by Mark Mathews
What would he do now? His feelings for Wren seemed so new and fragile, yet real. And his old feelings for Alice had gone away, yet now they felt as though they were coming back with the sweet things that she was doing. The song that she’d sung, the name that she had chosen, the way she’d looked at him, pleading for him to be the father of her son, so they would be a family again. What was he going to do? Alice and the baby were asleep now, and he looked over at them, feeling something tug at his heartstrings. Then he realized something. Austin didn’t even know his son had been born yet…
CHAPTER NINE
ALICE WAS ASLEEP, still trying to recover from giving birth, and Garrett was holding Seth, gently rocking him back and forth in the same wicker chair he’d used to rock to sleep first Brooke, then Jenny, when they were babies. He was so adorable, and peaceful looking. It tore at Garrett’s heartstrings, and he wanted more than anything really to be the father of this little boy. Even if he was completely heartless, he would want to be this little boy’s father. He was so innocent, so precious, and he had no male role model in his biological father, so Garrett wanted to step in and protect that little boy from everything the world wanted to throw at him. He suddenly reflected on the happiness he’d felt when Brooke and Jenny were born. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what he was feeling now. He felt overwhelmed with conflicting emotions he couldn’t decipher. While he was lost in his reverie, a knock came at the door, startling him so badly he actually jumped. His first thought was to look at Seth to make sure he was still asleep. Other than a wide yawn, the little bundle of joy hadn’t been bothered. Garrett got to his feet slowly, trying not to jolt the baby, and opened the door. Kayleigh stood there, a big smile on her face. As soon as she saw Seth, she started to tear up, looking at him like he was her own son.
“I didn’t want to bother you guys, but I wanted to offer myself as a babysitter, if you guys needed one.”
That was something else that got under Garrett’s skin. Everyone in the house seemed to link Garrett with Alice as the parents of the baby, and no one even mentioned that Austin was the real father. It wasn’t that he wanted to give the little guy to Austin, far from it. He just wanted the distinction there so he could pursue Wren…didn’t he?
“Sure. He just fell asleep, so babysitting should be easy.”
Garrett passed the little bundle over and Kayleigh cooed at him, even though he couldn’t hear her. She went over to the rocking chair that Garrett just had vacated, and sat down. She cuddled him to her, then started to sing a soft lullaby to him, while Garrett took the opportunity to get the hell out of there. Making his way down the stairs, he looked around for someone to talk to, maybe to try getting some insight into what was going on, but when he thought about it, there really was no one else to talk to. Max wasn’t someone with whom he wanted to talk about girl troubles. He was old-fashioned and would insist Garrett go back to Alice, simply because they had a family together, and now there was a new baby that needed a family. As much as that weighed heavily in Alice’s favor, going to be with her for the sole reason of the children wasn’t something that he was going to do. He couldn’t help how he was feeling about Wren, and in the end, he still could be a good parent, even if he wasn’t with the mother of his children. People used to do that all the time. He had no idea how people were handling these problems now in the month or so after the panic hit, but he knew that it had happened before.
Ben and Athena were so much in love that their only advice would be to listen to his heart, and that was where the problem was. Part of his heart now belonged to two different women. Wren was the one who made him feel like he was worth something. Like he was the one whom she actually wanted in her life the way he was, even with his crazy theories. She was right there by his side, and she understood the way he thought, the way he worked, and she was an asset to the fort. Alice had been the woman that he’d fallen head over heels in love with, the mother of his children, and that was something that never would go away. Even though he still loved her, he wasn’t sure anymore that he was still in love with her. His heart wasn’t the black and white that it used to be. Now it was covered in gray areas that he didn’t understand and had no idea how to tackle. The kids were out of the question, because that was a line that he just wasn’t going to cross. The world really would have to go to hell if he was going to take love advice from teenagers.
