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“I mean, every time I’ve seen them in my bed, they’re curled up together, and they look at each other like they can hang the moon,” she elaborated. “It may have been a very long time since I’ve been in a relationship, but I know when two people are in love, and those girls are in it deep.”
“Really?” I stared at the wall, replaying all the times I’d seen Harlow and Kimber interact. “I’ve known for a while that Harlow had a crush on Kimber, before we were separated even. But I didn’t realize they were like… together.”
“They might not be. Yet,” Nova clarified.
“Should I do something? Should I say something?” And then I blanched when something occurred to me. “Do I have to give her a sex talk?”
“Maybe?” She shrugged unhelpfully. “Not right now, while they’re still recovering. Maybe not until Harlow tells you that they are actually together. My sister has some old medical books about sex and STDs and what not. Maybe you can drop that on Harlow’s bed one day for some light reading.”
I groaned. “Raising a teenage girl was definitely not something I had considered when I thought about a zombie apocalypse.”
“Life rarely goes the way we expect. Why would the end of the world be any different?”
46
Harlow
It had taken nearly a month to get it just right, but our attic bedroom was finally finished. Nova and Kimber had travelled to Emberwood to find supplies, and they’d come back with fabric, a roll of wallpaper, and a guitar. The last one was for Lazlo, but the rest was for mine and Kimber’s room.
It had truly become a sublime little retreat up here. With Nova’s sewing machine, I made bedding and curtains, and I had been able to use some old rags to make a big rug that covered almost the entire floor.
Kimber had made a headboard for us out of scraps of wood from around the farm, and she’d woven a string of white Christmas lights through it, so we could sleep under twinkling lights. It helped both of our night terrors to stay out of the complete dark.
Summer had finally rolled onto the farm. Kimber had taken over a lot of the animal care, and she had gotten especially close to an opossum called Batty. Lazlo and I bounced back and forth between running the house and working in the gardens, where Nova spent the majority of her time. Frost and Sable had finally accepted us all into the pack, and I’d even made friends with some of the other cuddly barnyard animals.
I had started sewing again, making clothes for all four of us and mending other garments and blankets. Nova was on the lookout for angora goats or rabbits, so I could eventually make my own fabric.
Kimber had also picked up the supplies she needed to build a little tattoo gun, and she’d been practicing with it on an old deer hide to make sure it all functioned properly. So it wouldn’t be that much longer until I could finally fix the brand on my leg.
With the window wide open, letting in the warm breeze, I sat on our bed with my sketchbook across my lap. Outside, I could hear the sound of farm life – the birds and the animals, Nova talking to the wolfdogs, and faintly, Lazlo singing as he hung the laundry out to dry on the line.
Kimber came up to our attic bedroom after spending the morning outside, and she flopped down on the bed beside me.
“How is your sketching coming?” she asked, smiling up at me.
“I’m almost done.” I tilted the book to show her the design I’d made of a big flower with stars in the petals. “I call it a ‘cosmic cosmo.’ What do you think?”
“It’s really beautiful. You’re so talented, Harlow. I should have you design a tattoo for me someday.”
“I would be happy to do it.” I leaned over and kissed her gently on the mouth. “But then again, I would be happy to do anything for you.”
“I might just take you up on that offer,” she teased, and I set aside my sketchbook so I could curl up with her. “What are you going to do for the rest of your day?”
“I don’t know. Spend time with you and Lazlo and Nova and the animals, and I’ll help you all wherever you need it.”
“So the same thing that you do every day?” she asked.
“That’s the plan,” I admitted with a laugh, until she silenced me with a sweet kiss.
