by AJ Adaire
Kim looked first to Peri and then to Paige as she replied. “Um…sure.” Kim shrugged. “It’s much safer for everyone with the three of us, and Murdoch of course, traveling together.”
As the evening passed, conversation waned. “It’s obvious that you youngsters could use some rest. Jeff, why don’t you bunk in with your Aunt and me? I’ll leave it to the ladies to figure out who will have to share a bunk.”
Kim spoke first. “Peri and I can bunk together. There’s no doubt Paige must be tired after all her responsibilities today. She’s taken care of everyone…she and Murdoch. She deserves a good rest.”
A puzzled expression darted across Peri’s face. “Sure. That’s a good idea, Kim.” She turned to Joe. “Paige has had less sleep than any one of us the past couple of days.”
“I have to take Murdoch out before we go to bed.” Hearing his name, the big dog stood and Paige ruffled his ears.
“I’ll go with you.” Joe stood up ready to go.
By the time they returned, the others were already in bed. Paige threw her sleeping bag on the cot, took off her boots and crawled into bed. Trusting Joe’s promise that they were safe, she closed her eyes and slept worry-free for the first time in weeks.
Chapter Seven
THE DAY AFTER THEIR arrival, Paige got up and called Murdoch. She approached Joe who was making tea. “Good morning. Is it safe to go up? I need to take Murdoch out.”
“As long as someone is watching the monitor, or you have Murdoch with you, we’re pretty secure here.”
Soon after Paige went up, Peri followed. She found Paige enjoying the sun. She was outside on her back, on a bale of hay near the barn door. While Murdoch sniffed his way around the yard, she was soaking in the sun with her eyes closed and one arm supporting her head. Her other arm dangled at her side, palm up. Murdoch stretched out on the ground next to her. He raised his head as Peri stopped and took in the sight. A smile curled her lips. She would welcome a conversation with Paige. They’d shared only a few private moments since meeting the Halls. Peri wanted to know more about the capable woman. I don’t want to wake her. She took a few steps, prepared to leave Paige in peace.
“Don’t go,” Paige opened her eyes and peered at Peri from half open lids.
“I don’t want to interrupt your rest.”
Paige sat up. “I’ve been thinking. Joe and Doris have been so good to us and made us so welcome, I’d like to do something nice for them.”
“Do you have an idea of what?”
“I thought maybe we could straighten up the house for them. I hope it won’t be like this forever. The rule of law will return to the land at some time, and they’ll be able to return to living in the house. Want to help me put it right for them?”
“That’s a wonderful idea.”
“Where’s Kim?”
“She and Jennifer went down to the stream. Jeff, Joe, and Doris went with them to be sure they were safe.”
Paige smiled. “So now might be a good time to put things in order.”
“Let’s go.”
They started in the living room. Paige removed the broken furniture, while Peri organized the remaining pieces. They swept and mopped the room until it shone. Together they tackled the kitchen.
“I wish the bastards who did this would have to pay for their crimes.” Paige spoke through clenched teeth. “What’s happened to humanity? As a cop, I’ve seen some pretty heinous people.” She glanced away out the window and grew quiet. Seconds later, she returned her focus to Peri. “I don’t understand this behavior. How can I comprehend how little time it’s taken for some people to turn into animals?”
Peri smiled. “Not everyone.” She approached Paige and placed a hand on her arm. “What happened to you, Paige?” She slid her palm down Paige’s arm and took her hand. “Come on. Sit down and talk to me. You’ll feel better if you get it out.”
They sat at the kitchen table. At first, Peri thought Paige wasn’t going to say anything. It took two tries before the words flowed.
