She looked at him, silent, sympathy filling her eyes as her smile softened.
Well hell, he might as well have just told her he was ‘asking for a friend.’
“I don’t think that what I’ve gone through has clouded my judgement. I think it’s made it better. It’s taught me what really matters and what really makes a person good. It’s showed me that a lot of the stuff we believed before was bullshit. If you’re running for your life, do you really care if the person who steps up to save you is a different colour than you or poorer than you? If they are heterosexual or homosexual? What God they believe in or if they believe in God at all?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer.
“Of course not. This world strips all the artifice and the things we’ve used to oppress each other so we could climb to the top. You realize what is important and you see people for who they really are. I think that in this world, when you have feelings for someone, they are the most genuine they can be. It’s not about being desperate, it’s about knowing exactly what you want. So no, I’m not worried about clouded judgement and I don’t think you should be either. Veronica knows herself and she knows what she wants, don’t doubt her.”
Hell, she’d gotten straight to the heart of the matter, hadn’t she? He thought Veronica deserved better but that meant he doubted she knew herself. And that made him a grade A asshole.
“Yer pretty damn good at these pep talks,” Jackson said, “And yer brother’s good at speeches. Yer parents put ya both through some trainin’ for it?”
“I guess it just runs in the family,” she said. “You know, Jackson, I like you. You’re funny and you’re smart. We should hang out more.”
“Not too many people like hangin’ ‘round me.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong about that.” She nodded towards the water where the game had broken up and Veronica was herding the girls up the beach. “There’s three people right there who like hanging around you.”
Kim stood up and walked out towards the girls, calling a greeting. “You girls have fun?”
“Yeah, our team won,” Hannah said. “We’re the best.”
“That’s ‘cause you cheated,” Audrey said.
“No way! We won fair and square!” Hannah replied, squaring her hands on her hips.
The girls started to bicker as Kim and Veronica watched them, the latter toweling her hair dry. He tried his best not to ogle but he couldn’t stop himself from appreciating the long line of her bare legs or the way her wet top and shorts clung to her curves.
He remembered the way those curves had pressed up against him in bed when he woke up this morning. She had rolled over in the night, pressing her back against his chest, his arm over her waist and her ass nestled up against his morning wood. He’d rolled away from her as soon as he’d realized what was happening but the feel of her was burned into his memory.
Even thinking about it now had his dick stirring and he forced himself to his feet before he spent too much time thinking and wouldn’t be able to stand without making an ass out of himself.
Thankfully Malcolm approached and he put his focus on the man to chase away any lingering thoughts about Veronica.
“Hey, Javier made a suggestion that I think is good,” Malcolm said. “He thinks we should paint the tower to camouflage it. You’ve been through the pumphouse. Is there anything in there that we could use?”
“Yeah, there’s a buncha paint cans in there. Mostly exterior stuff for the cabins but I’m pretty sure I saw some cans of wood stain in there. Might work.”
“Good.” Malcolm nodded. “I think it’s best we get to work on painting the lumber now. You mind heading that up? Might as well take the girls with you to help. They’ll probably like it better than mixing concrete.”
“Sure,” Jackson agreed. He’d be more than happy to leave the bare cliffs for the shade of the trees behind the pumphouse where the lumber was stacked. “Can ya spare anybody else?”
“Take Veronica, best she stays close to the girls today.” Malcolm looked over at the others who were toweling off. “Take Travis too. He just got out of that cast and he’s already done enough work digging.”
Well, that would make for an awkward afternoon, wouldn’t it? Even with Kim’s reassurances echoing in his ears, he still felt a spike of jealousy that Travis would be intruding on his afternoon with Veronica and the girls. It was stupid but he was only human.
“Sound fine,” he lied to Malcolm.
“Alright, let’s round up the troops and get to work.”
Malcolm left to go get the twins herded off and Jackson headed to join Veronica and the girls.
“Malcolm’s got ‘nother job for us,” Jackson said. “Wants us to go out to the pumphouse and start painting the lumber so it’ll be camouflaged.”
Veronica let out a loud sigh of relief. “Thank god. My back was not agreeing with all that shovelling.”
He frowned in concern, taking a step closer to her. “Ya need to see Quinton?”
“No, it’s not that bad,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m just not used to that much manual labour. Teachers don’t do a lot of construction.”
“If ya wanna go lay down or somethin’ ya can.”
“And miss an afternoon with you and the girls?” The smile she gave him was beautiful. “No way.”
Warmth curled in his belly at her words but it wasn’t the same kind of heat he’d felt when he had been staring at her before. That had been pure lust, passionate with a fiery edge. This was something much softer and gentler. A comforting warmth, like sinking into a hot bath on a cold day.
He shook off the ridiculous thoughts, cursing himself for sounding like some mooning schoolboy. No need to make a fool out of himself every time she said something nice to him.
“Malcolm wants Travis to help us, he’s worried ‘bout his arm,” Jackson told her, watching for her reaction.
