by Marla Monroe
“Cows? Horses?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“Huh?” Abe sounded completely confused until McCall answered her.
“We’ve got both. Some of the cows are for milk, and some are for meat. We’ve even got a few goats and some hogs. The goats eat all the waste materials, like the stalks or peelings form the vegetable garden. It helps keep the trash problem down, and they give us milk as well. Some of the children have been intolerant of cow’s milk.” Abe didn’t seem quite as hesitant to talk about the farm now that they were closer.
It gave her a sense of hope that everything would be fine. Maybe he just didn’t feel comfortable away from home. If he had a wife and children, she was sure he’d be protective of them and worry about any strangers arriving.
She went with that thought and began to really look around as they walked, picking out subtle signs of there being a settlement nearby. For one thing, the trees were thinning out. Here and there, she saw evidence of pathways and wondered if they went to where they had their garden area or to other families’ homes.
Suddenly they walked out into a large clearing where off to the back stood a huge building that looked a lot like what she’d seen of old skiing lodges in books. She’d never actually been to one, but the massive structure before them sure looked like it to her. The dog moved closer to her, his ears twitching as if he wasn’t sure what to think of the place they’d brought him to. Excitement nearly bubbled over from inside her. They were really there. Finally.
“Come on in. This is the main lodge. It also serves as a community center of sorts. This place used to be a survivalist compound from what we’ve figured out,” Abe told them as he led them across the clearing to the deck, where he climbed the steps and opened the door of the lodge to admit them.
Vella suddenly felt shy. She grabbed both of her men’s hands as they climbed up on the deck then entered the building. It was tough going through the door, and Carver held back to let her and Lance go in first. She quickly reclaimed his hand, though, once he was inside with them.
“Celina! We have new company. Russell!” Abe yelled up the impressive stairs leading to the second story.
Vella looked around and noticed that McCall hadn’t come in with them. More than likely, he was gathering some of the others to come meet them. The massive stone fireplace looked majestic against the far wall with several couches and large, comfy-looking chairs circling around it. She could easily see families gathered around it talking and visiting at night. Maybe in the winter they would enjoy coffee and hot chocolate.
There were several other doors leading out of the room besides the large staircase at the opposite end of the building. The windows had huge, thick-looking drapes, as well as heavy-looking shutters that were wide open at the present time to allow the light into the room. There was no electricity she was sure. Very few people had it these days. The commune she’d left had begun installing solar panels to help furnish electricity for an icebox and lighting at night.
She wondered if they’d thought of doing that. She would ask when she felt more comfortable with everyone. She could easily remember how to go about setting it all up from helping with the ones at the commune and from the multitude of books and pamphlets she’d read on the subject. It would feel good to be able to help out almost immediately.
The sound of footsteps on the wood stairs pulled her back around from where she’d been staring at the large windows. A pretty woman about her height with beautiful golden-brown hair appeared holding a little girl of maybe fifteen months old. She was just as pretty as her mom, with honey-blond hair and dimples in both cheeks. Vella’s heart jumped in excitement to see the child.
Right behind her, another woman, a little shorter than the first, with brown hair and pretty hazel eyes, followed her down. She held a baby who couldn’t have been more than three months old, if that. She couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl from where she stood. It was all she could do to keep from hurrying over to look at the precious babies. When she looked back at the men they’d followed in, she felt a bit faint. She was sure that if she’d hurried over to see the babies, they would have stopped her. They didn’t appear the least bit happy that she’d been watching the women.
The door opened behind them, and several more people walked inside the building. There were quite a few families living there from the looks of things. She hadn’t seen any cabins when they’d walked into the large opening. They must be well hidden. That was a good thing to her way of thinking.
One of the women, another pretty one with hazel eyes, stared openly at them, Carver in particular. Her eyes widened as if she recognized him. Vella stiffened. What if she was someone from his biker days? Did she want him? Could she take him from her? Vella stepped closer to Carver, wrapping her hands around his arm.
“Vella?” he whispered, frowning as he stared down at her. “What’s wrong?”
“N–nothing. Just so many people after it was just us,” she lied.
“What is he doing here?” The woman who’d been staring at Carver pointed to him with anger tightening her face.
Vella looked from the woman to Carver. He’d grown pale at her words. Why? What was going on?
“Ronnie?” one of them asked, taking her hand. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s one of them. He’s a bondsman,” she hissed out.
Vella’s world collapsed as everyone began talking at once.
Chapter Twelve
Carver’s heart stopped as Vella gasped before taking a step back from him. That one step and the hurt in her eyes knifed through his heart faster than lightning. Why hadn’t he talked to her the night before instead of waiting?
Because I knew what would happen, and I just wanted another few hours with her. I screwed up like I always do.
“Hey! He’s not one now. He quit when he figured out that they were taking women away from their rightful men.” Lance tried to yell over the mounting voices. “Vella. He’s still the man who helped me save you. Why are you backing away?”
“They killed my brother,” she bit out. “I can’t believe he’s one of them and neither one of you bothered to tell me.”
