ALLUSIVE AFTERSHOCK (24 page)

Adela peeked up from
inside the collar of the parka she had her face shielded in. “Right, that
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Have you heard about any of their camps?”

Cooper shook his head.
“Just that there are some up north, none around here. I don’t think they
realize just how bad it is here since we are so far out in the boonies.”

I had a feeling that
was going to be his answer and I nodded. “Do you know how scientists rate an
earthquake’s magnitude?”

“Well now, the way I
understand it is, the earthquake’s ‘magnitude’ describes how much the ground
moves and measures how much energy an earthquake releases.” Cooper paused,
looking at us thoughtfully, and then poked a stick at the fire before
continuing. “Funny thing, after that first quake we had, I decided to do some
research and I believe it goes something like this: a magnitude one earthquake
releases the same amount of energy as thirty pounds of TNT exploding. A
magnitude five earthquake packs the punch of a moderate nuclear weapon. What we
had was a nine-point-one, something they call a megathrust earthquake. Now, if
an earthquake of, say, twelve hit, the force of the jolt could put a crack all
the way through the center of the Earth.

“All these little
aftershocks we’ve been having? Well, the strongest one was seven point three,
and was probably the one that finished cracking that tree trunk in half and
made the mudslide down the hill and into the cellar. My guess is the tree had
already been stressed from the major quake, and the extra jolt or jolts set it
and the ground in motion.”

“It was a good thing
you came by when you did,” Adela said. “We were almost out of water.”

“Well, I figured
something was wrong when none of you kids came back here looking for food or
anything. I’m surprised Max didn’t stop by here before taking off the way he
did. I would have expected him to come and tell me or ask if I wanted to go
with him. I hope he is okay.”

I glanced at Adela. She
didn’t seem to mind where the conversation ended up and shrugged. “Stupid Max.
I don’t know why he needed to run off. We argued for a while. He wanted me to
go with him, but I didn’t feel right about taking off and leaving Court alone
when he was in such bad shape.”

All of a sudden, Cooper
smiled as if a light went off in his head and he jumped up. “Hey, you kids want
some hot chocolate? I have some of those little packages you can mix with
water. Lisa liked to have them around for when her niece and nephew came by. I
have marshmallows, too. We can make this like a camp-out.”

“Sure,” I said, and then
waited for Cooper to get out of earshot. “I think he’s enjoying having somebody
to talk to.”

“Yeah, poor guy, losing
both his wife and brand new baby girl. She was only three days old.”

Cooper came back
carrying three cups, a teakettle, three packages of hot chocolate mix and a bag
of marshmallows.

I glanced up at the
majestic view, not a cloud in the sky and millions of stars normally obscured
by the city lights twinkling alongside all the others. We sat in those beach
chairs drinking hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows out under the starry
sky as if nothing had happened, talking about horses, chickens, and wine.

I finally had my fill
of marshmallows and hot chocolate and yawned. “I think I need to call it a
night. Adela, you want to come?”

“Yeah.” She stood up
and took my hand.

Cooper pushed himself
out of his chair and walked with us to the barn. He picked up several blankets
from the pile he’d left by the door earlier and followed us through the heavy
wooden doors. He handed us two brand new toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste.

“Wow. Yeah, thanks
Cooper.” Adela grabbed one and instantly put some toothpaste on the little
bristles, shoving it in her mouth mumbling, “I’ve been aching to do this for
days now.”

I laughed and did the
same. It did feel good to get the scuzzy gunk off my teeth and have a clean
fresh mouth—kissably fresh.

“Court, you can take
that spot against the wall in between the two stalls.” He pointed to a place in
the corner. I walked to the stacked pile of straw, and placed my blanket down.
When I straightened to say good night to Adela and Cooper, I blinked at the
sight of Adela standing right next to me and was shocked out of my socks when
she placed her blanket down right next to mine.

“Adela, you can take …”
Cooper turned to show her another spot for her to sleep only to discover she
had already picked one. “All righty then,” he said. Clapping his hands together
in a sliding motion like he was wiping dirt from his palms, he turned and
walked away. “Seems everybody’s set. You kids sleep tight now.”

