by Kate Morris
“So what? That’s not our problem, either.”
“But it is,” her father says. “It’s everyone’s problem if he comes with the intention of annihilating the entire base. Parker has sewn some seeds of hatred of us all in the President’s heart. I think he has been manipulating the President and me. When he lost his wife…” Robert states and pauses, taking a deep breath. “that was when he changed. I think that’s also when Parker started to go to work on the situation. He knew what he was doing. He turned us against each other. The President was vulnerable, and I also believed him. I feel like a fool, but at the time, I believed him. We’d been together from the start. He was a trusted advisor. He had a way that made me trust him. I’m sure Ezra feels the same way.”
“I don’t care if the President trusts him. I don’t care if you did. We’re not involved in this fight,” Reagan says.
“But you are,” Robert says. “If he’s angry enough to come here, he’s coming to take over. There can only be one outcome. We must prepare ourselves for what is coming between us and his army. And there isn’t a lot of time.”
“How long?” Sue asks.
“Maybe a week. Maybe less, depending on how many people he’s bringing with him. He has the numbers to wipe us out if he chooses.”
Reagan wonders if it will ever end. She is so tired of all this war and killing and disease. Sometimes she feels she might go mad from it all.
“We’ll need to make a stand,” her father says.
A hush falls over the room as they all contemplate the idea of going to war with the President and his men. Reagan can’t even fathom what it could mean. Her family, John, her children, they could all be killed.
“What’s our plan of action?” John finally asks.
“I would feel better if you all brought your families and stayed here for the next few weeks. I’m assuming he’ll come directly here because Parker probably told him I was here.”
“No, way,” Reagan says. “I’m not leaving the farm.”
“I have to say that I agree with Reagan,” John says. “I would rather the women stay on the farm with the kids. I don’t want them here if that’s where this is going to go down.”
“No, all of us,” she corrects him. “We all stay on the farm together.”
“If he’s right, Robert’s going to need us here. We’ve got the experience to lead men in battle,” her husband explains patiently.
“John!” she exclaims with a mixture of fear and anger.
“It’s the right thing to do, babe,” he says.
Kelly, standing behind Hannah, agrees with her husband. “He’s right. I assume you have scouts out somewhere now that you know where Parker’s men spotted the President?”
Her father nods. “Yes, they’ll keep me informed when the President gets closer.”
“We’ll draw up formal battle plans, sir,” Derek states. “I’ll get on it today with John and Kelly. We’ll double check your security. We’ll fix holes and leaks we find. We’ll get this figured out. Don’t worry. We’re not going to sit by idle while this camp is defeated.”
“We need some time to talk, Robert,” Grandpa says.
“Yes, of course, you do,” her father says and coughs again. His breathing has become shallower. “Please, get something to eat and rest. We can talk again tonight.”
She is the last one to exit the room. Reagan turns back to see her father’s eyes close and not reopen. He looks exhausted and very ill.
They spend the next three hours debating everything that was covered in their meeting with him. In the end, she has a sickening feeling that her sister and Derek and their children are going to leave the farm. It is decided that the men do need to be present for the impending battle with the President. She doesn’t agree with any of it, though, and knows she’ll never sleep tonight. This is the worst possible scenario she could’ve thought up. She never expected this. She can’t bear to think of her family moving away, not one of them.
John taps Kelly on the shoulder and says, “Hey, let’s rustle up some grub for everyone.”
“Huh? Yeah, sure,” he says and stands to leave their apartment, the one her grandfather stays in.
“Yes, I could use the walk,” Derek chimes in. Then her grandfather joins the group.
Soon, it is just she and her sisters sitting alone in the living room.
“More tea?” Hannah asks and stands to pour another cup from the setting on the coffee table.
“No, no, thanks, Hannie,” Sue replies.
“Reagan?”
She is too lost in thought to answer. Hannah is not one to be ignored, though and repeats her question. “No, thank you.”
Reagan rises, as well, and begins pacing with pent-up energy and frustration.
“I just can’t believe this,” she starts. “He ruins everything. He fucking ruins everything!” Reagan rants, ending on a shout that startles Hannah.
“Darling,” Hannah reprimands with sympathy edging into her gentle voice.
“What?” Reagan asks on a pout. “This is total bullshit. I don’t want you to live here, Sue. It’s not safe.”
“It is, Reagan,” she answers. “But I won’t be far. I won’t be gone forever. I’ll only be a few hours north of the farm. And this place is very safe. Robert has a lot of security measures in place.”
“Bull.”
Sue sighs and comes to stand in front of her. Without another word of argument, her sister pulls her in and hugs her. Reagan stiffens. Although touching isn’t so bad now when her family does it, she doesn’t want her anger to dissipate.
“It’s going to be alright,” she says. “It’s all going to be alright. These people need us, Reagan. They need a man like Derek to lead them. If ever there was a man incapable of being corrupted, it’s him. You know that. He can be so much help here.”
“I don’t care,” Reagan says and pulls back. “I don’t care about any of these people, Sue. I only care about you guys. I only care about my family, about my sisters.”
