The McClane Apocalypse Book Three (65 page)

"John, you're so brave. I've never heard of
anyone as brave as you. Or as selfless," she says on a sniff
because she's been weeping at his tragic tale.

For John, it's not a story of bravery or
heroism. It's sad and depressing, and he doesn't like remembering
it or the friends he'd lost that day. Her praise humbles him more
than he can say.

She sniffs again and asks, "Were you a Green
Beret, too? I saw the beret when it fell out of your bag. I don't
understand. I thought you were a Ranger."

"I was. We were Rangers. Kelly and I also
went through Green Beret training. We call ourselves Rangers. It's
just easier that way. Helps us fit in with whatever unit we get
posted to," he tells her.

"What do you mean?"

"We're a part of a different group, Reagan,"
he explains as his fingers stroke along her spine and into the
curve of her hip. "We're actually a part of Delta Force. We were
recruited into it. Everybody's kind of under the umbrella of
Special Forces, but we had a little more authority to do… stuff.
The higher ups can send us in wherever they need us. We used to do
snatch and grabs, interrogations, whatever they wanted. But then
we'd also go on missions with other groups like Rangers or Seals
and we just called ourselves Rangers or Seals. Whoever we were
working with at the time is what name we adapted. When I won the
Medal of Honor, I was with a Ranger battalion. It just helped make
things more cohesive. Made us stand out less."

"Wow. I didn't know that Delta Force was
real. I thought that was something made up for movies. I've never
studied it," she says, frowning against his chest. "Kinda' cool
actually."

"It's why neither of us have any tattoos.
Not allowed in case we get made. Makes you too identifiable. It
doesn't really matter anymore," he says lightly.

"If the shit ever gets back to normal will
you go back? Will you re-up?" she asks in the dark.

"Nah, getting too old. Besides, Kelly and I
are farmers now. Now my mission is just to take care of you."

"Yeah, well you kind of do that pretty well.
Kind of a full-time job. Saved my ass a lot. I don't know from what
place in a person that you'd have to dig that deep for bravery.
Guess I owe you. You're kind of a badass, John Harrison," she
says.

John can feel her grin against him this
time.

"Reagan, you're also brave, love," John
tells her because he doesn't want to think any more on his medal or
the reasons he received it. They lay for a short while in quiet
solitude while she is contemplative. "It might make you feel better
to unload it on me, honey. I can take it. I'll always be able to
bear your burdens, as well as my own."

"What do you know?" she inquires
knowingly.

"Not much. But I did see the car," he
confesses, and she grimaces, turning away from him and rolling onto
her side. John just follows and holds her pressed tightly to his
front.

When she finally feels comfortable, sometime
in the middle of the night, Reagan tells him about the attack at
the college in all its horrific, gory detail. She trembles and
shudders and cries and her breathing becomes rushed and then tight
as she recalls the two men who tried to rape and kill her. She
remembers them in graphic detail down to the color of their eyes
and what clothing they wore. But John does his best to soothe and
reassure her that they're gone and that nobody will ever touch her
like that again.

"All I kept thinking is that I had to make
it home to the farm. It's the only thing that kept me going. I just
knew if I made it out of there and got home that everything would
be ok and that I'd be safe. There were times when I stopped to
change my bandages and I saw that they were soaked through again
that I didn't think I was going to live long enough to get home.
I've never been a faithful person like Grams and Hannah, but I
believe that the only reason I lived through that night was because
of God. And now that I have you and Jacob I have to believe that He
had a bigger plan for me than dying at that damned college," she
says reverently.

John rolls her to her back and kisses her
softly on her full mouth. His fingers stroke her damp cheeks. And
when he pulls back, Reagan lets loose and cries. She cries harder
than he'd ever thought one person could. And when she's done John
just holds her and promises that nothing like that will ever happen
to her again, not on his watch.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, John. I never
thought that I'd feel like this about someone. I never thought you
could
feel like this about someone," she tells him after
some time.

"Reagan, you're the best thing that's ever
happened to me. You never have to be sorry. I don't want us to
start our lives together with regrets. I just want to take care of
you and Jacob. I'll always take care of you," he answers
honestly.

She tells him with hesitancy again that she
loves him, and he reassures her that each time it'll get a little
easier. Reagan falls asleep in his arms, leaving John to reflect on
the day and on her and their relationship. He'd meant what he said
to her. He'd lay down his life for her or Jacob if it ever came to
it. And it is his job to make sure it never does. John believes
that with time they will heal each other from the nightmares of
their pasts. She'll come to learn about him that keeping them safe
is the one job John can and will excel at.

She doesn't get chased in her sleep by
demons with cold, blue eyes or overly enlarged pupils but sleeps
heavily, dreamlessly, and John likes to think that it's because she
finally feels truly safe because of him.

It's March again on the farm, one year after
Reagan made her harrowing return home to the family. The end of
March is usually cooler than this, but that was before everything
was changed. Even their planting season will be bumped back if this
mild weather continues. Sue works tirelessly in the greenhouse with
the children, teaching them about seeds and planting and natural
composting. The newest addition to her family will be born in
September, and he prays every day that the birth will be as
successful as the last. The men are almost finished with the cabin
and are working on building solar panels, tilling fields, mending
fences and about a dozen other projects each week on the farm.

Herb makes the final entry on the ledger
that he's created to keep track of names, birthdates, marriages,
births, and other important information about each of the people
living on his farm. It is the only documentation any of them have
now, and it's important to leave a written legacy of them all.

As he sits on the back porch of the old
farmhouse, he can hear Hannah and Samantha in the music room
playing the piano. She is fast becoming an accomplished musician,
and they've learned that she used to play the violin, as well. The
music in the house was usually their only source of entertainment
this last winter.

