8. Eden #2
“ Been a while, huh?” he deadpans.
I narrow my eyes at him but decide against commenting on that . Getting up, I take my bowl to the sink and flick the tap on.
“ Just stick it in the dishwasher,” he calls casually.
After a pause, I open the wooden panel under the sink and find the dishwasher. Unbelievable . They have a working dishwasher ? How on earth did they manage that?
Lucky grins. “ Whole -house generator. Jasper’s parents had it built so it’s completely self-sufficient.”
I stare for a moment, then put it in, shaking my head. When I straighten, I bite my lip, at a loss.
“ What’s up?” he asks.
I spread my hands over the cool marble countertop. “ What now?”
His head cants to one side questioningly. Strands of hair have escaped from his messy bun and slip along his neck in long, traceable lines.
“ Is there something I can do to help? What do you all do all day? Do we need to go hunting or something?”
Understanding dawns on his features, then he laughs. “ You don’t need to do anything. You have your daily chore ticked off.”
His tone is teasing but the way his eyes light with blue fire leaves no doubt in my mind he’s replaying the scene from earlier.
My cheeks heat, but only partially from embarrassment. I’m worth more than just sex.
Irritation makes my voice crisp when I say, “ Well I’m hardly going to spend all of my day walking around and parceling out orgasms. I need something to do.”
“ Shame .” Lucky smirks, then stands and wanders over. “ What did you do before, when you were alone?”
What did I do? The days and months are blurred together, a hazy mix of hunger and fear and boredom. I shrug.
“ I usually checked and re-set my traps. If I was lucky, I might have caught something. I wasn’t usually lucky.
I’d collect my herbs and vegetables for the day.
I’d wash my clothes. Very rarely, I had to go into a town for supplies.
” I grimace, remembering the throat-closing fear that all but paralyzed me with every trip.
“ Mostly , I read. I’d bring books back from the library.
I’d take some non-fiction—on topics that would help me stay alive, of course—and some fiction, so I wouldn’t go stir crazy.
Whatever I could get my hands on, really. ”
Horror tightens Lucky’s features. “ I’d put a bullet in myself before living like that.”
“ Not all of us had these luxuries,” I tell him quietly.
His eyes widen and he shakes his head. “ I didn’t mean it like that; it’s amazing you stayed alive. I just can’t deal with being alone. I’m a people person. Even these idiots are better than nothing. You’re tougher than I am, is all I meant.”
His voice is so earnest, I relent. I give him a rueful look, very aware of what a hot mess I look like right now. “ I don’t feel very tough.”
Lucky tugs me into his arms before I can protest, like he did after Jaykob kissed me.
I should have known he’d be a hugger. My instinct is to tense, but there’s nothing loaded or suggestive in the way he holds me.
It’s more like he’s drinking in the sensation, and I can’t help but want to take a sip as well.
I rest my head in the nook of his neck and, after a moment, tentatively wind my arms around his waist. His short beard tickles my forehead, and I find myself enjoying the unfamiliar sensation.
After a moment, he says, “ Jasper has a lot of books. I’m sure he’ll share if you ask nicely.
As for jobs around Bristlebrook , we kind of split tasks.
Dom and Beau do most of the recon and raids for parts and essentials; sometimes I sub in, but there’s always at least two of us out together at a time.
We try to keep Beau there in case anything goes south.
He’s handy with a rifle as well as the med kit.
If I’m not with the others, I’m usually out hunting.
The three of us are gone on and off about half the week. ”
“ Hm . And Jasper and Jaykob ?”
His hands trail over my hair, twining through the strands and stroking them between his fingers.
“ Jayk is extra muscle, if needed, but he’s pretty handy, so he mostly works on getting shi— Uh , stuff , up to scratch.
Handles most of the mechanics, wiring, weapons, that kind of thing.
And Jasper is our housemaid. He cleans the place, monitors security for Bristlebrook and surrounds, takes care of the farm, fixes our heads, and does most of the cooking.
He’s not as good as me, obviously, but even he can’t have everything. ”
I don’t crack a smile; my mind is caught on something he said. “ Did you say ‘farm?’”
He releases me with obvious reluctance. “ Oh . Jasper didn’t give you the full tour, huh? He’s usually perfect.” His cheeks color, and he clears his throat, avoiding my eyes. “ I mean, perfect at that kind of... You know what, never mind. Follow me.”
