The McClane Apocalypse Book Eight

by Kate Morris

  “No, it doesn’t,” Cory argues.

  Now Sam feels as if she is in the middle of a very private couple’s fight. This just keeps getting more and more awkward.

  “Oh, yes, it does!” Paige counters.

  “That’s not what I want, and you know it,” Cory says with pleading brown eyes.

  “Too bad!” Simon yells and steps into Cory’s space again. John moves him back.

  “Simon, you don’t understand,” Cory explains.

  “I don’t need to. I know everything there is to know about you. You aren’t going to be with my sister. You’re the wrong man for her. She deserves better.”

  “Back ‘er down, little brother,” Kelly says with anger, warning Simon that he is going too far.

  “Easy, bro,” John says, staying his friend.

  “He’s never going to have Paige. He’s never going to have my blessing, and as long as I’m in charge of her- and I am- then it’s not happening. He can find some other woman in town,” Simon informs them.

  “I want your sister…”

  “Never happening…”

  “Wait!” Paige shouts above them but is still ignored. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

  “No! She’s moving with me to town first thing tomorrow,” Simon tells Cory.

  “Simon, man, don’t be like this,” Cory says. “I’m trying to explain…”

  “I don’t want to hear any more of your bullshit lies,” Simon swears again. “I repeatedly asked you if you were interested in her and you denied it.”

  Hannah is going to go and get her rolling pin if they all keep up with the cussing.

  “I’m not lying…”

  “Bull!” Simon blurts. “You don’t care about anything but getting laid.”

  “No, that’s not true. It’s also not fair,” Cory argues.

  John says, “That’s true, Simon. You aren’t even giving him a chance. He’s your best friend.”

  “Was. He’s no longer my best friend. He’s not even a good friend. Not after this.”

  “Simon, damn it!” Cory says, his frustration showing as he rakes his hand through his messy, long hair. “I’m in love with her, bro!”

  Everyone gasps. This is quite the declaration, one done in front of the whole family. Paige even looks stunned.

  “Yeah, got that?” he says to everyone. “I’m in love with her. Paige, I love you. I want to marry you. I’ve told you that a dozen times that I want to marry you.”

  “No fucking way,” Reagan expresses her shock.

  “Reagan,” Hannah corrects softly. The f-word must’ve sent her over the edge. Sam actually smiles. She’s happy for Cory. He needed something or someone to love. He needed more than just his dog to heal his poor, broken heart from Em’s death.

  “No way is right,” Simon states firmly. “That’s never happening. Not while I’m still in charge of her.”

  “Uh…what?” Paige asks with great exaggeration. “You aren’t in charge of me. Nobody is. I’m in…

  “Wrong,” Simon says. “I am in charge of you. It’s the 1700s again. You’re my sister, my only living blood relative, and I’m the only male relative you have. I am absolutely in charge of you, especially your safety. Even if that means keeping you safe from making bad decisions. You aren’t marrying him.”

  “Uh, no, but we can talk about this later since you’re acting like some sort of medieval tyrant. I know I’m not getting married, but not because you say I can’t. I don’t want to. I don’t want to marry anyone.”

  “I know you’re scared,” Cory says. “But it’s ok, Red. I’m not going anywhere. You won’t lose me. I should’ve told you how I feel. I shouldn’t have waited. But we can fix this. We can be married. Right here on the farm would be great.”

  Simon lunges again, but John is there to stop it.

  “You know what, Simon?” Cory taunts angrily. “Why don’t we talk about your love life, huh? How ‘bout we all have a round circle meeting in front of the whole family about you?”

  “Stay out of my business, Cory!” Simon roars. “You’ve already done enough. You’re a liar and a fraud and a shitty friend. Don’t even think we’re changing the subject now.”

  “No, we can, and we are!” Cory laughs. “Why don’t we get into this right now in front of everyone? Why don’t we discuss why Samantha left?”

  “Shut your mouth!” Simon yells, pointing angrily.