“Honey. It never occurred to me that it would matter. He isn’t one now and has a bullet wound in his shoulder to prove it. He went against them and returned a woman to her husband. Doesn’t that prove he’s not one of them anymore?” Lance asked.
“Is it true?” Abe asked, lifting his hands to calm everyone down. “Were you a bondsman in the past?”
Carver sighed and nodded. What did it matter anymore? Vella was disgusted with him and would never trust him again. His life was over with. It didn’t matter what they did with him now. He wouldn’t fight it, whatever it was.
“Bondsmen, black market agents—they’re all the same to us. Good families have been torn apart by them, and many of the women ended up in brothels and with abusive men who had what someone else needed.” Abe’s face had grown granite-hard. “I’m sorry, Carver, but even if you have changed and are no longer part of them, there are too many people here who’ve suffered from men like you once were.”
“Wait! Are you telling me that you’re not letting him stay here? You’re going to kick him out right before winter?” Lance asked, his face a mask of anger.
“There are plenty of deserted homes out there he can winter in. He can’t stay here.” Abe shook his head.
“But he’s my partner. He’s Vella’s other husband. You’re going to separate us? Is that any better than what the bondsmen did in the first place? He could die out there without any preparation for the winter. You’re condemning him to die for something he never wanted a part of in the first place.” Lance’s eyes were bright as he looked from one face to another.
“He helped me save Vella. He hiked a half day to find clothes and things she would need, risking his life to make sure she was comfortable. How can you be so callous to someone who would do something like that for a virtual stranger?”
&n
bsp; “She’s a woman. Had she been a man, I doubt he would have cared quite as much,” one of the men with the accusing woman said.
“That’s not true. When he found me in a cave, half-starved and certain I was going to die, Carver shared his food with me and then spent the next few months teaching me how to trap and field dress what I caught. He showed me how to survive when he could have left me in that cave once the weather had cleared up. Instead, he took me with him and gave me a way to live. He isn’t a bad man. He doesn’t deserve your scorn or to be turned away when it’s already freezing at night here. I can’t accept that.”
“Lance. Stop. You and Vella need them. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Think about her, man.” Carver didn’t want his friend to jeopardize their chance to live here. It was their best hope of survival.
“It’s not fair. You didn’t do anything wrong. They’re judging you by a group of men you didn’t agree with and left.”
“You’re already a family?” Abe asked, making Lance jerk to face the big man.
“Yes. We wanted to have a home where we could raise a family and not have to worry as much about safety. Don’t tear us apart like this. Carver’s a good man.” Lance took a step toward Abe.
“Ronnie? What do you remember about him?” Abe asked with a sigh.
“He was there with the men who came to take me away from Brice and Garrett. They wanted to take me back to the man I’d run from because he abused me,” the woman said.
“So he physically tried to take you away, kidnap you?” Lance demanded.
Carver tried, but he couldn’t remember her. There was something familiar about her, but other than that odd feeling that he should remember her, he got nothing. He prayed that he hadn’t done anything to the woman to garner so much anger against him. Just being one of the dreaded bondsmen was bad enough.
“No. No, he didn’t. After my guys showed them their ownership papers that we had forged, the group left, but he stayed for a few seconds and just stared at me like he knew we were hiding something,” Ronnie told them. “I don’t know. Maybe he was just thinking about what they’d tried to do.”
Abe sighed and shook his head. “I don’t want to split up a family. That’s part of what we’re trying to get away from. If we do things like that, we’re no better than they are.”
There was a general grumble in the room, but no one said anything against him. Carver couldn’t help but respect the man. He didn’t seem to abuse the power that came with leading this people, and he was sure Abe was their leader. He had the aura of a good leader with a commanding presence. Hell, it didn’t help that the guy was built like a battle ox. He wasn’t as tall as some of the men in the room, but just talking to him, it felt like he was seven feet tall.
“I need to know if any of you have doubts about allowing this family to settle with us. You know I wouldn’t allow it if I thought they were a danger, but if you’re not willing to trust them, then it won’t work anyway. We have to all feel secure enough to know that if we leave our wives and children with any of our men they will defend them with their lives. It’s the only way we can ever hope to survive.” Abe clasped his hands behind his back and looked around the room.
At first Carver thought no one would say anything, but a few seconds later, the crowd began to open up for someone to walk up. A woman walked forward with two men on either side of her. She had light blonde hair with bright blue eyes that were even now shiny with unshed tears. No doubt she was another woman who’d had a run-in with the bondsmen. Carver really didn’t have a chance.
“I would never want to break up a family, but I can’t help but remember some of the times that we’ve had to fight them off. I nearly lost my brother because of them,” she began.
Carver squeezed his eyes shut at that. Vella had lost her brother to bondsmen. This would only remind her.
Fuck! I made a mistake joining them, but I left as soon as I figured out it had been a mistake. I guess I’m going to pay for it the rest of my life.
“I just want to be sure the woman is really happy with them before we agree to allow them in,” she said.
