The Last Woman (All That Remains #1) (13 page)

I really should get to know
her. We have so many questions for each other. She doesn’t have much in the way
of personal belongings, so we decide to go shopping. Jayla and Sara accompany
us, and it feels sort of normal. A “girls at the mall” type of day which makes
me smile. After Airen lectures us and insists I take the small .22 pistol with
me, we finally escape.

“Is he always such a worry
wart?” Mandy asks.

“Yes,” Jayla and I answer in
unison, laughing.

“He means well, but he’s
definitely overprotective. We have had some close calls, so he pretty much
hates letting us out of his sight.”

“You call being kidnapped by a
crazy man a close call?” Jayla asks.

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

“You were kidnapped? What
happened? How did you get away?” Sara asks, incredulous, then immediately
apologizes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s okay if you don’t want to
talk about it.”

“I don’t mind.” By the time I’ve
finished my Mr. Disgusting story we’re pulling into the parking lot of a
department store.

“I’m sorry you had to kill
him,” Sara says, “but at least you got away.”

“Damn girl! Don’t feel bad ya
killed him. He deserved it! You’re lucky he was probably too drunk to rape ya,”
Mandy exclaims.

Wow. Tactful is not a word in
this woman’s vocabulary. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone, and I hope I never have
to again.”

“Why didn’t Joseph come to the
rescue along with Airen?” Mandy asks.

“We hadn’t met Joseph yet. He
and Walker came after that.”

Of course, that led to the
story of finding Joseph so sick, but this time Jayla did the telling. We choose
two carts from the front of the store and flip on the electric lanterns. It’s a
sunny day, but only the first few aisles of the store are illuminated through
the doors.

“Where to first?” Jayla asks.

“Clothes, I need some shorts
and blouses,” Mandy replies.

Sara and Jayla wander into the
juniors section while I head for a stack of jeans. Mandy follows me.

“I guess a few pair of jeans
would be smart now that we’re living in the middle of the woods. What size are
you looking for?” she asks.

“Size ten, and no boot cut or
flares.”

“I need a six.”

Bitch.

“Maybe a four now; I think
I’ve lost a few pounds.”

Skinny bitch.

“Here are the sixes,” I offer,
moving aside so she can see them. I pull out a pair of light blue jeans with
sunflowers embroidered down one leg. I love sunflowers. Yes! Size ten. They get
tossed in the cart.

“So, how long have you and Airen
been together?”

“We met in October, but we’ve only
been together since the beginning of April.”

“Abby, he’s fucking
gorgeous
!”

I can’t help but grin. “Don’t
I know it? He’s also a really sweet guy.” And he’s mine. “He loves the kids,
and I don’t know what I’d do without him.” Did I mention he’s mine? “Or
Joseph,” I add.

“Have you and Joseph ever?” She
raises her eyebrows.

“No. We’re close, and so are
Airen and Joseph. I’d never cheat on Airen, and Joseph wouldn’t do that to him
either.”

She looks at me with a sly grin
and asks, “So no three way action? Not even a kiss?”

Did she just ask me if I had a
threesome with them? Seriously? “No.”

“Joseph’s a cutie too, but
Airen, Jesus.”

She pronounces it jay-sus. “He
was a model before the plague,” I explain.

“Ya love him?”

“Of course.” She has thrown
three pair of jeans and five short and top combos into the cart. “What about
you? Did you meet Sara right after the plague?” We can hear the girls giggling
from a few racks away.

“A few weeks after. Found her
sittin’ on a curb, cryin’ for her mama. Meek as a mouse, that girl.”

“Poor kid,” I reply, shaking
my head.

“I never had kids. Didn’t
want’em, but she was the only other person alive, and she’s pretty well grown,
so I kept her with me.” She shrugs.

Jayla and Sara join us before
I can respond. “Do you think Dad would let me wear this?” Jayla holds up a very
short skirt.

“Hell, no,” I reply with a
laugh.

“You call Airen, Dad?” Mandy
questions.

