They rode in silence for a couple of miles, then Will said, “Much obliged that you helped Amanda come to get me.”
“I didn’t do anything. I just rode along.”
“All the same, I’m glad she wasn’t alone and that she didn’t have the twins with her. They would have started a feud for sure.”
“I could have done it on my own, Dad.”
Cole met Will’s eyes in the rearview mirror. The older man gave his head a slight shake. “You would have tried, sweetheart, I know, but those men wouldn’t have let you skedaddle out of there if this fellow hadn’t been with you.”
“I’m not so sure, Will. Your daughter confronted us head on yesterday and now here we are riding together. I think Amanda is a lot stronger than you give her credit for.”
Amanda sent him a look that might have been a thank you, but she said, “Whatever. You’re free, Dad. That’s the important thing. Are you okay?”
“It wasn’t bad. The shot went clean through. Don patched me up.”
“Does he have medical training?” Cole was torn between hoping he did because the greatest resource they had lost was the vast wealth of human knowledge and every scrap of medical experience would be helpful, but he also couldn’t help wishing Don didn’t have training so that group would be more likely to join the community Cole was striving to bring together. Their threat of finding someone else hung over his head.
“I don’t know. Maybe a little. There wasn’t much to do but wash it and throw a bandage on it. I could have done it myself if I could have reached the wound, but I got hit right in the left cheek.”
Cole whipped his head around to look the man in the face, noted that half of his face wasn’t blown away, then burst into laughter when Will grinned at his surprise. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing, but—”
“Yeah, I know. The guys there were ribbing me too.”
“I’m glad you find it so amusing that my dad was shot in the ass. He could have died. He could have bled to death or had the wound become infected.” Amanda cast Cole a look that conflicted with her tone. The corners of her eyes crinkled as her mouth turned up at the corners.
“My apologies, Amanda, and to you too, Will.” Cole chuckled one more time then said, “Look, Amanda, what I would like to do is canvas the area and find out who is living in the vicinity. Say, a twenty mile radius. That’s a lot of ground to cover. Any ideas of the best way to do it?”
She pursed her lips. “We checked the fuel tank at the ranch we’re staying at and there’s still plenty but it’s diesel so we’ll have to look for diesel powered vehicles other than tractors.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Cole figured they’d be able to find them even at some car dealerships—and with luck, they could even fill up the vehicles with diesel right at the dealership and go from there.
They reached the ranch and Amanda stopped. Cole jumped out and rounded the Jeep to help Will out, but Amanda beat him to it.
“Cole? How did it go?”
He turned at Elly’s voice, unable to hold back a smile at her appearance. In this warmth, she’d shed her bulky coats and sweaters they’d worn for most of the trip and in a plain T-shirt and black leggings, her pregnancy showed. Her hair curled around her face and when she came close, he smelled a light coconut scent emanating from it.
“You smell good enough to eat.” He pulled her close, burying his face against her.
Laughing, she eased away. “I’m not sure whether to be pleased at the compliment or worried I smelled like a goat before.”
“Be pleased. That’s how I meant it.” Cole grinned. “And to answer your question, it went okay. A bit of tension, but I think they’ll be at the meeting.”
“What meeting?”
Cole told her what he had planned.
“Do you think we have time to do that? We have to find a place of our own to live, get some kind of crops in, after we learn what grows here and planting seasons, find supplies for our immediate needs, and god only knows what else.”
“I know, and I understand, but I think if we get to know survivors in the area, we can save a lot of time by learning what’s available and get answers to all of your other questions.”
She put her arm around his waist as they walked back to the house. “Good point. How are we going to find other survivors?”
“That’s the biggest question of all.” Cole entered the house, shivering at the blast of air conditioning. It felt good, but unexpected. He knew it had been on last night when he heard the fan blowing, but when he’d entered the house last night, the air outside had been cool and it hadn’t been a shock. The second surprise was the tantalizing aroma of baking bread and something else he couldn’t place.
“What have you guys been doing?” Cole moved to the sink and got a glass of cold water, marveling at the ease of it and vowing to never take pure running water for granted again. After guzzling most of it, he paused. If most people were dead, who was making sure the water was pure? He peered at what was left in the glass.
“What’s wrong?” Elly had a glass of water also, and started examining her own.
“I was just wondering how clean this water was.”
“Ah. Well, it’s okay. I wondered the same thing and we figured out it’s well water. It should be fine.”
It tasted good and he finished it and filled another. After weeks of rationing water while driving, it felt great to slake his thirst.
“While you’ve been gone, Travis and I got the chickens and chicks settled in the hen house. The horses will have clean stalls to come back to after Jake and Hunter return from scoping out the land. The goats are happily cavorting in the pasture.”
“Wow, you guys did a lot!”
“Yep. After all of that, I had to shower, so that’s why I smell so good. You wouldn’t have come near me an hour ago.”
Cole laughed. “And everyone else?”
“Piper has been baking up a storm, but we’re almost out of flour. I think she went to find Amanda’s sister to see if there’s any more around so she can bake something for them. Sophie has been washing clothes for everyone. It’s a much easier task with a working washer and dryer although I think she hung some things out on a line. In this desert air, they dry faster than a machine can do it.”
