by Marla Monroe
Just like a brother and sister. Harriet whined at him because she knew it got under his skin. He refused to do what she wanted to get under hers. I could have used a brother, but we’d probably have killed each other before it was over with.
“Just what are you smiling about?” Harry asked, squatting in front of his sister but staring at her.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Abby couldn’t suppress the huge smile from stretching her mouth.
“She thinks you’re being mean to me, too.” Harriet stuck her tongue out at her brother.
“If I wasn’t so damn tired from all this walking, I’d tickle you until you peed your pants, sis.”
“Same goes, brother.”
Abby burst out laughing. “Really? Do y’all do that to each other?”
“Sometimes.” Harriet grinned as her brother abruptly stood up and stomped over to the other side of the space and began digging through his pack. “But not in a long time.”
“I have a feeling he’s going to get you back for that, girlfriend.” Abby lowered her voice, though she wasn’t really trying to keep Harry from hearing her.
“I know, but I’m going to be ready for him,” Harriet whispered back.
Abby realized in that moment that even though she and Tammie had been close, they’d never had the opportunity to be normal friends who talked and did things together. She didn’t count working in the gardens or eating slop in their dark shabby room. She really did want to be good friends with Harriet once they were settled at the new place. It would be nice to not have to navigate the social community alone for a change.
She refused to allow thoughts that the new place would be anything like the one she’d run from. Too many people seemed to be traveling in that direction for it to be anything other than the paradise she’d been led to believe it to be. If once she got there it turned out not to meet her expectations, she’d just turn around and leave. Living alone would be better than being used and abused. She might not live very long, but she’d be free and belong only to herself.
“Better pack up and get going.” Thad’s voice startled both her and Harriet. Thad appeared to have seen him when he’d slipped into the shelter.
He handed out their water bottles before pulling on his larger pack.
“I’d like to make it another six miles before we stop for the night.” He led them through the opening out of the rocks.
Abby suppressed a moan. Her feet burned, and her legs already felt like wobbly noodles. But there was no use in complaining. Thad was right. They needed to make as much time as they could since the mountains gave them less daylight than if they weren’t there to block the light.
Thad became talkative as they continued along the road, pointing out birds and the occasional rabbit or skunk as they walked. The skunk warranted a wide walk around and the rabbit hopped off before they even got a good glimpse of it. Abby thought less about how much her feet burned with this new side of the man showing through his normally quiet demeanor.
“Harry, do you know how much longer until we stop?” Harriet sounded uncomfortable.
“About three more miles,” he told his sister.
“Three more miles? I’m going to die before that.” Harriet’s dramatic sigh gave them all something to smile about, even Thad.
“I seriously doubt that,” he told her.
“I know you’re tired, but we need to push as much as we can to put more miles behind us.” Thad’s voice made Abby think he was smiling. It encouraged her enough to let him know Harriet’s reason for complaining.
“She’s having some leg cramps,” Abby told him.
Thad stopped and turned to face them. His mouth tightened. “Leg cramps isn’t anything to play around with. It may mean that your potassium is low. I’ll watch for a drive so we can check for pills in the next house. I don’t want to take a chance that any of us gets too low.”
“I’d think nothing this old would be any good anyway,” Harriet said.
“Actually, antibiotics are the only medications you really have to worry about. They can give you brain fever and kill you, but most other medications just slowly lose their strength. It would take more of it to actually do a lot of benefit, but that’s about it. Worst-case scenario with vitamins and minters is that you could end up with an upset stomach. If you rely on blood pressure meds or something, you’re just as well off trying them than not treating it at all.” Abby knew some pharmacology since she’d worked in forensics and crime scene investigation.
Abby was surprised when Harry spoke up without sounding upset at Thad’s observation.
“I hadn’t thought about something like that. Sorry, sis. You even complained to me about it.”
“Normally it wouldn’t be anything to worry about since you eat potassium-rich food under normal circumstances and don’t push your body as hard as we’ve been doing. Nothing you should have thought about.” Thad smiled at the other man before turning and leading the way once more.
The more they were around each other, Abby thought, the more she was learning about everyone. Things like the way Harriet tended to chew on her lower lip when she was thinking hard or worried about something. Harry originally seemed like he had a chip on his shoulder where Thad was concerned and glared at the man’s back a lot, but now he seemed fine with Thad and the annoyed crease in his forehead and around his mouth had smoothed out over the last couple of days. Thad, well, he was Thad. He hadn’t really changed much since the beginning, but Abby had come to recognize when he had something on his mind. He tended to rub his chin so that it rested in the valley of his thumb and forefinger.
Come to think of it, he’d been doing it a lot the last few days. She’d also felt the weight of his stare when she wasn’t looking. When she casually turned in his direction, he didn’t try to hide the scrutiny.
Does he wonder about why I’m such a hefty girl or is it something else? Maybe he’s attracted to me like I am to him. No! I refuse to think about that. It only leads to getting hurt.
After another thirty minutes of trudging on, Thad stopped and pointed about fifty yards ahead of them, where what looked like an overgrown graveled road meandered off the side of the blacktopped one they were walking on.