  “Why don’t we talk about why she lives on Henry’s farm now and not here? Also, why don’t we get it out in the open that she was kissing him the other day, and you are throwing your whole life away while she makes a new one for herself? Let’s get into that, right? Let’s talk this thing out in front of the whole damn family. You want to expose Paige and me. Let’s talk about your love life.”

  There is another sharp gasp that ripples through the crowd again, and Paige looks at Sam. Everyone does. Her cheeks are burning. Simon is also staring at Sam. Then he turns back to Cory.

  “Shut up. I’m warning you,” Simon says with a sneer and points his finger at Cory for good measure.

  “No, we’re just getting started. You want to humiliate Paige and me in front of everyone. Let’s talk about you for a second.”

  “You say one more thing…”

  “Tell everyone why Samantha left, Simon,” Cory taunts.

  “That’s it…” Simon growls and shoves past John.

  Then they are in the dirt again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Paige

  Her belongings have been moved to the cabin, care of her brother. Cory will temporarily sleep in the basement with the children, and she will reside in the cabin with Simon. The family hadn’t put in opinions on the matter, but had, instead, let them work it out themselves. Basically, Simon decided it, and Paige hadn’t argued because he was already running on a short, clipped fuse. Earlier today was a mess, a nightmare of epic proportions. She can’t believe she was so stupid and careless as to have left that damn pregnancy test in her wastebasket. She should’ve taken it out in the woods and buried it like the albatross it had become. Now everyone knows about them.

  “Simon, we need to talk,” she says with caution as she approaches him carefully in the med shed.

  After the fight, the men had finally got him calmed down enough that he was just barely more rational. His lower lip was cut, but she’s not sure if Cory ever actually punched him. She doesn’t think he did. There was a lot of wrestling on the ground, though. She definitely got to see a different side of her brother. She never knew that the men put them through such extensive hand to hand fighting training until she saw it for herself. She also had no idea that Simon was so strong. It was quite the scene to behold. It was also violent and horrible. She’d just wanted it to stop and was glad when it did.

  “There is nothing left to talk about, Paige,” Simon retorts angrily and returns to his work at the counter.

  It bothers her that his knuckles are bruised and scraped. It also troubles Paige that they got that way from hitting Cory, who has a bruise on his cheek, a cut lip, and a black eye. She hasn’t even had a chance to talk with him yet. Right after the melee, Simon ordered her to pack her belongings so he could carry them to the cabin. When she paused for a mere nanosecond, he’d sprinted upstairs and started without her. Paige didn’t want to fight with him or further hurt him and figured the family wouldn’t like the fact that she slept with Cory, so she complied. She is completely humiliated. Paige knows how Doc feels about this subject. He is old-fashioned, and this is his farm.

  “I want to talk about how you reacted,” she beseeches her brother.

  “I reacted exactly like any brother would when he’s been betrayed by his sister and his best friend.”

  This stings hard. Paige actually flinches. “Sorry. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen at all. It just did. And I knew it was wrong, and I didn’t want you to get hurt. I knew it would be hard to hear. I told Cory it was over. I didn’t want this to happen. It
’s exactly why I ended it.”

  “But you shouldn’t have lied to me. You broke my trust, Paige,” he retorts angrily.

  “I know, Simon,” she says, her voice cracking. “And I feel like shit about it, too. It wasn’t like I wanted to tell you about me and Cory.”

  He turns to her, setting down his jar of whatever salve he was working on. A tear slips down her cheek as she looks at his split lip. This is all her fault. Everyone is in pain, physically and emotionally tonight, and she is definitely to blame.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she says, tears flowing unfettered now. “I love you, Simon. I’m so sorry.”

  Her brother rushes to her and pulls Paige into his arms. He rubs his hand up and down her back. His embrace is comforting, although she knows it is only a temporary respite from the pain they are both feeling.

  “I’m sorry, Simon,” she repeats with true regret.

