Hidden Flames (21 page)

Owen signaled that he was turning off the main road they’d been traveling on after he’d managed to find a lane that wasn’t blocked at an intersection. He’d avoided the main highways mostly, but the smaller county roads weren’t any better the farther north they traveled. There were so many abandoned vehicles to maneuver around and he also didn’t want to take the chance of someone stopping them. They were down to minimal supplies, but one more stop wouldn’t hurt. Mav better have the welcome mat out, because Owen was ready to crash for a good twenty-four hours to recover with Prue by his side.

“We can keep going,” Prue called out from where she’d pulled up beside him when he finally came to a stop. Both Rosa and Prue had donned jeans with sweatshirts and jackets since the temperature had dropped rapidly. It was no longer spring and it now felt like the beginning of winter. Owen could only imagine what the next ten years would offer them. He debated on where they should lay up for the night. It was hard to see what was in the distance, but the ash was a lot lighter here than what they’d traveled through in Texas and New Mexico. Was that a mall up ahead of them? “Owen, did you hear me?”

“We’re exhausted, Prue. It’s harder to see at night with the ash and we need sleep. I figure we have around four hours left, so we’ll get an early start in the morning.” Owen contemplated on driving toward the mall, but then thought better of it. The chances of that place being deserted weren’t good and he didn’t want any more trouble. They were too close to safety to jeopardize it by making any fatal mistakes now. “We need a safe place to lie low for the night.”

“What about that coffee shop?” Rosa said, twisting slightly in her seat and pointing behind them. Owen glanced in his mirror and saw the building she was talking about. It was too close to the main road and there was no place to store their bikes so that they were hidden from view. “Or the doctor’s office building next to it?”

“Too vulnerable.”

Owen made his decision and then motioned for Prue to follow him. Instead of heading toward the mall he turned them around and went the opposite direction. It happened to be the right decision and he drove into the parking lot of an abandoned garage. He left his bike idle next to Prue’s and had one of the garage doors open in a matter of minutes. They both pulled inside where Rosa had gotten off the back of Prue’s Harley and then closed the door behind them.

“Maybe we could rest here long enough to get our strength back.” Prue practically moaned that last word as she took off her mask and breathed deeply. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as the familiar smells of the garage enveloped them. Owen understood exactly what she meant and he’d been so busy trying to get them to their destination that he hadn’t thought about home. He wasn’t talking about his house either. “Do they have a garage up at Lost Summit?”

“They do in town, but everyone is up at Ernie’s fishing lodge for now. Ernie does have a complete machine shop set up inside the mountain. You’ll be right at home,” Owen replied, while turning on a couple of flashlights to give them enough light and taking off his outerwear as well. He stretched, noticing that Rosa was staring at Prue. She’d been doing so at every stop and he figured she had a lot of questions she needed answered. She wouldn’t get many of them until they’d reached Lost Summit. There were a couple of reasons for that, one of them being that she didn’t seem to want to ask in front of him and the other was that Prue wasn’t much of a chatterbox at the moment. He would be her buffer for as long as she needed. “I’m sure that’s where we’ll spend quite a bit of our time until the worst of the ash and devastation is over.”

“Are you from there?” Rosa asked, looking at Owen as she walked back over to Prue’s bike and waited for her to dismount before setting her gasmask on the seat. He’d do his best to keep the conversation rolling since Prue was already casing the place to keep herself busy. “That’s a long way from Florida.”

“My team members are there, or at least some of them. The rest will be arriving shortly. I’m a former Marine and our old tank commander opened a fishing lodge up in Lost Summit years ago.” Owen unfastened Prue’s backpack, knowing she’d want a change of clothes before morning. Rosa had brought a couple pair of jeans and shirts as well, but they were in the small rucksack she was carrying. “It’s equipped with a multi-level bunker if things get too tough above ground, but the lodge is quite extensive and very well protected from the elements. How are you holding up?”

“Bathroom!” Prue’s animated voice echoed throughout the somewhat empty building, causing Owen to smile. It was the little things that kept them going.

“Give her time, Rosa,” Owen told the young woman, needing her to understand that just because Prue had been looking for a way into Rosa’s life this entire time didn’t make it an easy adjustment. “She was a teenager when she lost you. The details are for her to share, but it wasn’t easy for her to watch the authorities take you away. She’s followed you through the years to ensure that you were doing okay.”

“I don’t remember…” Rosa’s frustration was evident, but yet there was no erasing the carefree approach she had with life in general. She was so very different from Prue and yet the resemblance was striking. “Why would my parents have kept me from her? I can’t imagine they would have done that on purpose.”

It wasn’t Owen’s place to explain the reasoning behind the choices of either party, plus he would never take that opportunity away from Prue. He took a seat on his bike, knowing he’d never get a better chance than to give his two cents worth to at least ease the way for both sisters.

“Prue is a very strong woman, Rosa. She’s proud, stubborn, loyal, and though she comes across like she’s tough as nails…underneath that hard exterior lies a vulnerable woman who’s lost a lot and has managed to come out on top. The first thing she told me when we realized we needed to reach Washington was that she needed to come for you. She’s always put you first, even after all these years. You’re very lucky to have her as your sister.”

Rosa bit her lip and nodded, staring at him until he started to feel slightly uncomfortable. It was as if she was measuring him against other men and he didn’t like that. He stood and managed to get his own pack off of his bike and laid it at his feet, ready to use the restroom if Prue would ever come out of there.

“You love her.”

