Austin stepped away from her, trying to decide whether what he felt was more paranoia or realism. “We’re cut off up here, which is good and bad. We need to see if things are still in a bad way. If we cut off the head of the snake, things might not be as bad as we think. That drive could be the weapon we need,” he insisted.

  She looked thoughtful when he turned back to her, and then replied, “Okay.”

  “What?”

  “Okay, you and I and maybe Nash can try and go into the city, do a little scouting, and see what we can find out,” she said.

  “Really?” he asked. He’d been expecting convincing her to his way of thinking to be more of a challenge. He knew it was that internal need to stay on the move that he felt, to run from the thing that was making him uncomfortable. He wanted to be active if they stayed here, and prepare as much as they could for the unknown—even though that might mean going out into areas that might be dangerous, he thought the risk was necessary. He just hadn’t quite expected her to agree so readily.

  She grinned. “I think we can look for supplies, medicine, and whatever else we can carry while we’re out scouting. Killing two or three birds with one stone,” she teased.

  “For the horses?” he asked.

  “I don’t see why not. We need to scout a location for them, and you want to look around for supplies or danger. We’ll just do at the same time.”

  “Great, then,” he answered after a beat. “We’ll go tomorrow at first light. I’m going to find Nash and see if he’s up for it.”

  “What about Ennis?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “We need someone here to hold down the fort, and I guess since it is technically his fort, he’s the right man for the job.”

  “Okay, I’m going to find Ennis now then. He was going to be teaching the guys how to use a gun, and I can only imagine how that’s going. Half of them were way too eager and the other half acted as if we were asking them to train venomous snakes,” she grumbled.

  Austin chuckled. “Oh, but he has good old Wendell with him, and Wendell knows everything there is to know about guns.”

  She slapped his shoulder. “Stop. He’s trying to be helpful. He can be a little obnoxious, but I’m sure he doesn’t think we’re real peaches.”

  Austin narrowed his eyes. “He’s dangerous.”

  “What? How so?”

  “He thinks he knows a lot, and he doesn’t. That’s a dangerous combination.”

  After a few seconds, she nodded her agreement. “In that way, I guess he is dangerous. But I’m sure it will be fine. He’s trying to fit in, and I think he has a bit of a man crush on you.”

  Austin rolled his eyes. “Great.”

  Crack!

  Austin jumped, instinctively reaching for the Glock at his waist.

  “They’re using bullets?” Amanda gasped.

  “I don’t know. Ennis said he was only going over gun safety, not actual shooting!” Austin exclaimed, already making his way around the house and heading in the direction of the shot.

  And then Raven broke through the trees, running scared.

  “Whoa, whoa, girl,” Amanda said, racing after the dragging lead of her cherished Raven. In minutes, she’d caught up to the horse, the trees having helped to slow her down.

  Ennis burst through the trees just as Amanda got Raven turned around and back to a walk.

  “What the hell happened?” Austin demanded, laying a hand on Raven’s neck as Amanda brought her back around.

  Amanda turned, glaring at Ennis and looking too angry for words. Austin knew she was about to give him a lecture he wouldn’t soon forget when suddenly Wendell walked out of the trees. And upon seeing him, Austin didn’t need to ask. He knew. Wendell had screwed up.

  Ennis had been running at full-speed, and needed a moment to catch his breath, but when he did, his eyes were on Amanda and the horse. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know she was grazing nearby,” he gasped.

  “You were shooting? I thought you said you were teaching them gun safety!” Amanda growled. “If we’d known you were going to be shooting, the horses wouldn’t have been anywhere near you.”

  Ennis nodded, still catching his breath. “I was, but—” He stopped mid-sentence and looked back at Wendell.

  Austin rolled his eyes. “That’s why he shouldn’t be around the guns,” he hissed, low enough so Wendell couldn’t hear.

  “I’m going to agree with Austin on that one. This could have ended a lot differently,” Amanda said, her anger palpable.

  “Sorry, guys, I didn’t realize it was loaded,” Wendell said, finally deciding it was safe to approach.

  Austin shot the man a glare. “Why were you handling a gun if you didn’t know it was loaded? You always handle a gun like it’s loaded!”

  “I’m not an idiot, Austin. I know how to shoot and load. I was only in the little gun class to help Ennis,” Wendell shot back.

  “Help? You could have killed someone,” Austin retorted. “Or scared Raven into breaking her neck!”

  “It was an accident,” Ennis said, defending him.

  Austin shook his head, holding up one finger. “You don’t get to have accidents when guns are involved. I don’t want you anywhere near my kid if you have a gun,” he added, staring at Wendell.

  “I’m going to get her some water and check on Charlie,” Amanda said, leading her horse away.

  “Sorry, really, it was an accident,” Wendell said to her back, finally showing a little remorse.

  “Why don’t you go tell the rest of the guys we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow?” Ennis suggested.

  With that, Wendell walked away, his shoulders slumped as he headed back down the driveway before cutting across and disappearing into the trees.

  “Why is he here?” Austin asked.

  Ennis glanced back to him, raising an eyebrow. “This is my house, Austin—I think you need to remember that. Wendy is my friend. He made a mistake, so just relax.”

