Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4

by Theresa Shaver

  I know Ethan’s been talking to Skylar a lot about everything she’s had to deal with since her parents died. I hope he’s been able to help her work through some of her pain. I still can’t imagine how hard it would have been to grow up all alone and be a parent to Ben at the same time. I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without Belle, Ethan, and Lance filling in as parents for Matty and me after our Mom died. Not to mention having Marsh as my best friend. Sky hasn’t even had a friend to unload on except AIRIA.

  “Rex, are you going to stand guard out here all night or are going to go in and talk to her?”

  I’m so deep in thought that I don’t even hear Ethan come out of the clinic and his words have me jumping away from the wall.

  “Oh! Hey, Ethan. How’s she doing?”

  He puts a hand on my shoulder and laughs. “She doing great but she’d be a lot better if you had a real conversation with her. She thinks you’re mad at her for what happened with Sasha before she collapsed.” He laughs again at my startled expression. “Rex, more than anything, she needs to be reassured by you. She’s been through a lot and we’ve talked through most of it but I can’t be the one to tell her that the boy she likes still likes her back.”

  I glance over at the doors and then back at him. “She…she’s really worried I don’t like her anymore? How can she think that? I’m the reason all this bad stuff happened to her and Ben! If anything she should be mad at me!”

  My face changes to a scowl as Ethan starts to laugh at me again. “Rex, just go talk to her!” He’s still chuckling as he turns and walks away but not before I hear him say something about “young love”.

  I take another look in the window at Sky and see her with her head back and eyes closed. I take a deep breath and slowly push through the doors. Her eyes stay closed as I settle silently down into the chair that Ethan had just vacated. Her face is still very pale with dark circles under her eyes and the angry red blisters from the rain are now a lighter shade. Her hair has lost some of its golden shine but she’s still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.

  She must feel me staring at her because her eyes slowly open. She gives me a tentative smile and her hand trembles slightly when she lifts it from the bed to offer it to me. I take her hand and bring it to my lips for a kiss before meeting her eyes and saying,

  “I’m so sorry Sky. Everything that happened to you and Ben is all my fault. Can you forgive me?”

  Her eyes go wide in surprise and she starts shaking her head.

  “No, no Rex! How can you say that? You had no control over what happened! Sasha and Ted made their own choices. You had no control over any of it!” She squeezes my hand tighter and pulls me closer. “Listen, Rex. I made a choice to save you and Matty that day and bring you inside. It was the right thing to do. I’ve spent the last seven years hiding from the world and even though I questioned everything my Dad told me, I never did anything to try and help others. I did the right thing when I helped you and it was also the right thing to let all those people in here. No one’s to blame for Ben and me getting sick except maybe me for not following up on decontamination procedures.” She lets out a deep sigh and drops her eyes. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes since we met but letting you into my life wasn’t one of them. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting since then.”

  My admiration for her surges even higher. After everything that’s happened, she’s giving us another chance to be a part of her life. I hope that includes more for both of us.

  “Um, do you think…would you want to…when you feel better, would you want to go on a date with me?” I manage to stutter out. I feel my face flame up in embarrassment at my inept attempt to ask her out but feel relief when her smile splits across her face.

  “Wow, I’ve never been on a date before, Rex. I would love that! Where should we go? Out for dinner and a movie?” she teases.

  I give her a smug smile. “Actually, yes, that’s exactly what I had in mind.” I have to laugh at her confused, disbelieving expression. “The dinner part of the evening would take place at Chez Rex. It’s a new bistro that will be open for one night of magical dining. We would follow that at the Barrack’s cinema that runs featured films twice a week on the newly installed projector and back wall. It’s the talk of the town and seats are highly coveted!”

  Her eyes are dancing with delight and she gives me a serious nod. “Well, how can a girl say no to that? I would be honored to attend with you!”

  We sit and talk about all the things we want to see happen in the future until her eyes start to droop. The smile never leaves my face and her hand stays in mine until she drifts off to sleep.

  Chapter Eighteen … Skylar

  It’s good to be home. Everything is in its place and Ben’s at the table grumbling through his school work for the first time since we got sick. Ethan’s cautioned me to take it easy for the next few weeks but after being stuck in a bed for the last eight days, I’m ready to get back into my routine. The only problem is my legs are still a little wobbly and the old routine doesn’t feel quite right anymore.

  I used to spend my days helping Ben with school work and doing chores in the cavern. The animals and garden still need daily work but the canning, drying and freezing of all the extra food that I used to do seems silly when there are people next door that could benefit from it in its fresh state.

  I leave Ben to his work and wander slowly out into the cavern and into the storage rooms. I see all the extra supplies with new eyes now. I no longer look at what we have for just two people but how it can be shared out to over a hundred. AIRIA has a running inventory of all that was here to start and all that we’ve both used and added to it over the years. I’m sure if I asked, she could tell me exactly how long everything here and in the barracks storage would last with so many people but I’d rather not know right now. Instead, I think about how to produce more.

