Chapter 26 - Dean
Dean
Sheriff Gustafson made one correct decision: limiting the size of my ragtag group of idiots. It included a teenage boy who jumped when I spoke, an older gentleman who hid the arthritis in his hands, and Zeke Smythe.
I first saw him in Julian Gustafson’s car the morning after we returned home, making his inclusion in our expedition a conscious choice.
“One more time,” I ordered, rubbing my face.
My band started another sweep of the house. I’d also taught them to steal gas, hot-wire a car, pick a lock, and best of all, shoot.
“We have company,” Zeke said from his position by the front door.
Bill Sutton suggested his house for practice and as an operations center. His decision to leave food and supplies in his home, unlike other residents, now made sense. It also forced Lily and me closer to him.
“Identities?” I asked.
“They’re friendly.”
The sheriff and his coddled nephew, Julian, entered. The two wore their familiar uniforms, polished and pressed, unlike my old shirt with its pit stains and dirt smears.
“You leave tomorrow,” Sheriff Gustafson said without preamble. “Bill is back in town, so forget your delaying excuses.”
Bill Sutton had left three days prior, visiting nearby towns. According to Lily, he planned more trips, all designed to piece together a system of mutual defense against any potential enemies.
No one asked my opinion on that effort, and I didn’t volunteer.
“Appreciate the update,” I said. “We’ll leave at oh eight hundred on the path I sent you.”
“One last thing,” the sheriff said, and I knew this was the reason he delivered the news in person. Julian put a hand on one hip and cocked the opposite leg to the side. “Julian here will join you. For security, you understand. Security and order.”
Julian wore a grim smile. “Don’t worry. My uncle will keep your wife protected while we’re gone.”
“Security above all,” the sheriff interjected. “She’ll be with my Rosemary while you’re gone. No harm will come to her.”
My hand flexed, claws desperate to rip their tongues out. To slash their throats and revel as the life faded from their eyes. “She’d better not.” I had promised Lily. “We’re done for today. Let’s pack it in.”
Half the downtown buildings showed signs of life. People ran inside like roaches whenever the rain picked up, only to scurry back out when it waned. Townsfolk flooded the streets the first time it stopped three days ago, cheering and dancing until the rain resumed soon after.
Two deputies stood outside the grocery store. One kept both hands behind his back, while the other gripped his holster, readying for the inevitable attack. An excellent way to find a bullet lodged in your dick.
I waited, pretending to window-shop at a closed appliance store, until fresh deputies approached for the shift change.
The constant security made sense as it contained the town’s supplies, with its enormous size and convenient location. Still, why not spread your risk against fire or theft?
I took a few steps before a man emerged from the store.
Our eyes met. I stopped. “Ian Chance.”
“Dean.” He hadn’t grown friendlier over the years.
“I never considered you a friend of the Gustafsons.”
The opposite, considering Ian’s family and his past.
“They made a request. I refused.” He eyed me. A consummate silent giant, and it appeared the years hadn’t changed that. “I could say the same of you. What are you doing here?”
“I’m with Lily Sutton. The rest can fuck right off.”
“Huh. All it took was a comet for you to find the guts to ask her out.”
“You’re here, too,” I reminded him.
“Don’t ask for any favors. We’re not interested.”
“How about information? Do you know why the sheriff is pushing protection rackets with nearby towns?”
Ian rocked back on his heels, considering. “A couple of his men came by the first day. Said he’d wipe my record clean in exchange for adding my cousins to his security ranks.”
“You said no.”
“I used less words.”
Dinner in the school cafeteria. Exciting.
If thin soup and saltine crackers were all that was available, the town would starve before winter finished.
“Eric says you’re leaving tomorrow,” Bill Sutton said.
“Yes, lucky me.” I hoped to share that news with Lily later. In private.
“You’re leaving?” she asked.
“Tomorrow morning, for a week. To justify the time and resources. Two trucks and five men.”
“What did you find with all our neighbors?” I asked Bill to change the subject.
“Hunger. Hunger and fear,” Sutton said. “I spoke with Eric before our meal. He agreed to place deputies at a few locations to boost their security.”
Securing the entire county was his job. Why create a problem only to solve it later?
“How interesting,” I said, leaving my other questions for another time.
“A full week?” Lily asked, unwilling to change the subject. “Why so long?”
“You remember how difficult it was getting here? More rain, less food. Scared people.” Lily once complained that Deer Lake and her father smothered her as a child.
