This woman didn’t look like an herbalist. Jaden had been expecting a woman with long frizzy hair wearing a flowing dress and sandals. This woman wore jeans and boots and her hair wasn’t frizzy at all.

  Chapter Eight

  Jaden bent over the boxes and went back to filling aprons. She did her best to ignore the woman. She hoped she didn’t come over and talk to her.

  Just what did a kid say to a person whose house they just helped themselves to? Well, even if it was Allison’s barn and not her actual house, Allison hadn’t invited her here. What if she said she didn’t want kids here? What if she asked Jaden to leave?

  Jaden was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear anyone approach until she heard the woman say, “Hi, Jaden. My name is Allison.”

  The apron of nails slipped out of Jaden’s hand and hit the floor. A handful of nails spilled out.

  “Oh!” Jaden said. “I’m sorry. I’ll pick them up.”

  Allison’s laugh was throaty, her smile wide. “Here, let me help you.” She dropped to her knees and began picking nails off the floor.

  When they’d all been put back in the apron, Allison sat back on her heels. “This is quite a busy job for one person. Would you like some help?”

  “No thank you. I’m keeping up.”

  “Well, would you like to take a break and I’ll do this for a while?”

  “No thank you. I like to help.”

  “I can see you do,” Allison said. “But everyone needs a break now and then. Why don’t you come on over to the tables and sit for a bit. I’ll have Mary get you a glass of water and I’m going to go to the house and get someone who will definitely be happy to meet you.”

  Jaden nodded and pulled the gloves off her hands. She banged them together to get the grime off and then looked at Allison. “I’ll sweep before I leave with my dad today. I won’t leave a mess.”

  Allison laughed. “I’ll bet you won’t. Go get a glass of water. I’ll go get Bella.”

  Jaden was sipping the cool water when the barn door opened and a big black dog with a white blaze on her chest bounded through the door in front of Allison. She ran straight to Jaden, her skinny tail banging on everything in her path.

  Jaden turned to pet her. “She’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.

  “I think she likes you,” Allison said.

  Bella moved closer to the bench Jaden sat on and put her nose on top of Jaden’s hand. She pressed Jaden’s hand down.

  Allison grinned. “She wants you to scratch her belly.”

  Jaden leaned back on the bench to reach the dog’s belly. Bella’s eyes closed and her tail wagged slowly. When Jaden moved her hand to pet the dog on her head, Bella raised her paw, put it on Jaden’s hand, and guided it back to her belly.

  “I can’t lean over that far,” Jaden protested.

  Allison said, “Point to the bench and say, ‘Bella, paws up.’”

  Jaden followed the instructions and the dog placed her front paws on the bench next to Jaden.

  “She’s so smart!” Jaden exclaimed.

  “She is,” Allison agreed.

  “I need nails,” a man called from the upper floor of the mezzanine that was being built.

  Jaden jumped up and ran to grab a full apron. Bella followed her to the apron and then padded up the stairs behind Jaden. Her tail slapping everything she passed.

  “Ow!” Rolly yelled when her tail slapped his leg. “That tail hurts!”

  Bella turned back to him and sat facing him.

  “That’s okay, girl. I forgive you,” he said patting her on the head.

  She turned and raced after Jaden.

  Allison met Jaden at the bottom of the steps.

  “The guys look like they are winding down for the night. I’ll bet Bella would love to play a game of frisbee before you go home for the night. If you want to play, her frisbee is just inside the arena door.”

  Jaden looked at Bella. “Do you want to play frisbee?”

  Bella wagged her tail and ran to the door leading to the arena.

  Bella proved to be a great player, catching every throw, returning the frisbee, and dropping it at Jaden’s feet.

  She was laughing when her dad walked through the door.

  “Watch this, dad.” She flung the frisbee as Bella took off full speed. Halfway across the arena, Bella leapt into the air and snagged the frisbee about six feet off the ground.

  “She’s amazing!” Jaden said. She turned to Bella. “Come on, Bella. Let’s go find Allison.”

  Bella left the frisbee at Jaden’s feet and raced through the stable to the shop. When Jaden and Bill entered the shop, Bella was laying at Allison’s feet. Her tail thumped the floor when she saw Jaden.

  “You’ve got a friend,” Allison smiled.

  “She has a friend too,” Jaden replied.

  Allison set down the towel she was using to wipe tables and approached Jaden and Bill. “I appreciate all the work you did today. Have you decided whether you will be joining us? We could really use your knowledge and expertise.” She looked down to Jaden. “And, Bella would be in heaven if you moved here and became her friend.”

  Bill looked around the shop, from the kitchen area made from old work benches to the mezzanine that was coming together to create bedrooms.

