Chapter Thirteen
Matt
Over the next week they began to fall into a routine—working in the garden and fruit orchard, collecting eggs from the chicken coop, milking the few cows that produced milk, caring for the horses, patrolling the property, preparing meals and cleaning up. They also spent hours each day on weapons training. Under the tutelage of Derrick, Jeff, and Chris, everyone but the three little children took lots of target practice and trained on what they would do if they came under attack. Matt could see that Jessica and his children were becoming much more comfortable with their guns, which pleased him.
As each person took on chores, they each began to figure out what they liked to do. Matt was no exception. He definitely enjoyed patrolling, but that was only for a few hours each day. The rest of the time he worked with others to prepare the ground for expanding the garden, chopped firewood, went on several runs to gather more food and supplies, and any number of other tasks that came up.
By the end of each day, he was exhausted. More tired than he ever had been working as a software engineer. And when everyone gathered in the evening, hot and tired from working all day, it became obvious that there were too many people living in too small a space. People would get grumpy and the feeling would spread like a virus until the tension in the house was palpable.
No one wanted to complain—Matt in particular was extremely grateful for Frank and Sarah’s generosity in giving them a chance to prove themselves—but it had to be said. One night after the dinner dishes had been cleaned up, Matt asked if everyone would meet outside under the covered patio for a meeting.
When he asked, Jessica cocked an eyebrow at him in question, but he just smiled, took her hand, and led the way outside. Once everyone except Chris and Emily, who were patrolling, were seated, Matt stood and faced the group. As he looked at the faces of the people he considered his family, warmth spread through his chest. These were good people, people who had his back and he had theirs. These were challenging times, but they would make it. Together.
“What’s this all about?” Frank asked.
Matt shifted his gaze to the man he’d learned to respect more and more over the week they’d been there. Frank had so much knowledge about how to run things—knowledge that Matt was sorely lacking. Frank was a good man, a generous man.
“First off,” Matt said as he smiled at Frank, “I want you to know how much we all appreciate you letting us stay here over the last week.”
Heads nodded all around, although Matt noticed Derrick lifting an eyebrow like he was wondering where Matt was going with this.
“I have to admit,” Frank said, his voice gruff, “the way everyone has pitched in kind of surprised me.” He chuckled. “I’m sorry to say that I had my doubts, but you all,” his gaze swept the group, “are hard workers.” He scanned the space where they’d expanded the garden and where a huge pile of chopped wood was stacked, then he turned back to Matt. “Sarah and I never could have gotten this much done on our own.” He smiled at his wife as he took her hand. “Not even close.”
Sarah smiled brightly. “And we have more food now than when you all showed up.”
Elated that Frank and Sarah saw the value of their group, Matt gathered his thoughts as he prepared to tell them what he had in mind. He’d mulled over the problem during the last few days and the solution seemed obvious.
“Maybe everyone has noticed,” Matt began, “but when we’re all in the house, it feels pretty crowded.”
He caught Frank and Sarah exchanging a look—one that said they were glad someone was bringing this up because they’d discussed it in private and were all too aware of the issue.
Then Matt looked at the faces of the others and saw that they all felt the same way. He grinned. “Okay. We’re all on the same page.”
“We’re not going to leave, are we Dad?” Kayla asked, her eyes shifting between him and Frank.
Matt looked at Frank to see his response. Though Matt had an idea of how they could solve the crowding problem, he didn’t want to step on Frank’s toes.
Frank visibly took a breath before slowly exhaling, then he glanced at Sarah, who nodded. Frank smiled. “We want you to stay.”
The words were simple but brought a tremendous relief. Matt knew he wasn’t the only one silently rejoicing. “Thank you.” His words of gratitude were echoed by everyone but the small children. After the group had quieted, Matt smiled. “Now, back to the problem at hand.” He paused a beat. “I have an idea for a way to immediately resolve the issue.”
All eyes were on him, filled with expectation.
“What if we brought a few RVs here? We could haul a few back here to give each family a separate space for sleeping and, you know, getting away from the group. We’d have instant housing.”
Matt could see the wheels turning in everyone’s minds. He went on.
“There wouldn’t be any water or sewer or power in the RVs, so we’d still need to gather together for meals.”
Frank was nodding. “That could work.”
Amy, Chris’s wife, cleared her throat. “How many RVs are you thinking? I mean, who would get one?”
Matt turned to her, then looked at her two small boys who were playing with toy cars in the dirt nearby. Serena, Paisley’s two-year-old daughter, was playing with Amy’s boys.
He looked at Amy and then Paisley. “As far as I’m concerned, whoever wants one can have one.” He shifted his eyes to Frank. “Assuming there’s room to place all of them.”
Frank stood and walked a short distance away, stopping just past the edge of the patio, his gaze sweeping the open area near the barn. He stared for several long moments, then turned and faced the group. “I think there’s enough room.” He grinned. “Never thought I’d be runnin’ an RV park.” With a soft chuckle, he walked back to his chair and sat down.
