After the Ending

by Lindsey Fairleigh

  Looking back at me, recognition registered on Dani’s face, and she instantly turned red. My head whipped to my womanizing brother. “Jason!”

  “Zoe.” His face and voice were expressionless.

  “We’re talking about this later.” I pointed at him and then at Dani.

  “No, we’re not.”

  Rolling my eyes in exasperation, I turned my back on him. Now I remember why I can’t stand him.

  Dani seemed to be in a silent conversation with Jason, so I focused on the rest of the group. Almost everyone was carrying out the age-old tradition of greetings and introductions. An older man stood off to the side of the group, watching, but my attention locked on the blonde woman beside him. That must be Chris. A sense of gratitude overcame me as I approached her.

  “Chris?” I asked.

  “I am,” she said, smiling. She extended her hand in greeting. “And you’re Zoe. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from our girl.”

  I took a step closer before wrapping my arms around her strong shoulders. “Thank you for taking care of her,” I whispered.

  She patted my back, and I gave her a squeeze before pulling away.

  “It wasn’t easy, but I did my best,” she said with a smirk.

  I noticed a handsome young man standing behind her, and I could feel his discomfort as I approached him. “Hi,” I said, offering my hand. “I’m Zoe.”

  He seemed hesitant as he accepted my greeting, but was also filled with curiosity. I had no idea who he was.

  “I’m Carlos,” he said, averting his gaze.

  “Carlos joined us a few days after we left,” Chris added, putting her arm around him. “We had a little run in with a mind-controlled cult. I’ll let Dani tell you the whole story.”

  “Miss Cartwright?” asked the older man.

  Recognizing his sharp eyes as he drew closer, I realized it was Mr. Grayson. “Mr. G?” I pointed to his impressive mountain man beard. “I like the new look.” I leaned in to hug him, receiving an uncomfortable side hug in return.

  “Oh, yes, well we haven’t had much time…traveling, you know…,” he explained, moderately embarrassed.

  “No really, I like it,” I said reassuringly.

  An athletic-looking Asian man walked up behind Mr. Grayson, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Stop hogging all the good-looking ladies, Old Man.”

  “Oh—” Mr. Grayson began, but the younger man interrupted.

  Outstretching his hand, he introduced himself, “Ky.”

  “Zoe,” I offered, trying not to blush at the desirous emotions dancing through his mind.

  “Hey guys…whatcha talkin’ about?” Dani asked, suddenly appearing at my side. But before either of us could answer, Dani said, “Ky, why don’t you go meet that Sanchez chick?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at Dani’s jealousy and wondered how serious things were between her and Jason. Maybe I don’t want to know.

  Surveying the group for Jake, I found him standing beside my brother, talking. My heart practically stopped. In my entire life, the only time my brother ever really acted like…a brother was when he turned unbelievably protective around any guy who showed any interest in me. This is going to be…interesting.

  I looked at Dani in both anticipation and horror.

  Dani grinned wickedly. “Who’s that? He’s yummy.”

  I smiled, only half distracted by her comment. “That’s Jake, and I don’t know if I want him talking to Jason alone.” I grabbed her hand. “Let me introduce you,” I insisted.

  Hustling over, we overheard their stilted conversation.

  “So you’re the guy that saved my sister’s life,” Jason said.

  “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

  As we reached them, I rested my hand on Jake’s arm to get his attention. I tried to ignore the excitement and curiosity building in Dani, and focused on the two men.

  “Jake, this is Dani,” I said, introducing them. Glancing back at my friend, I could tell she was trying to control the avalanche of questions threatening to explode from her mouth. Leaving Jake to be ensnared in Dani’s bubbly, conversational pandemonium, I turned to my brother.

  “I’m…glad you’re okay,” he said, surprising me with the honesty in his tone.

  As I took in the sight of him and felt his relief, my own emotions flared up again. I could only nod as I tried to control the tears welling in my eyes. I hugged him, and he squeezed me tightly. Worried he’d vanish into thin air if I let go, I held on to him, barely able to control my sobs.

