Chapter 42
By the time the homestead came into view, Sarah and George were both antsy to get back to their friends and family waiting for them.
As soon as he saw the twins emerge from the front gates, George started to nicker without ceasing until, finally, she let go of his bridle and let him gallop the last fifty yards to the gates.
Instantly, the children were climbing on him and wrapping their arms around the horse’s neck.
After the warm welcome they’d given the horse, she was sure they wouldn’t ever let him go again.
Seconds later, as George was trotting to where his family was calling to him from the barn, the twins were climbing all over her in the same manner.
She couldn’t believe how much she had missed them both.
Her parents emerged a few minutes after seeing George run past the backyard.
Immediately, her parents pulled her into their arms, but it was short-lived as introductions were made.
Alan and Adam greeted each other like old friends.
Right away, the children disappeared with the twins, leaving only Pepper behind with the adults despite the small girl’s protests.
Connie, as Sarah had expected, was instantly smitten with the small child and was fast to distract the child and ease the tantrum.
Sarah could see the relief in Becky’s eyes as they made their way onto the property.
While Adam and Connie took charge of getting the new group settled, Henry walked with Sarah to the barn to get George unpacked and back out to pasture with the other animals.
From the looks of things, nothing much had changed on the homestead.
The orchard was a bit more bare, and the color had gone from the grass, but as they finished harvesting, she’d expected as much.
There was a huge weight lifted from her shoulders now that she had returned home.
“So, have there been any issues with the mayor while I was gone?” Sarah asked.
“Nothing with the mayor directly, but there was a problem a couple of days ago.”
“Shit,” Sarah said. “What happened?”
“Eric went out hunting two days ago and ran into that scout that you crossed before you left.”
As soon as her father mentioned Eric’s name, her blood started to boil. Anyone who was going to mess with either of those children was going to get the full amount of her rage. While she hadn’t heard the full story, her heart was already racing.
“Tell me what happened, Dad.”
“Well, Eric took his bow and was out in the woods hunting for rabbit. He told us that the guy came up to him and cornered him, asking a ton of questions.”
“They’re still trying to find out what we have here,” Sarah fumed. “What was he trying to find out?”
“The main thing he was asking Eric was to find out how many people were here, but he was trying to get him to say how many guns there were and figure out what kind of resources we had.”
“That son of a bitch. Is Eric okay?”
“He’s fine. That’s what really matters,” Henry said. “He was freaked out at first, but he said the man didn’t hurt him, just asked a ton of questions.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Sarah seethed. “If he comes back around here and shows his face, I’m going to put him down like the dying dog he is.”
“Just take a breath, sweetheart. All that matters is that Eric is just fine. We don’t want to start anything with them, and we certainly don’t want to choose violence if we don’t have to. If something happens down the road, we can deal with it then.”
Sarah was still infuriated, and that wouldn’t change until someone paid for scaring her little boy.
Anger coursed through her as she brushed George down.
Now that he was free from his gear, he was anxious to get out into the pasture with his friends.
She quickly opened the gate and set him free.
As she closed it again and watched him gallop to meet his friends, Sarah worked to calm herself back down.
Now that she was there, she could keep them all safe.
The first thing was going to be teaching them the same bird calls the girls had used.
The next time Eric was cornered, he could call out, and they’d have the man trapped.
Sarah wouldn’t let any of the children out of their sight again until the feud with the mayor and his men was dealt with.
She wouldn’t let her family live in fear.
With Alan’s family of five situated in the large, converted RV and Meredith in the smaller one, the children were soon racing across the property as they explored.
The serious conversation the adults needed to have could wait a little longer but not forever.
There would need to be some changes to how things ran on the homestead.
Sarah was sure that the scout going after Eric would precede an attack by the mayor.
He was threatened by her. It came as no shock that he would wait until she was gone to attack the elderly and children, with only Adam there to defend the property.
Her hatred for the man grew each time she thought about him.
Before she could go down that path in her mind, an arm linked through hers, and Becky smiled at her.
“Well, you weren’t wrong about this place,” Becky said. “It truly is an amazing piece of land, and you guys have everything you need right here.”
“It’s been in the family for a while. My parents have taken care of this land and everything on it for as long as I can remember,” Sarah said. “We do have a problem, but we will talk about that later.”
“Is it something we need to be worried about?”
“Nothing immediate, but something we need to be watchful about, especially with the kids. We need to keep an eye out for them.”
“Someone is a danger to the kids?” Becky asked.
“Not directly, but we can talk about the details later. Just promise you’ll keep an eye out for anything out of place.”
“That’s easy. I don’t think I’ve let them out of my sight since this whole thing started. I don’t know who to trust, and I’d rather not learn the hard way.”
“Good,” Sarah said. “The world’s gone to shit, and there was an issue the other day. I don’t know what will come of it.”
“Well, as long as we’re here now, we’re going to fight by your side. If anything were to happen to my children, I’d put someone in the grave.”
“People might come to try to take what we have here, but I don’t plan on letting that happen.”
“You have us, and we’re willing to fight to protect what’s ours,” Becky said.
“That’s good to know. Like I said, I don’t know what to expect, but a fight is what it might come down to,” Sarah said. “I just don’t know when or how many we’ll have to fight.”
As her friend went silent next to her, Sarah prayed she was worrying her for no good reason.
Her biggest hope was that she was completely wrong about everything and that the scout had been a rouge working on his own.
She wanted to believe they were safe, but until she dealt with the mayor herself, Sarah knew she wouldn’t get a restful night’s sleep.
They were well armed, though, and they had so much to fight for that they wouldn’t fail. It simply wasn’t an option.
“Hey, have a little faith,” Becky said. “I know you are worried about all this, but we are a team now. You aren’t going up against this by yourself.”
“I know. I just wish it wasn’t an issue at all,” Sarah said. “What kind of world do we live in where this is even a problem?”
“I don’t think anyone ever plans on going up against an angry mob of villagers, but we’ll do what we have to in order to protect our home and family now.
Trust me when I tell you that it can be a lot worse.
Between Alan and me, we have seven guns and two-hundred rounds of ammunition.
We didn’t have the bodies to defend our land because there were only two of us.
Think of what we can do with seven adults. ”
“I know, and we aren’t slouches, either. Meredith is a sharpshooter, and both my parents have damn good aim. We can make this work.”
Becky nudged her affectionately. “I know we can, but it’s good to see your spirit has improved a little. We are a family now; remember that.”
She smiled at Becky. “We always have been. Thank you for reminding me of that.”