Graham's Resolution Trilogy Bundle: Books 1-3 (38 page)

“The decision should be hers,” Graham continued. “So yeah, I think you’re right. Let’s do it, but I’m going to pick up the other pills and bring them here tomorrow when I go into town to find the painkillers for Ennis. Just so we have them. Just in case,” he said with a sigh. “So, is that the problem that’s been weighing you down, babe? Worrying about how I’d react to the idea?” He leaned back and pulled her to him, cradling her against his chest.

Tala’s pulse quickened and panic set in as she realized he saw termination as the only possible solution to pregnancy. She tried to relax, knowing she couldn’t tell him her secret now, knowing what his immediate response would be. She willed herself to calm down further and melted against his hard chest so Graham wouldn’t suspect there was more.

“Okay, let’s talk to them both about the option when Marcy gets back,” Tala said.

“Oh no. This was your idea, and it’s
your
department,” Graham said, making the sign of the cross. “They’re girls, you’re a girl; and therefore talking to them about this stuff is your job.”

“You are the bravest man I know, and yet you can’t face girl issues?” Tala mocked him, trying on a smile. She shook her head, hoping she was masking her true feelings.

“Hey, I would if I had to, but you’re here and so it falls to you. When Bang starts to have boy issues when he’s older, I will handle it. You won’t have to explain the urges, et cetera. I think that’s fair,” Graham reasoned.

Tala played along, and let out a breath, agreeing with the arrangement. Neither of them had ever been a parent before the pandemic, and they were winging this thing, at best. Though Tala knew those days were numbered—at least for her.

Clarisse had been through this so many times before; disappointment after devastating disappointment had become the norm. This time, however, a shred of hope proved the answers to her research. The girls played in the hallway and their laughter echoed into her office. Their voices distracted her work, but in a good way until the disorderly fracas came from the main door as Rick and Steven entered the building.

Out of defeat, she gave up any further efforts in her observation through a microscope and directed her attention to the men who’d arrived.

“What’s up, guys?” she managed to say without any annoyance in her greeting.

“There’s a storm coming. Rick and I got the generator set up for you in case the power goes out. I’ll set up a rope line to camp, in case the snow gets as bad as we think.”

“Oh, thanks. I had no idea the weather was getting worse,” she said, glancing down at Addy on the floor in the doorway. “I guess I should probably quit now, then, and get us back to camp.” She hoped her reluctance to leave her work didn’t show. She never stopped marveling at how quickly she’d come to think of Addy as her own child, and the girl’s safety demanded Clarisse put her first—even ahead of research.

On his knees, Rick, always up for anything juvenile, joined in the girls’ game of jacks. As if he understood, he said, “Why don’t I take Addy back with Bethany? She can spend the night with us too. That way you can work as long as you like.”

Clarisse eyed Addy. “Would you like to spend the night with Bethany? The decision is totally up to you. Or I can pack up right now and we can go if you’d like.”

Rick’s daughter Bethany, was about the same age and the only other child Addy had formed a friendly bond with. She was much more outgoing, but she enjoyed Addy’s company in small visits.

“Oh, please stay the night,” Bethany begged.

Addy paused a moment and, casting a look to Clarisse that said she wasn’t too sure about the arrangement, said, “Okay.”

Rick apparently caught on to the look and tried to persuade her. “We’ll make the night fun, Addy; I’ll set up a movie, and we can make popcorn, like in the old days.”

Clarisse added, “If you’re okay with staying the night, I’ll check in on you first thing in the morning.”

“You’ll be fine out here, by yourself?” Addy asked Clarisse. At times she seemed much too mature for a seven-year-old, but under the circumstances, it was probably understandable for a child who had essentially lost both parents to worry about the one sure substitute she had.

“Of course. You don’t need to worry about me, Addy.”

With a smile Addy ran over to embrace Clarisse. The child smelled of crayons and soap as she held her close, and Clarisse wondered why she had never thought to become a mother before. She wouldn’t trade the experience for anything now and knew she’d do anything for Addy to keep her safe from harm.
What a liability a child is to a mother.
She certainly loved the girl, and knew Addy loved her in return. The emotion tugged at her heart even more.

Overjoyed at the prospect of a playmate staying with her the whole night, Bethany cheered.

To the kids, something as simple as a sleepover must have been like stepping back into the past, a reminder of something they’d done in the days before the end of school, before the escape from their neighborhoods, before they left family and friends behind, and before quarantine.

“Okay, girls, let’s get your coats on,” Rick said as he corralled them toward the door.

When they were out of earshot, Steven said, “The Quarantine Queen has become a mommy? When did that happen?”

Clarisse smiled at him and swiveled around in her office chair ignoring him. She knew he was ribbing her, but in a kind way. “Who could help but love that little girl?” was the only thing she would allow herself to say for fear she would start to cry.

Steven patted her on the back and said, “Don’t stay too late. I’ll set up the line, just in case, on my way out. The snow’s already coming down steadily, and the sky is starting to look ugly out there.”

She heard the wind creaking the metal siding as it came in hard gusts. It was starting to howl, and she knew what Steven said was true.

“Thank you. I’ll be fine here.”

With the whole evening ahead of her, Clarisse felt recharged in her efforts to make sure the data was true. She returned to her work, knowing she had a promise to keep, and she would work on it for as long as it took.

Sam knew a young man needed to prove himself in life. After waiting through the snowstorm a while longer, as the temperature continued to drop, he decided now would be the best time for Mark to make a break for the house. The temperature could drop again in the next hour, but how much they had no way of knowing. He would lead a guide rope over to the house about eighty yards in front of their position.

“All right, kid, let’s get this done; the storm is getting worse, not better. I don’t think waiting it out will do us any good.” Sam shivered a bit. Mark climbed back into the rear of the truck to retrieve the two-hundred-foot length of nylon line.