  Simon pulls back and places a hand on either side of her face, cradling her gently. “I will forgive you, Paige. But not him.”

  “Simon, it’s not his fault,” she says, trying to explain.

  Her brother shakes his head and walks back to the counter where he was working.

  “Don’t. Don’t defend him. He’s not worth your defense.”

  “But…”

  “No, we’re done talking about him. You should go to bed and get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

  “No, please, Simon,” she pleads. “I don’t want to move to town. This is our home. We’re safe here. We need this place.”

  “No, we don’t,” he retorts.

  “I’m not going. I won’t move to town.”

  He swings around on his stool and looks at her with disbelief. “We are moving. That’s final.”

  “No, I get an opinion on this. You know I’m never going to leave you, but I don’t want to move from the farm. I’ve thought a lot lately about running away with you, you know, because of the highwaymen and the danger they pose, but I like it here. I feel safe for the first time in years. Well, mostly safe, and I don’t want to leave the family. If it comes to a fight here on the McClane farm, I want to be here for that. I could never leave them to fight without us. Plus, it’s safer here than out there or in town. It’s more hidden away. I feel a heck of a lot safer than I have since it all happened.”

  “I’ll keep you safe.”

  “I know that. I’m not saying that you wouldn’t or that you can’t, but there’s more to this than just being safe. You know that. I love the McClanes. I want to be here with them. They’re our family now, Simon.”

  He snorts. “Some of them are.”

  “No, he is, too,” she argues softly, not wanting to upset her brother further. He’s been through a lot today.

  “Don’t say that.”

  “He is. Cory loves you. What happened was just stupid. We were just being stupid. You know how it is now. You get really lonely. That’s probably why it happened. He lost his little sister. I was lonely. He was lonely. It just happened.”

  He actually looks like he’s trying to wrap his brain around her theory. His eyes drop to the floor.

  “And you do, too. You must. It’s not normal to go through our whole lives without the companionship of someone. Someday, you’ll find someone, too. Unless you already have.”

  Simon’s blue eyes jump to hers. “You know I haven’t.”

  She treads lightly but has to know, “Simon, what did Cory mean about Sam? He was acting like you drove her away or something bad happened between you.”

  “Nothing bad happened. I told you this before.”

  “But what did he mean, Simon?”

  “I don’t want to get into this right now,” Simon quickly says.

  Paige decides to let it drop. She goes back to the move. “I want you to think about moving to town and reconsider. I don’t want to move. Cory and I are done. I promise. I won’t ever be with him again. I don’t want your permission, but I also don’t want to upset you.”

  “Do you love him, too?” he asks, flooring her.

  Paige clears her voice. “Um, no. No, Simon. I didn’t want a relationship with him. He knew that. It was just a mutual, temporary companionship.”

  “Are you sure? You seem hesitant to answer. Is it because you don’t want to tell me?”

  She swallows hard and says, “No. I have come to like Cory as a friend. I don’t hate him anymore.”

  “Obviously.”

  Paige frowns and says, “Right. But I don’t want to get married to him. I’m glad the family isn’t forcing the issue.”

  “I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself. I don’t know what they’re saying.”

  “Oh,” she whispers.

  “Go get some rest,” he says and turns back around. “I’ll be out later.”

  “I’m going to talk to Sam first. She wanted me to visit with her before I go to bed.”

  There is a long pause, so long that Paige turns to leave because she doesn’t think he will say anything. Then he does, “Fine.”

  “Ok, great. See you in a little bit.”

  This time he doesn’t answer, so she leaves the shed. Paige heads to the house and upstairs to Sam’s room. She is thankful that the girls are not in the kitchen. She did, however, spy light coming from under Doc’s office door, though, and heard voices in there.

  She knocks softly and enters, “Hi, Sam.”

  Her little friend rises from the desk near the window and rushes to her, hugging Paige for a long time.

  “Are you alright, Paige?” she asks with deep concern.