Matt held back his own grin. This was going to work. People would have their own space, yet they’d still be together. It was perfect.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessica
“Sometimes you can be brilliant,” Jessica said to Matt as they got ready for bed that night. She smirked. “Although I’m going to miss sleeping on this air mattress.”
Matt laughed. “I’ll bet you will. Especially when it goes flat in the middle of the night.”
Yeah, that was really annoying, although she’d been able to easily overlook it when she considered the other option—being homeless. But having a real bed again would be heavenly.
“I want to go with you tomorrow to get the RVs.”
He looked at her with raised eyebrows. “You do?”
She hadn’t left the farm since they’d arrived. It was time to get out there, to see what it was like. To help. “If you’re picking out our home, then yeah, I want to be part of it.”
He laughed. “Ah. I see. You don’t trust me to get the right RV.”
Shaking her head, she said, “That’s not it at all. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been kind of holed up here since we got here. I admit it. I’ve been scared to leave the safety of this place, but I need to push myself and face my fears. How else am I going to get over them?” Besides, she’d been training for days. She was ready.
He stared at her a moment. “All right. If you want to come, that’s fine with me.” He smiled. “It’ll be like before. When we used to run errands together.”
That time seemed so long ago. “Except now there will be a lot fewer shoppers. And we won’t have to actually pay for anything.”
One side of his mouth quirked up in a wry smile. “True.”
Jessica didn’t sleep well that night, plagued by nightmares of being attacked and shot at. Then she woke up and remembered that those things had actually happened. And she’d survived.
I can do this.
“You awake?” Matt asked from beside her early the next morning.
She shifted to face him. “Yeah.”
“You still want to come RV shopping?”
/> “Yes and no.”
Eyebrows tugging together, he said, “You don’t have to.” His lips pursed. “To be honest, I’d feel better if you were here.”
She thought about the men who claimed they were from the government. “It’s not necessarily safer here.”
Matt grimaced, obviously thinking about the same thing.
“Besides,” she said, “I have to do this. For myself and for the girls. Dylan’s gone with you, what? Three times? The girls and I need to get out there too. In fact, after I go today I want to go out on a run for food. The girls mentioned that they’d like to go sometime too. It would be good for all of us.”
Matt looked less certain, which made Jessica wonder what exactly he’d seen out there. He’d never told her and she hadn’t asked. She would find out soon enough.
They joined the others for a breakfast of eggs fresh from the chicken coop and thick slices of bread that Sarah had baked the afternoon before. They were eating well, which made Jessica think about the rest of the people out there. How were they faring? How many people were even left? And how desperate had they become?
“So,” Derrick said after breakfast was done, “we’ll take my truck, Chris’s SUV, and Frank’s truck. That will allow us to bring back three trailers.”
This was getting real. “Does that mean we’ll have to go back out to get the fourth? Or we could get a Class C. We’ll have enough drivers. I mean, I could drive one back. Then we’d be done with it.”
They’d decided to get four RVs—one for Matt and Jessica’s family, one for Chris and Amy’s family, one for Paisley and Serena, and one for Derrick. Jeff and Emily would stay in the house with Frank and Sarah.
“Great idea,” Derrick said with a nod. “Of course, that assumes we can find the keys.”
“They should be stored in the office somewhere,” Matt said.
Jessica hoped so. As much as she wanted to do this, she also had deep trepidation. What if someone was guarding the lot? What if they ran in to the Emperors? What if they were attacked on the way there or back? So many things could go wrong.
Don’t borrow trouble.
The words her mother used to tell her filled her mind. And her mother was right. Why worry about what might happen? They would deal with it if and when it came up.
“Okay,” Matt said. “Let’s get this done.”
Nodding along with the rest of those going—Matt, Derrick, and Chris—Jessica swallowed her fear and walked with them to the front of the house where the vehicles were parked. Derrick got in his truck, Chris got in his SUV, and Jessica and Matt got in Frank’s truck, which was a good twenty years old.
Frank had marked on a map where to go to get to the closest RV dealership. It was only about five miles away. Still, as Jessica and Matt drove through the open gate, which Jeff waited to close behind them, she felt her heart rate pick up a notch.
As they drove, it felt to Jessica that they were going back the way they’d come when they’d first arrived over a week earlier. “Is this the way we came when we got here?”
Matt nodded. “Yep. The closest dealership is this way.”
The memory of being accosted by the Emperors washed over her and her heart pounded like a jackhammer in her chest. Where they going right into the Emperors’ nest?
Chapter Fifteen
Derrick
Derrick had an uneasy feeling. Before leaving the farm they’d discussed which RV dealership to go to, and though there were a couple south of the farm—away from the area where they’d had their run-in with the Emperors—those RV dealerships were fifteen miles away. The one they were headed to was only five miles from the farm, although it was north—only a few miles from where the Emperors had held them at gunpoint and taken over half of their stuff. Even so, it had seemed prudent to keep the distance they would travel as short as possible. Less chance for contact with other people. Less chance for conflict.
