Free Praying for Grace (The Grace Series Book 5) by M. Lauryl Lewis

him,” said Danny. “I’ll catch up to you guys.”
    “Thanks, Danny. He’s in the 2nd bedroom on the left,” said Gus. “We’ll head to the gardens first.”
    “I’ll meet you there.”
    As Danny returned into the depths of the bunker, the rest of us proceeded forward. The stone building that covered the bunker was left behind. A few people were walking about. I recognized Ivar and Moe but no one else. We walked into a courtyard of gardens. Several raised beds had been constructed for growing various plants. I recognized lettuce and cabbage beginning to grow, as well as carrot tops. A metal swing-set sat to one end of the courtyard and a little boy was being pushed by a girl who was about Abbey’s age. The boy was smiling, which was a welcome sight. Two men were kneeling by a small plot of land that was bordered in river rocks. They glanced at us briefly as we walked toward them.
    Gus introduced us briefly and explained to the men that they were needed by the front gate for the arrival of the captive Runner. The two men set down their gardening tools and immediately walked to the front gate.
    Our next steps led us to a large pond. There was a pipe coming from the ground and water poured from it, landing with a splash onto an arrangement of rocks. A net had been fashioned to cover the entire surface.
    “This is our fish pond,” said Gretchen with a smile. “We have bass and trout growing. Instant source of protein.”
    “Very nice,” said Boggs.
    “Wait till you see the chicken house,” said Gus.
    “Don’t the chickens attract the dead? We had that problem back home,” said Danny, who had just returned with Emmett in his arms.
    “We only let the hens outside during the day. We keep a couple of roosters in a separate area inside, and just for breeding and eating,” said a man who walked up behind us. Like Gretchen, he was tall.
    “Hoot, good to see you, brother,” said Gus. “This is Hoot.  Hoot… Boggs, Zoe, Danny, and Abbey. Oh and baby Emmett.”
    The man called ‘Hoot’ held a hand out to each of us. “Good to meet you. Even better to have you here.”
    Hoot looked to be about Boggs’ age and had a soft smile with bright brown eyes. His hair was cropped close to his head and his skin was weathered as if he had been working outside for too long.
    “Hoot heads up security,” said Gretchen.
    “Is that your real name?” asked Abbey as she was taking Emmett from Danny.
    Hoot chuckled. “My mom and dad named me Clancy, but everyone’s always just called me Hoot. Ever since I was about his age,” said the man as he peeked at Emmett. “He’s cute.”
    “Thanks,” said Boggs.
    “Is he yours?” asked Hoot.
    Boggs thought for a moment. “I guess he’s all of ours. He belonged to some people in Danny’s group and we found him all alone.”
    “Zoe’s taken over as his mom,” said Gus.
    “Did you find the baby supplies?” asked Hoot. “We’ve been stockpiling for when my little sister delivers her baby.”
    “When’s she due?” I asked. It reminded me of my own new pregnancy.
    “Not for a while. The end of fall,” he said. “How about you?”
    “Winter,” said Gus quickly.
    No one spoke for a moment, but Boggs turned to face me and put his hands on his hips. If looks could kill, I likely would have dropped where I stood.
    “What does that mean?” asked Abbey, innocently. “Zo’s having another baby?”
    I took a deep breath. “Ya, it seems so.”
    “Fuck,” grumbled Boggs. “How could you two be so irresponsible?”
    “Calm down, Boggs,” said Gus harshly. “You don’t exactly have a stellar track record yourself.”
    “Sorry, I didn’t realize they didn’t know,” said Hoot quietly.
    “It’s ok. They’d find out soon enough,” I said. “Boggs, it happened before my birth control patch was effective. It was just one time.”
    “You don’t have to explain anything,” said Gus. “C’mon, let’s finish this tour.”
    Emmett began to fuss. I looked over