tortillas
they had fashioned from the last of the cornmeal.
“You know, this right here is just what
we need,” Ben said, savoring each bite of tortilla. “Corn and wheat—we need the
staples, you know? I think…I don’t think that ol’ codger did a damned thing out there. Least I can’t find any evidence of it, if he did. All of it—the
power station, the food supplies for the ponies—was the Winstons’ doing, I
imagine. I think he was just living in their house, using up all of their
resources. Squandering the life they’d been carefully building for themselves.
Otherwise, I really don’t think we’d have to be out here risking our lives like
this. If it were up to the Winstons, they would have had that place humming
along just fine. There would have been seeds and supplies—things to sustain
their family for the long haul. I think they were survivors. They knew how to
make it work.”
Alice nodded, finishing her supper. “That’s
why we need to be smart about this. I’m nervous about being away, just like you
are, and it’s only been a few hours. I say we gather whatever we can carry home
quickly and we get back there and put our hearts and souls into making it work.
It’s…I don’t know, Ben, but that place feels like an oasis.”
They locked eyes and he pulled her
closer, swiping a piece of ash from her cheek. It was instinct, and he felt the
electricity blazing through him at the touch of her skin.
“Thank you, Ben,” she whispered, touching
her temple to his. Her breath was warm on his ear. “Thank you for being kind
and for being decent, and thank you for taking me in when…when you didn’t have
to help me.”
He pulled her into an embrace. She was
so small , and yet so solidly there , and the paradox thrilled and
excited him.
“Ben?” she whispered. The question hung
between them for an instant and then he brushed the hair from her temple. She closed
her eyes and he put his lips on hers—softly, tentatively. They kissed and he
felt her tongue dart between his lips. After a long moment, he pulled back and
she immediately snatched him to her breast, as if he might vanish in the
darkness. Their breath was ragged with excitement, any walls that had existed
between them gone.
“It’s the other way around, Alice,” Ben whispered,
their foreheads touching. “I owe you . I’ve been alone for so long. So
long that…well, I’m just very thankful that you came into my life.”
She touched the side of his face and
kissed him again. He closed his eyes and she covered them with kisses, and then
they were up and stumbling into the tent, awkwardly stripping in the tiny enclosure,
shedding their clothes as quickly as they could.
When they were nude, her petite body
perched over his, he inhaled deeply, terrified of her reaction. Here was the
moment—that ultimate instant of truth—and sure enough, her fingers found his
chest. She traced the scars there, and the sharp intake of air was her only
response. There was no light by which to gauge her expression, but he didn’t
need any. She lowered herself into his arms, her ear to the steady beating of
his heart.
“Oh, Ben,” she whispered, the pads of
her fingers lightly skimming the ridges of tissue. He started to speak but she
shushed him. Instead of talking, she reached down and guided him inside, sighing
a little as they merged. She burrowed her face in the hollow of his neck, her
breath hot there, and she began to move on him—feeling him with every part of
herself.
Ben felt the sting of tears in his eyes,
overcome by the sensation of connection and the intimacy of the secret they now
shared.
“I…” he started, but she covered his
mouth with hers.
They filled the tent with warmth, a hungry,
human warmth that neither had known in so long that it was brand new to them in
that moment, utterly oblivious to the presence of those that watched their camp
from the shadows of the forest.
THIRTEEN
Alice
fell quickly into a deep
they had fashioned from the last of the cornmeal.
“You know, this right here is just what
we need,” Ben said, savoring each bite of tortilla. “Corn and wheat—we need the
staples, you know? I think…I don’t think that ol’ codger did a damned thing out there. Least I can’t find any evidence of it, if he did. All of it—the
power station, the food supplies for the ponies—was the Winstons’ doing, I
imagine. I think he was just living in their house, using up all of their
resources. Squandering the life they’d been carefully building for themselves.
Otherwise, I really don’t think we’d have to be out here risking our lives like
this. If it were up to the Winstons, they would have had that place humming
along just fine. There would have been seeds and supplies—things to sustain
their family for the long haul. I think they were survivors. They knew how to
make it work.”
Alice nodded, finishing her supper. “That’s
why we need to be smart about this. I’m nervous about being away, just like you
are, and it’s only been a few hours. I say we gather whatever we can carry home
quickly and we get back there and put our hearts and souls into making it work.
It’s…I don’t know, Ben, but that place feels like an oasis.”
They locked eyes and he pulled her
closer, swiping a piece of ash from her cheek. It was instinct, and he felt the
electricity blazing through him at the touch of her skin.
“Thank you, Ben,” she whispered, touching
her temple to his. Her breath was warm on his ear. “Thank you for being kind
and for being decent, and thank you for taking me in when…when you didn’t have
to help me.”
He pulled her into an embrace. She was
so small , and yet so solidly there , and the paradox thrilled and
excited him.
“Ben?” she whispered. The question hung
between them for an instant and then he brushed the hair from her temple. She closed
her eyes and he put his lips on hers—softly, tentatively. They kissed and he
felt her tongue dart between his lips. After a long moment, he pulled back and
she immediately snatched him to her breast, as if he might vanish in the
darkness. Their breath was ragged with excitement, any walls that had existed
between them gone.
“It’s the other way around, Alice,” Ben whispered,
their foreheads touching. “I owe you . I’ve been alone for so long. So
long that…well, I’m just very thankful that you came into my life.”
She touched the side of his face and
kissed him again. He closed his eyes and she covered them with kisses, and then
they were up and stumbling into the tent, awkwardly stripping in the tiny enclosure,
shedding their clothes as quickly as they could.
When they were nude, her petite body
perched over his, he inhaled deeply, terrified of her reaction. Here was the
moment—that ultimate instant of truth—and sure enough, her fingers found his
chest. She traced the scars there, and the sharp intake of air was her only
response. There was no light by which to gauge her expression, but he didn’t
need any. She lowered herself into his arms, her ear to the steady beating of
his heart.
“Oh, Ben,” she whispered, the pads of
her fingers lightly skimming the ridges of tissue. He started to speak but she
shushed him. Instead of talking, she reached down and guided him inside, sighing
a little as they merged. She burrowed her face in the hollow of his neck, her
breath hot there, and she began to move on him—feeling him with every part of
herself.
Ben felt the sting of tears in his eyes,
overcome by the sensation of connection and the intimacy of the secret they now
shared.
“I…” he started, but she covered his
mouth with hers.
They filled the tent with warmth, a hungry,
human warmth that neither had known in so long that it was brand new to them in
that moment, utterly oblivious to the presence of those that watched their camp
from the shadows of the forest.
THIRTEEN
Alice
fell quickly into a deep
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