Collie questioned Eva last. The other woman’s name was Allie, and the man without the shiner was named Clifford. Gus still didn’t know who the girl was. She remained content to sit by herself in a recliner, staring at the ceiling with hooded eyes. She had glanced over when he came back into the house, but nothing since.
Bruno eventually sat down near her, and the man’s long winter hat caught her interest. He sensed something amiss and turned to see the little one staring at him. Not one to shy away from conversation, Bruno stared back for a few seconds before realizing that he would need to bring out the big guns. He picked up a backpack and reached for a jar of homemade raspberry jam.
“Something on my face?” he asked the girl.
She kept on staring, her expression blank.
“Something here?” he asked and touched his nose.
No response.
Bruno dabbed his finger into the jam and touched his cheek. “Here?” he asked, leaving a ruby print.
The little girl frowned.
“How about here?” he asked, dotting his chin.
The frown became a smile that broke through the dirt and filth covering her face. Her teeth were strong and good looking, but in need of a cleaning.
“Oh-ho, that’s the problem,” Bruno said, and scrubbed at his whiskers. “All gone?”
The girl’s smile dimmed just a bit, but he had her attention.
“What’s your name?” Bruno asked, studying her.
No answer, just that same kid-at-the-edge-of-a-wharf expression, hoping—waiting to catch sight of a whale.
“I’m Bruno,” he said and cleaned his cheek a little more thoroughly. He tasted the jam and brightened. “Oh, that’s good stuff. Real good. The folks back home made this. Want some?”
Indifferent to the offer, she glanced away.
“Here,” he said, and held out the jar.
She didn’t even look.
“No? That’s too bad. It’s real good.”
And it was, but the girl clearly wasn’t interested.
“What’s your name?” he asked again.
That sank it. The pleasant little happy face disappeared. Bruno watched it go and didn’t like what appeared.
The opening of a door distracted him, however.
It distracted Gus as well, and he turned to see Eva appear in the hallway, her features ghostlike. Collie followed.
“Well, everyone, thank you for your patience,” the operator said. “Very much appreciated. Guys, I think we’ve found a new group of friends.”
“That so?” Gus asked
“Very much so. There are just two things we have to do.”
That quieted him, and he picked up on the looks traded between Cory and Bruno.
“We have to get them home,” Collie said, “and talk with their leader.”
Gus leaned back. “Sounds good. We can leave in the morning.”
“Yeah,” Collie drew out. “About that. Eva and I were talking. She has a request, to further show our own good intentions. Remember that guy who got lost? His name’s Carson. He’s the one who went out to look for parts in Matheson and never came back. Been gone for a few days, when Eva decided to organize a search party. They went to the same town and searched for Carson but couldn’t find him. Right so far, Eva?”
“That’s right,” she replied in a subdued voice.
“And that’s when they found themselves ankle-deep in the shitter with those lunatics I shot earlier.”
Gus wasn’t exactly sure where all this was going, but he suspected he wasn’t going to like it.
“So,” Collie said, “she asked if we could look for him. Find him and bring him back. After we bring her and the others back to their home base.”
“Look for him where?” Gus asked.
“We can try Timmins, since that’s the direction those crazies were headed.”
“Head out again?” Cory asked.
“Yeah. A little side mission.”
That quieted the three men.
Gus met Collie’s eyes. He knew there was something more going on for her to deviate from Whitecap.
“He’s a mechanic,” Collie said, answering his unspoken question. “And a budding electrician. Grew up around cars and trucks and branched off from there. Apparently, he’s responsible for their little power grid, am I right?”
“You’re right,” Eva replied.
“So he has one of those important skill sets we need to get back on track. Eva and Davis and the others have each made it clear that their little community of about two dozen people are keen about having access to a doctor. Even trade, perhaps. But they want to find out what happened to Carson first. And whether or not he’s alive.”
Gus looked over at them. “A mechanic?”
“And electrician,” Davis added. “A jack-of-all-trades. Everything we have going is pretty much because of him. We owe him a lot. Some of us owe him our lives. We certainly owe him a search party. Find out what happened to him. We were it.”
“And we got our asses kicked,” Clifford mumbled, his hand dabbing his bruises.
“Pretty much,” Allie added.
“Can we talk about this in private?” Gus asked Collie.
“Sure.”
“I just need clarification.”
“Will you excuse us, folks?”
Collie and the three men exited to the den. Bruno stopped at the door to keep an eye on the living room.
“So, what about our plan?” Gus whispered.
Collie shrugged. “It’ll have to wait. We can spare a day or two to find out what happened to this guy. We still need to secure Whitecap but… in my mind, this is an acceptable side mission. They’ve established a community and have gotten to this point by common sense, living off the land and whatever’s left over. Sound familiar? I got the same story from each of them. They’re just regular folks getting by, but this Carson guy is the beacon. The sheriff. The guiding fucking light. If we find him, we’ll get brownie points. Did I mention they produce their own ethanol? That should mix just fine with our corn. Plus, we might gain the confidence of a genuine automotive technician and all-round do-it-yourself person.”
