knew something. "I take it you’re not totally happy with Tara?" he told his dad.

"I’ll be honest, I wish it wasn’t the way it is," his father sighed. "But it is, and I guess I have to accept it. On the other hand, she seems the happiest I’ve seen her since maybe early high school, and things seem to be coming together in her life some, so maybe it’s all right. Did you ever meet that joker she was married to?"

"Never did, that was all during the period I couldn’t drag Marsha up here."

"I never got to know him very well, but he always seemed like a jerk to me, and I don’t know what she saw in him," he sighed. "I suppose I should have told her to stop and think it over, but I never did. I mean, it was her business, I really shouldn’t butt in. But then, I should have told you the same thing, and I never did that, either. Or Garth. So I guess I don’t have a lot of room to complain."

Yeah, his father knew at least something of the problems Garth and Michelle were having, Danny thought. But really, that’s between the two of them and I’m not going to throw in my two bits worth. For that matter, it might be that his father didn’t know some of the things Tara had told him, especially like how early it had started with Marsha and her, or that it had been under way at all. "It’s all in the past now, so I guess we have to like it," Danny shrugged. "But it was good to see Tara again, it seemed like she’d lightened up a lot yesterday compared to Saturday."

"Well, yeah, Garth and Michelle were gone," his father grinned. Brandy and Tara had shown up not long after Garth and Michelle left – Phil was out on a trail somewhere with dogs – and they’d hung around drinking coffee, and finally helping attack the leftovers before Tara started the long haul back to the Twin Cities, where she had an appointment for a sitting this morning. Danny at the time thought that had worked out pretty well, and realized now that it must have been planned a little that way, which had much to do with why Tara had stayed with Brandy and Phil. "Wonder who we’re going to have here this morning?"

They headed on inside. The place was half full, and there were a few people there who Danny recognized by faces, but not names and no one he had known well. His father led him to a big table in the back and there sat someone he knew – Josh, wearing a flannel shirt and jacket, and his less-well-remembered older brother, John, wearing a business suit.

"By God, Danny," Josh said, getting up to shake his hand. "It’s good to see you again. How you been?"

"Pretty good, considering," Danny grinned. "I feel a hell of a lot lighter than the last time I saw you. I don’t have Marsha on my back any more. Sorry I missed you Saturday."

"Yeah, Phil said you just missed us," he replied. "You remember John, don’t you?"

"Of course," Danny said, sticking his hand out. "It’s been years, though. How are you liking it back in Spearfish Lake?"

"A lot better than I did in Decatur," John said. Danny took a look at the two of them. Josh was shorter than he was, but lighter, too, wiry; with wild dark hair that needed a haircut. He had the hard body and muscles of a man who worked outdoors a lot, worked with his hands a lot. John was older, taller, somewhat more heavily set, with thinning brown hair, probably well on the way to being seriously bald. While not overweight, he had the soft look of a guy who spent a lot of time inside, sitting at a desk and looking at a computer screen. "Of course, I came in with Joe only at the tail end of tax season last year, so I didn’t get the full dose. Ask me how I feel about it on April 16."

"I probably ought to get over and see you sometime pretty soon," Danny said. "What with the divorce, my taxes are going to be a mess."

"The sooner, the better," John replied. "A simple divorce isn’t usually too bad, and there can be a couple interesting deductions if we get enough time to handle it right."

The two talked taxes for a couple minutes; along in there the waitress came and left menus and coffee. Danny hadn’t realized it, but the settlement he had with Marsha was going to made a big difference in his tax return for the year, and more so next year since the divorce had been signed right after the first of the year. There were several pieces of information he needed to get from Florida, including a W-2, and that was just an over-the-breakfast-table consultation. They quickly made an appointment for later in the week to go over the question in more detail, and Danny realized that John’s traveling around for breakfast was as much trolling for business as his father’s.

"By the way," Danny said as they wrapped that up, "I have to say that your wife is pretty cool. She took me for a quick sled ride Saturday, and she sure seems to be getting into it."

"That she is," John shook his head, perhaps a little ruefully. "It’s not the first thing she’s done that I would never have dreamed she’d do a year ago. I suppose I’m getting used to it some, but things are sure different here than they were down in Decatur."

"She really is getting into the dog sledding," Josh smiled, getting back into the conversation a little. "In fact, into the outdoor stuff in general. Back when Tiffany and I asked her to come work with us at the store, she knew she had a lot to learn. But she’s busted her butt learning it, and from the practical side. I mean, I’ve known her for what, John? Back about the time I started high school, say fifteen years, right?"