I kept the jacket on
that Cooper gave me and burrowed down into the same sleeping bag Court and I
had shared in the cellar, snuggling up close to him in the soft bed of hay. His
warm body felt so nice.

“I bet in a little
while you’re gonna get hot.”

“What?” I asked, not
sure what he was talking about because I was extremely cold.

“Your jacket. If you
keep it on inside here, you’re going to get too hot.”

“Oh. I’ll take it off
once I get warm. Right now, I’m freezing.”

Courtland rubbed his hands
up and down my arms. “I’m glad you decided to lay here with me instead of
following Cooper to the other side of the barn.”

“Had to. We only have
one sleeping bag,” I said, unable to keep the grin from stretching over my
entire face. I was glad it was too dark for him to see it.

“Yeah, the huge pile of
blankets Coop carried in here would never have been enough.”

I nuzzled my face
against his chest and the heat inside the bag suddenly overwhelmed me. “Yep,
you were right again.” I pushed out of the sleeping bag, shrugged off the
jacket and sank back in the bag into my new favorite position with my head
resting on Courtland Reese’s chest. Never in a million years would I have
predicted something like this.

I closed my eyes and
thought of Court’s chest, trying to remember every muscle, every curve of his
pecs when he had shoveled the dirt in the cellar. Now the memory made me
shudder.

“Adela,” Court
whispered.

“Yes?”

“We should try to get
some sleep so we can get an early start tomorrow.”

“I am trying to sleep.”

“No, you are wiggling.”

“I am?” I didn’t
realize it but my toes were jiggling. I tried to clear my mind from thoughts of
Court’s naked chest and arm muscles so I could stay still.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so,” I said,
still whispering.

“Cold?”

“No.”

“Adela?”

I turned my face up
toward his. “Yes?”

“Wanna kiss me?”

Of course I did.
Kissing Courtland was my new favorite thing to do. Our lips met, slowly at
first, and then the pressure deepened. My mind swirled and my hands roamed up
his chest as his long fingers slipped up the back of my shirt. His lips moved
slowly away from mine and settled just under my earlobe.

“Better stop,” he whispered
with heated breath.

An uncontrollable
protesting moan escaped from my lips and I sank my head down on his chest with
a huge sigh, licking my lips. I wanted to keep kissing, but he was right. I was
enjoying it way too much and besides, Cooper wasn’t too far away and certain to
hear everything we said. I closed my eyes, wondering if Court liked kissing me
as much as I did him.

“Good night, Adela. I do
love kissing you,” Court said as though he read my mind. He had a knack for
responding to some things I left unspoken and I wondered if maybe he actually
could hear my thoughts.
That is absurd.
Miwok Indian blood or not, still
absurd.

I glanced up at him.
“Why did you … never mind. Good night.”

I awoke to the sound of
a rooster’s cock-a-doodle doo somewhere in the distance. I opened my eyes and
reveled in the warmth of the bright sun light filtering in through the open
barn doors. Cooper must be up and out already.

I inhaled the sweet
smell of the mango shampoo Cooper had in his shower and glanced at the top of Adela’s
head still on my chest and wished I hadn’t had to stop kissing her last night. Now,
with my injuries almost healed, the mere touch of her lips on mine sent my mind
to places it had no business going. Yet.

I stroked my hand over the
top of her head as she stirred beside me.

“Hmmm …” She fisted her
hands under her chin and squirmed closer against me. Having her beside me like
this was absolutely surreal and I blinked my eyes, then softly touched her hair
just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

When I was certain she
was real, I whispered, “Wake up, sleepyhead. We have people to find.”

She slowly sat up and
rubbed her eyes, her hair, a tousled mess of knots, hung around her face and
shoulders. She ran her fingers through the tangled curls, pulling them up off
her neck and letting them fall loosely back down her back. She was beautiful.

“Come on.” I stood and
held out my hand. “Let’s go find out what Cooper is up to. Maybe we can get
some more clothes and supplies.”

“Some breakfast would
be good. Another shower, too. Even cold, it was fabulous.”