“I think them having access to a doctor is more important than the mechanic,” Cory pointed out.
“Agreed,” Collie allowed. “Aces over kings. But a little help with their missing person won’t hurt us. It’ll only prove we’re good people. Eva and the others have made it clear they want him found. They owe him. Apparently, he’s the one who rounded them up. Organized them. Kept them safe.”
“What if he’s missing because of the same savages that caught Eva and her crew?” Gus asked.
“Possible. If so, they’re down by three. Eva already said their captors were taking them to someone called the Leather. That they were stopped at a meeting place—where we nailed the bastards. That was a short way from Timmins. Carson might’ve been picked up in Matheson and taken back to the same designated spot. In any case, it’s a place to start looking. So, what do you say? You in?”
“And if we’re not?” Cory asked.
“Mighty cold of you, since our second priority is to locate and establish relations with other survivors. If we continue north on our secret mission, without attempting any further help, that could go against us.”
“That won’t happen because we have a doctor,” Cory said.
“We do,” Collie noted.
“And we freed them from those dipshits,” Gus pointed out.
“We did that.”
They quieted down, each mulling over the consequences of this new plan.
“A mechanic, huh?” Gus finally asked.
Collie nodded.
“The sheriff?” Cory asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“The guiding fucking light,” Bruno muttered softly.
“And they want him back…” Collie finished.
Gus sighed.
*
A little after midnight, a hand shook Gus. He woke with a snort
and beheld the wraith sitting next to him on the single bed.
“Morning, Moonbeam,” Collie whispered.
“Morning Sunshine.”
She smiled. “Your shift.”
“Already?”
“Three hours later. Sleep good?”
“Give me a few minutes,” he groaned softly and checked the red numerals of the clock. “Twelve-twenty. Yuck. Didn’t think I’d nod off.”
“Yeah,” Collie said. “A lot’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.”
“How’s everything out there?”
“Good. Quiet. Everyone’s sleeping as far as I can tell. Cory and Bruno are in the living room. You know Cory farts in his sleep?”
“I… did not.”
“Well, he does. Not manly ones either. Little mousey things that frigging last forever. Like air leaking out of a balloon, y’know? Although there was one or two that fluttered at the end.”
Gus had nothing to say to that.
“I could understand if it was coming out of the girl. Those are little girl rips. But not big hairy butcherman Cory.”
“Baker.”
“Right. I forgot. Anyway, he’s firing off some wet whistlers.”
“What about Bruno?”
“Don’t get me started. Bruno talks in his sleep. Not all the time, mind you, but just enough to let you know he’s there. He started not twenty minutes ago. The way he was going, sounded like he was having a town meeting with himself.”
“Doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Gus said.
Collie shook her head. “Distracting is what it is. Wouldn’t be so bad if I could understand whatever the hell he’s saying, but it’s all under his breath. Comes out like gibberish. Just loud enough that you can hear him. Like a couple of kids whispering under a porch and dad’s standing on one of the steps. In-depth conversations, though. I can tell.”
‘I bet.”
“Between Cory and Bruno, it’s like a midnight Morse code out there. One’s going dot- dot-dot while the other one’s letting off dashes.”
She quietly chuckled at that, and Gus smiled at the sound.
A comfortable peace surrounded them then. Gus lay there, studying her shadowed face, charmed by an even greater sense of how lovely she was, despite the battle history etched upon her features. He hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on her knee, and that soft contact woke him up even more. To his surprise, she didn’t protest. She certainly didn’t break his arm.
Eventually her hand covered his.
“Come on,” she whispered with a pat. “Time for your shift.”
“Do I gotta?”
“‘Fraid so.”
Gus propped himself up and leaned in close to her face. Their shoulders touched. Her scent gave him pause, a slight musk not unpleasant at all. Collie didn’t draw back; instead, she studied him in turn. Their faces circled each other like dark moons dangerously close, drawing even closer, considering, wondering. Gus’s hand slid to her very warm thigh in an exploratory caress. Collie didn’t protest, her face so near that her lips were only a lick away. He leaned in and lurched to a stop when she unexpectedly pulled back, ever so slightly—but enough to break whatever spell had befallen them.
“Sorry,” she whispered in that awkward silence. “Time to work.”
Gus drew back. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be here when you’re finished.”
He took a few seconds to process that. “You’ll be asleep.”
“So sleep with me.”
That got his attention. “Okay. That… sounds good.”
“Yeah, that would perk you up.”
Their smiles returned.
No longer sleepy, Gus swung his legs out over the bed and stood. He’d napped on top of the covers, leaving them wrinkled. He sniffed, rubbed his bald head, and eyed the dark doorway. Collie was already taking his place.
“Nice and warm,” she whispered, lying on her back and placing a hand behind her neck. “I like this already. Always did prefer a warm bed.”
They studied each other.
“Collie?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
“Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“I didn’t like the way you said my name just then.”
“Ha. Yeah.”
“What’s on your mind?”
