Lance holds up his hands. “Whoa, this is just a conversation about an option we could consider and we wouldn’t be going anywhere until after the harvest is in. What I’d like to propose is that when we go into the city to find more pellets for the stoves, we do a little recon of the area. Look for signs of other survivors and see what is still intact. Joslin said that she did consider Calgary when she was looking for a place for us and that there were quite a few locations that would work well. The only reason she picked the camp was because of how close it was. Its proximity to the bunker allowed her to get more supplies here under the radar. That’s not something we have to worry about so much now with the General gone. I’m proposing we look around while we’re in the city and see if it would be a good fit for us. If we like what we see, then once the harvest is in, we could pack everything up in the two trucks and the trailer and try and make it in one trip. Worst case scenario is we’d have to make two trips to move everything we’d want to take with us.”
I can tell by Belle’s expression that she still not convinced. She shakes her head at Lance with a frown.
“I just don’t understand why you want to uproot us again. Things are good here. We have a solid plan to make it through the winter. I’m just saying, every time we’ve moved something bad has happened. The hotel was a disaster from the start and then even though the bunker had luxuries to enjoy it ended up almost costing us our freedom.”
Ethan reaches over and lays a hand on one of Belle’s. “I understand your concerns, and yes, we have had a bit of bad luck but one of the most important rules we relied on since this all started was one is none and two is one. You know this. Right now we have one home. It’s a great home and I love it here as well. What Lance is saying is that if we are attacked or something happens to force us out of here, we’d be running blind. All he’s suggesting right now is for us to look at some contingency plans in case something goes wrong. If what we find in the city looks better than what we have here then we might want to consider relocating ahead of a possible emergency.”
Skylar’s fidgeting beside me in her seat and she keeps sending looks Joslin’s way like she wants her to say something but Joslin’s eyes are firmly fixed on Lance, Ethan, and Belle and she’s missing whatever Skylar’s trying to communicate to her. I give her a discrete nudge and arch my eyebrows questioningly but she gives a tiny sharp shake of her head, dismissing me.
Joslin joins the discussion with her opinion. “I think Lance is right. I pushed the drones as far as I could when no one was monitoring me and got a good look at the southwest end of the city. As far as I could tell there was no one occupying that area and most of the buildings and infrastructure were intact. There are a lot of green spaces available to grow crops and lots of buildings to choose from with windows that we could use as greenhouses. If the majority of the population in the city died off within the first few weeks from the radiation there’s a good chance that there’s a lot of supplies still available to us there. Not just canned goods but building materials, more solar panels and even generators. I’ll have to look into some of the information that I downloaded but there’s a possibility that with the right additives we could get some of the gas from underground tanks at gas stations to work for us. We also have many more options for fallback positions then we do here. Right now if anything happened, the only thing we could do is run into the forest or if we’re lucky, drive away. If we were in the city we could have secondary locations set up ahead of time and stocked so that we’d always have somewhere to go.”
When it’s clear Joslin’s got nothing more to share, Skylar almost seems to deflate beside me. I’m not sure what’s going on with her or what she wants to hear from Joslin but now isn’t the time to get into it so I keep quiet.
Lance looks around at all of us and asks, “Does anybody else have an opinion on this or something they want to say?” When all he gets in return is head shakes and shrugs he nods his head and stands. “All right then. Let’s plan a week from now to head into the city to look for more wood pellets and while we’re there, we’ll take a hard look at the possibilities. Right now I’m going to get to work on trying to install the pipework to vent the stoves that we brought back, so anybody willing to lend a hand meet me in the atrium in five.”
As everyone gets up and files out, I hold Skylar back beside me at the table. We watch as Belle leads an emotional Sasha into the kitchen. I get that she’s upset and I understand why she wouldn’t want to leave here but she’s going to have to toughen up a little bit to survive out here with us. She can’t always react with such extreme emotions every time hard decisions have to be made. Once everyone’s left the room, I slide away from Skylar a little bit so that I can turn to face her.
“What was that all about? With Joslin?”
Her expression goes blank and then turns to fake confusion. “I don’t know what you mean,” she says innocently.
I smile because she’s so easy for me to read now and I know she’s lying. “Sky, you clearly wanted Joslin to say something different than what she did so what was it?”
She shakes her head slowly. “Oh that. I just thought she was going to have a different opinion. But you know, she’s the smart one with all the planning and the research so if she thinks that we should look at relocating to Calgary I’m on board.” She leans in and brushes her lips against mine before pushing up from her chair. “Well I’m off, I need to take a look at my hens and make sure all the new mommies and the babies are happy. Can you check on the boys on your way to the atrium and make sure they’re actually doing some of the school work I set up for them please?”
I give her a knowing grin and nod my head. “Sure, I’ll go crack the whip before I go play with the pipes.”
