Chapter Twenty-Two
Abigail
By late January, the Bitterroot Mountains did not just experience winter; they were conquered by it.
The snow began falling two days after Thanksgiving and simply never stopped, burying Sector Charlie beneath six feet of blinding white powder.
The temperature regularly plummeted to ten degrees below zero.
To anyone else, the isolation would have been maddening.
The lower access road was utterly impassable to anything without tank treads, leaving the compound completely cut off from the rest of the world.
To Abby, it was heaven.
She sat at the head of the massive dining table in the main lodge, a steaming mug of Kyle’s aggressively strong coffee at her elbow. She was wearing thick wool leggings, heavy wool socks, and a dark green flannel shirt she had permanently stolen from Will’s closet.
Spread out in front of her was Leo’s secondary laptop, currently displaying a highly complex, color-coded logistical spreadsheet.
"I am not doing it," Kaiden announced, stalking into the great room while attempting to strip off a massive, snow-covered parka.
"I am drawing a line in the ice. I am a highly trained, lethal operator, and I refuse to shovel the eastern solar array again.
I can't feel my face. I'm pretty sure my nose just chipped off. "
Abby didn't look up from her screen. She simply hit a few keystrokes, highlighting a cell in bright, unforgiving red.
"The roster is the roster, Kaiden," Abby said, her voice the picture of serene, executive authority. "And according to the chore matrix, you lost the drawing on Tuesday. Which means you are on solar duty until Sunday."
"The matrix is rigged," Kaiden grumbled, tossing his gloves onto the hearth. "You built the algorithm. You and Leo conspired to keep me in the snow because I beat you both at poker."
"I don't have to rig an algorithm to beat you, Kaiden," Leo called out from the comms room, not even bothering to poke his head out. "You fold any time Abby raises her right eyebrow. It's a known psychological tell."
Kaiden sputtered indignantly.
Kyle walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel, a massive grin on his face. "Give it up, kid. She's the COO of the compound now. You can't out-argue a corporate strategist. Just go thaw your nose out by the fire."
"She's a tyrant," Kaiden complained loudly, though he immediately dropped onto the rug in front of the roaring fire, holding his hands out to the flames. "A beautiful, terrifying tyrant."
"I prefer the term 'Efficiency Director,'" Abby corrected, finally looking up with a bright, unapologetic smile. "And if you finish the array before lunch, I'll authorize Kyle to make those cinnamon rolls you've been begging for."
Kaiden’s head snapped around, his eyes wide. "The ones with the heavy cream icing?"
"That's a negative," Kyle interjected, crossing his arms. "We're rationing the heavy cream until the plow can get through the pass next month."
Abby tapped her pen against the table. "Actually, Kyle, if you recalculate the dairy consumption curve since we switched to black coffee in the mornings, we have a surplus of exactly one quart of cream. Which expires in three days anyway."
Kyle stared at her, utterly defeated by the math. He threw the dish towel over his shoulder. "Fine. Cinnamon rolls. But I'm writing 'Tyrant' in frosting on yours."
"I accept those terms," Abby laughed.
Trent walked down the hallway from the armory, a heavy ledger under his arm. He paused at the edge of the room, taking in the scene: Kaiden thawing on the floor, Kyle grumbling affectionately in the kitchen, and Abby flawlessly directing the chaos from the head of the table.
The commander of The Refuge caught Abby’s eye. He didn't smile. Trent rarely smiled. But he gave her a slow, deeply respectful nod of pure approval before continuing on his way.
Abby’s heart swelled with a warm, grounding contentment.
Six months ago, she had been a hollowed-out shell of a woman, terrified of her own shadow, rationing instant oatmeal in a freezing tent.
Now, she was the anchor of a family forged in fire and snow.
The ghosts of Los Angeles were completely gone.
David had been disbarred pending a federal investigation, Vanguard had quietly severed all ties with his firm, and the threat to the compound had evaporated into thin air.
The heavy front door of the mudroom opened, letting in a brief, howling blast of arctic wind before slamming shut.
A moment later, Will walked into the great room.
He was covered in a dusting of fine white snow, his massive frame bundled in a heavy canvas winter coat and thick leather gloves. His cheeks were flushed red from the cold, his dark hair slightly damp, and his stormy grey eyes were piercingly bright.
He took one look at Abby sitting at the head of the table in his flannel shirt, and the entire room seemed to fade away.
"Kaiden," Will rumbled, unzipping his coat. "The western perimeter fence is clear. But the eastern solar array has two feet of drift on it."
"I know, I know, the tyrant already told me," Kaiden groaned from the floor. "I'm going back out after I regain feeling in my extremities."
Will chuckled, walking up behind Abby's chair. He leaned down, burying his cold nose into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. Abby shivered, a brilliant smile breaking across her face as she leaned back into his solid warmth, reaching her hands up to cup his cold cheeks.
"You're freezing," she murmured.
"I'll warm up," Will promised, pressing a soft kiss below her ear. He pulled back just enough to look at her laptop screen. "You organizing my life again, Boss?"
"Someone has to," Abby teased, closing the laptop. "If I leave it up to you, we'll run out of firewood by March."
Will laughed, a rich, deep sound that still sent a thrill straight down Abby's spine. He stood up, offering her his hand.
"Come outside with me," Will said softly, his tone shifting from playful to something quieter, something deeply anchored.
Abby blinked. "Outside? Will, it's negative five degrees."
"The wind died down," Will promised, his eyes holding hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. "Just for a minute. Put your boots on. There's something I want to show you."