Surviving Seduction (20 page)

Josie grunted in reluctant acknowledgement and quickly resumed her assessment of their surroundings with a discerning gaze. Judging by the other woman’s expression, Selena could tel her mind had returned to weighing Dan’s plan, but there was no way to guess at her thoughts. Jack had said the deal would get “complicated.”

What would a leader like Josie need to secure the wel -

being of her people? Did a woman lead differently than a man? Wouldn’t the security and stability offered by this plan appeal to her? Selena was suddenly looking forward to seeing the process unfold, and learning everything she could from this dynamic woman.

For the moment, Josie didn’t say much. That didn’t seem to perturb Dan, but he was approaching this process with a patience he probably didn’t feel.

Where they now stood, it was an easy day’s journey north to the Grazers’ current camp. Dan and Cal continued to lead the way, and passed the herd of zebra at a distance.

When they drew near Josie’s camp that evening, the cloud of dust was nothing like it had been before, since the cows were off some miles away.

Selena hastily tied her hair in a bun, just as she had last time. Now she would find out whether her more common clothes would draw less attention to her.

“Holy crap!” Ben exclaimed, making Selena jump.

“Look at al the tents!”

“I almost said that,” Bear chuckled quietly.

“The animals are running a circuit,” Josie told him, smiling. “Most of the horses are out there with the cows.

They’re probably just an hour away now. We could always ride out to them, but you’re probably tired of being in the saddle. I expect they’l be here tomorrow. Herd moves slow.”

“It’s been an easy trip,” Bear hinted. “I wouldn’t mind seeing them before sundown.”

Josie grinned with surprise, “You’d fit right in with us.

Let’s do it! Anyone else want to come along?”

No one volunteered, not even Dan. As always, Selena was sure there was a reason.

“Suit yourselves! Angie, you let Roark know I’l be back by sundown. And get some tents for our guests.”

With that, Josie and Bear set off briskly, their horses looking as surprisingly perky as they were.

The rest of them made their way to the camp. Now, Ben looked anything but bored. In fact, as Angela led them through the countless tents, he was clearly struggling not to point at every new thing.

“Look at how the tent poles bend like that! They run through the canvas don’t they? I wonder how deep those stakes go. There are so many different kinds,” he rambled to Selena in awe. “Look at that one! It’s got like, a window that sticks out. I’l bet we could use branches to do the same thing.”

“We’ve got buildings,” Selena pointed out uncomfortably. It seemed as though more people were staring at her than last time.

“Don’t be such a wet blanket,” Ben griped.

Selena raised a brow. “I can’t believe
you
said that to
me
.”

“Oh nice,” Ben went on. “That tent is huge. Look!

Tethering posts. There are wagons over there. I think I saw Jack’s back that way.”

“Which way?” Cal blurted. “And yeah, it’s al kinds of exciting. You’d
better
like al of this because if Dan gets his way, you’l be farming here until the cows come home. I mean ... not literal y. Which way did you say the wagon was?”

“Fine by me!” Ben said brightly. “That way.”

They dismounted and Angela began tethering the horses next to Josie’s big tent. This time, it was situated under a nice big oak tree along the edge of the forested hil s.

Cal was about to dart off in search of Amy when Gina popped out of nowhere with a grim-faced Roark at her heels.

“Gina,” Dan said. “What’s wrong?”

“Everyone at home is getting sick. Susan wanted me to get Bear and bring him back. It took you guys forever to get here. When I left, Becky was burning up with fever.”

“When was that?” Dan asked.

“Two days ago.”

“You got here that fast?” Cal wondered aloud.

“I can move quick when I need to,” she informed them brusquely. “Had to go as fast as Shane would have.

He’s sick too. He’s not as bad as the others, but there was no way I was going to let him –”

“Who exactly is sick and how bad are they?” Dan interrupted.

“Becky and Jay were both burning and saying they felt cold. They got it the worst. Tim too, but he’s not as bad off. Susan is pretty sick herself, but she’s stil helping take care of the little ones. Blaire’s the only one who seems total y fine. She’s taking care of everyone, working her fingers to the bone. We don’t know how dangerous it is for the kids, though. Everyone’s scared.”

“Oh God,” Selena whispered. “I gave it to them. I thought it was just a cold.”

