The McClane Apocalypse Book Three (56 page)

"How are you feeling, love?" Grams asks of
her.

Hannah takes a seat at the island while
Grams stands on the other side.

"Ok, I suppose. Tired," Hannah grants.

"You need to get some rest, honey," Grams
advises. "Big day tomorrow."

Hannah grins. "You need rest, too. You've
been working so hard around here all week," she says as she slides
her hand across the island and finds her grandmother's.

"I wasn't about to allow my granddaughter to
have a shabby wedding. Not on my watch, young lady. You deserve the
best. I just wish this all hadn't happened so that we could've
thrown you a proper ceremony," Grams divulges.

Hannah can tell that she is scowling.

"I don't need any of that. Sue was worried
about the same thing," Hannah dispels her grandmother's fears. "I'm
just happy to be marrying Kelly. I'm happy that my family will be
here and that we're all ok. That's all I need, Grams."

"You were always so easy to please, Hannah
dear. So eager to please, so easy to please. That's the way you've
always been, my darling. It's not easy to find happiness in this
world. But you've always managed to find happiness in any
circumstance. It's probably why he loves you so much, you
know."

Her grandmother's words bring tears to
Hannah's eyes. "I don't really know why he loves me. I'm just glad
that he does."

"Oh, I know why. It's your spirit, Hannah.
You've given Kelly more than he ever thought he'd find in this
life. He'll be a good husband to you. He'll always feel like you're
more than he deserves. And he'll take good care of you, sweetie.
He's a lot like your grandfather if you ask me."

Hannah smiles gently and nods. "I think so,
too. I can't put my finger on it, but he is like Grandpa."

"It's not such a bad thing," Grams jokes
with a similar smile in her voice.

"I suppose I could do worse," Hannah quips
and Grams chuckles at her.

"I'm just glad that he wants to stay on the
farm and not move away somewhere with you. I don't think I could've
borne that," Grams admits with a heavy heart.

"Me either. I don't know if I could've
left," Hannah allows. She's always been completely honest with her
grandparents. She's never known another way to be with them. They
are her everything, especially Grams.

"You always stick by your sisters. Stay on
the farm. Stay close to Sue. She'll always be able to give you
advice and help you with Kelly or your kids someday. She's very
wise for being so young herself."

"I'll always have you for advice, Grams,"
Hannah corrects with a frown.

"Your grandfather and I won't be around
forever, Hannah."

"Don't talk like that, Grams," Hannah says
with an uneasy smile. She doesn't like it when her grandmother says
such things. It always sets off a flurry of nervous butterflies in
her stomach.

"Just stay here on this farm. Stay with your
sisters. They'll always take care of you along with Kelly," Grams
repeats.

Hannah wishes she would stop talking like
this.

"Now, enough of that. Do you have anything
that you want to talk to me about before tomorrow?"

Hannah shakes her head, still thinking about
the depressing comments her grandmother has made.

"All right then. I'm off to bed, sweetie.
Sue said she's coming back up to set your hair on rollers, so I'll
just take myself to bed," Grams says.

Her loving grandmother presses a kiss to
Hannah's forehead. Hannah breathes deeply of her grandmother's
scent. She always smells just a little like talcum powder and
lilacs.

"Good-night, Grams," Hannah says with a
smile. Her grandmother pulls her close for a strong embrace.
Physical affection isn't something she does often and it takes
Hannah by surprise.

"I'll always love you, Hannah. I love your
sisters, too. Don't get me wrong. But they both left at such young
ages. And then it was just the two of us because your grandfather
worked so much. You've always been like a daughter to me, like the
daughter I could've never had. I never dreamed the death of your
wonderful mother would've given me such a gift. I'm honored that I
could stand in for her and be there for you. I just hope she's
smiling down on the banged up job I've done of it. I love you,
honey."

