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“This isyourdoing!” he says, setting Sadie down and pounding on the glass. “You did this. You put this zombie bullshit in our daughter’s head, and now she’s scared shitless, thinking her goddamn aunt is going to come back from the fucking dead, and you’re just standing there.”
“No, Garrett,” Kit says. “We’re all just standing here, because Madison has a point. We have no idea what’s going on. But we know the dead aren’t dead, and we know Sadie is very badly injured. So she is not coming in this house. We will give you what you need, and we will help in any way we can—”
“You bitch!” Garrett roars, pounding the glass. “You vindictive little bitch.”
“No,” Kit says. “Laney is the one who tried to let you in. If Sadie lives, it’s because Laney gives a damn. I don’t. Jayla doesn’t. Sadie wouldn’t do the same for any of us.”
Jayla steps forward. “Andyousure as hell wouldn’t.”
Garrett stomps across the deck. He disappears for a second andreturns with a rock as big as his head. He heaves it back, ready to throw it at the window.
“Your daughter!” I shout.
That makes him pause.
I talk as fast as I can. “You told me to look after our daughter.” I stumble on “our” but push the word out. “That’s what we’re doing. Kit has a breakfast business meeting with his mom. Their parents know where we are. When Kit doesn’t show up, they will send help.”
“They’ll call the cops, who’ll wait twenty-four hours.”
I shake my head. “You forget who you’re talking about. People like you and me call the cops. People like the Hayeses hire a damn SWAT team.”
That makes him hesitate.
“Kit is their only son,” I say. “Their heir.” The Hayeses would never think that way, but it’ll make sense in Garrett’s world.
Jayla steps forward. “Without Kit, they won’t get grandbabies. They won’t be able to pass on their legacy. They lose their fucking shit when he goeshiking.”
Also not true. Okay, well, yes, our off-the-grid summer house made them nervous, but only in the way it would make any parent nervous. I can see our reasoning penetrating, though.
“They will be here tomorrow,” I say. “Like Kit said, we’ll do what we can to help with Sadie. If she’s resting comfortably and you want to come inside—”
“No. I’m staying with her.”
“Then we’ll give you whatever you need to stay out there, and we’ll take shifts watching for trouble. If something happens, if somethingcomes,we’ll decide what to do then. But for now, Sadie is no better off in here than out there. You might not think she’d ever hurt Madison, but she attacked me. She went from pleading for help to attacking in an eyeblink. She’s not in her right mind. You can’t—”
“Fine.”
“Thank—”
“It’s for the kid.” He lifts a finger. “And don’t ever say I don’t care about her.”
“I never did, Garrett.”
“Get the stuff, then. First-aid kit. Hot water. Towels.”
“We’ll get everything we can find, and we’ll talk you through it.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Sadie’s wounds have been cleaned and bandaged, and we’ve given them half the blankets and pillows in the house, overcompensating in the guilt of leaving them outside as the temperature drops. There’s a propane fireplace on the deck, and we made sure Garrett got that working and tucked himself and Sadie into a warm spot by the door, where we can see them.
As we gathered and shared whatever Garrett might need, we picked at dinner. Now that Garrett and Sadie are settled, we’re moving around the room, checking the doors and tidying up—whatever else our numb brains tell us we need to do.
I walk over to Madison, standing near the windows.
“Are wesureshe’s alive?” Madison says, her voice low. “She’s moved a few times but… She’s really badly hurt, Laney, and her skin doesn’t look…” Her voice drops more. “Normal.”
When I don’t answer, she looks over. “Has he checked for a pulse? Breathing?”
