Free AFTER THE DUST SETTLED (Countdown to Armageddon Book 2) by Darrell Maloney

the walkie talkie. “Tom, this is Scott, can you read me? Just want to make sure you’re okay.”
         Nothing.
         Scott wasn’t surprised. Tom had said he only turned the walkie on when he was going to call them. He said he wanted to conserve the batteries. It had sounded like a good idea at the time. Now it sounded like the worst idea in the world. It hadn’t occurred to anyone that there might be times when the group might want to call Tom.
         Scott made a mental note to give Tom more of the rechargeable batteries, and to tell him to leave the walkie on all the time.
         He tried again.
         “Tom, this is Scott. If you can read me, come in. If you’re under duress, key the mike twice.”
         Still nothing.
         “I’m going over there to check on him.”
         But the women didn’t think it was such a good idea. And they ganged up on him.
         Joyce said, “No you’re not, Scott. If he’s under fire, he’s capable of defending himself. And if he needed your help, he’d have called us by now.”
         Linda added, “She’s right, Scott. If you go out there and there are bandits at Tom’s place, you’re likely to get shot yourself. And what good is that going to do to help the situation?”
         “I can’t just leave him over there by himself. He may be outgunned.”
         “Scott, stop and think about this. He is a strong man. He’s old school. He’s an experienced cowboy. He can defend himself. He said as much when we tried to talk him into coming in here with us, remember? He said not to worry about him, to worry about whoever tried to come after him instead. He said it with a laugh, but he was confident he could defend himself and his property.”
         Linda added, “And we’re not even sure where the shots came from. They may not have been anywhere near his place. But here’s what we do know for sure. He’s got a walkie talkie and he knows how to use it. And he knows we monitor channel five twenty four hours a day. If he needed your help, all he had to do was turn on the walkie and say so. And he didn’t. So that means either he’s got things under control, or the shots didn’t come from his property, or he’s still sleeping soundly and never even heard them.”
         “Linda’s right, Scott. If he needed help he would have called by now. If you go over there in the dead of night and start poking around, he may think you’re a prowler and you may get shot yourself. And that’s a tragedy none of us are willing to risk. In the morning, if Tom hasn’t called in, you can go over there and check on him. But you’re not going anywhere until morning light.”
         The kids were all up and watching the debate. Scott looked at Jordan for support but could tell by the look on Jordan’s face that he agreed with the women. The kids liked Tom Haskins just as much as the adults did. He was kind to them and funny in an easy going way.
         But none of them thought it wise for Scott to risk his life to help a man who didn’t ask for help and in all likelihood didn’t need it.
         Scott was all alone. So he finally surrendered. Joyce made hot chocolate for everyone, since they were up anyway. Scott monitored the security console, and picked up the walkie at least five times to make sure it was on and the volume was up. His sons raided the refrigerator and heated up leftover fish and cornbread in the microwave.
         Joyce and Linda stood in the kitchen, watching Sara watch Jordan eat. They sat at the dining room table together, holding hands and staring dreamily into each other’s eyes.
         None of the romance movies they’d watched the previous evening had anything on these two. They were watching true love blossom before their very eyes.
         Joyce eventually relieved Scott at the security station and he went to bed. He slept fitfully, still worried about his friend and might have happened at