by Marla Monroe
“Where’s Jessie?” he asked, looking at Kent.
“I don’t know. She’ll be here in a minute. You know how women are when it comes to shopping.”
“Very funny, Kent.” Jessie pushed a cart into the open area and pulled another one behind her.
“What in the hell do you have in all of that?” Wyatt asked, shaking his head.
“Soap, shampoo, deodorant, combs, brushes, toothbrushes.” She picked up a box of tampons and wiggled it at them.
“Fine. What’s in the other cart?” Wyatt pointed at the one she was pulling.
“Clothes and boots. I figure I’ll need some heavier clothes and boots if we are going to be living in the wilds of the Border Lands. David said it was best to settle in the northern area and not in the plains area, because of the storms.”
“She’s got a point. We need to get some boots and warmer clothes too,” Kent pointed out.
“Okay, let’s load this stuff up first and see if our friends are still around.”
They followed him as he led the way through the back, using the flashlights since there were no skylights in the back. After pulling the crate away from the door, Wyatt took the rifle and slowly opened the door. Then he stepped outside. He stuck his head back in the door and gave the all clear.
“I’m going to open one of the bay doors to let in light, and it will be easier to load the stuff up from it,” Kent said.
Wyatt had Jessie stay in the doorway as he unhitched the trailer and backed the truck up to the loading bay Kent had rolled up. They spent the next thirty minutes packing away their supplies before going back for more. This time, they raided the grocery aisles and the home goods.
Once they were completely loaded and had shut everything back, they climbed in the cab of the truck and pulled out of the Kmart parking lot and back into town.
“Hey, Wyatt. We need to stop at a library,” Jessie suddenly said.
“A library? Why in the hell would you want to do that?”
“We need some books if we’re going to try and live off the land. There’s a set called the Foxfire books. They talk about everything from how to make soap to how to put up vegetables. I’m going to need to know how to do all that.”
“That’s a good idea.” Kent patted her on the knee.
Wyatt realized she was right and stopped the truck to figure out how to find a library. He decided their best bet was to grab a phone book from somewhere and see what street it was on and then look at the city map in the back.
As they headed for the first place they saw that might have a phone book, Kent laughed and pointed out a library across the street from them. Wyatt shook his head and pulled out front. He jumped out and locked the door, then waited for the others to follow suit. He scanned the area for anyone or anything that might be a problem, but other than the song of birds and the light wind blowing from the east, nothing stirred.
They had to break into the library and use the flashlights to see. They followed Jessie as she located the books they needed.
“You know. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to grab several how-to books,” Kent suggested.
Wyatt agreed with them. They took a rolling cart from the back of the library and filled it full of books on things such as carpentry, engine repair, growing vegetables, and even animal husbandry. Jessie added several first aid books as well. They rolled their books out to the truck and loaded them in the trailer. Kent took the cart back and closed the door back to the library so that it wouldn’t just hang open.
“I’m good for something, now aren’t I?” Jessie pointed out to Wyatt.
“I never said you weren’t, Jess. I never said you weren’t.”
* * * *
Jessie sighed and closed her eyes as they pulled out of the little town. She’d eaten a good breakfast of canned fruit, but it wasn’t sitting well with the driving. She just didn’t ride well. She wondered if she would ride better if she tried to read. Maybe she would grab one of the books to look at when they stopped again.
The men talked about the map and where they were. She wondered how far they would get that night. She shut them out and thought about what life was going to be like when they settled down. David had said they would need to find an existing house somewhere and set up housekeeping in it and start a garden as soon as possible.
She knew next to nothing about gardens. She was a fairly good cook, but she didn’t know how to cook fresh foods as much as canned or frozen food. Then there was the wild game the men kept talking about killing. She knew you had to cook it special. She needed to be reading those books now, while they were on the road.
They pulled into a small town about four hours later for gas and to eat. The people there were very curious and seemed to enjoy talking to them. Wyatt was naturally leery of them, so they didn’t stick around long. She talked Kent into letting her get one of the books out of the back. They pulled back out on the highway and ate beef jerky and drank water as they drove.
“Why didn’t you want to stick around there and eat?” she asked Wyatt.
“They were too interested in what we had in the back. I didn’t trust they wouldn’t try something.”
Jessie shrugged and began reading the first book from the Foxfire set. By the time they were ready to stop for the night, she was on information overload. She never knew there was so much to living off the land. And she was only on the fifth chapter of the first book. At this rate, she’d need another three weeks of reading time to finish them. She wouldn’t survive that long. She wasn’t doing so well, as it were. She couldn’t eat much while they rode and then didn’t have much of an appetite when they stopped.
The truck stop they pulled into actually had a light on inside. Kent cautioned Jessie to lie down in the seat until they knew what was what. She lay with her head in Kent’s lap and her ass next to Wyatt’s.
“I’m going to pull up at the gas pump and then go inside and see what they’ll trade for gas. You two stay here. Kent, keep the rifle at the ready. You know what to do if something happens.”
Jessie didn’t like the sound of that. She kept down and silent as Wyatt climbed out of the cab of the truck.