She gives me a small laugh and a wave then disappears out the door. I sit there and stare at the empty entrance thinking about what just happened. I know she didn’t tell me the whole story about what’s going on with her and Joslin but I’ve learned not to push Skylar. When she’s ready to tell me what’s on her mind, she will. I push away from the table and head to the boys’ room to check on them but all I really have on my mind is Skylar’s gorgeous blue eyes and when I’ll get to look into them again.
It takes us five long hot sweaty days to complete all the pipe and ductwork we need to connect the four pellet stoves Lance and the others brought back. Our biggest concern is making sure that there is proper ventilation to the outside so that we all don’t die from carbon monoxide poisoning. This required cutting holes in strategic places around the exterior of the atrium room to feed the ducts to the outside to vent and then sealing the gaps around the holes we made back up again to keep the cold weather out.
I’m enjoying my first morning off since we started the heating project by spending it with Skylar. Belle is working with Ben and Matty on their math skills, leaving us a few hours to spend together in peace. We brought a blanket out and laid it on the new grass under one of the trees. Skylar’s laying on her back looking up through the leaves and branches of the tree while I lay beside her on my side with one hand propping up my head so I can stare down at her pretty face.
“So do you think she likes him too?” I ask.
A small smile curves her lips. “At first I was just teasing him about that but then I caught Joslin giving him the googly eyes so I guess there is something there after all.”
I give my head a small shake. “I just don’t see it. I mean, it’d be like an owl dating a dolphin!”
Skylar giggles. “Explain that!”
I tug at one of her curls. “You know, Joslin’s so smart and serious. She’s always watching everything around her and I swear she’s got a computer in her brain where she takes notes on everything she sees. Then you’ve got Marsh who is so laid-back and goofy most of the time that I just don’t see them fitting together.”
She bats my hand away playfully from her hair. “I disagree. You’re just looking at the surface of their personalities. Take Joslin – yes
, she comes off serious and oh so smart but there’s more to her than that. She has a sense of humor that will surprise you and in the right setting and circumstances, she would totally loosen up. I think Marsh’s goofiness would be great for her. As for Marsh, he has a steel core of strength inside of him that you only see when the chips are down. Here’s an example, when you and Sasha were prisoners at the hotel, I saw a totally different side to him. He and Lance went into the wing of the hotel to set it on fire to create a diversion and ended up getting into a fight with some of the people in there. When they got back, I swear half his forehead was hanging down over his eyes from being sliced with a knife. I was ready to puke just looking at it but he was all like, “Slap some tape on it we have work to do!” And that’s exactly what Ethan did, he just taped it up and off we went to free you guys! Seriously, there’s way more depth to Marsh then just his surfer boy persona that he displays to everyone.”
“Hmm, that’s pretty insightful, Skylar. Who else do you have insight on?”
She laughs. “All right but I’m not trying to be mean or anything. It’s just my take on people, okay?”
I nod my head reassuringly at her. “Don’t worry Sky, this is just between us. I’m just curious what you think of everyone.”
She chews on her lip nervously and scans the yard to make sure no one’s nearby before she starts.
“Okay, take Sasha for instance. She’s like a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Kind of firm on the outside and really sweet but inside she’s a hot gooey mess. What I mean is - she’s sweet and keeps it together as long as everything is going along fine but the minute things get hard or something happens to change the dynamic, she just dissolves into this mess of panic and sometimes selfishness. I honestly don’t know if she’s ever going to change. I mean, after everything you guys have been through, you’d think that she would have toughened up a little bit but it doesn’t seem like she has so…”
I nod my head in agreement. “Yeah, I know. I get what you’re saying and I do tend to agree with that. She’s just missing that little bit of steel inside that we all seem to have to get through tough times. We’re just going to have to take care of her as best we can. Okay, who’s next?”
“Well, Ethan and Belle are easy. They’re clearly the mom and dad of the group. I don’t know what else to say besides that. Lance is our warrior and chief. He’s always going to be trying to protect everyone and keep us all on track with a little bit of dad thrown in there too.” She laughs and then taps her lips in thought before continuing. “So that just leaves Jackson. He’s tougher to read. Mainly because I don’t know him that well but I do know he has serious daddy issues and I don’t know if he’s ever going to overcome them. He could go either way. He can spend his life overcompensating for all the things his father did or he can spend his life being dark and broody and never quite letting it go. It’s hard to say, only time will tell on that one. And then there’s the boys who are just, well, perfect in every way!”
I grin down at her. “I think you forgot someone,” I say in a teasing sing-song voice. When she just arches her eyebrows at me I say, “Me! You forgot me!”
She sighs and shakes her head sadly like I’m a lost cause but her smile pushes through. “Yeah, what to say about you? Well I only have one thing to say about you Rex, and that is, you’re mine.” As she says the last word she reaches up and pulls me down toward her until our lips meet and I lose myself in being hers.
Chapter Thirteen … Joslin
I step out of the cabin that we are using as our hen house and once more count the chickens and baby chicks in the section of yard that we’ve enclosed with wire. The number I come up with is still wrong. Shaking my head, I walk out of the gate and head around to the back of the cabin to look for the missing birds. I come up empty when I make it back to the front and stand there looking out over the yard, trying to figure out where the heck these birds have gotten to. They have to be around here somewhere. It’s not like they could fly away.
