EMP Catastrophe by Hamilton, Grace (best ebook reader for pc .txt) 📕

“And he retained all that information?” Kathleen asked. “He must have a crush.”

Ruth grinned. “I think so.”

“How much meat is dehydrating?”

“About ten pounds,” Ruth said. “Some of it we will lose, but we’re doing our best.”

“It doesn’t look like ten pounds,” Kathleen said.

“It shrinks a lot,” Ruth said with a shrug.

Kathleen moved away from the meat to look at the other stainless-steel canister that Ruth was working with. Pressure canning. She was a bit more familiar with that. She made a sound of approval at seeing more than a dozen jars lined up and ready to be put away. “You did all this?” she asked.

Ruth nodded. “We had some produce from when we first arrived here. Then I went to the grocery store and took some from a delivery van that had been abandoned down the road.”

Kathleen stilled as Ruth related to her the story of the delivery van and how she’d run into Samuel West. When Ruth finished, Kathleen shook her head in dismay. “I can’t believe the nerve of some people,” she said. “How could Samuel have done that? And put Patton in such danger? He must have been terrified.”

“He did very well,” Ruth said as she continued to cut up the last of the vegetables. “I do worry for him, though.”

“Me too.” Kathleen sighed and clasped her hands. “I’m glad you were here with him. If I was here with all this food, it would have gone to waste. I don’t know the first thing about canning and preserving food.”

Ruth waved off the compliment. “Thank you. I’m just glad I could help in some way. My mother would be rolling in her grave to see that I’m utilizing her old skills. I believe I once told her they were useless.”

Kathleen snorted a laugh. “My mother thought we were insane for buying this place to begin with. She wanted to know what a bunch of city folks thought they were doing trying to live out in the country. Sometimes, I wonder if she was right.”

“Don’t think like that,” Ruth said and handed Kathleen the pad of paper. “Here. Why don’t you help me finish up the inventory? I’ve been putting things into groupings. Things that are perishable and need to be eaten now and things that can last and things that will go stale.”

Kathleen took the pad of paper. “Of course.” She moved toward the pantry and opened it up, finding a bunch of food that seemed to have been placed inside haphazardly. She pulled out everything and made notes on the paper. Soon enough, she couldn’t help but notice with fond exasperation that many of the goods Ruth had picked up were old family favorites. Comfort food. While she’d gotten some rice and noodles, there was also a ton of Lucky Charms, most likely for Allison. Additionally, there were many cans of baked beans that she knew David enjoyed. As Kathleen put them in their appropriate groupings, she wondered if one day her family would be existing only on cereal and beans and how awful it would be. She could barely stomach all the sugar in Lucky Charms as it was. Gave her heartburn.

As she emptied out the pantry, she frowned. They had far less food than she’d expected. Clearing her throat, she asked Ruth, “I hate to say it, but I think we will run out of food soon. There is no way this will feed all six of us.”

“Seven,” Ruth corrected, even though her attention was on the cans in the water bath. “You forgot Jade.”

“I know how many people are in our family,” Kathleen said archly. “Six. Six mouths to feed.”

Ruth looked up at her and said in a sugar-sweet tone, “Jade has to eat too.”

“But she’s not part of our family,” Kathleen reiterated and flushed. Why did she feel as though Ruth was judging her? Just because she didn’t fall for Jade’s wobbling chin and big green eyes? That didn’t make Kathleen a bad person. Shooting someone point-blank…that made someone a bad person. “Why did you vote for that woman to stay, anyway? After everything that she had done? She doesn’t even seem like it bothers her much.”

Ruth’s mouth pinched as if she took offense at Kathleen’s questions. Kathleen wanted to run back upstairs to her room. She hadn’t meant to sound so snappish, but she honestly wanted to know. If Jade had shot Matthew, Kathleen would have run Jade off the property. There would be no forgiveness in her heart.

Ruth thought for a moment and then sighed. “I don’t quite know,” she said slowly before shaking her head. “Sometimes people just need help. I’ll never understand what drove Jade to kill that man, nor to hurt David, but I understand what it feels like to be cornered. When Samuel was here, there were times I thought about killing him. I worried about my survival and more importantly about Patton. I never brought myself to do it, but if Matthew hadn’t shown up, I might have. I voted for her to stay because that’s what my heart told me to do. I stand by it still. Jade needs support right now. I can only imagine the burden she carries. She feels safe here. There’s no point in chasing her away. She’s trying to do right by us and earn back our respect.”

“She’ll never have my respect,” Kathleen answered. “All she’s serving to do is eat up our resources faster. If we didn’t have to feed her, our food would last that much longer.”

As soon as she said it, Kathleen felt ashamed. At the same time, though, it felt as though if she gave an inch, it would make her look weak and make others question her judgement. She couldn’t be seen as weak. Not when she was part of the brickwork making up this family. She would do everything in her power to protect her family. Jade didn’t have that kind of