Fending Them Off

by Max Lockwood

  As well he should. Clara could only look on in amazement, because she hadn’t seen fields this large and populated outside of TV. They stretched on for long lengths at a time, and she had some idea what a daunting task it must have been, trying to look after all of this on his own. She wondered how he’d even managed to plant them all, but then it must have been before the electricity went out, so he might have had some help from machinery. They’d have to get creative once it came time to harvest, and the replanting season. Clara knew nothing about farming, but she was more than ready to learn.

  Jack was more than ready to teach. He seemed to have a lot of knowledge on his crops and said it all with such enthusiasm. He was so animated, it made Clara smile, despite her tiredness.

  “To be fully honest, Jack, I don’t know much about all of this,” she said when there was a gap in his explanations. “I wasn’t really exposed to much of it, but my grandmother loved to garden and she taught me plenty. Hopefully it can be of use to you.”

  Jack nodded, pulling away from where he’d been inspecting a patch of corn stalks. “She sounds like she was quite a woman.”

  You have no idea.

  Clara found herself smiling when she thought of her grandmother. There was that edge of pain that thoughts of people you’d loved and lost left in your heart, but she could and would bear it. Cooper had been right before, Viola didn’t deserve to be forgotten. Not like what Clara did after her parents’ deaths, thinking of them as little as possible. Her grandmother deserved a lot more than that.

  Jack got serious once they were done with the tour, and Clara and Cooper walked slowly behind him as he moved along the fields.

  “I was hoping that we could have some perimeter patrols to keep out any strangers and thieves, while others help me tend the fields. You can alternate duties, if it makes it easier.”

  She and Cooper shared looks. “We’ll have to see everyone’s skills first. I’m not sure who can help with the tending, but pretty much everyone can go on patrol.”

  “Good. They’ll need to walk along the outside of the fields. I’d like to do something like that at night, too, but it’s too dangerous.”

  Yeah, the dark wouldn’t help anyone. They could easily come across each other and imagine there’s an enemy, and either someone would get hurt, or a thief would get past them in the confusion. It meant there was a window for thieves, but there was nothing they could do about it unless they wanted to risk people, and honestly, Clara didn’t want to.

  They had a home now, even if it wasn’t theirs, and the others would want to make it so. The danger wasn’t gone, but Clara knew they were all happy and she didn’t want it to be cut short. Having people die when it could be avoided would be an easy way to do that.

  “We’ll leave the night patrols alone for now,” she said decisively. “Even if we could manage it, the risk is too great. Unless the loss becomes too much, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Jack gave her a thoughtful look, then nodded sharply. “I thought so,” he said decisively.

  Clara thought he was agreeing with her assessment, until he spoke up again.

  “I’m putting you in charge of sorting out everyone’s roles, Clara. I saw it yesterday and it’s only more obvious today. All those people in there clearly trust you, and I think they would follow your lead. If they trust you, I’m willing to trust your judgment.”

  Clara blinked, and opened her mouth, only nothing came out. She shot a look at Cooper, but he just arched an eyebrow, as if asking her, “what do you want me to do?”

  “Um,” she floundered. “Okay. We… I mean I suggest a rotation first, so that people can try their hand at both jobs. They can decide what’s best for them and see if they’ll alternate or just stick to one thing.”

  “You’re the expert,” Jack said. “I’ll do whatever you think is best, since you know the group better.”

  Clara blinked in surprise that he really would just take her word for it. She had expected some form of discussion, at least, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She shot another glance at Cooper, but he looked like he thought the situation was humorous.

  “Just roll with it, Clara,” he said sagely. “Everyone else will go along with it.”

  She had some doubt, but hearing Cooper say it… gave her confidence. He might be her best friend, but he didn’t lie to her about things that were important, like this was. She allowed herself to feel good about it.

  Clara was proud to be put in charge.

  “I’ll get to work right away,” she said.

  Since they were done, they walked back to the house, with her taking the lead. Clara gathered the group up and explained that they’ll all have jobs while they were on the farm. As expected, no one objected. Several of them even looked relieved, like they hadn’t truly believed they could stay until that moment.

  She left Dante in charge of caring for the kids, alternating with Michelle. Then she divided the others into two groups who would alternate between farming and protecting the land. She put Felicia, Dante, Michelle, Cooper, and Tessa on her team. Knowing she couldn’t leave Tessa unattended or with a weapon, she gave her the job of team leader so that she felt important.

  Clara dismissed the group and they did as she’d asked.

  She was left on her own, and she took a moment to reflect on the feeling that was welling in her chest. Part of her was still surprised that no one had given a single protest. Cooper had told her that everyone would go along with her being the leader, but a part of her hadn’t believed him.

  It was still too early to tell, but Clara was starting to believe. She had only ever played leader because there wasn’t anyone else there ready to fill the position. This was nothing like that at all. She was asked, by Jack, and everyone else seemed to be okay with it. She also came to a realization about herself.

  Clara realized she liked being in charge.

