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She shook her head and chuckled. “I’m as good as I ever am dealing with my parents.”
He kissed her forehead and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say other than I’m here if you need to talk about it.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. Just let me talk to Spencer for a moment.”
She finished the kitchen clean-up and started dinner prep. Paxton’s had delivered a large roast yesterday and she put that in a Crock Pot, added the seasonings, and set the timer on it. Wiping the counter down, she smiled when Tate came back into the room.
“All set?”
“Yes.” She stepped into the dining room. “Hey guys, I have a roast in the Crock-Pot and the timer set. Supper will be ready around five.”
Adelaide smiled. “Thanks, Lara.”
Turning, she walked to the kitchen door and waited for Tate to grab another cookie. “I’m going to get fat with you living here.”
“I know how we can work it off.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he said as he took another bite of cookie. He made her heart feel light and happy and as if she could do anything. It was a wonderful feeling.
They stepped outside, and he pointed to the older Impala in the yard. “We’re taking this. Until we can block the worm the BRR is using, we’re not taking any chances.”
“Sounds perfect.”
As they drove to the bakery, Tate seemed pensive.
“Is everything alright?”
He turned and smiled at her. He moved his right hand to lay on her left leg. “Yes. Can you tell me what you know of your father’s relationship with the BRR? Any little conversation you can remember.”
She looked at his profile for a long time as she tried remembering anything that would make sense.
“You know my relationship with my parents is weird, right? They’ve kept secrets forever. I’ve asked and I’m constantly shut down. Including this morning. I asked my father what the doctor said about my mom’s condition, and he told me he didn’t want to betray her privacy.”
She pushed stray strands of hair from her cheek. “I’m family. I’d never betray her privacy and letting me in shouldn’t be considered a betrayal, either. I’m their daughter.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly to stop the emotions she always summoned when she thought about this or talked about it. She swallowed to moisten her throat, then shrugged. “I’m as much of an outsider as you are where that’s concerned.”
“So you don’t know if your father has ever spent any time with Everett Howard or Craig Howard or any of the BRR Council?”
“Maybe. As a liaison with the mayor. Maybe in the past on issues with theft. In years past, things weren’t as tense as they are now. They would come down to trade and sometimes when trading didn’t get them what they wanted, they’d break in and steal things. Usually, it was gas. Between Paxton’s Grocery Store and a few of the other trades they made in the area, they managed enough sugar. They found enough of the other products they needed and then mostly, the rest of the year, we seldom saw or heard them. There was a pattern. They’d come down the first week of the month to trade and then go back up. There weren’t only two or three of them who came down and there wasn’t any trouble.”
“So this is the first year trading has stopped?”
“No. Last year. The mayor was newly elected, and he ran on the platform of reform. The elixir hurt a bunch of kids last year. It was too strong and two of them died; three or four of them have long-lasting health issues. Lung issues and one of them has heart issues now. The mayor thinks they laced the elixir with something on purpose to destroy us.”
“What do you think?”
“Why would they do that? It had been peaceful. They’d know it would cause a war. It makes no sense. Then the mayor brokered the deal to have Fort Abraham built here, and that stirred things up more. But, to be honest, I think that’s more Craig Howard’s dealings than anything.”
He glanced at her, then turned to the road once more. “Because Craig will be president one day?”
“Yeah. They posture when they know they’ll be in charge. They’re all going to make changes, make life better, on and on. Just like our elections down here, except they don’t have elections.”
Chapter37
Tate entered the bakery first. “Stay behind me.” He whispered. His weapon raised before him, he crouched, ready to pounce if need be.
