Daunting Days of Winter (41 page)

Some of the wedding guests turned to look beyond the seating area, and Kyle and Jennifer did the same. “I see her,” Kyle said. “She’s on her horse.”

Jennifer stood to watch as the wedding procession moved towards the guests, while Kyle bounced Madison on his lap. “Did I tell you when I went to Frank’s yesterday that we got ahold of Roman,” Kyle whispered loudly.

“No, you didn’t. What did he say?” Jennifer asked as she watched the bride approach.

“He just laughed at me. Told me that I need to be more willing to trust a Polack.”

“Sounds like he’s a nice guy.”

“He is, but he seemed lonely. Not sure how many friends he has. Must be hard for him, being isolated and with no family around.” Kyle stood as the wedding party reached the guests.

“This all seems so surreal, don’t you think?” Jennifer asked as two ladies helped Rose, dressed in a white wedding dress donated by a neighbor and modified for the occasion, down from her horse. Sean followed close behind his bride on his own horse, dressed in a gray suit that hung loosely on him, a bright red necktie adding a splash of color.

Kyle bounced the baby in his arms. “First wedding I’ve heard of in the last seven months. Can’t imagine it’s a regular occurrence these days. It feels good, though, like we’re not in such a crisis anymore.”

“Rose is beautiful, isn’t she?”

Kyle paused. “Is it safe for me to agree?”

Jennifer laughed. “Yes, you’re allowed to agree.”

He nodded. “She looks very beautiful today. I think leaving her house was the hardest part of my trip from Texas.”

“I said you could agree. No need to add that last bit.”

Kyle laughed this time. “But I did leave, because you weren’t there.”

Jennifer smiled at him. “Brownie points.”

Kyle nodded at Sean as he walked down the aisle between the groups of chairs. Gabe, clean-shaven and dressed in a loose, black suit, waited at the front of the gathering on a platform that had been built for the occasion. He smiled broadly as he watched the couple approach.

Rose, escorted by Sean’s niece, and Sean, escorted by his son, stopped in front of the platform and Gabe stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Friends,” he began, “This is truly a special occasion, not just for this couple, but for our community as well. We’ve been through an awful lot these past few months. Many times we probably wondered if we would make it this long, if we could ever be happy again, or if life would ever regain some semblance of normalcy. Today is an assurance that all of those things are happening. There is life, happiness, and some normalcy.

“Sean and Rose’s union, and the fact that we’re all here to celebrate it with them, tells me that we still see a future, one filled with hope and better days. It’s much like the world of nature we see around us, coming back to life with the buds on the trees, the green grass growing beneath our feet, the calves we’ve been blessed with on the ranch, and the warm weather we’re enjoying. It all reinforces the same message – that life renews, that after seasons of cold and hardship there is a newness of life, a reassurance that things will improve, and today, that renewing is taking place for the couple you see before you.

“Before they exchange rings, Sean and Rose have asked to share their vows.”

Gabe motioned to Sean, who stepped onto the platform and pulled a piece of paper from his suit pocket. He smiled at the crowd, making eye contact with many of the wedding guests, then turned to face Rose, drinking her in with his eyes. After looking down at his notes, he began. “Last year at this time, I was a single father, lonely and struggling to survive in an indifferent world that rushed by and left me exhausted. The first week after everything collapsed, with all the chaos, I didn’t think I would live to see another year. For a while, I tried to make things as normal as I could for my son’s sake, but I was in a world I didn’t want to be in. We escaped the city and came to live with my brother, Craig, and his family and found a community that welcomed us in and put us to work. It was, and is, wonderful, and we are very grateful.

“Here, I wasn’t as lonely as before because I had friends and family surrounding me. I didn’t even know I was missing something until I met you, Rose.” Sean wiped at his eyes and nose, and cleared his throat. “When I first met you and you smiled at me, I thought my heart was about to fail. I now know it was something inside me that stirred back to life that day – the desire to have a companion and a best friend, someone to share my life with, to help me through my struggles, and someone who I can help with theirs. I know things won’t be easy, but I pledge my love, my life, and everything that I am to you.”

