The McClane Apocalypse Book 4 (21 page)

“Me, too,” she concurs. “I still can’t
believe Amber was that bad of a person. I mean I know that Mom and
Dad didn’t like her, but I had no idea she was that
evil.”

Simon nods sadly and looks away for a
moment before glancing off into the distance, into the serene and
peaceful forestry around them.

“I just wish…” he starts.

His blues eyes dart to where Talia and
Chet are strolling. It doesn’t seem as if they are looking for the
things that Simon told them to look for. They are mostly engaged in
talking, although Paige cannot tell what about because they are too
far away.

“What is it, Simon?” Paige
prompts. She searches his face for some hint
of
what is troubling
him.

Unfortunately,
he just shakes his head
and looks away from her. Whatever it is that haunts her brother,
Paige fears that she may never know. A muscle in his long, strong
jawline flexes.

She stays on topic and says, “All of
us have regrets and things that we wish had gone differently,
things that we could go back and change.”

“You just have to move
forward,
Paigie
,” he says.

He’s changing the tenor of
their conversation by using the nickname he used to call her, which
causes her to smile and nod. He walks forward again, forcing Paige
to follow or be left
by
the tree. He’s clearly not going to tell her what
had caused him to look so forlorn. She wants to help him if she
can. He’s the only family she has left.

They pick herbs and bark
for a while longer until they come to a stream where Simon
picks
a few more
weeds, or what looks like
weeds
to Paige. Then they turn back for
the farm and run into Samantha on the way. She’s carrying a sketch
pad, something she seems to have at all times. She sports a bright
smile and flashes it at Simon who looks away with a crease between
his dark brows.

“What have you been drawing, kiddo?”
Chet asks her.

This man is very
comfortable with the McClane family, and he looks very protectively
at Samantha. He regards her as if she’s his kid sister. There is a
smile in his eyes and a grin on his face. She’s hardly a child.
Simon had told her that Sam is almost nineteen. Paige can
understand why the men look at
her
like
a child, though. The bone structure of
her face is delicate and child-like, her big blue eyes set against
porcelain. Chet even ruffles the hat on her head.

“The horses,” Sam replies
shyly.

She and Simon seem to be
very tight. The girl hangs on his every word like he’s her big
brother. According to Simon, Sam had been with him and the group of
people with Aunt Amber. He did not expound on it
further,
and Paige
hadn’t pushed him. She knows exactly how he feels. Some things are
just too hard to remember, the memories too painful to dredge up.
She can’t help but wonder what happened to them both while in the
custody of Aunt Amber.

Sam tips her sketch pad toward them,
earning praise. But when Chet tries to flip a page further, she
quickly shuts it.

She even attempts to lie badly to
cover up for it with, “Sorry, that one’s not done yet.”

Simon frowns hard at her which causes
Sam to shrug for some reason. These two have an unspoken body
language that transcends words sometimes.

Reagan is just returning a horse to
the barn when they arrive there, and Simon holds open the stall
door for her.

“He’s got a limp, Simon,”
the short,
pretty
doctor explains.

“Yes, I thought he was favoring his
back leg yesterday,” her brother agrees with a frown.

“Are you ok, Reagan?” Sam
asks.

Upon further scrutiny of the other
woman, Paige can see that Reagan’s forehead is broken out with
beads of sweat, her face seems pale and the skin around her eyes is
pink and puffy. She even sniffs and then coughs twice, hard. Her
cough sounds wet and full of phlegm.

“I’m the picture of health,” she
states on another cough.

“Has Doc looked at you?” Simon
asks.

Her brother has a lot of
faith and respect for Dr. Herb McClane. He talks almost non-stop
about the older man. Herb is clearly the patriarch of every person
on this farm, even the ones who aren’t related to him by
blood
. Her brother
also told her that the
people
in the community revere and trust
his opinion on most issues involving their small town. To Paige,
however, just being a part of a community feels too
surreal.

Reagan shakes her head and
answers, “No, I’m
fine
. Really, Simon, it’s probably just
a seasonal cold or something like that. I never get
sick.”

She uses a handkerchief
from her pocket and
blots
her forehead and then her nose. Even though Paige
is freezing her butt off, Reagan is wearing only a t-shirt and
flannel shirt over top and seems to be sweating
profusely.

“You look like you’re burning up,
Reagan,” Simon argues further and reaches out to feel her
forehead.

“Stop!” she hisses with
impatience. “Just help me get his leg wrapped. I don’t need your
help, but this gelding sure as shit does. He has to have stepped in
a hole or got kicked by a mare. Look, it’s swelled up near
the
hoof
.
That’s not good.”

Simon nods, but Paige
notices that it is with great reluctance. The neighbor Chet also
seems concerned. Everyone in this small group cares greatly about
each other. It makes them all
seem
like a family instead of distant
relatives, married into the family relatives or just
neighbors.

The other night, her
brother had come to retrieve her before dawn to witness her first
horse birth. That had been about as disgusting a thing as she’s
ever watched. He’d been fascinated and had even assisted Dr.
McClane with the birth. The mare was a mess, all cut up and sewn
back together, also her brother’s handiwork she’d found out. The
mother
and
new
colt are in one of the stalls
in the horse barn still, being kept away from the others for the
time being. The baby
horse
is cute. Getting it into this world hadn’t
been.

“Let’s just take care of
him now while we’re out here because Grandpa said that first heifer
should be
calving
soon,” Reagan points out.

