by Marla Monroe
“Don’t move.” Wyatt’s voice held strain in it.
“What’s wrong, Wyatt?”
“Just don’t move for a minute, okay?”
Jessie all but held her breath in an effort not to move. She knew Wyatt was trying to regain control of himself. She felt a little ashamed at herself for wishing he wouldn’t. Finally, after what felt like forever, he pulled away from her and rolled over.
“Get up and get dressed, Jessie. Now.”
Jessie sighed and crawled to the end of the mattress before standing up and grabbing clothes to put on. She edged behind the makeshift screen and dressed. She could hear the men arguing over something and knew it would be about her. She hated when they did that. She hated that she was younger than they were, because no matter how old she got, they would always see her as a teenager.
“Jessie?” Kent’s voice came from around the screen where she stood waiting for someone to tell her she was allowed to come out.
“Yeah, is it safe for me to come out of my corner now?”
Kent walked around the screen and looked at her with a sad smile. “It’s not like that, Jess.”
“It sure as hell feels that way.” She pushed past him and walked around the screen to jump down from the truck.
She didn’t even wait for Wyatt to help her this time. She didn’t need their help or their pity. The parking lot around them was deserted except for the empty cars and a few turned-over carts. The sky above them, though mostly still dark, held the faint glow of the rising sun off to the east.
“We’re planning on eating the canned sausages with crackers. They’re stale but still safe to eat.” Kent held out a can toward her.
She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry. I’m still full from last night’s peanut butter crackers.” She walked around to the front of the truck and sat on the step up.
“Jessie, I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning.” Wyatt stepped in front of her.
She sighed and looked up with her best I don’t give a fuck look. He didn’t leave. Instead, he crouched down beside her and looked her in the eyes.
“Look, we’ve got a hard journey ahead of us. One that I honestly don’t know how it’s going to end. We can’t afford to complicate things with sex.”
“With sex. You think this is all about sex? That the way you treat me like a twelve-year-old is okay? It’s not just about sex, Wyatt. You’re the one with sex on the brain. It’s about more than that. When you figure it out, come see me.” She jumped up and walked off, making him fall back on his ass.
She walked back to the trailer, knowing better than to get too far away from the truck. They just didn’t understand that she needed to feel like she meant something to them and wasn’t just a burden they were bearing. She wanted someone to hold her sometimes, just because. Yeah, she wanted them. She was a full-blooded woman, but that wasn’t all it was about. And Wyatt was old enough to figure it out.
Kent walked back to where she’d leaned against the trailer and leaned back next to her. Since they were the closest in age, he seemed to get her a little better, but still, in this, he was clueless.
“What gives, Jessie?”
“Nothing, Kent. Just let it go.”
“We’re going to be leaving in a few minutes, if you need anything from the back.”
“I’m good.” She continued to stare out over the dead town, wishing for the millionth time that she had died with her parents.
People were right. Dying wasn’t so bad. It was the living that took guts.
“Come on, you two. We need to get on the road,” Wyatt called back.
She stood up and headed for the front passenger side of the big U-Haul. She wondered if they would stop anywhere today other than to get gas. She grabbed the map as soon as she was settled in the cab and studied it.
“What are you looking for?” Kent asked.
“Show me where we are.” She shoved the map into his lap.
He opened it and pointed to a circle. “Right here.
She checked their progress from Holly Bluff and decided they might make it to one of the salvaging locations late that afternoon. She wanted to get a few things if she could find them.
* * * *
Kent felt bad for Jessie. She couldn’t win for losing with Wyatt. She was a female, and she was only twenty-one years old. Wyatt was only four years older, but he was the man of the house, so to speak, and as such, carried the full load of responsibility. He took it very seriously. What he didn’t take was advice, at least not from his younger brother.
Jessie needed to feel less like a burden and more like a woman. He got that and tried to see her that way, but it was harder for his big brother to. Maybe once they got to where they were going to live, he would relax more around her. Kent hoped so, or they were going to have major issues soon.