“Whatcha doing?” Comes from behind me, causing me to flinch and spin around quickly in surprise. Marsh is standing there with his goofy smile and I feel my cheeks heating up. I curse my reaction. I don’t know what’s going on the last few days with me but I’ve been jumpy and edgy. It’s like a dark cloud of nerves is hanging over my head and I don’t know why. All I can figure is I’m worried about what we will find in the city on our upcoming trip to scout it.
Marsh cocks his head at me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You look like you were in deep thought or deep confusion. What’s on your mind?”
I scan around the hen yard and cabin one more time before throwing up my hands with a growl of frustration before answering him. “I can’t find all the chickens!”
His eyebrows go up and he gets a look of amusement on his face before turning and looking behind him at the yard and then back to me with a smile.
“So… is this a game of chicken hide-and-seek then?”
I shoot him an annoyed glance and shake my head. “I’m serious! I’ve done the count twice now and we’re missing three of our hens and three of the baby chicks. I’ve no idea where they’ve gotten to.”
His grin dims slightly but his eyes are still full of amusement. “Okay, I’ll help you look for them. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere. It’s not like they could have flown away, right? Let’s check the wire fence and see if there are any gaps that they might have been able to squeeze through first. If they managed to get through, they could be anywhere in the yard by now.”
I nod my head in agreement and we make our way slowly around the wire fenceline, looking for gaps big enough that would have allowed the chickens to get out, but don’t find anything. Marsh goes into the cabin to look for any holes or hiding places they might be in while I walk around the cabin for the third time. This is getting frustrating. Where in the heck could these birds have gone to? He meets me back out front with a shake of his head.
“I got right down on the floor inside looking for loose boards but I couldn’t find anything. Why don’t we walk around the yard and see if they are out here somewhere?”
I shake my head in frustration but wave him ahead to lead the way. We start walking along the wooden fence that encloses the camp, scanning the ground ahead of us for any sign of these stupid birds.
Marsh keeps glancing over at me like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t, so after a few minutes of this I finally come to a stop and turn and face him.
“What?” I ask, in amused exasperation.
He looks at me and then looks away again. It’s sort of funny because this is the first time I’ve ever seen Marsh nervous about something. He finally takes a deep breath and looks straight at me.
“So… I was just wondering… Um… If you would want to watch a movie tonight?”
I shrug my shoulders and start walking again at such a mundane question, waiting until he catches up to me to answer.
“Sure. I mean, I don’t see why we couldn’t watch one tonight. It’s been a few days and we still have plenty of battery charge on the laptops so we don’t have to use the generator and waste gas. Whatever everybody wants to do, I’m fine with.”
He lets out a deep breath that almost seems disappointed. “Actually, I meant with me or just me, I mean.”
I stop again and turn to him - totally confused. “You want to watch a movie by yourself?”
Now it’s his turn to let out a growl of frustration. “No! I mean, you and I watch a movie…together…alone. Jeez Joslin, you sure don’t make this easy!” At my baffled expression, he looks away.
“I’m trying to ask you out on a date. It’s not like I can say, hey let’s go to the movie theater together anymore or even let’s go to the mall. Dating activities are sort of slim on the ground these days so I’m trying to work with what we have.”
I feel like a total idiot and at the same time feel a warm flush seep into my stomach. A small smile tugs at my lips. Now that I know
what he’s doing, I can’t help but see how cute he is in his fumbling attempt to ask me on a date. His whole face is red in embarrassment so I take pity on him.
“Marsh, I would very much like to watch a movie with you tonight…alone. It’s a date.”
A look of relief flashes across his face before turning into his trademark goofy grin.
“Whew, that was a lot harder than I thought it would be. You know you’re the first girl I’ve ever asked out on a date, right? I mean, I once asked Skylar to marry me after she fed me bacon but I don’t think that really counts.”
I grin teasingly back at him. “Oh, so what you’re saying is I’m your second choice?”
He leans toward me. “That depends, do you have bacon?”
A laugh spills out of me and I shove him away.
“I don’t know about bacon but if we don’t find these missing chickens, eggs will be in short supply!”
We make our way around the perimeter fence without finding any signs of the birds until we walk up to Skylar and Rex who are laying on a blanket together under one of the big trees in one corner of the yard. They look so sweet together and I hate to interrupt them but these missing chickens are driving me crazy so I clear my throat to get their attention.
“Hi, guys. Sorry to interrupt you but we could use your help right now. It seems like we have some missing chickens. You didn’t happen to see any wandering around free did you?”
Rex shakes his head but Skylar just looks up at me with a dreamy smile on her face.
“The chickens have flown the coop?” she asks with a laugh.
I can’t help it smile back at her. It’s really nice to see Skylar happy like this. She deserves it after everything she’s been through in her life.
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 61