Valeria turned and spread her hands wide, as if taking in the land around them. “You live where you can out here. Only a few places still have working well pumps. We can’t get parts any more, not easily. So our home was a likely choice. Besides, when—.” She hesitated “When the black man gave you directions I knew you were coming here. Everything else on this road is too small or has no water.”
“His name is Blessing.”
“Okay. Blessing.”
Valeria didn’t look at all contrite, but then why would she? Lou was taking over her home, not the other way around.
Lou felt a need to stay in front of the conversation, to be the interrogator. “You and who lives here?”
Valeria tipped her chin up, smiled. “I have sons. Foundations have paying jobs. We will work for you.”
Lou stiffened at the presumption in her statement. “How many sons?”
“Five.”
Five! They already had five of the people they could hire. At least if Blessing and Day stayed. She was under no illusion about what they’d do if Julianna called them back. The new foundation would need specialties that it didn’t have, and that Valeria almost surely didn’t have either.
Valeria wasn’t done yet. “And daughters. Two. And three grandchildren.”
Clearly this place had a lot of water and a small army to defend it. Her thoughts raced. What were the chances there was someplace else that was this well-suited to them? Or would that offend Valeria, who clearly had enough power to influence the Returners. They’d need that. Could she forge a deal here? “I can only hire a few people. How big is the house?”
“Big enough. I will show you.” Valeria bowed ever so slightly, the bow of one leader to another.
Lou gritted her teeth. She glanced at her team, trying to sense their mood. No one except Blessing gave away any emotion at all, and he appeared to be amused. Damn him.
She turned back to Valeria, trying to keep her inner doubts from her face. “Gather your family and bring them all to the front of the house, outside. We’ll be along in a moment and we’ll meet them.”
It was an order, and at first she though Valeria wouldn’t take it. But then she said, “We’d be happy to meet you. You’ll find my family quite fabulous.” With that, Valeria walked away—head up, in full control. Whatever else she might be, she was impressive.
Was she friend or foe?
Lou gestured for her people to gather around.
Shuska dismounted, walking far more quietly than anyone would expect such a big woman could move. Daryl was already off his horse. He and Shuska approached the old barn together, neither of them saying a word. Daryl held his handgun ready at his side.
Shuska opened the barn door with a jerk, stepped back with the door, and stayed out of the opening. Daryl hugged the other side of the door.
It was too dark to see inside.
Shuska pulled a light out of her pocket and shone it through the dark opening. Nothing. She called out, “Hello?”
A donkey brayed.
Shuska smiled and went in. The light disappeared, and then a few moments later Shuska’s head poked out of an upstairs window. “Clear. One old donkey, two pigs, and two goats.”
“Thanks,” Lou called up to her.
Shuska came back out and closed the barn door. “I think the pigs are for food, but the others look like pets. The goats are wethers.”
They had enough resources to keep pets? Lou clapped her hands for attention. “I’m going to want to hear what you all think. But I’ll say a little first.”
Shuska crossed her arms, Daryl stepped closer in to them all, Blessing fidgeted, and Day nodded. Matchiko had gone to total stillness, her features giving away nothing. “Go on.”
“We expected one thing and got another. I’m guessing this won’t be the last time that happens. We don’t want to come in fighting the locals. That woman doesn’t like the Returners and neither do we. We’ll start from there.” She glanced at their faces. No arguments appeared there; they were waiting.
She wasn’t used to being in charge yet, but she was, and she would keep going. “I can’t tell if there are enough resources for all these people and for us. Maybe there are.” She looked toward the big house. “We may need to assert our right to be here.”
She shifted her gaze to Blessing, her closest tie out here to Julianna and Jake, and thus to funding and authority.
His grin surfaced. “We might have to fight for it.”
All the more reason to negotiate. “So let’s hear from all of you,” Lou asked. “You first, Blessing. What do you think?”
While he looked more thoughtful than usual, his answer wasn’t very helpful. “We can do anything.”
Shuska shook her head. “We’re outnumbered. I don’t think that’s good.”
“We need to know more.” Daryl. Taciturn—and correct—as usual.
Matchiko said, “Kindness is better than unkindness.”
Such a Matchiko answer. It forced a smile to Lou’s lips.
Day nodded as if he agreed with all of their conflicting views, but then he answered practically. “Daryl’s right. We need to go up there and learn more. But we shouldn’t leave the horses alone.”
“I supposed we can post a guard,” Lou replied. “Let’s leave the ecobots and two of you here to watch the horses. Daryl and Blessing?”
Blessing looked disappointed. But if she could only take one of the two, she wanted Day. If they needed to fight, he was better than all of them, better even than Shuska. She told Blessing, “I need two good hands to watch the horses. Surely they’re valuable out here.”
His voice had a slightly bitter edge, very unlike him. “For those who can afford to feed them.”
“Anyone can eat them,” she snapped.
Blessing dismounted and started clipping leads onto bridles so the horses could be tied to posts, the sharp jerky motions of his hands suggesting anger.
Matchiko said, “The animals will need water.”
“There’s a small trough in the barn,” Shuska told Blessing. “And I saw a hose leading outside, so look around back.”