He had seen Jess as a woman for the last five years. She had grown up fast and hard after her parents died, and the last two years had aged her both mentally and emotionally. Being constantly afraid someone would snatch you took a toll on a person. He supposed that was how important or famous people had always felt. He could almost see now why they did drugs and were so promiscuous. The pressure had to have gotten to them.
Well, the pressure was beginning to get to Jessie. Kent could see it, but Wyatt refused to see it. He was going to have a hell of a time when she finally blew up. He hoped it wouldn’t prove to be dangerous. He had no idea what to expect ahead of them. David had told them as much as he knew, but that wasn’t a lot, and they were going to be driving into the Border Lands themselves.
They stopped once at a gas station a little after two and filled up, trading the rest of their now-thawing food for the gas and some snacks. Jessie still didn’t eat much, but Kent figured she’d make up for it that night. She usually didn’t eat much when they drove, anyway.
Wyatt talked a lot more than usual on the drive. He pointed out places they might have once wanted to visit and talked about the next stops along the way. Jessie ignored him for the most part. Kent didn’t think his brother was trying to draw her out, but he was definitely frustrated by her lack of participation.
Around six, they pulled into a Super Kmart store parking lot and drove around to the back where the loading dock was located.
“Do you see anything?” Wyatt asked no one in particular.
“I don’t.” Kent craned his neck around, but nothing seemed to move.
“It will be full dark soon. Let’s camp here and then get an early start in the morning,” Wyatt decided.
They started to climb out of the truck when Wyatt yelled for them to stop. Kent already had one foot on the ground with Jessie’s ass in his face.
“Don’t move,” Wyatt said.
“What is it?”
“Wolf. It’s watching you. Don’t move.”
Kent rested his head on the back of Jessie’s ass. She was in a precarious position with one foot hanging off the running board. He used his head on her ass to give her a little support. He could tell her grip on the bar above her was weakening.
“Wyatt?” he asked.
“Just a minute. Let me get around there with the gun. Then we can move toward the building together.”
Kent waited, hoping Wyatt hurried up. He was getting tired now, and not being able to see the wolf wasn’t helping his sense of safety one iota.
“Okay, I’ve got him in my sights. Let’s walk over to the stairs up to the landing. Move real slow.”
Kent dropped his other foot to the ground and helped Jessie down after him. When they turned around, he heard Jess gasp. Only about fifty yards from them stood two wolves. Their mouths were open as they panted. He didn’t think he’d been this close to one, other than in a zoo behind a cage.
“Okay, let’s all walk very slowly to the stairs over there.” Wyatt led the way.
Once they had climbed up to the landing, the wolves moved closer and sniffed around the truck but didn’t try to follow them.
&n
bsp; “They’re probably just curious,” he pointed out.
“Curious or not, I’d rather they go back where they came from,” Jessie said.
“I think they live here.” Wyatt tried the door and found it locked.
“What about one of the loading bay doors?” Kent suggested.
“You hold the gun, and I’ll climb over and check on them.” Wyatt handed the rifle to Kent before climbing over the railing and stretching over to the first loading bay.
He fiddled with the handle but couldn’t make it move. He climbed over to each of the four bays, but all of them were locked from the inside. He made his way back to the landing and took the gun back from Kent.
“What about using the crowbar to open this door?” Jessie asked.
“Crowbar is in the truck. We’re not,” Wyatt pointed out.
“Duh, you have a gun, go get it. David said if we were careful and didn’t move too fast, they would leave us alone.”
“I don’t like leaving you here without the gun while I’m scrounging in the back for the crowbar.”
“So leave it with Kent, and he can cover you and us at the same time.”
Kent looked at Wyatt and smiled. Wyatt grimaced but handed over the rifle to him. He waited until the wolves had made the complete circle of checking out the truck before he climbed down the stairs and walked slowly toward the truck.
