Home Fires Burning (Walking in the Rain Book 2) (18 page)

              “What kind of danger?” Amy asked softly, her earlier confident air seeming to deflate.

              “You know what kind of danger.” I replied evenly, pausing for a beat as she processed what I meant.

“If he goes around calling you a whore, and gets away with it, then some jackass around here might think they can take advantage of you.  I didn’t challenge him because he hurt my feelings, even though I know what he said had to have hurt yours.  So, yes, even though I did kick his ass for safety reasons, it also made for a nice bonus because I knew the words caused you pain.”

Amy looked down and nodded, her face pensive.  What her own uncle tried to do with her, to her, would be a painful subject for years to come.

“Why do people…what makes people like Gary or my uncle think it is okay to treat us like things?  Or those horrible assholes that raped Mrs. Trimble and those little girls?  Why did the lights going out make this okay for them?”

I didn’t have all the answers, but I had been wondering the same thing for awhile.

“We’ve always had people like that in our society, and even if we didn’t condone it, we did darn little to fight it.  Sure, guys went to prison for twenty years for abducting a woman off the street and raping her, but date rape?  Slipping a girl a roofie and having a little fun?  That was just given a wink and a slap on the wrist in a lot of cases.”

“How do you know about this sort of thing, Luke?” Amy asked, her face concerned again.

“A girl I knew from school.  She was a freshman in high school and her dumbass sister took her to a frat party.  Things went horribly wrong, as is always the case.  She was gang raped by a bunch of the party goers.”

I paused to see if Amy had any questions, but she just waited.

“Anyway, so we have a bunch of assholes who already think women are fair game, and then the lights go out?  No cops, no judges and no prison?  Heck, this gives them the perfect excuse to act out their sick little fantasies.

“Plus, rape is an act of violence, of dominance.  I imagine there’s a lot of men scared about where their next meal is coming from.  By committing this despicable act, they can make themselves feel like they are in control of something.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’ll still kill them every chance I get, but I think this is part of what is going on out there.  But, what the heck do I know?”

Amy wrapped her arms around me, offering me comfort.  I leaned down and kissed her hair, reveling in her clean floral scent.

“Luke, you know a lot.  Probably too much.  Your brain never seems to stop churning away, trying to solve one problem or another. So, I have another question for you.”

“Fair enough, Amy.  Ask it.”

“When are we leaving, Luke?”

I tried to make my face stone, but Amy must have been practicing up her reading skills when it came to me.  I saw her brow begin to wrinkle, and then realization dawned as her face took on a stricken appearance.

“That’s what this has been all about.  I’m not going with you, am I, Luke?” she whispered.

I couldn’t meet her eye.  Shame filled me and I turned away.

“Are you planning on leaving me here, Luke?  You’re just going to head on down the road without me?” Tears filled her voice and I turned back to see great wracking sobs running through her body.  She stumbled, trying to keep from collapsing on the concrete floor.

Acting instinctively, I scooped Amy up in my arms and held her to my chest, rocking her against me as I tried to sooth her hurt with mere words.

Gradually, Amy seemed to regain control of her emotions and the tears began to wind down.  Her face was red and blotchy, and she seemed more resigned than angry at what must seem like a betrayal to her.  I still held her in my arms, and lifting her slightly I picked her up and sat her on the sturdy wooden work table.  This brought her eyes up closer to my level, though I could tell she was having trouble making eye contact.

“Amy, will you let me explain?” I asked simply.  When she nodded, I sighed and continued.

“You know I have feelings for you, Amy.  I really care about you.  And I don’t see you as a little girl anymore.  You’re mature way beyond your years, and I only want to spend more time getting to know you.”

“But you are going to leave me behind.  You said I could go with you, wherever you went,” she said, finally complaining directly.

“I did say that.  Back when I thought of you just as a traveling companion.  But Amy, my feelings for you have changed.  I can’t stand the thought of you being out there, exposed and in danger.”

“But you can protect me, Luke.  I know you can.  And I’ll work really hard to learn more, so I won’t be such a burden.”  She said this last bit in a faster tone, as if she thought I would try to interrupt her.  I noticed her breathing was getting back to normal but tears threatened to fall once again.

Lifting her chin, I tilted her lips up to mine and gave her a slow, gentle kiss.

“I love you, Amy.  I know it isn’t right and I’m asking a lot from you, but I just want you to be safe.  You have never been a burden to me.  I fought my attraction to you for so long, telling myself you were too young, or you only acted nice to me out of appreciation after…you, know, when I was there to help you when you needed a hand.”

“I love you Luke.  And it is more than you saving me.  Or taking me with you.  You’ve treated me as special from the very beginning, like I matter as a person.  And now I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.”

She paused, as if gathering her courage to continue.

  “I’ve never really had the chance to go out on a single date, you know.  My mom said she would let me go out on group dates when I turned fifteen.  That’s next month, by the way.  But still, spending time with you let me know what kind of man you are.

“I want you in my life forever Luke, and I don’t even know your last name.”

“It’s Messner.  Lucas Messner.  Sam and Claire are my parents.  My little sister is Paige.  And they will love you as soon as they get a chance to meet you.”

“What do you mean?” Amy asked, confusion etched in her fine features.  “I thought you were going alone from here?”

“That is the plan, once we get the security situation firmed up here.  Darwin and Nick are meeting this afternoon with a group of neighbors with a plan to lock down the road leading into this community.  That’s step one.  Step two involves getting the Branson people integrated into the existing structure.  They need the people to help defend the crops and the homes.  Next, we need to do something about those other girls if we can, and Nick has an idea for that.”

