Page 148 of After the Burn

Beck noticed too, and his expression soured. “Can’t you keep your hands to yourself for more than thirty seconds?”

Great, now I was on the same wavelength as the biker.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “You mean like you do?”

The sarcasm was thick with this one.

“Fuck you, teacher.” Beck flipped him off. “I wasn’t the one going on and on for months about how I didn’t care about her.”

Lucas pulled Taryn closer. “Well, I was wrong, and now I’m making up for lost time.”

Taryn looked delighted at their antics, but after listening to them bicker for most of the morning, I was over it.

I’d only taken a few steps when I glanced back and saw Taryn kneeling to tie her boot. “Keep up, baby,” I said, not wanting her to fall too far behind.

Taryn stood, and a slow smile spread across her face. “Yes, sir.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Beck growled. “Now you’re starting.”

I was fairly certain Beck was doing all of this to distract Finley from his thoughts. The man hadn’t spoken more than three words in over an hour.

“Found it.” Wren pushed through a curtain of wet branches ahead of us.

A narrow creek cut through the woods, swollen from last night’s storm. The remains of an old wooden bridge sagged across it, one side collapsed completely into the rushing water.

Wren spread her arms. “Bad bridge, just like I said.”

One side of my mouth lifted. “I get it now.”

“I thought you would.” Wren adjusted her hat, then pulled Mojo out of her pack.

Colson pushed her gently out of the way and stepped down the embankment first. He tested the mud with one boot, then reached back for Wren.

She looked at his hand, then back at him. “Take Mojo first.”

“How about I take you both at the same time?” Colson smiled through his beard.

Damn, that’s the most I’ve heard him speak since we found him. It looked like Wren was having a positive effect on the large man.

Wren shrugged and handed him the stuffed animal. He grabbed it, then wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled them both across.

Rory crossed with Finley and Max. The little girl hadn’t left his side. Every few minutes she’d looked up at him as if checking that he was still there.

Taryn watched the little girl with a worried eye ever since we left Harper’s grave.

I caught her doing it again as we climbed the opposite bank. “You can’t fix everything, baby girl.”

Her eyes moved to mine. “I know.”

That answer surprised me enough that I didn’t respond. A few months ago, she would’ve argued with me out of spite.

She looked forward again. “But I can fix Lila.”

One of the many things I’d always loved about Taryn was her self-confidence. Not to mention her determination. She wasn’t a fan of hearing it, but both of those traits came from Ben.

Wren had given us more of what she knew while we buried Harper. The men Gideon traded with operated southeast of the settlement. Their trucks came in from beyond Miller Creek. Scavenging teams were forbidden to cross that boundary.

Not discouraged, but forbidden.