Post Grid: An Arizona EMP Adventure (18 page)

Jared held her gaze until she finally looked away, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. The silence was palpable until he finally broke it.

“So what we have is purely professional?” He shook his head when she refused to answer. “I respect professionalism as much as the next guy. Cops, like me, and nurses, like you, well, we don't have much beyond our honor, but Kelly, you and I are in a unique situation. Right now, we don't know what rules apply in this new world.”

She stared at his leg as he spoke.

“I enjoyed our talks, and those didn't seem purely professional. Neither did our night in that cozy sleeping bag. Believe me, that night made this gunshot worth it.” Kelly's eyes darted up to meet his gaze briefly, then looked away. “I've seen the way you look at me throughout the day. I thought—hoped—that maybe there was something more there.”

“I would love for there to be more, but...”

“But what?” Jared said strongly. “Here we are living in the same house and it looks like we might be together for quite some time.,” Jared spoke through his clenched teeth in a tone just more than a whisper. His voice softened a bit. “Besides,” he murmured, taking Kelly's chin between his thumb and forefinger, he turned her head so that she was looking straight at him. “Besides, I think you are the most beautiful, smart and caring person in the world. I'm not going to be discharged in a few days and you are not being paid to take care of me. You didn't have to stop for me on the road.”

Pulling her chin from between his fingers, she said, “I had no choice.”

“I know. I think nurses and police officers are cut from the same cloth. I wouldn't have expected you to pass me by, and you wouldn't have expected me to pass you by, if you had been in my shoes. I have been watching you around the house. I love the way you help your mom and talk with Lynn, the way you teach her about nursing and cooking. I'm getting stronger each day. Today, I walked the hundred yards to the canyon road by myself. Granted, I had to sit a few times to rest, but I made it. I'd love if you went with me sometime, sometime soon, but not as my nurse. We can say your mom is my nurse if that makes you feel better.”

Kelly smiled. She raised their joined hands to her lips and kissed his hand softly. “Yeah, okay, I'd like that.” She looked calmly into Jared's eyes. “I just need you to know that I have issues I can't talk about yet.”

“You mean about the fire?”

“No, about men, relationships.”

“What, Kel?”

“Don't push me just yet, okay Jared? I'll have to tell you when I'm ready.”

“I'll understand; just tell me now.”

Kelly looked across the room at the lifeless wood stove, avoiding eye contact. She could feel tears start to well in her lower lids. “I can't, just know, I can't.”

“I didn't mean to upset you, really. Come here,” Jared said as he scooted further toward the back of the sofa, turning on his side to make room for her. “For old times' sake,” he said as he lifted his blanket, inviting her in.

“I'll have to think about it. If I lie there I may never get up, and I'd
never
get your dressing done.”

“I wouldn't mind,” Jared said with a devilish grin. “You could do the dressing first, then lie down with me.”

Kelly squinted slightly, thinking the proposal over. “What would Mom and Lynn say if they found us together?”

“We're grown adults. Surely your mom doesn't think that you've remained a chaste young thing throughout your military career?”

“It's just different for me. It's my mom's house and we're out here
on the couch
.”

Jared didn't push any further. “I don't know what your issues are, but I will respect them. And Kel, I will respect you and your mom too.”

Kelly smiled and finished changing the dressing, then sat holding his hand a little while longer. “You're tempting, Mr. Malloy, but tomorrow will be another busy day and it's late. She took her leave reluctantly. Jared watched her disappear into a soft pool of light down the hallway.

****

Rich, Dennis, and Jose got up with the sun to start work on the windmill. They had a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee on Rich's little camp stove. They ate on the front porch and then started up the canyon. Jose carried a large tarp and a Sharpie marker. Rich had a large box of well parts. The dew made the quaking aspen leaves shine like gold coins in the light breeze of morning. The grass was damp and fragrant. The men walked side by side up the well-worn path through the little canyon to the West. Dennis thought how lucky they all were to have come together in this place. Rich pointed out Emma's healing herbs and a separate garden for seasoning herbs, as well as the rabbit hutch and chicken coop. Further up they passed a small barn and one of the corrals on their way to the windmill.

The windmill stood at the mouth of the box canyon where it received the wind as it was forced through the narrow channel. Fifty feet higher than Rich's house and seventy-five feet higher than Emma's, the well gravity fed both houses.

“With a day as nice as today, you would almost think the world wasn't falling apart,” Jose said. The men stood for a few moments to drink in the serenity and beauty of the spot.

“You must be worried about your wife,” Rich said. “I'm sure she's fine with her family.”

“I can't worry too much about that right now,” Jose said simply. When both men stared at him, he shook his head, the fear he tried to hide threatening to overtake him. He cleared his throat. “I really can't do anything about it. I need to be strong for Jess.”

“I'm no preacher, like Dennis, but maybe you need to be less strong for Jess,” Rich said.

Jose stood with a puzzled look on his face and thought about what was just said.

“I don't think so,” he said. “It's the boy's mother we're talking about.”

“Exactly. Your being strong makes Jess think you don't care about his mom or him.”

Jose frowned in thought. Maybe Rich was right. Maybe he was hiding his feelings from himself and Jess. Somehow it was easier to bury himself in all of the work around the small ranches. He could deal with feelings later. Jose raised his gaze, set his jaw, and went about starting work.

The men's first task was to service and reattach the gearbox to the windmill. The gears changed the circular motion of the spinning wheel into the up-and-down motion of the pump pole. The pump pole, pump rod, and cylinder—the actual pump—needed to be serviced and reconnected too. Rich and Jose laid out the big tarp, then began ripping apart the gear box.

“Hey, Mijo,” Jose said as he saw his son coming up the path toward him. “I'm glad you are here. Maybe we can teach you something about the workings of a well and a pump.”