“Like, uh…like many others, I had a family…a wife, a little girl.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. Oblivious to the fact she was weeping, Paige continued. “I had a good job. A cushy job, some might say. I was a cop in a small town. The worst I had to do was break up domestic disturbances, or maybe throw someone in the drunk tank for an evening until they sobered up. The whole town was less than three hundred people. I knew everyone by name.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Maria and I adopted a little girl, Hildie, whose parents were close friends of ours. They were killed in an auto accident. It was almost too easy. She was only four years old when we took her in. She was the glue in our relationship.” Paige sniffed and used her sleeve to mop at her tears. “At first, there were only a few people who got sick, then more and more. I organized burial teams. Everyone helped each other, until the suspicion set in. Accusations started to fly about what caused the illness. Enough people fell ill and died that services started to falter. People holed up in their houses, thinking that would keep them safe. I felt relieved, because when my wife and daughter both were sick, I had time to devote to their care. I held Hildie as she died in my arms.” A sob escaped. A full thirty or more seconds later, Paige sighed. “I thought Maria might pull through.” She hesitated as a frown clouded her face. “After Hildie passed, Maria gave up. The fight went out of her and she died, too.”
“I’m so sorry, Paige.” A gentle tug was all that was necessary. Paige dissolved into Peri’s arms and wept as the smaller woman held her.
As the sobs slowed, Paige pulled away. She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. “I’m sorry.”
“For what, for being human? For having feelings, and for mourning those you loved? No apology necessary. Each of us, every survivor, has lost family, lovers, friends. There is no shame in feeling sad about that.”
“I’ve been in law enforcement all my adult life. My police training taught me to show no emotion. I’ve never been weak like this…” Paige sighed.
Peri smiled. “Weak? It’s not weakness to share feelings when you’re hurting. Besides, it’s only me.”
Paige reached over and gave Peri’s hand a squeeze. “Thank you for listening, and for understanding.” With a final sniff, she stood up. “Come on, let’s get the rest of the kitchen tidied up. We can finish the rest of the house tomorrow. Upstairs isn’t as bad as the first floor.”
By the time Joe, Jeff, Jennifer, and Kim returned, Paige and Peri were sitting in the barn. The rare sound of laughter brought smiles to the lips of Peri and Paige. “Did you catch anything besides cold feet?” Paige teased.
“Wait till you see.” Kim’s words tumbled out. “We have more than enough for dinner. I’m cooking a real dinner of grilled fish. Joe has some rice we can boil up and some fiddleheads.”
Peri laughed. “Now there’s a gal who is easy to please.”
“I’m definitely a cheap date.” Kim glanced at Jennifer and winked. “It doesn’t take champagne and caviar to make me happy. Fresh fish and ferns, and I’m putty.”
The group played cards that evening. Because Kim had enjoyed herself so much, the group went fishing again the next day. Joe and Doris said they’d again sit at the back of the barn and watch over them. As the group headed off, Peri and Paige promised their hosts a surprise at the end of the day.
***
Peri and Paige returned to the house and made quick work of cleaning the second floor. Kim, Jennifer, and Jeff had spoken about their former lives the day before. The twins told Kim how sad it had been to lose their parents, and their fear and indecision about what to do after their deaths. Kim told of losing her lover, Becky, to the illness. As they fished together, they began to relax into lighter topics and happier conversations. Jeff headed off a little farther downstream, leaving Jennifer and Kim some time alone.
Sitting together, side by side, their lines dangling in the water, Jennifer turned to Kim. “Can I ask you a personal
question?”
“Sure.”
“How long were you together with Becky?”
“Ten years. We met in college. She had a wonderful smile and easy laughter. Until the illness, we had a good life. We used to laugh all the time. I miss that. There hasn’t been too much to laugh about lately.”
“That’s very true.” A comfortable silence grew between them. Suddenly, Jennifer blurted out, “How did you know you were a lesbian, Kim?”
“I knew the minute she kissed me. I went weak in the knees and couldn’t get her out of my mind after that. A month later I asked her to marry me, and she amazed me and said yes.”
“And that was it?”
“Yup. That was all it took.”
By the time the group returned with the fish, Peri and Paige had the house cleaned and the table set for dinner.
Peri and Paige led Joe and Doris into their home. Tears flooded Doris’ eyes, and Joe brushed his cheek as they looked around their home. “Joe, they’ve put everything in order.” Doris rounded the corner, checking out the house. “Oh look…the kitchen. It would have taken me a week to clean it up. Think it’s safe to eat here in the house tonight?”