  Chapter Twelve

  With duties handed out, Clara decided to do her own. Just because she was in charge didn’t mean she was suddenly exempt from doing work.

  Besides, she was still using it as an escape from her sister and the talk they should have.

  The only reason Clara had acknowledged her sister at all was to make everything seem normal for everyone’s sake. Cooper had shot her a look, like he was silently telling her to just get it over with when Clara put Tessa in the same team as them, then made her team leader.

  He didn’t see how great it was—for her. Because then, as long as she stayed out of the house, she wouldn’t have to deal with Tessa for a day. She knew he, would bring food out for her, even if she didn’t ask it, because Cooper was always taking care of her. Even now that she didn’t really think she needed it, like had been the case many times before.

  Tessa had acted like nothing strange had happened between the two of them, anyway, so there was no reason for her to dwell on it. So Clara went out to work, and she left it at that.

  Clara worked a day out in the field, keeping an eye on everything to ensure it ran smoothly.

  It wasn’t easy. Patrolling would have been easy, but she’d figured she would start with the hardest job first. Not that patrolling didn’t have its hard points, but it was at least something she’d done before, even though it was on a street with a concrete sidewalk, not a farm with fields of crops that rose higher than her head did. It was a wonder Jack could make his way through them.

  Tending a farm was a lot more difficult than tending a patch of garden, where she got on her knees, with gloves on and her grandmother by her side. She still got dirty, only the work was a lot harder, and she was so grateful Jack was being free with his food, because she didn’t think she would have expended so much energy on this, otherwise.

  She was working with instructions she’d gotten from Jack to guide her. Also, Barbara, who had surprisingly known even more about gardening than she did and actually had experience on a farm. Cooper, of course, had parents that owned a small farm but had never actuall
y worked on it himself. She wished she could have someone nearby to ask for help, but aside from the tips they shared early on, they had to separate so each could cover as much ground as possible.

  When she finished up, she was tired and sunburnt from being in the sun all day, but didn’t complain. If anything, she was elated.

  This was the kind of work she could get behind, the kind of work that mattered. She’d been a high school teacher before the EMP attack, and though there had been importance with that, too, Clara really wasn’t cut out for the job. She figured it would be easy, teaching English when she was an aspiring writer herself, even though she’d had to put her dream on hold to cater to her family.

  She had been so wrong. She couldn’t get a room full of teenagers to listen to her, and since she always taught the freshman class, she had hell to deal with at the beginning of every school year, and it had gone on for years. She’d resigned herself to a life that made her miserable, had thought of quitting plenty of times but knew that she couldn’t. If it hadn’t been for Cooper, that job would have broken her.

  Compared to what she’d gone through since, it was a walk in the park.

  But even though she wasn’t suited to farm work and her body ached all over from toiling the day away, she was doing something that would get them all fed, that would earn their keep in Jack’s house, and maybe earn the man’s respect. The ache in her body was a result of her hard work, and she would pick it over stress headaches any time.

  Besides, Jack had left her in charge, and she was determined to prove herself so he wouldn’t regret it.

  She went inside to shower and put on her pjs. She was tempted to stay longer in the shower with the hot water sluicing down her body, but that would be a waste. She hadn’t asked about the water, and she sighed, wondering how she could have forgotten. She’d just have to find some other time to ask about it. Then, she could have all the hot water she wanted.

  When she went downstairs, it was to find everyone was gathered in the kitchen around a table, all laid out with food. She gaped, wondering where it all came from, because it looked like nothing short of a feast when she compared it to what they’d had before. They applauded her as she entered and Clara looked around her, confused.

  “Your group appreciates your hard work over the past few weeks so much, they wanted to celebrate you and your achievements,” Jack told her, coming around the table to stand in front of her. He sounded as proud as he had when he was telling her all about his crops earlier.

  Clara was flattered. She wanted to protest that she didn’t deserve so much praise, her eyes drifting to her sister who was seated an empty seat away from Cooper. But Tessa didn’t look bitter, and there were no looks of resentment, like their last fight never happened. She’d never had something quite like this aimed at her before, and she could feel her face flush with pleasure.

  “Come over here and sit down,” Jack encouraged with a wave at the seat beside Cooper’s, his words mirrored by the others.

  She walked slowly around the table. Cooper was standing and smiling at her, holding her seat for her, pushing it in as she sat down, and Cooper opened a bottle of wine.

  “Jack was nice enough to prepare a large buffet meal for the occasion,” he said with a nod to the man as he filled glasses and handed them around. “We had the kids eat first and go to bed, so the adults can relax for a little bit.”

  Finally, he filled two glasses, and handed Clara one. His eyes smiled at her as she took the glass, their fingers brushing, and she didn’t think it was an accident. Her breath hitched in her throat, and it surprised her when he clinked his glass against hers.

  “To you, for going above and beyond for the people that matter to you. Thank you, Clara.”

  Thanks were repeated from around the room, and everybody served the food and dug in. Even Tessa looked happy, especially when Barbara turned on the record player and they all begin to dance.