  “I mean it, Zoe. We have to stick together now.”

  At first, I reveled in his hold, not wanting to let go, but out of nowhere, an alarm rang in my head, and a burst of negativity shot through me. I pulled away from Jason. Scanning the group, my blurred vision fell upon Harper and Dani as they separated from an introductory hug. His masculine features were scrunched with worry.

  What did he see? I wondered, knowing he’d probably just had a vision and that it couldn’t be good.

  “Zoe,” Sarah said meekly, just as Dani frolicked toward me, shouting, “Zo!”

  Taking a step back, I continued wiping the moisture from my cheeks.

  “Have you two met yet?” I asked, and Sarah shook her head bashfully. “Sarah, this is Dani,” I offered. “Dani, Sarah.”

  “So, wow…you’re pregnant!” Dani noted and then brought her hand up to her mouth. “Oh! Sorry, that was rude.”

  “It’s okay,” Sarah replied, her hand instinctively going to her belly.

  “Er…congrats?” Dani offered with a crooked grin.

  Awkwardness settled over us as Dani and Sarah stared at one another. I was instantly thankful to see Harper and Sanchez helping Jason and Carlos unsaddle the horses. I gestured in their direction. “We should probably help them unpack.”

  We joined them, Dani zipping straight to Jason’s side and standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.

  “That’s gonna be hard to get used to,” I muttered under my breath.

  After leading the horses to water and then putting them out to pasture, we all made our way to the campfire. I didn’t need Harper’s foresight to know our first night together was going to be very interesting.

  50

  DANI

  I snuggled closer to Jason, staring into the fire and wondering if it was the best night of my life. We’d found Zoe. She was safe. We were together—all of us. I sighed, completely content.

  Standing, Zoe called out over the roar of the far-too-large bonfire, “Who’s ready for another?” She was tending an impromptu bar she’d set up on a long, table-like boulder a dozen feet from the flames. The volume and variety of alcoholic beverages her crew had gathered were astounding, including a cornucopia of wines, liquors, and beers.

  “I’ll take one,” Jason and Jake called out in synch and then exchanged uncomfortable glances.

  Meeting Zoe’s eyes, I stifled a giggle and patted Jason’s knee. Watching Jason and Jake interact throughout the evening had been absolutely hilarious and predictably awkward. Once Jason had realized his sister and Jake were involved, he’d taken on the usual protective, disapproving brother role.

  I studied Jake, who was sitting beside Zoe’s vacant spot on a tarp-covered hay bale. He was different than I’d expected—rugged and reserved. Zoe usually went for clean-cut, sporty, generally douchey guys. But Jake, though definitely athletically built, was none of those things.

  “So, Zo,” I said, intruding on her thoughts while she fiddled behind the rock bar. “Jake sure is something. I’m…surprised.”

  Zoe looked up and grinned, then masked it with a false glare. “Well what’d you expect?”

  “OMG shut up! You don’t have to speak out loud! Helloooo, secret conversation here!” I screeched in her head. Jake and Jason were already staring at her for the random statement, as were a few of the others.

  I watched as Harper, lean and muscular with a really great derri
ere beneath his fatigues, approached Zoe and asked for a top-off. He was drinking the same Scotch as Mr. Grayson, something from a simple and very old-looking bottle. Cocking my head, I appreciated how appealing he looked leaning his elbows on the boulder, swirling his plastic cup.

  Zoe laughed at something he’d quietly said, and I smiled at seeing her entire face light up. She had a habit of shielding her emotions around almost everyone, but Harper had definitely weaseled his way into her heart. Admittedly, I felt a pang of jealousy. For years, I’d been the only one she would really open up to—or so I’d thought before I found out about the stupid box—but I truly was happy she’d expanded her circle of trusted confidantes. Just so long as I was always first, of course.

  “So, he’s also kind of amazing to look at. What are you, like, a hot guy black hole or something?” I asked.

  “That’s definitely not true. And what about you? Ky’s easy on the eyes. Not to mention that the sexy, ominous voice belonging to a certain mystery man in my dreams last night was nice too…How’d you describe him, ‘pretty hot’?”