“Are you hungry?” Elly opened a cupboard and pulled out a loaf of bread. The aroma wafted to him. It must have been one of the fresh loaves. His mouth watered. Piper was a great baker, but conditions for perfect baking hadn’t existed since the virus so to see an evenly browned loaf of bread, golden on top and darkening to rich brown near the bottom made him want to devour the whole thing. He made do with a thick slice slathered in strawberry jam. “Where did the jam come from?” It was deliciously tart.
“Smuckers.”
Cole laughed. “I meant, how did you come by it?”
“It was here already and Sandy said we could have some.”
After devouring the bread, Cole left Elly to help plant a garden. The ranch had a large garden already started from Amanda’s group but since they’d only been there a few days themselves, there was a lot of work to do.
He found Amanda talking to her brother, Derek, out by the horse corral. “Hi Derek, Amanda. Do either of you know if my son, Hunter, has returned from his ride yet?”
“No, the stalls are still empty, so I guess not.” Derek pointed to the two empty stalls he guessed had been designated for Red and Princess. There were no other horses in the other empty stalls.
Cole glanced at the stalls, unused to seeing this particular type of stable. He guessed it was open to allow more air flow in this climate and there would be no need to protect against blizzards. “You don’t have any other horses?”
“Not here…back home we do.” Derek scowled at his sister. “I wanted to go steal them back last night, but then you guys came and ruined everything.”
“Derek!” Amanda shook her head. “I’m sorry for my brother’s outburst. Apologize, Derek.�
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“You don’t have to be sorry for me. You’re not Mom and I don’t have to do what you say.”
“There’s no apology necessary. I understand Derek’s anger, but unfortunately, your horses are under locked armed guards right now. I counted at least seven men there, plus whoever your sister saw in the house when she rescued your dad.”
Derek’s eyes widened. “You rescued Dad?”
“That’s what I came out to tell you before you started mouthing off to me. He’s at the house in the big bedroom in the back.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He will be, just don’t bounce on the bed. He’s a little sensitive on his backside.”
Derek grinned. “I’m going to go find Daniel and tell him.” He tore off in the direction of one of the other buildings.
“I take it Daniel is the other twin?”
Amanda nodded, preoccupied. “Derek’s taking our mom’s death the hardest. I don’t know what to do with him anymore.” She sighed. “Anyway, is there something you wanted?”
Cole nodded. “You mentioned a couple of guys from Nellis Air Force Base. Are they around here now?”
She shuffled her feet and rested her arms on the top rail of the corral. “Um, well, see…there are a couple of guys, but they aren’t actually with us. I mean, they come and go in the area. They helped us with the cattle last fall but they don’t come too close to anyone. They just ride in, drop off food now and then, and leave.”
Cole digested that. He was disappointed they weren’t here, but they would be exactly the kind of guys who could tell him what was going on and where the survivors were located.
“Any chance you might know where they stay?”
Amanda shrugged. “I asked them once, and they said mostly empty bunk houses. A lot of these ranches are no longer real working ranches. Some are more vacation spots for tourists. The bunkhouses have been abandoned as not luxurious enough for guests, so cabins are built.”
“I imagine the guys think the bunkhouses are the safest.” He thought about it and shrugged. “They’d probably be right.”
Cole asked Amanda if she knew where any were, and she waved for Cole to follow her to the house. “I found a telephone book in a drawer in here. I can show you on the street map inside.”
For the next half hour, he compiled a list of ranches culled the old fashioned way by looking through the Yellow Pages. Amanda had gone back to tend to her father and everyone seemed to be out doing chores.
“What are you doing?” Elly entered the kitchen from a hallway, leaning sideways from the weight of a full bucket in one hand and clenching a mop in the other.
“What in the world have you been doing?” He jumped up and took the full bucket from her and poured it down the sink.
“I was mopping the floors. They were filthy with dust.”
“You shouldn’t be doing all that hard work. You’re six months pregnant.”
“Seven.”
Cole froze in the act of putting the mop out on the back stoop to dry. “What?”
“Jenna has been thinking I’m farther along than we thought. With the stress of the virus, I wasn’t…regular, you know? So I wasn’t exactly sure when I could have become pregnant. It looks like maybe the first time…” She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t look so freaked out. What difference does it make? Sophie is due in a month, maybe less, and I’ll be a month behind her.”
“I just… damn. I wanted things to be more settled before the baby came. Is there a chance Jenna is wrong?” Cole scratched the back of his head as he muddled through the news.
“I have no idea. I just know that we need to prepare sooner rather than later. We did bring all those diapers you grabbed last fall, right?”
“Oh, yeah, we have several hundred, but we should get cloth too, right? I mean, the diapers won’t last forever.”
“You know what? Don’t worry about the diapers. Sophie and I will figure it out. You just go do what you need to do.”
“I’m going to ask Amanda to come with me. Do you mind?”
Elly laughed. “No. Why would I mind? You don’t plan to get her pregnant too, do you?” The teasing glint in her eye let Cole off the hook.
“Of course not. It’s just she knows the area and the guys I’m looking for will know her.”