Cooper sat poking a
stick into a fire he had made. The teapot rested on a grill over the flames.

“Morning,” Cooper said,
glancing up at us. “The teapot’s full of hot water here if you want some
instant oatmeal. There’s that, and some bread that’s still good.”

“I’ve gathered up some
clothes for you and found a couple of old backpacks you’re welcome to use.”

We ate some oatmeal. Adela
grinned as she took her first spoonful of the creamy substance. “It nice to
actually have breakfast food at breakfast.”

I nodded, swallowing
the warm mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.

After scraping every
single morsel of oatmeal from her bowl, Adela washed the dishes and I dried
them. Unable to tear my eyes away, I stood watching her as she brushed her hair
and fashioned the strands into one long braid down the middle of her back. She
was perfect.

Cooper gave us each
another pair of pants and some sweaters and we stuffed them all into the bag Adela
carried. I carried the heavier one with the water.

We stood in front of
Cooper ready to leave, packs hanging from our shoulders. The sleeping bag hung
snugly below my pack.

Adela rubbed her nose
and then, “Ahhhhhchoo. Hmmm … I think the hay got to me.”

“I know I can’t talk
you into staying, not with you needing to find those kids, so you two take care
of yourselves out there. Try to find shelter at nighttime. The temperature is
supposed to drop to below thirty degrees. When you locate the twins, make sure
you find them adequate clothing and jackets. I put some of the instant hot
chocolate and oatmeal packs in your bag, Adela. I also gave you two metal cups
you can place right on the fire to heat water in. Try not to burn yourself,
Court.”

“Ha-ha,” I said as Cooper
patted me on the shoulder, laughing.

“I joke, but truth be
told, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks, Cooper, for
everything.”

“Here, take this.”
Cooper placed a hand-tooled leather sheath in my palm. I grabbed onto the white
mother-of-pearl handle and pulled out a six-inch hunting knife with a serrated
blade. “You might need that out there. You never know what you’re going to
find. You’ll need it for food and maybe other unpleasant things. It’s not much,
but I hope it helps keep you safe.”

“Thanks, Cooper. Thanks
a lot.” I nodded, smiled, and stuck the knife securely in my belt. It would
definitely come in handy.

“If you find those
kids, you can bring them back here if you want. You’re welcome to use whatever
I have.”

“Will you be here?” Court
asked.

“I’ll be around for a
while. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. There’s no one here for me now, but
I’m having a bit of trouble leaving. If I do, I might head up north. Not really
sure yet.”

“Well, thanks again.”

“Cooper, thank you so
much for everything.” Adela stood on her toes and hugged Cooper, kissing him on
the cheek. “I hope everything works out for you and I hope we see you again
soon.”

“You take care, young
lady, and be careful where you make your bed.” He held his hands out with his
palms facing Adela. “I’m just sayin’.”

“She’s safe with me,” I
said and gave Cooper a hug.

Adela sneezed again and
walked toward the road. Cooper pulled out of the embrace and said, “Here. Take
these.” He held his hand out, revealing several packs of condoms.

I blinked, trying to
hide the chagrin clearly showing on my face as an uncontrollable heat crept up my
cheeks.

“No need to say
anything. Just take them.”

I nodded, stuck the
little plastic pouches deep inside my front pants pocket and walked away.

We headed down the road
in the direction we hoped the preschool still stood. With any luck, the kids
and teachers would all be sitting around in a circle singing songs while they
waited for someone to come and get them. I knew luck was just a dream. The chances
that those kids would still be at the school were slim, but maybe, just maybe
there would be a note or some clue as to where they were, if they were alive.

A flock of geese flew
overhead in an almost perfect V-shape, one side slightly shorter than the
other. I smiled at the good sign in the blue cloudless sky. Adela sneezed
again. “You okay?”

She nodded and wiped
her nose with her hand but sneezed again.

“Hmmm … at least we’ll
have clear weather for the time being.” I took Adela’s hand in mine, squeezed
it and out of the corner of my eye, saw her lips curve up slightly. I knew her
mind was on her brother and sister but it was good to know I had some effect on
her. At least I wanted to think I was the reason she smiled.