Sean stepped down and embraced Rose before helping her onto the platform. She wiped her own tears away and smiled radiantly at Sean. After taking a minute to compose herself, she began to speak. “I think I should have chosen to go first,” she said as she fought her emotions. “I want to tell all of you how grateful I am to be here. You’ve taken me in and accepted me under such difficult circumstances. I can’t express what that means to me.”

She turned to Sean and smiled, her face glowing and radiant in the soft spring sunshine. “And I want to tell you, Sean, how happy you’ve made me. When I came to Deer Creek, I was just hoping for an opportunity to be part of a community that would give me a chance. I wasn’t looking for, or expecting to find, a friend and a love like I’ve found in you. It’s not often in life that we get do-overs, and I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I pledge to you that I will try and be all that you hope I am. I promise to love you and stand by you, no matter what life has in store for us. I’m so much happier today than I ever imagined I could be. Thank you so much.”

Gabe beamed as he helped Rose step down from the platform. He directed the couple to hold hands, then performed the wedding ceremony, a short, simple, yet emotional affair that concluded with Sean taking Rose in his arms and kissing her passionately. Then, cheered on by their friends and neighbors, the newlywed couple sauntered hand in hand back down the aisle to their horses.

In the midst of the cheering, Kyle heard a vaguely familiar sound. He looked at David, who had turned pale and nodded confirmation. “Everyone!” Kyle shouted above the din of the crowd, his voice rising in alarm. Another man towards the front was waving his arms for attention as well. Kyle yelled again. “Everyone, please!”

The applause died quickly as attention turned towards Kyle. “I’m sorry,” Kyle began, “but I…”

The alarm rang at the militia house again, cutting him off.

“Gentlemen! Militia members!” Sean shouted as a silence fell over the group. “You have absolutely no idea how sorry I am to say this, but you need to grab your rifles and gather at the assembly point as quickly as possible.” He pulled Rose towards him, hugging her and kissing her deeply. “I’m sorry,” he said, then ran and mounted his horse, turning it towards the assembly point.

Kyle handed Madison to Jennifer with an apologetic look, and he and David ran for their home to retrieve their weapons.

Jennifer spun around, taking in the scene of despair that had quickly engulfed the community. Most of the men, and some of the women, were already running for their homes. The balance of those left behind were scared and dazed, the last assault, not yet two months old, still painfully fresh in their memories. What had been tears of joy were now replaced with fear and worry.

“Emma! Spencer! We need to get home now!” Jennifer shouted as she grabbed Spencer by the hand. “Hurry!”

CHAPTER 49

Saturday, April 7
^th

Deer Creek, MT

“David, I want you to wait here!” Kyle shouted down the stairs as he ran for the front door, rifle in hand. “If things get bad, you can still help defend the town from the house and protect everyone here.”

David bounded up the stairs. “It’s okay, Dad. I’m coming. I’m not afraid to do this. Besides, I’m already bigger than some of the men on the militia. Let’s just go.”

“But I’m not okay with this. I don’t want you to go. I don’t think I can handle it if anything happens to you.”

“Mom was this same way, but if we don’t keep them from getting into the town, then I’m not going to be able to stop them here. Mom and everyone else will be in trouble. Let’s go.”

Kyle swallowed hard and threw his necktie on the couch. He knew they didn’t have time to argue. “Then promise me you’ll be careful. I love you too much to have anything happen to you.”

“I promise,” David said as he hurried out the door, then rushed to the assembly point with his father beside him.

When they arrived, Sean was already speaking with three of the other leaders from the militia. Sean glanced over as David and Kyle arrived, then did a quick count of their numbers. “Gather in quickly folks. We need to hurry.”

Kyle looked around and saw at least forty people already there, with at least a dozen more heading their direction.

“Alright,” Sean began. “We’ll do this like we did last time, but hopefully with none of the casualties. I’ve been talking to Rob here, and it looks bad. He was up in the nest and is the one who spotted the caravan. Says there are at least eight vehicles, and they look beefy. Possibly military.”

One of the men in the group spoke up. “That’s a good thing if they’re military, isn’t it?”