“Sure, whatever,” Jess said, looking down at his feet, trying to amplify his disinterest.

Jose furrowed his brow, but then let it soften. Maybe he could couch it in a way that would capture Jess's attention. “You know, son, a well pump is similar to a pump on a car or on a plane, for that matter.”

Jess looked up, expressionless, waiting to hear what his dad would say next.

“They all work on the principle of compression and expansion,” Jose continued.

Jess bunched up his lip on one side of his mouth, put both hands in his jeans pockets, and walked slowly toward Jose and Dennis, still silent.

“Look here,” said Jose, “we've got these parts laid out on the tarp, you know, the way we do with the SUV...” He didn't have to say anymore. Jess silently took the pieces from Jose and arranged them. He carefully drew an outline of each part and then made notes, on the tarp itself, about its placement and information they would need to get it back together. Jess put every nut, screw, and washer next to its corresponding part and drew arrows to show its placement. Soon, his frown had faded and he was joking and talking with the other men.

****

The morning went smoothly and by the time the sun was getting high in the sky, Jose noticed Emma and Kelly out in the garden hoeing weeds, planting rows and harvesting vegetables. It wasn't long before Emma called, “Lunch in an hour.”

Dennis stopped his task and stood upright, stretching his back. “Jess, help me fold the empty half of the tarp over the well pieces. We'll have to secure it all the way around with rocks to keep stuff from being blown away.”

“As long as some stupid old cow doesn't come by and walk on it, it should be good when we get back,” Jess said.

Dennis said, “Jess, your dad and Rich have agreed to stay here this afternoon and get this pump further along. I'll need your help if we're going to get all the food supplies hauled and stored.”

“Stored where?” Jess asked. “The house seems pretty full.”

Hey, Rich, does it freeze here in the winter?” asked Dennis.

“We get about ten to twenty nights a year in the thirties, but I know where you're going with that,” Rich answered. “There's a cave up here a bit where we can put away the groceries. That should keep them from freezing and they will be harder to find if any thieves come calling. I'll show you.”

Rich led the band further up the canyon. To their left was a small path that looked like it was made by deer or other wild animals. They made their way through some low bushes until they were at the canyon wall.

“It's right in here,” Rich said, pointing to a hole at the base of the cliff. “It opens up pretty good once you get inside. We'll have to send two people in when we bring the supplies up here: one to pass the goods through that hole and the other to stack 'em. We can take turns. The work will be pretty slow going because whoever passes will have to lie on his back. I have some stuff in there already. I'll take a quick inventory before we put in anything new.”

“Cool,” Jess said. His eyes lit up and his voice became animated. “Can I go in?”

“Not now, son,” Rich said. “You'll get your clothes all dirty. You'll have plenty of time in that ol' cave later. You'll be begging to get out of it,” he said with a chuckle.

“Do you think we should keep some food at the house as a decoy stash?” Jose asked.

“Not a bad idea,” said Rich. “It will be easier to use, too, if we store it closer to the kitchen. We don't want to be making regular trips up here to get stuff either. Our tracks would be too fresh and we would put wear on the trail.”

“Let's get down to lunch,” Dennis said. “The girls are probably wondering where we are.”

****

Emma and Lynn had a small lunch on the table when the men got back. The kitchen smelled heavenly. Emma scooped the last of the canned corned beef out of the frying pan when everyone sat down. A big salad and a bowl of green beans rounded out the meal.

“I'd have liked to have had a big batch of biscuits for lunch too,” Emma said, “but I don't want to be using all of the propane for baking. It's too hot to fire up the wood stove in the house yet. The lettuce grows faster than I can pick it though, so have a big helping of greens.”

“We live in Arizona, the land of sunshine,” Dennis said. “I'll build you a rocket stove and a solar oven when I get a chance. I would have liked to have had some biscuits myself.”

“I made a rocket stove at camp, remember, Dad?” asked Jess.

“That's a great idea, Mijo. It won't take us fifteen minutes to build if we can find some bricks.”

“Oh, I've got some bricks at the side of the house, but it's not just the oven,” Emma said. “We seem to have plenty of oil, but we're pretty short on shortening.” Everyone chuckled. “It would be easier to make biscuits than bread, but without shortening the result would be pretty dissatisfying. Speaking of bread, Lynn told me that she usually bakes two loaves of bread and makes meals for the Sabbath on Friday mornings. We still have two loaves of bread, but we'll have to be thinking about when we should start making more. Our bread baking will have to be cut way back to save our flour stores. I hope we get more flour this afternoon from the trucks.”

“Lynn is a great baker of challah,” Dennis said, smiling.

“What's challah?” asked Jess.

Dennis looked over at Jess. “It's a braided egg bread that represents the manna that fell from heaven every day but the Sabbath. A double portion fell on the sixth day so that no work had to be done gathering manna on the Sabbath. We don't cook on the Sabbath, so we make meals in advance.

“Lynn and I did a little more preparation for tomorrow's meals,” Emma said.

“Where's Kelly and Jared?” Rich asked.

“Oh, they'll be right along,” Emma said. “Kelly is doing Jared's dressing change. Jared thinks he will be able to make it to town for the divvy this afternoon. I sure am pleased with how well his shoulder is coming along.”

Kelly and Jared joined them directly. Everyone found somewhere to sit in the crowded little kitchen. The men told everyone how the well was going and that they expected to have it back together by evening if all went well. Everyone asked Jess and Lynn about what supplies they could expect to find in the barn down “in town” as they called it now. Dennis told everyone about building a solar oven.

Lunch was over in a flash. Jose and Rich went back up the trail to work on the windmill. Emma went with Dennis to hook Buckskin to the donkey cart. After the horse was harnessed, everyone else was ready to go to the divvy.