“Apologies. I only have one more question.”
Roark raised his hands in a gesture of amused acquiescence.
“How’s security?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you defend yourselves?”
Roark lifted a brow. Selena could see that the look in his eyes had grown slightly sharper.
“Now who would have the numbers or the bal s to bother us?”
Dan shrugged, “Someone like Jake and that sizeable posse of his. I knew they had to be living off someone big, but I never knew who it was until you showed up.”
Josie rose to her feet swiftly.
“Leave us,” she commanded.
“Josie —” Roark began.
“I
said
, leave us.”
Roark glowered as he got to his feet and stomped out.
Selena gripped the armrests of her chair. Stress was replaced by shock when it dawned on her that Josie was their leader, not Roark. Based on the way she spoke to him, there was no partnership. If she wasn’t so frightened, she may have wanted to laugh at Dan. This was one thing that she knew he hadn’t seen coming.
Bringing a
woman along complicates things indeed.
If the situation weren’t so shaky, she would have been thril ed that it was a woman leading the largest community that any of them had ever seen. There was no time for these thoughts now.
Something about her reaction wasn’t what it should be.
Josie’s shrewd eyes flamed as she stared at Dan.
Leaning over the table and bracing her weight on her fingertips, she spoke quietly. “If you know something about the whereabouts of Jake Parker, you wil tel me.”
Selena’s frightened eyes darted back and forth between them. She’d never heard anyone speak to Dan like that.
He stood from his chair slowly in a way that was careful y non-threatening. Looking down at her now, he answered.
“He’s in the ground, along with al his men.”
Josie’s face went slack as she stared up at him.
“Swear to me that you’re tel ing the truth,” she demanded quietly.
“It’s true.”
“
You
kil ed him?”
“I did, with some help.”
Her eyes trailed off and went distant.
“Wel , Dan. The man you kil ed was my brother.”
Eight
“I’m sorry,” Dan said without emotion.
Selena felt as if she were on the edge of a heart attack as she waited to see what Josie would do.
“Don’t be,” she said calmly. “He was a son of a bitch.”
“That’s why I’m sorry.”
Her eyes flicked up at his and to Selena’s surprise, the corners of her mouth curled up a little in amusement.
When her smile faded, she went on. “I’ve got to say, I’m very disappointed. You robbed me of one of the things I wanted most in life. That was to kil him myself … with my bare hands.” She al but glared at him now. “If you had
any
idea how many sleepless nights I spent thinking about it.”
Dan didn’t answer. The two of them watched each other.
“Al right, Dan,” Josie said final y, straightening up.
“What is it that you want?”
This time it was he who leaned over the table.
“I want you and your people to stay.”
Selena clenched her jaw painful y so that it wouldn’t hang open in surprise. She hoped Cal was doing his best not to look shocked. Whatever Dan said, they needed to at least
appear
united.
A glance at Josie revealed that she was too busy trying to swal ow his statement to notice anyone’s expression anyway.
“I may have misheard you there,” she said, squinting up at him. “Did you say that you wanted me … and my people, as in ‘al of them’ to stay?”
“Not al of them,” Dan told her, shaking his head and pointing to the map. “You would send the cattle in a circuit here. Some of your people would herd them and keep them fed over this wide area here. When they returned, they could switch with fresh men,” he explained. As an afterthought he added, “Or women. Then they could run another circuit here. Each would keep your number of cattle fat for a couple of months.”
“Oh?” Josie queried with a mix of bewilderment and humor. “Wel ! What would the rest of my people be doing?
I’m terribly curious to hear …”
“Building a civilization,” he told her evenly.
Josie’s lips parted in wonder. Selena stopped breathing. Jack covered his mouth with his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn’t tel if he was entertained by what he was hearing or just thought it was ridiculous.
“These streams feed into the Colorado river.
They’ve never once run dry on us,” he said, trailing his finger along the map again. “Your people can occupy the town just east of here. The place is ful of homes and some of them are in great shape. Many wouldn’t need much in the way of repairs.”
