by Deb Rotuno
Sara walked to Rina, holding out a hand. “Let’s get you a bath too, baby girl,” she told her, and Rina went willingly. They both stopped in front of me, and Sara bent down to kiss my forehead, cheek, and then my lips. “You’re doing just fine, baby. Go… Take a break. You’ve been holding her for a while. I’ll tuck her in.”
“Okay,” I sighed, getting up from the bed. They left the room, but I walked to Aiden, tucking the covers around him, and then to Freddie, kissing his forehead. “Love you, Freddie.”
“Love you too, Dad,” he said, pointing to the board. “I’m gonna beat Mom.”
Grinning, I ruffled his damp hair. “Good luck with that.”
When I walked out into the main part of the suite, I heard girly giggles and splashing from the bathroom. And I smiled, but it felt like a double-edged sword. My heart hurt at what we’d lost and gained all in two damn days. Life moved so fucking quickly now, I could hardly keep up, but I sent a prayer or thought to Olivia, vowing one last time that I’d keep my word, that her two kids would never be alone.
Chapter 9
SARA
Klamath Lake, Oregon
1 year after Hurricane Beatrice
STEPPING OUTSIDE THROUGH the deck doors, I inhaled the sweet scent of spring. The snow had melted, the sun was out, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits with whatever project they were working on.
“Try the old police channel,” my dad said, leaning in the passenger-side doorway of the Hummer that was parked beneath the shade by the back deck. “If anyone’s looking for contact, that’s the best one to use.”
Jack reached over and clicked through a channel or two, meeting my dad’s gaze with a slow shake of his head. “Static, Hank. It’s been that way…”
Even sitting on the deck, I could hear that the static was a constant hiss, but it sputtered with voices that couldn’t quite be discerned. I thought I caught words like armed, military, infected, and base, but I couldn’t be sure. And it seemed like I wasn’t the only one who had heard those words. Jack sat up straighter in the seat, glancing up to my dad.
“We’re too far away from Fort Warner for the signal to reach us,” he said, clicking a few more knobs, but the voice dissipated as quickly as it had come.
“Which means they’re either mobile or it’s one of the Army Reserve locations. Leave it. Don’t go looking for trouble, son,” Dad stated, adjusting his baseball cap. “As much as I’d love the idea of the military reorganizing, I just…can’t put us out in the open.”
“I know,” Jack sighed, clicking through a few more channels, only to receive more static. “I agree. It’s been a year, though. We can’t be the only people out there to have found some sort of…I don’t know…life.”
They went through the channels again before turning the CB off. Jack changed to the radio, scanning through different stations, both AM and FM.
“He’s kinda right,” Tina sighed, falling down on the outside table next to me. “Jack. He’s right. We can’t be the only ones who toughed it out, not only through that virus-flu thing but found a way to flourish. Hell, winter was hard, but still…” She jerked her chin toward the far corner of the fence, where a few more graves resided next to Brody. “That could be worse.”
Sighing, I nodded as my eyes took in the makeshift crosses. Jack had seen to it that a group brought back Olivia’s body when they went back for another supply run. They’d found her right where we’d left her: the old church where we’d hidden with Betsy. They’d brought Olivia back on the boat, burying her respectively. He’d also wanted Abe’s body, but he couldn’t be found, which kind of broke all our hearts. We weren’t sure if his body had simply been lost in the big fight we’d had in the woods, or if, when he turned, he started wandering with the pack’s remaining zeaks. Either option hurt us all.
Then there was Jonah. His death had no violence attached to it, no shocking attack… Not one bullet had been used in his defense. Not a single drop of blood had been shed. He’d simply gone to bed one night in February, not waking up the next morning. He’d been in his seventies, walked with a cane, and had a bright spirit, but he’d also had a weak heart, according to Rich.
The winter had been hard on all of us—losing three more of our people, the adjustment of Sabrina and Aiden moving in with Jack, Freddie, and me, and keeping everyone warm and fed. The chickens were flourishing, thanks to Lexie, as were the rabbits, which Rich and Dottie occasionally used for blood samples or tests. And the goats had given birth to twins a few weeks back. Our food was manageable, which would most likely improve once the greenhouse was finished. Millie, Margaret, and Lexie were working hard to save the vegetables we’d planted in Clear Lake. We’d grabbed them in a hurry when we left, doing our best to keep them going in pots, baskets, and bowls. So far, the tomatoes were proving to be the most tenacious.
