Walk together as a family even If it may be faster and easier to do the job ourselves. Talk with our sons and daughters as we work together. — Robert D Hales

Gael’s head ached a little, probably because of the emotional whiplash he’d just undergone. He’d fled into the refuge of the forest downtrodden and upset, unsure of where to go or what to do. Then, in what couldn’t possibly have been a coincidence, he’d run into Paloma again, and their conversation had lifted his spirits. She gave him hope, reminding him that while things were dire, and even though the government seemed intent on crushing the people, the people had each other. 

Now the two had agreed to collaborate. They’d work out a solution for their families’ problems together, since as Paloma had said, two are better than one. Much as the prospect excited Gael, though, it didn’t change the feeling of directionlessness. Sure, they’d work something out together, but what exactly? 

Then Gael snapped out of his thoughts and realized Paloma had been talking to him as he pondered, but he hadn’t been paying attention. He shook his head and face-palmed. “Sorry, my mind was somewhere else. What were you saying?” 

Paloma quirked a brow. “I was saying, since we’re gonna be partners, you’re gonna have to help me help you.” 

His brows wrinkled. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Well, you know my predicament. You signed the petition, after all, so you have to. But if I don’t know yours, I can’t help you. Not to pry, but…” 

Gael sighed. “I guess I’ll have to tell you sooner or later.” 

“I really don’t wanna force you, but–” 

“No, I get it. You can’t help me solve a problem you don’t know. The short of it is the government saw my signature on your petition and is using it to blackmail my sister.” 

“That’s terrible!” Paloma cried, “What do they want from her?” 

“At first, they were just saying they wanted her to spy on the mayor of Newhill. I guess he’s not too keen about this deforestation himself.” 

“Who would be?” 

“Sebastian Aleric, apparently. But anyway, the government sent a letter to our house just today that’s really concerning. They’re not gonna take action against me for signing the petition, but only on a bunch of ridiculous conditions. One of those is that my sister will be forced to marry the mayor of Newhill.” 

Paloma’s grip tightened around the stems of the flowers in her hands. “Are you serious? They must be mad!” 

“I can’t let that happen. I’d rather die than see my sister used like that…a pawn in Aleric’s game.” 

“Believe me, I have a lot of siblings myself, and I would hate to see anything like that happen to them. So, you need your sister saved from that mess, and I need this forest to be saved from Aleric’s greed.” 

Gael nodded vigorously. “Yes. Now we just need a plan.” 

“See, that’s the hard part,” Paloma remarked, taking a step onto the path leading back out of the clearing and away from the lake. 

Gael fell into step beside her and offered to hold some of the flowers for her, which she declined. “Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s easy to say what we need to accomplish, but I don’t know how to get us there. If my sister doesn’t do what the government is asking of her, we’ll be breaching a contract we never agreed to, and I can only imagine we’ll all be arrested. Or maybe they’ll arrest me and my mom, but still, force Ramona to do their bidding without us to protect her.” 

“Ramona is your sister?” Paloma arched a brow. 

“Yeah, my bad.” 

“And she works at the government house…" A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "I think I’ve met her, then.” Paloma muttered mostly to herself, “You two look so much alike–" She shook her head. "Sorry, didn’t mean to distract you. please carry on.” 

“It’s alright. Anyway, one way or another, I think the only way to save Ramona is to hide away somewhere, somehow.” 

“Well, we don’t have too much room to spare, but I’m sure my family would be glad to give you guys a place to lay low for a while.” 

Gael blinked. “You guys have to be under scrutiny too now. You’re the one who wrote up the petition, after all.” 

“That’s true. They didn’t give us a lot of specific demands like with your family, but plenty vague threats to keep us up at night. And I guess they’re gonna force my dad to cut down the first tree to start the deforestation.” 

“That’s just cruel. But yeah, I don’t think laying low with your folks is an option, just because we’re all in the same boat as far as the government’s concerned.” 

“You seem like an outdoorsman yourself. Couldn’t you guys hide out in the forest?” 

“The forest they’re about to cut down, might I add,” Gael said, maybe a bit too sharply, judging by the way Paloma winced in reply. “There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide…we’re doomed, aren’t we?” 

“Not exactly.” Paloma said, stepping over a fallen branch, “As long as we have God on our side, who can stop us? We only need to take refuge in Him.” 

“I agree, but we still have to do something. I’ve never found the Lord to reward idleness.” 

“Of course not. Well, since it seems your family needs the forest as a hiding place, maybe we should discuss how we stop the deforestation, then.” 