“Josie and Angela may have had the germs, and you might have been right. It might just be a cold,” Roark put in. “You folks have been pretty isolated out there, I think. Bet your whole group is losing its immunity.”

“Our what?” Cal asked.

“What’s in your blood that fights the viruses,” Roark fumbled, not quite sure how to explain it himself. “That’s probably why the kids have it the worst.”

“Where is Bear?” Gina demanded, the stress clear in her voice.

“He rode out to see the livestock. He’s with Josie,”

Selena answered.

“I’l go get them,” Angela offered, making to mount up again.

“
I’ll
get them,” Roark corrected her. “You stay put and finish taking care of these horses.”

Angela nodded with sul en embarrassment and did as she was told.

He was mounted in moments, and moved off toward the herd.

A few moments of silence passed as the others thought.

“Wel ,” said Dan, “What can we do, aside from sending Bear home?”

“We could get our asses back to help,” Gina said as though the answer should be obvious to a goat.

“Alright, alright,” Dan frowned, placating her impatiently.

“What took you so long to get here anyway?” Gina asked, placing her hands on her hips. “I left days after you, and I stil got here first!”

“It’s complicated,” Dan answered.

“Oh, real y!” Gina huffed.

“Okay, calm down,” Cal grumped before their bickering could escalate further. “None of us knew there was a problem. Bear was on this trip too. You want to give him a hard time?”

Gina crossed her arms and spoke more quietly. “I’m just worried, is al . And I hate leaving home.” Her eyes wel ed quickly and she sniffed. “I mean, what if those kids

...” her voice cracked and she covered her mouth, shaking her head and looking at the ground.

Selena opened her mouth to reassure Gina, but nothing came out. The truth was the sickness might very nothing came out. The truth was the sickness might very wel kil them. Selena had often helped her mother with her nursing duties before they went off on their own, but without medical technology, al they real y did was deal with wounds. Blaire was old enough before the Crash to know the basics about viruses, such as staying warm, keeping the head cool and those sorts of things.

“Selena, is there anything you can do?” Gina pleaded, as if reading her mind.

“Nothing more than Blaire has. Without medicine, we can only try to help the body fight the virus.”

“Dan,” a sultry voice intoned from behind him.

He turned, and they saw that Loraine was standing a few paces away. Selena’s throat tightened.

“These people have medicine,” she said quietly, gliding toward him smoothly despite the clumpy grass. “A box ful , in fact. In one of the locked chests in Josie’s tent.”

“What?” Gina barked. “Why didn’t Roark say that?

I’ve been here waiting this whole time!”

Loraine kept her eyes fixed on Dan’s as though no one else was there. She didn’t acknowledge Gina.

“And how exactly did you come by this information?”

Dan asked quietly, stepping toward her and facing her squarely. He fixed her with a penetrating gaze, but for al Selena could tel , Loraine welcomed it.

“I’m a careful listener,” she answered, then turned from him and walked away.

In silence, they watched her leave.

“That girl’s a bitch!” Gina burst out, shattering the quiet. “Selena, you should knock her out.
I’m
tempted, and she ain’t even pickin’ up on
my
man.”

Selena glanced at Dan, but his face was unreadable. She felt uneasy, and decided that standing around wasn’t helping, so she went to where Angela had placed their tack and fished out the last pair of pants from her saddlebag.

“Come on, Cal,” she nodded, marching off bravely.

“Loraine went this way and I want to get this trade over with.

You can find Amy.”

He trotted after her, shielding the low sun from his eyes. “Do you think Jack wil think it’s weird that I was into Loraine and now I’m into Amy?”

“Honestly, I don’t think he’l care.”

“I feel kind of dumb about the Loraine thing though,”

he went on. “It’s weird when she’s around now.”

“Good,” Selena replied. She hoped he would keep talking to help distract her. It took a lot of nerve to navigate around the people who were settling down and preparing food for the evening. Just then, she spotted Jack’s wagon toward the edge of the group.

“I guess if Amy doesn’t think it’s a big deal, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” he went on.

“I agree,” she said, pointing ahead of her. “There they are.”

