He finished rinsing off and wrapped the towel around his middle before stepping out. He dried as quickly as he could and began to dress, his memory still lingering on Vee and what they had done.
He glanced to the floor; his soiled clothing was gone. He stood in the tiny bedroom with the towel in his hand as he tried to connect the dots.
He pushed open the door of the bedroom and found Lana standing in the kitchen, angrily scrambling powdered eggs. “Are you okay?”
She turned slowly to him, anger flashing in her eyes. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
He gave her his best dumbfounded look. “What’s going on?”
She turned the burner off and slammed the spatula down. “I gathered your clothes so I could wash them.” She glared at him as she picked up his underwear and held them out. “Special kind of dirty, don’tcha think?”
Simon pushed all thoughts of Vee from his mind as he stepped out of the bedroom and into the tiny kitchenette. “What are you getting at?”
She thrust the underwear at him. “Go ahead. Tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”
He glanced at the soiled underwear and gave her a knowing look. “You don’t remember the little show we put on for the doc yesterday?” He raised a brow at her. “Those are the same drawers I wore all day yesterday.”
Slowly, her rage dialed down. She stared at the underwear in her hands then back to him. “The same…”
He nodded. “I’ve been wearing those since I killed Trent.” He cracked a silly grin at her. “That’s the same pair you gave me after we…” He let his sentence trail off.
Slowly her mind connected the dots and her cheeks flushed. “I feel like such an—”
“What were you thinking?” He teased as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her middle. “Let me guess, me and Trailer Park Barbie?” He raised his brows at her. “Everybody else has tapped that ass and I hear she was mighty grateful I stopped Trent.”
“Shut up.” She grabbed the spatula and slapped him with it.
“Hey, I just took a shower.” He ran his finger across the mess and licked it. “Mm, powdered eggs. My favorite.”
“Get dressed, asshole.” She flipped the dirty undies at him and slapped at his ass as he plodded back to the bedroom.
Simon closed the door again and nearly fell onto the bed. “Jeezus.” He closed his eyes and thanked whatever force had popped the leggy blonde into his head. Anything to redirect her thoughts from Veronica.
He sat on the edge of the bed and tugged at his socks. He glanced at his arm and paused, poking at the stitches a time or two. He looked up at the partially closed door and called out, “Maybe I should have doc check these stitches.”
“After you eat,” Lana called back.
He nodded as he tugged his shirt on. “Yeah. But probably sometime today.” He stood up and slipped his feet back into his boots, not bothering to lace them. “Maybe I can get a feel on which way she’s leaning.” He pulled the door open and gave Lana a sideways smile. “With a little luck, I can work my charms and convince her that we need to stay.”
“And be in charge,” Lana added. “It’s all for nothing if you’re not in charge, Simon.”
“Of course,” he kissed her cheek, “my empress.”
10
Missy watched as Hatcher pulled the body from the bed of the truck. “Are you sure this is far enough away?”
He leaned on the tailgate and shook his head. “At this point, I don’t think it matters.” He glanced into the shadows of the woods and sighed. “I can’t help but wonder how many more are out there.”
“Are you sure this was the new and improved snapper?”
He shrugged. “The eyes are clear. No blood in them.”
“But…is that the only way to really know?”
He shrugged again. “I’m not the expert on these people, Missy.” He dragged the body towards the ravine and rolled it down to the bottom. “I wish we had the tools to give her a proper burial.”
“It’s not like the scavengers are going to do anything.” She looked up at him. “Unless the new snappers taste different than the originals.”
He shrugged again. “Definitely more questions than answers.”
She shivered and tugged her jacket tighter. “It’s getting chillier.”
“Fall is here.” He closed the tailgate and walked back around to the cab. “It won’t be long and we’ll have snow.”
“Then what?” she asked, searching his face for answers. “Will you try to hole up for the winter or go back to New Mexico?”
Hatcher rested his hand on the steering wheel and slowly shook his head. “I wish I knew.”
“If she did survive, surely she’d leave before the snow came.”
He sighed as he reached for the key and started the big diesel engine. “I don’t know.” He stared out into the trees for a moment before putting the truck in gear. “Like I said, I’m just playing this by ear, following my footsteps backwards.”
As they slowly drove back towards the station, Missy felt the awkwardness of the silence more than he did. “So, did you see any other signs of life on your drive up here?”
He shook his head. “Nothing of note.”
“So…something?”
Again, he shook his head. “Nothing that made me think, ‘hey look, more survivors’. It was pretty much a whole lot of nothing.”
“Nothing?”
He slowed the truck and looked at her. “Dead cars. Empty buildings…as far as the eye could see.”
“Oh.” She turned away from him and stared out of the window. “That’s…too bad.”
“Yeah.”
The pair continued to drive until he pulled up to the station. “Let’s load up anything of use.”
“To take to the outpost, I know.” She slid down from the truck and practically slammed the door