Daryl looked relieved to be left behind. He started whistling low under his breath, a thing he often did to soothe animals. Perhaps he was trying to soothe Blessing, too.
Lou gathered the others and they started off on foot toward the big house. A wide front porch had tables and chairs on it, and even little umbrellas. They’d be invisible from the sky since the top floor had wide empty decks or awnings most of the way around it.
She approved.
The windows were either glass or boarded, the yellow paint fresh. The steeply sloped roof and the grounds looked pristine. All natural, with some of the plants already dried for fall and others wearing yellowing leaves or tinged with red. Someone who loved gardens tended them, keeping plants cut back and cared for, deadheading flowers, and sweeping the walks.
Three men, a woman, and a child waited for Lou’s party on the driveway. A woman carrying a small child was just coming out of the door.
Lou stopped them at the edge of the lawn and they watched the house disgorge people. It took a long time. Lou counted to herself. Fifteen. Valeria came out last.
She should have asked how many of the children were married.
They all looked healthy and like they were accustomed to work. Most of the people shared Valeria’s Spanish features and coloring. One of the women was almost as dark as Blessing, and almost as beautiful as Blessing as well. One white man stood out both for his pale skin and for being taller than most of the others. He was also quite thin. One little girl looked frightened, the other was old enough to feign boredom. Two of the men looked defiant, but most of the others just looked confused or slightly worried. They spoke in hushed tones. One little boy, who might have been all of five, perched on his father’s shoulders and pointed toward the small barn and proclaimed, “Robot!”
The father’s quick hushed reply reached Lou’s ears. “They’re dangerous
. Don’t go near them.”
Valeria introduced them all, carefully stating their skills.
Lou tried to remember all of the names, but some of them ran together, the Hispanic names full of vowels.
Lou introduced the people who were with her. She even named the horses, which delighted the children.
Everything felt polite and only a little strained, as if everyone—literally all of them—waited for some answer. Surely, they wanted to keep their home. She sensed pride in them, and trepidation.
Valeria, Lou decided, had raised her children to be a lot like her.
She realized they had been standing for almost half an hour and that the sun was already throwing long shadows. It had to be close to dinnertime. She asked Valeria, “Is there a room big enough for everyone to sit in?”
Valeria laughed. “No. Well, uncomfortably. Perhaps you and I can talk?”
Lou shook her head. “I have advisors to include in this conversation.”
Valeria spoke with no hesitation. “I would like my daughter and granddaughter along.”
Valeria’s oldest son, Felipe, took Day onto the front porch, sitting where they could be seen while they looked outward like guard dogs.
Valeria led Lou, Matchiko, and Shuska to the main living room. Valeria included a daughter named Astrid with dark hair that flowed past her waist in a thick braid, and Astrid’s daughter, Alondra. The girl was somewhere between ten and twelve, just prepubescent, with big dark eyes, a wide mouth, and a noticeably serious demeanor.
The room looked comfortable, with couches and chairs in front of an outsized fireplace. Shuska stood. Lou and Valeria took two dark blue stuffed chairs, and the other three occupied one of two couches. Large windows overlooked the driveway and gardens outside. The light had taken on the soft gold of pre-dusk, which made Lou itch to start talking. She was tired. Her crew was tired. They needed to know where they were going to sleep soon. She opened with a compliment. “The gardens are beautiful.”
“Astrid keeps them. She studied gardening in Spokane Metro, and earned a Master Gardener’s certificate.” Valeria’s voice was full of glowing parentage. “She also oversees the vegetables and makes sure that we all have enough to eat.”
“I’d like to see the gardens.” She herself was thinking that someone who knew plants might be useful. So, of course, would food.
Valeria didn’t react, but Astrid’s eyes widened. The vegetables mattered to them.
As Lou chose to move into the business of the meeting, she understood why Valeria had included Alondra. She found herself speaking very carefully, trying not to upset the girl. “We have a permit from the federal government.”
“A permit for what?” Alondra asked from her perch on Astrid’s knee.
“To help the wild plants and animals in the area, to help them survive in spite of us. It’s good work.”
Alondra smiled, and said, “I would like to be a Wilder someday.”
Maybe that was another reason Valeria had included her. If this was what her grandchildren thought of Wilders, the family must be supporters.
Astrid looked piqued, but said nothing more.
Lou turned her attention to Valeria. “We can bring some work to you and your family. Maybe two positions, or at the most three.”
Valeria nodded. “I believe that there might be other things you are interested in as well. Such as knowing about some of the people in town who may not agree with the Wilder policy position.”
A strange phrase to come from Valeria’s mouth. Policy position. She did intend to spy on the Returners, but that was a secret she wasn’t ready to share with this woman. Not yet. “We really are only interested in doing our job.”
Astrid spoke quietly. “Do you need killer robots to help the environment?”
Julianna and her damned ecobots. “They are also builders and planters. Here, we may use them to destroy.” She smiled, realizing that destroy wasn’t the right word after it escaped her mouth. “It looks like it’s past time for the old vineyards to be taken down.”
Surprisingly, Astrid laughed. It made her look younger. “I might like to see that. We’ve been planning to get that done, but there is little time.”