Joe smiled at his wife. “Let’s risk it.”
***
The group remained guests of the Halls for five days. They relaxed and stored up energy for their strenuous journey to come. On their last night together, they sat with the Hall family as they planned for departure the next day. Kim, Paige, and Peri sat at the table with Joe, studying the map.
“Look. Here’s a shortcut you can take.” Joe traced a line on the map. “It’ll save you time and might be a safer way to go. You can follow this fence line all the way down to here.” Joe tapped a spot on the map. “You’ll see a logging road that climbs up over this mountain. It’s tough going through here. Once you make it over the crest, you should be able to take either the snowmobile trail, or the logging road to your destination. My suggestion would be that the snowmobile trail might be a little more difficult trek, albeit a safer route, for that reason. We’ll be sorry to see you leave. It’s been nice having some normal family time.”
Paige’s eyes filled up. She quickly blinked the tears away. Kim cleared her throat, and Peri sniffed. Emotions were near the surface for everyone.
His eyes glistening with emotion, Joe looked at each of the women in turn. “You saved my niece and nephew. That makes you more than friends. Please, don’t ever forget that you’ll always have a home here. If you change your mind, or don’t find what you want at the end of your quest, come back home to us. We’re your family now.”
***
The next morning, the Hall family gathered together to bid the travelers goodbye. Joe asked, “Can anyone use a bow?”
“I used to target practice with my wife when we first met,” Paige replied. “It’s been awhile, but I guess I could still handle one. We did Clout archery where you shoot at a marker on the ground instead of at a target. It was an interest we shared and used to enjoy together.
Joe handed her a gleaming bow. She gave it an admiring glance and reverently ran her hand over the smooth surface of the polished wood. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
He nodded before presenting Paige with a tooled leather quiver filled with arrows. “You may encounter an experience where quiet or stealth will be important because you don’t want to attract attention. I hate to think you’ll meet that situation. As they say, it’s definitely better to be prepared.”
Joe turned to pick up the last gift and handed Kim a rifle with a powerful scope attached. A healthy supply of ammo went to Peri. “Careful. That baby packs quite a wallop and she’s noisy as hell. So use it as a last resort.”
Beaming from the kisses each woman placed on his cheek, Joe launched into a story about using the bow to shoot game.
Jennifer touched Kim’s arm and whispered, “Can you come back below? I have something I want you to help me with before you go.”
“Sure. I have to get Peri’s and my packs anyway.” Kim followed Jennifer downstairs, into the room where they’d bunked with Peri and Paige. Jennifer faced Kim as she entered.
“What did you need help with?”
“I have a question I need answered.” Jennifer grasped Kim’s shirt and pulled her into a kiss.
Shocked, Kim held back.
“Please, Kim. Kiss me like you’re enjoying it.”
Kim smiled into Jennifer’s blue-eyed innocence. She leaned forward and relaxed into the younger woman, taking Jennifer’s lips with her own.
Jennifer broke the kiss and stepped back, her breath coming more quickly. “Well, that answered that question!” Leaning into the taller woman, she wrapped her arms around her waist and put her head on Kim’s shoulder. “I know it’s been a short time since you lost your wife, and that this may seem sudden to you. All I know is that I’ve lived for twenty-six years and have never wanted to kiss anyone as much as I’ve wanted to kiss you this last week. It’s the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think about in the morning.”
“Jennifer, I’ve enjoyed our time together, too. However, I’ve made promises I need to honor. So I have to go. I have an obligation.”
Jennifer stepped back. Taking Kim’s hands, she nodded. “I know. There’s something more though. Is it because you have feelings for Peri?”
“Peri’s my friend. I…”
Jennifer placed her fingers over Kim’s lips. “Shh. You don’t have to say anything. I don’t have a right to expect anything from you and don’t want to hear anything that might not be true. I only wanted to see if what I was feeling was real, or if I was imagining things.”
“Jennifer…” Kim’s response was cut off by Jennifer’s hot kiss.
