Page 73 of Heart of the Sun

“Just to—”

“Kyler?”

“Over here, Dad!” Kyler called. “I caught some trespassers!”

The sound of footsteps over soft ground quickly approached and a moment later, a man wearing a dark green beanie and a brown jacket, appeared. His eyes swept the two of us as he took the shotgun from his son and took over pointing it in our direction. “Who are you?”

“Sir, I’m Tucker Mattice, and that’s Emily Swanson. We’re walking to California, and we were hoping you could spare a couple of eggs, or…well, anything really.”

“Sorry. But we have a full house here and won’t be giving away any of our food.” He used the gun to gesture behind us. “Now move on.”

“Okay, have a nice day.” Tuck began to turn. To give up. My mouth dropped open. What were we going to do now? Catch a squirrel with our bare hands? He probably could. But I didn’t want squirrel. I wanted those eggs.

I used my arm to nudge Tuck aside as I stepped forward. I plastered a big smile on my face. Nova’s smile—the smile of the girl who knew how to get anything she wanted. Not the wavering concession speech of a man who was trying so hard to live his life on the straight and narrow that he couldn’t bear the thought of stealing a couple of eggs or talking his way into a warm house. But I had no such compunctions. I was starving and tired. “We’re here to trade,” I said. “Nothing comes for free in this world, not anymore. At least for now. We’re well aware.”

The farmer’s eyes did a brief sweep of the two of us before he let out a short laugh and nudged his son. “Go on back inside.” Kyler looked briefly indignant but then turned toward the house. His father sized me up again. “No offense but doesn’t look like you have much to offer.”

Tuck went to step back in the position where he’d been, and I quickly put my arm out again, holding him back. “Information,” I said.

The man paused, and he turned his head slightly. I saw the spark of interest in his eyes and jumped in to take advantage of the opportunity. “Sir, we’ve been walking for over a week now. We first spent the day with Sheriff Goodfellow in Silver Creek, Missouri, and then we spent some time with a man who walked from St. Louis. Yesterday we were in Topeka where some military members have set up a camp for…refugees. We’ve gained information about what’s going on from there to here,and also specifics about one of the big cities. I imagine you’ve been chomping at the bit, so to speak, as you’ve waited for information that hasn’t come. No mail. No garbage pickup. No aircraft overhead. If you have an older vehicle, maybe you drove to a store nearby, or maybe a neighbor did and reported to you that no one knew anything there either. If it wasn’t emptied out then, I can almost guarantee it is by now.”

I could feel Tuck’s gaze on me, and he’d leaned back slightly as though to give me more room to talk.

“The most important thing to know is that we have news you’re going to want to hear, and quickly. It pertains to your safety and that of your neighbors as well.” I wasn’t lying on that front. If Isaac was right, in short order, there were going to be a lot more people on the road. And that even meant backroads. I hadn’t really let myself consider the details of that too much because it was frankly terrifying, but in that moment, I realized that, so far, we’d walked in relative safety, but that might no longer be the case.

The farmer’s eyes had narrowed as I’d spoken, though the level of the firearm had lowered so that it was now aimed at the ground. I could only hope that was a good sign that meant he was at least considering my offer. “What is it you want to trade for this so-called vital information?”

“Dinner. We’ll take anything you can spare.”

“What else?” he demanded.

“Fresh water now and to take with us.”

“Hmm.”

Tuck interjected, “Sir, that’s all—”

“And a place to stay tonight.”

I heard Tuck let out a low hiss of air as though I’d gone a step too far, and I braced, waiting for the man to tell us to get lost.

“Dinner’d be whatever’s at risk of spoiling and needs to be eaten or thrown away. You can sleep in my barn, but I can’t allow you to stay in the house while my family’s sleeping.I’m sure you can understand.”

“That’s great. Yes, we accept. Thank you,” I said, the words flowing out on one long breath of relief.Oh my God. Dinner. A chair to sit in and a fork.I wanted to weep with gratitude.

I gave Tuck a giddy look over my shoulder and we followed the farmer as he led us through his front yard and into his house.

chapterthirty-one

Tuck

I had to hand it to Emily. She’d come through on the fly. Why hadn’t I considered bargaining with information? It was just about the only commodity we had, and she’d thought of it, and suggested the trade with a charming smile, even with a shotgun pointed squarely at her midsection. Once again, she deserved my respect and my gratitude. She’d earned it in this case because here we were, sitting in the comfortable living room of a farmhouse, the soft cushions of a couch beneath my ass. Damn, it felt good.

“My name’s Tom Pritchard and this is my wife, Jane,” the farmer said, extending his hand toward the woman who’d joined him on the couch across from where I sat. She was about the same age as Tom, fortyish I’d guess with long blond hair pulled back into a bun and kind blue eyes.

“Emily, right?” Tom asked, looking at Emily, who’d sat down in an easy chair to my left.

“Yes, Emily Swanson.”

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