Grams pulls away and leaves before Hannah
can even reply. Fresh tears stream down her cheeks, but she feels
no shame over them. Her Grams left before Hannah could tell her
that she's sure her mother would be proud of the job that Maryanne
McClane has done with her and her sisters. Hannah can remember
small tidbits of her mother and the memories she has of her are
always met with joy and love. She has the same feelings toward
Grams, perhaps even deeper ones since her grandmother is the only
mother Hannah's known for so long. Yes, her mother is absolutely
smiling down upon Grams.

On an unseasonably warm Indian summer day at
the end of October, the year of our Lord 2031, Kelly Ryan Alexander
marries the love of his life, Hannah Elizabeth McClane, in an
intimate ceremony outdoors under the rose arbor near the greenhouse
and gardens. Somehow the women have even managed to do some
decorating with flimsy white material, live and silk flowers, and
dark green ferns from the forest floor. The entire family is
amassed along with their three surviving neighbors. John plays the
guitar for Hannah to come down the makeshift aisle, and Kelly is
blown away by her beauty, as usual. She's wearing one of her white
dresses, this one more formal, something she must've worn to
church. The sleeves are long and billowy and sheer. Pearls are
about her neck and in her ears, and a ring of tiny pink flowers
surrounds her head like a halo. Long, thin ribbons trail down her
back. Her pale, shimmery hair is loose and flowing about her in
soft waves, and there's a touch of pink to her soft cheeks.

He and John raided the burbs over in
fancyville three days ago with Cory and Simon, going house to house
until he finally found a dress shirt and black pants that would
actually fit. They'd also found some nicer clothing for the men on
the farm. Even the teen boys have been forced to dress up in duds
that they've also found for themselves in a mansion that once
housed four boys ranging in age from pre-teen to a collage-aged
boy. They'd also taken a full pick-up truck load of provisions from
the raid on the empty homes. It is strange to see everyone not in
work clothes and covered in dirt. The neighbors have worn their
best clothes, as well, which was probably a whole lot easier for
them since they hadn't left everything they owned on an Army base
six states away.

During the ceremony, Kelly holds both of
Hannah's hands, his thumb rubbing over her engagement ring while
her grandfather reads from the Bible. But Kelly has trouble
focusing on what he's saying because he is too enthralled by Doc's
granddaughter and her brilliant, different-colored eyes that shine
from time to time with tears of happiness. When she does allow them
to escape, Kelly wipes them away for her. How the hell can this
woman be so happy to be hooking herself to him for the rest of
their lives? He'll probably never know or figure it out, but he's
sure as hell not letting her back out.

Reagan stands beside Hannah as her maid of
honor and John beside him as his best man and nobody even considers
that this isn't a legitimate wedding of two people in love. Doc
even drafted up that marriage certificate in his scrolling, cursive
handwriting, and Hannah and he had both signed it. He repeats the
vows after Doc as does Hannah. Finally it comes to a close with a
kiss that Kelly keeps crowd appropriate so as not to anger her
grandfather again. Kelly is just grateful to be able to kiss her in
front of people at all.

When the ceremony is over, Sue takes a
picture of them, though they have no way of ever developing it. She
says she'll use the image to paint their portrait by downloading it
onto her computer's screen. Even though Kelly knows without a doubt
that he'll never forget the way Hannah looks today, he also knows
that she'll want something to show their children and grandchildren
someday. He's not sure that they'll ever be able to have a
photograph taken again once the battery life of their cameras and
computers permanently die.

Wayne Reynolds and John have brought out an
antique-looking barbeque from the back of the horse barn per Doc's
request. It's about four feet in length, and the men fill the
bottom of it with wood. Then Doc and Wayne commence with making
steaks for everyone, except the children who nag for hotdogs.
Luckily for them, they have some sausage that they'll disguise for
the kids as hotdogs from the recent hog butchering at the Reynolds'
place. Kelly and the other men, including the teen boys, now know
how to properly butcher a hog and a cow for future use which he's
sure they will need to know. Last month they'd all worked alongside
Doc on butchering the meat chickens, two roosters and seven hens
that are no longer laying eggs. It was grisly work, but having two
freezers full of meat will help them all sleep a little easier this
winter.