Tears threaten to spill over. This is too painful.
“We care about you, too, my love,” Sue says patiently. “But this is what’s right. It’s what’s right for us right now. We’ll come home. Someday when the fort is more self-sufficient. Someday when there isn’t so much turmoil in the world. Someday when our work here is done. They need our help.”
“We need you, too,” she pleads.
Hannah joins them and hugs Reagan around the waist. “We’ll be together soon enough.”
“It just feels so wrong. I don’t want this.”
“None of us want this, my love,” Sue acknowledges. “You think I want to leave my sisters? It broke my heart even to consider it. But, with time, you’ll see the sense of it just like I did.”
Reagan shakes her head against Sue’s shoulder.
“It’ll be ok,” Hannah says and breaks. Tears roll from her sightless eyes in gushing waves.
“This is dangerous,” Reagan tries again.
“It’s just temporary,” Sue says in a soft tone. She is also weeping lightly.
Hannah has wrapped her other arm around Sue. They are a three-headed hugging ball of crying goop and emotions.
“Grams wouldn’t like this,” Reagan reminds her.
“No,” Hannah agrees.
Sue says, “I know. She wouldn’t. That’s so true. Oh, I can’t bear to be away from you both. I love my sisters. I know it’s going to be hard. The only way I can even consider it is if we’re going to be together again.”
“We will,” Hannah says and sniffs hard.
Reagan doesn’t answer, certainly doesn’t agree with them. She is much too pragmatic to be so hopeful and optimistic. Bad things happen all the time now. Instead, she strokes Hannah’s pale hair and rests against Sue’s shoulder.
Later they eat dinner when the men return with trays and her grandfather. Lucy comes to tell them that their father is sleeping and requested that they meet again in the morning instead. He is s
imply too exhausted to continue tonight. So, instead, they speak more on the impending separation, the President, and the fort without him present. Reagan refrains from saying anything more. She is afraid she will lose all self-control completely and cry like a three-year-old little girl. It’s how she feels inside at the thought of being separated from her sister.
They retire around eleven p.m., and Reagan talks to John about her real feelings. He is always the only one with whom she can share such deep emotions. He strokes her head while she rests on his chest where she eventually falls asleep.
“Reagan,” her grandfather says in her dream. Strange. She’d been dreaming of Grams. She was young, her gray hair a dark brown again. She was beautiful and wearing a bright red dress and was slow dancing with her grandfather. “Reagan, wake up, child.”
Beside her, John is already on his feet.
“Grandpa?” she asks, rubbing at her tired eyes. He leans close and strokes her cheek, the one with the faded white scar as if he is trying to soothe her.
“Get up, Reagan. It’s your father. You’d better come quickly.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Sam
They stay up late and play cards together, she, Paige, Cory, and Simon. It’s a rare and very strangely quiet moment on the farm, almost surreal. The children are all staying at the neighbor’s house. By the time they got home and finished the chores and rechecked the perimeter, it was late. Paige suggested they leave the children in place. A quick call over to the Reynolds farm confirmed the little ones were all tucked in for the night. It was unanimously decided to let them sleep.
“You are one dirty poker player, Miss Samantha,” Simon teases with a smile as she tosses her winning hand of a straight flush down on the old dining table. She even celebrates by throwing her hands in the air and wiggling in her chair. Her tight black leggings allow her to slide back and forth doing her silly dance. She’s wearing a long white tank top with a pale pink, soft sweater over top. The big house is warm and cozy tonight. The company is good, even though the normal noise from the children is missing. It feels odd but also different in a way like they are just four friends hanging out and nothing is wrong in the world. She can tell that Paige feels the same by the smile on her pretty face.
“I win! I win! You lose, Simon!”
“Don’t gloat,” Simon warns with a glare that doesn’t really hold much conviction since he’s grinning at her.
“Well, guys,” Paige announces. “I’m beat. Let’s go, old man.”
“What?” Cory asks with a big smile for his wife. “I’m not old yet.”
“Depends on what you consider is old.”
“I’ll show you in a minute how old I’m not,” he promises and smacks her bottom as they leave the dining room.
Sam smiles as she gathers the cards and replaces them to their cardboard box. Then she stows them in the china hutch. When she turns back, Simon is standing in the doorway of the dining room, holding one hand on the frame above him. He is grinning crookedly.
This morning at the fort, she’d awakened on his chest. The covers were in a tangle around her ankles. He was dead asleep, so Sam had a chance to examine him at her leisure. A fine stubble had grown over his jawline, a darker auburn than his hair. A lock of that dark hair had fallen over his forehead. The stress that is always so present on his handsome face was gone, replaced by his boyish, innocent good looks again. But even though Simon has an innocent, youthful appearance, there is something else there now. And it’s not just the deadly look he gets when he needs to get down to the business of being the sniper in the family. Something she has noticed over the last few months is also there. He is still, calm, and more in charge of everything around him. His presence has become more commanding and confident. So much so that Sam sometimes feels a little intimidated by him. He definitely also makes her feel off-kilter and confused.