Selena’s vision began to blur.
“If you stay put,” he went on, “you can start tanning the leather from your cattle, which takes care of clothes.
The forest goes on for miles into the hil s so you’ve got timber that you wouldn’t need until far into the future when, or if, you can’t salvage any more from the town. There’s more scrap metal there than anyone would know what to do with –”
“Why would we do this?” Josie interrupted, stil squinting at him with confusion.
“Two reasons,” Dan said immediately. “First, it’s the next step. People wil be trying to get a foothold again al over the continent. The biggest obstacles are getting organized and secure. We have an excel ent window of opportunity. Your community is organized already and the only sizeable band of raiders known to roam this area has been eliminated. Second, you can wipe out new threats in the future more easily. If there are other groups of people putting down roots with any concerning number, you don’t want them more powerful than you. This isn’t the United States anymore. We are
not
unified and we can’t sit around hoping that everyone wil want to trade peaceful y or play nice.”
The room was beginning to spin and Selena had to clamp her hands on the armrests to stay upright.
“Imagine not being raided by bandits – like your brother. No theft or crime without swift punishment. Your worries for the safety of your women and children would be cut by half, or more. Your people would have beds to sleep in every night. Fortifications could be built around the town.
The sooner you stop moving and start building, the better your advantage. For al we know, we could be the first ones to sustain such a large number without roaming. You’d be ahead of everyone else.” He pointed a finger at her seriously, “What we both know is that you can’t do this forever. One bad misstep or drought and this whole operation wil fal apart. You’ve got around seventy-eight people here and al their lives are at stake.”
“Seventy-nine,” Josie corrected in a whisper, frowning up at him.
Selena knew she was beginning to sway. Just then, Jack’s foot slid over to kick hers. For some reason, that simple contact snapped her out of her stupor and she began breathing normal y again. Her vision cleared and she stared up at Dan. It was the first time she’d heard him address anyone like an equal, or a superior, she pondered through her fading daze. It was strange to see him making an appeal to someone of higher authority. Odd as it was, he looked perfectly comfortable.
Josie was quite stil , except for her eyes, which darted back and forth between his.
My God, she’s thinking about it
.
“You left out food.
That’s
the biggest obstacle. Even more than the other things you mentioned. If it weren’t for food, everything you’ve suggested would actual y be reasonable, no matter how crazy it sounds.”
Dan hoisted the burlap sack onto the table. Selena blinked. She’d been so overwhelmed that she hadn’t noticed he’d carried it in.
“A present,” Dan told her.
Josie sighed and twitched it open as if she knew exactly what she would find. Reaching in slowly, she drew out a beautiful lemon and held it up to admire it. Pul ing it close to her nose, she drew in a long, deep breath. Setting the lemon on the table, she took her time examining each of the bag’s contents one by one. She frowned longingly at al of the fruits and vegetables in turn. The herbs almost stopped her process altogether.
“Oh,” Dan said, reaching into his pocket. “One more thing.”
He pul ed out a pouch and drew an egg from it, cracking it on the table before tossing it to her.
“Hard boiled. If you don’t want it, I’l eat it,” he said with satisfaction in his voice.
satisfaction in his voice.
Selena wondered how careful he had to be not to squash it on the trip over.
Josie shook her head, pul ing the shel gingerly from the white before savoring it in smal bites.
“Dan Flynt,” she said, watching him as she chewed slowly. “You real y are something.”
Of course he remained quiet. It wasn’t the sort of thing he answered.
“It would take some time to get a good variety of crops growing, but it can be done,” he went on. “We can irrigate the land north and just a little west of the town. That could be planned and executed pretty quickly.”
Josie nodded, looking unsurprised that he had a plan for food as wel .
“Now I have a question for you, Dan,” she told him with a careful y masked expression. “Who would be in charge of this new settlement you’re suggesting?”
Selena couldn’t believe she was entertaining the notion.
