Through the Storm(52)

Ginger licked his face.

“Stop it.” Neal rolled to a sitting position and scratched Ginger’s neck and ears.

Claire stepped out the back door. “I wrapped Dad in a sheet as best I could.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” He stood and rubbed his arms.

After water and rest, Neal hoisted the dead weight of his friend and, with stumbles and sways, managed to carry Josh’s body to the graveside.

Claire sobbed as Neal slid into the hole with her shrouded father. Then, with an awkward thud, Neal laid his friend to rest.

Neal climbed out and stood. “Fair winds and following seas, my friend. I believe you’re in a better place.”

“Dad is in the best place.” Claire closed her eyes. “Lord, You tell us that neither death nor life, angels, demons, powers, height or depth … that nothing can separate us from Your love. I know that You prepared a place for my dad and that he is with You now, so I’m not going to let my heart be troubled. Thank You, Lord, for such a good father. Please bring Rob back to me.” She stood in silence for several moments. “Goodbye, Dad.” With her head down, she retreated to the porch and sat.

Neal pushed the shovel into the piled earth and covered Josh. As he finished, the sky opened up with rain. “Come.” He called to Ginger and then walked past Claire on the porch. “I’m done and going inside.”

Claire followed.

In the living room, Neal pulled dry but dirty clothes from his pack and sniffed them. “These smell bad. I wish I could wash them—and bathe.”

“We have cold water. Dad collected rainwater from the roof into barrels for his garden.” Claire looked out the window toward the grave in the back. “But, I wouldn’t wash your clothes. It’s raining.”

Neal raised a confused eyebrow.

“Your clothes won’t dry overnight in this humidity.” She turned her gaze to the stairs. “But, you could use some of the water for a bath and I can find you some of Dad’s clothes.”

“That would be nice.”

Neal carried two buckets of cold rainwater to the bathtub. Standing in the tub, he closed the drain and poured one bucket over his head. After a gasp and shiver, he soaped himself down and poured the second bucket over his head. Then he used the water in the tub to scrub the dirty or soapy spots he had missed.

Neal stepped from the tub of gray water. He shivered again as he toweled off. Painful hands moved him to check the medicine cabinet for a first-aid kit. Finding one, he used the topical antibiotic on the multiple blisters that dotted his hands. Then he wrapped them both in bandages.

Downstairs, Ginger gave him an odd look. Neal wondered if he smelled different. Walking into the dining room, he found Claire rubbing her hair with a towel. “Using some of that rainwater to wash your hair?”

“I might as well.” She shrugged. “The barrels are full and it’s still raining.”

“I think we should rest tonight.” Neal sat across the table from her. “Then, if it isn’t raining in the morning, we should go.”

“Go?”

“To my farm outside of Riverbank. It’s the safest place I know.”

“I’m staying here until my husband returns.”

“You heard your father. He wants you in a safe place. Here, alone, with a baby coming, that’s not safe.”

“You said Rob would figure it out and come here and I’m going to wait until he does.”

“And what if he’s ….”

Neal silenced himself, but Claire’s angry eyes revealed that she knew his meaning.

“Dead? Then this is my home.”

“I’m not staying here and your father asked me to take you to a safe place. Do you want to have the baby all alone?”

“No, but women have had babies alone before.”

“And many have died alone.” Neal shook his head. “You need to come with me. Riverbank is at least closer to your home and I know people there who can help deliver the baby.”

Her angry expression softened. “It is closer to our home in Everett. You know a midwife?”

Neal didn’t know a midwife or anyone else with real experience in delivering babies, but he needed to persuade her to accompany him. “Yes. Police and firefighters. I know several.” Well, I handle their taxes and investments.

“But what if Rob comes here?”

“Hopefully we could leave word for him either when he reached Riverbank or before, but if he did get here, we could paint a message for him on a wall. Do you know your neighbors?”

“A few. Why?”

“We’ll tell them also.”

Claire nodded.

“Then we agree? We’ll leave for Riverbank in the morning, right?”

“How soon could we get there?”

“Let’s see … tomorrow is Monday. If we start early, we could reach Riverbank by Tuesday evening.”

Claire stared out a window at the grave of her father and then nodded slowly.

*

King County, Washington, Sunday, September 11th

“Stay back.” Afraid that the stench drifted from her dead parents, Conner didn’t want Madison to see. He also didn’t want to smell it and tried not to breathe as he inched deeper into the house with his rifle ready.