The Last Woman (All That Remains #1) (28 page)

Carson tugs us toward an
electronics store filled with video games and movies. Airen hands him a sack
from behind the counter, and Carson’s in heaven, smiling from ear to ear as he
begins to fill the bag. While Airen picks out movies, and Jayla collects memory
cards for her camera, I choose a few CD’s and wander around until they’re
finished. Jayla is thrilled with the large department store that we visit next.

“Makeup!” she cries, smiling
and digging through the display case.

“You don’t need makeup,” Airen
scoffs. He frowns at my disapproving look. “You don’t wear makeup,” he mutters.

Because there is no point in
putting lipstick on a bulldog. “Go ahead, honey, and choose me a bottle of
lotion,” I tell her, ignoring him. We all pick up some new jeans and sweaters.
Winter is just around the corner. I pull out the note from Joseph and check to
see what sizes are listed for Walker. He’s growing so fast, and I’m thankful
that price isn’t an issue any longer.

“We’re supposed to meet Joseph
in about fifteen minutes. Is there anywhere else you want to look?” Airen asks.

“Bookstore,” I reply.

“Candy shop,” Carson says.

“We should get Walker
something from the toy store,” Jayla says.

“Why don’t Jayla and I visit
the book store and toy shop while you and Carson load up on candy?” I suggest.
Airen’s eyes narrow as he considers splitting up. “The stores are right across
from each other. We’ll be fine.”

He reluctantly agrees. “Take
Uno with you.”

“Because he’s such a good
guard dog,” Carson scoffs. Airen puts him into a headlock and pulls him toward
the candy store.

“Get me some chocolate covered
peanuts!” I shout.

“And jelly beans!” Jayla
calls. She picks out a remote controlled airplane for Walker, and we add a few
new board games. I’m trying to balance a stack of Stephen King books when Uno
begins to growl and abruptly darts out of the store.

Jayla gazes at me, wide eyed.
“That can’t be good,” she says in a hushed voice.

“He probably smelled a rat or
a squirrel or something. Let’s go meet the boys.” We almost make it to the door
before we hear Carson scream.

“No! It’ll kill him!” he
shrieks.

“Carson! Stop! Goddamn it!”
Airen yells at him.

Our items scatter as they hit
the floor. Jayla grabs my hand, and we run toward the commotion. I freeze when
we arrive at the scene, trying to figure out what the hell is happening. Airen
is holding Carson back while he fights desperately to get out of his grasp. Uno
is engaged in a fight with some sort of animal. Is it another dog? It’s too
dark to see, and all we can hear is growling and snarling, punctuated by an
occasional yelp from Uno or the other animal. It’s impossible to tell.

“Abby! Hold him!” Airen shoves
Carson into me, so he can pull his gun.

Jayla and I both grab Carson
as he screams, “Don’t shoot! You’ll hit Uno! Mom, make him stop!”

Airen runs toward Uno, but he
doesn’t fire right away. He can’t see well enough to aim.

“Point your flashlights at
them!” I order. We shine our lights on the animals, and it does appear to be
another dog. Uno flips the animal off him, and Airen seizes the opportunity to
fire three shots at the wild creature. It drops with a wounded cry.

He runs to Uno, who plops down
on his side, panting hard. “Good boy, Uno’s such a good dog,” he croons as he
surveys his injuries. Uno whines pitifully and licks his hand. Airen picks him
up and heads for the exit. “Get the stuff, we have to go. His leg is really
chewed up, and his neck looks bad.”

He carries him to the SUV, and
I pop the hatch. We lay him on a blanket in the back, as Joseph and Walker
approach.

“What happened?” asks Joseph.

“There was a coyote. It tried
to attack Carson, and Uno got between them,” Airen explains.

A coyote? I have seen a few,
and we hear them often enough, but they usually shy away from people. Maybe it
was starving.

