Ari scowled as she kicked at the rocks that made up the well-used fireplace. Cold ashes billowed a few feet into the air before settling on and around her boots.
“You should have followed her home that day,” Baelil complained.
“I don’t know what good coming back here does,” Ari moaned. “It’s been weeks.”
“I just thought that we should keep an eye on the place. Maybe she’ll return. You never know.”
“You’re right,” Ari sighed. “You’re always right. I shouldn’t have come home that day. I should have followed her. I just didn’t see the urgency. I also thought that maybe, if she met you, she’d warm up to us better. Never in a million years did it enter my mind that meeting me would spook her so much that she’d pack up and move.”
“I just sent for Denai. She should be here soon,” Baelil sai
Denai was riding directly into the sun’s glaring rays. She leaned forward in the saddle -far enough to take advantage of the shadows cast by the leaves of the few trees that had managed to regain enough life in them to produce a decent foliage cap- in hopes of getting a more focused look at the couple standing on the boulder. If she was seeing correctly, it was Baelil and his sister, Ari.A low moan of displeasure escaped her lips, but she was careful to subdue it before it grew loud enough to attract the attention of Max, who she’d asked to accompany her on the three hour journey there.“I see Baelil,” Max said as he pulled his equally powerful horse up beside Danai’s Black Friesian beast. “It looks like his sister’s with him.”“She’s the one who met up with the girl a few weeks back,” Danai muttered.Max shook his head. “Yet, here we are. It just goes to show
Kendra sat in the library with the book, The Hobbit, opened on her lap. When Rex had first shown the room that was lined with books to her, she’d been both intimidated and overwhelmed. She was taught to read by Olga, but the availability of reading material was limited. Therefore, her reading skills were wanting.To add to her frustration. Rex had been raised around enough books that he was a very adept reader. For the first few days, he had to coax her into the library and then convince her to explore the inventory. Eventually her insecurity and humiliation over her poor reading skills were replaced by an enthusiasm and notable improvement in her ability to decipher the meanings of the words on a page. Within a few weeks, her companions were hard pressed to pull her nose out of a book.The fact that the library was a complete literary treasure trove only added to the situation. Where she stood in intimidated confusion while fearful to
Kendra walked past Rex with her head held so high that she didn’t notice the look of amused anticipation on his strong, handsome face. He waited for her to get a few yards ahead of him before he stepped off of the porch to follow her. He was startled to see the look of approval on Olga’s face as she watched from the window as he disappeared behind the house. Was that look because of her pride in Kendra’s prowess with a bow? Or, was there something more behind it?He’d grown close to Olga and considered her a friend. Even so, he’d shied away from discussing his feelings for her niece. After all, Olga was more like a mother than an aunt and, therefore, was protective of Kendra like a mother would be. He wasn’t worried about her rejecting him because of the nuclear exposure that he’d experienced as a youth. He didn’t consider the bit of damage that it did to his digestive and neurological system enough
Olga brooded over Rex’s obvious foul mood as she watched him walk with aggressive deliberation to where the zombie lay. He grabbed it by its feet and dragged it into the trees before heading back to the fence to continue pounding the post into the ground. Things clearly didn’t go as she’d hoped between him and Kendra. Did the foolish girl refuse him? She’d watched the way he looked at her as well as the way she looked at him. She could have sworn that they were equally attracted to each other. What happened.As she headed out the door to assist Rex with the fencing, she made a mental note to have a talk with Kendra. She needed to understand that men like Rex wouldn’t be coming about one after the other. They were lucky that he came along at all. Rejecting him was a foolish move even if she didn’t have feelings for him; which she was sure that the girl did.“I have to say that I’m impres
The alluring aroma of rosemary and roasting meat pulled Kendra from the deep and fitful sleep that centered on dreams of Rex and his rejection of her. Even though she could have easily done without the self-torturing dreams, she would have appreciated a bit more slumber for her tired body. Unfortunately, her empty stomach was on the alert and there’d be no more rest until it was satiated.She’d gone into her room right after they’d finished working on the fence, taken a quick shower, and then crawled onto her bed for what she thought would be a short rest. By the depth of darkness outside of her window, it was clear that she’d slept for hours instead of napping for minutes.Her stomach rumbled as she slowly crawled out of bed. She massaged her shoulder as best as she could while rotating it. The demands that she’d placed on her body while helping with the construction of the barrier around the camp had required the use of
Even though she fell into a deep sleep almost immediately, it didn’t last long. Fear of getting caught in Rex’s bed by her aunt or Felix robbed her of her sleep. She was of an age where having sex was expected of her, in fact, it would be mandated if the regime was aware of her. Even so, she wasn’t ready to share with her family what had occurred between her and Rex. She wasn’t confident in where they stood as far as their relationship was concerned. Was it strictly sex? Or, was he expecting more from her? They had no condoms so their sex was unprotected, but he’d pulled out of her every time he released his seed. What did that mean? Did it mean that he didn’t want to impregnate her because he didn’t want to start a new family? Did it mean that he wanted to enjoy her body without a commitment? If so, what would her aunt and cousin think? Would they approve? She doubted it.Until she knew exact
Baelil wiped the sweat off of his forehead and the back of his neck as he stopped to rest his horse. Reaching into his saddle bag, he pulled out a fresh shirt. Stripping the sweat soaked polo from his muscle defined torso, he rolled it up and put it in a small sack that was designated for such a purpose and donned a clean one that had been rinsed in lavender water to help retain its brightness and, therefore, gave off a light and refreshing lavender scent. They’d combed the area for weeks without any sign of the girl and her companions. How could they just up and disappear?“She has to be here somewhere,” Ari groaned as she pulled her horse up next to his and released the reins so that it could graze on the thick blades of grass that not only managed to survive the nuclear holocaust, but they’d grown back stronger than ever.It never ceased to amaze Baelil about how flexible and adaptable nature could be when it came to survival.&nbs
“You’ve missed a lot,” Felix said as he set a steaming cup of pine needle tea on the bedside table next to Kendra’s head. “Wake up, Kendra. Auntie wants you to go looking for Rex.”Kendra sat up with a start. “He’s missing?”“He went out hunting early this morning and hasn’t come back yet.”Kendra peered out of the window and into the dusky light. “What time is it?”“It’s late. You slept all day.” Felix had a teasing remark about how sex with Rex had worn her out on the tip of his tongue, but he kept it to himself. He’d not only received a killer lecture from his aunt about his teasing her that morning to the point of such embarrassment that she refused to leave her room, but he inherently knew that her exhaustion was from more than that. She’d basically been the backbone of their family unit for so long tha