Dark New World (Book 2): EMP Exodus by J.J. Holden, Henry Gene Foster Page B

Cassy found it both annoying and comforting. “So, about this Jed thing,” Mandy said, “why do you think he’s so upset? Everyone in the clan has seen the googly eyes he makes at Jasmine.”
    Cassy shrugged, then regretted it as the ache in her shoulder briefly flared up. “I don’t know, Mom. It boils down to pride, I imagine.”
    “One of the seven deadly sins, Pride is. And maybe it means Jed won’t feel better until his pride is healed.”
    Cassy thought about that for a minute as they walked. “What will it take to fix the problem, do you think? Something other than giving it up to Jesus in prayer, please.”
    Mandy frowned. “Don’t dismiss the power of prayer. I’ve heard you pray when things get really bad, and it tends to work out for you.”
    “Maybe. But Mom, what we need right now is something we can do to help. ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ right?”
    “Yes, of course. We can’t just sit around and wait for God to fix our problems, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lean on His blessings when we need them.” Mandy paused and shook her head as if clearing out what she thought of as her “preacher mode,” since Cassy sometimes had trouble hearing past it. “Anyway, this is an old argument. For the Jed Problem, I think Amber needs to stay away from Ethan until Jed decides what he wants to do about Jasmine. He’ll have to be the one to make the first real move, or he’ll never forgive either Amber or Ethan. Or maybe they should recommit themselves to their own darn spouses.”
    Cassy ran that around in her mind for a while as they walked. It would definitely be easier if Jed and Amber just fixed things up, but those two had problems even before the lights went out. It just didn’t seem very likely both of them would decide to patch things up. That meant someone was likely to “cheat” on the other. And it seemed obvious to Cassy that it mattered a great deal who made the first move.
    “Ethan,” she said as she sidled up to him. “So, I need to talk to you. Got a minute?”
    Ethan smiled at her. “Sure thing, I can push back my lunch meeting with Accounting. What’s up?”
    “I know Amber means a lot to you. Or she seems to. Am I right? Do you really care for her?”
    “Damn, Cassy. I only just met her. But I guess if I’m honest, I’d say that she’s pretty damn amazing. I have no idea why she’s with Jed because she’s far smarter, but then again intelligence isn’t the only thing that draws people together. They must have had something in common at one point.”
    Cassy said, “From what I’ve seen, everyone here is Good People—Jed included. He’s not the most educated guy, but he’s smart. He knows a lot about farming, and from what I’ve heard he can fix almost any machine—I can’t do that despite my fancy degree.”
    Ethan let out a deep breath, and his shoulders seemed to sag like a tension had left him. “Yeah… I can’t do that either. I can change my car’s oil, that sort of thing. But what’s your point, Cassy?”
    “Just this. If he’s a good man, and if he’s got skills the clan will definitely need to survive, then I need—no, we all need—for you two to get along. We need you both, desperately. It’s the whole reason I signed up for this ‘clan’ thing. No one of us has all the skills we’ll need to survive the winter, much less the year after. So, I need to ask you a favor, Ethan.”
    Ethan walked in silence for a couple of minutes, and Cassy let him stew in his own thoughts for a while. She knew he was a good man too, and smart, but damn if she would get what she wanted by pushing or bullying him…
    Finally, Ethan said, “So, what do you need from me? What does the clan need?”
    Cassy smiled and put her good hand on his arm, reassuringly. Then she said, “From what I’ve seen, Amber is pretty into you.” She paused as a smile washed over Ethan’s face, but it was quickly suppressed. “You two may be a great fit in this