Most of the kids had gone through the flu, with frighteningly high fevers, thick coughs, and terrible runny noses. It had scared us all, especially when most of the adults went through it too, but Dottie had helped everyone with antibiotics and cough medicine—things she’d salvaged from just about everywhere she’d been. She’d hoarded them away for just such an emergency. However, we’d pretty much used everything she had, so soon, a scouting trip would need to be organized. And this time, it would have to be a big run to Medford or maybe as far as Springfield or Eugene to hit a hospital or clinic.
“That’s true,” I agreed with Tina. “It really could be a higher count than that.”
She nodded. “How we made it this long with no sight of another survivor, aside from Betsy, is scary, though. I wonder if the remaining people are like us, finally holed up somewhere safe. The zeaks keep moving through, but no one alive…” She trailed off a little when the stomping of feet met our ears.
I smiled at the sight of Janie, Freddie, Rina, and Aiden all bursting through the doors of the back deck. Aiden was holding Janie’s hand, looking mighty proud that he was keeping up with her. He was a wobbly, walking thing now, following Freddie and Jack like a chunky shadow.
“Mum-mum-mum,” he chanted, reaching out to me with an opening and closing hand.
“Hey, handsome!” I sang, kneeling down on the wood floor so he could run to me. He squealed, his little jeans-clad legs pumping. I swung him up in my arms to smooch all over his chubby cheeks. When Freddie appeared in front of us, I shifted Aiden to my hip and cupped my son’s face, kissing his forehead. “Hey, baby. How was school with Betsy?” I asked him. The older woman was a retired school teacher, so she’d taken to teaching without even thinking twice. The kids adored her.
Freddie grimaced but shrugged his shoulder in a way that was so much like his dad, it made me chuckle.
“That good, huh?” I asked with a laugh. Though, in his defense, it was a gorgeous, sunny day—a nice change from the rain and cold weather.
He smiled crookedly but nodded, cracking his knuckles. “It was okay. We just wanted to go fishin’.” He pointed toward Quinn, Ava, and Josh, who were getting poles ready on the dock.
“All right. Well, be careful…and stay on the dock, kiddo!” I yelled because he’d already turned away.
“Yes, ma’am!” he called over his shoulder as he ran toward the gate.
I felt a nudge by my elbow, and I turned to Tina. “Look, Sara,” she whispered, pointing toward the Hummer, where Jack and my dad were still going through stations.
Rina had crawled herself up into the passenger side door, plopping herself down quietly in the seat. To watch her with my dad was adorable. He treated her like a princess, like I remembered him being with me when I was her age. But it was Jack she was drawn to and probably had been since the day she met him. However, it was stronger now. She needed him.
It had been a little less than four months since Olivia’s death. Aiden had taken to the change without much fuss. Rina, though, had gone through a few weeks of what Dottie called grief, but really, the now six-year-old had been angry, occasionally fighting us, crying,
nightmares, even wetting the bed. She’d cry for her mother, all the while clinging to Jack or me with a fierce, shaky grip.
She was a sweet little girl, but although she was struggling with me—specifically me replacing her mother—Jack was her go-to person. I was glad it was one of us. I knew she was hurting, and I knew she’d be okay, as she was slowly coming around.
We watched her for a second as Aiden played with Jack’s dog tags around my neck. My husband liked them there, so I kept wearing them. My dad and Jack talked quietly, Rina watching them like a tennis match—back and forth between driver’s side and passenger.
“Grandpa Hank,” she addressed my dad, fiddling with something in the seat. “Where we goin’?”
Dad chuckled, and Jack grinned, reaching over to tickle her side just to hear her squeak.
“Nowhere, baby girl,” Dad told her, kneeling down, but I could see how she made him feel by the smile he was trying to fight.
