Chapter 23 - Lily
Lily
“Lily! It’s me. Rose.”
I jumped and gave up eavesdropping through the thick wooden door, as the familiar voice called my name.
Rosemary Gustafson ran towards me, arms outstretched, with her familiar exuberance and eager smile.
My anxiety over Dean’s private conversation dissipated at her appearance. He’d tell me later, and I wanted to borrow her chipper mood.
“Oh, my goodness! It’s wonderful to see you.
Your dad said he expected you, and now, here you are.
” She relaxed her grip on my arm and lowered her voice, though not so much that others couldn’t hear.
“Gossip says you traveled with Dean Montgomery.
He was the town's bad boy in high school. Do you remember? I once hoped he would ask me to prom. Did I ever tell you that? He never did, and now we know why.” She tittered.
“You must have the most romantic story. Tell me everything.”
I twirled Dean’s ring, pulling it to my fingertip and back before sticking my hand in my pocket. “We arrived last night. Tired, but isn’t everyone?”
Rosemary Gustafson and I celebrated birthdays less than a month apart. We were friends during our school years, though life pulled us in separate directions afterward. I attended college and moved south to Tampa, while she enrolled at a nearby school before returning to Deer Lake.
Rose took my arm, dragging me to an empty office and shutting the door. “We’re alone. Catch me up. Are you two together?”
“Sort of. What did you hear?”
“Oh, honey. Everything. People noticed him touching you.” She gripped her chest with a flourish. “If he’d never joined the military, you two might have married and settled in Deer Lake. What did he go into? The Coast Guard?”
“Army. He was a Ranger.”
“Even better. All we have are old men, my daddy’s people, and that Chance family. With this comet, I’ll never get married. It isn’t fair when you think about it. What are the odds of a smooth-talking millionaire coming here to whisk me off to a private romantic getaway?”
Rose’s constant energy once drained me, and now it did the opposite. If she’d been with us on that playground, she would have clapped her hands and pronounced it a lovely show. The world needed more people like her.
“The Chance family?”
“Oh, don’t you remember? They live outside town. They caused a horrible ruckus afterward and said they’d take no part in anything we’d get up to here in Deer Lake.” She waved her hand, dismissing them. “Forget about them. Tell me what it’s like out there.”
I shared a few experiences, including the couple in the dollar store and Gary, the car salesman, minus the part where Dean tied him up.
“That sounds so exciting,” she gushed.
“A militia group formed right after. They had guns. That didn’t feel exciting,” I said, shivering at the recollection.
“To protect their people.”
I kept our fake marriage and the intimate parts of our relationship a secret. With his announcement to my father, word would leak soon enough, and I wasn’t ready to be even more of a topic for public discussion.
Plus, Dean had his reasons, which I’d be foolish to ignore.
He frustrated me, but he protected me. I preferred that explanation to another, pettier one: he did it as revenge against my father and Deer Lake.
He’d keep his word to stay with me as long as my security required it.
Mending my heart from last year was a different matter.
“Enough about my boring adventures. Catch me up. What’s life like here in Deer Lake?”
Rose’s features drooped. “I’m stuck here, that’s what. Let’s see…” Her head tilted to the side as she considered. “All of us huddled in the school for protection. It’s our town shelter, after all, and no one received so much as a stubbed toe.”
I forced myself not to smile. “Anything dangerous since then?”
“We’ve been lucky. Daddy formed his deputies into groups. Each one patrols a different part of town. Oh, and they watch all the roads for anyone dangerous.”
They didn’t see us return last night. “Is it working?”
“Some men with guns appeared a few days ago, but we turned them away. Oh, and a nurse. She showed up looking for her sister, so we let her stay. Nice lady.”
Let her stay. A peculiar choice of words. “A nurse is useful.”
“Also, there are changes to the town charter. I don’t know what. Plus, the grocery store.”
“What about it?” The place surrounded by toy soldiers.
“It’s where we keep everything.” Her voice dropped. “We don’t have enough. Not even close. Daddy tells people we’ll be fine, but it isn’t true. People will starve.”
Dean and I checked grocery stores throughout our journey. Rotting food in the freezers, poor quality junk, and everything of value missing.
Rose went on. “I let them worry and focus on my job.”
“What’s your job?”
“Housekeeping for Julian and my dad. I hate it. Plus, I help at the store. That part is more fun.”
“Could I see?”
“Come with me. I’ll show you.”
A pair of deputies stood at the entrance.
Gustafson’s Grocery and Feed was the town’s only food store. The recent changes shocked me. Food stacked on shelves high enough to reach the ceiling, with bags and boxes covering the ground, so much so that a person couldn’t navigate the aisles.
“Where did all this come from?” I asked.
“Everyone. It’s from all of us. A group of deputies ordered everyone to bring it.” Some of Rose’s cheerfulness disappeared. “I said we shouldn’t do that, but no one listens to me.”
The bodies on the scaffold. My throat thickened. “What happens if they don’t?”
“Everyone did.”
I’d quiz my father about that later. Rose may have been privy to some decisions, but she wasn’t wrong. Her father loved her, though a few times growing up, his love reminded me of the way a man might care for a loyal pet or a prized possession.
I changed the subject. “I saw Julian this morning.”
She snorted. “He says this is the most fun he’s ever had.”
“That’s because it is.” Julian Gustafson appeared around the corner. “Your dad is looking for you.”
Rose’s shoulders slumped. “What for?”
“No idea. Don’t care.”
She huffed. “Probably another update. I never thought my job would require this much paper.”
Dean appeared, like he’d followed Julian from City Hall. Drops of water clung to his dark hair. “There you are.”
I searched him for hints of what he had said to my father, earning me a sharp frown. “Are you done with your private meeting?”
“Rose Gustafson,” he said in that rich voice of his, rather than answer me. “It’s been a long time.”
She crossed her arms. “I heard all about you. Apparently, you two had quite the adventure getting home.”
“You might say that, though it worked out because Lily protected me the entire time.”
I blushed.
The four of us stood as the conversation ended. Dean wasn’t the talkative sort, and I wanted to get us alone.
Rose cleared her throat. “Well, I should go see what my father wants.”
Dean’s jaw flexed. “Probably to let you know he’s sending me on a mission with the hope I’ll die. If you’ll excuse us, I need to take my wife for a private conversation.”
“You’re married?” Rose squealed and demanded to see the ring. I offered it for her inspection while glaring at Dean.
Julian’s eyes flashed. “When did that happen?”
“We decided together,” Dean said with a Cheshire cat grin. “With all that happened, how could I not propose?”