  “You’ve got a great idea here,” he said. “The people who’ve stepped forward are all the best of the best. I think we would be very happy here, but I question whether we will have the extra skills once the shop becomes a bunkhouse. My skills are pretty limited to building. Although I suppose I could help on the woodcutting team. I might be able to help on the security team, but my leg still bothers me some and I can’t walk for miles.”

  “Our next project after the bunkhouse is complete will be a greenhouse. I’m sure that you have the knowledge and skills to make sure we build the best.”

  Bill nodded. “I’ve built greenhouses and know how to design.”

  “We’d love to add you and Jaden to our team. Don’t be afraid that you won’t be able to contribute. You will be fine. There will be plenty of work you can do. And, Jaden’s already proven that she is willing to do her share of the work. You both would be an asset.”

  “Thank you,” Bill said. “We’ll be back tomorrow. Maybe I’ll think about it tonight and have a decision.”

  Allison bent down and gave Jaden a hug. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. And, Bella will be so happy.” She smiled at Bill. “Just know that you are welcome if you decide to stay.”

  Chapter Nine

  When they neared town, a roadblock was set up on the town side of the interstate. Four huge trucks blocked the road forcing Bill to come to a stop.

  “Sit still, baby. We’ll be fine.”

  A short man wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt walked to the truck. Bill didn’t recognize him.

  “You need to turn around,” the man said. “Princeton isn’t accepting people.”

  “But we live here,” Bill said.

  The man lifted a walkie talkie and pressed the button. “I’ve got a man and a little girl who say they live here. They want to come into town. Over.”

  “Did you get a name?” Jaden recognized Dee’s voice.

  “Tell Dee it’s Jaden and her dad,” she said.

  The man pressed the button again. “The little girl says to tell you it’s Jaden and her dad.”

  “Well, send them in and tell them they’d better stop to see me.”

  Without a word, the man walked away and climbed into one of the trucks. He backed it up just enough for Bill to drive through.

  “Do you know who he is?” Jaden asked.

  “I’ve never seen him before. We’ll ask Dee when we get there.”

  “Are we going to see her now?”

  “Yep.”

  “Yay! I can’t wait to tell her about Bella.” Jaden settled back in the seat and looked out the window until they pulled into the police station.

  Before Bill had put the gearshift into ‘Park’, Jaden had unbuckled her belt and jumped out of the truck. She ran to the door and let herself into the entry. When Bill stepped in, Dee was hugging Jaden just inside the door. Jaden was chattering.

  “And Bella caught the frisbee every time,” Jaden was saying. “And I helped the men working on building by filling aprons with nails and then I got to pet Showdown’s nose. It’s really soft. And Allison said that she can’t wait to see me tomorrow. And I can’t wait to go back.”

  Dee raised her eyes to Bill’s and grinned.

  “Well, I guess I don’t have to ask how her day went. How did yours go? Are you thinking about moving out there?”

  “I’m considering it,” Bill nodded. “They’ve got a good group of people out there. There was one incident that bothered me. There was a shooting at the farm north of James and Allison’s. Some men tried to sneak up and take them out. They didn’t succeed, but it felt a little strange to not be able to call the cops. The neighbor had to take care of it themselves.”

  Dee lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry to say that we had a few incidents here today.”

  “What kind of incidents?”

  Dee backed away from Jaden. “Why don’t I fix us some tea and we can chat? I’ve got hot water. I just need to grab a couple cups and pop in the tea bags.”

  “None for me, thanks,” said Bill.

  “I don’t want any either,” Jaden said. “Tell us what happened.”

  “There were two incidents early this morning,” Dee began. “The exit ramps to the interstate are manned and there are patrols along the interstate to keep people from coming in to town. Apparently, several people snuck off the interstate about a mile past the city limits, then made their way back to town.”

  She got up and walked to the counter. She poured water from a thermos into a cup and added a tea bag. She brought the cup back to the desk and sat. “Officer Jamison was patrolling 6th Street in his car when he noticed two men outside a window of a house near the edge of town. He called it in and backup was there within a few minutes. When they approached the two men, they opened fire, shooting Officer Jamison in the left arm. His backup was Officer Kilter. He’s only been an officer for a couple months. He returned fire killing both of them.”

  She sighed before continuing. “It wasn’t a half hour later when three more men were seen sneaking across a bean field east of town. They were intercepted and delivered to the FEMA office north of town.”

  “How is Officer Jamison?” Jaden asked.

  “He will be fine, but it sure made us all stop and realize just how desperate our situation is. There were a couple more incidents later in the day. Chief McCall has assigned five hundred more residents to perimeter security.”

  “That reminds me,” Bill said. “Who was the guy on the radio when we came in to town? I didn’t recognize him and he sure didn’t seem very friendly.”

