39. Maria
Chapter thirty-nine
Maria
Iwrap my arms around Chris’s neck and hug him close. “I’m happy to hear you admit it.”
“Um, really?”
“You two have been exchanging the weirdest glances. Now I understand why.”
He freezes in my arms. “You don’t sound upset.”
I tilt my head to see his eyes. “Why should I be?”
“Not even a tiny bit jealous?”
I laugh. “Lehm’s my best friend. If you develop feelings for him, won’t it just bring us all closer together?”
“I…” He swallows. “I didn’t expect that to be your reaction. Most women I’ve known get a little possessive.”
I huff. “Did you want me to be jealous?”
“No,” he says, quickly. “It’s just that you have an odd perspective. In my experience.”
“Is it? Well, if you’d had multiple spouses before, maybe it wouldn’t sound so weird to you. To me, it’s normal.” Then I wrinkle my brow. “I mean, you’re not breaking our engagement, are you?”
“Absolutely not.” He hugs and kisses me. “You’re mine.”
“Good.” I grab his wrist and look at the sun’s position on his special watch. “We have time before sunrise.”
“For a quickie,” he says, tossing me onto the bed.
During the next month, we fall into a rhythm.
One adult always remains with Zinnia. Sometimes Chris and I go out scavenging, and sometimes Lehm and Chris go.
Chris is still the only one who drives the truck.
He’s promised to teach both me and Lehm, but for now, he trained us on all the defensive weapons just in case the Kartchner nest decides to betray the deal.
He’s a bit of a mother hen when it comes to our safety. And in another way. I’ve never seen two men do a barnyard dance like Chris and Lehm. So far, nothing’s happened. But the heat in the room is enough to make me turn up the air conditioner.
Tonight, we ready ourselves for the first market night. Tig arrives in our living area promptly at seven in the evening and delivers the trade goods directly to our dining table.
Zinnia runs over. “What did you bring us?”
Tig smiles and pops the lids off two oversized plastic crates. “Supplies for trading with the Kartchner Caverns nest. Supplies you already have, that they don’t.”
Zinnia frowns. “That’s no fun.”
“Zinnia Mae. Stop that this minute.” I stroke her back. “You need to be more grateful for what you have, baby girl.”
Chris slips an arm around me. “I think Uncle Ari’s been a bit of a bad influence.”
Tig raises an eyebrow. “I still can’t believe you let him babysit.”
“Hey,” Chris says. “He’s a good emergency babysitter.”
“When he isn’t spoiling her,” Lehm adds.
Tig gives a wry smile. “Well, the market is tonight and I’m monitoring the first one to ensure everyone behaves. A month isn’t long enough to be sure that tensions have dissipated. So let’s load this stuff into the back of the truck. There’s food for the remaining mortals, too.”
Zinnia’s eyes get big. “Can I go?”
A shiver runs down my spine. “I don’t think so, baby girl.”
The idea of her ever being around the Kartchner Caverns nest again sends fear shooting everywhere. I may think the renegades should have a chance at a good life, but that doesn’t mean I trust them.
“If everyone else is going, who’s staying with me?” Then her face brightens, a hopeful smile gracing her face. “Uncle Ari?”
Tig shakes her head. “He’s not available tonight. I already asked if he wanted to attend the market, since he supervises the entire Arizona area.”
“I can stay home with Zinnia,” Lehm says. “You folks go.”
Tig sucks her teeth. “Not a good idea. They need to see you, to know you’re okay. And Zinnia can come. You’ll all be there. I’ll be there. Nothing will happen to her.”
The protective mother in me is about ready to scream.
“This will keep her secure.” Tig straps a device on Zinnia’s wrist. “It’s programmed to flash her back to the ark if she shows any sign of distress.”
I examine the device, which looks like a watch. “I don’t know—”
“Bringing her is a good show of trust.” Tig picks up one of the cases. “As she grows up, at some point she’s going to have to deal with the outside world. This would be a first step.”
