Page 30 of Haven

At Jackson’s questioning look, I explain to him what they said about where to find the store.

“Thank you for your help,” I tell them with a smile. Jackson is standing right beside me, and it still feels like he’s bristling. It’s very distracting. “Really. I didn’t expect strangers to be so nice anymore.”

“Well, you’ve been nice to strangers too,” Layne says. “And don’t think it hasn’t been appreciated. Mack gave us some of your tomatoes. I hope you don’t mind. We have enough food, but we don’t have much in the way of fruit and vegetables. And Travis is always worried I’m not getting enough vitamins.” She flushes with pleasure. “I’m a few months pregnant.”

“Oh my goodness, I wish you the best.” I’m surprised she looks so happy. Pregnancy is such a risky endeavor these days. “Oh here.” I go to our storage compartment and pull out a big paper bag full of zucchini and tomatoes and squash and green peppers. We always take extra with us because it’s helpful for bartering. “Take these.”

Jackson makes a throaty sound of what’s probably disapproval, but he doesn’t openly object.

“Oh my Lord!” Layne gasps. “They look amazing, but we can’t take all that from you! We’re really in pretty good shape in terms of food.”

“But you’re pregnant. You need vitamins. Please take them. We’ve got more than enough this year. Seriously.” I press the bag on Travis, and he accepts it with a look of awed gratitude that makes my heart swell. “I like to help. So please take them.”

“Thank you so much,” Layne says, looking like she’s about to tear up. “They’ll be the biggest treat we’ve had in a long time.”

“I’m glad to help. And we’ll help more if you know of people who need it.”

“Well, if you’re serious, the people we just settled need some help with farming. They’re going to have to do gardens and want to keep animals, but there’s no one there who really knows much about it. They could sure use some training to get a head start.”

I blink, thinking about this possibility, excited about the idea of doing something so new and different. “Where are they?”

“’Bout seventy miles from here,” Travis replies. “Northeast. We can show you on the map if you want.”

“That’s too far.” Jackson cuts in, sounding very bad-tempered. “This is as far as it’s safe for us to go. We don’t travel any farther, and we’ve got to get back home tomorrow.”

“But—” I cut off my own objection when I get a look at his face. At something almost desperate beneath the scowl. I turn back to Layne. “We do need to get back. We’ve got someone really sick. But maybe we can help with seeds and other supplies. We could drop them off somewhere close to our farm for Mack or someone to pick up?”

“Yes, that would be perfect. He should be passing through that way sometime next week. We’ll see if we can arrange something.” Layne is grinning again, stroking the vegetables in the bag like they’re a beloved pet.

“We’ve got to get going now,” Jackson says, putting a hand on my back and giving me a nudge toward the ATV. “It’s gonna be dark soon.”

“There are some houses out by the Walmart that aren’t totally destroyed. You can probably spend the night in one.”

We say our goodbyes, and they drive off. Jackson is glowering and silent as we get back in the ATV.

“What?” I demand after a minute.

He gives me a narrow-eyed look but doesn’t answer.

It’s probably just as well.

***

WE FIND THE OLD WALMARTeasily and spend about an hour moving rubble and hunting for medication. A lot of it has already been cleared, but we find a lot of usable clothes that we pile up to take home, and Jackson finds a good pair of work boots that fit him perfectly, which is a godsend because his are barely being held together by threads and tape.

There’s more stuff here we could take with us and use if we had room in our vehicle, but most of it we have to leave. We finally find the corner with the pharmacy, and my stomach sinks slowly as we make our way through the debris.

Most of the pills are already gone, and nothing we can find that’s left are the antibiotics we really need.

I keep searching, even after I’m pretty sure there’s nothing to find here.

Jackson lets me for a while, but eventually he comes over to where I’m bent over, digging through a pile of mostly empty bottles for the second time.

“Faith,” he says, reaching down to put a hand on my shoulder.

“There might be something here.” The words don’t come out with a snap. It’s more like a stifled sob.

“There’s not. I’m sorry. It’s dark now, and we can’t stay any longer. We’ll keep looking tomorrow morning. We can hit as many places as we can on the way home.”

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