Powerless (33 page)

 

T
he power in Boulder is slowly returning, but it's intermittent at best. Numerous power lines were downed over the three-year period, the heavy snow collapsing poles all over the city, including the larger transmission lines that bisect the Rocky Mountains. The Space Weather Prediction Center is still mothballed because with no satellites in orbit there is little to do, but there are discussions about a reopening sometime in the future.

The ringing of the telephone interrupts the romantic dinner that Sam and a very pregnant Kaylee Connor are enjoying. “Let it go to voice mail,” Kaylee says.

“Are you kidding? The damn thing hasn't worked for three years and you want me to let it go to voice mail?” He stands from the table and races across the kitchen to answer.

“Hello?” He listens, then says, “Yes, she's sitting here with me.”

Kaylee arches her brow and stands, wobbling into the kitchen.

Sam slowly hands her the phone. “The New York City Police Department.” He stands next to Kaylee, one arm wrapped around her as she listens.

Tears begin to leak from her beautiful eyes, and Sam knows his fears have been realized. They had failed to connect with Kaylee's parents after numerous attempts.

Kaylee, now openly sobbing, hands the phone to Sam and turns away. Sam takes a moment to write down the contact information of the caller before joining Kaylee, curled up on the sofa.

“What happened?” he says gently.

She wipes the tears from her face and Sam allows her time to compose herself.

Kaylee sniffles and reaches her hand out, grasping Sam's hand as if it were a lifeline. “In the process of reopening the hospitals in New York”—she pauses to wipe away more tears—“they found the remains of my parents in one of the abandoned medical buildings.”

Sam slides closer to her and wraps her in his arms.

“They found my father's wallet among the remains.” She pauses again and turns to stare at the darkness lurking beyond the windows. “My dad had one of my business cards in his wallet. They've been trying to track me down for the last couple of days.”

“I'm very sorry,” Sam says, pulling her closer.

Kaylee, still sobbing, turns angry. “My God, they died all alone in some godforsaken place.”

Sam reaches up to wipe the tears from her cheek.

“They've been . . .” She turns her gaze to the flames dancing in the fireplace. “They've been dead for a long time,” she whispers.

“I'm so sorry, Kaylee.”

“No wonder they didn't answer their phone.”

Sam holds her and rocks her until all of the tears have dried.

Sometime later Kaylee reaches down and rubs her hand over her belly. “Can we name the child after one of my parents?” she asks.

“Of course. I think that would be a good way to honor their memory.”

They sit on the sofa holding each other as their dinner grows cold and the fire in the fireplace burns to ashes.

 

I
t's a beautiful spring day when Zeke leads Aubrey outside to Summer's car. She and Summer's father arrived back home almost a month ago, but the last month has been a period of adjustment for everyone. More so for Aubrey, who had to adjust to Zeke being in her mother's life.

The schools remain closed because a sufficient number of teachers can't be found to staff them all. He's taking advantage of the opportunity by taking Summer and Aubrey to meet his family, the first time Zeke will have seen them in over three years. They have talked on the telephone but they have yet to meet his new family.

After buckling Aubrey in, he puts her suitcase in the trunk and turns to help Summer, her arms loaded down with a car seat and their two-year-old son. Jacob is a beautiful redheaded little boy, full of rambunctious energy and always on the go. He already has Summer's father wrapped around his little finger. Aubrey wasn't sure what to make of her new brother when she first arrived home. When she left, her mother was in the ending stages of divorce. Just in the past week Aubrey's gotten more comfortable with all the changes, actually taking time to play with Jacob on occasion.

It takes Zeke a while, but he finally gets the car seat buckled in. Although the power is slowly returning, it has taken a month of continuous around-the-clock work for road crews to remove the abandoned vehicles from the roadways. According to the local news, the only news they get, all of the cars are being towed to an immense field north of Dallas in case the owners ever want to reclaim them. His guess is they'll rot there while the insurance companies try to honor their policies by replacing them.

Summer hands him Jacob and it takes him even longer to get the toddler strapped into the damn contraption. Aubrey sighs, but reaches over to help. Summer walks back to her father and gives him an extra-long hug. She breaks the embrace and gives him a peck on the cheek before turning and skipping to the car.

They're happy. Extremely happy.

She climbs in and buckles her seat belt. Zeke starts the car as she brushes her curly red mop from her face and slips on her sunglasses. He puts the car in gear and eases down the gravel drive. She reaches her hand over, interlaces her fingers with his, and graces him with the most beautiful smile he's ever seen.

PINNACLE BOOKS are published by

 

Kensington Publishing Corp.
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Copyright © 2015 Tim Washburn

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

 

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

 

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

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ISBN: 978-0-7860-3653-0

 

 

First electronic edition: November 2015

 

ISBN-13: 978-0-7860-3654-7
ISBN-10: 0-7860-3654-0