Matt winced. A personal favor was almost more awkward than if Gutierrez had asked the town. “Oh. I’d love to help if you’ll give me a few days. Right now me and a few others are spending every moment of our spare time helping Trent Lincoln build his house.”
His friend’s face went carefully blank. “Trent.”
The complete lack of accusation made Matt hunch his shoulders defensively. “He called for his family to come here from the refugee camps. Actually I was just on my way to tell him that they’ve arrived, and we still need to get a roof over their heads.”
Gutierrez’s bitter expression faded. He almost looked… defeated. “I get it,” he said heavily. “I’m alone, and I can help myself, so I’ll obviously never qualify for help from the town. Or from my friends.” He turned and quickly strode away, calling over his shoulder. “I’ll figure it out on my own.”
“Raul!” Matt said in frustration, starting after his friend.
The former soldier seemed to sense it. He turned sharply and held out a hand. “Don’t worry about it! You’re the Mayor, you’ve got plenty of important stuff to do. I get it.”
Matt swore as the man disappeared down the street. It was just a few hours, to patch a rift of neglect he hadn’t even realized was there. Why hadn’t Gutierrez just said something instead of throwing a hissy fit?
Maybe because he’d already tried every other option, and when he finally tried coming to his friends for help Matt had practically treated him like a mooch. Guilt ate away most of his anger, and with renewed determination he made his way over to where the Lincolns’ house was going up.
He’d sort things out with Gutierrez, but first things first.
Trent was hard at work as usual. With Lewis and Trev, the two who usually helped, gone to their hideout he was focusing on doing tasks he could handle on his own, preparing for when more help was available so he didn’t waste their time. Matt imagined Gutierrez had done the same.
As Matt approached the former volunteer finished notching the log he was working on and set aside his axe, sweat streaming down his face in spite of the cool post-rain air. “Just in time,” he said, wiping his forehead on his sleeve. “I’ve got a few that can go up before I head out to chop down more trees.” He pointed to a small pile of notched logs ready to be fitted into place in the cabin’s walls.
“Save that,” Matt said, managing a grin in spite of his worries about his other friend. “Can I borrow you for a second?”
“After all the help you’ve given me?” Trent immediately went to retrieve his gun belt, starting to settle his MP-443 Grach on his hip, but Matt waved him off.
“You won’t need it.”
The man grinned and pointedly finished cinching the buckle, then slung his rifle and pack over his shoulders. “No offense to the town, I know you guys’ve done a great job with crime, but I still don’t feel comfortable risking any of this stuff out of my sight.”
Fair enough. Living with his family there was always someone around to watch their things while Matt was gone, so he hadn’t really considered what it was like to live alone. Thankfully Trent no longer had to worry about that.
Matt led the way back down the path, Trent keeping pace beside him. “So what was it you needed?” the man asked politely.
“You’ll see soon. It’s just outside town.” Matt pointed up the western slope.
Trent followed his finger, frowning. “Is that Trev, Lewis, and Jane coming back from their trip? They went after a stove, right?” Having leapt to that assumption, his confusion cleared. “I can help them get that installed no problem. We put up a stove in our new house a few years back.”
Sure enough three people on bikes were winding their way down the slope on the muddy dirt road, one towing a heavily loaded trailer and all moving cautiously with heavy packs on their backs.
So his friends were finally back; Deb would be happy about that. And sure enough, he could see her at her waiting spot on her feet and waving excitedly.
“Actually that wasn’t it,” Matt said. He pointed higher, to the larger group of people on foot that had just appeared over the ridge. He let his smile widen. “You’ve got visitors.”
Trent stiffened like he’d been struck by lightning, fumbling with his pack to retrieve his binoculars. “Is that…?” He brought them to his eyes and looked through them for a second, then returned Matt’s grin and clapped him on the shoulder before bolting off down the street, calling behind him. “Thanks!”
Matt followed at a slower pace to meet his returning friends before greeting the new arrivals. By the time he reached Deb the three had already pulled their bikes to a stop and Trev was going over their trip with the brown-haired woman. They all waved at Trent as he ran past, Lewis calling a question that the man ignored, so with shrugs they let him go.
“How’d it go?” Matt asked his friends when he reached them. He glanced at the bike trailer, relieved to see that they’d managed to bring back the stove like they’d planned. That would immeasurably improve the situation for Trev’s family.
Lewis shook his head. “We were just telling Deb. The hideout was ransacked and some guys tried to take the stove while we were there. But on the plus side we managed to stop them, and we also brought back an elk.”
Matt was surprised to hear the place had been found. For being so close to the road it was incredibly secluded, hard to find unless you knew it was there. “I guess it’s tough to keep things hidden from thousands and thousands of hungry scavengers.”
The older cousin nodded, then turned and jerked a thumb after Trent, still pounding up the road towards his family. “Speaking of which… judging by his Christmas morning grin as he ran by, I’m guessing that group of refugees we just passed is actually his family.”
Trev slapped his forehead. “Seriously! I knew we should’ve stopped to say hello.” He glanced at the stove inside the bike trailer. That was a good explanation for why they hadn’t: no risking run-ins with travelers on the road when they were carrying something that important. “Well now that they’re here we’ll need to see what we can do for them.”
Matt stared at his friend. The shorter blond man had a generous heart, but he’d made the same oversight Matt had. “Trev, why the blazes isn’t Gutierrez on your roster?”
Trev jumped, turning back from staring upslope to give him an uncertain look. “Huh?”
“He told me he’s been searching for ways to help out, when you’re having trouble filling shifts. Why didn’t you include him?”
His friend scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “Um, because he didn’t volunteer?”
Matt knew it wasn’t fair, but he kept pushing. “And while you were making sure everyone else had a place when you got back, you left him sleeping in his tent?”
“Hey, why are you getting on his case?” Deb demanded.
“It’s fine,” Trev told her, although he hunched his shoulders defensively as he turned back to Matt. “Look, it’s not like Gutierrez is new to town. He has a place.”
So Matt wasn’t the only one who’d let the former soldier fall through the cracks. All the more reason to remedy the situation and show their friend he was part of the community. “He had a place down in the pile of cinders we abandoned! Here he’s got a tent, and his friends won’t even give him the time of day.”
Trev stared at him miserably, but Lewis was calm as he intervened. “Including you?”
Matt froze, and just that quickly his anger faded away. “Yes, including me,” he said heavily. “Me more than anyone. Forget I said anything, Trev.”
“No, I’m glad you let me know. I’ve been so busy with everything I didn’t even think about whether he needed a hand.” Trev smiled wryly. “And you know, I think a spot on the roster for tomorrow afternoon just opened up. I’ll see if he wants it.”