An Unyielding Desire (After The End Book 2) Read Free Page B

it brings out the worst in everyone.”
    They had collected all the eggs, and she realized they were just standing by the boxes talking, but she didn’t try to rush away despite a busy day. “I can’t really blame someone for doing what it takes to feed your family or take care of your kids.”
    “Yeah, I know, but some of the things people did …killing for things they didn’t need. Raping—” He broke of abruptly. “Well, I have to get started. Your pop has a laundry list of chores for me.”
    “For us all,” she said with a silly grin, finding it difficult not to smile in his presence.
    *****
    It was two mornings later before he joined her again. They spoke about superficial things for a bit, until she asked about his family. “Gran died the summer I was fifteen. My mom was Air Force, so we spent most of the time traveling. Pop died last year, and I haven’t heard from my mother since before the Pulse…End.”
    “Siblings?”
    He shook his head. “Just me. I’m not entirely sure if I was a peace offering for my dad, who wanted a son, or if I was a complete accident.” He must have interpreted her frown correctly. “Not that they made me feel that way. My parents loved me, but my mom was definitely not a kid person. If this hadn’t happened, she probably would have been heading the whole Air Force before retirement. She was an airman first and family person second.”
    “Do you think she’s okay?”
    He shrugged. “I hope so, but realistically, probably not. She is tough, but also a stickler for rules and order. I don’t think she would adapt very well to the current state of chaos.”
    “It’s kind of adapt or die these days, huh?”
    Coop sighed. “There seems to be a lot more of the latter than the former.”
     
    Chapter Two
    In two w eeks, the soldiers had settled onto the farm. In some ways, it was almost like they had always been there. After a supply run, where they had unfortunately lost one of their group to a fall from a fourth-floor window, they had spent the first few days erecting a small bunkhouse that would be serviceable for most of the group. Dana and Chelle had remained in the guestroom, which was more or less their room now. Mina knew Coop had a spot in the bunkhouse, but he ended up stretching out on the screened-in sun porch most nights, complaining about the heat inside the small bunkhouse and lack of privacy.
    So far, everyone was productive, and to her knowledge, neither her father nor Shane had needed to tell anyone to pull their weight. Mina was enjoying the lightening of the workload, which actually left a bit of free time for everyone at the end of the day.
    This evening, she was taking leftover dinner scraps to the chickens before planning to go to the pond for a quick dip to cool off. As she rounded the corner, she froze at the sound of angry voices. Mina peeked around warily, surprised to see Lia and Shane standing a few yards away, their body language suggesting an intense discussion. She couldn’t hear their words, but they seemed angry.
    She started to back away, but hesitated. Not knowing the man, she couldn’t be sure Lia was safe with this stranger. Mina almost approached them when Shane grabbed her sister’s arms, but Lia shrugged him off, slapped his face, and turned to stride away.
    Shocked by the display, and realizing Lia knew Shane on a deeper level than just her husband’s commanding officer, she backed away. For just a second, he looked in her direction, his brown gaze pinning her to the spot. Eyes wide, she shook off her paralysis and turned back toward the house.
    As she walked along, trying to puzzle out what she’d seen, she bumped straight into Coop. “Oh, sorry.” Without thought, she reached out to wipe the smear of tomato from his gray T-shirt that had collided with the plate of scraps in the impact. His chest was hard and firm under her hand, and her fingers splayed without her permission, just resting against his skin for a long second.