Rosa’s soft words were said so low that Owen was surprised they ricocheted off of the walls. Hell, maybe they just reverberated in his head. That four-letter word wasn’t something he thought of in those terms, especially since it had never been expressed to him when he was young. He’d fought for his relationship with Prue and she was the one he wanted, so there didn’t need to be labels. Right? He was very glad he didn’t have to respond when the Prue finally opened the door and stepped out, holding up her hands. He returned her smile and all was right between them.

“Clean,” Prue called out, making her way over to where Owen and Rosa still stood by the bikes. She immediately reached into her saddlebag and retrieved her utility cap, settling it on her head with a grin. It was amazing what a little clean water could do for a person. “Who’s next?”

“Rosa, go on ahead,” Owen offered with a small smile, wanting a moment alone with Prue. He needed to hold her in his arms and reassure both of them that they still had each other. Rosa didn’t waste time and hurried across the stained cement floor. He waited for the door to close before wrapping his fingers around Prue’s wrist and quickly pulling her to him. “Come here and take that damned hat off.”

Prue’s laughter filled the air and all was right with the world. A supervolcano had erupted, ash now covered the land, and desperate people made it hard to know who to trust…but they had each other. She was all he needed to get through this and no description of what they had between them would change that. He snagged her hat and then held her tight.

“I just cleaned up,” Prue complained, somewhat good-naturedly. She raised her hands in the air to keep them clean, even trying to grab her hat back. “Give me that.”

“You don’t need it anymore,” Owen said reassuringly, giving it back to her anyway after having snuck in a kiss. Prue secured the hat on her head with a mock glare, now leaning on his chest and looking up into his face. She was absolutely stunning. “I like it when you wear your hair down.”

“The braid keeps it from getting too dirty,” Prue murmured, lifting her lips to his. Owen did her justice and kissed her thoroughly, only pulling back when they were both out of breath. “And I love my hat, so it’s staying.”

“Right.” Owen shook his head affectionately at the fact that Prue still felt the need to guard herself. He took reprieve in the fact that it had more to do with Rosa than him, because for those days prior to arriving in Yreka, Prue hadn’t once put her hat back on at their stops. “Just so you know, the hat comes off when we make love.”

“Really?” Prue looked around the garage and then spied the small office in the far corner. It was easy to see where her line of sight had been drawn. She was so damn good at diverting that he almost missed it. “We have a few minutes to spare and—”

“All yours.” The moment Rosa called out Owen could feel Prue tense in his arms. It was more than apparent that the conversation the sisters needed to have would happen sooner rather than later. He pressed a tender kiss on Prue’s forehead after having snatched her cap once more, hearing her resigned sigh. “The water is quite cold though.”

“You’ve got this, sweetheart,” Owen murmured against her hair before settling the hat back on top of her head. “I might as well shave, so take your time with her. Let her get to know you.”

P
rue adjusted her
hat, giving herself a moment before she used her own knife to slice open her soul, bleeding the anger, bitterness, and hurt that had been welling up inside of her for so many years. She really couldn’t complain, not at all in hindsight. Owen had done his best on this last leg of the trip to shield her from having to face this moment. It was almost as if he’d known the exact minute she would be ready. Well, as ready as she could ever be under the circumstances. He hadn’t pushed her and she appreciated how important he’d become to her because of that. He understood her in a way that no one else ever had and she wouldn’t take that for granted. She was relatively sure she’d laughed more this past week with him than she had in her entire adulthood.

“He takes care of you,” Rosa said, setting down the pack she’d been carrying on her back the entire way. Prue had made sure it wasn’t too heavy, not wanting her sister to be hurt by carrying needless weight considering the time and distance this trip would cover. Rosa started to walk slowly toward the office and Prue figured it was because there were chairs inside where they could relax. “I’m glad that the two of you have each other. My mom and—”

Rosa broke off and hurried her steps, as if she thought Prue would be offended to know how happy her family life had been. The only sounds throughout the garage were their footsteps and then the chair squeaking when her sister took the one behind the grimy garage desk. Prue took a seat on the green naughahyde loveseat opposite the desk. She didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings between them, regardless of the fact that she had her own personal demons to work through.

“Rosa, you can talk about your mom and dad.” Prue fidgeted on the low seat until she finally stood up and leaned against the windowsill. She didn’t care if her jeans got dirty. She crossed her arms and then finally looked at Rosa—really looked at her. She’d grown into such a beautiful young girl, taking after their mother but there was a smidge of their father in her features as well. Prue suddenly knew where she should start. “I really am happy that you don’t remember anything before being adopted. I won’t say it wasn’t hard for me, but it was the right thing for you in the long run. Your parents were trying to protect you, the same as I would have.”

“They told me that my biological mother had died.” Rosa’s sentence came off tentative and Prue did her best to reassure her that it was all right.

“Her name was Christine and she died from breast cancer.” Prue waited for the ache to ease in her chest to continue, using that time to cross her ankles and adjust her hat. “Our father left shortly after she was diagnosed. He wasn’t cut out for that type of struggle, so Mom did everything she could for us while fighting the disease. She loved you very much.”

Rosa’s eyes had filled with tears and she nodded, acknowledging what Prue was saying without words. She could only imagine what it was like to hear about events that were so tragic and yet have no memory of them. This wasn’t a time for sadness, but for coming to terms with the hands they’d both been dealt. Prue managed to communicate what she’d been saving up since she was a teenager.

“I loved you. I still love you because you’re my sister. And I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished—high school, college, your volunteer work at the community center. There hasn’t been a milestone in your life that I wasn’t celebrating with you.” Prue stopped to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, not wanting Rosa to think she harbored anger. It had faded over the years into acceptance. “Thank you for trusting me enough to come with us to Washington.”