  I know they’ve started their gardens on the other side but if we add clippings and shoots from my garden, we could move things along faster. The small flock of chickens I have can easily be increased until there’s enough to give everyone fresh eggs. The fish in my small cavern stream can be increased as well.

  The weirdest thing I learned while talking to Ethan while I was stuck in the clinic is that my cow, Nodds can be inseminated to make a baby cow. Apparently, there is frozen “stuff” to make that happen over in the clinic. Ethan was pretty excited about that and the other frozen “stuff” they have over there. I’m more than happy to leave all that in his hands to deal with.

  With bigger gardens and more animals producing food, we won’t be as dependent on the food stored and it will last even longer. At some point, we will all need to talk about the bigger future of living outside again but until we get some kind of forecast from AIRIA, I’m not sure when that will be.

  I check on Ben and let him know I’m going over to the other side. He whines and grumbles but he resigns himself to getting caught up on his schoolwork when I don’t budge. Especially after I promise him time with Matty after he’s done.

  As I slowly make my way down the tunnel to the other side, I think about putting together some kind of school for the kids. I don’t know exactly how many kids are over in the barracks but it might be a good idea to get them all together. I think of all the things AIRIA taught Dad and me in the first two years we lived in the bunker and realise that we should have classes for everyone to learn about agriculture. We’ll need all the knowledge we can get once we start rebuilding outside.

  When I get to the end of the tunnel, I stop and practice the breathing exercises Ethan has taught me. He really helped me understand why I was having panic attacks. Being around so many people after years of being alone with just Ben as well as the fear Dad instilled in me of others combined to give me a phobia that I need to work through and learn to control. I seem to be ok with just a few people around but in groups of more than four, I start to get overwhelmed. I need to get it under control because I plan on
working with all of these people from now on and I refuse to be weak.

  “AIRIA, where is Belle located?”

  “Skylar Ross, Belle last name unknown is currently located in the private Officer’s living quarters.”

  I take one last calming breath before swiping open the door. As much as I plan to overcome this dumb phobia, I’m relieved that I won’t have to go out into the main barracks where most of the group is. Small steps!

  I walk through the offices and can’t help but peek into open doors as I go by. Where once there were rooms filled with desks and computer equipment, there are now bunks instead. I quicken my pace when a few people glance up at me as I go by. I still haven’t interacted with any of them and I know they probably don’t have a very good opinion of me after the way I acted when I let them in or when I was sick. I’m just not ready to talk to anyone I haven’t met yet. Approaching Belle will be my first step.

  I finally come to the officer’s suites and start looking in the open doors for Belle. When I hear female voices, I skip the rest and head to the door they’re coming from. Inside, I see Belle and Sasha standing in front of a mirror. Sasha’s frowning at her reflection as she tugs on the plain uniform shirt she’s wearing.

  “We can try and take it in a bit to make it more flattering but unfortunately it’s all we have to work with. I’ve looked through all the storage rooms and the only fabric there are the same materials these clothes are made of. I’m sorry we left all our bags outside but it’s not like we had a choice once the rain started.” Belle said.

  Sasha yanks her tucked shirt out of her pants and ties the tails in a knot before shaking her head. “It’s ok, Mom. It’s not that big a deal. I just wish we had something a little different. I kinda feel like a clone with all of us wearing the exact same thing.”

  “I can help.”

  The words are out of my mouth before I realize they might not appreciate me eavesdropping on their conversation. They both jump and spin around.

  “Sorry, I was looking for you, Belle, and the door was open and I overheard your conversation. I…” I stop talking as Belle strides towards me with a warm smile.

  “Skylar! It’s so good to see you up and around. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. How are you feeling?”

  I’m a bit taken back by her warm greeting. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to me after what happened between her daughter and me but I wasn’t expecting this. I take the hand she offers and shake it while looking over her shoulder at Sasha, who just looks back with a neutral expression.

  “Please, come in! You should sit down. Ethan’s said you will need to rest for a while until you’re back to full strength.”

  I let her guide me to the small couch and sit. I’m not sure how I feel about everyone knowing my medical condition but I guess it doesn’t really matter.

  “Um, I was just coming to talk to you about my garden and a few other things but I heard uh, I mean, I have different fabric!”

  Belle gives me a patient smile at my stuttering and waves Sasha over. When she takes a chair across from me her Mom settles beside me on the couch and takes my hand.

  “I know you and Sasha have had a chance to talk but I wanted to tell you myself just how grateful I am to you for letting us all into your home and how generous you’ve been with sharing all your supplies. I know that there were some bad things that happened to you and your brother because of that. I just wanted you to know that both Sasha and I are sorry for everything and we hope that we can put it all behind us.”

  I have to look away from this kind woman. She’s not only forgiven me for pointing a gun at her daughter’s head but she reminds me of my own mother. I have to gulp back the tears that flood my throat before I can reply. I shoot a quick look at Sasha but she’s looking at her own lap.

  “I…well, none of us were at our best in the last few weeks. I certainly made my own mistakes too. I, um, I would like to put it behind us too.”