“Doesn’t look like it’s been used since the disaster times. Are you sure you want to check it out?” Harry asked him.
Abby agreed with him. She wasn’t so sure she liked the idea of navigating the strip of gravel that was more scrub brush than rocks. Actually seeing what lay at the end of it was even less attractive.
“Less usage means better odds that there are useful things left behind. Plus, we need to find some potassium pills.” Thad angled their direction to meet up with the derelict path.
I really don’t want to walk through all of that and end up at a collapsed house with nothing to show for the hike. Hell. Who am I kidding? I’m freaking scared to walk where I can’t see what I might step on.
“Maybe Harriet and I should stay at the road and wait on you guys to check the place out.” Abby couldn’t believe those words were coming out of her mouth. She’d never backed away from doing anything, but something about that dirt and gravel path had nasty creepy crawling things skittering all along her skin.
* * * *
“I don’t want us to split up this close to dark. There’s no telling how far back this road goes.” Thad could hear panic in Abby’s voice by the way it had gone up in pitch and cracked. He didn’t think he’d seen her this uncomfortable, and maybe even scared, since they’d met up.
“What if there’re snakes hidden in those weeds, Harry? You know how I feel about snakes.” Harriet’s voice didn’t tremble but there was a healthy helping of resistance in how she stood with her hands on her hips and voice dipping a little bit lower. “And spiders. Don’t forget how spiders and I don’t get along.”
“Don’t be such a girl.” Harry pushed lightly against her back in the direction of the road.
“Dammit! I am a girl. I don’t wa
nt to walk down that overgrown trail you’re calling a gravel road. The weeds are taller than we are.” Harriet slid over to stand next to Abby and rested her arm over the other woman’s shoulder.
“Look, it’s nearly fall, and in this area it can get pretty chilly at night. I’d think most snakes are already hibernating.” Harry flashed a grin Thad’s direction. “Right, Thad.”
If I lie and they do step on a snake, they’ll lose trust in me and the rest of this trip is going to go downhill, but if I tell them the truth I don’t know how we’ll get those two stubborn women down that road.
Either way, Thad was doomed. He did the only thing he could think of in that moment of desperation.
“Most of the snakes will already be settling in for the winter, but there could still be a few stocking up on quick snacks to last them through the winter. If you use a stick to prod and beat at the ground in front of you, more than likely they’ll slither out of your way, and you’ll never even see them.” It didn’t take long for Thad to realize his middle-of-the-road approach hadn’t made things any better.
“Are you crazy? What if I hit it? That scaly worm will bite me, and then you’ll be stuck sucking the venom out of my leg.” The oddly interesting combination of fear and outrage that left Abby’s eyes so wide he swore they’d get stuck quickly disintegrated into the look of a woman who’d said something she wished she could take back.
“Mon trésor, I’d suck the venom out of any place you got bitten if you needed it, but the best way to get it out is to make a small slit in the skin, tie a tourniquet several inches above the bite, and squeeze it so that you bleed as much of it out as you can.” Thad left her with a wink before turning back to stride across the cracked blacktop and step off onto the gravel road that wasn’t much more than a path.
“Guess we’re going to need those sticks, Har,” Harriet groused to her brother in the background.
Thad had to squeeze his mouth tight so he didn’t laugh at the way the woman sounded when she directed her brother to get sticks for them. Abby, though, hadn’t said anything more. He resisted the urge to turn around and check on her. He hadn’t been that forward with a woman in years. At least not until he’d met her. What he’d said had more than likely shocked her. He’d meant it, but no doubt it would have been better not to have blurted it out in front of Harry and his sister like that.
With a sigh, he continued down the poor excuse of a drive, making sure to clear back as much of the vegetation as he could for the others. He truly doubted they would happen across a snake with as much noise as he was making, but it wouldn’t hurt to send up a prayer to help that along.
“Can you even see where you’re going up there?” Abby’s voice tickled along his neck like angel kisses.
“See what?” Thad couldn’t help but tease her. Something about her made him want to see her smile while at the same time get under her skin.
I’m in over my head here. She’s not going to want some rough-around-the-edges Canadian trapper. Doesn’t matter that I also programmed machines. There aren’t any damn machines around here to program anyway.
The fact that she probably wouldn’t be too eager to let him take care of her didn’t stop him from poking at her. He’d take anything he could get right then. Even if it was only temporary.
The strength of her emotions that bled through when she answered him excited Thad more than he was comfortable with. When he said or did something that made her smile it was as if the sun shone a little brighter and the colors of the trees and flowers were a little richer.
Now I’m waxing poetically. I’ve got to stop this obsessing over her before I let someone catch us off guard or make a complete fool of myself.
“How do you know you’re even on the drive anymore? I can’t tell there’s any gravel under all of these weeds.” Abby’s hand pressed briefly against his back just below his shoulder blades when he abruptly stopped.
“Sorry.” He turned around and took her shoulders to steady her. “We aren’t on the gravel anymore. The rose and hawthorn bushes they had planted on both sides of the drive closer to the house have grown until you pretty much can’t get through them without shredding your skin. We’re going around them.”