Her eyes shot over to where Travis was sitting down, lacing up his boots. She nodded her head, her lips in a straight line, no hint of the smile she had given him before.
“I suppose that makes sense. He only just took the cast off.” She cupped a hand around her mouth and called out to him. “Travis, you’re with us on painting duty. We’re gonna go change, we’ll meet you at the pumphouse.”
Travis waved in acknowledgement and Veronica turned back to the girls. “Alright, let’s go get into some dry clothes.”
Audrey and Hannah started over to the path and Veronica turned back to him, holding out her hand. “Come on.”
He looked at her hand for a moment before taking it in his own. She laced her fingers through his and they started down the path together.
This was nice and he found his bad mood from before was gone. The feel of Veronica’s warm palm pressed against his own was enough for him to forget every doubt he had. That warmth in his belly moved up to curl around his heart. He was starting to realize exactly what that feeling was, though he wasn’t quite ready to give it a name. Once he did, it would be out there and then it would be up to her to reciprocate and he wasn’t sure she would.
He squeezed her hand and Veronica looked over and smiled, that beautiful smile that made her blue eyes sparkle. It was a smile he’d only ever seen her give him. His smile. For now, he’d be content with that.
Subject File #760
Administrator: Tell me about your brother.
Subject: What do you want to know?
Administrator: What was your relationship like?
Subject: You might want to get yourself a drink because that’s going to be a very long conversation. Complicated doesn’t come close to summing it up.
Travis had to admit that for the first time since it happened, he was glad he had broken his arm. Digging holes this morning had been hot, dirty work. Sitting beneath the shade of the trees that surrounded the pumphouse was the break he needed. His arm was still weak and all the digging and horsing around at the beach took more out of him than he wanted to admit.
At least he hadn’t had to embarrass himself and beg off. He wasn’t sure if Malcolm had sensed he needed the break or he just won the lotto but, either way, he wasn’t about to question it.
The lumber that had been neatly stacked under a tarp was now scattered around the pumphouse so each piece could be painted. Travis knelt next to a line of four by fours, smoothing one of the large paint brushes along the side of it, the deep brown stain sinking into the wood.
It was a smart plan to paint the wood. Even with only a single coat, the yellow wood had turned a deep amber. A couple more coats and the wood would match the trunks of the trees on the island.
It felt good to be doing meaningful work again. For so long he had only been concentrated on basic survival. When things had first started, he’d been focused on keeping himself and his family alive. Then he had been injured and separated from them and all he could focus on was staying alive long enough to find them again.
As important as staying alive was, it wasn’t enough of a purpose to bring him fulfillment. This, working with his hands, producing something tangible, did that for him.
It also helped that he didn’t have to keep looking over his shoulder to make sure freaks weren’t there to take a bite out of him.
Instead he sat with Veronica, Jackson and their two girls, painting away. Elaine had joined them not too long ago. She had just come from the radio setup in the clinic and had been telling them about the people she had talked to on the airwaves.
“Rick says that the Corn Belt seems to be one of the safer places,” Elaine was telling them. “They met a group out of California two days ago.”
“California?” That was impressive. Elaine had told them that Rick was a man she had made contact with in Iowa a while back. “Why are they coming this far?”
“They were originally from Connecticut, visiting the west coast when it all happened,” Elaine explained. “They couldn’t get on a flight before all the planes were grounded so they’d been making their way back home since it started.”
“Good for them for making it that far.”
“They said that there were some towns that were surviving pretty much intact in Nebraska. Barricaded themselves in when it all started and haven’t fallen yet. They have contact with other towns in similar situations and they’ve been trading with them. They allow travellers to stay with them, gathering information about other places. They heard about the safe zone in the Dakotas but they haven’t met anyone who has actually been there.”
It was strange to have the news now delivered to them via rumors heard over radios and word of mouth. It hadn’t been too long ago that news was a 24/7 business, delivered to the world via Twitter updates and Facebook posts. The entire world had been connected but one plague had ended that.
Travis wasn’t sure which way he preferred. At least with the way things were now, he could pretend that there were places out there that were still safe. Maybe there were other countries out there that had things under control. Maybe some lab in Japan or Germany was developing a cure for all this. It made him finally understand what people meant about ignorance being bliss.
He looked up from his work and saw Jenny walking along the path, a satchel bouncing against her hip. She wore a pair of gym shorts and a large men’s t-shirt that stretched tight over her belly. Her blonde hair was piled up high on her head, a few stray tendrils brushing against her cheeks.
He jumped to his feet and crossed over to her. “What are you doing out here?”
“I brought some more water,” she said, patting the satchel at her hip. “Figured you could use some.”
He ripped off his paint covered gloves, tossing them over his shoulder before trying to help her with the satchel. “You shouldn’t be out here carrying that.”
“It’s not heavy,” she replied with a smile but still let him take the satchel from her. “It’s only a few water bottles.”
He handed over the bag to Veronica and she began to pass out the water to the others.
“Well, at least come sit down,” Travis said. “Jackson can grab you one of the chairs in the pumphouse.”