“What’s going on, Kent?”
“He’s walking inside right now. There’s movement inside, but I can’t see how many are in there.”
“Do you think Wyatt will be okay in there alone?”
“He’ll be fine. Here he comes now.”
The door opened again and Wyatt climbed in. “Got to pull around to the other pumps. These don’t work.”
He cranked the truck and Jessie felt them move. She could see the awning above them as they circled around the building.
“Jessie, there are three men in there. No women that I saw. Don’t stick your head up for anything. Do you understand?”
“I won’t.” She had no plans to be snatched again. “What are they going to trade for?”
“They need toilet paper and a drill. We’ve got lots of both and can probably get more.” Wyatt climbed out of the truck and left her alone with Kent once again.
“Does everything look okay, Kent?”
“So far. He’s filling the truck up now. One of the men is standing at the door, but inside, not outside.”
“I don’t feel good about this at all, Kent. Give me the handgun, and you keep the rifle close. Something’s wrong.”
Kent had learned a long time ago to heed her feelings. She seemed to have a sixth sense about things like that. She sighed when he reached beneath him and handed her the handgun and pulled the rifle up closer to the window.
“Can you tell Wyatt?”
“I’m going to try. Be very quiet. I’m going to roll the window down.”
She watched him switch the key and then roll the window down. He leaned his head out the window and called over to Wyatt.
“Wyatt.”
“Yeah, what do you need?”
“I want something from the store, come over here when you finish.”
A
few minutes later, Wyatt stepped over to the window, and Kent looked down at him.
“Jessie says something is wrong. You know how she can sense things. Be very careful,” Kent whispered to his brother.
“Gotcha.”
“What’s going on now?” she asked a few seconds later.
“He’s finished filling the tank and is carrying a box of tissue and the drill over to the door.”
“Looks like everything is okay. They took it and waved him off.”
Jessie sighed and relaxed. Then Kent cursed and yelled at Wyatt.
“Gun!”
She heard his rifle go off and then a second gunshot. She rose up with her gun at the ready and found Wyatt heading for them, holding his shoulder. Fuck, he’d been shot. She scrambled over to the driver’s seat and cranked the truck up. She pulled over between him and the door so that Kent could pull him into the truck when he got there. Then she hit the gas and headed for the highway.
“What in the hell did I tell you to do if something like this happened?” Wyatt was yelling at Kent.
“You said to drive like a bat out of hell, and only a woman can do that, so I let her drive.”
“This isn’t funny, Kent.”
“Fucking be quiet!” she screamed at Wyatt. “Let Kent see about your arm and shut up. I can’t drive with you yelling.”
Wyatt looked at her with his mouth open, then shut it and frowned. She glanced over as Kent tore Wyatt’s shirt and exposed the wound. It looked like a trench had been dug through his arm, but the bullet hadn’t lodged inside it, thank God.
“He’s going to need stitches, but we’ll have to stop for that,” Kent said.
“We’re not stopping until we have to stop for more gas,” Wyatt said in a growl.
“Tie something around it to stop the bleeding, and we’ll see what comes up next.” She concentrated on driving.
She had to occasionally go around a deserted car, and that took all her ability with the trailer they were pulling behind them. At least with driving, she didn’t feel sick anymore. Maybe Wyatt would let her drive some.
Two hours later, they drove into the outskirts of what looked like a small community. There were actually people walking around in the streets.
“What do you think, Wyatt? Can we stop here so I can sew you up?” she asked.
“Do you see any women?” Wyatt asked.
“I don’t see any,” Kent told them.
“Neither do I.”
“Drive, then. We’ll find a deserted place, and you and Kent can switch out driving and you can sew me up while he drives.” Wyatt had his head leaned back against the back of the truck.
“I hate this.”
“What, baby?” Kent asked.
“You can’t stop when you need to because of me.”
“It’s not your fault, Jess. It’s just that men are pigs,” Kent told her.
“Tell me about it.” Jessie flexed her hands on the steering wheel to ease the cramps in her fingers from gripping it so tightly.
They drove another hour and found a small, empty-looking town that boasted one grocery store. Wyatt agreed it looked safe enough, and they stopped. Kent climbed out of the truck and ran around the to the driver side and climbed back in. Jessie pulled out the first aid kit they’d put together for such an occasion and pulled out the antiseptic and the suture packet. She poured the medication on a cloth and cleaned the wound while Wyatt cursed a blue streak.
“Kent, get on the fucking road. We don’t need to be still.”
“Wyatt, I’ll do better if we aren’t moving.”
“Drive, Kent. You’ll do fine, Jess. Just sew me up.”
Jessie grimaced and finished cleaning the wound. Then she tore open the sutures and bit her lip as she made the first stick. By the time she’d made six neat stitches, she’d bit a sore on her lower lip, and Wyatt was hoarse from cursing. She handed him some painkillers and a bottle of water. He swallowed them and drank half the bottle of water before he put it back down.
“I’m sorry, Wyatt. I tried not to hurt.” There were tears in her eyes now that she didn’t need to see anymore.
