Chapter 32
“Do you really think it will be enough? How many people are we expecting? We didn't find much ammo while we were out scavenging,” Henry said.
“I don't know that we should be expecting anyone, but it's better to be prepared. As far as ammunition goes, I don't want us to have to kill anyone. I just want us to be able to defend ourselves and scare them away,” Sarah said.
“Well, I don't know about your father, but I am happy to have you here helping out with all this. It's still hard to believe the mayor and the others could be behind something so ghastly as shooting an innocent man,” Connie said.
Sarah shrugged but said nothing as she looked out over the main road.
They had moved their now-nightly conversation to the front porch in an effort to continue to keep watch.
The bathhouse was coming along well. Adam seemed optimistic that it would be done within a couple days.
There was still a good bit of work to be done, but she was thankful they were making progress.
Between the two trailers and the house, they could take on two more families of four if they needed to.
Possibly even a couple extra stragglers if they were careful.
After going over the inventory list Connie and the twins had created, Sarah was pleasantly surprised that they would be well situated for the winter ahead.
It would take them several weeks just to get enough dry firewood to last the winter if they wanted to outfit both RVs with a heat source as well, but between the four of them, they had all the necessary skills to do so.
She knew that alone gave them an advantage over others now struggling with the new world.
“Do you think we need to have someone posted out and watching all night?” Connie asked. “What’s to stop them from coming here when it’s dark and trying to take what’s ours?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. They never saw me when I went through there, and I don’t think they’ll do anything at night. They’ll want to see what they’re doing, and they won’t be able to if it’s dark.”
“Still, I think if they want what we have, there won’t be anything to stop them if someone’s not keeping a lookout.”
“Like I said, they never saw me. If they want to come here and look for what you have, they’ll do it during the day. I’m sure they probably think it’s just the two of you out here still.”
“If we think they believe Connie and Henry are out here alone, shouldn’t we try to keep up that appearance? Just in case they are watching over the properties around the area,” Adam said.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Sarah said.
“How do we make sure they think it’s just your mom and me here? Once they see everyone moving around, they’ll know right away?”
“If they show up here, we’ll have the two of them do the talking while we wait inside. I highly doubt they’re keeping an eye out here. They’ve known you guys for years and probably aren’t too worried about it.”
“Well, at least we’ll have the element of surprise on our side if they come,” Adam said. “If they are just expecting your parents to be the only ones here.”
“Yeah, but none of it is good right now.”
“I wish it was different, Sarah, but we have to do what’s best for everyone here. People are losing their minds out there. Even if we thought we knew them, we don’t anymore.”
She didn't love the idea of her parents being in the line of danger but knew it was the best way to prevent any bloodshed from happening.
There was a good chance they would leave the homesteaders alone if the mayor thought they had nothing to offer.
Still, Sarah had her doubts. They were well known throughout the area for their greenhouse and the orchard.
Facilitating a trade route with the villagers would be the best bet, but she wasn't optimistic that the mayor would be willing to do so.
From what she had seen of the man, he was drunk on the power that martial law had given him.
He wasn't the type of a man to be bargained with.
They were going to be ready for him, no matter what the outcome of his arrival brought.
It had been a long and physically exhausting day for all of them, and it came as no surprise when her parents stood and headed inside for bed.
As tired as she was, Sarah couldn't pull herself off the porch.
Her mother mentioning the men might come at night had triggered a protective instinct inside her.
While she hadn't planned on spending the night outside, her mind was quickly starting to change.
If there was any chance that a night attack could come, she wanted to be ready for them.
How a group of drunken men could still be awake at that late hour, Sarah had no idea.
When she felt someone watching her, Sarah looked around and expected the worst but found Adam gazing at her with a smile on his lips.
Instantly, she started to blush. They hadn't had much time alone since finding the twins.
She didn't know what to say to him. So, much had changed since they had first met all those years ago.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but you’re staring at me,” Sarah said.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to stare,” Adam replied. “It’s just that I can’t get over how amazing you are.”
Sarah laughed. “What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying. You really have your shit together when it comes to all of this. You’re smart as hell and always know the right thing to do. I’ve never met a woman as smart as you are. Let alone how strong and resilient you are.”
“You know, I might need to get you to put that into writing, just to remember you said it later on.”
“Why do I need to remember that later?”
“I made a promise to Madison that I intend to keep. When I do what I promised her I would do, I’ll need you to remember how smart you said I was.”
“When do you plan on making good on that promise?”
As the question hung in the air, Sarah wasn’t sure how to answer it.
There was still a lot that needed to be done at the homestead before she could even think about going back.
Still, a promise to her was worth its weight in gold.
She had never broken a promise, and she wasn’t going to start.
No matter what happened at the end of helping her parents prepare, she had given her word to Meredith.
Telling any of them was going to be hard enough, but putting a timeframe on it now was impossible.
“I haven’t figured it all out yet, but when I do, I promise you will be the first to know,” Sarah said.
Her friend fell silent next to her as they listened to the crickets in the forest. Sarah didn't know what to say to the man to comfort him.
She wasn't going to go back on the promise she had made to Meredith.
Still, convincing them that she was perfectly capable of going on her own wouldn't be easy.
Sarah wanted to lay the foundation with Adam, knowing he trusted her and her instincts were a good start.
It was getting late, and she could see the fatigue in his eyes.
“You need to go to bed. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Sarah said.
“Oh yeah? And what about you? Are you going to sit out here, watching the road all night?” Adam asked.
Sarah grinned at him and shrugged. “I don't know. I'll probably come in a bit. I just want to stay out here a while longer and make sure it's all clear.”
Adam chuckled as he rose, patting her shoulder as he walked by. “You really are something else, Sarah.”
Her cheeks flushed once again as his hand moved away from her shoulder.
Silence filled the air around her. Sarah prayed she was wrong about the villagers and her mother was right.
The last thing she wanted was bloodshed when it wasn't needed.
Despite the logic in her brain telling her there was nothing to worry about until the sun came up, Sarah still couldn't go inside as her eyes became heavy.
As she dozed off in the chair, she thought about her parents and the people she loved inside the house.
No one was going to hurt them on her watch.