29° (Twenty-Nine Degrees) (Twenty Nine Book 3)

by Nancy Pennick

  “Why don’t I take these two into the house for a break?” I got up, and Colt jumped at the chance to escape. He took my hand as Lucas picked up Zak to follow us inside. “I thought I saw some cars in a box over in this corner.” I sat on the edge of the couch, and Colt explained each one to us in detail. After showing us four or five, he shared with Zak.

  “Twenty minutes,” I whispered to Lucas.

  The cousins played well together, but I was surprised none of the adults joined us.

  “Well, this has been fun, but we have to go.” I reached for Zak’s hand and pulled him to his feet.

  “No!” Colt was so quick I didn’t have time to react. He pushed Zak down hard, breaking my grip on his hand.

  Zak jumped up and plowed a shoulder into his cousin’s chest causing him to fall backward into a pile of cars.

  “Mommy!” Colton cried. Instantly. adults appeared. “He hit me!” Colt pointed at Zak, his face bright red with tears running down his cheeks.

  My dad smiled and crouched next to Colt. “Zak’s just a baby, Colt. What is he, Allie? Eighteen months? You’re a big five-year-old boy. If he did hit you, I’m sure he didn’t mean it. It probably didn’t hurt that much, did it?”

  “Yes, it did.” He drew in a deep breath. “And he’s taking her!” Colt pointed at me.

  So that's why he pushed Zak! I got to down to his level and looked him in the eye with a smile. “I’ll see you again soon, Colton,” I ruffled his hair, and he wrapped one arm around my shoulder. Is that a hug?

  I looked at Katrina and saw her face soften, but I felt nothing for her. “They have to leave now, Colt,” she said.

  Colt finally let go, and we headed for the door. As I passed by my brother, I hissed, “Pay attention to your son.”

  Mom and Dad fawned over Zak who sleepily laid on Lucas’ shoulder.

  “We’ll see you soon, darling,” Mom said and kissed his chubby hand.

  “And we’ll play another game of chess, Zak.” Dad patted his back.

  “Well, that was fun,” Lucas said as we got in the car.

  “Am I a bad person if I say I can’t even feel sorry for my nephew?” I asked.

  “No, not at all.”

  “If I do, then I’ll begin to have feelings for him. I already can’t stand that he has to live with my brother. Did you see how Doug treats him? Like a possession, someone to parade around and show off as if to say I have a son. Otherwise he shows no interest. I don’t get it. I thought he’d be proud, carry the kid around on his shoulders, the next generation and all that. Odd, don’t you think?”

  “A little.” Lucas sighed.

  We passed a black van parked on the side of the street, and I swung around in my seat. “Is that Sean?”

  “Should be.”

  “He sat there the whole time?”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  “Aw, he deserves our full attention when we get home and a huge dinner.”

  Lucas reached out and took my hand. “Don’t ever think you don’t have feelings, love, for anyone. You worry about others and want to right every wrong.” He squeezed my hand. “But you know you can’t, right?”

  “Yeah, at one time I thought I could fix everything by myself but I know we have to work together. This dinner confirmed it. We have to stop Doug, before he gets to the election. I’m getting Kimmie Wells to headquarters even if I have to drive to her house and bring her myself.”

  * * * *

  “Lucas, you have to stay home. Nate and Ashley are coming today. Someone has to be here.”

  “I don’t like you going without me,” he said as he followed me around the bedroom while I made my final outfit choice for the day.

  “I’ll be fine. Sean’s coming with me. Didn’t you say the first recruits are showing up at nine?”

  “Yes, but if they don’t, and Randolph comes when you’re alone …”

  I put my finger over his lips. “I’ll scream bloody murder. Besides didn’t Tobias tell me I’d be fine?”

  I kissed him quickly and ran out to the car. I wanted to be there to welcome the first recruits. Lucas could track me and connect by chip or the screen. He shouldn’t worry so much. I didn’t see Sean’s van in the rearview mirror when I left, but he’d be along soon.