Dan cocked his head and folded his arms comfortably across his chest.
“You seem to be doing a good enough job,” he answered.
Josie brushed her hands now that she’d finished with her egg and rested them on her hips. Her face was stil a mask as she looked at him.
“And what would be your role in al of this?”
“Same as it always is. Security. Dealing with anyone hostile and training others to do the same.”
“About that, how many men did Jake have, in the end?”
“Twenty-six.”
Josie nodded. “And how many of your people did you have?”
“There were eleven adults. We lost one.”
Even after al the evening’s surprises, this raised her eyebrow. She glanced around him to look at Cal and Selena. “Eleven?”
They nodded.
“Eleven,” Cal affirmed.
Josie’s sharp gaze danced as she looked up at Dan again.
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” she said with a little half-smile. “How many did
you
kil ?”
“Thirteen.”
Her smile broadened. “Including my brother?”
“Yes. With help.”
Josie brought up a hand to rub her face and chuckled. “Jesus.” She wagged her head and stared absently at the map. When her incredulity passed, she final y looked at Dan again as though nothing he might say would surprise her ever again. “So you just want to run security while I run everything else?”
“That is al I would want to do,” he assured her.
A few seconds of silence passed.
“I don’t think so,” she answered quietly, eyeing him shrewdly. “I don’t think it’s enough.”
“That is
all
I would want to do,” he repeated, stil more resolutely.
“Oh, I believe you,” she told him. “Would the rest of you excuse us?”
Selena knew this was a command more than a request. The three of them got to their feet and left the tent.
Outside, the cool breeze hit her face and she felt a mournful pul to go wherever it would lead.
“Jesus
fucking
Christ,” Cal hissed, shaking his head in disbelief as he reclaimed his weapons.
The girl outside the tent cleared her throat.
“Sorry, miss,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. He turned an accusing glance at Selena. “Did you know about this?”
She shook her head, looking up into the dimming sky. The sun had gone down and only its residual rays slowed the arrival of the stars.
Jack shot Cal a look before picking up his knives and handing Selena hers.
“Oh. I need some water,” he said more quietly, before tromping off in the direction where the girl had taken their horses.
“They’re over there, tied to that stake,” she cal ed.
Selena examined the twinkling dots that were beginning to appear above, trying to remind herself how smal this al was. She had just as many choices as there were stars in the sky, and the outcome of her decisions suddenly seemed unimportant.
She could barely adjust to life in Brian’s Crater with a handful of people. She was having severe panic attacks there and the man that she loved wanted to build a
“civilization.” He would live his life at its heart. He would
be
its heart. Of course, Dan didn’t know about her attacks, but he did know that the adjustment was a struggle.
Everything he’d said made perfect sense. His reasoning was as ironclad as ever, no matter how abrupt its delivery. She wished he had shared these ideas with her, at least as a courtesy so she would have known what to expect. Selena longed to fol ow the wind, but she ached at the thought of leaving his side. She loved him deeply, but both Loraine and now Josie, she guessed, would gleeful y take her place. He would probably be better off with either of them.
Her face felt wet and as she wiped the single tear that had rol ed down her cheek, she saw that Jack had been standing before her this entire time, just watching.
Their eyes met and she knew that he wanted to take her away. For once, he kept his mouth shut. He was ful y aware that Dan’s intentions were more incentive for her to run than anything he could say, so he only looked at her, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing.
Selena turned her back to him. He knew far too much about her problems. What she didn’t need was someone driving up her stress level. To his credit, he remained quiet.
Now that she was staring at the entrance to Josie’s tent, a fierce emotion wel ed in her chest. It was enough to block out the rest of her woes. For the moment, she didn’t care what the future held. Right here and right now, Dan belonged to
her
. They’d saved each other’s lives. After everything she’d been through for him or because of him, she’d be damned if she was going to rol over for some other woman to take her place.
Two in one week? What the
hell is this?
She briefly considered sneaking off with his shirts and embroidering the word “Taken” on every one of them.