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four
WHEN WE REACH NEW HAVEN, Brett opens the gates for us to drive in. Miguel has obviously been waiting for us. He’s standing beside the gravel driveway as we pull through.
Jackson stops, and we both get off. Miguel wouldn’t be waiting for us here unless he had something important to say.
My stomach churns as I stand beside Jackson and listen.
“Caden tried to make a move,” Miguel says, tense and clearly edgy.
“We were gone for less than six hours.” Jackson’s tone and expression are stoic, but I can see the tension stiffening his neck and shoulders.
“I know. I guess he’s been laying the groundwork for a while now. Trying to talk up how you two are selfish and unreasonable and how the rest of them should take control. Mostly just complaining but always with something real underneath it. He never did it around me. He must have known better. But the others said he’s been rumbling for a while.”
“So what happened?” Jackson asks.
“He started up again when you left. And more than just his normal whining. Trying to see if he could make a play to get rid of you two while you were gone. Ham got worried it was more than talk and came to tell me.” Miguel’s mouth twists slightly before he continues. “I wasn’t sure what to do, but I figured I had to do something since you’d already given him a warning. So I talked to Kate, and we decided to do what you did two years back with that bastard Rob. I got Ham and Brett to help, and we sent him packing. Asked if anyone wanted to go with him, and no one did.”
My eyebrows lift. “So Caden’s gone?”
“Uh, yeah. He’s an hour gone. You aren’t pissed, are you?”
“No, we’re not pissed. He was getting to be trouble, and it sounds like you did the right thing. There’s nothing else to do in that sort of situation. If you let resentment like that fester, it always grows and takes over and then bites you in the ass.” I glance over at Jackson, who hasn’t said anything yet. “Did he put up a fight?”
“Nah. Not much of one. Guys like that are pretty much gutless.”
“True. He’s not going to last long out there unless he finds a group quick. He’ll probably hook up with the worst sort of people.” I shake my head. “Just as well to get rid of him. At least he’s not our problem anymore.”
Miguel nods in response, but then his eyes turn toward Jackson. He’s clearly waiting for some sort of confirmation from him.
“You did good,” Jackson says, the tension on his face clearing after another moment. He gives Miguel a hard pat on the back. “Thanks for dealing with it.”
Miguel’s face breaks into a smile of relief. And something like pride. It’s really quite touching to see.
***
THE HOUSE IS ABUZZwith talk about what went down this afternoon. It only takes a few brief conversations for me to assure myself that no one was really on Caden’s side, and so there’s no undercurrent of hostility brewing in the ranks. Not everyone loves me and Jackson. And some are intimidated by Jackson’s stern gruffness. But they know the life they have here is better than almost anything they could have found outside these walls, and they recognize we do our best to keep it that way.
One day we might face a real challenge to our leadership. One day we might have a stronger force attack from outside and take us over. But neither one of those things has happened yet.
After dinner, I take some time to study my medical references on the two antibiotics we found. One, as I suspected, is a fairly mild one usually prescribed for sinus infections. The other was mostly used for bladder infections. Neither one of them seems perfect for Molly’s needs, but I don’t find any contraindications between them so I decide to just give her both and see what happens.
She’s had a bad afternoon, according to what the others have told me, but her fever has started to come down a little now. Her eyes are closed when I put a hand on her forehead. It’s not as hot as sometimes it is, and she’s not visibly pained or restless.
She isn’t really asleep. She opens her eyes when I touch her. “Hey, you’re back. They said you went on a run.”
“I did. Came back with some antibiotics for you.”
“Really?” Her blue eyes are wide. Exhausted. “Is it what you were looking for?”
“Not exactly, but it’s something that might help anyway. Are you up to swallowing some pills? I can always crush them if you need me to.”
“I think I can do it.”
I help her hold up her head and take a few sips of water to get the pills down. The effort seems to wear her out, and she closes her eyes afterward as I wipe some of the sweat off her face and neck with a damp cloth.
When I’m finished, I sit in the chair beside her bed.
She opens her eyes and smiles at me again. “Thanks for looking for those.”
