Ride of the Horseman: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (Heaven's Dark Soldiers Book 5) by Steve Gilmore

Author:Steve Gilmore [Gilmore, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liquid Mind Publishing
Published: 2022-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

17

About forty minutes into our stroll, the sun peaked above the horizon, and we got our first look at the old New England countryside in the daylight. And, damn—it was absolutely stunning.

Lush forests and rolling hills dominated the landscape in all directions as we made our way down the country road toward Concord. The cool morning breeze carried the sweet scent of wildflowers and honeysuckle as it swept through the fields. Birds chirped away from their perches amidst the pine trees, and I swore I heard a rooster crowing in the not-so-far distance.

Everything was so green.

And teeming with life.

It was nature, unfettered and unadulterated by the industrial endeavors of mankind that would inevitably follow in the coming decades. And despite the peculiar circumstances of our situation, I took a quiet moment to soak it all in.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” Doc said, soaking it in herself as we rounded a corner, and a humble farmhouse came into view about half a mile ahead.

I nodded. “It’s that and more. Damn shame it’ll be covered by pavement and strip malls in a couple hundred years with a Dunkin Donuts on every friggin street corner.”

“Speaking of,” she muttered. “I could really go for a coffee right about now.”

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, Doc, but I doubt the folks out here in the countryside are coffee drinkers.”

She glanced at me kind of funny. “But I thought the colonists hated tea. Wasn’t that the whole point of the Boston Tea Party?”

“Taxes was the whole point of the Boston Tea Party. The colonists were pissed that the British government allowed the East India Trading Company to sell tea in the colonies without being taxed. That’s why they threw it in the harbor.”

“OK. But what was the deal with coffee?”

“Ah, so here’s an interesting factoid. Coffee was a hell of a lot cheaper than tea at the time. But it was only available in beans. So it had to be ground.”

“So?”

“So, apparently it wasn’t easy to do back in the day. And most folks didn’t want to deal with it. Except, of course, for the wealthy.”

“So everyone else drank tea?”

“Yup. Pretty cool, huh?

She chuckled. “Wow. I would have never guessed.”

“Guessed what?”

“That Dean Robinson, the brooding cynic, is a legitimate history nerd.”

I matched her chuckle. “Nerd?”

“Maybe even a super nerd.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

She grinned. “Nerds are sexy.”

“In that case, would you like to hear the actual story about Paul Revere’s midnight ride? He never actually shouted, ‘The Redcoats are coming.’ Instead, he—”

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to dazzle Doc with more historical nerdiness because it was right about then when we pulled up to within a couple hundred feet of the farmhouse. “Shit,” I muttered, instantly recognizing the covered wagon parked next to the barn. “This is Barrett’s farm.”

Doc shrugged. “But that’s a good thing, right?”

Coming to an abrupt halt, I said, “It is, but we haven’t talked about our cover story yet.”

“Shit, you’re right. So, what’s your big idea?”

“OK, so back in the woods, I told them my name was Dirk.

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