I’d do the opposite. “It’ll get worse. If foraging becomes the solution, we’ll range farther and farther away, increasing our risk.
It’s not a long-term plan.” I spoke to Lily while directing it to her father.
I hoped he’d display better sense than I’d witnessed so far. “Oh, and by risk, I mean death.”
“What would you have us do?” Sutton asked. His calm tone irked me. “We need food and supplies. How shall we get it?”
I didn’t have an answer. Not a fair one. “Perhaps you’ll take it from a nearby town as payment for the deputies.”
He glared and stood. “Good luck on your journey. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lily.” He kissed her cheek and left.
“That was rude,” she snapped once we were alone.
“Yes, it’s shocking behavior from a man known for his genteel manners.
” I sucked in a breath and held it, telling myself she deserved better.
We’d promised to be honest about Deer Lake.
“I once worked a job—two weeks for this guy. There’d been a couple of attempts on his life, and he suspected his own people.
The details don’t matter.” I waved, making that clear.
“Anyway, he sent some guy to negotiate this deal. Someone minor, because it didn’t matter if he lived or died. ”
“Maybe there’s no one else this time.” Her stubborn jaw appeared. “Besides, no one will attack us. That’s absurd.”
“I didn’t finish my story.”
She stared down at her empty bowl. “Then finish.”
“He was correct. Someone did try to kill him. Would you like to guess who?” I didn’t wait for her response. “His own brother. Look, I’m not accusing your father.”
“He’s trying, Dean. Can’t you see that?” Her eyes shone, pleading with me. “He joins us for dinner and asks me about you. I know you think this is a punishment, but it isn’t. He trusts you because Ryan does. That should be a compliment.”
“It is.” Guilt sprang up. “Let’s go home. Just us tonight. How does that sound?”
“Thank you, that’s more delightful than you can imagine.”
We held hands on our short walk home, where a pitcher of freezing water and an empty bowl awaited us.
Lily sniffed me with exaggerated disgust. “You stink. People fainted from your odor back in the cafeteria.”
I stripped off my damp, filthy clothes and scrubbed with a washcloth. “It’s cold. Oh, this is freezing.”
“Dean, I’m not on birth control.”
Oh, fuck. “You’re pregnant.” My stomach dropped. Fear and panic warred with an unfamiliar sensation, a growing warmth. “Wait. Are you? I mean, the timing is shit, but—”
“Dean. Stop.” She snorted. “I kept the pills in my purse, and I ran out this morning. You need to find us some while you’re gone.”
“Oh.” My stomach relaxed. “Well then, I appreciate the implication that we’ll continue.” Cold seeped through my skin. “Do you think I’m paranoid about this town?”
She shook her head. “Cautious.”
“I know I’m not….” How to explain? I didn’t want to frighten her. “Attack first. Hurt first. I see my father here in this town. His ghost slips around the corner before I catch him. Some of him might be in me.”
“They’re not. He’s not. Don’t let an abusive man define you. I won’t allow it.”
How could I not? In the one place I promised never to see again. The man was everywhere.
We lay down on our sleeping bags, as we often did in the evening. Lily twisted, putting her back to me and pulling my arm over her chest. I nuzzled her neck, absorbing her scent.
“Your brother once questioned it. It’s why he steered my career the way he did,” I said.
“It’s why he contacted you instead of me. Can I ask you a question?”
“Be certain you want the answer first.”
She paused, sucking in her breath and releasing it with a low hum. “On our way home, you implied taking me somewhere else. That I wouldn’t realize what you planned until it was too late.”
“Yes,” I said, apprehensive.
“That wasn’t an empty threat, was it?”
“Are you sure you want the answer?”
“No, I’m not sure at all, but I still want to know.”
“It wasn’t an empty threat.” I licked my lips and pulled her against me.
“Feel this?” I rubbed my cock against her ass.
Lily’s body stiffened without pulling away.
“I get hard thinking about it, so yes, I considered it. Taking you somewhere remote solved all my problems. You’d be under my control, with no one to stop me. Why wouldn’t I at least consider it?”
“You mean away from this town? How close were you to doing it?”
I rubbed my lips together. “You don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do. Tell me.”
“I changed my mind when giving you the wedding ring.” She gasped. “You wanted honesty, and I’m giving it to you. After that, I decided taking you home increased my chances of getting what I want.”
“That late?”
“What else do you want me to say? That part of me won’t go away. I keep my promises to you despite it.”
Lily turned to face me. “I’m counting on that.”