  “Oh, right. Pot and kettle, eh?” I said and grimaced. “But, back to your men…you and Jake…have you two…you know…knocked boots…made the beast with two backs…gotten jiggy with it…?” I wiggled my eyebrows.

  At my flippant teasing, Zoe rolled her eyes in irritation.

  “Okay, sorry…didn’t mean to pry,” I said, feeling a little hurt.

  “No, it’s not you. I haven’t had the privilege yet…unfortunately. There’s been too much going on, and we haven’t really had the opportunity. Well, not unless we want an audience—close quarters, if you know what I mean.”

  I thought back on the two months of close quarters Jason and I had been sharing with our companions—and how little that had stopped us—and blushed profusely. “Um…yeah. I know what you mean. Right…”

  Zoe shook her head in disbelief, or possibly disgust, and tried to hide her amusement as she said, “Normally I’d say, ‘spill’…but, I really don’t wanna know.”

  “Yeah, probably not,” I said, and my face heated even more. Unintentionally, I remembered the time Jason had pulled me away from the group during a lunch stop. He’d practically dragged me into some nearby woods, braced my hands against a tree trunk, yanked down my pants, and—

  “Could you stop thinking about having sex with my brother, please!” Zoe squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the images I was unintentionally shoving into her brain.

  I grimaced again. “Well…not really, no. SORRY! I’ll try, I swear, but he’s just so—”

  “I get it! Just…stop there…please.” Zoe picked up the two cups she’d finished preparing for Jake and her brother, and carried them to where they sat by the massive fire.

  “Okay, I’ll—”

  “Oh!” I gasped as the connection between us instantly disappeared. Turning to Jason, I scowled. “Hey! You said you wouldn’t do that anymore!”

  Zoe, handing a glass of whiskey to Jake, watched us curiously from the other side of the fire.

  “And you said you wouldn’t use it to carry on long, private conversations when it wasn’t necessary. You know what happens…,” Jason said, trailing off when he realized he might be revealing too much to people we barely knew.

  “Well, there are some things I wanted to know that aren’t polite to ask when everyone can hear, thank you very much!” I snapped, but my irritation was deflating rapidly. I was already worn out from using my telepathy to find Zoe and her people, and Jason didn’t want me to end up shivering and passing out again.

  “Dani…,” Jason warned.

  “I know, I know,” I grumbled, pouting.

  Shoving Jason’s drink at him, Zoe interrupted, “Wait, you passed out? I thought you just got sort of ‘tired’.”

  I looked at Zoe suspiciously. “How’d you know…are you in my head!? Zoe! Get out!”

  “You were just in my head!”

  “That was completely different. I couldn’t see your memories! You could be keeping all kinds of secrets, but I can’t just scoop them out of your brain. Like with the—”

  “Secrets?” Zoe asked, her dark eyebrows drawn down in confusion. Abruptly, she shifted her gaze to glare at her brother. “Is that you? Are you…seriously? You’re blocking my Ability? Really?” She wagged her pointer finger at Jason and me. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “You’re not telling me something.” Hands on her hips, she fixed her penetrating stare on me and waited for a response.

  I shrank back, huddling into myself. I hadn’t seen this side of Zoe for years. She was one of the strongest, most determined people I knew. She could be downright terrifying when she wanted something, and at the moment, she definitely wanted something—information.

  Jason cleared his throat and nudged me with his shoulder.

  “I need another drink. Care to join me?” I asked Zoe with fake perkiness. Inside, my stomach roiled uncomfortably.

  We trudged over to the array of alcoholic beverages, and Zoe started concocting something with a half-dozen ingredients. “Um…I was just gonna have more of this,” I said holding up my nearly-empty, red plastic cup of wine.

  “This one’s for me,” she said, holding up the drink shaker. She handed me the bottle of Pinot Grigio so I could refill my cup, and continued on with her task.