But only Jack and Amy were in sight. They seemed to be arguing heatedly. At least Amy looked heated. Jack mostly looked annoyed. His face brightened up quickly when he saw Selena. Amy’s softened when she spied Cal, and her scowl transformed into a grin.

Selena tromped right over and tossed her parcel unceremoniously at Jack, just like she had last time.

“Here are Loraine’s pants.”

“Let’s go for a walk, Cal,” Amy said loudly.

“No!” Selena groaned, stomping her foot. “Cal!”

Jack grinned, his blue eyes dancing beneath the brim of his hat.

“Sorry, girlie,” Cal smirked. “Just yel for Dan if he tries to get you drunk again.”

Amy shrugged at her apologetical y, then seized Cal’s hand and struck out into the fields, dragging him along behind her. Selena could see Amy burst into conversation when they were out of earshot.

Jack, meanwhile, was circling her lazily.

“So that’s how much you missed me, huh?”

“Just give me the compass and let’s get this over with,”

she growled.

“Easy there, Gorgeous,” he said, feigning hurt and meandering toward the back of the wagon. “What’s your rush anyway?”

She fol owed at a safe distance. “I’m sure you already know.”

He cracked a smile before leaning over to poke around through the back of the wagon’s contents. “You got me there,” came his muffled reply. “Heard some of your folk was sick.”

Selena sighed, looking out at the horizon and wondering when Josie and Bear would get back. There wasn’t much daylight left.

“I’ve gotta say,” he went on, pausing his search to share what seemed like an honest thought. “I was pretty impressed with how quick Gina got here. And the way she just marched right in. You should have seen her, barking questions and demands. She looked like a stampede and Roark was a gopher getting trampled. He didn’t like it of course,” he remarked, poking his head back in the wagon.

“Should be used to it by now. Takin’ orders from women.”

Selena rocked her knee impatiently. “Is it real y that hard to find?”

“Hel yeah, it is! I’m not the only one responsible for this little col ection. You think things don’t get moved driving around with two women?”

“Okay, okay,” she sighed.

“Everyone’s been so ... irritable lately,” he muttered, hopping up to climb al the way inside the wagon. “Roark’s pissed, Amy’s pissed, Gina’s pissed, you’re pissed, and your boyfriend’s
always
pissed. Where’s everyone’s sense of humor?”

“What’s funny about Roark feeling threatened, Amy feeling ignored, Gina being scared for the kids —”

“I was being sarcastic,” he informed her, poking his head out for a moment. “Kind of.”

She heard more shuffling, and then a pause.

“Um. Selena?” he said quietly from inside.

“What, Jack?”

“I can’t find it.”

“The hel you can’t!” she yel ed, and marched around the back to peer in herself.

Jack was standing, bent over a jumble of little boxes, sacks and bags, looking sheepish.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. This is why you should have given it to me first, but
no
!” She whirled in anger and stomped away.

“Hold on! Slow down,” he cal ed, thudding out of the wagon to run after her. He caught her arm and spun her around.

She glared up at him and said nothing, her lips pressed tightly together. But she did yank her arm away.

“Easy, easy, easy!” he said quietly, reaching out careful y to put his hands on her shoulders. “One of the girls wil know where she stowed it. It’s in there somewhere.” He looked down into her eyes earnestly, “You’l get your compass. I promise. There’s just going to be a delay, that’s al . It’s not so bad. And why are you so desperate for this thing anyway? Shouldn’t you know how to find your way around?”

She stepped away, forcing him to let go. “Not when I’m in the forests,” she grumbled. “I get confused. Everything looks the same, and it’s hard to find landmarks.”

“Wel I stick by what I said,” he told her with assurance before glancing at the horizon. “Sun’s down already.”

“What’s taking them so long?”

“There you are,” Gina cal ed, stepping over a tent rope on her way over. “Looks like Bear and I wil be going home at first light. Ben too, I think. You’re coming with us, right?”

Selena blinked, “What, they’re back?”

“Yeah. You didn’t see them ride in? Wel this camp is enormous and loud. Makes me dizzy. I’m ready to crawl in that tent they lent me and not move ‘til the sun comes up.

Feet are kil ing me. They need to deal with the chair shortage around here.”

“I’m sure it’s the first thing on their ‘to-do’ list,” Jack smirked.

“What about everyone else?” Selena asked, ignoring him.