“None of that,” said Cameron. “You’re still recovering. You can worry about solving the world’s problems when you’re finally back to normal.”
Alex chuckled.
A knock came at the front door. Cameron’s head snapped up at once. “Come in,” she called.
The door opened just enough for Russell to poke his head in. “Gina’s finished the western fence, boss,” he said. “I’ve got her on the front gate already, but I thought you’d want to come check the work.”
“Thanks,” said Cameron. “I’ll be out soon.”
Russell nodded and vanished, closing the door behind him.
Alex looked up at Cameron and arched an eyebrow. “Boss?”
Cameron’s mouth twisted. “That’s another story.”
“I bet. But it makes sense. Suits you.”
“Is it always going to be like this?” said Piper. “Is the world ever going to go back to normal?”
Cameron turned to look at Alex, and he pulled his gaze away from the window to look at her. In unison, they sighed and turned to Piper.
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” said Alex. “It might not. But then again, it might. All we can do is whatever we can: taking care of each other, and of everyone else in the cabins. If the weather goes back to normal, we’ll be ready. If it doesn’t … well, we’ll figure it out.”
Piper shivered. “It’s all different. Everything seems … dangerous.”
“It is,” said Cameron, matter-of-factly. “But we’ll take care of you.”
“We will,” promised Alex. “And so will others. There are dangers out there—the weather, and the people, too. But you and I saw the same things, Pipes. There’s always people who are willing to help. And if you think about it, there were more of them than people who wanted to hurt us.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment. Alex wondered if her thoughts, like his, had turned to the many people they’d met on the road. Pete, who’d inadvertently given them Max, and Denny, and Graham and Willow. Even the nameless woman, who’d thrown out a package of pads from the darkness of a supermarket; and Lamont, the convict who wouldn’t travel by their side, but also wouldn’t let a pack of criminals kill them and steal everything they owned.
“I guess you’re right,” said Piper slowly.
“Of course I am,” said Alex. “And no matter what, you’ve got me and Mom. I got you all the way across the country all by myself. Now there’s two of us. We’ll be fine.”
Max came padding into the living room and lay down at Alex’s feet. Cameron rolled her eyes at the dog, but sat by Alex’s side and took his hand. Piper, rather than answering, just nuzzled deeper into his shoulder.
Alex squeezed Cameron’s hand and met her gaze. “We’ll be fine,” he said again, quietly.
To his own great surprise, he believed it.
First and foremost I’d like to thank (because it’s good for my health) my wife for putting up with me… Oh and for being supportive while I was writing this book.
I’d also like to thank Garrett Robinson for editing, being a friend, being supportive, and just being Garrett. And a special thank you to his wife Meghan, for riding herd on both of us and making sure that we didn’t get distracted by every shiny thing that crossed our path, instead of working. And in conclusion I’d like to thank all of my friends and family who have been so supportive while I’ve been writing this book – you know who you are.
Matthew lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children, two cats, and a fish. He recently made a life change and started working in film as an actor/producer/writer, which set him on the path to this book. His youngest child is a ninja princess, his middle child is an aspiring time machine creator (or endocrinologist, he hasn’t quite decided yet) and also a type 1 diabetic, and his oldest child is a tween girl, so this book could have easily turned into a horror or situational comedy. The two cats and the fish don’t seem to care that there even is a book. When Matthew isn’t working, he enjoys playing with his children and their RC cars, and whatever other goofy game they come up with and volunteering at their school. Matthew’s other passions include: Coffee.
Survival EMP (Book 1): Solar Reboot Page 30