Deciding he would go ahead and see who was on watch, he made his way out to the front porch. The mosquitoes had gotten bad, and he thanked himself again for putting the screens on the porch years ago. They still could enjoy the warmth of summer and the breeze, without the little devils drinking them dry. Wren was in a tank top, shorts, and combat boots. A little bit of femininity with the roughness of war, and he had to admit that he liked it…a lot. Athena was in capris and a T-shirt, and looking like the warmth of the day was putting her to sleep.
“Hello, ladies. How are the streets this morning?” Wren grinned up at him, and Athena jerked herself awake again for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“Uneventful as usual. Not that that’s a bad thing. I just feel like it’s the calm before the storm, and that worries me.”
Athena hit right on what Garrett had been feeling. He’d thought that exact thing less than twenty-four hours ago. He was glad some of the people in the house were on the same wavelength he was. Athena yawned, and Garrett chuckled.
“Let me take your spot, Athena. Go ahead and get some sleep.” She jumped up before Garret could take back his offer.
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” She half-stumbled to the door. As soon as she was gone, Garrett smiled down at Wren, and the two of them shared a moment together.
“How are Seth and Alice?”
The tone of her voice was neutral, and it was more of a courtesy to ask than Wren really wanting to know. Garrett answered shortly that they were doing just fine. The silence stretched out, until Wren sighed heavily.
“I know what’s going through your mind. I know you’re stressed out because of what happened between us. I’m not going to say I didn’t like it, and that I wouldn’t do it again, because that would be a lie. I felt like I had someone who finally understood me, and I didn’t want to give that up. I know that it’s hard on you with Alice trying to start a family with you again. I know what she’s trying to do. Everybody in the fort sees what she’s trying to do. They all support it because they don’t know about us. Well, except for Brooke. And she didn’t take it all that well, either. I don’t quite know how all of this will end, but I should tell you now before you make your choice, that I want to be with you.” Garrett only could stare at her.
“And I want you to know, it’s probably better that we stopped before we really started. It’s okay. I understand that you have a family. I’m not going to hold that against you.”
“Wren, I don’t want to stop things with you. You are what’s keeping me going right now.”
Before Wren even could answer, a police cruiser came up into the driveway and Austin stepped out. Before he could get any closer to the house, Wren screamed for backup, pulling her pistol out of the holster with one smooth motion and levelling it straight at Austin’s heart.
“Easy, Wren. You can stand down. I just want to come in and meet my son.”
The door burst open, and Ben and Max stood shoulder to shoulder, shotguns pointed out at the intruder. Austin slowly took off his pistol belt and laid it back in the seat of the police cruiser. Slowly, he put his hands up above his head, showing he was unarmed, and then he waited.
“Please. I just want to see my boy.”
Every red flag Garret knew of was waving frantically in his mind, but he could understand that this was Austin’s only child, and as a father, he would want to see his child, too. Behind Ben and Max, Kayleigh stood, still holding Seth in her arms, and Alice stood between her child and Austin like she was a gladiator.
“What do you want, Austin? How dare you even come back here.”
Alice’s voice was low and dangerous, and Garrett was pretty sure that if Ben and Max weren’t in front of her, she would come flying down the porch stairs and let him have it, even if she still wasn’t quite healed from having Seth.
“I just came to see my son.” Alice charged toward him, but one strong arm from Max wrapped around her and pulled her back.
“If you cared about me and the baby then you wouldn’t have left! Didn’t you think that we needed you?!?” She was trying to fight her way free, but Max had been in worse fights, and holding her back was nothing for him.
“Garrett poisoned our relationship! I had to get away from him!” Garrett had been wondering when his name was going to crop up, but he just stood there, hand on his pistol.
“No! Garrett was always there for me when you weren’t! That’s something that you should have made sure of from day one! You brought this on yourself, Austin.”
Alice spun around, took Seth from Kayleigh’s arms and went back into the house. Kayleigh followed, just to make sure the both of them were doing okay. The look on Austin’s face was hard to read. He levelled his icy gaze at Garrett, who subtly made sure that the gun was loose in the holster, should he need it.