“Yep, Carson does too.”

“He can be my daddy.” Mandy
laughs, and Jayla looks at her in disgust.

“He’s my dad, and Abby’s my
mom,” she replies coldly.

“Relax, I’m just kiddin’.”

We continue to shop, choosing
books, movies, and CD’s, but Mandy’s comment has successfully killed the
lighthearted camaraderie. I’m trying not to judge her. I really am. I want to
give her a fair chance. Honestly, though, I just don’t like her.

It’s almost dinnertime when we
return. Joseph jogs over to help us unload the bags and boxes.

“Did you girls have fun?” He
grins at Jayla, dimples shining, and she nods in his general direction before
heading straight indoors.

Staring at me in confusion, he
asks, “What was that about?”

“I’ll talk to you later,” I
promise, shifting my gaze to the rear of the truck where Mandy’s gathering her
stuff.

* * *
*

After a few weeks, it’s clear
no one is particularly fond of Mandy. She’s loud, abrasive, opinionated, and
vulgar. Sara is frightened of her, and the rest of the kids avoid her. Airen
does the same. Joseph is polite and distant, but none of us are outright rude to
her. My patience is wearing thin, however, because she has been flirting with
Airen almost constantly. Blatantly flirting and staring at him. She seems to
take joy in doing it in front of me.

I’ve tried not to react, because
I don’t want Airen to think I don’t trust him. I do, especially since he seems
horrified and revolted when she hits on him. Her personality and lack of
character override the big boobs, flat stomach, and pretty face. She
occasionally makes eyes at Joseph as well, but only if he’s showing affection
toward me. If he hugs me or kisses my cheek, she’s quick to compliment him,
usually while batting her eyelashes. Why is she competing with me for Joseph? I
think she assumes I’ve been with him as well.

Lately, she has been making
little comments to Airen about Joseph and me. He ignores her, but it’s pissing
me off. Today the bitch went too far. It’s our usual movie night, and I manage
to locate one of Joseph’s favorites.

“Thank you.” He beams as I
show him the copy of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and kisses my cheek
before heading to his room to put on some sweats. Mandy’s eyes narrow and her
lips press together as she watches him bounce out of the room.

“Popcorn tonight?” Airen
suggests, as he enters.

“Sounds good. I’m going to
take a quick shower,” I tell them, starting down the hall. “Don’t start without
me.” Now, I didn’t exactly intend to eavesdrop, but I didn’t try hard
not
to hear them either.

“Airen,” Mandy drops her
voice. “You’d better keep an eye on Joseph with Abby.”

“Why is that?” he asks,
sounding bored.

“I don’t want to cause any
trouble,” she mumbles.

Yeah, right. That’s exactly
what she wants. She assumes if she can break us up, he’ll go running into her
arms.

“Then don’t,” Airen warns.

“But when I came in, they were
kissing! Like, really kissing, you know?”

What? I’ll kill this bitch!
Lying, hateful whore! Surely, Airen won’t believe it. Will he? I listen as he
manages to call her a liar without actually saying the words.

“I trust Abby and Joseph. They’re
close, and we’ve all been through a lot together,” he states, nonplussed. He
walks in the hall before I can even attempt to wipe the look of shock and
hatred from my face.

Caught, I rush to the bedroom,
spinning to face him as he follows. “I didn’t!” I gasp, trying to form words
while my anger is tying my tongue. “She...that bitch...I’ll...”

Airen presses his lips
together, struggling not to laugh. “Come on, Abby. I know better. Give me some
credit.” He shakes his head in amusement. “That was a pretty pathetic attempt.”

“I’m going to beat her ass!”

“No. You aren’t going to let
her get to you like this.” His voice is calm when he takes my hand and rubs his
fingers down my palm, releasing my fist I hadn’t realized I’d clinched.

“She’s trying to break us up!”
Can’t he see that?

“She’s so jealous of you. I’ve
seen her reaction when we’re together or when Joseph spends time with you. Even
when she sees one of the kids speed past her to go to you, it burns her up.”