As if it reminds him, Airen
abruptly turns on Carson and clutches his arm. “Don’t you
ever
do
anything that stupid again,” he shouts. Carson’s face hardens and his eyes
narrow. “When I tell you to do something, you had better damn well do it! You
nearly got yourself killed! If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll wear
your ass out! Do you understand me?”

“Get off me!” Carson jerks out
of his grasp. “You’re not my dad!” he spits hatefully and retreats to the SUV,
slamming the door. Jayla gives me a sympathetic look, before climbing in after
him.

“Is Uno going to be okay?”
Walker asks.

“I hope so, baby. We’ll take
him to Julie.” Glancing at Airen, I tell Joseph, “Give us a moment.”

They climb in and buckle up,
leaving Airen to regard me warily. “He was going to try to break it up.”

“I know.” My voice is calm and
even.

“He wouldn’t listen!”

“He panicked.”

He sighs, his hands shaking.
“That was too fucking close. I thought it had him. Uno came out of nowhere,” he
exclaims, gaining his composure.

I embrace him and murmur,
“He’s okay. Carson’s okay.”

“He could have died,” he
mumbles.

“But he didn’t, and he’s not
even hurt.”

“I shouldn’t have yelled at
him,” he admits, reluctantly.

I can’t help laughing. “You
were scared, and so was he. I’m sure it won’t be the last time. He’ll be fine,
but we should go. We need to get Uno back to Julie.”

He agrees, and I take the keys
from him. The ride home is gloomy. Carson glares out the window and won’t speak
to anyone. He and Jayla have their ear buds in, listening to their iPods.
Walker falls asleep when it begins to rain. Joseph and I give up trying to make
small talk.

Airen is lost in his head,
brooding in silence. Carson scared the shit out of him and probably hurt his
feelings as well when he shouted he wasn’t his dad. I’m sure Carson’s feelings
are hurt because Airen yelled at him. They’re both going to have to calm down
and get over it.

I hide a small smile when it
occurs to me that they seem like father and son now more than ever. Airen is
getting a taste of raising a teenage boy, albeit in unique circumstances. I
have no doubt Carson will test him in a dozen different ways in the years to
come. He’ll have to see for himself unconditional love from a father is possible.

I reach over and squeeze
Airen’s knee, bringing him out of his reverie, and he gives me a small grin as
he places his hand over mine. Even when he’s stressed, he’s breathtaking.

“Hey, don’t worry so much. It’ll
work out. Welcome to the wonderful world of parenting teenagers.”

He flashes a radiant smile. “I
think surviving the plague was easier.”

“Poor baby,” I tease.

“I know what might make me
feel better,” he says provocatively.

“Hmm, I may have some plans
for you this evening.” His muscles clench when I slide my hand up to squeeze
his thigh.

Joseph pipes up from the
backseat. “May I remind you not all of us are deaf or asleep at the moment?”

“You’ll hear a lot worse later,”
Airen says, with a smirk.

“Airen Lane! No, he won’t!” I
laugh, blushing.

“Uh oh, she broke out the
middle name. You’re in trouble,” Joseph sings. Airen raises his eyebrows and
grins at him.

“Quit it,” I order. “Or all
he’s going to hear later is don’t, no, and stop.”

“Wrong order, darlin’. It’s
more like, no, don’t stop,” he says, his eyes dancing with glee.

I give up and shake my head
ruefully while they laugh.

At least the rain has stopped
when we pull into Julie’s driveway. She comes rushing out after we honk, and
Joseph carries Uno into the house. Airen and I stay to watch while Joseph takes
the kids home. Julie takes over, sedating Uno and cleaning and bandaging his
wounds.

“He was lucky. That bite on
the neck was close to the artery,” she says.

“Do you think he’ll make it?”
Airen asks.

“He won’t die of these wounds,
but I’m concerned the coyote could have been rabid.”

“How can you tell?”

“We can’t. He’ll be fine here
tonight, but you’ll have to get a dog pen. He has to stay quarantined for at
least three weeks while we watch for symptoms.”

“And if he has it?”

“You’ll have to put him down.
There’s nothing I can do.”

