Reclamation (Best Laid Plans Book 4) (30 page)

Matt nodded. “I'll make sure all our families know we're doing all right and have things under control. Stay safe.”

He trotted over to where Williams and his people were already waiting in their truck. The engine roared to life as he hopped in the back, and seconds later they were off.

* * * * *

After being away for weeks, missing his home and his family and Sam most of all, it felt almost surreal to cover what had felt like an insurmountable distance in a half hour. In no time at all Williams's truck was driving up Main Street, with the town looking the same as when Matt had left.

Although that wouldn't be the case for long, once the news reached them that they needed to evacuate.

Matt had radioed ahead to let everyone know they were on their way. Catherine didn't bother to send one of the town's trucks and some defenders to escort the Marines this time, and aside from a few townspeople waving there wasn't much ceremony as they parked in front of town hall. Matt and Williams hopped down to talk to the Mayor, leaving the other soldiers in the vehicle for the moment.

Catherine met them on the front steps and shook the corporal's hand, then after a bit of chitchat the two headed inside to discuss the need for evacuation, as well as coordination between the military and the town moving forward. Matt was left waiting outside, but he wasn't bored because within minutes he was swarmed by curious neighbors wanting to know what was going on.

Deciding it would be better if he left it to Catherine to break the news of the approaching blockheads to the town, Matt omitted those details as he described the general situation with the war, and in more detail what the volunteers were doing down near Huntington. He also sent along the requested messages to the family and friends of his absent squad mates.

All the while, though, he found himself looking over people's heads searching for the familiar petite dark-haired woman he most wanted to see. When Terry came out from the clinic to greet him Matt was disappointed to learn that his wife wasn't volunteering that day, and neither was April. And although it was good to see his brother-in-law, Matt was tempted to make his way out the shelter and leave Williams and his people to do their thing.

Before he could decide one way or another the corporal came back outside, after less than five minutes talking with the Mayor. As he started towards the truck he passed where Matt and Terry were chatting, and paused to pull Matt aside. “We're headed up the canyon to set the charges.”

Matt wasn't surprised the man was in a hurry. There was a lot to do before the Gold Bloc reached them, and who knew when that would be. “All right. I can think of a few good spots to check out.”

“No need. The Mayor and I got in touch with your buddy Halsson. It looks like over the last couple weeks he's thoroughly searched the canyon getting ready for us, and he'll be meeting us at the bottom to guide us to the spots he's picked out and see which works best for our needs.”

Matt felt a surge of hope, although he tried to keep his expectations realistic. “Should I come along too?”

The corporal gave him a slight smile. “We should be a few hours, and I doubt we'll need you. If you want to take the opportunity to visit loved ones now's the time.”

He didn't have to be told twice. In fact, he was about to bolt down the street towards the shelter right that moment when Terry called him back. “I've been using your bike,” he said, somewhat sheepishly. “Or Sam has when she takes a shift.” He pointed to the rack off to one side, where sure enough Matt's bike stood waiting.

Matt pulled his brother-in-law into a hug, just in case he didn't get another chance to talk to him before it was time to head back south again, then ran to his bike and hurriedly unlocked it with the familiar combination. Williams was just starting the truck to head out the the canyon when Matt zipped past headed north, pedaling for all he was worth.

He reached the pair of hills the shelter was situated between in record time, and felt his heart soar when he rounded the taller hill and found Sam doing laundry in the little space they'd set up for washing clothes beside the underground structure.

His wife was pinning up a shirt on the clothesline when he caught his first sight of her. Even through the fairly loose shirt she wore he could see the swell of her belly and their child growing within, and his breath caught in surprise; she'd barely been showing when he left, and even after less than three weeks it seemed much more noticeable.

Matt slowed to a stop and hopped off the bike, feeling a surge of relief and longing. Relief that she seemed all right, longing for how long he'd been away from her and how little time he had to see her now.

