by Meghan March
Zach started to respond, but the door to the clinic creaked open, and her dad stuck his head inside. “She awake yet?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll give you two some privacy. And, I’m already late for fire watch.” Zach kissed her forehead. “We still have a lot to talk about. Soon. I’ll let Beau know you’re up so he can fill you in.”
Ro didn’t have a chance to answer before he stood and headed for the door. He exchanged nods with her dad and exited.
“Well, girl, you scared the life out of me.”
“Now you know how I felt.”
“How about we don’t do that again.”
“That’s a deal.”
“How’re you feeling?”
“Not too bad.”
“Truth, Ro.”
“A little bit like I wandered into oncoming traffic. But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“I have a feeling that boy of yours isn’t going to want to leave until you’re back to full steam.”
Ro started to reply, but stopped when she replayed his words in her head. “You mean let me leave.”
Her dad tilted his head and smiled slyly. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Ro asked, again doubting her capacity to follow a rational conversation.
Her dad jerked his head toward the door. “That man of yours told me, bold as brass balls on a bull, that you weren’t leaving this place without him, and if I didn’t like it, that was too damn bad.”
Ro’s jaw slackened. “What?”
“Good thing the bunker is big enough to fit at least a dozen comfortably, because our party just grew by one.”
Ro’s thoughts were whirling, rerunning the conversation she’d just had with Zach, and then Graham’s tirade in the mess hall. “You forced my best friend to choose, and let me tell you, he didn’t fucking choose me.” It was all starting to come together. Holy shit. Zach was going to leave the ranch—and everyone on it—to be with her.
Her heart clenched when she remembered what else Graham had said. “Tell me what you said to him, and why the hell didn’t you say it to me? Am I not good enough for you either?” Graham thought she’d talked Zach into leaving. Thought somehow she’d made a choice and it wasn’t him. Just like his mother. Ro started to rub her eyes, but paused when the IV tugged at her hand. What to do now? Could she let Zach follow through? It tore at her to think that she’d come between the two men when the bond of their friendship had seemed wholly unbreakable. They were a team. A unit. I suppose this is why normal people don’t attempt permanent ménages, Ro thought absently. Someone probably always ends up being the odd man, or woman, out.
“Ro? Are you okay?”
Ro slumped against the pillow. “I’m fine. Just tired, I guess,” she said, not wanting to share her realization. “Are you sure you’re okay with that? With him coming, I mean?”
“I don’t think I have a choice; that man loves you, and it’s not my place to stand in the way of that.”
Ro tried to smile, but her happiness at Zach’s decision was tainted by everything he would be giving up. She untangled the IV before pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. Why did everything have to be so goddamn complicated?
“You should get some rest, sweetheart. I want to make sure you’re good and healthy before we head out. You still look much too pale for my liking. We’ll get Doc Beau in here to check you out, and when he gives us the all clear, I’d like to get on the road. No real hurry, but the sooner the better.”
Ro’s smile felt forced, but she just nodded and said, “Sounds good.”
He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Ro.”
Tears burned her eyes as she watched him leave. To the empty room she said, “What the hell am I going to do now?”
Beau had returned within minutes after her dad’s departure. He’d explained that he’d prefer she stay in the clinic and on the IV fluids for a few more hours. He wanted her laying low as much as possible and not expending too much energy. And then he’d blindsided her with a question.
“I don’t usually have to ask this, because generally my patients are men, but when was the first day of your last period?”
“Ummm … hell ... let me think.” Ro had switched from the shot to the pill a few months before because she kept missing her three-month appointments due to her insane work schedule. Her doctor had gotten pissed when she’d cancelled her appointment for her IUD twice. The pill had made sense because she could have the prescription mailed directly to her office, and it kept her period like clockwork. Except … when she’d made her mad dash out of her condo she hadn’t grabbed any toiletries … and with everything that had happened, she hadn’t even considered …
Ro stilled. Oh, fuck.