  “Um… yeah. I guess. Don’t have much of a choice.”

  “I know. Oh, this is so terrible!” Sam frets, her blue eyes threatening to spill the tears balancing there.

  She sighs deeply and finally pulls back from her friend. They sit on her bed, or what was only a few hours ago her bed. Now it will be someone’s bed because she will be sleeping in the cabin with Simon.

  “Where’s Cory? Do you know?” Paige asks.

  “I haven’t seen him since this afternoon. I know his things are in the basement. I went down to talk to him, see how he was doing, but he wasn’t there.”

  “Did he leave the farm, go somewhere?”

  “I think so. I’m not sure.”

  “Simon really hurt him.”

  Sam nods vigorously. “I know. I never would’ve guessed that Simon was strong enough to beat Cory.”

  “No, I didn’t mean like that. I mean that Cory is hurting emotionally. I know he feels bad about this whole mess.”

  Sam rests her hand on Paige’s and says, “You could’ve told me. I would’ve kept it a secret. That had to be terrible walking around with such a burden.”

  “Especially when he didn’t want to keep it a secret.”

  “I’m so glad Cory loves you, Paige. I’m so happy for you two.”

  “Wait, that’s not… I mean, Sam, we’re not getting married or anything.”

  “Maybe you will. You never know,” her delightfully optimistic friend says.

  “I do know. I don’t want to get married.”

  “Why not?” Sam asks. “He loves you. I can see it now. It all makes a lot more sense.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Sam sighs softly and explains, “I’ve seen Cory looking at you. Like, a lot. Whenever he’d see me watching, he’d chuckle or roll his eyes like he thought you were a dork. But I saw through it. I kind of thought he liked you, but it didn’t seem like it was mutual.”

  “It’s not.”

  Sam tips her head to the side and gives Paige a look that lets her know that she doesn’t believe her.

  “Well, it’s not mutual in the love department. I admit I’m attracted to him, but marriage is out of the question.”

  “Why? I don’t get it.”

  Paige shrugs. “I don’t ever want to get that close to someone. Not anymore. I’ve lost too many people, Sam. Besides, it’s not like Cory is a cautious and careful person. He runs into
battles like he’s been waiting impatiently for one to strike up. You know how he is. Don’t get me wrong. I like him. I actually like him a lot more than I thought I ever could, especially when I first met him. But he’s going to get himself killed, and I’m not going to play the grieving widow. I’ve already played the grieving sister when I thought I’d never find Simon. I was the grieving daughter when I lost my parents. The grieving friend when I lost people on the road that I came to care about. No thanks. This world is hard now. I’m tired of feeling grief all the time.”

  “But he could live to be eighty. You’re passing up on him because you’re just afraid.”

  “Yes, I know. I am afraid. I admit it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to change my mind, either.”

  “Don’t you love him back?”

  Paige shrugs again. “I don’t know. I don’t let myself get that close. He’s…”

  She thinks in her head about all the adjectives that describe Cory: loyal, sexy, funny, ornery, fierce, bluntly honest, challenging. But she doesn’t voice them. She doesn’t want to give Sam a false sense of hope about their relationship. Or herself.

  “Are you really moving into town across from the practice?” Sam asks, realizing that she’s not getting further information on Paige’s feelings.

  “I hope not. I don’t want to. I feel safer here than when we go to town.”

  Sam nods with understanding. “I heard Reagan and John talking about it. John is very much against you moving.”

  “I don’t think he’s pleased with my brother lately anyway.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “He drove you away?” Paige questions.

  “Oh,” Sam says after a heavy pause. “No, he didn’t. It’s not Simon’s fault I left. It was mine.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “If you knew Cory before the fall, would you have wanted to marry him then?” Sam asks, entirely avoiding Paige’s line of questioning.

  “What? I don’t know. I doubt very much we would’ve ever met. We only did because of what happened. Same as you and my brother or any of the rest of the family.”