“Mark my words, Garrett, this isn’t over. I can do whatever I want, and no one will question me. The only reason I haven’t shot you dead yet is Alice. Whether you know it or not, she’s the one keeping you alive. If it wasn’t for her, you’d be dead on sight.”
With those words, he got back into the police cruiser and backed down the driveway. No one moved. The weapons stayed trained in the direction of the cruiser for a while, even after the car was out of sight. Everyone else went back into the house except for Wren and Garrett, who dropped into his chair, utterly drained. What was he going to do? With Austin still being a loose cannon, he didn’t know what was going to happen to the family and the fort if Austin got him out of the way. A cold sweat broke out all over his body, and Wren put a hand on his arm. It wasn’t until she touched him that he realized he was shaking.
“It’s going to be okay, Garrett. Everyone in this house would do whatever it takes to protect you from that monster. Don’t you worry about that. We are all here because of you. You saved us from the madness that is going on in the world around us, and we will be there to repay the favor. We all are waiting for our turn to save you.”
He put his hand over hers and squeezed. This is what made her so wonderful. She always knew what to say to make him feel better. Now they would all just have to wait and see what happened next. All Garret knew was that he had a bad feeling about this…
PART TWO
CHAPTER TEN
THE WIND LIFTED Athena’s coffee-colored hair and blew it lightly around her face. Garrett sat on the porch, with the new sling he had managed to make, holding baby Seth against his chest, pistol on his hip. Ever since this EMP attack happened, he refused to let his pistol out of his sight. Looking back on the last couple months, things had been so different and crazy that Garrett almost couldn’t believe it. He’d wound up with his ex-wife and his two kids under his roof, his army buddies, a woman he’d never met before now, and the neighbors. They’d fortified the backyards and the two houses, to make a sort of fort, and that was where they were surviving this madness. In that madness, Alice had given birth, and now little Seth was growing up in the house, too. Garrett was a little stressed about the situation, since he wasn’t the father of the little boy, and Austin was such a loose cannon that he rather would shoot the man on sight than talk to him. Athena started wiping sweat from her face, and he noticed she’d been doing it every few minutes, almost like a nervous tick.
“You okay over there?”
He meant it jokingly, but Athena was startled. She looked at him with an embarrassed expression. She’d always teased Garrett and the guys about falling asleep on guard duty when they were deployed, and now she found herself doing the same thing.
“Yeah, I’ll be okay. It’s this damn humidity. The heat makes me queasy sometimes, but the humidity like this just makes me sick. I’ll be okay, though, don’t worry.”
She was right. It was much too humid for a normal summer day, even a splendidly hot one. He maneuvered himself a little so he could look up at the sky through the screens of the porch without moving Seth. The little boy was out cold, snoring slightly in his little carrier. Garrett felt his heart melt at the sight of the precious little life on his chest, and he wanted to hug him, keeping him safe. He honestly never had thought he would feel that way again after Jenny was born, and he found it was a welcome feeling. It gave him some humanity to anchor himself to, and that made him feel like he wasn’t actually turning into the heartless monster he would need to be to survive and protect the others during this ordeal.
“It looks like we have some bad weather coming our way.”
As much as he tried to hide it, the worry crept into his voice, and he knew that Athena could hear it. His heart started racing, and he kept thinking that all that he needed right now was a tornadowhen things already were going to hell.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had one in town, so I don’t think we’re going to have one.”
Athena had meant for her comment to put him at ease, but it did the opposite. Garrett’s eyes opened wide. If there hadn’t been one in so long, then it was a sure sign that it would happen. Murphy’s Law would get its way every time.
“Oh no. That means we’re due for one. I have to get the house ready!”