“Problem?” Beau asked, and Ro realized she’d spoken aloud.
Ro squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her fingers in front of her face and nodded. “I’m not on anything right now ... I haven’t been since the day I left Chicago.”
“It’s not really any of my business, but have you been …”
“Fucking two different guys repeatedly without protection? That’d be a yes,” Ro quipped. “I’m such an idiot. What the fuck was I thinking? How did I let this happen?” Her face burned. She hadn’t thought about the possibility of pregnancy or STDs. At her age, she should be backhanded for being such a moron. How do you forget something like that? Her only excuse, and it was a tenuous one, was that she was still trying to get back into the habit of taking her pill every night. Without the alarm on her phone … fuck.
“Okay. Don’t panic. Do you remember when your last period started?”
Ro took a few deep breaths, thinking back. She laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. It started and ended not too long before I left the city.” It started the morning after the Evelyn-Charles incident. Ro remembered thinking that if it had started just one day earlier, she wouldn’t have been in that situation.
“Well, I’m going to suggest you take a pregnancy test, just in case, even though it’s probably too early to tell.”
“What about STDs? Do you have any way to test for those, too?”
Beau hesitated before replying. “Ro, I’ll be straight with you on that—as far as I know, Graham and Zach have never been with a woman without wrapping their shit up. It’s standard operating procedure for all of us, and quite frankly, I’m pretty fucking surprised they weren’t doing the same with you. It’s not like there’s a shortage of condoms here to be concerned about. We prepared a little … over-zealously on that score. Even so, I hit you pretty hard with broad-spectrum antibiotics, so I’d say you’re probably good. If you notice anything, let me know, and we’ll figure it out.”
Ro laughed maniacally. “How did pregnancy tests make the list of necessary supplies?”
Beau smiled, his eyes sympathetic. “Allison and Jonah were trying to get pregnant before everything happened, so I stocked up just in case.” He stood and headed to the cupboard and pulled out a plain white rectangular box. He nodded toward the tiny bathroom. “I’ll help you move the IV pole.”
“If I’m pregnant, would the infection … hurt the baby?” she asked, starting to freak herself out.
Another sympathetic smile. Which, coming from Beau, just added to her freak out. “It shouldn’t have any effect, especially not this early.”
Ro took the test, trying to ignore the fact that Beau was in the next room. He helped her maneuver the IV pole back to the cot and tried to distract her with funny stories about the team while Ro sweated through the next three minutes.
It was negative.
“That’s what I expected, given the timing we’re talking about, but you should really take another one in a week or so,” Beau said.
“I’m not going to be here in another week,” Ro replied, her words quiet and directed at her lap.
“Zach told me he’s going with you.”
Ro looked up, meeting his blue gaze. “Does everyone know?” How would
they react? Would they be pissed? The thoughts only added to her fatigue.
Beau shook his head, one side of his mouth quirking. “I think he was waiting to tell you first.” He rolled his stool to the desk and pulled open the skinny center drawer and held up a deck of cards.
“Would you like to play?”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
Beau frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“One, you were kind of prick to me before, and two, I’ve done nothing but cause trouble since I got here.”
He grinned, and they both turned as Erica opened the door.
“Hey, sister, how’re you feeling?” Her focus shifted to Beau. “Damn, you do know how to smile.” She plopped onto the edge of Ro’s cot. “So, when you going to spring her?”
Rowan had been wondering the same thing.
“Will it matter what I tell you this time? Or are you going to ignore everything I say?”
Ro squirmed. “I’ll take it under advisement. How about that?”
“Good enough, I suppose. I’d like to see you stick around the clinic with the IV for another night, and not head out for at least a few more days, although a week would be better. You need some good home cooking from Allison and a shit ton of rest. You have to take every injury more seriously when you don’t have a trauma center a few minutes away.”
Erica pointed to the deck of cards. “We playing, or what?”