“You’re fine, Wyatt. They haven’t moved. Just keep going.” Jessie kept a constant soft dialogue going.
Kent didn’t know if it was for her peace of mind or to ease Wyatt’s worries, but it sure made him feel better. Once Wyatt had the crowbar, he started back. The wolves began to pace some when he was halfway across the parking lot. Kent used the railing to steady his hand with the rifle in case he needed to shoot. Right now, he was getting a little worried with how the wolves were moving around.
“Wyatt, they’re beginning to pace back and forth. Should you stop for a while, or keep going?” he asked.
“I’m going to keep going. If they start toward me, fire a shot in front of them.”
“Gotcha, brother.” He drew a bead on the front paw of the lead wolf, just in case.
Wyatt made it to the stairs without them charging. Everyone let out a breath.
“Keep the rifle, Kent. You’ve got them covered. I’m going to pry open the door. If they start toward us, shoot them.”
Jessie moved back against the railing to give Wyatt room while Kent kept a close eye on the wolves. He wasn’t about to take his eyes off of them as long as they were a threat. He felt the heat from Jessie’s body against his back. She probably didn’t have much room, but he didn’t want to change position now that he was set.
“Okay, got the door unlocked. I’m going to check it out. Stay here.”
Kent didn’t move, but Jessie’s body heat disappeared from his back.
“Jessie?”
“I’m right here. I just moved over to give you more room.”
After what felt like thirty minutes passed, Wyatt returned with a flashlight and motioned them all to come inside.
“It’s set up like all Kmarts are, and there are skylights, so we’ll have plenty of light in the morning. Until then, I guess we’re going to be sleeping in here for the night. I’m not chancing the wolves tonight. We can’t see them in the dark, and the sun is going down.”
“What are we going to sleep on?” Jessie asked.
“There are air mattresses over in the sporting goods, I’m sure. We can blow one up and sleep on it.” Wyatt smiled and hugged her as if he couldn’t help it, then quickly let her go. “Let’s head in that direction.”
Kent shoved a crate over in front of the door to keep it closed and followed Wyatt and Jessie through the dark warehouse part of the store to the actual retail floor area. Kent kept the rifle pointed toward the ceiling but kept a lookout for any movement around them. In the dark, with only the flashlight and a faint glow from above, everything seemed to move.
When they arrived in the sporting goods area, Wyatt located a king-size air mattress and pulled it out of the box. It required a foot pump not included. Jessie located a foot pump and they took turns pumping up the mattress for the next twenty minutes. Once it was filled, Jessie grabbed a couple of sleeping bags and zipped them together to form a large cover for them.
“Ground rules. No wandering off in the middle of the night for any reason. Jessie, if you need to go to the bathroom, wake one of us up, and we’ll go with you,” Wyatt said.
“I think I can hold it till morning,” she said, voice thick with sarcasm.
“Let’s get some sleep, and we’ll get an early start in the morning.”
Kent removed his shoes but left his clothes on. Wyatt had made it clear they would remain dressed around Jessie at all times now. Sleeping in his clothes sucked.
Not long after they had all settled in for the night, the wolves outside began to howl. It made an eerie noise inside the silent store with its high ceilings. Kent felt Jessie shiver. He sighed and grabbed her hand to hold it. She dropped her head against his shoulder. It wasn’t long before she was asleep.
“Wyatt?” Kent whispered.
“Yeah.”
“Having no privacy to jack off is getting old, man.”
“Tell me about it. But we aren’t starting a relationship with her until we get somewhere to settle down. We’ve got to be alert, and sex makes you sloppy.”
“Well, lack of sex makes you sloppy as well. I can’t stop thinking about how much I want to fuck her.”
“Kent, get a grip on your fucking cock. She’s not just a place to put your dick, man.”
“I know that. I’m just saying, is all. I’ve already told you I love her. I have for the last two years. You’re the one who refused to let me court her.”
