by Kate Morris
“Right,” she agrees, although Paige secretly still wonders if she made the right decision staying behind.
“So much for a honeymoon, huh?” Hannah says from the other end of the kitchen, holding baby Daniel on one hip.
“I suppose so,” she agrees with a sadness in her voice that accidentally filters through more than she wants to reveal. She’s not upset about not having a honeymoon. She just wants him home.
John walks into the kitchen and runs a hand through his shaggy blonde hair.
“Hear anything more?” she asks preemptively.
“Not yet,” he relays. “Don’t worry. They’re fine. Parker is going with a group to the race track to do some scouting. Cory and the Professor are staying on base a few more hours. Then they’re heading home.”
It seems as if everyone breathes the same, collective sigh of relief in the kitchen. And about four hours later, as predicted, her husband, brother, and Sam arrive on the farm in time for evening dinner. Paige rushes into his arms and kisses his neck. He buries his hands in her hair and plants a deep kiss on her mouth with no care of who might see. And she doesn’t care, either. He pulls back and presses his forehead to hers.
“Guess I’ll have to leave more often, Red,” he quips and kisses her temple.
“No, less often. Much less,” she corrects and feels him smile against her face as Tessa hugs around his thick thigh.
They gather for dinner after everyone has had a chance to change and clean up.
Herb is the first to ask questions, “Is it the new President?”
Cory answers for them, “No, Parker got close enough to see. He thought it was him, but it turned out to be a settlement of people like our own townspeople in Pleasant View.”
“How many?” John asks.
“More than anywhere else they’ve found so far,” her husband explains. “He said probably three thousand. His men were able to make contact this morning. He said the people were friendly and even offered to take them in if they were stranded.”
“Strange that nobody has seen that settlement before or reported on it,” Paige remarks. “Dave’s men run just as many trips as we do.”
“Yeah,” Kelly says in agreement. “We’ve been up there, but I don’t remember actually going by some race track.”
“Me, neither,” John confirms. “And I think the car dealer’s lying about knowing Parker. Plus, I don’t trust Parker, either. The guy has always rubbed me the wrong way.”
“Ditto that,” his brother puts in. “But unless we find some clear, definitive proof that he’s done something wrong, then we don’t have anything on him.”
“Where do we focus next?” Simon asks.
Herb suggests, “Samantha dear, why don’t you talk with this car dealer tomorrow and see if he can’t give you enough of a description of this woman they call Angelica- which I doubt is her real name- so that you might try and sketch her?”
Paige hadn’t considered that. Perhaps she uses a fake name.
“Yes, he should be a little more…receptive to working with us by now,” Derek states and looks at John and Cory beside her.
Paige doesn’t want to know what he means. It’s probably some new and more effective form of torture that they’ve come up with. It doesn’t matter. They need whatever information they can glean from him. Innocent people could still die as a result of these men.
“Oh, sure, Grandpa,” Sam answers from beside her. She never sits by Simon anymore. “I’ll get right on that tonight.”
“It can wait until morning, honey,” Herb states. “You need your rest.”
“But I’m leaving first thing,” she says.
Derek steps in to correct her, “Sorry, kiddo. We need to do some repairs on the truck. We’ll try to get you back to your uncle tomorrow, but it might not happen.”
Her face falls slightly until Paige says brightly, “Hey, that just gives us more girl time, right?”
Sam offers a tiny smile, but Paige is pretty sure she’d still rather be on the road back to Dave’s compound at the crack of dawn. She’s also wondering why one of the men doesn’t just offer to take her in another vehicle, but Paige isn’t about to argue the point, either. She misses her friend. This is a good opportunity to catch up and find out what’s been going on since her wedding a few weeks ago.
“I want patrols run on the property every morning again,” Derek orders, figuring out their plan of action for tomorrow. “John and Huntley will be going in the other truck toward Nashville again.”
