Earl looked outside with dread. Manny opened the door and shoved him out. Earl staggered and fell headfirst into a snowbank. He struggled to his feet, batted the snow from his pants and glanced back briefly before trudging off into the night.
“From now on, you are all free to stay or leave as you wish,” Holly announced. “I suggest you organize yourselves to care for the elderly residents who are still alive.”
“But what if he tries to come back?” the blonde girl asked, not willing to use Earl’s name.
“Any good con artist knows when he’s outworn his welcome,” Holly said. “But if he’s stupid enough to return, I suggest you save him a spot in the shed.”
A few of the employees thanked her. Holly had unique insight into what they’d gone through. Being captive in an unhealthy relationship was nothing new, even for her. Travis had been her Earl. In that old world, filled with what had passed for justice, she had been the one to flee. The rules, however, had changed. Bad guys might be plentiful, but they had also been put on notice. The good guys didn’t need to play nice, not anymore.
Holly, Manny and Dillon returned to the snowcat to find Johnny still leaning against the passenger door, fast asleep. They climbed in and took their seats.
The banker stirred awake and yawned, dragging his hands down the front of his face. “That took forever. Did I miss anything exciting?”
Manny started the engine and began backing away.
“Not really,” Holly said, exchanging a look with Manny.
Johnny rested his head back against the door. His brow suddenly furrowed in confusion at the sight of the nursing home employees standing in the lobby, waving goodbye. “Uh, what the―”
“Go back to bed,” Holly said. “You’re having a dream.”
Johnny thought better of arguing and instead sank back into a sound sleep.
Chapter 16
Dakota was lying in an open field next to the freeway adjusting the sights on her rifle scope.
“Eight clicks left and sixteen clicks down,” Nate estimated, eyeing the deer in the distance. “Go for a double shoulder shot.”
A bullet entering above the shoulder would hit vital organs and likely drop the deer right then and there.
She closed one eye, slowed her breathing and then gently pulled back on the trigger. The rifle barked, kicking back against her shoulder. Out in the field, a fine red mist sprayed out from the animal’s chest before it collapsed.
“Hey, not bad,” Nate said, congratulating her.
Dakota was all smiles.
“Now we’ll find out if you’re as good at skinning as you are at shooting.”
They heard a low growl from Shadow, who stood guard only a few feet away. Turning, they saw a man approaching them. He wore a heavy winter jumpsuit and a fur hat. His bushy beard, caked with icicles, partly obscured the broad smile he greeted them with. Over his shoulder and hugging his camo-patterned backpack was what looked like a hunting rifle. He appeared to be alone.
As he got closer, Nate and Dakota stood watching. All the while, the menace continued to build in the back of Shadow’s throat.
“Howdy,” the man said, his gaze fixed on the wolf. “Is he friendly?”
“For the most part,” Nate said. “Although that’ll largely depend on you.”
That made the man smile. “Good answer. I was passing through on my snowmobile and saw the tracks leading from your truck. Wanted to see if you folks were okay.”
“I just killed my first deer,” Dakota said proudly.
“Good for you, little lady.” He wiped at the icicles dangling from his facial hair in an attempt to make himself a little more presentable. “Name’s Guy Parnell. Pleasure to meet you. I hope you don’t mind me saying you two are a sight for sore eyes.”
Nate introduced himself and Dakota did the same. “Where are you coming from, Guy?” he asked warily. This wasn’t the first time a stranger had approached them from out of nowhere. And things hadn’t turned out so well back then.
“Wheaton,” Guy replied. His voice wasn’t all that deep, but it was filled with kindness and brimming with confidence. “It’s a suburb of Chicago. I’m heading out of the city and, by the looks of it, about a week behind schedule.”
“You hungry, Guy?” Nate asked.
Guy’s chin rose as he flashed a clean row of pearly whites. “I could definitely eat. Deer’s my favorite. Lemme give you a hand.” Guy turned his attention back to Shadow, who wasn’t growling anymore. “That mean I’m gonna live?” he said, half joking.
“For now,” Nate replied.
The three of them carried the carcass to a clearing that overlooked the highway. They had pulled the Beast slightly off the road. Next to that was Guy’s snowmobile.
They strung the animal up using a length of paracord and tossed the rope over a stout tree branch. Right away, Dakota got to work, emptying the guts and offering them to Shadow, who devoured them gleefully. Next, she worked the end of her knife down the length of each back limb and pulled the hide off the body. For some reason, whenever Nate watched a deer get skinned it brought up a memory from his childhood—that time his dad had gotten stuck in his sweater and his ma had run up and pulled it up from the waist over his head. Watching her yank it past his neck and arms had looked very much like what Dakota was now doing to this deer.
“Your daughter’s got a knack for living off the grid,” Guy said, impressed. “You taught her well.”
Nate shook his head. “I wish I could take credit. Most of the time she’s the one teaching me.”
Guy gave him a knowing smile, as though Nate was just being humble. Nate realized there wasn’t enough time to explain the unusual circumstances of his relationship with the girl, so he let it go. But he wasn’t willing to let everything go.
“We haven’t had much luck with strangers lately,” Nate told him as they watched Dakota slice off another chunk for Shadow, who was happy to oblige.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Guy said thoughtfully.
“I’m sure so long as both of us behave we’ll all get along just fine.”
“I suspect we will, Nate. And I feel the same way. I had my own apprehensions about the whole situation. But I can assure you, you won’t get any trouble out of me.”
Both men shook hands.
Thirty minutes later they were sitting before a fire, enjoying the delicious smell and sounds of meat cooking over an open flame. After eating from a can for so long, Nate had forgotten what a luxury it was to eat fresh food.
Nate handed Guy a haunch. He took it in his gloved hands and sank his teeth into the warm flesh. “I must say,” Guy told them, wiping the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand, “when I spotted that plow you got on the front of your truck, I knew I had to stop. Can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it before.”
Dakota and Nate both laughed, their mouths full.
“One of a kind, I’m afraid,” Nate explained. “Was made by a friend of mine to help clear the streets in Marengo. Works like a charm too.”
“Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Is that where you were coming from, Marengo?”
Nate and Dakota both grew quiet. Neither of them were all that eager to share too much.
“Around there,” Nate offered vaguely. “But you should know, anything to the west of that is off limits now.”
“Radioactivity,” Guy said, nodding as though he knew all about it.
“You heard? Word travels fast, I suppose.”
“I got my amateur radio license a few years back,” Guy told them. “Three winters ago my car broke down on a backcountry road and I nearly froze to death. Swore to myself right then and there I’d never get caught with my pants down again. So I started filling in the gaps in my knowledge. Making up for lost time. Even went and bought myself a little place on Geneva Lake just north of here. Figured at the very least it would be a nice spot for the wife and kids. I was working on the wife and kids part when the lights went out. But I’m more than fine with my own company.”