“They could teach us how to manufacture the ammo on our own, too,” Jade piped up. Her voice was small and uncertain. She looked as if she wanted to bolt from the argument as fast as possible.
“I don’t want to hear a word out of you,” Matthew snapped at Jade. She seemed to be the linking factor between David’s lack of foresight and the troubles he had been experiencing with his father. “I can’t believe the two of you have been so reckless. If these people are so great, why would Wyatt be watching the hotel and us? Why wouldn’t he come and introduce himself? Not sign the letter he sent? All my concerns are valid, Dad. This Wyatt hasn’t acted in any way that inspires confidence in me. And now you want me to endorse this strange alliance when my father has come back looking beaten to a pulp, spouting all this nonsense?
“Matthew, see reason.”
“I do see reason,” Matthew said, “but you seem to forget that I have a family to protect. Wyatt has terrified Kathleen by spying on us. She barely sleeps. Allison sleeps way too much. I can’t risk aggravating their fear, or putting them in harm’s way, not when all of this backroom dealing has been done without consulting any of us. I can’t risk them. They’re too important to me.”
David’s mouth dropped open in frustration. “And you don’t think they matter to me?” he demanded. “I’m just as concerned about them as you are!”
Jade’s face went white as if she already had pieced together what Matthew was leading up to. “Matthew, please, just hear us out,” Jade said, cutting David off.
“I’m not doing this. If there’s a well on the property, that’s fine and dandy. We’ll look for it this afternoon, but otherwise we are going to stick to what we know. Each other.” Matthew glared at David.
“You don’t get to just make that decision on your own,” David said.
“I learned it from you,” Matthew shouted. “Isn’t that what you did when you went to see the Carpenter Country? Make decisions without consulting others?”
“You’re the one who made that decision in the first place,” David yelled back, his face flushing red. “You’re acting like a dictator where every decision that doesn’t line up with what you want is the wrong choice. We need to be pragmatic. A reciprocal relationship will go a long way toward helping us in the future. If you’re so worried about our family, you would see that!”
Matthew stepped closer to his father, using his height to look down on him. Words bubbled in his throat, ready to hurt. Jade reached out and put her hand on Matthew’s chest, pushing him back. “Matt, I hate to say it, but I can’t believe you’d be this naive. Maybe you’re just being willfully ignorant. But even you should be able to see how this would be beneficial to everyone. David found the best possible solution to solve our problems!”
Matthew turned on her. She was nothing but a mole in their family, spreading trouble, turning them all against each other. None of this would have happened if Jade wasn’t here. “Not our problems,” he hissed. “My problems. You’ve done nothing but help turn this family against each other. The fact that you went with David in the first place proves that you can’t be trusted. You don’t care about what the rest of us think just as long as it is helping you. You’re a bad influence and can’t be trusted. I won’t sit around and wait for you to turn on us.”
“Matthew, that is enough.” David looked furious. “She came with me because I asked her to—”
“I don’t care.” Matthew turned to Jade. “Your time at the River Rock Hotel has come to an end. You need to leave. Now.”
20
A moment of silence followed Matthew’s declaration. Jade’s mouth pursed into a tight line. Tears wet her green eyes, but this time, they seemed to be tears of anger more than anything else. She gave him a hard stare until Matthew had the uncanny sensation of being back on the interstate, right before he realized he was going to have to fight her. He re-lived the fear he’d experienced when she turned on him and his father and held them at gunpoint as they traveled together on the highway. He remembered his terrified determination to wrench the gun away from her and chase her off.
He realized, in a moment of sharp clarity, that Jade had never been on his side. She’d used him and his family for her own gain. She’d carved out a place of safety for herself and then wielded her influence on each of them. He felt like a puppet who had finally cut his own strings from his puppet master. Jade had always been that furious young woman from the interstate who had been hiding under a veneer of softness. She was nothing but a dangerous threat, and he felt even more set in his decision to let her go.
“You can’t kick her out, Matthew,” David said, breaking the silence. He sounded shocked, as if Matthew had acted way out of line. “After everything she’s done for us and our family, you can’t tell her to leave because it suits you.”
“I think I just did,” Matthew said, refusing to break Jade’s glittery stare.
“You’re acting irrational,” David continued, his voice rising.
Behind him, Matthew heard the front door of the hotel squeak open and closed. He let out a slow sigh. Of course, they’d have an audience for this big blowout. It was for the better, though. At least everything would be out in the open now. Everyone would see Jade’s true colors. Matthew couldn’t back down. He realized that to his dad, he would never be able to do anything right. Therefore, Matthew would protect his family, even if he had to protect them from themselves.
“What’s going on out here?” Ruth’s calm voice pierced through the anger charging the air. Matthew heard his mother walk down the steps. “We can hear you shouting from inside the hotel. David, where have you been?”
Matthew heard Ruth take in a sharp breath.
“What happened to your face?” she asked, and then suddenly she was at David’s side, canting his head to the side so she could get a better view of the purple darkness encircling one of his eyes. Her fingers hovered over the dried blood streaking his neck as though she couldn’t bring herself to touch it. “You have a huge lump on the back of your head,” she finished.