“Why’s that?” Reagan asks angrily. Paige can understand her reaction. He has been gone so much lately.
“Nothing dangerous, babe,” John assures her and places a hand on hers. She shirks it.
“No, you’re always going, and I don’t know if you’re being honest about it not being dangerous.”
Fire spits from her green eyes at her husband.
“Just a tip we got. It’s probably nothing, but we’ve got to follow up on leads.”
She turns her head away from him in a full-blown fit of anger and irritation.
“Babe,” he says and presses a mass of her curls back from her face. She just shrugs him off. Then he nudges his face into her hair until he is whispering in her ear.
The conversation around them continues while he talks to his wife. This is normal. Reagan has a lot of anger. She’s mad at the whole world. Paige doesn’t blame her on this one, either.
Derek just continues with, “Anyway, we need patrols twice a day on the perimeter. One in the afternoon before the sun sets and another in the morning.”
“Agreed,” Kelly says. “We need to use a lot more caution right now, too. Especially when we’re out and away from the farm. We don’t exactly know what’s going on, but it doesn’t feel like this is over yet.”
“Unfortunately,” Paige murmurs, to which Cory puts a comforting palm on her thigh. She regards him with troubled eyes as he continues to discuss the possible threats out there that could make their way to this farm.
“I’ll take the first patrol, sir,” her brother volunteers. “If Sam won’t be leaving first thing, she could accompany me.”
Sam’s gaze shoots across the table with such ferocity that Paige is glad that looks don’t actually cause harm.
“What?” she asks. “No, I’m supposed to do this drawing of the woman.”
Doc butts in to say, “I think it could wait until after breakfast, my dear. Nothing like a brisk ride first thing to boost the creative spirit!”
If Paige didn’t know any better, she’d think Herb was matchmaking with her brother. Surely not. He merely goes back to sipping his water and then taking a bite. It has occurred to her that Sam hasn’t answered Simon’s request. She turns to regard her. Everyone else is also waiting. Sam jerks out of her staring contest with Simon, who is sitting across from her with what Paige could only describe as a self-satisfied and slightly smug grin on his adorable face. Sam calmly places her knife across the front of her plate. Paige doesn’t know if she picked it up with intent or if she was actually using it before he asked her to go riding.
“Yes, sure, Grandpa,” she states as if the words are unpleasant and bitter in her mouth. “Of course, I’ll go if you ask.”
Simon’s grin increases and he goes back to his meal with vigor and a lingering smile. If Paige didn’t know him so well, she would be tempted to think he was gloating just a bit. Then she wonders if the whole family has drunk some sort of personality-altering drink. First Herb. Now her brother. He’s never self-sure and confident. She glances beside her at Sam again. She’s staring at Simon. Fuming would be a better description. And her brother is joking with Kelly and actually laughs at something he has said. Kelly, in turn, also laughs at whatever Simon replies.
“So you guys didn’t run into any trouble?” she asks Sam, causing her to jump.
“No, nothing out of the norm.”
“And the general’s compound? Anything exciting going on there?”
“Not unless you count your brother’s constant flirting with Dr. Eliza Avery,” Sam says with snarky sass.
“Oh, really?” Paige says, drawing out the words to bring attention to their conversation. It works.
Reagan snaps to attention and says, “Dr. Avery? What about her?”
“Guess my brother has been behaving like quite the rake up there,” Paige teases.
“What?” Simon asks, his pitch going up.
“Dr. Avery is quite a smart young doctor,” Herb comments.
Beside her, Sam snorts.
Now Paige is almost positive that Herb McClane is playing matchmaker. So, being the kind of person who enjoys her brother’s torment and discomfort and also poking her nose in where it isn’t wanted, she says, “Yes, she is. And quite pretty, too.”
“She was the one who broke the Scarlet Fever treatment with Simon, right?” John asks.
“Yes, the very one,” Herb says with a nod.
“And she’s great at the fort,” Paige comments. “Everyone really likes her. She’s a valuable member of their research team.”
