Theo?” Jen asked as she passed Selena in the hallway from the kitchen.
“What do you mean?” Selena replied. The front of her shoulder hurt where the gangas had torn into her, and there was a deep abrasion on her lower back that she’d made certain Vonnie hadn’t seen.
“Well, he’s not dying. And he doesn’t know anyone here,” Jen replied, seemingly unaware of Selena’s tone. “Why is he here? Do you know him? Is he staying?”
Good question. Selena shrugged and then winced at the sharp twinge. “I don’t know if he’s staying, but he’s perfectly healthy as far as I can tell.”
“He sure is,” Jen said with relish. “Did you see that red dragon on his arm? Bang.”
Selena resisted the urge to mention the even more bang dragon on Theo’s back, and merely shrugged again—this time, more gingerly. Jen had been leading Sam on a merry chase for a while—poor sixteen-year-old Sammy was too young for the cute, if not easily distracted, twenty-three-year-old, but since she worked a lot with Selena, the proximity had contributed to what Vonnie called a big, fat Orange Crush.
Obviously, Jen had found another, more appropriate outlet for her flirtations, if the way she peered out the window toward Frank’s garden was any indication. Selena had seen Theo walk out with the elderly man some time earlier, and could pretty much assume that Frank had put him to work. Jen must have met him as she walked through the area from her home, halfway between here and the settlement of Yellow Mountain.
Selena wondered if Theo had gotten hot enough in the sun to take off his shirt yet, and the thought made her pause in surprise. Not the idea itself, but the fact that she’d thought it. Selena certainly admired a wixy male body when she happened to see one, but normally those sorts of thoughts didn’t just crop up in her mind out of the blue. She was over fifty years old, for creep’s sake, and her days of passion were long behind her. Besides, having a man in her life would be too dangerous.
Aside from that, she had other things to deal with. Things that generally put a damper on anything like passion or sex.
What guy wanted to sleep with a woman who got up close and personal to zombies in order to save their souls?
“What?” asked Jen.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I just forgot something I wanted to check on. How’s Maryanna doing?”
But as Jen rattled on about the young woman, Selena couldn’t quite keep her attention from the window. She wondered what his skin tone, already a rich olive color, would look like when it tanned. And she knew how sleek and muscular his back was, how it curved into square shoulders and round biceps.
“Remember?”
With a start, Selena looked at Jen. “Uh,” she began.
“You promised,” the younger girl reminded her. “Vonnie will be busted if you shove it off again. And my Mom and Dad are going to stay here so you can go.”
Right. Vonnie was doing her monthly storytelling gig in Yellow Mountain tonight. Everyone from the surrounding areas—about a hundred people—attended the pig roast and entertainment without fail, partly because Vonnie painted amazing pictures with her words, and partly because it was a social activity that brought them all together and gave them a rest from the daily work.
“Yes, yes, I’ll be there.” She smiled, but it was a little forced.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go or to socialize, but she had to be careful about that sort of thing. She’d learned her lesson back in Sivs. And again in Crossroads. She couldn’t let anyone too close, because once they found out what she did, it could get ugly.
Which was why Selena never thought of herself as alone—for she had Sam and Vonnie and Frank—but she was lonely. She didn’t have a partner. Someone whom she neither had to take care of, nor who tried to mother her to death. Just . . . an equal. Someone to listen. To talk to. To laugh with. And . . . other things.
Someone
“What do you mean?” Selena replied. The front of her shoulder hurt where the gangas had torn into her, and there was a deep abrasion on her lower back that she’d made certain Vonnie hadn’t seen.
“Well, he’s not dying. And he doesn’t know anyone here,” Jen replied, seemingly unaware of Selena’s tone. “Why is he here? Do you know him? Is he staying?”
Good question. Selena shrugged and then winced at the sharp twinge. “I don’t know if he’s staying, but he’s perfectly healthy as far as I can tell.”
“He sure is,” Jen said with relish. “Did you see that red dragon on his arm? Bang.”
Selena resisted the urge to mention the even more bang dragon on Theo’s back, and merely shrugged again—this time, more gingerly. Jen had been leading Sam on a merry chase for a while—poor sixteen-year-old Sammy was too young for the cute, if not easily distracted, twenty-three-year-old, but since she worked a lot with Selena, the proximity had contributed to what Vonnie called a big, fat Orange Crush.
Obviously, Jen had found another, more appropriate outlet for her flirtations, if the way she peered out the window toward Frank’s garden was any indication. Selena had seen Theo walk out with the elderly man some time earlier, and could pretty much assume that Frank had put him to work. Jen must have met him as she walked through the area from her home, halfway between here and the settlement of Yellow Mountain.
Selena wondered if Theo had gotten hot enough in the sun to take off his shirt yet, and the thought made her pause in surprise. Not the idea itself, but the fact that she’d thought it. Selena certainly admired a wixy male body when she happened to see one, but normally those sorts of thoughts didn’t just crop up in her mind out of the blue. She was over fifty years old, for creep’s sake, and her days of passion were long behind her. Besides, having a man in her life would be too dangerous.
Aside from that, she had other things to deal with. Things that generally put a damper on anything like passion or sex.
What guy wanted to sleep with a woman who got up close and personal to zombies in order to save their souls?
“What?” asked Jen.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I just forgot something I wanted to check on. How’s Maryanna doing?”
But as Jen rattled on about the young woman, Selena couldn’t quite keep her attention from the window. She wondered what his skin tone, already a rich olive color, would look like when it tanned. And she knew how sleek and muscular his back was, how it curved into square shoulders and round biceps.
“Remember?”
With a start, Selena looked at Jen. “Uh,” she began.
“You promised,” the younger girl reminded her. “Vonnie will be busted if you shove it off again. And my Mom and Dad are going to stay here so you can go.”
Right. Vonnie was doing her monthly storytelling gig in Yellow Mountain tonight. Everyone from the surrounding areas—about a hundred people—attended the pig roast and entertainment without fail, partly because Vonnie painted amazing pictures with her words, and partly because it was a social activity that brought them all together and gave them a rest from the daily work.
“Yes, yes, I’ll be there.” She smiled, but it was a little forced.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go or to socialize, but she had to be careful about that sort of thing. She’d learned her lesson back in Sivs. And again in Crossroads. She couldn’t let anyone too close, because once they found out what she did, it could get ugly.
Which was why Selena never thought of herself as alone—for she had Sam and Vonnie and Frank—but she was lonely. She didn’t have a partner. Someone whom she neither had to take care of, nor who tried to mother her to death. Just . . . an equal. Someone to listen. To talk to. To laugh with. And . . . other things.
Someone
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