"About that," John agreed. "And I know what Josh is about to say and I’ll say it, too. I never dreamed there was the heart of a dog musher beating under her tailored suit. Horse lover, yes, I knew that from the beginning, but I brought her up here, turned her loose with my in-laws and friends, and look what happens."

They talked about other things for a while before Danny said, "I suppose we ought to get together sometime and talk about railroading."

"Yeah, but there’s no real rush," Josh said. "Now that you’re back, I’ll see if I can’t give you a few calls between now and the time the rock season gets rolling. Like I told you on the phone, we do things a little differently now than we did back when you and I were running Keyhole every day. Nothing you can’t handle, but it’s organized a little different, and it’s going to be even more different this summer. But, since you’ve got more experience than the college kids and are a little more available, I think I can be a little more flexible with you than we talked about that time. I don’t have that all the way thought out yet, but now that I know you’re back I’ll have to think about it pretty quick before we get heading to Alaska."

"One thing, Josh," Danny’s father said. "Can I have a little input on that?"

"Sure, Gil," Josh said. "Anything special?"

"Not really," Danny’s father said. "It’s just that I figure on having Danny working at the store for me some, so I can be gone, out to the Club, out fishing, stuff like that. It’d help me if whatever you do, you have the schedule tacked down pretty well a few days ahead of time, so I can make plans around it. Now, if an emergency comes up, no big deal, but not to being surprised too much would help me a lot."

"Sure, no problem Gil," Josh replied. "I can probably schedule a lot of nights, if need be, but I’ve done that two-shifts-a-day stuff long enough to know it’s no fun after a while. But if the three of us work together on this, we ought to be able to work something out. We can’t do that sixty-hour-week jazz on a regular basis any more. The way we always used to do it was that we piled on the hours in the summer since we knew most everybody was going to be off in the winter, but the insurance company had a shit fit."

"Good enough," his father said. "I don’t think Danny will lack for stuff to do this summer."

Josh glanced at his watch. "Jeez, look at the time," he said. "I’ve got to get moving. Danny, good to see you again, sorry we didn’t get the chance to talk more, but I’ve got to run. I’ve got a meeting over at the plywood plant, then some work to do at the office, then some dogs to run, and Tiffany would like me to at least show my face at the store. Gonna be a busy one. Tell you what. Let’s you and me and Tiff get together one of these nights, I won’t schedule any damn dogs to run, and we can sit around and relive the old days."

"Works for me," Danny said. "No real rush, I know you’re busy."

"Unfortunately, the busy isn’t going to slow down much anytime soon," Josh shook his head. "I’ll get a slow week or two along toward the end of March, then the rock season starts. God knows how I’m going to be able to take a vacation a month after that starts, but I gotta work it out somehow." He stopped and thought for a second. "I’ll have to check with Tiff to be sure, but I think tomorrow night works for me. I’ll run it by her, and give a call over at the store to let you know."

"Sounds reasonable to me," Danny nodded. "I’m probably not going anywhere else, anyway."

"OK, fine, I’ll give you a call," Josh told him, standing up and pulling on his coat. "I gotta be getting out of here. John, maybe we can get together one night later this week, head down to the basement and try to figure that ladder track out. The way you’ve got it would look real goofy in the real world, and it’ll look goofy on your model train layout, too."

"I’m beginning to believe it," John replied, getting up and grabbing his coat as well. "I’m probably running out of time to do much before April, but I do want to have a few little projects blocked out in my mind for when I need to get my mind off taxes."

In a minute, the two brothers were standing up by the cash register, paying their bills, as the waitress showed up to take Danny and Gil’s breakfast order. "Looks like Josh is pretty busy," Danny said.

"He has been so damn busy for the last few years that he hasn’t known whether to shit or go blind," Gil replied. "I don’t know the details, but I get the idea from Phil that Jennifer and Blake sat on Tiffany and him pretty hard to get them to slow the hell down and get a life. For him, this is slow."

"What’d Jennifer and Blake have to do with it?"

"They sponsored Josh and Tiffany in the Iditarod the last six years," Gil said. "A fair chunk of change, good tax write-off for Jennifer and Blake, of course."

"Something else I didn’t know," Danny shook his head. "I’ll tell you, I’ve sure missed a bunch."

"It’s gonna happen, I told you that," Gil smiled. "Look, I suppose I should have talked to you before I talked to him, but it was too good a chance to pass up. Like I said, I want to have you at the store a fair bit the next month or so, to let you get up to speed on what’s going on. Then, your mom and I will take off for a while, and then you’ll probably be doing rock trains not long after that. I was sort of figuring on you working half time or so over the summer to give me some free time. Then, when the trains quit rockin’ in the fall, we’ll have to sit down and see where we’re going. Does that sound like a reasonably fair deal to you for now?"

