EMP Catastrophe by Hamilton, Grace (books to read in your 20s female .txt) 📗

that escaped from him as he bent down to wrap his arms around his son and hold him tight. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of Patton dealing with Samuel, and he wondered what his son had had to endure with a monster like that.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Patton said and his arms felt wiry around Matthew. “Me and Grandma were both really worried.”

“You were worried?” Matthew laughed as relief flooded through him. “I was going out of my mind wondering if you were okay.” He kissed Patton on the top of the head.

“I’m glad you took Samuel down a peg, Dad,” Patton said as he pulled back enough to look at Matthew directly. He somehow seemed more grown-up than when Matthew had left him. “He…wasn’t a nice man.”

“No one is ever going to scare you like that again,” Matthew said and knew Patton had some alternative choice words besides “nice” to describe Samuel. Matthew couldn’t blame his son—he figured he had the same thoughts when it came to Samuel West.

Patton leaned back more and looked solemn. “You’re gonna have to teach me how to use a gun, Dad.”

“One step at a time, Patton. I just got home. I need to learn how to use it better myself.” Matthew shook his head incredulously as David swooped down to engulf Patton in a bear-hug.

“Did you take care of your grandma while I was gone?” David asked.

“Ahh, Grandpa you’re suffocating me, of course I did, of course!”

Matthew stood and hugged his mother, then grew somber. “Have you heard from Kathleen?” he asked.

Ruth shook her head. “Nothing from either her or Allison.”

Despair filled Matthew as he thought about his wife and daughter, who knows where on the road. “We didn’t see them at all coming up here,” he said quietly.

Ruth tried to smile, but it looked wobbly at best. “They’ll come home, Matt. We both know your wife. She’s as stubborn as a bull. They’ll be here soon, I bet you anything.”

Matthew nodded and took the assurance for what it was. He turned to see Jade watching the reunion with a wistful look. She fingered the fringe of her jacket, and he noticed that some of the pieces had been ripped and torn off, leaving the jacket looking exceedingly ragged. She gave him a small smile, but still looked as though she, too, awaited judgement. Perhaps acceptance. He remembered what she’d said to them before turning on them. You’re just like everyone else I’ve ever met. Underwhelming.

Matthew sighed. Maybe, in this one case, he could give Jade a second chance. It might be the one thing that differentiated him from all the other people in her life, despite the risk of her turning on him and his family. He briefly looked at David, who raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for Matthew’s decision. Matthew gestured to her towards the hotel. “I supposed you should join us inside. Tell us the rest of your side of the story.”

Jade’s lips parted in a bright, genuine smile. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered as the Riley clan turned back towards home, ready for whatever was to come next.

34

“How much longer?” Allison asked, shooting Kathleen her usual grin over her shoulder.

“Three miles,” Kathleen said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. The stress and fear from their earlier encounter with Andrew and his gang had melted away—slowly, like ice on a cold day, but melting all the same. Allison’s smile had thawed from terrified and cautious back to easy-going, which was a relief to Kathleen. Ever since they’d passed Galena’s welcome sign, Kathleen had begun to relax and hope by counting everything she could: the passing minutes, her pedal rotations, and her own personal landmarks that let her know how close they were to the hotel. Ever since they began to climb the mountain road leading up towards their home, she’d allowed that hope to grow roots and settle. Without a doubt, they would make it home.

The road here was relatively empty of people and cars, which gave them both the freedom to swerve their bikes side-to-side or to ride in the middle of the lane without a care in the world. The rest of Galena had been in the same state as Chicago, with abandoned cars ditched on the side of the road or left in the middle of the asphalt. People seemed to be hunkering down and preparing for the worst—although Kathleen didn’t know how anything could get worse. She thought of what Rhonda had said about cyber-attacks, and she pedaled faster up the hill. The burn in her thighs was a small price to pay to get home that much faster.

When they’d passed the sharp switchback marked by the twisted tree standing out from all the others, she’d called out to Allison, “Five miles!”

When they’d passed the break in the trees where a small wildflower-filled meadow lay before being swallowed up again by the dense trees, she’d cried out, “Four miles!”

Allison rolled her eyes at Kathleen. “You’re so dramatic, Mom.”

Kathleen felt like she was soaring.

Up until now, the ride hadn’t been easy. After Kathleen had killed Andrew on the side of the road, she and Allison had flipped back and forth between confused anger and fear, to relief that they had made it out of the situation in one piece and relatively unharmed. Allison’s weeping had faded away to sullen silence and then to outrage when Kathleen tried to explain her actions. Kathleen responded at first with deep feelings of betrayal, as if Allison wasn’t on her side, and then became terrified Allison might disown her for what had happened, but finally settled on a melancholic acceptance. She couldn’t change the past. Her actions would haunt her. Her soft-hearted daughter might feel some kind of awed fear towards her. She’d seen Kathleen shoot someone, after all—even if that person had been threatening them and putting Allison in direct danger. Kathleen couldn’t control Allison’s feelings. She