The Stars in the Sky

Chapter 23: Aftershocks

"So my little Noah got her animals safely on the ark last night," a low male voice murmured in my ear, full lips brushing against my skin, a finger trailing up my side, under my shirt, to where I was tattooed.

That was an arousing way to wake up.

We had felt a few aftershocks last night and while I had slept lightly, I had nevertheless rested. Now, at dawn, my body felt stiff and sore from sleeping on the ground. The tarps and blankets were slightly damp from morning dew. Even though the sun was starting to come up, Will was still holding me.

Still holding me.

I didn't understand why Will was being so affectionate, but I didn't want him to stop.

Sleepily, I turned over and snuggled into him even more, burrowing into the soft skin of his hard chest.

"We gotta get up and check the damage," he whispered.

"Okay," I whispered back, darted my eyes around to see if anyone was looking, but no, they seemed asleep, so I gave him a good morning kiss, in which he fully participated, and at length. It was hot. Then he hugged me, extricated himself, and stood up and stretched.

My eyes popped out at the sight of his tan, brown torso flexing in the morning, and his flat waist leading to his waistband where his track pants hung low, showing a bulge.

Right. We need to check the damage. No distractions.

I got up too and helped him to gather the blankets. He picked them up and took them back to the ranch house. I headed to the bunkhouse to throw on some clothes and get ready for the day.

The inside of the building was disheveled, though not so much that it couldn't get cleaned up in a day. It seemed like Will's house was going to be more of a problem.

As I went around, I had the idea that I would get the kids to help clean up. That was part of being on a farm: pitching in when something needed to get done and it would be a good experience for them — taking responsibility and working together. While I wasn't going to have them do anything dangerous, they could straighten up their rooms and pick up things around the bunkhouse, while I sorted out the office. If the horses were okay, too, I planned on letting the groups ride and care for the animals, like normal, because the horses would need it and because that was why the kids were here.

The triangle rang.

Seriously, Cookie? After last night? A triangle?

I went back out to the makeshift camp. Will was now dressed, walking around, inspecting all of the buildings.

After rousing the troops, getting the sleeping bags picked up and hauled over to the bunkhouse, and the kids dressed, we went to breakfast. Everyone was a little bleary-eyed, but there was a sense of camaraderie that was missing yesterday. I noticed kids helping each other out, talking with each other more, being friendlier, more outgoing. They had just shared a scary experience. Hopefully the disaster would bring them closer.

As planned, after breakfast, some of the kids went to ride horses, and others helped me pick up the bunkhouse. Before they got started, Will gave them a lecture that consisted of one sentence: "Part of livin' on a ranch is workin'." And then he strolled back over to his house to clean it up.

It didn't take that long to set the bunkhouse to rights; I think we were being overly cautious last night, but we couldn't risk it with that many children under our care. The kids actually seemed to have fun sweeping, working together to set the bunk beds up, and straightening the pictures on the walls.

The office didn't take me very long to straighten up either. It just looked worse than it was.

As the kids worked, I could hear them chattering and having fun. So that seemed to work out.