Three miles later, they’re at the same farmhouse they left behind already, tucked in the back of those wheat fields. He assumed it was abandoned before, but apparently there’s plenty of life left here.
“Would y’all like to stay for a very late dinner, or very early breakfast?” Addison says quickly, getting a glare from Wyatt like she’s lost her mind. “It’s the least we can do after you helped us get back. We’ve got fresh sweet potatoes and corn, all you can eat.”
“We wouldn’t want to impose. But thank—”
“Nonsense!” She cuts Kara off with a wave. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen real live people. It’d be nice to have some company. Just for a little while, we’re not trying to hold you hostage.”
She laughs at her own poorly chosen joke, watching them expectantly as if she really does hope they’ll accept.
Kara’s shoulders lift an inch, prompting a silent conversation with Wade. ‘Why not? They seem harmless.’
He head tilts. ‘Okay. I could eat.’
They’re having a midnight dinner with strangers. He’s just glad they don’t seem to be on the menu this time.
* * *
“Have you ever seen a cucumber this big?”
Addison waves the vegetable in the air, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear before slicing it into the salad bowl on a kitchen table they’ve done up all fancy, as if he and Kara are actual guests. Her teenage daughter slices tomatoes at thekitchen island, quiet and completely put out that there are new people around, not that Kara can blame the girl for that.
“That’s why we were out so late,” Addison continues, grabbing extra plates and taking up her spot next to her husband. “A storm is coming. Gonna flood all the crops soon. It happens every year ‘round this time. Been working day and night to get what we can harvested.”
“We appreciate the hospitality. Just sorry about your poor horse nearly breaking his neck,” Kara frowns.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s a squirrelly one, but he’s made of rubber. If you hadn’t spooked him, the wind would of, eventually.”
“Have you all been here a while?” Wade asks, once the conversation lulls. “Did you start out here in the country before the virus hit?”
Wyatt shakes his head. “Nope. Started in the city.”
“It’s kind of a funny story,” Addison grins.
“I dunno if I’d call it funny, sweetheart.”
“In hindsight, it’s downright silly.”
“They don’t wanna hear our business, they wanna eat,” her husband grumbles.
“You mean the business about how I squatted in your house and almost killed you at the beginning of the apocalypse?”
Wyatt rolls his eyes. “Never almost killed me. You were definitely a squatter, though.”
She gives him a good-natured smack on the shoulder before turning her attention back to their guests. “I was hiding out here with my daughter. My…ex left us here alone, and then Wyatt shows up, kicking in the door and saying this is his property and he intends to stay. It was a whole thing.”
Kara’s eyes go wide. “That’s how you met?”
“Mhmm, I rushed him with a knife that very same night. Wild times.”
“Seems like it worked out, though. You all look very happy.”
She smiles, rubbing her belly with a light hand. “It did, and we are.”
“How far along?”
“Enough that I feel like one of those watermelons out in the yard. I just know it’s a girl, though. My feet swelled up like this when I was carrying my firstborn.” She pats the girl on her other side fondly. “I’d show you all these potatoes in my shoes if we weren’t eating right now. Swollen as all get out!”
“How about you two? How long have you been together?” Wyatt asks, shoving a forkful of salad in his mouth.