“We don’t know. Could be good, or it could be really bad. If the wrong people have that kind of firepower, we’re in for a long, difficult day. They’re on the freeway side of the river, so they’ll have to come across the bridge if they plan to pay us a visit. I want twenty people at each barricade. We’ve expanded the barricades, so you need to spread out. I don’t want anyone closer to their neighbor than they have to be.”

The sound of engines in the distance became more noticeable, and the group shifted nervously.

Sean continued. “I don’t know what to expect. We’ve got the machine gun from February’s raid, and our defenses are reinforced, so we’re in better shape.” Sean kept talking, hoping that as more men trickled in, it would help settle the nerves of the militia members. “I don’t know about you folks, but I’d much rather make a stand with a trained group in a fortified location than not. I know most of us don’t want to be here doing this, and if you think you’re better off taking these people on one by one at home, you’re welcome to leave. Otherwise, our best option is together at the bridge.”

His offer was met with silence, but no one left, so he continued. “Gabe, I want you positioned here directing people. Send a couple east, and a couple south. Everyone else, I want at the bridge.”

Gabe nodded and moved to intercept some of the latecomers.

“I’m going to take the east barricade with this half of you,” he motioned with his arm to divide the room, indicating the group to his left. “Craig will take the west barricade with the rest of you. If they come in hostile, we’ll do everything we can to stop the lead vehicle on the bridge. With the obstacles already out there, if we plug things up with the lead vehicle, that should bring them to a halt and make them reconsider, or at least get them on foot.” He paused and looked over the group, then held up his hand. “I don’t know if I should say this or not, but I will anyway.” He looked each of them in the eyes. “If this gets out of hand, if we get overrun, get back to your families. Get them up in the hills. There are the valleys south of here that most of you have probably hunted in. We’ll gather there if we have to.”

There was silence in the group, though several heads bobbed up and down. Sean smiled confidently and clapped his hands. “Time’s short, people! Let’s do this!”

Sean ran for the barricade, the members of the militia close on his heels. The short distance to their defensive positions took no more than three minutes to cover, but most of the group was breathing hard and sweating when they arrived, a combination of age, exertion, and nerves. Kyle crouched midway along the barricade, with David immediately to his right. He looked at his son and said a silent prayer.

“Hey Sean!” a voice called from the opposite barricade.

“What?” Sean shouted back from the centermost position of the barricade as he peered over the top.

“Was this the plan for your honeymoon, or did you have something a little more romantic in mind?”

Sean laughed nervously, as did most of the men around him. “Rose wanted to do Hawaii,” he shouted, “but I thought an armed confrontation at home would be more exciting.” He paused. “Right now I’m thinking we should have gone with her plan.”

“Well,” said the man at the opposite barricade, “be sure and keep your head down. It’d be a shame for Rose to miss out on her wedding night.”

Sean bit his lower lip and smiled, but Kyle could see more than a hint of fear on his face. “I’ll do what I have to do,” he called back. “Let’s all of us do what we need to do to go home today.”

A murmur of agreement rolled along the line as men readied themselves for the unknown foe. Kyle saw movement across the river on the freeway, and Sean lifted his binoculars to get a better view. “What do you see?” Kyle asked.

Sean studied the vehicle a little longer before lowering his glasses. “It’s either really good news, or really bad news. We’ll know in a few minutes. There’s a military vehicle in the lead, an M1117 Guardian. I drove one in Iraq. It’s an armored vehicle on wheels, essentially a tank without tracks. They don’t come with a big crew, but they don’t need it. That thing, with three preschoolers who know how to use it, can take us out. The ammo we’re shooting is just going to bounce off it.”

“Can’t we shoot out the tires?” one of the men asked.

Sean shook his head. “It can run for miles on flats, so that won’t slow it down at all.” He paused a second and raised his voice. “I need a couple of people under the bridge with grenades. Any volunteers?” Sean looked around to see a couple of nervous hands raised in the air. “Put your hand down, David. I’m not sending you.”

“I don’t have a family,” David protested as Kyle spun to look at him, shaking his head.