Matchiko spoke from behind Lou. “What occupies your time—so many of you? Do you mind sharing?”
Valeria smiled. “We run a store in town, and on Friday and Saturday night we run a bar, and both of those are much work.”
Astrid’s chin lifted. She sounded defensive. “We grow many vegetables, and hay for winter feed.”
“We weed,” Alondra added, “and chase off the bunnies.”
Lou smiled at the girl’s earnestness.
Matchiko changed the subject. “Are there many stores in town? We didn’t get to see.”
Valeria shifted in her seat. “Four or five. Ours is the only one with fresh local foods, and we do some traveling back and forth to other places to acquires staples.”
Lou silently thanked Matchiko for the excellent questions. She once again felt the pressure of the failing light. Hopefully Blessing and Daryl were feeding the horses. “We’d love to talk more about all of this in the morning, but, for now, you know why we are here and now we know some of what you are doing here. Is it possible to have a tour before the sun sets?”
Valeria looked at Astrid. “Will you take them?”
“Yes,” Astrid said, her voice flat.
Alondra stood and looked beseechingly at Valeria, who smiled and nodded. “You may go.”
Lou stood and extended her right hand to Valeria. “Thank you.”
Valeria took the offered hand, her handshake strong and warm. “You’re welcome.”
No return thank you. This was, perhaps, going to be interesting.
She was no closer to deciding how to set up a headquarters in an already-occupied stronghold than she had been before. But she would figure something out.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Outside, Valeria stepped gracefully close to Lou and gave her a quick, formal hug, leaving a faint scent of lavender hovering in the air where she had been. “I’m leaving you in good hands.” She nodded toward Astrid and Alondra, who stood silently and very formally as well.
The sun had almost touched the high mountain peaks to the east. The lake and the sky had become the identical shade of blue, as if you could trade the two of them and stand on the sky and look up at the lake.
Valeria walked off with the confident sashay of a far younger woman. Lou pursed her lips, feeling outdone.
Astrid offered a small guarded smile and started along the side of the house at a quick walk. Lou and the others followed. They strung out into a line, with Alondra in the back position, behind Shuska, watching them all so intently that when Lou looked back she felt as if the child scorched her with her gaze.
She seemed full of the same fey focus and charisma as her grandmother.
The main house was large enough that it took some time to walk around it. About halfway along, they went through a gate and into a large garden enclosed in tall deer-fence and covered with netting to keep birds out. They found row on row of raised beds, most of them full of ripe fall vegetables. Lou leaned over to Shuska, “Isn’t this at least an acre?”
“A little more.”
The tall black woman, Tembi, and her husband, Valeria’s youngest son, Angel, bent over the beds. Tembi snipped cucumbers free of bushes, and Angel shook dirt from fist-sized potatoes. They piled the vegetables into faded red and yellow crates.
The garden smelled of damp dirt and mint, of lavender and thyme.
Were they working this late in protest or to impress her?
Lou leaned over to Matchiko and whispered, “I think this is why the town allows them to remain here. The Returners need someone to grow their food.”
Matchiko elbowed her gently, and she turned around to see Alondra watching her, perhaps close enough to hear. Lou turned back to Astrid and listened carefully as she described the work of the farm. “We use soaker hoses and
raised beds to save water, and the nasturtiums planted in the beds are a natural pesticide. They’re edible, too.”
Valeria’s other daughter, Sofia, came out and began harvesting lettuce and bright orange nasturtium flowers, cucumbers, and garlic. She placed these in a single basket, and Lou assumed this would be for the evening meal. She was the smallest of the grown women, thin and short and long-armed, with tattoos and short hair. Astrid, and even Alondra, looked like they might have been on this farm a hundred years ago, but Sofia looked like a recent refugee from a city.
Shuska moved deliberately, passing all the beds, looking carefully. A few times she bent down and felt the soil or fingered a leaf. The look on her face was somber, perhaps even sad.
Sofia watched Shuska’s inspection, eyes wide. Did a hint of anger flicker in that stare? When she noticed Lou watching, she looked down.
A woman sang from inside the house, and chickens clucked and called from somewhere nearby. Chickens? Eggs?
Astrid stopped at the end of the vegetable bins. “We grow almost everything: peas and snap peas, pole beans and runner beans and bush beans, green and red leaf lettuce, early girl tomatoes—”
Lou began to lose track of the details, drowning instead in the possibilities, the variety, and the challenge of all this. The permit allowed the foundation to grow food for themselves, but not to sell it. That was akin to farming and needed a permit that would only be granted inside of a sanctioned boundary. Those bins of cucumbers and potatoes weren’t all destined for the dinner table here.
She couldn’t just kick them off. She had known it from the moment Valeria uttered the word “we,” but she had been slow to make herself accept that reality.
She would have all of these people to help protect.
Valeria had promised they would help protect her as well, and her people. Perhaps some would become her people. But that complicated things. Didn’t it?
She couldn’t allow Valeria to tell her what to do.
Astrid finished her list. Alondra stuck close to Lou, watching her face closely. She picked a single ripe cherry tomato and held it out, her palm open as if she were feeding a horse.
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