Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(35)
“And we told Tom that he didn’t call the police because he was just being a good neighbor!”
We were both hysterical now, laughing so hard that we were crying again. I couldn’t say that it had been better to remember, to let it all out. The pent-up emotions were still there, and there were a million more memories that were yet to be freed, a million more tears yet to be shed, but it had been good to let some of it go, to not have to be the resilient one for just a little while. The air smelled cleaner than it did before, my head seemed a little less crowded, and my body a bit more rejuvenated.
A noise in the forest drew our attention to where Alex was standing beside a large oak tree, holding two dead rabbits in his hand. “Is it safe?” he asked, raising his brow.
Nodding at him, I rolled my eyes as Leisel beckoned him forward.
“I found a small cabin about a mile north,” he said, stepping forward. “I staked the place out, waited for about an hour to see if anyone showed up, but no one did. We need to scout out the area first, but I think we should check it out.”
He paused, his gaze landing on Leisel. He looked concerned for her, but more than that there was a possessiveness in his expression that I’d never noticed before. He’d always stared at her, but never with such intensity. I supposed that now we were all finally free of Fredericksville, none of us felt compelled to hide our true feelings any longer. We were all finally free.
“Let’s eat first,” I said, “and then go check it out.”
Chapter Fifteen
Leisel
The cabin was just as Alex had said, not too far off and yes, very small. But it didn’t look abandoned, not in the way everything else seemed to look. It was run-down, the burnished red paint in need of a touch-up, and the windows were boarded up. Yet, from our vantage point hidden amongst the trees—and everything else considered—the tiny cabin looked pretty good.
“I don’t know about this,” I whispered. The town of Covey had looked even worse than this lone cabin, and after what had happened there… Well, I didn’t want to put anything to chance.
“We need clean clothes, Lei,” Evelyn whispered back. “At the very least, something to bandage your wrists.”
“I’ll go first,” Alex said. “If it’s safe, I’ll whistle once. If not, twice, and you two…run.”
“We’re not leaving you,” I blurted out, instantly feeling ridiculous. Who was I kidding? It had been Alex who’d saved me, twice now. If anyone was going to be doing any saving, it certainly wouldn’t be me. Still, I meant what I’d said. I wouldn’t leave him, not for anything. I owed him; Evelyn and I both did.
“We’re not leaving you,” Evelyn agreed, then smirked. “Who will catch our dinner?”
Alex grunted. “Good to know what I’m worth.”
Despite myself, I smiled. The past few days of peace and quiet had been a soothing balm to my aching heart. The time that Evelyn and I had spent talking about life before the infection had been the most freeing moment I’d experienced in quite some time. Of course, it had helped that that we were now actually free.
Be careful, I mouthed to Alex.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw his arm move, his hand lift, and even though I was still staring up at his face, in my peripheral vision I watched as his hand continued to rise toward its destination. My cheek.
Unlike last time, back in Covey when he’d nearly touched me yet didn’t, this time his large, warm hand made contact, gently cupping my cheek. The unexpected intimate touch sent a shiver of something foreign slithering through me. Not good, not bad…just odd.
And there was something else, something in his eyes not unlike the way he’d been looking at me back at the creek. It was every bit as intense, but even more so. Stronger, and infinitely more private.
Suddenly nothing made sense, the shared looks and the hand holding, all seemingly simple gestures and usually meaningless, but they no longer seemed simple or meaningless anymore. I didn’t know what this new revelation meant, or if it meant anything at all. All I did know was that it frightened me, curdled my insides like old milk, and sent my heart aflutter in a fitful cadence of beats that pounded their way up to my throat.
“Listen for my whistle,” Alex said as he dropped his hand, breaking our connection and scattering my thoughts. Slightly dazed, I watched as he crossed the small distance of forest and stepped out into the clearing.
His body taut with aggression, one hand gripping his handgun, the other a blade, he walked slowly yet with purpose toward the cabin. I studied him intently, something I’d never bothered doing until this very moment. I took in the pride in his stance, the predatory way he walked, and his overall masculinity, and I felt a swell of appreciation burst to life deep down within my belly. Even though he was five years younger than my twenty-nine years, he both looked and acted much older. Maybe that was due to his life before the infection, or maybe it stemmed from whatever horrors he’d endured after. Or maybe he’d just always been an old soul.
I continued to watch him, thinking that maybe his dark, fierce features weren’t quite so intimidating anymore; that maybe, just maybe, they were part of his charm. For several seconds my thoughts continued to wage a war with one another in relation to Alex, agreeing and then disagreeing, finding plausible reasons for my strange line of thinking, and then more excuses for why I should put a stop to it. It wasn’t until he turned the corner, out of sight, that my mind finally freed me from its babbling.