  Sighing, I blurted, “Zo, I know about the box…your dad’s box. Jason has it.” When her eyes snapped up excitedly, I added, “He hasn’t opened it.” I paused, studying her expression. “He said you’ve been obsessed with it for, like, ever. Why didn’t you tell me about it? Why’d you keep it a secret?” My voice sounded small, lost.

  Zoe’s eyebrows drew down in confusion, wrinkling the skin between them. Slowly, understanding smoothed her expression. “It wasn’t a secret. Well…not really,” she said, hesitating. “It’s embarrassing, D. I mean, what would I have said, ‘my dad has a secret box, and I want to know what’s in it so badly I’ve stayed up thinking about it almost every night since I can remember?’ It’s sort of ridiculous, don’t you think? I don’t understand why he hid it from us.” She paused again. “What if there’s something really horrible in there?” she asked quietly.

  I was taken aback, more than a little ashamed of my inability to put myself in her shoes. Not that they’d fit, but still…

  Zoe mixed her super complicated drink in the shaker and stared at the surface of the flat boulder.

  I suddenly felt like a really crappy friend. “Zo…I’m sorry. I didn’t think…I just kept wondering why you’d hide it from me. Maybe like how you wondered why your dad hid whatever’s in the box. I thought maybe you didn’t really trust me, not completely. I thought…I don’t know. I thought stupid things, and I’m really sorry.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, D. It’s not personal, I promise. I thought about telling you…but I guess I was sort of scared. I still am—like knowing what’s inside somehow changes everything—even though none of that really matters anymore. Jason’s the only family I have left.”

  Seeing the raw emotion painting her face, tears welled in my eyes for the second time that day. “Zo…I’m…I’m just so…so…,” I said, but I started crying before I could finish the sentence.

  “Why are you crying?” Zoe asked. I hadn’t realized she’d come around to my side of the rock until I felt her arms wrap around me. Resting her chin on my shoulder, she teased, “All this crying is excessive—even for you, D.”

  Laughing despite my sniffles, I replied, “Oh my God, I know. It’s getting ridiculous. I’m like a hormonal pregnant woman.” As Zoe stiffened behind me, I hastily added, “Which I’m not. Absolutely, definitely not. No way. Yikes!”

  As if on cue, we burst into peals of laughter, nearly collapsing on the ground.

  “Oh. My. God. It feels so good to laugh,” Zoe said, attempting to catch her breath while she held herself up with one hand on the boulder’s surface.

  “Ah! I know!” I agreed. My face was tired and twitch
y from smiling so hard, and I felt like I’d done about five thousand crunches. “My stomach hurts!”

  “You need another drink!” Zoe returned to her side of the bar and refilled the cup I’d unconsciously drained during the emotional conversation. Noticing she was starting to make another complex drink for herself, I didn’t feel so bad about downing my previous one.

  “So…” I took a sip of the crisp wine and wiped the residue of my tears from under my eyes. “What’d you think of MG? You said you just heard his voice? You didn’t actually see him?”

  “No, his voice just sort of appeared as I was having a delicious dream about making out with Jake…animalistically, I might add. It was awkward, to say the least. Once I realized who he was and what he was doing, I tried not to freak out. I felt really vulnerable having him in my head, but it was also sort of interesting. It was surreal to be aware but asleep at the same time.”

  “I know, right!”

  “He sounds hot though.”

  “I know, right!” I agreed with a giggle.

  “Ladies,” Ky cut in. Leading Sanchez and Ben, he sidled up to the bar and plucked a few clear shot glasses from a stack. Setting them down, he filled each to the brim with top-shelf tequila and handed one to his brother and one to the gorgeous, exotic woman at his side.

  “Bottoms up,” Ky said. They clinked their shot glasses together and gulped down the deceptively fiery liquid, all three taking the burn like real men. But it was very obvious that Sanchez was a woman. Ky quickly refilled the shot glasses, and they headed back toward the fire.

  “That’s not a very pretty face, D. Do you smell something foul or what?” Zoe asked, and I realized my facial features had twisted into an undoubtedly ugly sneer.

  “Something like that,” I said. “What’s the deal with her and Jason anyway?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, but they obviously know each other from…before.”