Corn, Cows, and the Apocalypse

One-Night Stand

There are details in conversations that you often miss the first time. It isn't until you go back over the dialogue that you notice what you missed. Garrett had been completely honest with me about not being able to stay with me. He said he would have to go back to Chicago. He also said we didn't have long. Little did I know that meant he was going to leave immediately after I fell asleep from our lovemaking.

It was alarming at first. I kept looking for him, in case he was just hiding somewhere in the house. When the day went by without his return, it was clear that he wasn't out getting supplies. When he wasn't back the next day it was also clear that I might run out of supplies and I had no transportation to get more.

I built up a warm fire that second night and planned out my journey to see Priest the next day. To my knowledge, he didn't have a vehicle, but I assumed one of his harem could give me a lift into town. If their drugged stupor didn't land us in a ditch, I might survive another week on my own.

When I heard the Dodge truck pull into the drive my heart leapt. I peeked out the kitchen window and saw the four-wheeler loaded in the back. There was no sign of the motorbike. That meant Devin and Haden were back, but not August. I watched them both climb out of the cab, arguing about something. I resisted the urge to run out and greet them. It had been a hard three months for me, and an even harder last week, so I wasn't going to make them feel like heroes just for coming home.

I moved back to the fire and warmed my hands. Devin stormed in like he had never left. "I don't care, I won fair and square. Lenore!" He caught sight of me and rushed over. I couldn't keep from smiling at his energy. He picked me up in an all-encompassing hug and twirled me. "Oh, sweet thing, I missed you." He set me down and kissed me. It was a wetter kiss than I expected, but I didn't pull away. "Did you miss me?" he asked, still holding my face.

"Endlessly."

He smiled and pulled me into an even tighter hug. "Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear.

"Yeah," I whispered back.

He pulled away again. "You would not believe how much fun I had. We went to the tournaments in the Metro, I competed and I won!" He did a little dance to show his enthusiasm.

"Devin," August's voice carried over from the kitchen door. "We can talk about that later."

My heroine looked serene and magnanimous as usual, but seeing her reminded me of every hit I took from Garrett in her name, the pain I endured to live up to her expectations of me, the still-forming scars that were proof that I was forever changed into the woman she wanted me to be. It was always hard for me to be angry at August, but in that moment I wished anger was the only sentiment I held for her.

"Hello, August," I said coldly. Devin backed away, giving us space to stare across the house at each other. Haden managed to find something of interest to do in the kitchen cupboards, so she didn't interfere with the showdown.

"Hello, Lenore," August said as she strolled over to me. She was offering a little bit of a smile, but I couldn't match it. "How did everything go?"

"Well enough. I'm sure most of the evidence of my work has started to heal, but I assure you the scars remain."

August looked a little hurt by that statement, but she smiled anyway. "I hope you understand now why I did this." She moved around me toward the fire.

I wasn't sure if it was Garrett's training, my self-professed psychic ability, or just my understanding of August, but I already knew what she was doing.

"Yes, I understand your purpose."

August grabbed the fireplace poker and whipped it at my head. It took everything I had not to block it, especially since I could have kicked it out of her hand before she brought it up to swing. The poker stopped millimeters from my face. August looked disappointed, but in the realization that I hadn't flinched, she found a different kind of disappointment.

I perked an eyebrow at her. "Shall I dance for you now? Or do you prefer to play with my marionette strings?" August lowered the poker. I saw her glance at Devin. She didn't even know how to handle me. "We've disappointed each other. I haven't lived up to your expectations of me and you certainly haven't lived up to mine. Don't worry, though. I understand what you want now. I can be the person that you want me to be."

August took the stinging concession like a punch in the gut, but she didn't try to offer anything to make me feel better about being abandoned for three months.

"Well," Devin said, rubbing his hands together behind me. He pressed them down on my shoulders and squeezed like he might be able to release the tension in the room by easing the tension in my shoulders. "How about you start dinner while I tell you all about my feat of bravery?"

"I've already eaten." I pulled away from his hands and sat down in the chair next to the fire to read my latest book. I could tell everyone was baffled by this new change of hierarchy, but no one dared contest it. I had made my stand.