EMP Catastrophe , Hamilton, Grace [phonics readers txt] 📗

a vote is the best way to settle this?” Kathleen asked and glared at David.

“Yes.” Matthew hoped he sounded convincing. “Majority rules. You’re not going to budge on your view of the situation and neither is Dad. This is the best way to settle the argument before we end up holding grudges against each other. We need to stick together and this will be the most appropriate way for us to make decisions as a family.”

Kathleen gnawed on her lip and glanced from David to Jade. Her hands came to rest on her hips. “Fine,” she said.

“Fine,” David echoed her. “Agreed.”

“Why are you so against Jade staying here?” Ruth said softly to Kathleen.

Matthew glanced up. In all the chaos and fighting between his wife and father, he’d almost forgotten about his mother. She stood close to Patton and Allison as though to watch over them. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He hated that his children had to watch their role models fall into petty arguments.

Kathleen looked equally stunned as if coming to the same conclusion, and turned to her mother-in-law. “Matthew told me about Jade as we walked up here. Jade shot David in the arm.”

Ruth nodded slowly and glanced at David’s bandaged arm. “Yes, Matthew told me.”

Patton and Allison exchanged worried looks. Patton stood a bit closer to Allison and peered at David’s arm. “Grandpa, does it hurt?”

“It did,” David said, “but I’m much better now.”

“Matt, what’s making you hesitate about accepting her into our group?” Ruth asked.

Matthew sighed and looked off into the distance. A million reasons filled his mind. While Kathleen and Allison knew part of the story, they didn’t know everything. Even though a vote was the best option to settle the disagreement, it should at least be an informed vote. Matthew cleared his throat. He knew he’d be airing Jade’s dirty laundry and painting her in an even worse light by telling his family the truth.

Kathleen and Ruth didn’t know that Jade had murdered a man right in front of Matthew and David. They didn’t know that she had kidnapped them and held them both at gunpoint. They didn’t know that David had almost been pushed into a second heart attack because Jade demanded a grueling pace of them as they walked down the highway. Matthew knew his decision to make Jade leave was influenced by these actions, just as much as it was by the fact that she’d shot his father.

If Kathleen knew everything about Jade, she would be even more convinced that Jade was their enemy. Perhaps David might be swayed if Matthew reminded him about what had happened on their journey home. It wasn’t fair for him to hold back when the situation was so much more nuanced than it originally appeared.

Could he bring himself to live with Jade under the same roof? Sleep in a bed knowing she was down the hallway? Would he always be looking over his shoulder, waiting for her to turn on them? He wasn’t sure.

At the same time, while his gut told him to toss Jade out, her skillset would be useful to them. She could even teach him how to properly shoot and disarm someone. If he’d known how to do that, he might have been able to save his mother better from Samuel.

“Jade is obviously skilled with a gun,” Matthew said slowly and felt under the spotlight as everyone turned to look at him. “You all know that she shot my dad. But there is more to the story.”

“Tell us,” Allison said. Her blue eyes had a sharp look to them.

Matthew’s mouth went dry. For a moment, he took in the sight of his daughter and was quietly stunned at how much she’d grown since he’d last seen her. He realized he didn’t want to relate what had happened to him and David to his children. He didn’t want to fill their minds with images of their family at risk, but at the same time, Allison was old enough to handle it. She had to make her own decisions and have her own voice in the family. To do that, she needed to hear what he had to say. No matter how graphic or painful it would be.

“When Dad and I were walking back from Galena, we met Jade at a gas station. We’d promised that she could come and live at the hotel if she helped us get back home,” Matthew began.

Kathleen took in a hissing breath. Ruth clasped her hands together and looked at Matthew intently.

“We promised that we would take her in,” Matthew continued. “That changed when we stopped at another gas station to buy supplies. The food and drinks were outrageously priced. When I spoke to the gas attendant, hoping he would give us a fair deal, Jade helped me negotiate. The gas station attendant didn’t take well to our suggestions, and he made a crass comment toward Jade.”

“He propositioned me,” Jade cut in. Her face hardened. “He wanted to take me into the back room and have me convince him to lower the prices. Think about that.” She turned to Kathleen. “What would you do if someone said that to your daughter? Would you let Allison show him a good time to get cheaper food?” Jade’s face twisted in disgust.

For a moment, everyone fell silent and let her words sink in. Matthew took a deep breath and continued his story. “That’s true. He did proposition her. Jade told him no, pulled out a handgun, and shot him when he got more aggressive.”

Kathleen’s face, which had begun to soften in sympathy, dropped in outrage. Ruth remained calm, but Matthew saw her clasped hands tighten. David looked as though he was made from stone. The crow’s feet around his eyes seemed to deepen. Matthew wondered if David would butt in and correct him, but his father kept his own counsel.

“Jade shot the man point-blank in the chest,” Matthew said. “Then, when Dad and I said we couldn’t travel with her