Beau nodded, and Ro settled in as he dealt. Then she proceeded to watch Erica hustle them both at five-card draw.
The next morning she awoke to find a note from Zach crumpled under her face on her pillow. It was a little drool-smeared, but it said he’d slept in the cot next to hers, but had to take a shift in the command post and would be back as soon as he could. Beau had shown up shortly after, removing her IV and unwrapping the gauze from her wrists. He commented that the red streaks that were the telltale sign of infection had already receded, and the wounds were starting to scab over again. He started to apply a new dressing, and all Ro wanted to do was go back to sleep. As he worked, her thoughts wandered. Other than the cot in the clinic and the bunk in Erica and Lia’s cabin, she’d only slept in one other bed at the ranch. And that bed might as well have a giant “Do Not Enter—Trespassers Will Be Shot” sign above it. Even if it didn’t, she wouldn’t be too eager to crawl into it; she hadn’t forgotten how easily Graham had ejected her from it. Her next option: Zach’s bed, which wasn’t a viable choice. Ro couldn’t imagine laying there, knowing that Graham was sleeping a wall away. It would be cruel and unusual punishment. Erica helped her make a decision when she’d brought Ro some freshly laundered clothes.
“Your stuff is still in my cabin. You cool with staying there? You’re more than welcome. But, as much as I’m sure you’d like someone to cuddle with, I don’t think having a guy in the cabin is that great of an idea. Lia … well, it’s just not a good idea.”
Ro carefully pulled on jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt. “How is she doing?”
“Honestly, I think she’s got a long way to go before she’ll be able to be around a guy without looking like she’s going to crawl out of her skin. Except for Cam. He doesn’t seem to make her as nervous as everyone else.”
“Has she … said anything to you?”
Erica shook her head. “Not really. But I’d love to kill the guys who hurt her.”
“You already helped. One of the two guys I came to the farm with … he was one of them.”
“Are you serious? What the hell were you doing with them?”
“Long story …”
“Well, that’s the price you’re going to pay to stay in our cabin again. Because you must have had a hell of a good reason to be with a piece of shit like that.”
“Does it help to know that all of the others are dead, too?”
“Marginally. Now spill.”
So Ro spilled.
The next three days were awkward, to say the least. Graham was firmly back to avoiding her, but the inner compound of the ranch wasn’t so big that he was completely successful at it. Each time she saw him, her heart clenched before she could harden it. He made his choice. And hers. But she still wanted to know why he’d done it. Why he hadn’t even consulted her—or waited thirty seconds—before shutting out the possibility of a future together. She hadn’t yet gathered the courage to demand answers from him.
And then there was Zach. He was attentive as could be, but he was pulling far more than his fair share of fire watch and command post shifts. Ro wasn’t one hundred percent certain, but she assumed it was because he felt guilty about leaving his team short-handed and wanted to contribute as much as he could before they left. It could have been Graham’s revenge, but she didn’t think he’d be that petty. Graham’s actions were more of someone who had systematically cut them out of his life. At least he’d cut Ro out. Zach hadn’t mentioned any encounters with Graham, but Ro assumed they had to have spoken. She hadn’t found the right moment to ask. The rest of the time, Zach picked her up at the door of her cabin and walked her to the mess hall to eat. It was almost like they were dating, middle-school-style. Considering the man had had his dick in her ass, it was a little strange. They’d kiss, they’d cuddle, and they’d share heated looks, but that was it. The one time they’d attacked each other and started to get naked in the bathhouse, Ty had barreled in. His “nice tits” remark had Ro scrambling to throw her shirt back on, and the mood had been ruined. Which was just as well, because Ty had started stripping, intent on taking a shower.
