The McClane Apocalypse Book Three (6 page)

"I didn't ask if he was fine, Hannie. What's
going on between you? The last time we spoke, you told me you were
sick of him being indifferent and constantly pushing you away," Sue
reminds her.

Hannah remembers that conversation all too
well. She doesn't need a reminder. It was one of the reasons that
she'd decided to sneak into his room and seduce him until he could
no longer withstand her. That plan had worked rather well.

"Nothing, nothing new to report. We're
getting along just fine, though," Hannah evades as she takes the
sausages from the griddle and places them in the oven to stay
warm.

"Hm, okaaay," she answers sarcastically.

The back door opens and shuts again, letting
Hannah off the hook for the time being by whomever is interrupting
them.

"Hey, babe," Sue remarks with a smile in her
voice.

It must be Derek for Sue to speak such an
endearment.

He greets her with his own endearment, and
they must kiss or embrace because it is silent a moment. That is,
until the other two kids come dashing into the kitchen screaming,
"Daddy!"

"Ok, ok, guys!" Sue scolds. "Grandpa's
asleep and Daddy needs to get to bed. He's been up all night
keeping an eye on the place while you rugrats were sleeping."

"They're ok," Derek corrects her. "Smells
good, Hannie."

"Want some before you crash?" she offers. Of
course, he says that he does. Sue makes him a plate, and Derek eats
at the island as Grams descends on the kitchen calamity, as
well.

"Oh hey, Derek," Sue interjects. "I need to
pick today. We have to get the crops brought into the house so that
us women can get them canned and put up, hon'," she tells her
husband.

"Yeah, I know, Sue. I don't like you guys
being out there around them, though," he argues around a mouthful
of food.

"Well, if you don't want to just eat eggs
all winter, then we have to can," Grams adds in.

She's joined Hannah near sink and is rinsing
a basketful of crops that they'll use for dinner later.

Grams remarks to no one in particular,
"These tomatoes will make a nice sauce for a stew maybe
tomorrow."

"Hey, that reminds me, Grams," Sue adds. "I
want to make something special for John for dinner tonight if you
don't already have something planned."

Her sister moves around toward the fridge.
Em has also returned from the music room with Jacob who is a bundle
of squeals and giggles. Ari is doing something that is making him
laugh.

"Oh?" Derek asks in jest. "Is there
something I need to know?"

"No, silly!" Sue counters. "I want to make
his favorite meal for him. I was just so shocked at how much
different Reagan seems since they went to the city together. I
think something could've happened there that bonded them because
she's not so mean to him—or the rest of us!"

Hannah has also noticed over the last few
days how Reagan seemed just slightly… softer.

"I think I can guess on that one," Derek
jokes.

Hannah chortles. Derek must receive a slap
from his wife because he quickly amends his bawdy joke.

"I'm just kidding. Sorry, Grams."

"No offense taken, Derek," Grams assures
him. "I noticed, too, Sue. And so did your grandfather because he
mentioned it yesterday. Perhaps it's the baby. Or perhaps it was
something that happened. We'll probably never know because she
won't admit to it, not to anyone."

Sue jumps in, "Yeah, if there's one thing
for sure about Reagan, it's that she's bull-headed."

Her husband gets in a return dig, though.
"Oh? And you aren't? I think that's a McClane woman thing."

"You, hush!" his wife scolds. "I just need
to know what he likes so we can make it, mister."

"Hm, let me think," Derek pauses. "I
remember he used to like meatloaf."

"Shocker. Meat," Grams says dryly and
everyone laughs. "I think that's a man thing!"

When the laughter and the squealing of tiny
children die down, Sue presses her case again, "We still need to
work out the garden harvesting, Derek. It's gotta get done,
babe."

"Fine," he sighs with defeat. "Just take
Cory maybe, and tell the guys to keep an eye on the shed when he's
going to be with you instead of keeping watch over it."

"That works for me," his wife eagerly
agrees. "The sooner we can get done with all the canning, the
sooner I can get the kids started on some sort of schooling around
here."

Justin groans, but his parents both just
laugh at his dramatic anguish.

