Reclamation (Best Laid Plans Book 4) by Nathan Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

store had available. Then, or so it must've looked to Clara who was assisting him, he went way overboard buying ammunition, magazines, cleaning supplies, and spare parts for the rifle. That was probably a bit suspicious, but Trev couldn't argue that those things would all be useful for their three other captured weapons. Especially the ammo, which his uncle bought the store out of.
    Trev's mom had made a find of her own, several dozen packets of heirloom seeds. Coming back from one trip carrying wheat out to the truck Trev paused to admire her discovery and compliment her own it.
    She beamed, although she looked a bit wistful. “It's a shame we lost everything back at the house. I had all the seeds I'd purchased ahead of time, all the way before the Gulf refineries attack, for this year's garden. And I had all the seeds I managed to harvest myself from the garden last fall. And all the extras I had laying around in case I wanted to expand the garden or plant a different variety of crops.” She shook her head in frustration. “A lot of potential left behind.”
    No arguing that. His mom's garden had spanned over a quarter of an acre, complete with stone paths and a bench tucked away in a bower beneath an arched grape trellis. She'd spent hours and hours working on it, while Jim and Linda had complained about being roped into working on it too a few times when he talked to them.
    Her dream had been to learn enough to make it self-sustaining, so she could maintain it without needing to buy new seeds and plant everything again every year. She'd gotten very good at harvesting seeds and getting cuttings, and from what he'd heard on his rare visits their neighbors often came to her for help with their own gardens. Or to harvest the fresh produce she generously offered them.
    It was probably the most significant thing their family had been forced to leave in Greenbush. Those lost seeds were worth their weight in gold, and the garden could've fed them all with a bit of fish and game to supplement their diets. But there was no point looking back.
    “Lewis has a pretty good stock of heirloom seeds,” he offered. “We've got our own garden plot going back in Aspen Hill.” He gestured to the packets she held. “These will definitely help, too.”
    She nodded and tucked them into her cart, then paused to hug him and kiss him on the cheek before continuing on to search for more sundries that would be useful when they got home. Trev's siblings, cousin, and aunt were doing the same, although he was amused to notice that Jim and Linda had dragged Mary into a conspiracy to fill a cart with seriously overpriced snacks for the trip.
    The blond young woman went along gamely, although she was nervously humming a song he didn't recognize. From context it probably involved kids getting a whupping from their parents after they got caught misbehaving.
    Finally, even though there were plenty of other things worth buying and they all glanced wistfully at what they'd have to leave behind, the family filed out of the store to finish loading the truck while Lucas tallied up their purchases and paid up.
    They still had to consider the remaining containers of diesel they'd left behind that they needed to go back for, which would take up some space. And while they could stand being packed to the gills if they had to, having a bit of room to stretch their legs wasn't the worst thing in the world.
    Fred continued to pitch in as they finished the loading, then stood back and whistled while Trev and his dad made a few final adjustments and shifted some things around. “Looks like you got her just about full up.”
    “Pretty much, once we've got ourselves in there,” Trev agreed, hopping down to stand beside him looking at their handiwork.
    The sheriff squinted up at the truck bed, then sauntered over to the cab to peer inside at the stuff they'd packed into the foot space. “I'd say you did a good job of gathering up the necessities. Just the sort of