Amanda came from a different entrance into the kitchen, a tray with dirty dishes balanced in her hands.
“Amanda, I know you’re super busy, but can I ask another favor?”
“Sure.” She emptied the tray in the sink and picked up a sponge.
“Leave those, Amanda. I can do them. In fact, it will be a pleasure to do dishes with warm running water at hand.”
“Oh, I can do them.”
“I know, but this way, you and Cole can get going sooner.”
She shrugged. “Fine. I’m ready if you are.”
Hunter, followed by Jake, entered the house. His dad and Amanda stood near the kitchen table, but Hunter made a beeline for the sink. Dust coated his skin and his mouth felt like mud. He should have brought more water, but he and Jake hadn’t planned on being gone so long. “Hey, Dad! You won’t believe this place! It’s gorgeous out there.” He turned on the cold water, sighing as it ran over his hands. Impulsively, he cupped his hands under the faucet, scooping water over his face, rubbing it around his neck, then slurped a few mouthfuls from his hands. It tasted so cold and fresh—not like stale water from a bottle.
“Ah, you know there are glasses for drinking?” His dad’s voice made him turn around even as he wiped water from his eyelashes. “Oh, shoot. I’m sorry for the mess. I was so hot and thirsty—”
“No worries. It’s Hunter, right?” Amanda found a dishtowel in a drawer and handed it to him.
“Yeah, that’s me. And this is Jake—who clearly knows how to take a hint,” Hunter joked as Jake opened a cabinet next to the sink, found a cup, and drank from it.
“I wasn’t raised in a barn.” Jake grinned over the rim of his cup before tilting it and downing the rest of the water.
Amanda took the towel from Hunter and draped it over her shoulder. With a wink at him, she said to Jake, “I practically was raised in a barn, so I know how hot hard work can make a person.” She turned on the water, cupped her hands and proceeded to drink from them.
Feeling at ease, Hunter ran his hands through his hair. He felt better already.
“Hunter, I’d like you to go with me to see if we can interest some of the other survivors in the area in coming together for a meeting three days from now.”
“Sure, Dad.”
“If you’re hungry, there’s bread on the counter there.” His dad pointed to a loaf wrapped in a clean dish cloth.
Jake beat Hunter to it, but sliced them each a thick piece, spotted the jam sitting beside it and handed it to Hunter. “You’re on jam duty.”
One of the teens, Derek, came from back in the house, eyeing the bread.
Amanda shook her head. “That’s not ours, Derek.”
His face fell, but Hunter edged Jake out of the way and cut the boy a slice. “Here. It’s okay. My cousin, Piper, makes the best bread ever.”
Derek took it, but not before requesting permission from his sister, who nodded.
Hunter handed him the jam. “Try it with this. It’s the bomb.”
“Derek, do you want to go with us? We could cover more ground if you go with Hunter, and I go with Cole.”
Hunter stuffed the last bite of his bread in his mouth, grabbed a glass, and washed down the bread with a long gulp, giving his dad a sly grin. “Let’s go. I’m ready.”
“Okay. Derek, I’ll take the Jeep, you can take the pick-up.” Amanda tossed a set of keys to Derek, he motioned to Hunter. “Come on.”
Jake looked at Hunter’s dad. “What about me?”
“If this meeting comes about, we’re going to need a lot of food to share. It might be the only thing that will entice people to show up.”
Hunter nodded. “Good point, D
ad. While Jake and I were out, we came across an empty house along one of the backroads. We didn’t go in because it was getting late, but it was definitely abandoned and looked like it’s been untouched. It had a mailbox out on the road. It’s pretty out of the way and might be worth checking for supplies.”
Amanda nodded. “I have a map in my Jeep. I should give it to you guys anyway. Derek knows the area, but he’d just gotten his license when the virus hit. He hasn’t driven a lot.”
“I’m a good driver.”
“Did I say you were a bad driver? No, I didn’t.” Amanda headed out the door, tossing over her shoulder to Derek as he caught the screen door behind her, “And it’s not like there’s much traffic to contend with. You just have to go slow to find a path through obstacles.”
27
Hunter rode shotgun with Derek driving. His dad had taken the radios from their vehicles so they had a means of communicating. He’d also given a rundown about some Air Force guys they were looking for. It seemed like a wild goose chase, but Hunter was up for it.
“So, you’re seventeen?” Hunter opened the map and as they passed roads, he noted where they were and was able to pinpoint the ranch they were staying at, and then find the house on the backroad. It looked as if the road ended at a canyon.
“Yeah. Just turned. I’m not really sure what the date is anymore.”
Hunter nodded. “Yeah, I know. Kind of hard to keep track of dates when there’s no reason to. But, my dad has kept track since day one, so he’ll know the exact date.”
“I could find out here. We still have electricity and all, so, like, my computer still has a calendar, but with no internet, I don’t use the computer much. It’s not like I can Google anything.”
“I haven’t used a computer since the beginning. In fact, I fried mine the day before the virus hit. I was dreading telling my dad.” Hunter laughed. “Looking back, that seems like such a minor issue. You know?”
Sympatico Syndrome Trilogy Box Set Page 77