“The children really like her up there and in our town. She’s great with them,” Reagan adds.
“She sounds perfectly sweet,” Hannah adds, not aware of the game. Or perhaps she is. It is Hannah, after all.
“Gee, maybe someone will hang a plaque with her name on it in the town square,” Sam retorts with fervor and stands. She takes her plate and linen napkin and departs.
A silence falls over the room for a second before Hannah asks her husband, “What did I just miss?”
“Knowing you, my love,” Kelly says, “probably nothing.”
Everyone laughs, Hannah smiles coyly, and their meal resumes. Her brother leaves a second later. His step is brisk and with purpose.
After dinner, she and Tessa take showers, and Paige braids her hair for her since the kinky curls can become unruly. Tomorrow, she’s planning on talking with her friend Talia about how to better care for Tessa’s hair. Talia’s father was also African-American, so she’ll have a better understanding of the care of Tessa’s curls.
“Would you mind braiding mine, too, Paige?” Sam asks from the doorway of their old bedroom where Paige is toweling her own wet locks.
“Sure thing, sister,” Paige comments with a wide smile. Tessa gives her a look, something she has come to understand is a request for permission to go and play with the other children. She nods and says, “Who are you going to play with?” Paige does this with her, too. She forces her to use her words and rewards her when she does.
“A…A…Ari,” she stammers nervously.
“Good girl. And absolutely yes. You can go and play. But just for a little while, sweetie. We need to go home soon so you can get some sleep,” she warns, touches the toddler’s cheek briefly before she bounds away, seeking the other children.
“She’s so cute I can’t even stand it,” Sam remarks and takes up a cross-legged, seated position on the floor in front of Paige.
“I know,” she agrees with a nod. “Cory is probably going to spoil her rotten.”
“I would, too,” Sam concurs and glances up at her and smiles. “I don’t blame him one bit!”
“Yeah, me, neither,” she says with a fond smile thinking of her husband. How can someone so big and burly be so gentle and loving? It just doesn’t seem possible, but there it is anyway. Her brother is not as big as Cory, but he has the capacity for the same amount of love. Whereas Cory is a physical man, someone who thinks with his hands, Simon is more cerebral and analytical about things. Probably the reason he and Sam are still not together. She told herself earlier that she wasn’t going to ask her petite friend about Simon, but Paige can’t help her own curiosity from taking over. She decides to go at it furtively. “How did things go at Fort Knox?”
“Um, fine, I suppose,” she answers evasively. “The general is a very generous host, very gracious. All the people there are, really.”
“Yes, I noticed that, too. It’s like they all know that the McClane family has it all figured out, and they look up to Herb already.”
“Yeah, everyone does. Grandpa’s just like that. Everyone loves him. Grams, too. I wish you could’ve met her.”
“Yes, me, too,” Paige agrees.
“But people love Grandpa, too.”
“I hope Simon is going to be like him someday,” Paige admits, thinking fondly of her baby brother.
“He’s already like him. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Simon is like a geriatric, nutty professor doctor that wears khaki pants and button-down shirts in the middle of a worldwide apocalypse situation and gets upset if he rips a hole in his jeans during a battle or gets his hair messed up. He’s so fastidious, he drives me nuts!”
Paige chuckles. “Yes, I see what you mean. He’s a bit of nerd.”
Sam snorts and then giggles. “That’s the understatement of the year.”
Paige finishes the first French braid on the right side of Sam’s head and starts on the left. “How was he? On the trip, I mean.”
“Fine. Simon’s Simon. He doesn’t really ever change.”
Paige thinks about this for a moment before saying, “I don’t know about that, Sam. He’s changed a lot recently. I don’t know what it is, either. He seems…I don’t know…more at peace or something. It’s weird.”
Sam doesn’t reply. She also stops breathing momentarily before finally drawing a breath again. Paige isn’t sure, but something about what she just said affected Sam.