Amy gave me a wide-eyed look at my list.  But I wasn’t done yet.

“This last part is something I don’t want you to mention to anyone, okay?”

I waited for her nod.

“There’s somebody we think may be behind the trouble around here.  Definitely the raiders and what happened to the Trimbles, and we think it also ties into the girls being held at that school.  This man, he’s managed to set up some kind of trading network, using the girls and knowledge he has about the farms in the area.”

“What is the plan?” Amy asked.  She knew me too well.  As soon as I saw the problem, I would start working on some kind of a plan, right?

“Well, he’s got to die for what he has done.  That’s a given.  Nick thinks the only way we can do that without some kind of blowback on us is to work with the local National Guard unit up in Bentonville.  Lori said they were actually out of Fayetteville, but trying to provide support there to the refugee center at the school.  So, we are going to sit down and try to come up with a plan.  I can’t see getting any of those girls out of a guarded compound without some help.  But Nick and Mark have been around a lot longer than me.  I’ll bet they have some ideas.  We’ll also want to talk to the girls again, Lori and them.  Those three might be able to give us more details about the school, and those jackasses running the place.”

Amy sat for a long time, digesting what I laid out for her.

“And after all that?  Then what?”

“Then I have to go check on my family.  See if the home fires are still burning back in Ripley.  I know some of this stuff scares you, and really, it worries me some, too.  When it was just the two of us out there, things were simpler.  But, I worried about you from the start.  This way, if we can get some kind of handle on the surrounding area, it will be safer for you to stay here with our friends.  They will look out for you, and protect you, until I can get back.  Heck, I think Ruthie is already convinced you are her little sister or something.”

Amy reached out then, her cool fingers tracing a line on my face.

“I love you, Luke.  This is not some little girl, puppy dog crush.  This is the real deal.  Forever and always.  You do what you have to, and then you come back to me.  I’ll wait for you.  No matter how long it takes.”

Then she kissed me.  A hard, devouring kiss that seared my lips and turned my brain into jelly.  This, again, was a promise.  I stepped into her embrace and we stood like that for what seemed like hours, exploring each other with our mouths and lips and tongues.

Finally, I heard a noise behind me that caused me to jump back, releasing Amy and reaching for the pistol at my hip.

“Hold on!” cried a familiar voice and I looked back to see Stan waiting.  He was eyeing the pistol in my right hand like it was a snake.  With a sharp exhale, I holstered the weapon and looked back at Amy.  She appeared to still be frozen by our kiss, her lips pursed and her cheeks suffused with a rosy glow that made my heart hammer once again.  Flushed, she looked so beautiful.

“Dude, when you guys are done, Darwin would like to see you.  The neighbors are starting to gather for that meeting you guys set up.”

“Alright, Stan.  I’ll be right over,” I replied, my eyes never leaving Amy.

“Wow,” Amy finally managed to say as she opened her eyes.  “What happened?  Why did you stop?”

“That was our buddy Stan, master of killing the moment.  Darwin needs me up at the house.  But I need to know first, are we cool?”

Amy blushed deeper.  “I am anything but cool right now, baby.  But yes, I understand.  When we get squared away here, you go blaze us a trail and then come back to me.  You promise?”

There was that word again.  Promise.  Was that what we meant to each other now, or what the future held?  Whatever it meant, I was in.

“I promise.”   

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

              “What do you want, kid? Water line is over there.”  The soldier said with a tired sigh at the end as he gestured with his chin, rifle at low ready in his hands.  I noticed he wasn’t wearing a name plate on his uniform.  None of them were, now that I looked.

              “Got plenty of water, sergeant,” I replied, trying to remain calm.  “I got a letter in my pocket for your CO.  With your permission, I’ll take it out slowly.”

              The sergeant gave me a look I couldn’t begin to decipher, but finally he nodded and said, “I’ll take a look.  Slow is good, kid, and let me see those hands at all times.  But I gotta tell you, if this is some kind of shakedown, you will end up sad, sorry and sore.”

              “Sure thing.  But this is nothing like that,” I replied.  For today’s mission I wore a set of age appropriate clothes, which meant teen fashion. A long sleeved tee shirt with the logo for the Arkansas Razorbacks, cargo shorts and a pair of Nike sneakers.  Amy, reluctantly, helped me pick out the clothes the night before. I needed the long sleeves to cover the bandage on my left forearm, of course.

              Moving now with glacial patience, I removed the already protruding envelope from my left side pocket with thumb and forefinger. 

              “That’s good.  Now drop it on the ground and take three steps back.”

              I complied and waited while the sergeant eyeballed me for a long moment.  He then called over his shoulder to another of the soldiers standing behind him.

              “Conners, get over here on the double!”

              The voice was loud and commanding but not worried.  Just the way some noncoms liked to communicate.  I didn’t realize I was smiling until the sergeant spoke again, this time at a lower decibel level and clearly directed at me.

              “Something funny, son?”

              The sergeant was in his early to mid thirties, so a little young to be calling me son, but I figured that was another of his mannerisms picked up in leadership school somewhere.

              “Sorry.  You just reminded me of my father.  He sounds like that sometimes.”

              “Really?  Was he in the Army?”

              “No, sergeant.  Marine Corps.  Retired as a gunnery sergeant.  When I heard that tone I as a kid I knew I’d better be double timing it.”