  Austin swallowed down the curses in his throat, and then looked back to the trees where Wendell had disappeared. “Ennis, you have to see that guy isn’t fitting in. He’s constantly butting his nose in or saying things that are rude and inappropriate. He dropped an entire can of dehydrated potato slices on the ground yesterday. I’m pretty sure he was drunk when he did it, which is an entirely different problem. That’s a lot of food to waste, and now he nearly kills someone with a wild shot?”

  “Nobody was nearly killed—the shot went high. Could have killed a bird, if anything. And he isn’t fitting in only because you won’t give him a chance. You and your little girlfriend are running around this place like you’re the bosses on a work farm,” Ennis accused him.

  “I’m not trying to be a boss. I’m trying to keep us alive. Amanda is trying to help people stay alive by teaching them how to defend themselves. You’re supposed to be teaching them how to use a gun without blowing their own head off so that she can teach them some defensive maneuvers,” he replied, fighting to keep his voice even.

  Ennis stepped back. “It was the first day. It was one accident. I’m sure, with the way you handled things, he’ll never screw up again.”

  “Good! That’s the point. If he’s going to be here, we need him helping, not hurting.”

  “Who is we?” Ennis asked, his lips pulled back in a sneer. “You and your girlfriend? Are you the we that’s trying to be our saviors?”

  Austin closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His little brother was always questioning him, wanting to go against him. Circumstances didn’t matter. It had been one thing when they’d been kids, but they were adults now, and in a fight for their lives.

  “Put it aside, Ennis,” he said in a low voice, exhausted from the constant bickering.

  “Put what aside? The fact that you and Amanda have teamed up and left the rest of us in the dark is irritating. This is my house. I’m the one who built it. I’m the one who stocked it, so I would expect a little more respect!” Ennis snapped.

  Austin put up both hands. “I’m not trying to step on your toes. I’m trying to help. You won’t survive up here alone. You almost died before Nash saved you. I want this to work, but it isn’t going to work if we can’t get along and come up with a plan.”

  “Then let’s talk about a plan. Don’t tell me about the plan,” Ennis replied.

  “I am. I have been,” he argued, though a voice in his head told him that he knew that wasn’t the case. He’d been planning with Amanda, not Ennis.

  Ennis shook his head. “No, you and Amanda have talked about a plan and then told me it was going to happen. Not the same thing, Austin,” he pointed out, more quietly now.

  Austin studied his brother, noticing the wrinkles around his eyes and his soft body. He sounded hurt, like they were kids again and fighting for someone’s attention or over the same toy, and Austin had won. There had always been a bit of jealousy between them, but it seemed amplified now. Then, as Austin looked at him, the light came on.

  “You’re jealous of Amanda,” he chuckled.

  “What? That’s ridiculous. Why would I be jealous?” Ennis spat out.

  Austin smirked. “You don’t have to be jealous of her. You’re still my little brother.”

  “I’m not your little brother,” he retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “You are. There’s no getting around that. Amanda is my friend. We’ve been through a lot and I’ve come to trust her and depend on her opinion. That’s it,” he said, hoping to diffuse what he could see was a growing problem.

  “I’m not jealous of her. You act like everything she says and does is perfect, and my friend is the one who’s a total screw-up. Wendell made a mistake, but he’s my friend and I don’t want him to leave,” Ennis said, all but sticking out his lower lip and pouting.

  “Fine, but you need to have a talk with him. He’s insulting and driving everyone crazy.”

  “Again—my friend, my house. He stays,” Ennis said before stomping back down the driveway.

  Austin watched him go, shaking his head. There was little he could do to heal forty years of sibling rivalry. It had always been this way. They loved each other, but loved each other more when they weren’t in the same state. Austin turned around, looking at the big house and feeling even more convinced that living in the house with his brother and a bunch of other people was a ticking timebomb.

  It wouldn’t be long before Wendell did something that pushed the last button for someone, but Ennis seemed to have hitched his wagon to the guy. Austin had a feeling that had been Wendell’s plan all along, too. He had enmeshed himself in deep with Ennis, the true owner of their little fortress. No one could kick him out.

  “That’s what you think, buddy,” Austin muttered, heading into the house in search of Nash.

  The kid was young, but he had a good head on his shoulders. Austin wanted to put this little fiasco behind them and talk to him about their plan to go into town.

  But when he looked around the house, he came up empty. Nash wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Everyone he talked to said that the last time they’d seen him had been early that morning.

  Austin walked back outside, going in search of Amanda with the thought that maybe she’d know where the kid had gotten off to. Austin really hoped he hadn’t decided to ditch them. He needed him to decipher all the technical jargon on that drive. Amanda might not think it was all that important, but he did.

  Knowledge was power. He needed to know what they were up against and what they could expect in the coming weeks and months.

  He was not going to be blindsided—not again.

