Love in the Time of the Dead (33 page)

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Authors: Tera Shanley

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“Good memories?”

“Most of them.” She bit her lip and shook her head in disbelief. “I still can’t believe it’s been a year.”

“A lot has changed since then,” he said.

“A lot has changed,” she agreed softly before she turned her attention inward again.

She had been doing a lot of internal searching as of late. It probably had something to do with the swell in her belly that Derek couldn’t seem to keep a protective hand away from. She squeezed his hand gently as it cradled the roundness of her stomach.

They had tried to settle down. They had agreed early on that they were both tired of the constant motion and uncertainty that came with living as fighters. They had headed south after their stay at Dead Run River in search of a warmer climate, but had only managed to compare every colony along the way to the place they had come closest to calling home. They’d stayed in two separate colonies for a time before growing restless and leaving to search for something that would hold them. Each was missing something crucial that neither of them could quite put their finger on. When she had grown suspicious that she was with child, they started moving north, to the Rocky Mountains, before either of them was conscious of where they intended to end up.

“Does Guist know we’re coming today?” she asked.

Derek’s slow smile, the one she adored so much, spread across his face. He wasn’t one to complain, but it was pretty obvious he had missed Guist terribly.

“He knows it’s today or tomorrow. I bet he’ll be working the front gates. You feeling okay?” he asked for the tenth time in an hour.

She chuckled. “I feel fine. We’re all right.”

“A few more miles and we’ll be there. You sure you want to go back to Dead Run River? What if things aren’t the way we remember them?”

“You know as well as I from the correspondence with Guist that things haven’t changed that much.” She intertwined her fingers in his. “I want to go back. I miss having our little family together.”

So Aaron Guist and Derek Mitchell weren’t blood. They had been through more together than most families ever would, though. Losing Jarren had been hard, and bitterly so. But she had been lucky to have Derek and Guist there to keep her sure in the knowledge of who she was and where she came from.

“Besides,” she said flippantly, “everybody around here says Dr. Mackey is the best if you’re expecting.”

“So I’ve heard,” Derek said as he turned the truck onto the familiar winding road that led to the colony.

She leaned forward. The finished wooden gate loomed ahead. She squinted at the guards who were standing at the entry, searching for a familiar face. They had a very big job to do. They had to protect the colony and the important assets it boasted. Rumor had it that Dead Run River held the beginnings of a vaccine against the Dead virus. Such a medical breakthrough had to be protected in its infant state until it could be perfected, tested, and dispersed.

They were still too far away for her to tell if one of the guards was Guist or not, but as she and Derek drew closer, she began to suspect the one on the right was in fact the last member of their trio. The gaping grin on his face gave him away.

Derek hopped out almost before the truck was in park to greet him. She took a little more time. Though she was only a little over halfway through her pregnancy, she seemed to ache more and more after long trips. She zipped her jacket closed against the frosty air, effectively hiding the small bump that protruded tellingly.

“Laney!” Guist bellowed as he picked her up in an uncharacteristically affectionate hug. Eloise had obviously been rubbing off on him. And for the better.

Derek looked at her in panic.

“I’m fine!” she mouthed, unable to stifle her giggles at Guist’s oblivious happiness.

He put her down and pulled a radio to his lips. “Mel?”

“Yep,” came the answer from the other end, followed by static.

“Can you and Sean bring Eloise down? Tell her I have a present for her at the front gates.”

“Are they here?”

“Yep,” he replied excitedly.

There was a pause on the other line. “Be there in a minute.”

Laney looked at him accusingly. “You didn’t tell her we were coming?”

“She likes surprises,” he said remorselessly. “You want to know what housing assignment Mel gave you?”

She grinned. “Lay it on us.”

“Well, Mel moved us to a roomy trailer farther up the mountain, and since you guys got a noise complaint last time you stayed in Dead Run River—” he winked “—you aren’t okayed to stay in the connected cabins, so we’re going to be neighbors. Sort of. You guys will be a few trailers down from us, but on the same row.”

“Noise complaint?” Derek laughed as he put his arm around her. “Blame that one on Laney.”

“What?” she said in mock anger. “He complains, but I got us upgraded.”

“Laney?” a familiar voice called.

She spun around with a ready grin. Eloise had changed drastically in the past year, mostly due to the huge swell of her belly that led the way as she waddled quickly toward her.

“Eloise? What happened to you? You look like you swallowed a basketball!” Laney laughed with amazement. No jacket could hide how far along she was.

Laney jogged over and hugged her tearful friend, careful not to knock her own belly.

“Oh, Aaron.” Eloise sniffed. “This is the best surprise ever!”

Laney pulled away and wiped her own eyes. “I have another surprise for you.” She unzipped her jacket and turned to the side. She couldn’t contain her grin as Eloise stared in wonderment at a matching pregnancy only a few months behind her own.

Guist recovered first—likely because Derek was clapping him on the back and congratulating him.

“Laney, you’re pregnant?” he asked in shock.

She giggled and nodded. The look on his face was priceless. Like he had just realized his little brother could bear children.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked Derek, the first signs of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You dog! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We wanted to surprise you. Why didn’t you tell us?” Derek gestured to Eloise, who had gone completely rosy in the cheeks.

“Same reason. And I figured from the way you were sounding that you were headed back here sooner or later. I was just banking on sooner so you wouldn’t miss everything.”

Guist grabbed Derek’s shoulder and shook it slowly as their news set in. Laney rolled her eyes at their laughter and turned to Eloise.

“You’d think they were the ones having the babies from the way they’re congratulating each other.”

Eloise snorted. “Well, it was a very important thirty seconds of work those boys did.”

Movement caught Laney’s eye. The woods were just as she remembered. Dark, safe, inviting. Magic. Sean, Mel, Adrianna, and Finn all smiled from the edge of the tree line. Sean had his arm around Mel’s shoulders, resting on her comfortably, and Mel was talking quietly with the most relaxed expression she’d ever seen on the woman’s face. Laney’s heart welled with happiness that those two had found each other. She waved and headed for them while the others followed.

It felt better than she could ever have imagined, having her family and friends back together in one place again. She slid her hand into Derek’s and smiled happily at him. She knew she was glowing with contentment. She could see it reflected in his eyes.

They were home.

Acknowledgments

It takes village to write a book. A heartfelt thanks to my husband, Anthony, for supporting me through all the crazy late nights of clicking away in the corner of our room, and for giving me a romantic life to draw inspiration from. My parents for hearing me say, “I’m stressed about a deadline,” and interpreting it as a need to take my kiddos on a surprise library adventure to give me time to work. To Grammy, success cheerleader and bear-hugger extraordinaire. I’m thankful to my dear all-weather friend, Amy Vesper, for not blinking when I admitted I wanted to go on this crazy adventure called a writing career and plopped a giant first draft manuscript and a red pen into her outstretched arms. To the editors at Omnific Publishing for using their magical abilities on a book that means so much to me. To Traci Olsen for her unwavering dedication to marketing the pen-and-ink renderings of the voices in my head. And lastly, the sharing of the story of
Love in the Time of the Dead
wouldn’t be possible without Omnific Publishing, who took a chance on a hopeful author with an apocalyptic love story to tell.

About the Author

Tera Shanley has completed twelve romance novels of different sub-genres. A self-proclaimed bookworm, she was raised in small town Texas and could often be found decorating a table at the local library. She currently lives in Dallas with her husband and two young children, and when she isn’t busy running around after her family, she’s writing a new story or devouring a good book. Any spare time is dedicated to chocolate licking, rifle slinging, friend hugging, and the great outdoors. For more information about Tera and her work, visit:

www.terashanley.com

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