Jennifer stepped back and placed her hand over her heart as if to quiet it. “No, I wasn’t imagining it. If you wake up anytime soon, thinking about that kiss, I hope you’ll come back. Now go. I’ll be up in a minute. Get Peri’s pack, I’ll bring yours.”
Kim stood still, allowing her feelings to settle, before going toward the exit. She grabbed Peri’s pack. Pausing at the bottom of the steps, she looked back. “I’m sorry, Jennifer.”
“Me too.”
Kim disappeared up the stairs. Jennifer pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and wrote a quick letter. She slipped it into Kim’s pack. She laid a hand on the pack before she lifted it and followed Kim up the stairs.
Chapter Eight
FOLLOWING JOE’S INSTRUCTIONS, KIM, Peri, and Paige began the last leg of their journey. They’d agreed with Joe’s concern that following the fence line near the road would leave them too exposed. Despite the added time and increased difficulty, they’d agreed to follow his suggested route.
Kim stopped to wipe her face with her sleeve. “Even with the chill at night, the days feel so hot and humid for this time of year.” Kim shifted the weight of the rifle to her other shoulder. “These little bastards really bite.” She smacked her cheek and buttoned the top of her shirt. She checked to see that her jeans were still tucked into her socks. For the most part, the little, biting insects didn’t penetrate her jeans. The fabric seemed to attract them, reducing the number of black flies swarming around her face. Kim frowned. There were only a few buzzing around Paige’s face.
“Not to be picky…technically it’s only the females that bite. So it should really be these little bitches bite.’” Paige grinned.
Kim turned her head and rolled her eyes.
Paige smiled at Kim’s agitation. Suspecting the woman was losing patience because of her discomfort, she offered to help. “Hey, let me carry the rifle for a bit. We can switch off. It’s heavy and will wear down whoever carries it, if we don’t share the load.”
A begrudging smile from Kim told Paige she was right.
“Come on, hand it over.” Paige slipped out of her pack and rummaged in the pocket. The thorough search produced a small bottle of spray. “Ah, here it is.” She held it out to Kim. “Apply some of t
his to your hat. It’ll help. I use the soap on Murdoch and have washed my clothes in it too. It lasts through several washings. I keep some of the spray here in my pack. They seem to be getting worse now…that time of year I guess. I prefer this spray to the other commercial stuff because it’s a natural product, not all those chemicals. If we find a place to camp that has water access, maybe we can each scrub down with the soap and have a more comfortable hike afterward.”
Kim eagerly reached for the container. She took off her hat and gave it a good spritz, and then sprayed her head for good measure. “Umm. Smells better than that other stuff too. Hope it works. Thanks for sharing.”
“You want some, Peri?”
“Thanks, I have some of the unnatural stuff on my hat and clothes. Anybody who wants some is welcome to it.” She reached for her canteen, took a long pull and held it up. “Anyone want a drink?”
They passed the water around. “How about we go another hour and break for lunch?” Paige suggested. “Come on, Kim. Hand over the weapon.”
“Thanks. Got anything you want me to carry instead?”
“Besides me?” Paige chuckled. “No, I’m good.”
“I can carry it after lunch,” Peri offered. “With all this extra food and gear Joe gave us, I wish we’d taken the donkey he offered. I couldn’t bear to take his pet from him though.”
“Right, and it’s a little hard to blend into the woods when you’re pulling a pack animal,” Kim smirked.
Having shared some laughter and some water, the group felt prepared to push forward. “I can take the lead, Paige,” Kim said. “Take a break.” The first person bore the biggest responsibility in that they had to be alert for dangers on the trail. Murdoch was a big help in that regard.
“Thanks. Watch Murdoch. He’ll help you.” Paige called the big dog over and clipped the strap to his collar. If she didn’t have him on lead, he’d naturally gravitate to walk next to her. So she praised her dog as she clipped on the lead, and handed the leather loop handle to Kim. “Help Kim, Murdoch.” Paige took her place at the end of the line, and Kim led off.