Jackson nodded and stood up but Jenny waved him away. “It’s better for me to stand. My ankles have been swelling a bit. Quinton said taking a couple walks a day will help.”
Travis was skeptical, his eyes darting to her ankles. They looked fine to him though he noticed that she had discarded her old sneakers for a pair of men’s boat shoes.
“You like?” she asked, lifting up a foot to show off the clunky navy blue shoe. “I read in one of my pregnancy books that your feet get bigger but I didn’t believe it until I couldn’t fit into my Keds one morning. Lorraine found these in one of the cabinets in the boathouse.”
She moved over to the stack of two by fours Hannah and Audrey were painting. “You two look to be doing a good job.”
“It’s more fun than digging,” Hannah told her as she brushed over the end of one of the boards, “But the paint stinks.”
Travis’ eyes darted to the open paint can next to the girls and then back to Jenny. “Maybe you should put on a mask or something. The paint fumes can’t be good for you or the baby.
Jenny looked around at the trees and the patches of blue sky revealed between their leaves. “I am pretty sure this is as open air as you can get. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
In the back of his mind, he knew he was overreacting but he couldn’t help himself when he looked at her rounded belly. He wanted to do everything in his power to make sure she and the baby were safe. It ate at him that he hadn’t been there to help her after she had lost Alan.
“Positive,” she told him, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. “As long as I don’t start huffing the stuff, I’ll be fine.”
“You’re like a broody mother hen,” Veronica said, handing the empty satchel back to Jenny and then holding out a water bottle for him. “Leave the poor girl alone, she’s probably tired of everybody asking if she’s okay.”
Jenny gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s fine. I’d never complain about people caring about me and the baby. Though I do hope that all the concerned people will be ready for babysitting duty when this little one gets here.”
“Oh, put me top of the list,” Veronica said. “I can’t wait to get some baby cuddle time.”
“Count me out,” Audrey said. “I still remember Hannah’s stinky diapers.”
“I didn’t have stinky diapers,” Hannah shot back at her sister, glaring at her.
“Oh.”
Jenny’s hand went to her lower belly and her face knit up in a wince. Travis felt his heart kick to a racing pace as he reached out to grab her elbow.
“What’s wrong? Do you need the doctor?”
“No, she’s just kicking, that’s all,” Jenny replied with a laugh and then grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. “Feel.”
All he could feel was the warmth of her skin penetrating the fabric of her shirt but then, there it was, the thrump against the palm of his hand.
It was an amazing sensation and it finally hit him that there really was a tiny person in there. The baby had seemed like just a concept to him before. That it wasn’t real until the baby was actually here in this world but here she was, letting the rest of the world know it. The tiny kick came again and he smiled at Jenny in awe.
“She’s strong,” he said.
“She is. I think she gets that from her father.”
The mention of his brother sent a stab through his heart. It wasn’t fair that he wouldn’t be here to see his child born. For all his brother’s flaws he would have loved his child with all his heart.
“If she’s anything like Alan, she’ll be tearing up this island soon enough.”
“Can I feel?” Hannah asked, and then added. “Please and thank you.”
“Of course, sweetie, come here.” Jenny took the girl’s hand and held it against her belly. They were quiet for a moment and then Hannah’s eye
s lit up with surprise and she giggled.
“I feel it!” she cried out.
Audrey was watching them with curious eyes and Jenny picked up on it and beckoned the girl over. She placed her hand near her sister’s and then smiled when the little foot hit her hand.
“Wow, that’s so cool. What does it feel like for you?”
“It was weird when it first happened because it was just tiny flutters,” she told her, “But now it can be a bit painful. I don’t mind too much though. She lets me know that she’s in there doing okay. Though every once in a while she jams herself up in my ribs. I’ll be glad when she’s ready to come out.”
“Have you picked out names?” Veronica asked.
“Well, when I first found out I was pregnant, Alan and I agreed that if it was a boy, we’d name him Lawrence,” Jenny replied and then looked at Travis. “After your father.”
“He’d have liked that,” Travis said. His father had always been proud of his family. The idea of his first grandson carrying his name would have put him over the moon.
Travis wished that his father had gotten a chance to know that. There was a naive hope inside Travis that his parents had survived but he knew that even if they had, he would likely never see them again. They’d been over in Europe when all this started and trans-Atlantic crossings weren’t likely to be happening anytime soon.
“And for a girl?” Audrey asked.
“We had a few picked out but hadn’t decided. Alan had said it was up to me to pick for a girl,” Jenny said, caressing her belly with a soft smile on her face. “I’ve been thinking that if it’s a girl, I’d call her Alanna, after her father. She’ll never know him but she can carry his name with her.”
It was a fitting tribute to Alan and he knew his brother would be happy to know it. Still, there was a part of Travis that ached at hearing the name. It was another reminder that his brother was really gone. For all the fights they’d had over the years, he had always loved his brother. He hadn’t been a great man but he’d been his big brother.
The Complex (The Omega Protocol Chronicles Book 3) Page 10