Organically Yours: Sanctuary, Book Five by Abbie Zanders (love letters to the dead txt) 📕

aimed the remote at the screen and paused the movie. “No problem. I need more popcorn anyway. Anyone else want something from the kitchen?”

When a chorus of requests rang out, Sandy laughed and rose as well, saying she and Sam would return with a full snack bar.

Movie night was Doc’s favorite night. Besides meals, it was one of the few times many of them were in the same space at the same time, and he enjoyed the socialization. Invitations were open to everyone on-site, and the event had become a popular thing, even among the newbies.

Anyone interested gathered in what had become known as the decompression chamber to chill and watch a flick with an insane selection of the kinds of snacks and beverages one would find in a theater. Movie night had become so popular in fact that they’d expanded the room, knocking down the wall between two smaller rooms to create a bigger space.

It was a great space, too. A massive hearth commanded one wall, built with stone found in and around the property. On the opposite wall, built-in bookshelves stretched from the floor to the high ceiling. An assortment of chairs and sofas and table lamps gave the place a homey, cozy feel while the series of arched windows kept it from feeling too confining. The small television they’d started with had long since been replaced with a large mounted flat screen on the remaining wall, easily seen from anywhere in the room.

Doc took advantage of the brief intermission to stand and stretch, catching only snippets from Kate’s end of the phone conversation but it sounded promising.

“She said she’d come and take a look at the orchard,” Kate informed them with a smile after slipping her phone into her pocket a short while later.

“When?” asked Matt “Church” Winston, the man who’d come up with the idea of turning his family legacy into Sanctuary.

“Sunday. It’s the only day she’s free. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“It’s fine,” agreed Church.

“Do you think bringing her here is a good idea?” asked Steve “Smoke” Tannen, the tone of his voice suggesting he didn’t. “She’s an Obermacher, right? Cage has already identified them as being part of Team Freed.”

Doc understood his concern. Daryl Freed was the Sumneyville chief of police and one of the primary sources of anti-Sanctuary rhetoric among select locals.

“Don’t blame her for her brothers’ bad choices,” Kate said defensively.

“We’re not,” Mad Dog said in an attempt to soothe his wife’s ruffled feathers, “but it’s best to be cautious—at least until we know what side of the fence she falls on.”

“Why does she have to pick a side? Why can’t she be neutral, like Finland?” Cage’s woman, Bree, asked just as Sam and Sandy return to the room with a rolling cart of snack and beverage refills.

Bree’s mention of Finland made Doc think of Scandinavia, and that, of course, led to Doc’s opinion that Tina Obermacher fit the Scandinavian stereotype to a T even though she probably wasn’t Scandinavian at all. Blonde hair, sculpted features, light-blue eyes, and a healthy, athletic, womanly build.

“It’s hard to remain completely unbiased when all you hear is one side of the story,” Sandy pointed out.

Sandy would know. Until she and Heff had hooked up, she’d been good friends with Freed’s nephew, Lenny Petraski, who also happened to work for his uncle and was one of his biggest supporters outside the police station as well as in it.

Kate nodded. “That’s true, but I don’t think Tina’s the type to believe everything she hears. She’s more likely to see for herself and form her own opinion.”

“Let’s hope so,” Nick “Cage” Fumanti said somberly. “But it’s in our best interest to be cautious until we have a better feel for what we’re dealing with here. Her brothers are firmly in Freed’s camp.”

“Are we providing an opportunity for a soft recon here?” Smoke mused.

Kate looked to Church for support. “You know Tina, don’t you? From school? She’s not like that.”

“She wasn’t then,” Church agreed, “but that was a long time ago. Things change.”

There was a heaviness to his tone that spoke volumes. Church rarely talked about the negative reaction he’d received upon his return to his hometown, but that had to have struck a nerve. These were people he’d grown up with, people he’d known his whole life. To have them openly bad-mouthing him and the good he was trying to do with Sanctuary must have felt like a betrayal.

“Yes, they do,” Kate said quietly. Her family had turned their backs on her when she took up with Mad Dog.

Her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple in a touching show of support.

Hugh “Heff” Bradley shrugged. “It’s simple. Keep her tour to the public areas. If she starts asking questions, don’t divulge what we know about the preppers, the ongoing federal investigation into Luther Renninger, or the eyes we have on the mines.”

“None of us would do that,” Sam said firmly, settling back in between her husband’s legs. “We protect our own. Now, are we going to watch the rest of the movie or not?”

Sam’s question was met by murmurs and grunts of agreement. But as the lights went down and the movie resumed, Doc couldn’t help thinking about Tina Obermacher and her upcoming visit.

Chapter Five

Tina

Tina felt a tingle of anticipation as she laced up her walking boots.

It had been a hell of a week. An unpredicted ice storm had done some damage, particularly in the cherry grove. One of the guys on her team got hurt and would probably be out for a month at least. Some kids broke into an equipment sheds and vandalized the place. And Eddie was being more irascible than ever. All attempts to pin Rick down and talk to him about it had been unsuccessful.

So, yeah, she was looking forward to getting away for the day to visit Sanctuary, see Kate, and check out what they were doing with the place. From what she remembered, the Winston resort was a