“All right. I’ll ask her, as soon as I figure out what I need to apologize for.”
He showed us the rest of grandpa’s supplies. Food. Medicine. Camping equipment. Cleaning supplies. Booze.
“No water?” Sahdev asked.
“Grandpa Kurt has a well, and there’s a stream on the property.”
Inventory complete, we climbed the stairs and found Mac and Hannah in the back yard, tossing a Frisbee to Hector. Levi pulled Hannah aside for a private and animated conversation.
Mac, Kyle, Sahdev, and I huddled together.
“I asked Levi and Hannah to come with us to Valhalla.” I turned to Kyle. “You think your rancher friend will mind if six of us show up?”
“Honestly, not a clue. Maybe they can use more hands to work the ranch. Maybe their supplies won’t stretch far enough to take in six extra people. If that’s the case, we can move on. I’m sticking with you guys, no matter what.”
I nodded, pleased. Hard to believe that pain-in-the-ass Country Club Kyle—Mac’s ex for crissake—had morphed into an indispensable member of the team. New world. New rules. Damndest allies.
I glanced over at the kids. Hannah was bouncing on the balls of her feet, squealing. A teenage girl who squealed. God help me. She rushed over to us, her black hair flying, and threw her arms around Mac. “Levi and I are staying with you guys.”
Mac’s face lit up with happiness, and she hugged the girl back. Conviction settled in my chest. We were doing the right thing by sticking together.
Just like that, our family circle expanded. More people to be responsible for, to worry about, but I was finding that I kind of liked the ties that bind. Surprising for a man who’d always prided himself on being a loner, even in the club.
I looked at Levi. “Where was your grandpa’s favorite place on the property?”
He frowned, considering. “We used to play horseshoes after dinner, then sit on an old bench and watch the sun go down while Grandpa drank a glass of bourbon. I suppose the bench might have been his favorite spot, where he relaxed at the end of the day.”
“Good enough. How about you and I dig a grave for grandpa next to that bench?”
Levi startled, as if he just remembered that we had to deal with his grandpa’s body. Tears flooded his eyes. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. Thanks.”
We fetched two shovels from the barn, then took turns digging the hole. Afterwards, we got a tarp and hauled the old man’s body from the back bedroom and carefully laid him in the grave.
Levi worked in silence, as if in a trance, clearly consumed by his own thoughts.
We got the body halfway covered up when Hannah appeared. “I want to help.”
Levi silently handed her a shovel, and she threw a half dozen scoops of soil over the body before handing the shovel back to Levi. She kissed him on his sweaty, dirt-stained cheek. “I’m going to find some wildflowers for the grave.”
He nodded.
“Stay close,” I warned her.
My words roused Levi from his stupor. “Hannah.” She halted and glanced back over her shoulder.
“Last summer I saw a cougar take down a deer in grandpa’s front yard. How about you have Kenzie go with you to look for flowers, and ask her to bring her gun?”
She nodded. “Okay. I will.”
We returned to our grim task.
“Does Hannah know how to shoot?”
“No. I offered to teach her, but she doesn’t want to.”
We finished filling in the grave and tamped down the soil. “She has to learn how to defend herself. You know that, don’t you?” I said quietly.
Levi blew out a slow breath, and he looked older than his years. “Hannah told me that she isn’t afraid of anything as long as we’re together. She’s so freaking certain that I can protect us that she doesn’t think she needs to learn how to shoot.”
Quite a burden to place on a seventeen-year-old’s shoulders.
“What if something happens to you? What if you get sick?”
Levi shifted his weight from foot to foot, frowning. “That’s one of the reasons I’m glad we hooked up with you guys. So if something happens to me she’ll have other people around to watch out for her.”
I straightened and leaned on my shovel. “I get it. If I could, I’d put myself between Mac and anything that might do her harm. But that’s not smart. That’s not the reality we live in. You’re doing Hannah no favors if you encourage her to remain defenseless and dependent. And at some point she’s gotta pull her own weight. She’s gotta have our backs the way we’ll have hers.”
“I know.” Levi dragged his hands through his hair. “She’ll get there. She has to, but I don’t know how to help her make it happen.”
“Mac was afraid of firearms, but she learned how to shoot. How to fight. You saw how she handled Pastor Bill when he held a knife to her throat. Maybe Mac could have a talk with Hannah.”
“That might be a good idea. I think Hannah would listen to her.” Levi tilted his head. “That reminds me of something I’ve been wondering about. How come you call her Mac when everybody else calls her Kenzie?”
I smiled, remembering the night I met Mackenzie Dunwitty, the night she blasted me in the face with pepper spray.
My friends call me Kenzie.
Yeah? Guess that means I’ll be calling you Mac.
“Long story for another time,” I said.
Hannah and Mac walked up to the gravesite, Sahdev and Kyle close behind. Hannah placed a bouquet of wildflowers on the grave, then handed Levi a bottle of bourbon from the basement stash.
“I thought we could toast Grandpa Kurt with a bottle of his favorite bourbon.”
“Good idea. Thanks.”
The bottle was half full, its wax seal long gone. Levi pulled out the cork and tipped the bottle, pouring an ounce or two onto the fresh grave.
“L’chaim, Grandpa.” He swallowed a mouthful and handed me the bottle.
“L’chaim.” I took a swig then passed the bottle to Kyle, who followed suit.
Sahdev solemnly offered the toast, then poured a small amount on the grave.
Mac, who didn’t drink alcohol, lifted the bottle to her lips and took a tiny taste. She shuddered. “L’chaim.” She passed the bottle to Hannah.
Hannah sniffed the bourbon, wrinkling her nose. She gamely took a swallow, then coughed. Levi thumped her on the back.
“L’chaim, Grandpa Kurt.” Her eyes watered. “That stuff’s awful.”
Levi laughed, then sobered, touching Hannah’s hand. “I want to sit here for awhile and say goodbye to my grandpa.”
“Do you want me to stay?” Hannah asked.
He shook his head. “No. I got some things I need to tell him.”
I gathered up the shovels, intending to leave Levi in peace.
“Hey, Ripper.”
“Yeah?”
“You like wild turkey?”
“The bourbon? Yeah. I like it fine.”
“No, dude, not the drink. The bird. The land around here is thick with them. Sometimes they hold up traffic, strutting up the middle of the road. How about after I finish up here you and I go on a turkey hunt?”
Never been hunting in my life. Never had any desire to hunt, but what was it I kept saying? New world. New rules. Learning how to hunt would be a useful skill. Meant food on the table after we ran out of the canned stuff.