Finally, night fell, and the townspeople retreated to their candle-lit abodes.
Milo and Charlotte were sleeping under Molly’s watchful eye, so Hannah had asked Liam to meet her tonight. He needed to talk, but she didn’t want to press him until he was ready. He’d bring it up on his own terms.
Hannah breathed deeply. “We need more than bullets to keep us alive. I know what we’re facing, but we can’t afford to stop planning for the future. Not even now.”
Liam leaned on the shovel and glared at the salt mounds like they might bite him. “I had no idea what this place was. Figured it was a new age shop that sold lava lamps.”
While the small shop sold Himalayan salt lamps, essential oils, and bath salts, its key feature was a “salt room,” where customers breathed in the healing aerosolized air and dug their feet in the salt, like a sandy beach.
“You ever heard the phrase ‘worth his weight in salt’？” Hannah asked.
“I might have. Never knew what it meant.”
“In ancient Roman times, salt was such a precious commodity that they used it as currency. Slaves were bought and sold with salt. Soldiers were paid in salt. Like then, salt will be in high demand soon. We’re getting a jump on things before everyone else realizes it, too.”
“You read that in one of Molly’s books.”
“I did,” she said. “But Evelyn using that salt solution to clean your wounds reminded me. Salt has so many uses. It inhibits bacteria in wounds, which is becoming more crucial as antibiotics get scarce. The body needs sodium to function. We need salt to preserve meat and fish without refrigeration.
“Somehow, it’s never at the top of people’s usual survival lists. We’ve become so used to its ubiquity that it’s hard to imagine that people could die without it. But who’s manufacturing salt? What will we do once the container in our pantry runs out?”
Liam toed a small mound with his foot. “This doesn’t look like that kind of salt.”
“Pink Himalayan salt is prized for its health and healing properties, but we can use it like regular salt, too.”
Liam made a face. “People put their bare feet in this stuff, you know.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers. You see any other mountains of salt lying around?”
“Touché.” Liam thrust the shovel into the salt and dumped a load into the extra-strength trash bag. “Don’t be salty.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really?”
He gave a sheepish shrug. “Humor’s not my forte.”
Her lips twitched. “Clearly.”
His cheeks reddening, he gestured at the room. “So, what’s the plan for all this?”
“We’ll split it amongst ourselves, sell small portions at Trade Day, and keep at least half for the food pantry at Crossway Church to distribute as needed. Tomorrow morning, I’ll get the children and older folks to separate it into small airtight containers.”
“It’s a good thing, giving them something to do.”
“If we all sit around thinking about what’s coming, we’ll go crazy. I know I will.”
For several minutes, they worked in silence. Liam said nothing. Hannah didn’t press him. His shoulders were taut, his entire body thrumming with tension.
When the trash bag was heavy, they tied the top and lifted it into the wheelbarrow, then started work on the second one.
The muscles and tendons in Hannah’s bad hand ached. It took an incredible effort to wrap her warped fingers around the shovel handle. Her hand would never be normal, but with blood, sweat, and tears, she could force the broken parts to bend to her will.
They filled three more bags, stacked them in the wheelbarrow, and hauled them out to the four-wheeler. They loaded both the rack and the trailer on the apple-red 1988 Honda Fourtrax 300. The 4x4 had belonged to Ray Shultz, but they’d redeemed it for good.
Once it was full, they’d bring it back to Molly’s to unload and return for round two.
Liam half-turned away from her, his eyes on the salt. “I should do it. I should turn myself in.”
Hannah stilled. She stared at his back. “No.”
“The town should turn me in.”
“They won’t turn you in.”
“They should.”
“Maybe so, but they won’t.”
He said nothing.
“Liam.”
He turned to face her, his expression bleak. “You have an incredible amount of faith in people.”
“There’s bad in the world. But there’s some good, too. It’s the good I believe in.”