Long tables, which were most likely handmade
by Doc, were dug out of a barn yesterday, cleaned and set up for
everyone to sit together on bench seating. Grams covered them with
her antique, "good" linens, whatever that means. There are long,
tapered candles in silver candle holders running down the center of
the table. The children are reluctant to sit just yet and instead
run and frolic in the yard and on the swing-set in their clean
clothes. The adults are socializing, relaxing on lawn furniture or
bustling about helping with the meal.

"Need some help?" Kelly asks of John who is
carrying a load of firewood to the round pit where he's been told
the family used to enjoy the occasional bonfire.

"Nah, I got it. Just hang out with Hannah,
dude," John offers.

"She's kind of occupied," Kelly quips and
indicates to his bride who is surrounded by women. John laughs once
and nods.

"Sure, man," John agrees amiably, the only
way his friend knows. "I'm just haulin' wood over to the pit. Doc
said it might be nice to have a bonfire tonight."

"Ok, cool. I can help with that," Kelly says
and joins John for the next half an hour hauling armloads of
firewood to the pit surrounded by small sandstones. They fall into
easy conversation like always.

"Feel different? I mean, being married and
all," John asks as they walk back to the wood pile near the hog
barn again.

"Nah, not really. Kinda' relieved, though.
Won't have to sneak around like I'm hunting a terrorist in the
desert anymore. We can just be ourselves," Kelly explains.

"Yeah, that's cool," John confirms.

"You might wanna' try it," Kelly jokes. John
just laughs and shakes his head.

"Don't think that's gonna happen any time
soon, bro," John informs him.

"We can always tie her down and force her,"
Kelly says with a laugh. John chuckles this time.

"I'm not doing it, so unless you're
volunteering for the job then forget it. That she-devil will
scratch out your eyes," his friend says with a smile.

"Think I'm gonna have to pass on that job.
Guess you're on your own," Kelly says as they both grab more pine
for the fire. The hardwoods will be reserved for use in the big
house this winter. "I've seen your buddy talking an awful lot to
her."

"Yeah, I know. Trust me, I know," John says
with a frown.

Chet Reynolds is always a thorn in John's
side. Kelly would like to tell his friend that he has no worries
there, but it is likely that he won't believe him. John is pretty
blinded by his own fascination with Reagan to see clearly
sometimes.

"He's ok, man," Kelly tries. "They've been
through a lot with both parents being killed and losing their kid
brother. Maybe we should give him a break. He's probably just
lonely or something."

"Mm hm," John murmurs tightly.

"To hear Sue tell it, a lot of the guys
around town had it bad for Reagan. She just never cared, or the
more likely scenario noticed any of them. But she only came home
from college on breaks, so she didn't exactly have time to start a
relationship. That and she's completely clueless where men are
concerned," Kelly explains patiently.

"No kidding."

"I think Chet's harmless, John. Besides,
it's not like it matters really. She'd never leave her family to go
over there or get married to him and live over there. She's not
leaving this place ever again. She said that to me once when we
were talking about where I could go if I left. She had some
suggestions for me on where I could go. Mostly they were crude,"
Kelly says on a chuckle.

"I'd be more surprised if they weren't,"
John jokes.

"Don't worry, bro. Little Doc's not
attracted to him. She's just in her own world. Hell, she probably
doesn't even know he's interested in her," Kelly laughs.

"Yeah, probably not," John says with a shake
of his head.

They dump the loads of firewood near the pit
and rejoin the groups of people that have broken into clusters
talking about different things. Kelly decides to join Hannah and
Sue, who is speaking quietly with Samantha.

"…you're so lovely in that dress, Sam," Sue
offers kindly.

She places her hand on the shy girl's
shoulder. Sam is wearing a long, navy blue dress that hangs like a
sack on her. It's not at all flattering, but Kelly knows that Sue
is trying to be kind to the girl. It's at least one size too big,
and Kelly suspects that it doesn't even belong to her even though
she'd brought all of the clothing she owned from her former home.
She seems to wear frumpy, unattractive clothing a lot.

Sam mumbles a quick thank-you. "You look so
pretty, Miss Hannah," she redirects the attention away from
herself.