Samantha's riding skills are unmatched by
anyone on the farm, with the exception of Reagan, because the young
waif used to show jump before the world fell apart. She enjoys
hitting the trails every morning with Reagan and John or with the
other teen boys and is very helpful with the care of the horses.
She'd even brought tack and horse pharmaceuticals from her former
home. Although she has not completely adjusted to her new life,
Herb believes that she'll eventually come to like it here. He also
fervently hopes beyond all hope that she will eventually be able to
overcome the horrors of her past while the visitors had kept her
captive.

Reagan and Simon are in the med shed working
on a dissection, and Herb believes that he'll make a good doctor
someday. Though not gifted like Reagan, he's a bright kid and has a
love of learning like her. Then again, she is certainly an
exception to the norm on the spectrum of the learning scale.
Whereas Reagan was always a traditionalist when it came to
medicine, Simon especially enjoys learning about plants and herbs
and their potential medicinal uses. This kind of knowledge will
prove priceless as someday their supply of medicines will be
depleted and maybe even completely obliterated.

Laughter near the chicken coop draws his
attention, and he watches Arianna, Justin, Em and Huntley play a
game of tag. These children will hopefully prove too young to be
traumatized by the bleakness of what's happened to the world and
will only know love and kindness in this valley. Huntley has
adjusted quite well and seems to enjoy the companionship of the
other children. Having been a twin, the other half of a single
pregnancy and bonded so uniquely to one other person on earth, Herb
does worry about how Huntley will grow up and what losing his
brother will do to him. But with the love and support of the family
and always keeping his brother's memories alive, Herb can only hope
for his mental health and that he can come to trust and love again
in return.

Cory works most days, the same as this day,
with Derek on equipment or building the cabin and seems to be the
most mechanically inclined person on the farm and for that reason,
among many others, Herb is glad to have him. He just prays
fervently that he will not become hard and calloused or have to
kill again because this young man has seen too much death already.
He already has such a hard edge about him that Herb doesn't want
him to grow up to be like John.

Kelly walks purposefully toward the back
porch, tips an invisible hat to Herb, and continues on into the
house. He only seems to be able to be away from Hannah for a few
hours at a time. Newlyweds! Kelly is a good man and has earned
Herb's respect many times over since he's come to the farm. Kelly
will also make an excellent father because of how he already is
with his much younger siblings. But he can understand why Kelly
needs to be around her so much. Hannah's just like that, and Kelly
needs her lightness and cheer as much as she needs his shelter and
protection. Herb hears her exclamation of pure joy that her husband
has come in for an afternoon visit. It makes him smile. For anyone
to find joy in this world now, it will be a rare thing indeed.

The screen door slams and Maryanne walks out
with Isaac and Jacob in her arms. Herb quickly takes Jacob from
her, and they sit together and swing and talk about their girls and
all of the children. They both consider Jacob just as much one of
their great-grandchildren as any of their biological ones. He's a
real cutie, and John and Reagan are doing great with him for having
no child rearing experience before this. It's not surprising,
though, because John is a very patient man which was a good thing
for his granddaughter and her fiery temper. Herb had seen the small
changes taking place within Reagan since John had come to be at the
farm, which was the only reason he'd allowed him to move into his
granddaughter's bedroom. He'd also seen a darkness in John that he
buried quite well. Herb had speculated that he might possibly be
the one person in this cruel world who could help her move on. It
also doesn't hurt that John's darkness will be what will keep his
granddaughter alive in dangerous situations. Every member of their
family had tried to help Reagan to deal with or recover in any
small way from her ordeal, but John was the first one who'd been
able to make a dent in progress with her. He'd seen the way the man
had looked at Reagan even back in those first days when he'd come
to the farm. Mostly he'd ogled his granddaughter with lust in his
blue eyes, but sometimes he'd caught looks of such amazement and
puzzlement that Herb knew that he'd been bitten by the charms that
most people didn't see in Reagan. The love John feels for his
granddaughter is so strong, so unbridled, and yet he is the one man
Herb knows who can keep her in check which she needs from time to
time. Reagan had come to him and told him about John's service
medals, but he'd already known about some of them from Derek who
had told him about four years ago during a visit to the farm. He
can understand why John would not want these medals displayed. He
doesn't feel he deserved them because the men who deserved to
receive them right alongside of him were all dead. Yet through it
all, he'd come out of it without being damaged by it and that was
the only reason he'd been so good with Reagan, so able to help her.
For this reason alone, Herb will always be indebted to John
Harrison.

He and his brother are walking in from the
hog barn where they've made some minor changes to the inside and
built better, stronger stalls for the animals. Out of the corner of
his eye a flash of movement catches his attention and Herb looks in
time to see Reagan running full tilt toward John who catches her in
mid-air with one arm while still holding a tool box. It's a
fortunate thing the young man is strong and, more importantly, that
Reagan is so petite. He's going to need a good, strong back.

"What is that smell, boss? Ugh!" John groans
as he continues walking while holding her.

"Dissected deer liver," his granddaughter
answers as if that's just a normal thing.

She's wearing those ratty-looking gym shoes
she always wears, the same ones she'd worn on their wedding day in
January when she'd begrudgingly married John, though everyone could
see how much she'd come to love him.

"Ugh, gross. You know girls aren't exactly
supposed to smell like dissected animal parts, babe," John tells
her as Reagan pulls his hair and then kisses him.

Herb figures that she's forgiven him easily
enough because they forget that they are standing in the middle of
the yard in front of half of the family kissing like two teenagers.
John's life will never be boring with Reagan. Herb can attest to
that one.

"Everything has worked out for the best,"
Maryanne says with the slightest trace of sadness in her voice.