Carver didn’t even bother to stand there to hear her deny that she wanted him anymore. He turned and started walking toward the door. Lance grabbed him by the arm to stop him.
“Where are you going?”
“I might as well leave and try to find somewhere to bed down for the night before it gets much later,” he told the other man.
“They haven’t asked you to leave, man. They’re just worried, and once they get to know you, they’ll accept you for the good man I know you are,” Lance said.
Carver looked over to where Vella stood hugging herself, her head down, avoiding him he was sure. “Vella doesn’t want me anymore. When she tells them that, they’ll ask me to leave. I’m just saving her the embarrassment and them the job of showing me the door.”
“Don’t do this, Carver. She loves you. I’ve seen how she watches you when you’re not looking. She’s just scared, that’s all. There are more people around us now than any of us have seen in one place in a long time. She won’t cut you out,” Lance tried to assure him.
“Vella?” Abe called out. “Is Carver part of your family? Do you claim him as one of your husbands?”
Lance and Carver both looked back at her. She hugged herself and looked from Lance to Carver, and then she slowly turned her head to look at Abe. Carver closed his eyes, not wanting to see her when she denied him.
“Yes. He’s one of my men. He and Lance have been protecting me and taking care of me for a while now.” She didn’t look at Carver, but she did look at Lance.
“Are you sure, Vella? Ronnie is worried you feel pressured,” one of the men with the other woman asked. “No one can blame you if you’re nervous around him. Abe, maybe she should talk to a couple of people without him in the same room.”
“I don’t need to do that. He and Lance saved my life twice. I—I trust him with my life,” she said in a slightly clearer voice this time. “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t turn us away. If he isn’t welcome, then neither are we.”
Carver couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She was actually standing up for him despite the fact that he’d kept that from her all this time. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest. She loved him. Maybe Lance hadn’t been stretching the truth to try and get him to stay. Maybe she really did love him. He sure as hell loved her.
“I think this meeting is done then. Welcome, Carver, Lance, and Vella. We’ll get you settled in one of the finished cabins, and then in a few days we’ll go over what all we need help with. Everyone works in some way or another unless they’re pregnant or have a new baby. We all pitch in to help that family until they’ve had time to settle into a new routine.” Abe walked over and held out his hand to Carver. “Welcome.”
“Thank you.” Carver accepted more welcomes along with Vella and Lance.
Finally one of the men came over and interrupted the line of well-wishers. “I’m Stanton. I’ll show you to one of the cabins.”
Carver looked over at Lance to be sure he was taking care of Vella then followed Stanton toward the door and back outside. They walked a good ten minutes without talking before stopping outside a nice-sized cabin that looked like most of it had been finished not long ago.
“Here you go. It’s only one bedroom unless you count the loft, but it’s been built so that if you start having children, there’s plenty of room to add on more rooms as you need them,” Stanton told them. He opened the door and stood back for the three of them to go inside and look around.
“It’s really nice in here,” Vella said as she looked around. “More room than I would have expected.”
“There’s a gas stove?” Lance asked with a frown. “Do you really have gas?”
“We do for now, but it could dry up at any time. The stoves are easily converted to wood-burning. Let me show you,” Stanton said as he stepped into the cabin.
Carver watched with only half of his attention on Stanton and his demonstration. The rest of his attention was centered on Vella and her expressions. Each one seemed like a gift from God to him. He loved seeing her smile and her eyes light up. Then she caught him staring at her, and it all disappeared. She might have claimed him, but she clearly wasn’t thrilled about it.
He huffed out a breath and turned away to look at the fireplace in the living room. He should go. No one really wanted him there, except maybe for Lance. He couldn’t understand why the man was so adamant that he remain a part of their family. Why didn’t he want Vella all to himself? Carver sure as hell did, but he knew that with his less-than-stellar communication skills it was better for her to have both of them.
“We’re in the process of building brick ovens for everyone now,” Stanton was saying. “When the gas runs out or gets cut off, we can still bake using them.”
Carver watched as the man showed them the different things in the cabin that weren’t standard in a normal hunting cabin. The community had been busy, and Abe was obviously a good leader and visionary. He was preparing for the future and whatever might happen. Carver liked that. He could follow someone like that. But would he get that chance?
“If you have any questions, just find one of us and we’ll be glad to answer them.” Stanton let himself out, leaving the three of them alone for the first time in hours.
“We made it,” Lance said, heaving out a breath.
Carver didn’t say anything. He stared at Vella’s back, needing to hear what she was thinking. Did she want him to leave, or was she really okay with him and his past?
“Vella.” He finally spoke up.
She didn’t turn around, but her head came up. He watched as she scratched the big-assed dog behind the ears. When she didn’t speak, he sighed and shook his head. He should just leave, but instead of doing what he’d been thinking over and over for the last hour, Carver walked over to where she stood with her back to him. He reached out to touch her gorgeous hair but hovered just above the soft curls he loved burying his fingers in. Then he dropped his hand by his side.