  “Oh, that was Ray Knudson. He just moved here. His wife is Sarah Olfson. She was probably a few years behind you in school. They moved here a couple weeks ago. That’s got to be a tough job for him. He doesn’t know a lot of people and this flare has everyone running around wondering what is coming next. He really is a good guy.”

  “And what is going on with the FEMA guys?”

  “Chief McCall has reached a truce with them. That Jensen guy is in charge and thought he was going to be in charge of the city as well. Chief McCall set him straight and told him that they could work together or they could fight it out. They are working together for now. I think there are trust issues on both sides. But Jensen has stood by his word on everything he has said he would do. As of an hour ago, he had bussed over seven hundred residents to camps south of here. And, he’s only taking those who ask to go. So, I guess we might have gotten lucky having him assigned to us instead of one of those gung-ho monsters.”

  “I agree. I wish there were some way to contact you from the farm. I’m not used to the lack of communication. I sure miss being able to pull out my cell phone and get ahold of whoever I need.”

  “Chief McCall gave Allison a radio today. You can call us any time you need anything.”

  “Well, that’s good to know,” Bill said. He stood and held his hand out to Jaden. “Let’s get home, sweetheart. Tomorrow’s another day.”

  “Are we really going to move to that farm?” Jaden asked as she buckled her seatbelt over her lap.

  “I think it might be a good idea.” Her father put the truck into drive and steered on to the once busy – now empty – street.

  “I don’t know anyone there.” Jaden looked out the window. Empty sidewalks that, just a few days ago, had held families going for walks and kids riding bikes, now abandoned. This could happen in just a couple days?

  “I know you don’t sweetie. But they need our help to get things up and running. In return they are offering us a spot in a place that has a much better chance of a warm bed and hot meals than what we would have if we stayed home. I think we have to do it.”

  Jaden didn’t answer. She wondered if any of her friends would also move to the farm. As long as Erin didn’t move out there, having a warm bed would be better than freezing at home.

  Chapter Ten

  “Take your rain jacket,” Bill said. “It’s sprinkling out there.” He was packing canned goods from the cabinet into boxes that he stacked at the back door.

  “Okay. Are we going to move out there today? Should I pack clothes?”

  “We probably won’t move out there for a day or two. It depends on how fast the rooms get done. I’m sure there will be a couple of rooms done by the end of today, but there are others who need rooms more than we do. I’m just gathering things to share with the group. When it’s time for us to move out there, we’ll load up our clothes, linens, and take your mattress. It will fit on the bunk. My mattress is too big so we’ll leave it.”

  Jaden stepped into the back porch and lifted her rain jacket off the hook.

  “Dad,” she called. “How about I put a few things in my book bag? Just in case I get dirty and need a change of clothes or a book to read.”

  Bill smiled. “Good idea. A book bag doesn’t take up a lot of room. It’ll be nice to have.”

  “And I want to take my notebooks and pens.” Jaden rushed up the stairs to her bedroom.

  The sky had cleared by the time they left town, waving to the security team as they drove past the barricades.

  When they reached the farm, work was already underway. Jaden stepped into the barn. Her eyes went wide. On the upper floor, where yesterday bare studs dominated the new addition, most of the second floor had plywood walls. Rolly held a large piece of plywood in place while Steve put several screws through it into studs. Rolly moved to the next section and held the plywood in place while Mike Grant got several nails into it.

  Rolly glanced down and saw them. “Hey Bill,” he called. “Come up here, I want to show you something.”

  Bill climbed the stairs. Jaden followed. Rolly led them around the balcony of the mezzanine until they reached the far end. “We knew that this room was going to be narrower than any of the other rooms. That couldn’t be helped. We originally thought that a single guy could take this room, but Steve had a great idea.”

  He pointed to the balcony railing. “If we brought the wall all the way out to the end of the balcony, it would give us a room that was 5 feet by 12 feet. Which gives us even more room. Steve suggested that since you are a single father, this would give us enough room to make a separate sleeping area for Jaden.”

  He walked to the far wall.

  “If we put a plywood wall here,” he said pointing to a spot that was about five feet from the back wall, “We could hang a curtain for a door and your almost-teenage daughter would have some privacy. That would still give you a seven-foot by five-foot space to call your own. What do you think?”

  Bill looked at Jaden.

  “I think it would be great, but there are others who have kids. I don’t want to be treated special.”

  “There are other parents. And, each of those rooms will have curtains hung next to each bed for privacy. But your situation is a little different. Jaden here is almost a teenager. You know how teenagers need their privacy. And you also will want some of your own.”

  He stood waiting for an answer.

  “Well,” Bill said. “I really don’t want special treatment, but if you are offering it, I think Jaden will appreciate it as much as I do.”