It was the first time she’d addressed him as Grandpa Hank. Rina was still struggling with titles and names because we weren’t her blood family, not that she distinguished it that way. The first time Aiden had muttered, “Mum-mum-mum,” to me, she’d yelled at him, causing him to cry when she told him I wasn’t his mom. Freddie, who’d just turned eight a few weeks ago, was pretty damn good at distracting her, explaining things in a way that she could understand. It seemed our son was born to be a big brother. It was a daily struggle sometimes, but she was getting better, so her calling my dad Grandpa Hank was a big step for her.
Dad tugged her pigtail. “Jack and I were checking the radio, that’s all.”
“Oh.” She sighed, nodding a little and looking down at her lap.
“You got someplace you need to be?” Jack teased her, grinning when she smirked up at him and shook her head. “Work? A date? Have you got a date I don’t know about?” he gasped dramatically, and my dad hid his laugh behind his hand.
“No!” she yelled back laughingly, shaking her head vehemently. “I’m not old enough to date, Jack!”
“Darn tootin’, you aren’t! Oh, well…” He sighed, patting his lap, and she immediately scrambled into it, facing the steering wheel with her back to his chest. “Where’d you wanna go?”
She shook her head but leaned back against him. “I dunno.”
Jack seemed to know she was simply looking for contact, a hug, so his strong arm wrapped around her little body as he went back to flipping through the CB again. He’d occasionally drop a kiss to the back of her head.
Tina’s chuckle was soft, and I looked over at her. “He’s so good with kids.”
“’Cause he is a kid,” I countered with a grin, and she snorted with a nod.
The little gang on the lake let out a big, loud ruckus of laughter, squeals, and cheers. Rina’s head shot up from the Hummer to gaze over at the dock, and Jack whispered in her ear. When she nodded at whatever he asked her, my dad stood up, offering her a hand. She looked to Jack, and he nodded, leaning into her kiss on his scruffy cheek before handing her off to my dad to lead her to the lake.
Unable to resist, I hitched Aiden higher up on my hip, stepping to the driver’s-side door. Jack smiled up at us as he sat casually in the seat.
“Jah!” Aiden grunted, leaning out of my arms for Jack, who immediately took him and sat him on his lap.
Leaning into the Hummer, I dropped a kiss to my husband’s lips. “Love you.”
He smiled into the kiss, mumbling it back. “What are you guys up to?”
“I was told to come get you,” I told him, raking my fingers through his hair as Aiden pounded on the steering wheel. “Your dad, Joel, and Derek are going over the next run.” I sighed, grimacing a little. “This will be dangerous, Jack. Bigger city and a hospital, for God’s sake… I don’t know about this one.”
Jack frowned but nodded a little. “I know, Shortcake. Believe me, I know. I’m not quite sure what to do about it.” He set his lips on the back of Aiden’s head, but his eyes met mine. “I mean, do I go? Do we both go? Do we stay? And now… We have…” He looked down to Aiden and then back to me. “These guys… I’m not sure what to do.”
“I don’t either, baby, but I suppose we should talk about it.” I gazed around the lodge property, my eyes taking in everything.
Derek was walking the fences with Lexie, and the two seemed to be plagued with never-ending smiles these days, not to mention kisses they thought they were secretly sneaking. Mose was helping Millie with the soil boxes he’d built for her. The kids were all still fishing off the deck with my dad, my son reeling in something already. Ruby was talking with Margaret, and Joel joined them.
I turned to Jack. “I’m not sure, Jack. They’ll need you, but I don’t see taking Freddie this time. It’s too much. The hospital alone will probably be a nightmare. Never mind what a larger city will contain. It’ll all be overrun.”
Jack nodded in agreement the entire time I spoke. “If I go, your dad should stay behind. I can’t stop my dad, because he’ll have to tell us what we need, and he won’t let my mom leave. It’ll be more than just a raid. They need all sorts of stuff for their lab work. And then there’re the first-aid supplies too.”
“But if you go, this’ll be more than a twenty-four-hour run, Jack,” I countered, shaking my head. “I don’t… What’s the right thing?”
He smiled, kissing Aiden’s head, only to reach up to pull me down to his lips. “There isn’t a wrong choice, Shortcake. We’ll just have to pick the best one…for us. The one we can live with.”