  Belle squeezes my hand and gives me such a compassionate look that I almost turn into a quivering piece of jello right then and there. I can’t believe how nice this woman is. I clear my throat and change the subject before I crawl into her lap and bawl like a baby.

  “So, I have different fabric in my storage rooms. My Dad stocked up on stuff he thought my…mom…and I would like.” My voice hitches on the word mom but I keep going. “I would be happy to share it with you. I have a few sewing machines too but I know there are more over here in storage. AIRIA has clothing patterns in her database you could use to make different clothes.”

  Sasha’s head shoots up and her eyes are filled with excitement. I can’t really blame her. It wasn’t very long ago that I was dreaming of fancy prom dresses. I learned a long time ago to make new clothes for me and Ben. Sasha sends a questioning look to her Mom who nods back.

  “That would be very welcome Skylar. It’s not that we don’t appreciate the new clean clothes over here, it’s just that they aren’t very…”

  “Pretty?” I finish for her.

  Sasha snorts, “Ha, understatement!”

  We all share a laugh before Belle turns back to me.

  “What did you want to talk to me about, besides fashion styles?”

  “Oh, right. Well, Rex told me that you were in charge of the garden before so I thought you might be interested in looking mine over. I know you guys have planted yours over here but I have a lot growing that you could take shoots and clippings from to speed up production over here.

  "Also, Ethan told me you were a teacher before, so I thought you might have some ideas about setting up a school for the younger kids. I have lots of textbooks and AIRIA has even more information in her data banks to help with that. Ben’s doing pretty well with his school work but it would be really nice if he could have a few classes with other kids. Except for Matty just recently, he’s never even seen other children so I think it’d be good for him.

  "I was also thinking it would be helpful to start running adult classes on things we need to know to start rebuilding once we can move back outside. I don’t know when that will happen but we should start preparing for it. I think…what? I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

  I look back and forth from Sasha and Belle and feel my face falling at their dropped open mouths. I guess I’m overstepping with my ideas and I’m about to bolt from the room when Belle leans over and gives me a huge hug. I’m so confused but a look at Sasha over her mom’s shoulder doesn’t help me understand what’s happening here. She’s just shaking her head in amazement. Belle leans back away from me and starts to laugh at my expression.

  “Wow! Just, wow and YES, to all of it! Skylar, just yes!” She’s still laughing so I again look to Sasha who throws up her hands.

  “Well hold on a minute. I need to replace your crown with a halo now! Seriously, what are you, a saint?”

  I feel myself start to relax at her teasing tone and look to Belle who is nodding her head. “Let’s start with taking a look at your garden and then we’ll go from there.”

  As we get up to go over to my area, I feel something inside I haven’t felt in a long time. Hope. Hope for a real future where Ben and I won’t be alone.

  Chapter Nineteen … Rex

  Sky’s been on her feet for a week now and every day I see improvement in both her health and her mental state as she spends more and more time with us in the barracks. She still stays on the edge of any big groups but I’ve seen her talking with more and more of the people from the hotel as we work to set up her classroom idea. She seems to be the most comfortable with people who have kids that will be attending the half day school.

  She’s thrown herself into helping to get the barracks set up to run as smooth as her side of the cave. She’s so full of ideas and suggestions that the people are turning to her more and more for her leadership capabilities and we haven’t had much one on one time. I’m ok with that because I’m usually right by her side to do the heavy lifting. Ethan’s insisting she
take her physical limitations seriously or she might have a setback.

  We’ve spent the day together working on transplanting shoots and cuttings from Sky’s garden to the barracks and we’re both grimy from the soil we’ve been digging in all day.

  “Do you think there’s time for a shower before the meeting?” she asks as we head towards the offices.

  “I’d love to say yes to that but look, there are Ethan and Belle heading towards the offices now. She probably had to drag him out of the clinic for the meeting so let’s get in there before he escapes! We can stop at my place and just wash off the worst of it.”

  Sky grumbles but picks up her pace. We get most of the black dirt cleaned off of our arms before joining the rest of the group in one of the boardrooms for our first official planning meeting. Seated around the table are Lance, Ethan, Belle, Sasha, Marsh and two people from the hotel group. The man is Gordon Hawksbill who has forty years of farming experience and Lana Bottle who had worked in one of the country’s biggest greenhouse farms before she was stranded in Canmore the day the bombs dropped. They have both been running things in the grow areas since we came inside.

  I take a seat beside Marsh and steal half the mound of cookies he has on a napkin in front of him. I could have just taken some from the serving platter in the middle of the table but it’s more fun to see him bite back the complaint he’s ready to voice when Skylar skews him with a pointed look. I’m having a blast with the way Marsh has been acting around Skylar since he joined the land of the cave man with his sexist comments to her and Sasha, even if it did defuse the situation. If I didn’t know him as well as I do, I’d swear he was scared of her. Before I can take a verbal jab at him, Lance starts talking.

  “All right everyone, this will hopefully be the first of many planning sessions for the future of our group. We will go over how things are going here inside and what plans we want to change or implement in the days to come as well as get some information on what’s happening outside and what plans we want to start thinking about for the future.