Rex nodded with each word. “Exactly. I’m glad we see eye to eye.” He reached out for Robby’s hand and shook it. “You two can head back on home. I’ll see you later this morning, right, Robby?”
“Indeed,” Robby said.
“Have a great day,” Rex said giving me a little wave.
“Thank you,” I replied. “You too.”
Robby didn’t talk until we were back inside the hotel and even then, he kept his voice down. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said swallowing down the hard lump that had formed at the back of my throat. “Pledging my loyalty to a stranger is very awkward, though. I’m afraid I did the wrong thing.”
“You did what you had to do,” Robby said. “I would have done the same if he would have asked.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Jenna needs this place. Maybe once the baby is born, we can figure out something else.”
“Shh!” Robby said tapping his finger to his lip.
“Right,” I said with a sigh.
Once we reached our floor, Caleb popped out of his room. He ran his fingers through his hair. His skin was pale and his shoulders rounded.
“Caleb!” I said running to him. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Caleb said patting my back. “It’s Jenna. I had to rush her to the doctor.”
“Oh, my God,” I said placing my arm around him.
I turned him back toward his room and led him inside. I was doing it more for me than I was for him.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked after Robby closed the door.
“Where were you guys?” Caleb asked. “I’ve been waiting up here for like two hours.”
“Rex wanted to see me,” I said.
Caleb shook his head. “Is everything okay with all that? I hope they told you that they decided to lock that guy up.”
“We can talk about this later,” I said. “Tell me what happened to Jenna.”
Caleb exhaled slowly. “We were just sitting here relaxing and she suddenly grabbed her stomach. She was in so much pain tears rolled down her cheeks. It looked like she didn’t even know where she was.”
“I should get to work,” Robby said. “Will you two be okay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll stay with Caleb.”
Robby nodded and aggressively patted Caleb’s shoulder. “I’ll stop by and check on Jenna every chance I get, okay?”
“If there is any news, update us,” I said.
“Yeah, of course,” Robby said giving me a quick kiss. He held my gaze for a moment to make sure I was listening. “Lock the door.”
“Always,” I said.
After the door was closed, I told Caleb what happened with Rex. He was concerned.
“Rex says his army is ready for the war,” Caleb said. “It’s almost like he’s anxious for it.”
“When did you talk to him?” I asked.
Caleb shrugged. “Our paths cross sometimes. I’ve had to fix things for him and such. He’s very open about everything.”
“He’s not worried?” I asked.
“No,” Caleb said. “At least it doesn’t seem that way. He says we’re ready and his people will be safe.”
“I hope he’s right,” I said resting my head on his shoulder.
Caleb’s head touched mine. “I hope so too.”
17
Adam
I took frequent looks out of the bedroom door. My dad stood near the front window, tapping his foot as he waited for us.
“Did he say what this is about?” Leah whispered.
“No,” I said pulling on my socks.
“Why didn’t you ask?”
I grimaced. Hadn’t I? “He just said to get dressed. I guess I got worried it might be something serious and I wanted us dressed.”
“Believe it or not, I’m a little scared right now,” Leah said.
I gave her a thin-lipped smile. “I don’t believe it.”
We stepped out into the living room. My eyes stayed on my dad as I pulled on my shoes.
“Can you tell us what this is all about?” I asked.
“There’s a mandatory meeting. I tried to keep you two out of it completely but everyone in town must attend. They’ll know if you aren’t there,” my dad said. “They’re going to attack sooner rather than later.”
My eyes flicked upward. “I can’t fight, dad.” My lips pressed together so tightly it was hard to squeeze the words out. “Leah won’t be involved in this.”
“I know. I talked with Donovan about it this morning,” my dad said. “Our children, wives, and families won’t be involved.”
“How is that fair?” Leah snapped.
“It’s not,” my dad responded instantly. “Is the world fair? Never has been. But I can’t have you two out there. I don't know about you, Leah, but my son is not trained. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”
I swallowed hard. He wasn’t wrong but what he didn’t know was that I figured it out. And I’d used one. I could definitely do it again… not that I wanted to. In fact, fighting was about the last thing I wanted to do.
“Try not to worry,” my dad said. “Everyone has to go to the meeting. Donovan and his daughter will be there too. The shopkeepers, the cleaning crew, even the maintenance team will be there. It’s simply to explain what’s going on to everyone at the same time.”
That also meant that Eva would be there. Eva wasn’t family and she wasn’t my dad’s wife. Would she have to fight?
Everything that was happening was probably her idea. She probably forced my dad to escort us there to make sure we’d go.
“It won’t be long,” he said forcing a smile. “I’ll have you