Grabbing my hand, he tugs me out of the kitchen and into the sitting room, walking slowly to allow for my injured foot.
A huge stone fireplace is unlit, but sunshine dances outside, warming the room.
He tugs open the sliding doors, letting me see the code to lock and unlock the house.
A cozy swing chair stuffed with soft cushions is perched on the wrap-around deck.
The large front yard brackets the house, extending to the line of the woods. There’s a barn far to our left and a small shed about thirty yards back from that. The two towering barn doors are closed tight.
I take a step toward it, but Lucky drops his hands on my shoulders, spins me, and nudges me in the other direction.
“ Unless you feel like another run-in with Jaykob , we should go this way.” He bites down on the corner of his bottom lip, but his smirk is irrepressible.
“ The barn is where he works. And sleeps. Where he spends most of his time—since he’s a damn recluse.
The shed is for dressing, drying, and stocking our meat, and we keep a locker for our heavy-duty weapons in there.
Not that I have a key.” He pouts. “ Dom has a ‘thing’ about keeping explosives in the house.”
I don’t particularly care about the weapons, beyond being glad that I’m not sleeping on top of a powder keg, but the memory of Jaykob’s scathing scowl makes me step a little faster.
I fastidiously ignore Lucky’s snicker.
He slows as we pass the apple tree and plucks a ripe orb from between the leaves. He rubs his thumb over its crisp, ruby red flesh, and I’m so caught up in watching the provocative slide that I’m a beat too slow when he tosses it to me and fumble it awkwardly.
“ Want a bite, Eden ?” he asks, his smile making a reappearance when I finally catch it.
I lift a brow. “ Kind of low-hanging fruit, don’t you think?”
Lucky laughs, then leads me to the right side of the house until we reach a hidden tunnel leading into the cliff.
The sneaky entrance is tucked between folds of rock and can only be seen from a certain angle.
The stone is rough under my palm as I gingerly pick my way inside.
It smells cool and wet. We’re only swallowed by the dark for a few moments before it opens out into a grassy cavern.
There are openings in the rock above where sun shines in from several angles, and an underground stream bubbles along one rock wall, trailing in from deep within the cave network. Wire fences enclose the space neatly, blocking off several dark, snaking trails.
What truly catches my attention, though, is the multitude of animals bustling around the enormous space. Chickens , goats, and pigs share the clearing, perhaps two dozen of each trotting comfortably alongside one another. Realizing my mouth is hanging open—quite improperly— I shut it with a click.
“ How ...?” I ask weakly.
Lucky rubs his hands together, delighted.
“ It wasn’t easy. It took ages before we could get this many.
The cocks were especially bad—they kept going after each other until we started keeping them penned.
Fighting over the hens, you know?” He indicates a few small pens toward the back.
The dimples are back, and I notice the one on his left cheek is particularly pronounced.
He opens the feed bin beside us and draws out a scoop of mixed vegetables and scraps.
“ You should have seen Dom and Jayk trying to get the pigs from the farms. They had to take the Jeep , and by the time they got back here with the first load there was shit all over the seats and Dom was just about ready to start the slaughter early—starting with Jayk .” He grins. “ Jasper refused to clean it.”
He starts laughing, and my lips twitch at the image. It’s hard to imagine stern, domineering Dom wrestling dung-covered pigs.
Lucky opens the latch on the wire fence and steps into the clearing, indicating with his head for me to follow. I take a cautious step in, and immediately the animals seem to perk up, shuffling our way.
“ It took months to get all the basics here. I wanted cows, but Dom said unless I could ride one in here, it wasn’t going to happen.
Always been a spoilsport.” He sighs and starts scattering the food around.
“ They only get sunlight during certain hours, but it doesn’t seem to bother them too much. They keep breeding anyway.”
“ So , you eat them?” I ask, watching a baby goat nuzzle its mother.
Lucky studies me. “ Are you a vegetarian? You said you caught rabbit and fish, right?”
“ No , I’m not, but they’re just so...” Cute . Damn it. I trail off, realizing how stupid I sound. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anything so soft and sweet—innocent things don’t last long these days. It’s never been a sentimental world, and it’s only gotten worse since the strikes.
A twinge of guilt twists my guts. Memories of the small, hungry faces in that group haunt me, as they do every few days. What would they have given for a home like this?