“Do you think so, too?” she prompts.
Sam shrugs. “I don’t know. We don’t exactly spend a lot of time together lately.”
“Maybe you should,” Paige suggests, then bites her lower lip wishing she could take it back. She doesn’t want to pressure Sam. She just wants them to both be happy, even if it means they don’t ever work things out.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sam retorts.
Paige pauses before saying, “He really misses you. He mopes around here driving us crazy most of the time. He’s also been very cranky lately.”
“That’s just Simon.”
“Yes, but before he was cranky because of something else. Now, it’s because you’re gone. He’s been miserable. Don’t get me wrong. He does seem more calm about life, but he also seems sad because of you leaving. I mean, that’s the only reason he would be sad.”
“What…what was he like before?” Sam stutters uncomfortably. “I mean, before all this when you guys were young?”
“Simon?” Paige asks rhetorically while remembering their old life. It’s difficult sometimes to think back on it. Sam would understand this more than anyone. Both of them have lost their parents. Sam also lost her siblings. Paige cannot, now that she has him back, imagine losing Simon. “Let me think. Simon. He was kind of like he is now. He was a taciturn, cognitive person. He’s always been an intellectual. I did all right in school, but Simon was really advanced, kind of like Reagan. I know when he was in junior high- maybe the seventh grade- my parents were approached about him skipping grades, but our dad was a lot more practical than my mom. He knew Simon needed to go at a slower pace. He wouldn’t have fit in with kids older than him. He barely fit in with the kids in his own grade. He had friends. He wasn’t a total outcast or anything. But he’s just always fit in better with adults than his own peers. He was always kind, generous. He liked comic books a lot and playing video games. My dad tried to spend as much time with him as possible, but Simon hung out more with our mother. He was a lot like her, too, moreso than Dad. Simon shared her love of all things science. They’d go to the science center or out into the desert at night to look at the stars and constellations on a clear night through his telescope. He could name all of them, of course.”
Sam sighs sadly and remarks, “That’s so horrible that he had to find her at the hospital and take care of her.”
Paige swallows the hard lump of emotion at the idea of what her mother’s final thoughts wo
uld’ve been. She would have been so scared when she realized she was dying and that she would not be able to get home to Simon, who was alone. She would have thought of Paige, too, and her husband. Everything happened so fast, though. There was no way for many people to get home to their families. It took her three years to find Simon and probably never would have if she hadn’t known where he was going.
“Yeah, it was,” she says. “I wish I would’ve been there with him.”
“No, instead it was…well, those people,” Sam comments and lowers her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Paige says, knowing she means her and Simon’s aunt and her horrible band of bastards.
“I should get some sleep,” she blurts and rises, taking the finished braid between her fingers. “I’ll tie it off. Thanks for helping me with my hair.”
“Sure, no problem,” Paige tells her and also stands. She reaches out and hugs Sam.
“G’night,” her friend says softly.
Paige kisses the top of her head and releases her. “Good night. Get some rest.”
“You, too,” Sam returns and leaves without making eye contact.
It makes Paige feel bad. She wishes that their conversation wouldn’t have turned to Sam’s time with her aunt’s people. She’s so scarred by what happened. Everyone carries scars now, both externally and internally. She just wonders if Sam will ever fully recover from hers. She also knows that Sam’s are much, much worse than most everyone else’s. She loves her little friend. She only wants what’s best for her. She wants her brother to heal Sam. Paige just wonders if he can. Perhaps some scars never fully heal at all.
Chapter Eleven
Simon
It was a bold move, not one he would usually think to do without provocation or incentive, the asking of Sam to take the morning patrol with him. Simon watches as she crosses the barnyard, wading through the thick, pre-dawn fog toward him. Marches angrily would better describe it. The scowl on her sweet face is a juxtaposition to her beauty and her normal, cheerful expressions.
“Good morning, Samantha,” he says, trying to seem chipper.