Ro had been disappointed, but a little niggling part of her was concerned about being with Zach without Graham. She told herself that it would be fine. Hell, every sexual encounter she’d had before Graham and Zach, except for the Evelyn-Charles incident—which she didn’t count—had been one-on-one. A few two-on-one experiences and now she was worried about not having them both? Spoiled, Ro? She had to believe that if they’d continued on with their ménage, she would have been with each of them separately, probably sooner rather than later, so now shouldn’t be any different. But it was.
When Ro wasn’t contemplating that, she was trying to avoid thinking about the possibility of being pregnant. She told herself that it wasn’t likely. Weren’t there only like three days in any given month you could possibly get pregnant? Didn’t lots of women try for years to get pregnant without luck? What were the odds? They couldn’t be that good. And then she thought about that show, 16 and Pregnant. She bet those girls had thought the same damn thing. So, what if she was? The baby could be either Graham’s or Zach’s. It wasn’t like a paternity test was a possibility. She never thought she would ever be in a position where she didn’t know who her baby daddy was. Might as well move into the redneck trailer park in the woods. Oh wait, they’d firebombed it.
And now, Ro was heading back to the clinic to meet Beau and get his all clear on leaving tomorrow morning. Only one more day at the ranch, and Allison had declared that a farewell dinner was required. She’d already started cooking up the feast. Ro pushed open the door, wondering if Beau would suggest another pregnancy test. Mind drifting, she stumbled when she saw Graham seated on the middle cot, Beau changing his bandages. Her gaze was drawn to the red and angry-looking wound that interrupted Graham’s heavily muscled frame. She could see what Zach meant, another inch and Graham could have died. Ro shivered at the thought. A throat clearing made Ro tear her gaze away from his side.
“I … I’ll come back. Didn’t realize you were busy.”
Beau looked at Graham, eyebrow raised. Ro couldn’t interpret their silent conversation.
“It’s fine. I’m almost done with him. Have a seat. The doctor will be with you shortly.”
Unsure of what else to do, Ro sat at the desk chair Beau had gestured to. The silence was heavy with unspoken words. Graham felt like a stranger. And dammit, it hurt not being able to go to him and press into his uninjured side and have him hold her close. She’d thought his words that morning were simply his
defense mechanism. Like he’d decided if he didn’t give her the chance to reject him, it wouldn’t hurt. If that had been his plan, did he regret it? Especially after Zach had decided to leave? It was too much to expect that Graham would follow his lead and decide to come with them. This was the only real home he’d ever had. How could she expect him give it up for her? She couldn’t. She would never ask him to.
Graham broke the silence first. “So you’re leaving tomorrow.”
It wasn’t a question, but Ro answered anyway.
“Yes.”
She thought that not being able to touch him was painful? This conversation—if you could even call it that—was painful. Where was the heat and passion he’d radiated when he’d stormed into the mess hall? Where was that Graham? The one who had tossed her over his shoulder and carted her around and ignored her protests? Oh wait, that Graham only came out when he cared about someone. Someone he hadn’t ruthlessly shoved out of his life. Bastard. Ro could feel her ire building. She dug her fingernails into the padding of the armrests, but couldn’t stop her words.
“Don’t forget your party hat tonight. I’m sure you’ll be first in line to wish us farewell. Hell, I bet I’ll have to watch the bumper of our truck to make sure the gate doesn’t hit it on our way out.”
Beau finished taping up Graham’s dressing and rolled away from the cot.
“How about I give you two some time—”
“No need,” Ro said, cutting him off and standing. “I think we’ve said all there is to say.”
“Oh, look at that, I need more gauze. Better go find some.” Beau rushed to the door and was gone before she could protest.
“How are you feeling?” Graham asked, his words wooden.
Ro lost the flimsy grip she had on her temper. “Seriously, that’s what you have to say to me? After everything, that’s what you’ve got? Jesus, Graham. You—”
“You’re leaving tomorrow morning … with my best friend. What am I supposed to say? You tell me. Because I don’t have the slightest idea of how I’m supposed to feel right now, let alone what I’m supposed to say.”