Even in the shadows of the trees allowing only the traces of sunlight through didn’t erase the faint blush across her cheeks or the deeper red of her lips where she chewed on them. More than likely it wasn’t a true blush, just the exertion coloring them so sweetly for him. Thad chose to believe it was all for him. Even if nothing ever happened between them, he wanted to enjoy the time he had in his daydreams.
“I guess I need to be grateful we aren’t on the drive then. If the weeds were any thicker there wouldn’t be much left of my skin or hair. Remind me to put it in a braid before we head out in the morning.” She didn’t look up at him when she spoke, choosing instead to stare down at the boots she was wearing.
“I will. Should have thought about that earlier. Did Harriett have hers in a braid? I don’t remember. Pass that on to her when we get settled.” Thad turned back to face the seemingly endless sea of thorn bushes, sticky weeds, and sawgrass. Pushing forward, he cut through the jungle of vegetation with renewed determination.
Need to get as much of this cut down as I can so the women aren’t any more scratched up than they already are. Think about demolishing the mess instead of creating one with Abby. That’s all it would be, and I know it. One sticky, wet, hot mess.
Chapter Seven
Harry stopped to turn and check behind them as the women stomped on ahead. He didn’t see anything to worry about, but ever since they’d left the road, he’d had the sense that they were being watched. That was crazy, though. How could anyone see through this mess without him seeing them as well? It was a thicket of nasty weeds that cut, pricked, and stabbed with nearly every step they took. Harry couldn’t imagine how it was for Thad up ahead clearing their path or the two women who still managed to knock down more of the weeds as they struggled ahead of him.
He felt like an idiot, reaping all the rewards of their painful progress while he did nothing other than watch their backs. Yeah, it was important, but he needed to talk to Thad about dividing up the lead sometimes or he was going to end up losing all of his self-confidence. For nearly his entire life, Harry had been an outdoors sort of person and then when he started building cabins for a living, he ended up in some of the most remote locations or places he didn’t understand why people would want to live. He’d camped out in tents for months while completing some of those projects.
His neck prickled, putting an abrupt halt to his inner dialogue and pep talk. Harry didn’t need to go down that road anyway. Thad wasn’t intentionally trying to show him up or take over the group. The man was just a natural leader and trails man. He should be grateful the man was sticking with them to help, instead of feeling sorry for himself.
When he turned around to check behind them again, the feeling didn’t disappear. He pushed ahead to keep the women within his sight. Even with his sister in front of him, Harry caught a glimpse of Abby every once in a while. Unfortunately, it was usually her swinging hips that swished into his view. Nicely rounded hips that made his hands itch to cup them, squeeze them to feel their softness.
She might have a muscular body, but she was still soft in all the right places. He loved that she had a soft rounded belly. He could imagine himself laying his head in her lap while they talked. He’d press kisses against it and rub his cheek there.
Crap! I’ve got to stop thinking about her like this. She’s off limits for now. Maybe when we get to the new settlement I can approach her, but not while I need to be watching over my sister.
Harry gave a thorn bush a particularly hard sweep with his arm, then cursed when it tore into his flesh. Stupid again.
“Are you okay, Harry? What happened?” His sister stopped several strides ahead of him to turn and check on him.
“I’m fine. I caught a nasty briar bush is all.” He checked th
e intermittent slashes where blood welled up in at least eight different spots. “Ask Thad how much longer we’re going to be in this mess.”
“We need to clean that up as soon as we stop.” Harriet shook her head before calling out in the general direction they were heading. “Hey, Thad, do we have much farther to go? The briar bushes are eating us up back here.”
He couldn’t help but smile, despite the stinging from the deep scratches. His sister always looked out for him even though he was the oldest. Harriet didn’t let on to any of the others that it had been him whining like a baby. Sometimes he didn’t think he deserved a twin so fiercely loyal to him. When she’d put her career plans on hold to work shoulder to shoulder with him when he first started out his business, he’d been so relieved, he’d neglected to tell her at first.
“Thad said another twenty or so yards and we’ll be in the general front lawn of the house. He says it’s shorter grass there and no thorns,” Harriet called back to him in a much softer voice. “We’re all going to have to do some serious first aid when we do get settled.”
“This is stupid. We should have just kept walking down the road until we found a place that wasn’t as grown up around it,” he mumbled to himself.
But Harry knew it was the wise thing to do. With so many criminals and thugs moving freely around now, every precaution they could take was worth it to keep the women safe. He’d made sure the opening they’d made walking up to the drive had been minimum as well, pulling the weeds back together for a good two hundred yards behind them. Then when they’d veered off of the drive, he’d done the same thing there. It hadn’t been nearly as difficult to disguise that opening since they’d barely made a dent in it to begin with.
It was simple jealousy and resentment that continued to allow those types of thoughts to slither around inside his mind. Thoughts such as Thad didn’t have a sister to worry about, so he was free to flirt and spend more time with Abby than Harry could. He wasn’t in the least bitter about having his sister to watch out for, and he couldn’t begrudge Thad for being attracted to Abby. It just ate at Harry that he was so attracted to her as well, but he couldn’t do anything about it—yet.