“
Yo
u’
re not to talk to me like that Emma
,”
he said but his voice had lost it
s’
edge; it was still cold but he was distant now, far away
.“I’
m still your father
.”
He looked back at the girls and his forehead was wrinkled beyond his years
.“I’
m glad yo
u’
re okay, Kay
.
”
And he walked out of the room.
“
You push him too hard
!”
Kaylee scolded her sister once the door had shut behind their father.
“
And you do
n’
t push him hard enough
!”
Emma countered, exchanging her old sweatshirt for the tee shirt that she had clenched in her hand
.“
I mean, for heave
n’
s sake, did you not hear the conversation they were having about you the other day? Do you want them planning out your sex life with no input from you? Do
n’
t you care
?
”
“
You know why h
e’
s like this
,”
Kaylee said softly, ignoring her siste
r’
s outburst as she plopped down on her bed
.“
H
e’
s terrified h
e’
s going to lose one of us ever since Mo
m
…
”
she trailed off as she saw Emma try to hide her cringe behind the folds of the hooded sweatshirt she pulled from a hook by her bed.
“
I know
,”
Emma said. She rounded on Kaylee, pulling on the hoodie and yanking up the zipper angrily
.“
But how long are we supposed to play the helpless, little children for his benefit? You said yourself we are
n’
t so young anymore. We deserve a say in this! You know why he wo
n’
t even consider leaving this place
?
”
Kaylee had several theories about that actually. The most prominent one involved the fact that her father spent most of his days staring out the living room onto West 223
rd
street. He did
n’
t want to leave his wife.
“
I
t’
s not because of her
,”
Emma sneered, throwing a contemptuous look out the window.
“
He does
n’
t want to leave Mom
,”
Kaylee insisted, looking imploringly at her sister.
“
Tha
t’
s. Not. Mom
,”
Emma spat, her face twisting in disgust. Kaylee felt the muscles of her jaw clench in anger but she tamped it down.
“
Then why
?”
she asked through grit teeth.
“
I
t’
s us
,”
Emma answered shimmying out of her sweats before sinking onto her bed and bending to pick her jeans up off the floor
.“
He does
n’
t think we can handle it
.
”
“
Or he does
n’
t want to expose us any further
,”
Kaylee offered.
“
Either way
,”
Emma allowed, shoving her legs into her jeans and standing to tug them up
.“I’
m sick of being an excuse for him. We ca
n’
t stay here forever. I do
n’
t
want
to stay here forever. Quinton and Jack are heading north. I think we should go with them
.
”
“
Dad wo
n’
t want to
.
”
“
I say majority rules
,”
Emma said, shrugging. Kaylee frowned.
“
You should apologize to him, you know
,”
Kaylee said after a minute during which Emma brushed out her hair and pulled on her boots.
“
I will
,”
Emma said softly
.“
But
I’
m going to that meeting
.
”
“
Me too
.
”
Emma paused in the act of re-tying her laces to look up at Kaylee
.“
I really am glad yo
u’
re okay
,”
she said around a bit lip.
“
I guess I have
n’
t thanked you yet for tackling Jack
,”
Kaylee returned, grinning towards Emma. There was a light flush stealing up Emm
a’
s neck.
“
Yeah, well that jerk deserves more than a split lip and a bruised hip if you ask me, or Andrew for that matter
,”
Emma muttered, frowning.
“
Wh
y’
s that
?
”
Emma shrugged
.“
He just was
n’
t a
s…
I do
n’
t know, concerned as I thought he should be. I mean, you were really out of it, mumbling and whatnot, and he was just prancing around
.
”
“
I was mumbling
?”
Kaylee asked in a whisper, nervous now
.“
What did I say
?
”
“
I do
n’
t know
,”
Emma waved dismissively, sitting back on her bed
.“
Sometimes it was something about pine trees and other times you just kept repeatin
g‘
not from there
.
’”
“
Oh
,”
Kaylee mumbled, lowering her eyes. She knew exactly what had been going through her mind then. Jack.
Must just be because he was the reason I was hurt.
“
Not that it mattered
,”
Emma continued
.“
No one knew what you were on about and do
n’
t you think he should have carried you from the start
?”
she asked, switching subjects right in the middle of her sentence, as she was often prone to do.
“
Who
?
”
“
Jack! Back in the cornfield. You were a wobbly mess and he set you on your feet to walk! Jackass
.
”
“
E
m
—”
“
Do
n’
t tell me h
e’
s not, Andrew thinks so too
,”
she said, as though the fact Andrew agreed settled the matter.
“
He made me breakfast
,”
Kaylee murmured, not sure why she was even mentioning it.
“
Andrew
?
”
“
No, Jack. He had honey to put on the oatmeal
,”
Kaylee explained, looking down to watch as she twisted her fingers together
.“
We took it to the roof and ate before Andrew came to get us
.
”
“
Hmm
,”
Emma hummed through her frown as she got up and grabbed the doorknob
.“
I still say h
e’
s a jackass
.
”
And as she strode from the room Kaylee heard her say
,“
But I might take some of that honey
!
”
~
His grip was warm and calloused and very strong and his eyes had an intensity that pierced you right through, nailing you to the spot.
“
Nice to meet you
,”
Quinton said, the words rumbling from him as he shook Kayle
e’
s hand. She nodded up at him and returned the pleasantries, his skin a pleasant dark contrast against her pale hand. He was tall, taller than Nick or Bill and when she stood this close Kaylee had to lean back to look into his dark eyes.
“
So
,”
Bill pressed eagerly, the most eager Kaylee had seen him in a while
.“
Now that w
e’
re all here, wha
t’
s your plans
?
”
This question was most obviously directed at Quinton, who had backed away from Kaylee and taken a seat at the kitchen table. The silence swelled for a moment as Quinton took in the group. Kaylee was
n’
t sure if this was for effect or because he was nervous speaking in front of groups. It most certainly was
n’
t lack of confidence in his leadership abilities. Quinton exuded leadership. Everything about him from his posture and stance, to his calm demeanor, to the way he spoke with absolute certainty shouted that he was a leader. Andrew was right, there was something about this guy that made you think he was in the military. And maybe just not in the military, but in charge, a captain or lieutenant or whatever they called the men that told everyone else what to do.
The entire group was there, perched in various positions around the kitchen. Nick, Bill, and Anna had joined Quinton at the table while Andrew and Emma had jumped up on the countertops. Jack was leaning against the back window, chewing through another apple. He looked up and winked at Kaylee. She started, jumping from her position in the open doorway and quickly crossed the room to Andrew and her sister. Jack chuckled before taking another bite of his apple. Kaylee leant back against the countertop between Emma and Andrew, the latter knocking her with his knee and grinning.
He must not have seen Jac
k’
s greeting,
Kaylee mused, biting her lip after smiling back at him.
“
Well
,”
Quinton started, his deep voice rumbling from him as he shifted in his chair and redirected his piercing gaze to the tabletop. Kaylee decided right then that though leadership truly suited him, he was
n’
t all that excited about it
.“
Jack and I are going to Alaska. W
e’
re starting over. W
e’
ve been through the lower half of the United States. W
e’
ve been making this country livable again
.
”