Oil Apocalypse Collection by Lou Cadle

Author:Lou Cadle [Cadle, Lou]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cadle-Sparks Books
Published: 2019-01-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Pilar was napping again a few days later, and when a knock came on the front door, Sierra rushed to answer before it could wake him. Curt stood there, tapping a baseball hat against his leg.

“Hi, Curt,” she said, slipping out the screen door. “What’s up?”

“I just got off my guard shift and wanted to come by and ask how Pilar was.”

“He’s asleep right now. He had a rough night. He coughs at night, and that hurts to do.”

“I have a few pain pills if you need them.”

“Thanks, but I don’t know if I could get him to take them. He has a thing about messing with his brain chemistry, he says.”

“In a lot of pain, is he?”

“Sit down,” she said, pointing to the pair of Adirondack chairs on the deck. “Can I get you anything? I have iced tea or water.”

“Only if you want something for yourself.”

She thought about her to-do list and if she could afford to sit and chat. “I wouldn’t mind a ten-minute break. Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

Inside, she poured two iced teas and then brought them out. Curt was perched on the edge of the chair. “Here,” she said. “Lean back and relax. How was guard duty?”

“Completely quiet,” he said. “I wonder if we might be past the worst of it.”

“I hope so,” she said, but at the same time she shook her head. “I can’t imagine the situation with the Payson invaders won’t come to a head at some point.”

“Depends on their food situation, I’d guess.”

“Joan was saying when she came by yesterday to check on Pilar that she and the girls had only been eating about a thousand calories a day down there on the best days.”

“That’s not enough.”

“No. The eggs make all the difference. And they will in the future too. I guess once our freezers are empty, we’ll be increasing our flocks and eating ten or fifteen eggs every day. But that’s good, right?”

“Very healthy food.”

“I wish hens laid year round.”

“I think it’s possible to get more laying time out of them with lights.”

“Never been the kind of thing Pilar would have approved of before. Maybe now he will.”

“So he’s healing up okay?”

“Not much change, but Kelly says that’s normal. She said it will take him a couple of weeks to be able to do most things, and even then he’ll be in some pain.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I keep reminding myself it could have been so much worse. He could have died.” Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes. She wiped them away and tried laughing at herself. “Look at me, being such an idiot. The worst is over now, and yet here I am sniffling over it still.”

“It was hard for you. Is hard, I’m sure.”

She looked at him to see his face filled with concern. His eyes, which often flicked away from hers after a few seconds, held hers steadily. “You’re sweet to say it.”

“No, just reminding you of the truth. You doing okay? Need me to help with moving anything heavy or just anything at all? I can dust pretty well.

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