Derrick had voted for going to this location. An hour ago it had seemed like the best decision. Now though, as they drove through the deserted streets, he had the uneasy sense that they were being watched.
Maybe they should turn around and make the longer trek to a presumably safer area. He picked up the walkie to make the suggestion, but then the RV dealership came into view with several rows of shiny new RVs. Made no sense to turn around and travel twenty miles in the other direction. He pressed the Talk button. “There’s the dealership. Over.”
Matt and Chris both said Copy.
Derrick’s truck was in the lead. A chain stretched across the driveway to the lot. He stopped in front of it, then got out of his truck. He took a pair of bolt cutters from the back of the truck and removed the obstacle from his path. He tossed the bolt cutters into the bed of his truck and drove onto the lot.
No one was visible, but there were many places someone could hide.
The feeling of being watched had dissipated. Probably his imagination.
Derrick pulled into a parking space and got out of his truck. Matt and Jessica, and then Chris parked as well, joining him.
“How do you want to do this?” Matt asked, his eyes scanning the RVs.
Derrick didn’t want to take a long time. “Let’s go inside and find where the keys are stored. Then we’ll pick out the RVs and get back to the farm.”
Matt and Chris nodded. Derrick turned to Jessica. Her gaze was shooting in all directions. Was she hoping to find an RV like the one they’d had stolen by the Emperors? Or was she nervous?
“See anything you want?”
Her gaze jerked to him. “Uh, not yet.”
Okay. It was nerves. That was good. Overconfidence could be dangerous.
“Why don’t you and Matt look around? Chris and I will find the keys.”
She and Matt nodded and headed off while he and Chris went to the glass doors that fronted the dealership. Hoping they’d get lucky, Derrick tugged on the door. Nope. Locked tight. “Let’s check around back for another entrance.”
Being cautious, Derrick crept around the side of the building, slowing when a solid door came into view. He stopped in front of it. Someone had shot it open. Saved him the trouble, but was the shooter still there?
Concerned, but not overly so, he motioned to Chris to cover him. Chris was ex-military too. He knew what to do. Confident that Chris had his six, Derrick took a small flashlight out of his back pocket, gripping it in his left hand. With his Glock in his right, he crossed his wrists and moved slowly into the interior of the dark building. He flicked the flashlight on, swept an area, then turned it off. He did this over and over until all the rooms had been cleared.
The place was empty. Whoever had broken the door had come and gone. Maybe they’d had the same idea as Derrick and their group. Didn’t matter. They were plenty of RVs left to choose from.
It didn’t take long to find where the keys were supposed to be stored. Only problem was, not a single key was in the cabinet. Instead, all he saw were dozens of shiny, empty hooks. Derrick turned to Chris, whose eyes shifted from the empty cabinet to Derrick’s face.
Chris shook his head. “Guess whoever owns the place didn’t want anyone stealing the RVs.”
“Guy’s probably dead, so why should he care?”
Chris shrugged.
Certain they could work around this problem, Derrick closed the cabinet. “Let’s find Matt and Jessica.”
He and Chris headed out to the lot. It took a couple of minutes to find Matt and Jessica, but when he did, he held back a smile. Matt and Jessica stood side by side, admiring a fifth wheel that looked very much like the one they’d had stolen from them.
“Nice,” Derrick said.
Jessica spun around like she hadn’t heard Derrick and Chris approaching, but when she saw who it was, a grin broke out across her face. Jessica turned back to the fifth wheel. “I’d love to take this one.” Her nostrils flared. “But we don’t have our truck with its fifth wheel hitch, and none of our trucks have that type of hitch either.”
A dark look came over Matt. Derrick knew it still rankled Matt that the Emperors had stolen his truck and RV. After a moment, Matt exhaled sharply, then turned and pointed to an RV that was the size of a city bus. “What about that one?”
Derrick needed to tell them about the new wrinkle. “Before you choose one, I have some bad news.”
Jessica’s eyebrows tugged together. “What’s wrong?”
“There are no keys.”
“You mean you couldn’t find them?”
He shook his head. “No. I mean someone took all of them.”
Jessica turned and slowly scanned all of the RVs within view before facing Matt. “We can still get a bumper-pull, right? I mean, we’ll have to jimmy the lock to open the door, but we don’t need a key to tow it home, right?”
Matt smiled. “That’s right.”
Jessica’s expression relaxed. “Okay then. Problem solved.”
Derrick grinned. He’d figured the problem wasn’t insurmountable, and he was gratified to see Jessica pivot so easily. “Perfect.”
Jessica led the way to a group of travel trailers, stopping and looking at each one.
“Kind of hard to tell which one would work best for us from the outside,” she lamented.
This was taking too long. “You know,” Derrick said, not wanting to rush her, but wanting to get this done and leave, “let’s just pick three, hook them up, and bring them back to the farm.”
Maybe Jessica could sense the tension he was feeling, because her forehead creased. “You’re right. Guess I forgot myself for a minute there.”
Glad she understood, he smiled. “No problem. So, which ones should we take?”
No Safe Place Page 6