“Dad and Jade thought it was a good idea to sneak out of the hotel without telling any of us,” Matthew said. He hated how surly he sounded, as though he were tattling on his own father.
David glared at Matthew as Ruth continued to inspect his hurts. “I’m not a child. I did not sneak anywhere. I left last night to check out a group of people at the Carpenter Country Gun Club. They’re the ones who have been watching the property—”
“Spying on the property,” Matthew corrected.
“Watching the property,” David reiterated. “They tried to contact us. I wanted to see if I could set up an alliance with them, or possibly trade with them.”
“I don’t remember anyone coming to the hotel yesterday,” Ruth said, glancing between her husband and son. “When did all of this happen?”
“They left an unsigned message tied to a rock. When we were dry firing yesterday and inspecting the fence, we stumbled on it.” Matthew shifted side to side, feeling dread begin to fill his insides. Suddenly, he was fighting the sensation that he had done everything wrong and was only now realizing he would have to face the consequences.
“And instead of bringing it to the group for consideration, Matthew decided all on his own that we wouldn’t tell the family about any of it,” David accused.
“Matthew, is that true?”
Matthew spun around to see Kathleen standing on the porch, bracketed by Allison and Patton.
Matthew’s mouth went dry. Why did he suddenly feel like the bad guy here? “I didn’t want to scare anyone. The whole thing was sketchy. It was so strange that they left a message without actually approaching us. That they were watching us instead of talking to us. I didn’t want to alarm anyone or make anyone blow the situation out of proportion.”
“And instead of telling us about it, you decided to investigate all on your own, David?” Ruth demanded in a steely tone. “Without telling anyone where you were going and making us worr
y all morning? Was that why you went on a walk to get some fresh air?”
David looked down, chastised. “I had Jade as my backup.”
“Oh yes, Jade,” Matthew sneered. “Jade convinced you to go instead of warning us that you were going to do something as insane as visit a gun club in the middle of the night.”
“I did nothing of the sort!” Jade broke in.
“Did she encourage you, then?” Matthew asked, wanting to blame Jade for everything. “I get why you might not have any sense, Dad, but Jade certainly knows a lot about the outside world to know that approaching unknown people at night is a bad idea. That’s why she can’t stay here. We can’t trust her.”
“I am not a fool, Matthew. Stop acting like I am,” David said.
Matthew felt as though the conversation had spiraled out of control, but he was too angry to see through it. The one source of all this conflict, to him, was Jade. She was the source of every fight boiling between him and his father. She was the reason they continued to butt heads instead of talk things out. Maybe if Jade was gone, they could get back to who they used to be. “That’s why she has to leave. She can’t stay here anymore.”
Jade’s face flushed in fury. Behind him, Allison made a noise of negation. “Dad, you can’t just throw her out!”
“She can have supplies,” Matthew said, turning to look directly at Jade. “After all, you did help us out around the property. I’m not heartless. Take food, water, whatever you think you’ll need, but that’s it.”
Jade’s hands clenched into fists, but then she took out a hair tie and began to pull her waves of dark hair up into a ponytail. “You can keep your supplies, Matthew Riley,” she hissed. “I’ll be fine without your pity. You forget that I’ve been on my own for most of my life. I don’t have a family, but at this rate, I don’t think I want one. You’re so determined to do the opposite of the right thing, I don’t think I can stand to stay here. You refuse to plan out anything and because of that, everyone you love will suffer. Even if you asked me to stay, I wouldn’t.”
Jade took a step closer to Matthew and squared her shoulders. It was as though now she had her hair back, she’d regained her confidence. “I can’t stand incompetence, and Matthew, you’re full of it. Your ego is so big you can’t see that in this situation you’re completely at a loss about what to do. You want to protect your family, but you can’t see the skills that everyone brings to the table. I escaped a family like yours once, and I’m ready to escape it again. Like I said, keep your supplies. You’ll need them more than me. Later.”
Jade spun on her heel and nudged David in the shoulder. “Bye, David. Nice knowing you. I’d ask you to come with me, but I know you won’t.” Shoving her hands in her coat pockets, she began to walk down the road away from the hotel.
“Jade, wait!” Allison called out after her, but when Jade didn’t look back, Allison turned on her father. “How could you do that? After she’d worked so hard to earn your trust?”
“Does this mean we won’t have any more gun lessons?” Patton asked at the same time.
“Patton, that’s the last thing you should be concerned about,” Kathleen said, taking Patton’s shoulder and directing him back toward the door. “Why don’t the both of you get dressed and ready for the morning chores. We can discuss all of this later.”
“I still think you’re in the wrong, Dad,” Allison said before putting her nose in the air and going back inside.
Matthew watched Jade round the corner and disappear from sight. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders, even as another weight of guilt descended upon him. He sighed and ran his hand down over his face.
“She’s right, Matthew,” Ruth said as she focused on David’s wounds. “You need to see what each of us brings to the table.” She shook her head slowly and tugged on David’s hand. “You, David, are the same way. You can’t keep things from people, but we’ll talk about that when we get back inside. You need your heart medication and probably a good nap by the look of you.”