"Grams, do you think we should just feed the
kids at the island this morning? Seems like everyone is all over
the place today. Grandpa's sleeping, Reagan's out in the shed, some
of the men are going to bed, some are up on watch. Geesh! It's a
madhouse right now," Hannah expresses. Derek and Sue verbally
agree.

"I suppose that would be all right, Hannah
dear," Grams answers.

Everyone knows how much it means to Grams
for her family to gather around the dinner table for at least two
meals a day, but with the visitors being on the farm and everyone's
schedules being rearranged, that isn't bound to happen for a
while.

"What about Reagan and Samantha and the two
sick patients in the shed? Should we take them food?" Sue asks as
Cory comes in the back door.

"Got the milk and cream, Miss Hannah," he
blurts into their conversation.

"Great, Cory," Grams tells him. "Just put it
all in the pantry, dear. And, Hannah, I'll take a tray of food to
Reagan and her assistant. I don't know about those patients. The
woman drank some chicken broth yesterday and ate a half a piece of
toast, but that was it. And the boy isn't even taking broth. Maybe
today will be better."

The screen door slams again.

"Hey, got the eggs for you," Kelly calls out
to whomever, probably her. "Man, that smells great, ladies."

Hannah smiles widely at his praise. He's
always praising her cooking, though she's hardly a five star chef.
Army food must not have been very tasty.

"I didn't help her today, Kelly," Grams
interrupts.

This interrupting of each other and people
coming and going and the general chaos of the kitchen area is the
norm on the farm. For a blind person, it was sometimes difficult to
have so many bodies in her kitchen. Thus she bumps into people in
the kitchen on a regular basis.

Grams just continues on with her praise,
"Hannah did it all by herself this morning. These old bones weren't
moving too fast today."

"You probably just need some rest, Grams,"
Kelly tells her grandmother gently.

He sounds like he is standing right next to
Grams. A slap, slap, slapping sound alerts Hannah that Grams has
probably patted his hand or shoulder. His tender concern for her
elderly grandparent is so touching and poignant that it brings
tears to her eyes, and she has to turn back to her stove.

"Oh, I'm fine, Kelly. Don't you go worrying
yourself over me. Give me the baby, Sue, so that you can make the
children's breakfast plates," Grams tells her sister.

Kelly and Derek pair off in the hall with
Cory in tow to discuss the women picking vegetables for canning and
the adjusted security patrols. Their low, deep voices come down the
hallway in the form of a jumbled murmur. A moment later, Cory is
out the door again. Apparently, they've worked things out.

"Let me start getting this all on plates for
the kids, honey," Sue tells her.

Her sister effectively snaps Hannah out of
her daze about the men and their planning. Hannah mumbles an answer
and moves surreptitiously closer to the hall where Derek and Kelly
are still discussing plans.

"Em, let me hold Jacob while you eat,
sweetie," Hannah tells the younger girl who is still babysitting
the newest member of their clan. He greets Hannah with a handful of
slobber against her neck.

"I'll make a plate and cut the food up small
for you, Hannah, so that you can feed him," her sister calls above
the noise.

Hannah just nods absent-mindedly. She is too
engrossed in the tidbits of information she is hearing in the men's
conversation.

"…no way are they squatting longer," Kelly
is saying.

There is venom in his voice. This is not the
soft, baritone voice he uses when he speaks with her.

"Right, to hell with that," Derek
agrees.

His voice is also tight and strained with
tension.

Derek continues, "When that one asked about
staying on permanent, I told him hell no that it wasn't even an
option. But they seemed pissed to hear it."

"Too damn bad. They aren't staying here
after their sick get better. Not even good ole' Uncle Peter. Hell,
I'll even help them pack when the time comes," Kelly jokes
half-heartedly.

"No, I made it quite clear that staying
isn't happening. That big dude, Lebron, Levon—whatever the hell his
name is—was giving me some hard looks, but he didn't try anything,"
Derek informs him.

Kelly laughs once. "That was smart on his
part. He tries anything when I'm around and I'll take care of it,
bro."

