Page 36 of Defending Our Ever After

Reese moved in with Blaine pretty quick after we made it here and as with most houses in town, families have reconfigured their living spaces so they’re all living on the main floor. Even if any of these homes did have fireplaces in the bedrooms upstairs, it simply takes too much wood to keep them heated. Peaches insisted that Blaine and Reese take the main floor bedroom, so the plan is to turn the dining room into her bedroom.

“Dad said you’ve had some solid ideas for security around here. He really appreciates it,” Reese grunts out as we maneuver the mattress from one of the rooms upstairs, down the tight staircase.

“Nah, I think I’ve just suggested things he was considering. He knows his shit, it’s just the playbook got tossed out the window a few months back, so most of us are airing on the side of caution. Fuuuck,” I groan out the last word as I jam my thumb against the banister. “It’ll be hard leaving Adams here, the four of us got so used to moving as a unit that we’ll have to readjust.”

“You’re welcome to stay until the spring, but I know you’ve got people waiting on you,” he says, abruptly silencing himself, looking guilty for blowing a confidence. “I’m sorry, Blaine said you were heading to your dad’s place, but he didn’t go into specifics.”

“No worries. I have a sister who was living north of Seattle with her son. Dylan’s got to be about sixteen now,” I tell him, taking a deep breath and for once I repeat my mantra of the past several months, out loud: “Shelby is resourceful and determined. She’ll have found a way to get them to Dad’s. It’s the thought of her daughter, Julia, that keeps me up nights.”

“Where is, was, Julia when this started?” he asks as we head back up for the box frame, having already decided to leave the frame aside for emergency firewood.

“At university in southern Utah. If Adams has told you anything about what we’ve encountered along the way, you know why I’m terrified for her.”

“You can’t think like that, man. You think of her the same way you think of your sister: resourceful and determined. That, and you keep your head on straight, or you won’t make it back to them.” He clamps his large hand on my shoulder while dispensing that advice.

I know he’s right and I work on staying positive about Julia’s chances on the road. I’m mostly relieved I hadn’t told them I was coming home. I like to believe that it’s easier on them, thinking that I was sitting around a military base when this happened. The sight of all those doomed planes we have seen along the way, harden my belief that they’ll forgive me for wanting to surprise them.

Outside of the military, the only person who knows I had planned to be home is Lee, and it’s not like he talks to Dad.

Chapter 14

Shelby

Throwing the knitting needles to the side, I glare at Elsbeth, cutting off her words before she even opens her mouth. Then again, the sigh she lets out says it all.

Every fiber of my DNA is rebelling against this bedrest that Trisha has insisted upon. I know she made the right call, and my love for thesurprisechild growing inside of me is the only reason I’m not out doing any of the six hundred chores I’d rather be doing. Knitting is simply not in my wheelhouse; I mean, I’ve spent six of the last ten minutes fantasizing about stabbing someone with the needles.

“Hey, Mom,” Julia comes up from behind where I’m camped out on the couch and slides me her book on sign language. “Can you help me practice, please?”

I can’t help the growl that escapes my mouth, but I find myself fighting a grin when she moves the needles further away from me. I can’t help but think that she has been sent over to disarm me.

To humor her, I agree to call out a phrase and watch her hands quickly fly through the correct motions to express what I’ve said. I last until the sixth phrase and it’s more than obvious she doesn’t need my help.

“Just bring me Sara and go make sure the boys haven’t wrecked my hatchery,” I tell her. The least I can do is help with the baby while everyone handles the real workload.

Sometime later, I wake up to hear Sara fussing in her bassinet and not seeing anyone around, I slowly get up, making my way over to her supplies; preferring to get her bottle ready before I change her diaper. Opening the back door, I reach over to ladle milk into the bottle, but nearly spill it when movement catches my eye.

Jace is exiting the garage with a large backpack on, as he follows along the wall until he turns to head down toward his mother’s house. While my first instinct is to call out to him, I decide it’s best to save my breath.

Going back inside, I tend to Sara’s needs and wait, knowing that someone will be along shortly. When Elsbeth is the first to return, I let out a little sigh. We still haven’t told her anything about what happened when Jace went to town.

“Shelby,” she says, coming to sit down near me. “I need some advice, but I don’t want to worry you too much.”

“Of course, are you alright?”

Her lips draw into a straight line at my question and I’m pretty certain that a blind person can see the pain flash in her eyes.

“I think Jace is stealing supplies,” she whispers, as though afraid we’ll be overheard. “My inventory has been off since he’s gotten back from town and last week I came across a bag with the missing items in my old shed. I was looking for this old can opener, it works really well on the larger sized cans, but instead I found the backpack and, well, I moved it.”

“I’m sorry, Elsbeth. This must have you so upset,” I say, putting Sara up to burp her before reaching a hand over to squeeze Elsbeth’s arm.

“Mike has his concerns about Jace, he and I have been over that enough times, believe you, me. Now, if Jace is planning something, or doing something wrong, I can’t stand up for him anymore, Shelby. I swore to myself I had cut those apron strings that second time he stopped paying child support or talking to your children, but now? After what happened to Steve? We could be in true danger any day now.” She stands, wringing her hands as she adds she moves to stand in front of the fireplace.

“That’s not all,” she says, continuing after a moment. “I just saw him leaving the garage with another huge backpack and he was heading toward my home. So, if he doesn’t know that the other supplies are gone yet, he will shortly.”

“Elsbeth,” I softly call her name, wanting her to turn back to me. Once she does, I can see the pain in her eyes and know that my next words will be a blow. “We suspect that he met with some members of a militia of sorts when he went to town. Dylan overheard bits and pieces, not enough to get any details. It’s possible that he made a deal with them, we do know he was pointing out places on a map of the area.”

She sits down hard in the chair across from me, placing her face in her hands. I stop talking, letting her digest what I said and come to terms with what she already suspects.

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