Chapter Thirty-Six #3
He nodded. “Dad was repairing the roof, but it was an unusual repair. Something that should never have needed a sudden repair.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” she said, and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Um,” Ryan spoke up sheepishly, “maybe you should tell my dad about all of this.”
“He can’t do anything without proof,” Travis said.
“We need to sleep on this,” Ellen said. “Travis, can you help me with Sam? I’m going to move him to the living-room couch. He’ll be more comfortable.”
Travis glanced toward the unconscious man and frowned. “You think he’s going to make it?”
“So far, so good, and the drugs brought down his fever. I gave him a hefty dose of two antibiotics.”
“I can’t believe you helped him.”
“Look at him, Travis. Really look at him.”
Travis did. “He’s young.” His voice was soft, understanding.
“Twenty-one. He went along with it because of family. Not all family is like ours.”
Travis’s face twisted in pain and regret, and he turned damp eyes to Ellen. Her heart went out to him and the gamut of emotions that ran across his expression. “I’m sorry for being a drunk for so long.”
“No apologies. All that matters is what you do from this day forward.” She reached out and hugged him. “I love you, Travis. John loved you.”
He nodded, coughed to hide his emotions. “Love you, too, Ellie.”
Between Travis, Ellen, and Jake they got Sam to the couch, where Lyla had put down a sheet and a blanket.
They covered him with a comforter and Ellen checked his vitals.
“He’s dehydrated, but I don’t have an IV here.
He needs a hospital first thing. I’m going to try to reach Rick on the radio.
I couldn’t earlier, but now that the rain has mostly stopped, I might be able to. ”
She turned to Travis. “Will you call me when you get home so I can talk to Bobby before I go to sleep?”
“Phone lines are down, so I’ll have him call you on the radio.”
“Thank you.”
Travis left, and Lyla, Ryan, and Avery pulled out sleeping bags for the family room floor. Jake walked upstairs with his mom. “I hope we’re wrong about Dad’s accident,” Ellen said.
“We’re not,” Jake said. “And we’re not wrong about what Mitchell Robinson did with Verdacorp.
He hired thieves who shot Greg Baldwin and his dog.
He needs to be held accountable. I’m going to sleep downstairs.
That guy might be unconscious, but I don’t want the girls and Ryan alone down there with him. ”
She nodded, hugged her son, then went to her room and collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. But she couldn’t sleep.
She pulled out the radio and it took her several minutes before she reached Rick Perez.
Travis was right, even though the wind was going strong, the rain had mostly stopped, helping to extend the range of the radio signal.
She told him that Ryan was here and safe, and then everything that had happened that evening.
Rick said he would get an ambulance or a lifeline out to the ranch as soon as feasible.
“But it might not be until morning,” he added.
Bobby called on the radio as soon as she was done with Rick. She cried, but tried not to let Bobby know she was crying.
“Mom! Uncle Travis found Cleo! She was trying to find a good place to have her kittens and she did, in his cellar. But Uncle Travis saved her before the cellar flooded, because Titan smelled her and barked. He’s a very smart dog.
She has four kittens! She let me sit with her in the pantry, but I didn’t pet her because I didn’t want to scare her.
But she didn’t hiss, I think she remembered me! ”
“I’m sure she did,” Ellen said through happy tears.
“And she cleaned all the kittens, because she’s a good mom cat. And there are two black-and-white kittens like Cleo, and a gray-and-white kitten, and an all-gray kitten. Well, I think the all-gray kitten might have white paws. Can we keep them?”
“Can we talk about it later? They need to stay with their mom for a while.”
“I want to keep all of them.”
She laughed.
“The gray-and-white kitten I’m calling River, and the gray kitten is Stormy, because you know, they were born when it was raining. And the black-and-white kittens that look like their mom, I’m calling Panda and Pepper. Because they’re black and white, get it?”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought. Maybe Uncle Travis will want a kitten.”
“We can’t separate them!” Then he paused. “Well, maybe we can have two and Uncle Travis can have two.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“Uncle Travis just made hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwiches and I’m super hungry. I love you, Mom! I’ll see you in the morning!”
“I love you, too, Bobby.”
After he signed off, she let herself cry. Not because she was sad; on the contrary, she was relieved and felt extremely blessed. Her children were safe.
But she desperately missed her husband and always would.
She stared at a photo of John for a long, long time. And then, she closed her eyes and remembered how he used to spoon against her back and hold her. She almost felt his embrace.
Only then could she finally sleep.