  I pulled into the strip mall parking lot and stared at the storefront. I’m doing this for a man I despise. The store looked good from the street and hopefully eye-catching. As I got out of my Jeep, another car door opened, and Randolph slid out from the driver’s side. He popped the trunk and began to walk around to the back of the car. Does he have orders to throw me in and drive away? My heart thumped against my chest as I watched him grab an armload of boxes.

  I jumped from the Jeep, unlocked the store, and propped the door open. “Hello, Randolph.” I smiled at him as he walked past me. “Anywhere is fine. Coffee?”

  He nodded his usual greeting. I headed back to the employee lounge and started the coffee. “Would you mind going down the street and buying three dozen doughnuts?” I called, knowing he heard me. The coffee machine began to percolate. I patted the top and said, “That should hold us for a while.”

  I turned to find Randolph standing in the doorway. My insides churned, and I tried not to panic. I dropped the can I held, coffee grounds spilling across the floor. The scent of coffee filled the air of the little room. I swallowed hard and caught my breath. “Oops.”

  He grabbed a broom from the corner, swept the grounds into a dustpan and dumped them in the garbage.

  “We better add coffee to your shopping trip.” I tried to make it sound like a bad joke, but got no response. I ticked off the rest of the list. “Napkins, plates, and foam cups. Oh, and coffee stirrers.”

  Randolph stood in the room with me one minute, gone the next. “Well, thanks, Randolph, for cleaning up my mess and going to the store.” I shrugged and headed for the office down the hall from the lounge.

  Only a desk and two chairs occupied the room, but it was my personal space. I leaned on the desk, taking a few deep breaths, trying to gain my composure.

  “Allie.” I jumped when I heard Sean’s voice. He rushed in the room and wrapped his arms around me. “Calm down, it’s only me. I waited till Randy took off to come in. I’ll start setting up those laptops.”

  “Thanks, Sean.” I held my hand to my racing heart and swallowed hard. “Randy?”

  “My nickname for him.” He gave me a huge grin, making his handsome face light up. Sean’s dark hair and features were set off by his beautiful emerald eyes. I thought he told me once he was Scottish.

  “You’re evil, Sean, but I love it!” I took him by the arm. “Let’s get to work.” We walked out to the main room. “You know, you never told me your last name or anything about your family.”

  “Not much to tell.”

  “When someone says that, I have a feeling there’s a lot to tell.” I folded my arms.

  “My last name is McLeod. It’s Scottish.”

  “Okay, Sean McLeod, that’s a start.”

  “And I knew Zak would be fine if he got into a fight with the other wee one because I had three older brothers and could take them by the time I was a year old.”

  “Four in my years?”

  “Exactly. One in mine.”

  “And you’re thirty-two.” I did the math in my head. “On hundred and twenty-eight.”

  “Yes, that’s one of the reasons my parents immigrated to the U.S. They heard rumors about children like me being helped in the states. I was two when we crossed the Atlantic. My brothers were in their teens.”

  “Did Abe find your family once you arrived?”

  Abraham had established the first U.S. compound for Niners in Pennsylvania. He had come from the Netherlands, and chose a spot in the Pocono Mountains far from civilization. It had to be shut down before my wedding due to a security breach. Doug somehow found its location and sent the same bombs as he did to California. The STF Niners had created these special weapons which sensed human act
ivity and would drop only on unoccupied dwellings, something I hadn't known at the time when I was running for my life in Spanish Village.

  “My parents already had a connection to the Niner community. They were given Abe’s name and contacted him before we left Scotland. He was waiting for us once we got off the boat and through immigration and took us to Patriot Village. We lived there for a while, but my brothers hated it. Can you believe that?”

  “With all the technological advances the Niners have? No.”

  “They left when World War Two started. They enlisted.”

  I placed my hand on his arm. “Did they …?”