Zinnia looks up at me with that grin she gets when I’ve been outvoted by the guys. “Oh goody. I get to go.”
I kneel in front of her. “Baby girl, these are some of the vampires who held you hostage. Why do you want to go?”
“To show them we’re a family and they can’t have Papa Lehm back.”
Well then.
All five of us squeeze into the truck, Tig in the front passenger side, with Zinnia between me and Lehm in the back seat as Chris drives.
My baby girl stares out the side windows at the desert night landscape.
I slip an arm around her shoulders. “If you feel at all uncomfortable, just tell me and we’ll send you home.”
She looks up at me. “Not all the bad vampires were bad, Mama. I’m excited to see the campground. I read about it in the book.”
After we rescued her, Chris dug out of storage a photo book about the discovery of the Kartchner Caverns to try to lessen any residual fear she felt, empowering her with knowledge about the place.
Zinnia has been obsessed with the story of the college students who explored a sinkhole only to discover caverns.
They gained the cooperation of the Kartchners—who owned the property—then hid its existence for fourteen years to protect the fragile geological formations inside from vandalism.
Eventually, they helped turn it into a state park, and park rangers preserved the caverns until the Collapse came.
“Just stay with me and Papa Lehm while Daddy Christopher and Tig transact business with the nest.”
“Can I see the nest’s market stuff? The stuff they have to trade?”
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
Chris clears his throat and glances at us over his shoulder. “The most important thing is to stay calm. They can’t hurt you with us there. Got it?”
“Yes, Daddy Christopher.” She crosses her arms, putting on her fearless face. “I’ll show them I’m not afraid.”
He returns his gaze to the road. “Good for you, kiddo.”
We drive to the decayed picnic tables—the area Zinnia calls the campground—and representatives of the nest have refurbished five of the wooden picnic tables using scavenged wood.
They already have their trade goods displayed.
I spot Rose and Diego right away. The rest of them still feel like strangers.
Tig signals us to remain in the truck. She opens a virtual screen and displays an aerial view of our location. Blue figures move about the center. A few red ones are behind them. “Heat sensor. Red are mortals, blue are vampires. I don’t see any sign of an ambush.”
I startle. “Why would you—”
“You can never be too cautious. I’m looking for snipers in the surrounding hills. Unlikely, given what we’ve told them will happen if they break the treaty.”
“Oh.” But I feel better knowing she’s checked to ensure there’s no threat.
“Here’s what we’ll do. Chris and I will go first and conduct the trade. You three stand back. If there’s anything left for them to trade, you can have a look.”
Once Tig and Chris finish conducting business, Chris carries the goods he bought—mostly tools and raw metal—to the truck, then escorts us over to see what’s left.
“We gave them a list of priority items we need for the mixed domes,” he says. “That’s who we’re representing today. What’s left over is similar enough to what I have in the warehouse. They can try trading those items with the Tucson and Phoenix domes for donor blood.”
Zinnia rushes to the tables, and I run to catch up, gripping her shoulder. “Look, don’t touch.”
She tucks her hands behind her back.
The way she instantly assumes the stance, I suspect she learned it in school. Lehm is on her other side, so we have her well guarded.
“Mommy, Mommy!”
“What, baby girl?”
“The bracelet. Kids at school wear them. Can I try it on?”
Chris comes up next to me and kisses my cheek, then connects our comms and speaks subvocal. “It’s fine. If she wants it, I have a few more items to trade for it.”
Rose picks up the bracelet made of dark wooden beads. “Would you like to try it on? See if it fits?”
“Mommy, can I?”
“You may.”
“Oh goodie.” Zinnia stretches out her arm.
Rose slips on the bracelet. “Does it fit?”
Zinnia touches the beads. “Uh huh.”
Lehm squats next to her. “It looks good on you, sweetheart.”
Rose gasps. “Sweetheart?”
Lehm stands and glares at Rose. “She’s my daughter.”
