To Raul’s surprise her relief extended to him, too; she showed no hint of shyness as she called his name and rushed to throw her arms around him. “Are you all right?” she asked, voice muffled by his chest.
Raul stood stiffly in her embrace. He was grungy and a bit embarrassed about how he must smell, but mostly he was in no place to hug her back after the night and morning he’d just had. Finally he managed to raise one hand to tentatively rest between her shoulders. “I’m not hurt,” he could honestly say.
“Good.” She looked up, big blue eyes searching his, and a hint of worry clouded them. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” he said, trying to smile. The expression felt foreign. “Can you tell me what happened with Brandon and the rest of the patrol?”
Mary looked away, face crumpling in sadness. “We buried them in a nice spot overlooking the town.” The blond young woman finally pulled away from him. He was relieved, but at the same time missed the reassuring contact. She shyly reaching out to take his hand. “I’ll show you.”
Raul nodded wearily. Nearby Matt had been getting a report from Trev and Lewis. The Mayor toggled his radio headset. “Chauncey, I want you on the radio screaming at the military until Grimes comes out here. Over seventy men are dead, we’ve lost friends in the most brutal way imaginable, and Rogers caused it. It’s time for the colonel to get off his preoccupied, judgmental butt and do something about this.”
The crippled teacher’s reply came to Raul’s radio along with everyone else’s. “Um, about that, Matt. It looks like our patrol coming under attack finally got someone’s attention, as did our warning we were going after the people who did it. I just got word that the Colonel’s already on his way.”
Mary had paused with him to listen in. Raul heard the news, and he understood why it caused a stir in the crowd, but his mind was a fog. He tapped Trev on the shoulder. “The teams with me were up all night,” he said quietly. “Unless you need us, I’d like to insist you send us home to get some sleep.”
“I can manage,” Lewis immediately said, and Jane nodded, even though neither of the two looked as if they could stay on their feet much longer. A few others who’d been watching the camp joined in insisting they could handle it.
“Good work to everyone who stayed up the night,” Trev said, looking around. “I won’t force you to get some rest with Colonel Grimes making a visit, and I’d like you to be ready in case you’re called to help. Otherwise please, get whatever sleep you can.”
Raul nodded and exchanged a look with Mary, who was still holding his hand. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she seemed to care for him, and was sure he didn’t deserve it. In fact, she’d probably be better off if he told her to avoid him like the plague, go find someone who wasn’t tarnished by his past. Even that prick Robert, if she had to.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, no matter how selfish that made him feel. He knew he was fortunate to have friends and a community worth protecting, but sometimes it felt like she was the only good thing in his life. He didn’t want to lose her.
The blond young woman squeezed his hand comfortingly and pointed, starting off. He followed without a word, letting her lead him to where his friends had been buried.
Chapter Fourteen
Resolution
Wonder of wonders, for once the military had actually called ahead to announce they were coming. And even more amazing, it was Colonel Grimes himself who’d be making an appearance.
Matt would’ve been a lot happier about the news yesterday at this same time. Trev and Gutierrez had barely returned from from their attack on the camp, and the entire town was sobered by the event and how few prisoners they’d returned with.
From Trev’s report it sounded like Gutierrez had done an amazing job in spite of the insane aggression of the bandits, but it was still not great news that they’d been forced to kill over two thirds of the enemy.
Given their uncertain standing with Grimes and the frosty meetings they’ve had with the military up til now, Matt wanted to do his best to limit spectators to a minimum so the town wouldn’t present as an unruly mob, as Rogers had portrayed them. The reception for the colonel would be him, the town leaders, and twenty defenders obviously arranged as a protective escort. Everyone else he sent home.
Of course, he’d learned some lessons in caution from the camp coordinator. So just like when Rogers had come to take their food, Matt had defenders waiting in houses and scattered in concealed locations. Just in case.
Seriously last resort, since if a meeting with the colonel himself turned violent that was probably it for Aspen Hill. Which made Matt more than a little nervous. After all, he was representing the town to the nominal leader of this entire region, all of what was left of the United States in the Rocky Mountains.
As an automatic gesture his eyes flicked down to what he was wearing. He’d had plenty of clothes at home when the Gulf burned, and since they were light and useful his family had brought them all with them when they fled Aspen Hill. It had seemed like enough to last him for a long time, but while he did his best to keep them clean and avoid damage, after over a year of 19th century living they were looking pretty ragged.
Hardly Mayoral.
They needed to start getting wool from their sheep, and Hailey needed to start spinning it into cloth with help from anyone else who wanted to make a profession of it. He knew the townspeople involved in hunting were curing hides to stitch into clothing, rugs, and blankets, but he doubted a buckskin outfit would make him look any more sophisticated than stained, faded, torn jeans and a light jacket.
Of course he could go home and change, but somehow getting the town ready for the visit and planning what he’d say seemed more important than making himself presentable.
Then again he wasn’t exactly trained in politics or diplomacy. Trying to keep a town together against bandit raids, starvation, and the coming winter required a certain set of skills that he was barely keeping up with. He wouldn’t be in any way, shape, or form qualified to be Mayor of a pre-Gulf refineries attack town, and handling a visiting dignitary fell into that category.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stick close to me for this,” he said in a low voice to Catherine as everyone scrambled into place, Chauncey’s voice over his headset a constant background keeping him updated on the Colonel’s progress. “I’m not exactly sure what to do here.”
“Talking to a senior military officer about screwups by his subordinates leading to chaos and instability in a region, that you’ve been forced to put down with violence without his authorization?” the former Mayor replied with grim amusement. “I’m happy to lend my considerable experience with that sort of thing.”
That was incredibly reassuring.
It turned out to be a situation of hurry up and wait. After everyone got into position they realized that even with vehicles, it was still a bit of a drive between Manti and their little valley in the mountains way out in the middle of nowhere. So after Matt double-checked that the prisoners, corralled in a meadow just south of town on the other side from the road, had been given a bit of food and water so the town wouldn’t be accused of mistreatment, he and Sam hurried home so he could change after all.
His wife agreed completely with him that he should be dressed up for this occasion. With her help he got an old suit laid out, which was slightly short on him but other than that fit as well as when he’d worn it in high school, then hastily bathed himself with soap, water, and a cloth and dug out a stick of deodorant that these days he only used for special occasions, usually a date with Sam.