Garrett jumped to his feet before he remembered he had the baby hanging across his chest. Quickly, he froze, looking down at the sleeping bundle that was Seth, then made his way into the house with as little jarring as he could. Athena stared after him in awe. It was the first time she’d ever seen him leave his post. He ran around the house, clutching the baby to his chest, trying not to jolt him as he went into the girls’ bedroom. He paused for just a moment to see them both sleeping so peacefully, then he started toward Jenny. He gently shook her shoulder until she moaned and rolled over, looking up at him blearily through sleepy eyes. Once he had her attention, he went to the other bed and gently woke up Brooke. His two girls were very different, but lately they had been bonding more with each other than he could have hoped for. Granted, there had been a time when Brooke had been bonding with him, too, but that had been ruined pretty quickly.
“What’s going on, Daddy?” Jenny was the one who asked, because all Brooke could do right now was glare at him.
“The weather’s been acting up, and I’m pretty sure there’s a tornado coming. I need you girls to get into the basement. Grab anything you can that’s important to you and get to the basement, okay?”
He did his best to keep the fear and panic from his voice, but Brooke’s eyes were now wide, and she immediately turned Jenny around to start looking for things. He left the room, heading out to the main bedroom to find Alice. She was resting now, since he’d offered to take Seth for a while. He felt horrible for waking her up, but it was for her own safety, so there was nothing he could do about it. He got close to her, and she whipped around at him with frightened eyes. They instantly settled on Seth, who still was snoring peacefully, then relaxed a little.
“What’s wrong? You look worried.” He’d saved her for last, getting Ben, Max, Wren, Kayleigh and Nat before her, trying to let her rest as much as he could. So now he was slightly out of breath.
“The weather is turning for the worse, and I got a feelingthere’s a tornado coming. I need you to get whatever is important to you and head down to the basement. I’ve got everyone else already going there to be safe.”
Garrett then took off at a jog toward the bathroom where they had the cabinet housing Alice’s photo albums. He was hurriedly grabbing them out of the top when she came over and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Garrett, you’re acting mad. Stop running around in a frenzy. It’s going to be okay.”
“No, we need to get everyone into the basement and get all the important
things down there so we can keep everyone and everything safe.”
His eyes were darting around like he was on drugs, and Alice took his shoulders in her hands, forcing him to look at her.
“When’s the last time you slept?”
Garrett just stared at her. He couldn’t comprehend the question, and that made it hard for him to come up with an answer. What was sleep? Had he slept? If he had, when? He shook his head, trying to clear it, but he still couldn’t come up with an answer to her question. He was searching his mind for something that made sense, but before he could, Seth woke up and started crying. Alice immediately turned her attention to the little boy, cooing to him and whispering, taking him out of the carrier so she could cuddle him.
“I’ll take Seth. You need to go and get some sleep.”
Garrett opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn’t even sort out his thoughts. Should he listen to her for once? He hated anyone seeing him weak, and not being able to get himself together made him feel weak in his eyes. Maybe she had a point. A little rest might get his mind reset and let him get a better grip on things…
Garrett woke with a start. Fear had a tight hold on his heart, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. Had it been a dream that he couldn’t remember? Some primal feeling that was warning him of danger? Cold sweat was covering him in a sheen that stuck his clothes to him in a salty mess, and he lay still for a little while, trying to figure out what was going on. Then he heard it. An inhuman shriek like nothing else. He sat bolt upright, listening. No crying reached his ears, no panicked voices, and when the shriek came again, he realized it was the wind howling around the house. He knew it. It was a damn tornado. Why the hell did he let Alice tell him to get some sleep? He needed to get everyone underground where it was safe! He leapt from the bed, yanking on his jeans when the door opened. It startled him and he froze, trying to see through the gloom who was coming to see him. Garrett realized with a start that now that the wind had died down, it was easy to hear the panicked yells of the other members of his family. That spurred him on to get himself dressed at lightning speed. Wren stood in the doorway, and she didn’t have to say a word. She’d come to wake him. He was awake, and now they could get away to the basement.