“Oh. I see.” Rose’s eyes grow large. “That’s why you were able to calm her.
Uh, if she wants the bracelet, it’s our gift to her.
” She folds her hands together, looking at Zinnia.
“We’re sorry we kidnapped you. This is a small token of our apology.
We know it doesn’t make it better, Zinnia, but we really are sorry. ”
I suck in a deep breath, not having expected the apology. “That’s most kind.”
“Thank you, Ms.…” Zinnia tugs on my shirt’s hem. “I don’t know her name.”
“Rose. Ms. Rose.”
“Thank you, Ms. Rose.”
“You’re welcome, dear. We’ll keep an eye out for toys—”
Zinnia bounces on her toes. “And books.”
“Yes, toys and books you might like.”
I nod, feeling slightly easier about the situation. “Thank you, Rose. We appreciate it.”
“I was a mother once. I know what it’s like to raise a daughter post-Collapse. I’m…ashamed. Please accept my apologies again.”
I shake her hand. As difficult as it is, I have a sense of the bigger picture now. “We’ll put it behind us.”
“Good.” Rose sweeps her hand over the trade goods. A lot of jewelry remains. “Is there anything here you’d like? Maybe a tennis bracelet to go with your ring?”
“A what?”
Rose chuckles and picks up a string of diamonds. “My maker told me these were called tennis bracelets back in the day. Tennis is a game played with a ball and a racket. Champion tennis players frequently wore the thin bracelets.” She dangles the pretty string in the air. “Here, try it on.”
“I don’t know.”
She wraps it around my wrist and shows me how the latch works.
“It’s very pretty,” Lehm says.
Chris comes over and raises my wrist, inspecting the diamonds. “Good quality. What do you want for the bracelet?”
“This will also be our gift,” Rose says. “I can’t imagine what you felt when our nest took Zinnia. Let this gift be our atonement for what you went through.”
I choke at the memory and nod.
Chris raises my hand to his lips. “It looks marvelous with your ring.”
“Are you two married?”
“Engaged.” Chris hugs me close. “We plan on setting the ceremony for when Zinnia is done with school this year.”
“School? There are more children?”
“No. She attends remotely.”
“Ah, I see.” Rose nods. “Please, feel free to browse some more. Our mortals enjoy crafts…hand-sewn quilts and knitted shawls. For them, the temperature in the caverns can feel cold. They are quite skilled.”
I see an opportunity then and take it. “Chris, why don’t you show Zinnia the other items?”
He raises one eyebrow but continues escorting Zinnia as she looks at the leftover trade goods. When they are a little farther away, I say to Rose, “Please excuse us,” and she follows Chris and Zinnia.
I grab Lehm’s hand, pulling him away from the tables. It’s the first time we’ve been alone in weeks. “Lehm, I’m not going to be hurt if you and Chris become lovers. So long as we all stay together. I want our family to survive.”
His eyebrows rise. “That was blunt. And fast.”
I laugh. “We’re never uninterrupted anymore. Look, I’m willing to share, like you and Gabriel shared me.”
“Maria, where is this coming from?”
“I’m not pushing you if you’re not interested in him. But I’ve seen the way you and Chris flirt. If you’re holding back because of me, don’t. I mean it.”
“Mommy, Mommy!” There goes our moment of privacy. Zinnia holds out her hand. “Daddy Christopher bought me a ring to go with my bracelet.” Silver with a blue stone.
“It’s lovely, baby girl.”
“Turquoise. That’s what Rose called it.”
I sweep my hand near it. The metal isn’t real silver. Though I didn’t really think other vampires would openly sell the stuff, I had to check, as I haven’t yet explained to Zinnia the effect silver has on vampires.
I glance over at the tables. As Tig is talking with Rose, Diego motions Chris over.
In the back of his throat, Lehm growls. “What is Diego up to?”
I hope this doesn’t mean trouble. Lehm is free. So why would Lehm’s maker want to speak with Chris? Diego can’t back out of the deal, can he?