  She just sat there and stared at everyone. She’d expected a somber group when she returned, not this kind of reception. Though she’d probably been the last to come in, having spent longer out in the field, this must have been in the works for some time, because she hadn’t taken all that long in her shower.

  Clara loved that everyone felt this way. She hadn’t wanted to be in the lead, but this was the kind of thing that made it worthwhile. There hadn’t been someone there to commemorate her efforts before, no matter how much she struggled to move on from day to day. She laughed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes at the display everyone was putting on for her sake.

  It was nice to know she was appreciated.

  Cooper took Clara’s hand.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, but he just shot her a wink over his shoulder. She rarely saw him in such a good mood these days, so she didn’t say anything more. If it was something that made him happy, then, if she could, she would try to help.

  She went with him instead of resisting, because her mind was still catching up with everything. When she realized what he wanted, her eyes widened, but she laughed and went willingly, loving the happy look on his face that she felt she hadn’t seen in way too long.

  “Dancing, of all things?” she scoffed through her laughter.

  Cooper just chuckled, pulling her closer. “When was the last time we went dancing?”

  Clara thought back. He kept his eyes back, and she furrowed her brow lightly, shaking her head.

  “I don’t think we’ve ever gone dancing,” she admitted.

  They’d gone out to bars together, sometimes there were other people around, and there was dancing. But because Clara was a masochist, she had never let herself revel in the fun her friend and colleagues seemed to enjoy. She was always the one left watching the table and drinking on her own. Or she was sitting at the bar and there was someone hitting on her, or trying to.

  There were the school dances that she didn’t think would count even if she’d danced at any of them. Chaperoning a bunch of teenagers when they were determined to do all the wrong things wasn’t what she called a night of fun. Someone always spiked the punch, or set up pranks to ruin it for everybody else, and for the times she and Cooper had been there, they’d spent less time together and more time cleaning up a mess some student made. Cooper, as usual, with his good humor, and Clara with annoyance.

  Cooper grinned at her as he pulled her body closer to his. “Exactly.”

  She got lost in his eyes for a moment. His eyes looked like normal green eyes, not that she’d seen that many to begin with, but the first time she looked into them when she knew he felt something other than friendship for her, and every time after that. It wasn’t that she saw more of him after, but that she let herself. Even when she’d started thinking of Cooper as a romantic interest in her life, she hadn't let herself take it too far. Before she knew, she hadn't believed there was any possibility that he wanted her that way.

  But now that she really looked, she saw all the love and longing that he must have been trying to hide. Only, he hadn't done it well enough. People around Clara had apparently realized he had feelings for her before she knew herself.

  Because she’d let her mind wander, she didn’t get the meaning of what he was saying for a moment, and when she did, her eyes widened, her mouth opening in a shocked “oh.”

  “You wanted to go dancing,” she said slowly.

  His eyes intent on her face, he nodded slowly. And Clara felt her face warm in a dark blush, though she didn’t look away from his gaze, couldn’t. They might as well have been alone for all the attention they were paying to everyone else in the room.

  “Why didn’t you ever say so,” she whispered. Coming from Cooper, she wouldn’t have said no.

  His shoulders shrugged, and only when she felt the movement in her arms did she realize she’d moved her hands to rest on his shoulders. His hands pressed at her lower back, and barely any space was left between them. If she stepped forward, their chests would be pressed together, and her body shi
vered at the thought.

  But neither of them bridged the gap, and Cooper gave a fleeting, sad smile that made her heart ache.

  “I guess maybe I was scared?” he said slowly, eyes staring intently into hers. “I don’t really know why I never told you. You told me everything, and there were times I thought I’d have a better chance with you than anyone else. But I just… never made that leap.” His hands tightened on her waist. “I wish I’d said something earlier.”

  Clara chewed on her lip. Honestly, she felt the same way. Things would have been so much simpler and better for everybody that way. But, no matter how much more painful their reality was, Clara wouldn’t change a bit of it, simply because it led to a moment like this.

  “Wanna know a secret?” she murmured.

  His eyebrows shot up, eyes moving casually to her lips. She licked her bottom lip in response to his gaze, but she knew they couldn’t do that, not with so many people around.

  “I wish you did, too,” she whispered, almost too low for him to hear with all the noise, and he ducked his head so their heads were closer. “And if you’d ever asked me to dance with you, I would have done it gladly.”

  The grin he aimed at her was so worth the blush on her face, making her so hot she thought she’d pass out. But Cooper pulled her a few steps back, her body following on its own as most of her thoughts fell away.

  And they danced together.

  Cooper knew how to move, and Clara should have known. It was amazing, and beautiful, and everything she’d imagined dancing with a prince would be like back when she was younger, before the focus of her stories shifted away from the more romantic fairy tales.

  “I wish every day could be like this one,” she told him wistfully as he spun her in an open space in the living room, where they’d shoved the seats to the walls to make room. “That everything could be normal again.”

  She’d pretty much given up on anything normal a while back, but hope was rekindled now, in all of them. Even if this wasn’t their town, wasn’t her parents’ house, she could be happy here, and she wanted to be.