“Mum-mum-mum,” Aiden sang, reaching for me again, and Jack chuckled.
“Here, little traitor,” he told the grinning little boy as he handed him to me. “He’s stolen my favorite spot.” Jack pointed to Aiden once the toddler put his head on my chest, his tiny fingers gripping the dog tags again.
“You’ll live,” I told him, rolling my eyes. “You get just as much time there, Mr. Chambers. Don’t even try to deny it.”
Jack’s grin was naughty, sexy, and all sorts of salacious as he pulled himself up out of the Hummer. “That’s true, but…” He paused, dragging a finger across my neck to tug at my shirt. “I’m lucky enough that there are never clothes involved, and somehow, it never seems to be enough, Shortcake.”
“Indeed, but hold that dirty thought for now, Jack,” I agreed but chuckled at his crooked smile as he dragged his tongue along his bottom lip. “C’mon. Let’s figure this scouting trip out.”
“Absolutely not!” Millie stated with a glare toward her son. “In fact, you’re out of this whole meeting. Go!”
Josh looked to my dad with a pleading gaze. “C’mon, Hank… Tell her I can handle it!”
Dad held up a hand in a gesture I knew all too well: The subject was closed. “Um, don’t even go there, son. If your mother says no, then no. I’m not fighting her on this one. This will be a touchy trip. I’ll need you here for hunting, anyway.” He met Jack’s gaze. “In fact, I’d prefer all of the kids staying back on this one, except for Quinn. You said you were taking responsibility for him.”
Jack nodded at him as he sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. His gaze, though, was on the map we’d tacked to the wall of the conference room at the end of the hall in the lobby. Marked on the map with bright-red circles were all the hospitals, clinics, and medical centers, including a vet clinic or two. Then there was the big blue circle—the radio station that seemed to still be broadcasting an emergency message over and over.
The conference room door opened and slammed closed as Josh left angrily.
My dad smirked but shook his head. “He’ll get over it. I’ll put him in charge of the fences or something.”
Rich chuckled, standing up. “Here’s the thing, Hank. This trip isn’t an emergency. We could salvage from closer places, backtrack north toward Sandy, or make do with what we have. The only things we could really use are antibiotics and some first-aid supplies—if only to replenish what we used this winter. Again, not an emergenc
y but useful. If we go…” He leaned on those words, looking to Jack before continuing. “If we go, then I’d like to use the opportunity to bring back supplies for Dottie’s research—equipment, too.”
My dad sighed, running his hand over his face. “You say not an emergency, but…what if someone gets hurt or another bout of flu comes through the camp? How are we on being able to take care of infections?”
“Touchy,” Rich stated firmly. “Manageable but touchy.”
“Then it is a necessity. Not an emergency, but a necessity.”
“Splitting us up, sending a group into a larger city is going to be dangerous,” Mose added in his deep tenor from the corner of the room. “I mean, I get that you’re considering sending a small group, that they’re quite capable of fighting and defense, but if they’re going, then use it to every advantage. The kids need clothes, we could use some more seeds for the garden in the greenhouse, and we’re running low on fuel, candles, and oil. Let’s make this count…maybe for the last time.”
“Which means we have to drive south down around Klamath Lake,” Jack finally spoke up, standing from his chair beside mine. He walked to the map, tapping it lightly with a finger. “We need to be able to load and carry a lot of shit, move quickly, but also be able to push stranded cars out of the way, so we’d need a truck—probably mine, since it’ll hold everyone.” He faced the room, specifically meeting my gaze. “The population of Medford is about eighty thousand, and it’s much closer. Salem is a much longer trip and a higher population. That being said, there’s no comparison. Medford will have the same hospitals and equipment.”
Jack turned to his dad and said, “I know Salem has the bigger hospitals, but I’m not risking the lives of five people for amoxicillin and Band-Aids. I vote Medford.”
Rich smirked, snorting softly as he shook his head. “It’s more than that, but you’re right. And it’s six lives. Yours included, sport. We’ll treat this like a military mission. We’ll move quickly, together, and if we run into trouble, we call it off. Simple.”