“Of course,” David said and then said, “Ruth, honey, I am sorry.”
“We will talk about this,” Ruth said in a harsh tone. “You’re not off the hook. I’m furious with you.”
David swallowed hard, but nodded in agreement.
“And I think your wife has a few select things to say to you as well, Matthew.” Ruth held her head high as she walked up the front steps and into the hotel.
The sense of dread inside Matthew increased. Soon, it was just him and Kathleen standing outside, and from the way she crossed her arms, he knew he wasn’t in the clear. Not by a long shot.
21
“Enlighten me, Matt,” Kathleen started and tossed her dark braid over her shoulder. “What is all this about the Carpenter Country that you kept from us?” She took a deep breath. “That you kept from me?”
Matthew stifled an inward groan. He knew he needed to come clean. There was already so much space between them, he didn’t need to cause another divide. He explained everything to Kathleen: about how they’d found a note tied to a rock, how Matthew had elected not to pursue the possible alliance, how David had gone behind his back and done it anyway.
“I think what we need to be most concerned about in this whole situation is that you and David both decided not to confide in the family about this.” Kathleen took a step down off of the porch. Her arms were still tightly wrapped around her torso. “You said we were all in this together. Then, you make decisions that affect all of us without consulting me or even your mother. Do you recognize how insulting that is?”
“I was only thinking about your well-being,” Matthew protested. “You’d been so worried about everything, you barely sleep as it is, I thought telling you about this would just make everything worse.”
“I’m not an invalid,” Kathleen snapped, but her voice didn’t have the scalding bite he’d expected. She almost sounded sad. “Nor am I a hysterical woman who needs her husband to protect her. Yes, I’ve been concerned about our family, but I have my reasons. You shouldn’t have kept something like this from me.”
“I know,” Matthew said. He sounded desperate to himself. “I’m sorry.”
“You can’t make unilateral decisions like that,” Kathleen said, pressing the point.
“I’m sorry,” Matthew said again, and even to him, it sounded hollow.
“Are you sorry for running Jade off?” Kathleen asked. A line of concern appeared between her brows. “After you’d preached about voting to keep her with the family?”
“She was a murderer, Kathleen. You have to agree with me on that. You’ve been wanting her gone since the very beginning.”
The color drained out of Kathleen’s face. For a moment, she looked as though she were going to be sick. “She was trying to earn your trust, and you threw it back in her face.”
Matthew’s throat clicked as he swallowed hard. He couldn’t keep saying he was sorry, even though he felt like that was the only thing that would soothe this rift forming between them. “Do you agree with what she said about me? That I’m weak and arrogant and idiotic?”
Kathleen reached out and brushed his arm. Her hands drifted to his and entwined their fingers together. A tight knot inside of Matthew eased at her touch. He clung to her. It had been so long since he’d been able to touch her and not have her turn away from him. “Of course not. I wouldn’t have married someone like that.” She looked up at him, and her chin wobbled as if she held back tears. “I’m always going to be on your side, Matt. You supported me when I voted against Jade. I’ll always support you, even if you don’t do the right thing. And you know you did the wrong thing in running Jade off.”
“She manipulated my dad,” Matthew said hotly. “She got him to go to the Carpenter Country without us. Ever since she arrived, everything has gone wrong.”
“Honestly, Matt.” Kathleen let out a watery chuckle. “Have you ever known anyone to get David Riley to do something he didn’t want to?”
Matth
ew laughed softly and studied the mountains for a moment. Right now, the jagged peaks looked like they were piercing the sky. “No, I guess not, but she encouraged him. She backs him and brings out his worst qualities. If she was really invested in this family, she would’ve told us what he planned to do.”
Kathleen gave him a pointed look, even though she looked like she was about to break. “Now you know what it’s like being left in the dark. David was her one ally in this family. I don’t think she’d turn on him. Maybe she thought she was protecting him”
Matthew nodded, finally seeing her reasoning, but not really believing it. He brought their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed her hands. It felt so good to be intimate with her again. Yet, the way she was looking at him, he feared a breeze would knock her over. She appeared so fragile. Barely hanging on. “I’m so sorry, Kathleen. Truly. But aren’t you a little bit happy that she’s gone?”
Kathleen looked away. The sunlight painted her face in a golden light, illuminating the color in her eyes. She bit her lip and for a moment, seemed suspended in agony. “No,” she whispered. “I’m not.”
“Why?” Matthew asked. “We couldn’t trust her. She could’ve turned on us at any moment. She’s a murderer, Kathleen.”
Kathleen flinched, as if Matthew had actually struck her. A soft sob escaped her. “Maybe she had her reasons.”
“For shooting someone?”
Kathleen’s mouth opened and closed as if all words had escaped her. Matthew pulled her closer, wanting her to lean on him in every way that she could. “Please,” he whispered. “Tell me what’s wrong. I know it’s more than Jade.”
She let out a shaky breath. For a moment, Matthew feared she wouldn’t open up to him and that he had destroyed the shaky bridge he’d been building. Finally, she spoke.
EMP Catastrophe | Book 2 | Erupting Danger Page 15