All three Rangers seem to call each other
this. And they all have each other's backs more so than anyone
Hannah has ever known or even heard of.

"I know, Kel," Derek says earnestly.

Derek says something else that makes Kelly
laugh again, but Jacob starts fussing too loudly to pick up any
conversation but his raucous cries. Hannah decides to give up all
pretenses at becoming a secret agent and just moves into the hall
so that she can join in their conversation.

"Hey, Hannie," Derek says to her. "Hey, big
guy."

Her brother-in-law takes Jacob's tiny hand
in his own and shakes it around, making the baby giggle and bounce
on her hip.

"I just wanted to get in on what you guys
are talking about. It seems important," she confesses as Sue also
comes to stand beside her. She has Isaac again as Grams must be
doing something else in the kitchen now.

"We're just going over some of the issues
we're dealing with concerning the visitors," Derek says, probably
to his wife. "Here, babe, let me take him. I don't get to see him
much with these idiots messing up my sleep schedule."

His complaint is heart-felt and genuine.
Derek truly loves her sister and their children. And Hannah
believes that he would do anything he had to do to protect
them.

"Yesterday John followed one of them and he
went in the hog barn," Derek informs herself and Sue.

Kelly had explained to her yesterday morning
when they'd stolen ten seconds of alone time before the others had
arisen that Derek pulled rank on the rest of them and that they
would adhere to his decisions. But he'd also added that Derek
trusted them enough to make important decisions without him, too.
After all, they'd all been Army Rangers for years. Not to mention
the fact that they all have a lot to lose.

"Great," Kelly says angrily. "What the hell
was he doing?"

"John said he was just lookin' around, but
he was probably up to no good. He said the man seemed snoopy,"
Derek relays.

"Which one?"

"The Mexican dude. I think his name is
Willy," Derek replies.

"What happened?"

"John followed him 'cuz he overheard the guy
tell another one up at their camp that he needed to take a piss.
John just figured he'd head into the woods, but he didn't. He
sneaked around the back of the corn crib and the chicken coop.
Willy didn't know John was near the chicken coop and within
earshot. So John followed him, and the dude was wandering around in
the hog barn picking up shit, checkin' out some of the equipment
that's stored back there—you know, up to no good like I said. And
John told him to get back to his camp."

"That ain't good, man," Kelly says with
mounting stress in his voice.

"I can't believe any of them would do that.
It's kind of scary that they'd be so bold," Sue expresses
nervously.

"Hell, I know it. We told them not to do
that, and here they are not listening already and we're only a few
days into this shit."

Her lovely brother-in-law swears. It's
somewhat understandable, but Hannah's also quite sure that Grams is
nowhere near them to overhear it.

"Yeah, that woman with the dark hair was
creepin' around the chicken coop this morning. I saw her when you
were down at the horse barn getting water with some of the men,"
Kelly discloses.

"Shit," Derek swears again.

"I mean, maybe she was just curious. Or
maybe she was hoping to get some eggs or something, but that chic
looks like… trash," Sue says.

There is a certain amount of rudeness in
this statement that is uncharacteristic of her sister.

"Hell yeah she does. Most of them do," Derek
agrees. "I don't trust any of them, Kelly. They not only brought
sickness here that could kill us, but they don't seem to take
direction well, either."

"A couple of them don't seem so bad, but the
ones who are wandering around and not listening to our rules are
bad enough to make me want to throw them all out," Kelly adds.

"Just be diligent. I've already talked to
John about it," Derek orders them.

"We just need to be on high alert all the
time, at least until they leave," Kelly concurs wisely.

Hannah trusts him so implicitly to keep her
and her entire family safe.

"Exactly," Derek says. "Sue wants to work in
the garden so that they can continue with their canning, and I told
her that Cory can help her which means that we'll need to watch the
shed when he does."

"Sounds good to me. Just so long as their
group is being watched at all times. That's all that matters to
me," Kelly says stiffly.

"I've gotta go out and tell John some of
this and just make sure he's on the same page," Derek
announces.

"Man, you need to sleep," Kelly advises with
a chuckle.