  6

  Amanda crept downstairs quietly, doing her best not to disturb the two figures sleeping on the couch. She was craving coffee, and wanted to watch the sunrise in peace. Finding a peaceful moment with so many people around was next to impossible, but doing so in the early morning made it slightly easier. Moving slowly made her feel like she caused less of a disturbance as she filled the pot with a little over a cup of water and placed it on the stove. She left all the lights off, not wanting to wake anyone. A little niggle of guilt ate at her over using the stove instead of going out and starting a fire in the oven Austin had built for them to use, but she assured herself it was only a little propane.

  “Caught you,” Austin’s deep voice cut through the dim light in the kitchen.

  She nearly jumped and spilled the pot of water. “You scared me! Why are you up?” she asked.

  “Wendell snores like a train,” he grumbled, moving to pour himself some water. “I’ve been up for a while.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You slept down here last night again?”

  He nodded. “I feel better when I’m near that door.”

  “Why?” she asked, still whispering as she lit the burner, its blue flame casting a soft glow in the room.

  “I want to know if someone is coming or going. I guess that’s the benefit to only having one working door,” he quipped.

  She turned to him and smiled. “Do you want coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I need to wean myself off. That supply isn’t going to last forever, and there are certain people in this house who need it more than I,” he teased her.

  “Hey, you better not be talking about me!”

  He shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

  He re-filled his glass with water and headed out the front door. In the kitchen, she waited for the water to boil before quickly stirring in the spoonful of instant coffee. It was weaker than she liked, but Austin was right that their supply wasn’t infinite. It made sense to wean herself off before she had to quit cold-turkey.

  She found him sitting on the single park bench outside and sat down beside him. It was a cool morning, the sun barely coming over the horizon. She had on one of Ennis’s old plaids, something she’d taken from him a few days before and not bothered to return. They’d all been pilfering his clothing, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  “It’s nice out here,” she murmured.

  “It is. Can you imagine what this place will look like in the winter?” he asked.

  She laughed. “Yes, white and pretty as a postcard.”

  Austin nodded beside her, but then frowned. “Pretty, but dangerous. We really have to get some meat in that freezer. Otherwise, there’s no way we’ll survive the winter with all of us here. That food supply is going to be gone within a few months,” he said, expressing the same thought she had.

  “Do you think it’s smart to load up a freezer?” she questioned.

  He shrugged. “With the turbine and the panels, I think it will keep the freezer going during the day. Even if it’s a really cloudy, snowy day, the freezer will hold temp for at least three days if we don’t open it. If it looks like the power isn’t going to be enough to run it, we’ll put it outside. I’m sure we can count on it being below freezing. Maybe we should build an outdoor freezer anyway, planning on using the cold to our advantage.”

  “Good point. And we can stock up for winter with anything we can find. We’ll go into town and scout for anything to add to our stockpile. I’d like to find a bow, and maybe even some arrows. I know Ennis has a healthy supply of ammo, but if we start shooting a bunch, hunting or not, it’s going to draw attention.”

  His eyes scanned the area, his gun holstered at his waist. He was the only one wearing his gun constantly. She did if she ventured into the trees, but avoided it at other times; she didn’t care for the weight of the weapon on her leg or waist.

  “That’s true. I saw a book in his library about trapping. That’s a good option, as well. I don’t think we have to worry about Fish and Game coming after us for hunting in the off-season,” he quipped.

  She giggled. “No, I don’t think you do. I think we should hit a Goodwill or one of those other secondhand stores also,” she commented.

  He turned to look at her. “Got a hankering to do some thrifting?” he asked dryly.

  She rolled her eyes. “No, but I have a hankering to change my clothes. We could all use some clothes and, like you keep saying, winter is coming, and we need to have the right clothing for it. I’m sure the malls and department stores have been raided, but maybe we can find some stuff at a thrift store,” she explained.

  He smiled at her, his blue eyes dancing with laughter. “Good thinking. I never would have thought about looting a Goodwill.”

  “I have a good idea now and then,” she said with a laugh.

  “I’m going to see if Harlen, Mal, and Mike are ready to move. They said they were up for a scouting mission. Let’s see if they were serious,” he said, getting to his feet.

  “What about Audrey? She mentioned she wanted to go,” Amanda said.

  Austin turned to look at her. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. We don’t know what we’re walking into. We need those who are quick on their feet and able to move. She’s not exactly nimble.”

  Amanda understood his point, but also knew that they all needed clothing, and any extra set of hands could make a difference if they found supplies worth carrying back. “I’ll tell her, but I don’t think she’s going to be happy about it.”

  “We’re not always going to make everyone happy, but I think she’d be less happy if she got shot and killed.”

  Amanda nodded. “Good point. Eventually, we’ll have to get all of them used to the idea of scouting and hunting, though. And we all need supplies like clothing. One person can only carry so much.”

  “Yes, but let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Austin headed inside the house, and Amanda watched him move and found herself wondering what her life would be like without him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. They had come together in the strangest of circumstances, and those first few weeks he had tested her patience, but now she didn’t want to do this without him. If he decided to leave the house, she’d be going with him, no matter how much she yearned to make this place a long-term home.

  The realization opened up a new door in her mind, but it was one she wasn’t ready to explore. Starting a relationship was about the last thing she needed.

 

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