Page 59 of Ash Fall

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

The pink in her cheeks deepens, and for half a second she looks down at her sandwich instead of arguing. My amusement softens into something warmer, because no, she really doesn't.

I'm not stupid enough to convince myself that means she feels everything I feel, but the line between us has shifted and I know it. Right now, she's pressed against my side even though there is plenty of room on this bale to have space between us. I want to know what happened with Gage and Jules, but more than that, I want to know why talking about it makes her blush like that.

Before I can pry any further, an engine rumbles in the distance and Luna looks toward the road. "Saved by the neighbors."

"For now."

She sets the platter down on the bale and stands, so I follow her out toward the middle of the yard where everyone else is already gathering. Two pickup trucks turn off the county road one after the other, each pulling a long trailer. The first trailer is enclosed and by the look of the way the truck pulling it is sitting, it's packed full. Behind the second truck is a stock trailer with equipment tied across the front and several plastic barrels secured along one side.

Anders sets his plate down and walks forward to meet them as the first pickup stops near the barn. A thickset man with a grey mustache climbs from the driver's side while a woman with short silver-blonde hair gets out beside him. Another woman steps out of the back with two boys who spill onto the gravel and immediately start looking everywhere at once. The younger one spots Penny in the same second Penny spots him, and there is nothing any of us can do about what happens next.

"Penny," Luna warns, far too late.

Penny launches herself across the yard. The little boy screams in delight and drops to his knees just in time to get hit by a flying missile of golden retriever. His older brother piles in a second later, and Penny becomes the center of a laughing, rolling mess of dog and children.

Over by the house, Reid opens one eye inside the Escalade, and even from here I can see the horror on his face. Luna covers her mouth with one hand. "Poor Reid."

"We really need to figure out how to help him block all this out so he can function."

The second truck doors open and a man and woman climb out first, followed by three kids. The youngest boy looks around eleven, the girl maybe fourteen, and the oldest boy looks somewhere around sixteen or seventeen. I know the exact second he sees Briar, and more importantly, so does Jules, who has drifted over with what's left of his sandwich.

The kid's attention catches on Briar where she stands near Kara with a bag of chips tucked against one hip. She notices him looking, tosses her hair back over one shoulder, and turns away with the bored expression that says she couldn't possibly be less interested. Three seconds later she glances back at him from under her lashes.

Jules lowers his sandwich. "No."

I look at him. "What?"

"Fuck no."

The kid is still watching her, and Jules steps forward before I catch his arm. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"You were absolutely going somewhere."

"He's got to be at least seventeen."

"And?"

"My sister is fifteen."

I stare at him for a second. "You've been a big brother for five minutes and you're already turning into a psycho."

"I've been her brother for fifteen years."

"And you've had how many actual conversations with her in that time?"

"Ten after today. We're bonding."

Briar glances over, catches Julian staring at the kid, and rolls her eyes, while the kid himself just looks confused.

"This is going to be fun," I tell him.

"Nothing about this is fun."