Before he could start forward again Sam paused to stretch and turned Matt's way slightly, hands on the small of her back. As soon as she saw him standing there she stopped dead, eyes widening with shock. Then joy spread across her face and she gave a happy shout and bolted towards him.

Matt barely had time to drop his bike and open his arms before she threw herself into them, nearly bowling him over in the process. He had to lift her slight weight so she could get at his face to rain kisses on him, doing his best to hold her tight while treating her like porcelain as he returned her kisses and tried to get a word in edgewise. “Are you all right? You and the baby?”

“We're fine. We're great,” she mumbled, breaking off her kisses to bury her face in his neck and hold him tight. “We've just missed you so much.”

Tears stung at his eyes as he held her a bit tighter. “Me too. Every day.”

She spoke into his shoulder, sounding almost hesitant. “How are you here? C-can you stay long?”

“Just for a few hours. I came with some demolition specialists from the military.”

His wife mumbled something inaudible, not seeming curious about what they'd come for, and held him even tighter. They stayed like that for almost a minute, as Matt let himself enjoy just being with the woman he loved, the familiar presence he'd dearly missed while he'd been gone.

Finally Sam pulled away slightly to beam up at him, eyes shining with her own tears. “There's so much to say.”

Matt nodded. “How have you been? Is everything going all right?”

She shrugged. “Okay, aside from missing you. Things have been happening, but nothing too interesting compared to what you've probably been doing.”

He leaned down to kiss her again, longer this time. “I'm super interested. Tell me all about it.”

“Deal, as long as you return the favor. I want to know what it's been like for you since you volunteered.” His wife abruptly looked away and bit her lower lip, blushing slightly. “But first there's something important I need your help with.”

“Sure. What is it?”

Dark eyes looked up at him solemnly, although humor danced in them as well. “I've been missing my husband for almost three weeks. Take a wild guess.”

* * * * *

Lewis met the soldiers at the mouth of the canyon, loading up his bike in back before hopping in the front to sit next to Williams. “Good to see you again, Corporal,” he said.

Williams nodded. “The Mayor says you're in charge of the town's defenses now that Larson's with us.”

“That's right.”

“Good. Then while we're taking care of planting these charges I can fill you in on what's going on with the war.”

“I'd definitely appreciate it,” Lewis replied, meaning every word. Chauncey did his best with the radio, but a lot of what they got was secondhand. Most of that was because the military was fairly closemouthed, aside from sending out calls for volunteers and contradictory messages indicating a bright future for the country if everyone did their part, and conversely just how difficult the fight against the Gold Bloc was going to be and the need for all the help they could get.

The corporal gave him an impatient look. “This isn't gossip, Halsson, it seriously affects your town. General Erikson is pulling out of Colorado and joining our forces here in the Utah Rockies.”

Lewis saw the ramifications immediately, and fought the urge to curse. “So just like that Aspen Hill is outside the protected area.”

Williams nodded curtly. “You'll need to evacuate up to the top of the canyon, at least. Probably even farther, although I expect your town to keep their promise about defending this area against any Gold Bloc attacks.”

“You don't need to worry about us.” Lewis took a deep breath. “So what's the exact situation?”

Over the next few minutes Lewis listened in silence as the corporal laid out what was going on with the war, particularly to the east where the fighting was already fierce. Lewis listened intently, but it was an effort to ignore the sinking in his gut.

This meant he'd have to abandon his shelter. Again. And not just the shelter but the gardens. Maybe even the bees, too, unless he could think of a safe way to transport them and find a safe place for their new home. Then there was the hassle of relocating all their animals, and how that would disrupt their usual routine. And they'd have to transport all the wheat from Newtown, and somehow find a place to store it.

And his family had really been getting settled in. They'd just finished building the second house, which his aunt and uncle and cousins had moved into only a few days ago, and everything was more comfortable for everyone.

And the town! Organizing the evacuation was his responsibility, and he'd been preparing for it as best he could since just after the Retaliation. Thanks to that he knew just how overwhelming the task was going to be, and it was anyone's guess how much time they'd have. They would need to get started right away.