“You’re going to let him go out there alone?” Marcy protested when she caught on to the plan. The idea scared her. It scared Sam, too, but not as much as trying to keep the kids alive in the truck all night and for however much longer the storm might last, but he didn’t answer her plea.

Instead, he cautioned Mark, “Tie one end to the bumper. Take the spotlight. Keep your eyes open and go in as straight a line as you can. If you get to the end and find you’re in open space, get your ass back here. Don’t screw around with this, and whatever you do, don’t leave the rope. Tie the line off to the first thing you can find when you reach the end, and follow it back here. If you leave the line, you’re toast. I won’t be able to find you in time before the cold has its way with you. Do you hear me?” Sam he stared deeply into Mark’s eyes to let the young man realize he was dead serious and to make sure Mark understood the gravity of the situation.

“I got it, Sam.”

Sam nodded and did a once-over of Mark’s gear. The boy might need another hat. He took off his own wolf fur–lined hat and shoved it over the knit one already on Mark’s head. “We can’t have your ears freezing off; Marcy might not think you’re too pretty without ears.” Mark clipped the spotlight handle to his belt loop and looped the rope bundle over his right shoulder.

“Pay the line out slowly. Try not to let it hang up on bushes or anything.”

Mark nodded, his face sober.

“All right. Take the line and tie it off to the front bumper and head out.”

“Wait!” Marcy yelled. Mark was getting ready to leave way too fast when she realized he wasn’t going to say good-bye to her. She pulled herself up and reached over the seat. Sam turned away to give them some privacy, while Marcy planted a kiss on Mark’s lips.

“I’ll be fine, Marcy.” He sounded a little embarrassed. “I’ll be right back.”

Mark stepped out of the truck and shut the door quickly. The first sound that registered, besides the howling wind, was his own boots crunching into the deep snow, followed closely by the persistent wind that whipped snow viciously from one direction into the next. The changing directions created confusion; he was glad he already knew where he should head.

He heaved the coiled rope line again and walked quickly to the front of the Scout. The swirly snow made the simple expedition difficult; it was hard to see even a foot in front of his own face. He knew it was late in the evening, but because of the darkness the time might as well have been midnight, with the blackness beyond the fluttering white. He held his left hand against the cold metal of the frozen truck to help keep his position as he stepped blindly, one foot in front of the next. Once he found the bumper, he quickly wiped away the accumulated snow and tied off one end of the looped rope and tapped the hood twice, indicating he was on his way to the house, somewhere in the whiteout beyond their vision. Temporarily blinded by the headlights, he began to break a path ahead of him while unfurling the line.

Marcy and Sam felt the vibrations as Mark tied off the rope, even though the unceasing gusts increased in their erratic cadence. When Mark tapped the hood twice, Marcy took a deep breath while Sam pulled out a small flashlight and checked his watch, then started counting the minutes. For a short time the spotlight beam remained visible, but soon the swirling whiteness enveloped even Mark’s light, leaving only the surrounding darkness.

Soon the darkness and awkward silence took over between the two occupants left in the cab of the truck. The quiet tension was too much for Marcy. “Sam, I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier.”

“It’s okay, Marcy, don’t give it another thought.” Sam drew his words out slow, to calm her nerves, and patted her gloved hand as she gripped the back of the seat near his shoulder. He kept his eyes scanning the windshield, but beyond the gleam of the headlights flaring back from the whiteout, nothing else was visible.

Then the silence took over again. Except for the occasional sound of a slight vibration tremor, Sam couldn’t tell where Mark might be as he strung out the line. He figured the boy had about two more minutes before he encountered the house, which Sam guessed was about eighty or so feet from the truck. The rope was just over two hundred feet, so there should be plenty of slack, he guessed.

Then the sound stopped. Marcy let out her breath believing that Mark had successfully found something to tie onto. The violent squall seemed to increase even more in intensity, and she was glad he was on his way back now.

Sam tried to picture what Mark was doing, and he knew by experience that the boy would probably double-time it back to the truck once he completed his task. The problem was, the task was taking way too long. Sam didn’t let on in the ensuing silence that he was beginning to worry, but he was. He would give Mark another few minutes. Maybe something reasonable had happened, but Sam couldn’t think of what it might have been to take this long.
Unless he let go of the damn rope
, Sam thought and sat up, suddenly ready to take action.

He tried not to scare the girl, but if something had happened out there in these temperatures, he had precious little time to find the young man before frostbite would set in, causing injury. Then the killing hypothermia would come.

“Marcy, darlin’, he’s taking a little too long.”

“No. No, he’s fine, he’s coming right back. He said he’d be right back.” She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Sam.

Sam put his hand over hers again, resting on the back of his seat. “I’m going out for him now.”

“No, don’t leave me here by myself, Sam,” she protested.

He didn’t have time for this, and he sure as hell didn’t like whiny girls. “Climb over here,” he said, but she didn’t move. “Get up here right now, God dammit! Honk the horn three times, and then wait to a count of ten, and repeat the sequence three more times. Keep repeating that. Do you understand me?” he said in a cold, deliberate tone to get through to her.

“Yes,” she said, scowling at him.

“Good girl. I’ll go get him, and I’ll be right back. Do not lose your head, Marcy, and whatever you do, do not leave this truck.”

“I won’t. I’m scared, but I’m not stupid!” she yelled.

Good. Mad, she’d be less likely to curl up in a corner and give in.

He stepped out into the snow, narrowing his eyes, searching for the glimmer of Mark’s flashlight, for his shadowy form to appear before him.

He found the line tied to the bumper and headed out, sure he’d find the boy at any moment.

He did not.

.