Wyatt leaned his head back and grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
“You did well, Jessie. It’s all right to cry. I won’t think you’re weak, because you just sewed me up without shedding a tear when you had to be strong.”
Jessie leaned her head back and let the tears flow. Hurting him had just about torn her apart inside. It didn’t matter that it had to be done. She hated having to be the one to do it.
Chapter Five
Kent drove them into the night until they needed gas again. They stopped at a deserted little town that was on David’s map. The gas station, however, wasn’t deserted. An older woman and man stepped out of the door and watched them when they pulled up. The man walked over with his hands out as if to show he wasn’t armed, but the woman had a shotgun.
Kent rolled down his window at the man’s request.
“I’ll pump your gas for you. What do you have to trade?”
“What are you needing?” Wyatt asked around Jessie.
“Got any ammunition?”
“Some, not a lot of that around.”
“We need shotgun shells.”
Wyatt looked at Kent who nodded slightly and looked down at the floorboard.
“How much to fill this truck up?”
“Box of shells.”
“Sounds good to me. Go ahead and fill her up.” Wyatt reached down and pulled up two boxes of shells.
“Hey, he said one,” Jessie said.
“We don’t have a shotgun, and they are being nice. I say give them both boxes.”
Jessie shrugged.
Kent watched the man fill up the tank. He kept the truck running in case they needed to run. He felt pretty good about these people. They were up-front with the shotgun, and there was a woman. Nothing said a woman couldn’t be a thief, but he didn’t get that feeling with this one.
“Okay, you’re filled to the brim,” the man said.
Kent handed over the two boxes of shells. “Keep the change,” he said with a smile.
“Hey, thanks. Oh, wait a minute.”
He ran over to his wife and showed her the two boxes of shells. She grinned and waved at them. The man disappeared inside the station then reappeared with a handful of something. When he got back around to Kent’s window, he held up three homemade apple pies.
“Thanks!” Kent told him, and waved at the woman.
“What do you think? Should we try them?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah, they smell delicious.” Kent took a bite out of his and hummed his appreciation.
Jessie took a small bite of hers but didn’t eat all of it. Kent was beginning to get worried about her.
“Not hungry?” he asked.
“I just can’t eat when we’re driving. I’ll eat it when we stop for the night.”
“That shouldn’t be long now. We’ve got gas. The next place that looks safe, pull over, Kent. We all need rest tonight.” Wyatt held his injured arm against his chest.
They found a small roadside park that was empty and decided to camp there for the night. Kent and Jessie pulled the back doors open and helped Wyatt climb up in the back. Kent added the handgun and the rifle to their bed. Then he sat up and cradled the rifle in his lap.
“We need to take turns staying awake from now on, I think,” he said.
Wyatt nodded and sighed. “You’re right. I’ll take the next watch. I’m not much good to anyone right now.”
Kent looked over at Jessie and winked at her. He would wake her up next and let her take watch. She needed to feel useful, and she was a damn good shot. She’d do fine.
He leaned against the side of the truck and kept an ear open as well. He was still running on adrenaline, so he was fine to stay up for several more hours before he would even be able to sleep. Jessie cuddled up close to Wyatt, who put his uninjured arm around her and didn’t complain for once.
<
br /> Three hours later, Kent woke Jessie up and traded places with her. He moved closer to her to keep Wyatt from hugging him. The man had gotten used to having Jessie next to him, he thought with a smile. I figured he would fall asleep without any trouble. But he kept thinking about the shooting and wondering what he would have done if Wyatt had been in worse shape.
Wyatt had told him to take Jessie and run if anything like that happened to him, but Kent couldn’t see leaving his brother behind. He was sure his big brother wouldn’t have left him. They were all three in this together. He wasn’t leaving anyone behind.
Jessie was losing weight, and that bothered him as well. They had only been on the road three, going on four, days, and she had lost enough that her jeans were loose on her. She’d eaten the rest of the apple pie, but nothing else. She needed to eat better than that. He needed to work on her and get Wyatt on board.
Kent closed his eyes, and the next thing he knew, Jessie was waking him up at dawn.
“Wake up. I don’t want to be the one to wake Wyatt up.”
“I’m with you. Did you stay up all night? I meant for you to wake me up after a few hours.” Kent yawned and stretched.
“I couldn’t have slept if I wanted to. I was wide awake when it was time to change, so I just stayed up. I’ll sleep in the truck some.”
Kent sighed and reached over to wake Wyatt up. He was hot to the touch. Fuck.
“Jessie, feel Wyatt. I think he has a temperature.”
Jessie reached over and felt of his forehead. “Yeah, he has. Wyatt, wake up.” She shook him.
“What?” He rolled over on his bad arm and cursed before sitting up. “What’s wrong?”
“You’ve got a temperature. You need to take something for it.” Jessie handed him a bottle of water and two pills.
“What time is it? No one woke me up for watch.”
“You had a fever. You couldn’t take watch like that,” Jessie told him, looking at Kent.
Kent got the message and nodded at him. “You wouldn’t have been able to stay awake with a fever, and you might have missed something.”