“He saved Carson,” I declare,
as if that should make a difference.

“I understand. He may still be
okay. We just have to wait. Go on home, you two. You look exhausted. I’ll take
care of him.”

“Thank you.” Airen kisses her
on the cheek before we leave.

“You’re telling Carson he has
to stay away from Uno,” Airen says, as we walk across the yard.

I stop and gaze at him in
amusement. “Are you scared of a thirteen year old boy?”

He attempts to give me a
stern, disapproving look, but the corners of his mouth twitch up. “I think whatever
I tell him right now, he’ll do the opposite.”

“Probably. You don’t think
your threat to wear him out was effective then?”

“He knows I wouldn’t hurt him.
Of course, someone else doubted I’d put her across my knee.” His lips lift in a
sexy little half smile.

“Barbarian,” I chide.

“You know you like it.” His
hand slides into my back pocket as we walk.

* * *
*

The temperature has dropped
like a rock. It’s unusual weather for early September. The days are in the low
sixties, but at night it has barely remained above freezing. I suppose this is
climate change in action. The weather is so unpredictable. Jayla and I have
spent countless hours boiling and canning food for the winter. With Carson and
Airen hunting almost every day, we have a massive freezer filled with the meat
of various animals.

“Where are you off to?” I ask
Joseph, handing him the hoodie he was searching for.

“I’m going to check the traps
we set by the cave. Do you want to come with me?”

“Sure, why not?”

I throw on a sweatshirt and
grab an emergency pack. Airen is obsessed with this rule. He put together small
backpacks with food, water, flashlights, lighters, and other random supplies
he’s deemed necessary. Whenever any of us go into the woods we have to carry
one just in case, Along with a two-way radio. Airen is fishing with Carson, and
he’ll freak if he doesn’t know where we are when he returns, so I leave a note
on the fridge.

Joseph and I hike toward the
lake. There isn’t a trail to the cave, but we have a compass, and we know to
stay east and in sight of the lake. “How far is it? I’ve only been once, and it
was a long time ago.”

“About four miles. You’ll know
we’re close when you see the barn.”

“There’s a barn out here?”

“I think there was a house
there at one time. You can tell that something burned down near the barn,” he
explains.

It feels good to be in the
woods. In addition to the cool temperatures, we have also had an abundance of
thunderstorms. Absolutely nothing smells better than the forest after it rains.

A few years before the plague,
our area was struck by a massive ice storm, and the woods still bear the scars.
Fallen trees lie everywhere, and the forest floor is clogged with underbrush. It’s
slow going at times, and it takes us over an hour to get to the traps.

“Shit,” Joseph mumbles.
“They’re empty.”

“You dragged me all the way
out here for nothing?”

“You looked like you needed
some exercise.”

“That sounds like a fat joke,”
I reply, giving him a playful slap.

He snorts. “You are nowhere
near fat, Abby.”

I roll my eyes and sit down on
a rock beside him. “I don’t know why you call this a cave.”

It’s more of a cliff, a giant
rock that slopes inward creating a narrow overhang. The dirt below our feet is
soft, almost like sand. It has obviously been sifted through for years by
people collecting arrow heads and flint.

“I don’t have a better word
for it.” He shrugs and glances up when it begins to thunder. The wind picks up,
and it’s loud as it roars through the trees. “We’d better start home.”

We walk for about ten minutes
before the storm is upon us. It’s getting dark. The clouds are black and
ominous, but it’s the lightning that’s terrifying. It streaks down from the sky
in wide jagged bolts, closer and closer.

“The barn!” Joseph shouts over
the wind. His hand is cold in mine as the rain starts to pelt us. How does he
know which way to go? I can’t see anything, and I’m trying to watch where I
step so I don’t trip over a branch. When we break through the tree line, I can
see the barn. We’re nearly there when a bolt of lightning strikes a nearby tree
with an earsplitting crack. I scream, and we both clap our hands over our ears.
Joseph yanks the barn door open, and we dart inside.