Williams finished with his terse breakdown of the situation and leaned forward to peer at the road ahead. “Where are these spots you scouted out?”

“We're almost there,” Lewis replied, shaking out of his grim thoughts. He was leading them first to the most ideal spot he'd picked out, which meant they'd already passed a few less suitable ones.

This one was halfway up the canyon, where a crumbling cliff overlooked the road in a narrow spot. A few rocks had already broken away from it, littering the ground beside the road, and the rest of the cliffside looked as if it wouldn't take much to join them.

Williams nodded in approval as they piled out of the truck for a closer look. “This definitely looks like a good spot. We could probably do the job with half the charges here.”

“I'm no expert,” Lewis said, pointing, “but it looks like the weakest spots are there and there. That might be enough to bring the cliff down.”

The corporal looked over at Graham, leader of the team of demolitions specialists he'd brought. The bulky man shrugged. “I'd want to look closer, but from this angle I'd say he's not wrong.”

“Let's get to it, then.” Williams turned to give Lewis an appraising look. “You've got a pretty good eye.” Lewis started to shrug off the compliment, then realized it wasn't exactly one when the corporal continued. “How about you use it to keep watch down the canyon, just in case? We've got this covered.”

“Sure. I know a good spot not far from here.” Lewis turned and started down the road.

Williams called after him. “We'll let you know when we're done, but it may take a while. Think you're up to keeping watch for a few hours?”

You mean like I've been doing for months now?
Lewis thought. But he just nodded. “No problem.”

It was a bit annoying to be taken away from his duties in town for so long, not only the personal work he had to do but also leading the defenders. The Mayor had asked him to accept that responsibility after Matt left, and Lewis had agreed with the caveat that once Matt got back he could have the position if he still wanted it.

Those duties were even more pressing now that he knew they needed to evacuate. From the sound of it the Gold Bloc wouldn't be anywhere near this area for a week at the soonest, but it was better to start the evacuation now. That way they could make sure they had the time they needed, could move as many of their possessions as possible, and could get to work sooner on the location in the mountains he and Jane had scouted out as a suitable refuge until they could find a more permanent solution.

It was going to be a huge task, and the people of Aspen Hill would suffer immensely. Even after all the warnings he and the Mayor had given about the potential need for evacuation, he wasn't sure how many of his neighbors had prepared what they needed for camping, living on the move.

Which meant they'd probably need to do their best to rig up tents out of tarp and other materials. And people who were struggling to eat now would probably go hungry, and have to hope that the chill of the higher elevations and the stress of suddenly finding themselves homeless didn't lead to illness.

At the very least they could probably leave a few people behind until the last possible second, to tend the gardens and then harvest whatever they could before fleeing the approaching enemy. At which point they'd face the tragic need to torch the remaining crops to keep the blockheads from getting them.

Lewis sucked in a sharp breath and focused on his current duty as he reached his lookout spot. He knew he should spend this time planning, but the enormity of the task and its unpleasant necessities prompted him to put it off, at least for a few minutes.

At least there was one upside to acting sentry for Williams. Part of leading the defenders had involved taking less time to personally go out on patrols, because he had to be in town and available when issues came up. That didn't prevent him from doing chores in the garden or even at the shelter, with his bike handy to respond to any emergency, but he'd only gone on two shifts since taking over for Matt.

In a way it was almost nice to be out here on watch. The breeze was cool in the canyon and scented by the trees it passed through, and he could faintly hear the stream babbling along off to his left. The midafternoon sun was warm on his back, slowly pushing the shadows down the canyon away from him, and looking over that to the valley below made for a striking view.

Surprisingly content, Lewis settled back to the task of watching the mouth of the canyon for any approaching people. If Jane was here with him this would be just about perfect; he really did enjoy being up in the mountains, and it gave him a sense of freedom he just didn't feel at other times.