He was seriously out of practice in such matters, which resulted in him not replying right away. All in, he decided, yet faltered again, not quite knowing how to put his feelings into words. “Are we… okay?” he finally managed.
Collie wasn’t hindered. “We’ll find out in the morning, when we get on the road.”
“No… I mean are we… okay? You and, uh, me.”
Her head turned ever so slightly on the pillow, towards him, deepening the shadow upon her face. “We’re okay. Let’s just… take things slow. That okay with you? I’ll let you know. When.”
“Sure.”
They stayed like that for a few heartbeats more, just studying each other in the dark. Until Gus remembered he had a shift to do.
He left for the living room.
15
The morning was cool, bright, and cloudless. Thankfully the cabin had running water and soap, so the group of survivors were able to clean off the filth they had been covered in for so long. Once the group had finished eating, they gathered outside and inspected the condition of the SUV. The little girl stood close to Bruno, who reached out and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
After Collie filled the SUV’s tank with fuel, Gus crossed his fingers and tried the ignition.
The engine turned over.
“Eva,” Gus said, leaning out of the rig. “Collie and I were talking. Would you mind traveling with us? The others can take the SUV.”
“Afraid we’ll run on you?”
Gus smiled. “Yeah. Sorry. But… they get to drive by themselves.”
Eva smiled back, the first bit of emotion she’d shown since being freed. “Don’t worry. We talked about you last night, and we decided you’re good people.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good to know. Thanks.”
“I’ll ride with you.”
“Thanks again.”
“Gus?” Collie said. “I want you to ride with Bruno this morning. Cory can come with us.”
That caught Gus off guard. “Is this about me saying you drool in your sleep?”
“Might be. We did snore in each other’s face for about three hours last night.”
“We did,” he said fondly. “Sure. Okay, I’m with Bruno.”
“We’ll take the lead. Bruno, you and Gus are in the rear.”
“Right,” the lanky man said. “Like a vanguard.”
“That’s the front,” she corrected.
“Right. My mistake. We’re rearguard.”
“All right,” Collie said. “You guys get my fishing line?”
“Done,” Gus said, sensing a joke in there about how nice and shiny her cans were, but he wouldn’t crack it in front of the little one.
“Then let’s get out of here,” Collie said.
They turned for their vehicles, but the girl refused to go with the group in the SUV.
Gus saw her pouting. “What’s wrong?”
Bruno shrugged. “She doesn’t want to go with them.”
“No?” He regarded the young lady. “Who do you want to go with?”
She reached out and gripped Bruno’s sleeve.
“Well, that was easy,” Gus said.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Bruno muttered, not entirely pleased.
“Aw, she won’t take up much space.”
“Suppose not,” Bruno said, his expression lightening as Gus left for the pickup. The girl still held onto his arm. He opened the rear door and made some space for her.
“Buckle up,” he instructed as she hopped into the back. “Seatbelts save lives.”
She looked up at Bruno, as if deliberating a question, but it never came. Realizing she wasn
’t going to speak, he closed her door and climbed aboard.
Gus was already behind the steering wheel. “Never thought I’d be babysitting,” he said.
“We’re babysitting?” Bruno asked.
“Yep.” Gus started up the engine.
Bruno looked into the back seat for a few seconds. The girl was mashed into the confusion of duffle bags and containers there. One well-placed coat would hide her completely.
He looked back to the windshield. “Ah well. She’s quiet enough.”
The engine rumbled, eager to get moving. Gus glanced in the rear-view mirror, checking on their backseat passenger.
She met his stare and held it.
Gus frowned just before he put the machine in gear. Collie and company took the lead, followed by the SUV, and Gus with the captured pickup and trailer full of supplies. The vehicles rumbled around the property and moved along the road, leaving the house framed in their mirrors.
“So how come Collie switched you and Cory up?” Bruno asked.
“No idea.”
“Huh. Well. He’s not a bad guy. And I base that on spending three days on the road with him. You get to know things about a guy.”
“Good enough for me,” Gus said as they rattled along.
A short time later, the little caravan turned back onto the main road and drove north.
“Man,” Bruno said with relief. “Glad that’s over. That is one bad road. You okay back there?”
The little girl looked at him and didn’t say a word.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”
“Hey, you find out her name?” Gus asked.
“No, she won’t talk.”
“Did you try guessing it?”
“No, we didn’t. Why?”
Gus shrugged, staying some five car lengths back from the SUV. “I dunno. Maybe that might unlock something. Jar a memory loose.”
“Think so?” Bruno asked.
“Worth a shot. Unless we give her a name. And use that until she tells us what her real name is. I don’t want to keep calling her ‘the kid’.”
Bruno glanced back at the girl. “You hear that? I’m gonna give you a name, okay?”
“Just a temporary one,” Gus added. “Until you tell us your real one.”
“How about Louise?” Bruno asked.
“Louise?” Gus repeated. “Bit old-fashioned, ain’t it?”
Mountain Man (Book 5): Make Me King Page 13