"Pretty reasonable," Danny said. "No complaints. I would hope by then I’ll have an idea if I want to stay in Spearfish Lake, or head out somewhere else."

"That was kind of my thinking," Gil nodded. "Really, it ain’t a hell of a lot different than you did back there in high school, and college some, like that time we went off to Vietnam while you were on your holiday break. You did a good job back then, and really, not that much has changed. You’ll remember some of it and have to relearn the rest, but we’ve got some time to get you set up. I have to say it’s probably going to be a little dull and routine after your last job."

"There is that," Danny snickered. "But, you know what? I won’t mind dull and routine after a job like that, either."

*   *   *

Danny could pretty well sum up his first day back at Spearfish Lake Appliance as déjà vu all over again. He’d grown up around the store, done odds jobs there even in grade school, did delivery and repair and even some sales in high school, and had been left to more or less manage it on several occasions, the last time ten years before. In a way, not a lot had changed – but then, a fair amount had, too. Accounts were now kept on computer, and there was a lot more computerized technology in the appliances, some of which weren’t easy to repair, and some of which just involved plugging in another component, which they might not have in stock. Oh, there was the usual stuff, bad bearings, pumps gone bad, V-belts shot, things of that nature, but he’d been making service calls with his dad since grade school and on his own when he was in high school, and it was surprising how familiar some of it was.

It was along in the afternoon when the front door opened and Debbie Elkstalker walked in, carrying a leather folio. Even that was only slightly unfamiliar; he knew Debbie was the ad salesman for the Record-Herald, and ten years before, Sally Szczerowski had come into the place doing the same thing.

"Hi, Debbie, you know my son, Danny?" Gil asked

"I met him the other day," the dark woman smiled. "We didn’t have any time to talk."

"He’s going to be running the store while Carrie and I take off in a few weeks, and then filling in a bit off and on after that," Gil explained. "I’ll go over how we handle the ads with him, and you and I should probably get together before Carrie and I take off to work out the ads for while we’re gone."

"I think it’s great you’re taking off," Debbie said. "You and Carrie need to get out and see some fresh country."

"Well, I think so, too," Gil agreed.

It turned out that there were some different ways that ads were handled. As was often the case, the store used ads pre-prepared by the manufacturers – but the last time Danny had been involved, the ads had been on slick paper, which was pasted up on the newspaper’s flats. Now, Gil found the ad he wanted in a catalogue and copied it off of a CD onto a floppy disk; the paper would add the Spearfish Lake Appliance sig and logo, and change the sale prices. It was pretty slick and would take a little bit of learning, but Debbie explained that the result was a much better looking ad.

"One more thing," she said as she took the CD from Gil and obviously got set to go, "we’ve got the co-op ad for winter homecoming. You want in?"

"Yeah, sure," Gil shrugged. "It’s at a basketball game, I can’t duck it."

"I knew you’d be reasonable," she smiled. "I’ve got to get moving, it’s Monday. Good seeing you again, Danny."

In a few more seconds, she was out the door, heading up the street to her next call. "Interesting girl," Gil said after the door closed. "Known her for years, now. She used to be a waitress out at the café, real friendly type, easy talker, although in those days she didn’t strike me as the brightest thing to ever come out of Three Pines, if you know what I mean. Mike suggested she try out for the job, and Kirsten hired her. She worked out real good, turned out to be brighter than I thought. According to your mother, she’s close to a degree in marketing, working at it part time."

"Mom or somebody said she’s some kind of a tribal shaman," Danny commented.

"I guess," Gil nodded. "I really haven’t talked to her about it much, but your mom says she’s got some interesting ideas on some things. While I’m thinking about it, on those public service co-op ads, I never know for sure when they’re coming, so if she happens to hit you up for one, go ahead and say yes. There’s a couple things I won’t back, and she knows ’em, so she won’t ask. I do want her to ask first on everything though, just on general principles. Make a note for me to talk with you about advertising some time. Most of what I do is in the Record-Herald, for obvious reasons, but I do some on WSLM, and every now and then throw something at that shopper from down in Albany River. Occasionally some other stuff, too. Generally, I try to emphasize service, rather than price. I know the big box stores down in Camden can beat my prices, but they can take forever to get a serviceman up here if they’ll send one at all, and it costs a ton. It costs less to call us, and lots less if they bought the stuff here in the first place."

"Makes sense," Danny nodded.

Most of the day went like that – mostly familiar stuff, much like things had always been, but every now and then a new twist. Yes, even by the end of the first day it seemed dull – but it seemed honest, which was no small thing to Danny, who had been thoroughly sick of the dishonesty of the herbal remedy sales. The dullness, the routine, was an adequate price to pay for the privilege of doing something useful and honorable.

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