“Ready for bed?” he asks, his voice more husky than normal.
Instead of answering, Sam walks to him and stutters, “Um…um, uh, sure.”
“Tired?”
“No, not really.”
He smiles. “We’re unsupervised. It’s a first-ever moment around here. No interruptions. We can do whatever we want.”
“Whatever we want?” she asks, her mouth going dry and falling open. She snaps her jaw shut. There is a definite suggestive tone in his voice.
His head tips to the side. “Within reason, I suppose.”
“I think I’m going to get another cup of tea,” she says, her voice cracking. “Excuse me.”
He pauses, grins and steps to the side slightly, still leaving his hand above the doorframe, forcing her to walk underneath it.
“Want to do something?” he asks as he follows her to the kitchen.
“I’m not sure what you’re hoping I’ll say,” she admits truthfully.
“Anything you want,” he says. “We’re alone. Want to talk?”
She offers a chuckle full of sarcasm. “Uh, no.”
Sam removes the tea kettle from the stove and pours herself another cup. She carries it to the pantry where the honey is kept and turns and almost runs into Simon’s chest. He grins and reaches above her head to retrieve the jar of honey for her.
“Um, thanks,” she says with a scowl. When she’s done, she says, “Excuse me.”
Simon steps aside and lets her pass again. “Where are we going?’
“We?” she asks. “I’m going wherever I want to go.” She picks up the sketch she was working on earlier and left on the hall table as she walks into the music room.
“Mind if I tag along?”
“Does it matter?”
She receives a chuckle in answer.
Placing her sketch and hot tea on an end table, Sam crosses the room and unwinds the two braids she’d done to her hair earlier after her shower to keep it from dripping on her back. She turns her head upside down in front of the fire and tosses it around with her fingers. Some places are still just barely damp, but it’s mostly dry. The braids have made it just barely wavy. Cory started a fire earlier in here, and Simon walks over and places two more logs onto it.
“Careful of sparks,” he warns.
She nods from her bent over position and continues to finger fluff her hair. Simon is giving her a funny look. Or maybe he’s not. From this position, it’s hard to tell, so she stands erect again. No, he’s definitely giving her a strange look.
“What?” she asks bluntly.
He continues to stare at her. “I’m so glad you grew your hair back out.”
“What do you mean?” she asks confusedly.
“From when you sawed it all off,” he answers, causing her to flinch. “It’s ok, Sam.” He reaches out and touches her arm gently. “It’s ok to talk about it.”
She shakes her head. “Not for me.”
“Someday, we’ll talk. Doesn’t have to be tonight…”
“Or ever,” she corrects.
He smiles softly and removes his hand from her arm. “Need help?”
“With my hair? No?” she replies in question form, not sure why he would offer to help with her hair.
He turns his back to her and walks away. “Too bad.”
A single lamp is on, along with the light from the fire, all other lights on the entire first floor extinguished for the night. Conservation is still just as important as it’s always been. He retrieves a few additional small logs and pushes the others around. Once he has the fire stoked, Simon sits next to her, closer than necessary, on the sofa.
“What are you working on?” he asks and leans over.
“That same drawing of Grandpa and some of the kids,” she answers.
“That’s great,” he remarks and indicates the vertical line in the foreground. “This is the house?”
She nods and points with her pencil tip. “See? It’s the edge of the house.”
“Yes, and the porch pillars. I see it. This is really coming along.”
She shows him an area in the back
ground that she also started laying out, “There’s the horse barn. It’s not done yet. There are a few of the kids in the barnyard. Grandpa is holding Mary on his lap.”
“Amazing,” he says and looks directly at her, their eyes meeting. “Nothing new.”
It makes her heart swell just looking at her family, even in a drawing. Having Simon stare at her that way also makes her heart swell but for different reasons.
“I hope everyone always stays here together. It’s home. It’s safe.”
Simon frowns at her and says, “You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Sue and Derek might be leaving,” he answers. “And their children, of course.”
“Leaving? Leaving the farm? Why? Where would they go?”
“I thought you knew,” he says and rakes a hand through his dark hair, leaving some standing on end. He isn’t wearing his glasses this evening, and Sam can see the blue of his eyes so much better, which makes things so much more difficult.
“Knew what? What aren’t you saying?”
Simon sighs and replies, “I talked a while back with Herb about it. He said they were going to start telling people. He said not to tell anyone. Guess it’s too late for that. I thought you might know already or I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Simon!” she declares with exasperation. “Tell me what the heck you’re talking about!”
“Sue and Derek are leaving the farm. They’re going to live at Fort Knox. Robert isn’t going to make it much longer. Doc discussed it with me after our last trip up there…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, hurt he’d hide something this monumental from her. Sam slams her sketchpad on the floor in front of them and turns, tucking one leg under her so that she can face him better.
“You don’t always live here, either, remember?” he points out.
“So? You still have to tell me stuff!”
He smiles as if he’s being patient, which pisses her off.
“What?” she asks in a huff.
“I’m sorry,” he says, still smiling. “I recall you saying that you moved on. You have a new life over there now, remember?”