  “Survive?” Sean shook his head. “My oldest brother was killed in battle. My mom never got over it. My other two brothers never came back to the village. Dad thought it best to return to the outside world, but let me choose where I wanted to live even though I was just five years old.”

  “And you chose Abe, Levi and Patriot Village.”

  “There was one more reason.” Sean ran his hand over his face. “I didn’t want to leave my best friend.”

  “That’s cute.” I had to smile.

  Sean looked at me over the top of his hand. “No, it’s not.”

  “Wait. We’re not joking around here, are we?” Sean’s face looked very serious.

  “No, we’re not.” He hung his head.

  “Who was your best friend, Sean? How could it be so terrible?”

  He looked up at me and shook his head. “Oh, it’s bad. My best friend was Randolph.”

  Chapter Eight

  “What?” I looked at Sean with wide eyes.

  “My family was given the house next to his when we arrived at the village. We were the same age and became friends.”

  “Go on,” I said as my mind raced.

  “The Pennsylvania compound was its own melting pot. People were coming from all over the world to the U.S. at that time. Randolph Vogl and his family had just arrived from Austria as we had from Scotland. He knew my brothers and mourned the death of the oldest like he was family. That’s when Randolph swore he’d join the Armed Forces when he was old enough. He left the village during the Middle East crisis.”

  “Did you stay in touch?” My voice quivered.

  Sean nodded, his eyes filled with tears. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s partially true.”

  Our rescue mission flashed through my mind. “We got into the STF complex too easily. Randolph knew it was you coming to join them.” I covered my face. “He trusted you.”

  Sean’s hands wrapped around my wrists and gently tugged. “Look at me? Do you think I’d ever betray you? I volunteered to be the decoy, the Niner who wanted to join the STF. It made sense.”

  “Does Lucas know?”

  “No. He was too young and lived in Montana. I moved to Montana when I joined the security team. They needed help there, and since I had no family and wasn’t married, I went when I was offered the job.”

  “But you have family now,” I whispered.

  “You believe me?”

  “Yes.”

  “If it makes you feel better,” Sean said. “Julian knows, and Levi knew. The plan worked because Randolph convinced Doug I was a sure thing. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”

  “Since? You used to keep in contact?”

  “Christmas cards?” Sean shrugged and gave me a smile.

  “Randolph’s coming.” I nodded toward the main door. Two more men were heading this way, too. “I need to get the clipboard from my office. I’ll be right back.”

  When I came out of the office, I stopped in the doorway of the lounge. Randolph was placing boxes of doughnuts and a bag of supplies on a table.

  “You can set this up however you like.” He looked at me from across the table.

  “He speaks.” I smirked and returned to the front of the store.

  “Hi, I’m Allie Montgomery, Doug’s sister.” I shook hands with the men standing with Sean. “Names?” I tapped the clipboard.

  “Tony Davis. Doug and I were on the high school football team together.” He gave me a wide grin, showing all his teeth.

  “Pat Shaffer, water boy.” He chuckled as he looked at Tony.

  Tony gave him a playful punch in the arm. “But the best damn water boy a football team ever had.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes and checked the list. “Great to have you here, guys. Thanks for volunteering.” We established times they could work, then they offered to help Sean get the laptops up and running.

  The day went by quickly with people stopping in, some out of curiosity, others who knew our family or were on our call list. No one would have a clue we were trying to sabotage Doug’s election. It looked like a well-oiled machine. All ten volunteers showed up and even brought others with them. Each station had a call list, phone and laptop or tablet by the end of the day. Some people offered to take the lists home to work from there, but I discouraged the idea. “We’d really like you to work from here. Keep it all in one place.” I’d tell them.

  As the work day drew to a close, Sean and I were alone in the store. “Well, I guess we can close up shop.” I took one more look around the store.

  “I’ll wait for you out in the van. Take your time.” Sean saluted. “And if you want to talk more about our earlier conversation, I’m available.”

  “No, I’m good. I’ve thought about what you said. It did make sense for you to volunteer. I’m sure you and Julian went over the details beforehand.”

