Jake grabbed his bag off the bike, and they walked as quickly as Jake could manage to Tucker’s second garage at the back of his lot. On the way there, Tucker told Jake what all he and his family had on hand. It was plenty to last a few weeks, maybe a month.
The way he was talking, Jake wasn’t sure he would share with the neighborhood. Why should he? Some people probably had nothing. But Jake was leaving that up to them. He’d done his part, they could work out the details from here.
When they reached the garage, Tucker’s wife, Katie, came out and gave Jake a big hug and told him to give one to Gabby for her. They stepped in, and Jake was surprised to see their kids, all at some level of teen or tween, sorting food into small meal groups and writing stuff down. They laughed at a joke Jake had missed, picking at one another. There were two boys, and two girls. Tucker had a houseful. And it was always a happy house. Jake smiled at the sibling camaraderie.
“How soon you need this back? It’d be great if you let me drive it to the homestead, too.”
Tucker didn’t seem very happy about that and hesitated to answer.
“Wait, how ‘bout this?” Jake dug in his pocket and pulled out his house keys. He handed them to Tucker. “If you trust me with your four-wheeler, I’ll trust you with my house. If I’m not back here in one week, with your four-wheeler intact, you and Katie are welcome to any food or supplies you find at our house. Is that fair?”
Tucker shook his head. “Naw, man. We’re not gonna take your stuff. You’ll get it back to me. My family is here, safe with me. I’m happy to help you get to yours.” Tucker nodded firmly and tried to give Jake his keys back.
Jake refused to take the keys and instead started up the four-wheeler. “Hang onto those for me. The offer stands. At the very least, sneak in when no one is looking and get the freezer foods later today. I haven’t opened the door at all, some of it’ll still be good if you do it right away. No use in wasting it.”
He stuck out his hand and Tucker grasped it firmly, and then pulled Jake into a one-armed hug. “You take care of yourself, Jake. Thanks again for getting us started, and if you can come back and help me herd these cats, please do.”
Jake quickly returned the hug with a pat on Tucker’s back, and pulled back. “You take care of Katie and the kids—and my bike—and keep the cats of Tullymore safe. I’ll see ya later.”
“Hey, you got a gun?”
“Yeah, got one in my bag right here.”
“How ‘bout you carry it on you. Things are already bad, man.”
Jake dug through the bag and found the gun. He carefully stuck it behind him in his waistband and pulled his shirt over it, but not before Tucker saw his stomach.
“Looks like you maybe you do need to ride that bike. Got a few extra pounds there, buddy.”
Tucker was full of shit. While he was in much better shape, Jake was no slouch. They worked out together every few weeks and Tucker was constantly badgering him to do more, just to heckle him.
“You worry about your own girlish figure,” Jake answered, and laughed. He hopped on the 4-wheeler and threw up a hand behind him, giving a quick wave goodbye.
But if he’d had had known then the shape Tucker would be in when they next met, he’d have held that last hug with his friend a bit longer and tighter.
13
GRAYSIE HUDDLED on her bed and opened the backpack her father had packed for her. The security guard had practically thrown it at her in his hurry to get away from the horrifying wave of menstruating young women.
Her roommate, Becky, had disappeared again, luckily before the guard had brought her bag. She was glad to have the privacy. Whatever she found, she wasn’t sharing with Becky.
The first thing she saw was an envelope with her name written in cursive across the front. She pulled out the two-page letter, and seeing it was also written in cursive, she leaned back on her pillows to read. Seeing her father’s handwriting—they called it their secret code, as schools had stopped teaching it and most of her friends couldn’t read or write cursive—squeezed her heart. She felt a lump building in her throat. She wished he could swoop in and take her home. They’d argued for so long about her not wanting to spend her weekends at the farm. She’d wanted to stay in Columbia, with her friends as much as she could. Now she wished she could take it all back. She’d give anything to be at the farm right this minute.
The letter read:
Graysie,
If you’re reading this letter, one of two things have happened. Either 1) You’ve been partying all night and have the munchies, and you are looking for a quick snack, or 2) You’re in a serious situation and you need to get home. If it is number one, I’d ask that just this once, you listen to your stupid ‘ole dad and put this letter away, close the bag, and put it back in your car. Don’t even peek. There’s nothing in here you need right now, but everything that you might really need later. Please, do as I ask, this one time without question. Put it away.
If it’s number two, flip the page and read on.
Graysie turned the paper over.
Okay, so you’re in a situation. I’m glad you remembered the bag. If you’re still reading, I’m assuming you’re at college, or somewhere else away from home. Your number one priority is to get home. Hear me? Get home, quick. You can do this. You’re a strong girl, you have your mother’s stubborn Irish streak to go along with those red curls and green eyes. I can’t say enough how sorry I am that we lost your mother at Hurricane Katrina. Even though I have Olivia now, my heart still bleeds for your mom. I loved—still love—her very much. She was your mom… but she was my wife.
I imagine you’re getting angry now, as you do each time I bring her up. I wish you’d let it go. It is true, I could’ve saved her, but I would have lost you. It was her wish that I went for you first. You won’t let me talk about this to you, and I don’t know if you truly remember, but you’d already gone under twice. I was closer to your mom, but you were in the most trouble. She begged me to go to you. I did it for both of us. I tried to get back to her after I had you to safety, but she was already gone. I followed her wishes, and I truly feel that now she’s watching over you. Watching over both of us. The things I’ve done at the farm, to be prepared for any other disaster, are for you. I won’t let you down again. But first things first, I need you here, where I can take care of you.
Graysie swiped at her wet eyes. It was true. She had blamed her dad for not saving their mom. She’d couldn’t remember much of anything from that fateful day, but she’d been forced to listen to the story repeatedly. She knew he could only save one of them.
She swallowed hard and vowed to finally let it go and stop holding it against him. He was her father. He did the best he could, and losing mom was just as hard on him as it was on her. She’d been a real ass to him.
The three most important things you’ll need are water, food, and protection. I’ve taken care of the first two in this bag. The third thing can be found in your dorm. (I hope you’re in your dorm when you read this) You’ll be surprised to know when I was putting your bed together I did more than turn some screws. Lay down on the floor and crawl underneath your bed. Look in the far, far corner. Be careful with what you find!
Graysie threw the letter down and jumped to the floor, lying on her stomach and scooting under. She pushed aside bins of shoes and several old notebooks and looked at the bottom of the mattress.
There.
A box wrapped in brown paper.