“Alright, you said your dad works at the lumber company, right? Anyway, he could sabotage their project and keep it from happening?” 

“Maybe…” Paloma nibbled at her lip, eyes squinted in thought. “I get the feeling he couldn’t do much more than delay things, though. It’s a start, but I can’t imagine he could stop it for good, and they’ll most likely be keeping a close eye on him since they know he’s opposed to their plans.” 

“What if he got some of his coworkers to work with him? A team of saboteurs would be harder to track down, and they could do more damage.” 

“Not a bad idea, but they do work for a lumbering company. They’re only getting paid if they do their job, and the ones who live in the city probably don’t have too many qualms about what they’re doing here.” 

Gael sighed. “You have a point. We seem to be running into walls on every side. Do we just need to accept the hand we’ve been dealt and pray God minimizes the damage? I can’t see any way out of this.” 

“Gael…just because we haven’t found an answer in five minutes, between just the two of us, doesn’t mean there’s no answer to be found. Don’t lose hope on me, partner.” 

“I’m trying to hang in there; it’s just discouraging.” Frown lines marred his forehead. 

“I know." Paloma heaved a sigh. "If it weren’t for Aleric’s ambition and the lumber company’s greed, we wouldn’t have to worry about all this.” 

Gael flickered his fingers and swung to face her. “Wait, that might just be our solution. What do you know about the owner of the lumber company?” 

“He’s a strange man, from what my dad told me. He owned the company anonymously for a really long time, actually, but he revealed himself to announce their biggest project yet.” 

“The deforestation, I imagine.” 

“10 points for Gael.” Paloma said with a little snicker, “But yeah, the main things I’ve heard about the owner, Newt, is that he’s shrewd and greedy. As long as anything will make him more money than it costs him, he’ll do anything to get it.” 

“Great!" Gael exclaimed. "We’ll use that against him. Make the deforestation cost this Newt more money than he could possibly gain from it. If it’s money he’s after, we need to make sure he doesn’t get any.” 

“That’s brilliant! Just one question…how do we do that?” Paloma's brows rose. 

Gael’s shoulders dropped. “That, I don’t know.” 

By this point, they’d reached the spot where Gael had parked his truck, and the two stood in silence for a moment. They exchanged a thoughtful glance. 

“You want a ride this time?” Gael asked with a hint of a smile, “I noticed you’re limping a bit, and these dirt roads do wonders for a twisted ankle.” 

“I scraped my knee, actually. But alright, kind sir, I guess I’ll accept your offer this time. It really isn’t far.” 

“Well, you walked here, so I would hope so,” Gael remarked, unlocking the passenger door and assisting Paloma in climbing inside. With her height, the big step was no joke, but that didn’t stop him from having a quiet laugh at her expense. 

When Gael squeezed into the driver’s seat, he started the truck, and they began rumbling down the rough road. Neither he nor Paloma spoke for a while. They enjoyed an oddly comfortable silence instead, along with the cool breeze washing in through the open windows. 

“I guess we don’t have a full plan, but we do have a good start.” Paloma said after giving Gael some directions to her house, “Maybe my dad will have some ideas on how to use Newt’s greed against him.” 

“It sure will be nice if he does.” 

“You know what?" Paloma rushed out and turned to face him with wide eyes. "Are your mom and sister available? Maybe our families should come together and brainstorm a solution. Two heads are better than one, but even having more is even merrier.” 

Gael chuckled. “That was an interesting way to put it, but yeah, they should be free, I think. I’ll go home and find out.” 

“Sounds good; I’ll check with my folks and make sure the house is in order. Can I have your number so I can let you know what they say?” 

Gael fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over. “Just add yourself as a contact and text yourself so you get mine too.” 

“Done!” Paloma said after a few quick taps, “Thanks, I’ll let you know the verdict once I get it.” 

“Great. These crooked men are doomed to lose because they don’t have the dream team we’ve got.” 

Paloma cracked a wide grin and high-fived Gael. “That’s the spirit! We’ll cut their plans down before they can cut down a single tree.” 

                          ★★★★

Yippee! Their partnership has begun.  🎉

What are your thoughts on it?

Are you enjoying their growing friendship?

Leave your comments in the comments section.

And before we go, I have one more question.

What do you think is the possible solution to Paloma and Gael's problems?

I look forward to your answers and ideas.

Don't forget to 👇

Vote ⭐

And share

Until next time, do something with your family. XD