“Court her? Is that what it’s called now? I just thought you wanted to fuck her.”
Kent sighed and blew out a breath in exasperation. Wyatt was going to drive him crazy about Jessie. He knew how he felt about her. If Wyatt wasn’t sure, that was his problem. He could love and take care of her without his help. It was his loss.
Chapter Four
Wyatt woke first the next morning and found Jessie plastered to his chest with one leg between his legs. Fuck. He stood a good chance of getting racked, depending on how he woke her up. He lay there for a few more minutes, letting her scent wash over him. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Jessie. He did. He just wasn’t sure it was the kind of love that having a sexual relationship would build on, or if it would tear them apart.
He knew his brother loved her. He didn’t doubt that he knew his own mind, but he just wasn’t sure a three-way relationship would work. There were times when he wanted Jessie so badly he hurt, but he wasn’t sure if that were because it was Jessie or just because he was horny and she was available. She didn’t deserve that. Neither did he.
It was still dark in the building, but he could just make out a faint light beginning to slide in the overhead skylights. It wouldn’t be long before they would be able to see without the flashlights.
Jessie moved her arm and curled it around his neck. Then she hummed and rubbed her nose on his shirt. He waited, thinking she might be awake, but then the soft snore that was uniquely Jessie told him she was still asleep.
His cock stirred, feeling the warmth of her body against his. He willed it to cooperate, but it roared to life. He needed her off of him. Maybe even the knee to the nuts would help at this point.
“Jessie?” he whispered. “Wake up, baby. It’s time to get up.”
She stirred and yawned against his chest. Then she stilled, and he knew she was awake.
“Um, Wyatt?”
“Just be real careful moving your knee, Jessie. It’s all good.”
She rolled off of him without doing any lasting damage. He sighed and sat up, wincing at the kink it put in his cock.
“It’s still dark,” she complained.
“Going to be light in another thirty minut
es or so. Thought you might like to get a head start in the bathroom.”
“Yeah, sure. What about Kent?”
“Wake him up. He needs to go with us.”
Jessie woke Kent up with a pop on the shoulder. “Wyatt said wake up.”
“Shit, what time is it?” Kent grabbed the flashlight by his side of the mattress and turned it on.
“Let’s head to the bathrooms and hope the water works.” Wyatt picked up the other flashlight and grabbed a third he’d set up with a battery the night before.
“Can we stop by the housewares and pick up some towels and bath cloths? I’d like to take a spit bath if I can.” Jessie took one of the flashlights from him.
“Good idea.” He shone the light upward to locate the housewares department.
They grabbed clothes and towels and headed toward the sign that signified restrooms. He checked out the women’s first to be sure it was safe before letting Jessie in and leaving her. He and Kent went to the men’s bathroom to clean up.
Naturally, they were finished before Jessie. They looked around the immediate area, waiting for her to finish. When she finally came out, she looked much better. There were still circles under her eyes, but she wasn’t as pale, and she seemed well rested. Wyatt hoped she would eat more, as well. She would lose weight at the rate she was going if she didn’t eat more.
“Okay, I think the store is relatively safe. Don’t go in any closed-up areas at all. Stay in the open, and we’ll meet back up here as soon as our carts are full. There are plenty around here, so just grab one.”
“I’ll take the hardware section,” Kent said.
“I’ll start in the pharmacy area.” Jessie grabbed the closest cart and took off.
“I’ll stick here in the sporting goods. Shout out of you need anything,” he called to Jessie.
“Sure,” she called back, already halfway across the store.
Wyatt grabbed a cart and filled it full of hunting gear. All the guns and ammo were already gone, but there were a few knives left and plenty of other things they might need. He added all the Sterno that was on the shelves, along with a Coleman stove and cooking utensils. By the time he was finished, Kent had returned with a load of tools, rope, chains, and other hardware-type items.