Paige has certainly
never
watched
or wanted to watch animals birth their babies, but if she and
her brother stay on this farm it seems as if she’ll need to get
used to it. Maybe she can phone in sick for the cow birth. Gross.
There was a goat that gave birth the second night she’d been on the
farm, but thankfully Simon had taken her out in the morning to look
at the baby. She missed all of the excitement,
thankfully
. She’s only been
here a week, but all they talk about is animal care, barn
maintenance, medicine,
chores
and community. The life here is
simple, but it sure as hell is tiring. When she turns in at night,
she sleeps like a dead person for the few hours that she can. Of
course, that could be because she actually feels safe for the first
time in a long time and is catching up on three and a half years’
worth of it.
The McClane family has
been more than generous and has offered many times for her to not
help out with chores and projects until she’s stronger, but then
she’d just feel like an even bigger free-loader.
They worry that she’s “too thin” or that she’s
“just getting stronger.” But their concerns aren’t necessary. The
hard work that doesn’t involve running for her life, hiding, trying
desperately to keep a small child quiet and alive, scavenging for
food and constantly looking over her shoulder is a welcome relief.
She doesn’t feel for even a second like she fits in with this
family of
tough
f
armers and badass soldiers, but at least
she has her brother.

The three of them work with
the gelding while Paige,
Talia
and Sam take a rest on the hay
that blocks the huge back doors.

“You’re a
really good
rider,
Sam,” Talia praises.

Neither Talia nor Paige
have enjoyed the riding of the horses.
At
all. Talia explained that she
grew up a city slicker, but Paige just genuinely fears them. The
horses are muscular and strong and seem kind of stupid most of the
time. Her brother put her on one the other day, and it had just
stood there. She couldn’t get it to move. When it finally did, the
dumb animal had trotted back into the barn as if the ride was over.
For her, it was. She got off.

“Oh, thanks,” Sam says graciously.
“You guys will get the hang of it, too!”

She’s a sweet girl, innocent and kind.
The younger kids cling to her as if she is the center of their
worlds.

Talia laughs at her comment
and adds, “Nah, no thanks for me. I don’t think I’m ever gonna be
too
popular
with the horses around here.”

“Right. Me, either,” Paige says. And
then she asks, “Did you ride before this,” she gestures around her,
“happened, or did you just learn it when you came here?”

“Um, no, I knew how to ride before,”
she mumbles evasively and begins hastily packing her art supplies
into her backpack.

“Where are you from, Sam? I mean if
you don’t mind me asking,” Talia says.

“Yeah, because we’re from all over!”
Paige jokes to lighten the mood. “New Orleans, the Carolinas,
Arizona and Maddie’s real mother was from Florida.”

Maddie is in the big house
with Gavin playing in the music room with the children. It had
taken her less than a full day to adopt every member of the McClane
family, especially their children. She’s also enjoying all of the
new food selections that she’s experiencing for the first time.
Paige’s stomach hasn’t adjusted yet to the rich, hearty home-cooked
meals that the McClanes serve. Not that they aren’t great. They
certainly are, but her body isn’t used to the heavy cuisine just
yet. She hasn’t even had beef for over three years. Vegetables,
canned vegetables, the occasional fruit like apples, and wild game
were the staples they’ve grown accustomed to. The women in the
McClane family
serve
fresh breads, oatmeal, tons of eggs and meats,
potatoes, root vegetables from their cellar and canned vegetables
and fruits and jams. It’s all too much for her. However, it’s all
rather delicious, too. Talia has complained about it bothering her
stomach, as well, but Gavin had needed about ten minutes to grow
used to the substantial portions and rich quality of the
food.

“I’m just from right here,” Sam evades
again and points with her short index finger to her bale of
hay.

Paige knows that she is not
a McClane, nor is she from this farm. Simon had told her as much,
without telling much about Sam at all. But her last name is not
McClane; it’s Patterson. Talia looks at
Paige,
and they both realize that
they need to drop the subject. Not a problem. Everyone has a past,
a dark story they don’t wish to share with anyone. She and Talia
have their own long list of things they’d like to forget. These are
the stories that keep her up some nights and encompass past
occurrences that she’d like
never
to remember again
.

“That’s cool,” Paige offers almost
reflexively. “Simon says how great you are at the clinic in
town.”

She figures the girl would appreciate
a reprieve from the torrent of unwelcome questions being fired at
her. She gets a sheepish smile from Sam in return.

“I don’t know how he gets that I’m
‘great’ out of what I do at the clinic,” Samantha air quotes while
grinning. “I just try to be helpful to him and Grandpa, and Reagan
when she goes.”

“I still can’t get over the fact that
any of you travel to this Pleasant View town. That’s nuts!” Talia
remarks with honesty.

“Oh, no,” Sam says
with
a frown.
“It’s very safe. And it’s not far from here, so that’s good. We
always have guards at the clinic. It’s important to work there and
offer our services, too. It’s sometimes the only medical care
people have had in years. They need our help.”

Paige scoffs quietly. “He also said
you were like this.”

“What do you mean?”
Sam
asks,
her black eyebrows raising.

“Generous, overly so sometimes is what
he says,” Paige says with a sly grin. She watches the small waif’s
bright blue eyes narrow suspiciously, but with good humor toward
Simon. Her black hair hangs down below her wool winter hat, which
is also black and blends seamlessly into her hair. The dark pink
puffer coat she wears just makes the flush of her cheeks and the
blue of her eyes stand out even more. She’s a strikingly lovely
young woman.