“So I should just put up with
it?” I demand hotly, glaring at him.

“No, we’ll have her out of the
house soon. In the meantime, I intend to show her she can’t get between us. Any
of us,” he adds.

What does he mean? “Has she
tried anything with you when I’m not there?”

“She flirts, as you’ve seen.”

“Has she tried to kiss you?” He’s
signing her death warrant if he says yes.

“No, and if she takes it that
far we’ll throw her out on her ass, I promise. It’s movie night, and I think
you should cuddle up with me and show her she didn’t win. In fact, we should
have some fun with it.” A mischievous grin crosses his face. “Let me talk to
Joseph.”

“Why?”

“She’s trying to play us
against each other and make me jealous since she hasn’t been able to make you
jealous by flirting with me. So let me and Joseph handle it, and you just play
along.”

“Fine.” A small grin forms on
his lips, and he runs his fingers down my cheek. “Are you laughing at me?”

“No. I’ve just never seen this
side of you.”

“The pissed off and ready to
choke a bitch side?”

His musky scent fills my
senses as he leans in and whispers into my ear, “You’re jealous and possessive.
It’s sexy.”

A wave of heat sweeps through
me, and I want to drag him to bed, even though I’m pissed. I can’t get
distracted. I need him to understand I can’t tolerate this any longer. “It’s
not that I don’t trust you, but there’s only so much shit I’ll take. If some
guy were acting like that with me...”

“I’d have hit him a long time
ago,” he admits, wrapping his arms around me. “We’ll take care of it, darlin’.
Take your shower, and I’ll talk to Joseph. Be ready to be lavished with
affection.”

“I think I can suffer through
it.” I giggle, and he gives me a sweet smile. This might be fun.

He’s as good as his word.
After my shower, I drape a towel around my shoulders to shield my shirt from my
wet hair and dress in a thin pair of blue sleeping shorts with a white
camisole.

Joseph sits at one end of the
sofa while Airen lounges at the other end. The kids are watching their movies
in the bedroom.

Airen pats the couch. “Come sit
with me, darlin’.” I curl up beside him as Joseph dims the light and starts the
movie. Without a word, Airen takes the towel and starts to dry my hair,
something he’s never done before.

Joseph tosses me one end of
the blanket he’s using. “Here, sweetheart, you have goose bumps.” He grins, and
I smile at him as I thank him. He never calls me sweetheart, and I probably
shouldn’t like the sound of it as much as I do.

“Mmm, Air, your hands feel
good,” I moan.

Whatever reaction Mandy hoped
to achieve from her little stunt, this isn’t it. I can practically see smoke
coming from her ears. When Airen’s finished with the towel, we scoot closer to
Joseph to share his blanket. When Joseph puts an arm around me and pulls me
against his chest, my eyes dart to Airen, but he just smiles at us as if this
is nothing out of the ordinary. They are so over the top affectionate it’s
laughable. Anyone else would be able to see right through it.

“Go ahead and stretch out,” Airen
invites, pulling my legs into his lap. Joseph grabs a pillow, and places it
across his thighs, shifting me until my head rests in his lap. While we watch
the movie, Joseph plays with my hair, and Airen rubs his hand up and down my
leg. Oh, I could get used to this. I can’t believe Mandy can’t tell it’s all a
show put on for her benefit. It’s so difficult not to laugh.

“Bathroom break,” Airen
announces and hops up. While he’s gone, Joseph stretches out behind me and
wraps an arm around my stomach, burying his face in my hair. Mandy’s eyes dart
between the sofa and the doorway. She wants Airen to catch us so bad. Damn,
this bitch is clueless.

“You smell so good, Abby.” Whiskers
tickle my skin as he nuzzles my neck.

“You mess with my neck, and
you have to put out,” I joke. “It’s a rule.”

He chuckles as his fingers
brush my hair out of the way, and I feel his lips on the back of my neck. Oh
God.