  “Thanks for understanding. We thought if we told you, you’d lose trust in me. I should’ve known better.” Sean pushed open the door, letting in the summer breeze.

  I walked to the back hall and began to switch off the lights.

  “Hello? Anyone here?” A woman’s voice called from the main room.

  I dropped my hand to my side. Another volunteer? Thought I was done for the day. “Just a minute!” I closed the electrical box and came out to find a beautiful woman standing in the middle of the store.

  “Hi, are you Allie?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I’m so sorry. I’ve been out of town and meant to call you so I just came over.” Her shiny midnight black hair hung past her shoulders, and swayed from side to side as she moved through the store to reach me. She took everything in then turned to me, locking eyes. Her dark green eyes were captivating. Immediately I knew who she was. Kimmie Wells.

  “Oh, sorry, you have no idea who I am. I’m Kimberly Watson, soon to be Kimberly Wells again. But you can call me Kim. I’m in the middle of finalizing my divorce and getting my maiden name established. I finally found time to get back to you.”

  Surprised by the recent turn of events, I fought for composure. “Thanks for coming, Kim. Please, sit.” I pulled two folding chairs out from the table. I held up my pointer finger. “I just need to make a quick call.” I picked up a phone receiver but really connected to Sean through my chip.

  “Yeah, I can see you have a visitor,” he said after he answered. “What did she say her name was? I didn’t quite hear. Get her number for me. She’s a beauty.”

  “Well then, you won’t mind waiting for me,” I said into the phone.

  “Absolutely not. Take your time.” I placed the receiver back in its cradle with a smile.

  Kim took my hands. “It’s so good to see you, Allie. Do you remember me?” She let go of my hands and leaned back with a laugh. “Of course not, the last time you saw me you were two years old. I was Doug’s high school girlfriend. I went to the hospital with him to see you on the day you were born. You were such a pretty baby I just knew you’d turn into a beautiful woman.”

  “Thanks.” A warm feeling crept up my neck. “But you? You’re gorgeous!”

  “I don’t feel gorgeous or any other great adjective at the moment. This divorce is killing me. He didn’t want children, and I thought I was okay with that but now …” She shrugged her shoulders. “Mid-thirties can change a girl’s mind.”

  “Sorry,
” I said, hoping she saw the sympathy in my eyes.

  “I read in the local paper you’re already married and have a child.” Kim sighed. “You’re so young and already know what you want. I envy you.”

  “You’ll meet Lucas, my husband, and Zak soon.” I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers. “Are you here to help?”

  “Yes, I’ll do anything you need. I don’t have a job right now and want something to keep me occupied.”

  She didn’t know, but I intended to hire her as assistant campaign manager and have her work full-time, traveling with Doug on the campaign bus. My plan to use Kim as a distraction sounded good, but now that I met her in person I felt guilty as I asked, “How would you like to help me full-time?”

  “Really? That would be great.”

  “You’ll eventually come in contact with Doug and have to work closely with him.” I tested the waters.

  “Of course, I knew that coming in. I’ve tried to remain friends with him, but it seemed like he disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  “Yes, Doug’s a busy boy. You know he’s married?”

  Kimberly nodded. “Saw a picture …”

  “In the paper. Right.”

  “And he has a son, Colton, I believe. He looks like Doug.” She glanced over her shoulder and played with a piece of her hair.

  “Kim, are you okay?”

  “I know I just met you, Allie, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life and can confide in you.”

  “Whatever you say won’t leave this room.” Except for Sean’s big ears in the van.

  “Doug and I broke up after high school for many reasons. The biggest one, and I’m sure you know this, was he enlisted in the army. I didn’t want to be in that kind of relationship because knowing Doug, he would have put the job before me. He’s very loyal and when he commits to something …” She dropped her head and fidgeted with her handbag.

  “If it’s too hard to talk about, I understand.” I reached out and rubbed the side of her arm.