Waiting gave Ro time to think back on the night before. And what a night it had been. Her mind had been blown—at least for the ninety-some seconds she’d stayed conscious after the most intense sexual experience of her life. Both Graham and Zach had cleaned her up and then cuddled her between them. She’d fallen asleep with Graham wrapped around her from behind and her head resting on Zach’s chest.
The rude awakening of the radio left something to be desired, but it also saved Rowan from what she figured could have been an awkwardly embarrassing morning. After all, what exactly was proper etiquette for dealing with the guys who’d double-teamed you the night before? In the real world, pre-grid down scenario, if this had happened (and Ro excluded that time it almost had), Ro would have grabbed her clothes, not bothered to search for her panties, and gotten the hell on to the walk of shame. Hopefully avoiding any awkward conversations. But now, well, hell. She didn’t know what this was. It wasn’t a relationship, because it wasn’t going to last, but she also couldn’t just avoid them. The compound was only so big. And she still wasn’t supposed to be walking. But she had been—down in the bunker during that excruciating half-hour of radio silence. Ro was a pacer by nature, and she couldn’t help herself. On the upside, her ankle felt surprisingly good. By tomorrow morning, she should be good to go. Which was great, but also sucked at the same time. She’d like to blame her damn-near instant and unshakeable attachment on the whole end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it vibe, but she wasn’t sure if that was it. She’d never met a guy like Zach or Graham before, and when you put them together, they were unmatched.
If she got them to agree that she was good to travel, she’d be seeing Erica and her dad in two, maybe three, more days. But that also meant she only had two or three days left with Graham and Zach. But it wasn’t like there was another choice available to her. She couldn’t stay. She knew—absolutely knew—that her dad and sister were waiting for her. And she wasn’t going to let them down again. This wasn’t like last Christmas Eve when she had to pick up the phone to say no, she wasn’t coming home for Christmas, because she had to be at the office prepping for a December 27 closing. The worst part about it was they weren’t that surprised … because she’d done it on Thanksgiving … and Erica’s birthday … and her dad’s birthday … and she was a horrible daughter and sister who’d forgotten what was important in life: her family. Had the firm stood behind her when the shit rolled downhill with the Evelyn-Charles incident? Nope. Did she ever have to worry that her family wouldn’t stand behind her? Nope. Would you have to worry about Graham and Zach standing behind you?
“Irrelevant,” Ro said aloud.
“What?” Allison asked.
“Nothing. I’m just going out of my mind not being able to be useful. Please, put me to work.”
Allison directed her to crack and scramble eggs, although only a fraction of the amount she normally cooked. The mess hall stayed quiet, so the women helped themselves to breakfast and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
By the time six o’clock had rolled around, Ro was about to lose it. If the mess hall hadn’t had its own bathroom, she would’ve defied their explicit orders long before now. As it was, she couldn’t sit around any longer. They were baking a few pies, because they’d keep, and there was a large pot of white chicken chili warming on the stove. None of the men had stopped to eat lunch, and so far, none had shown for dinner. Allison surmised that if they’d eaten at all, it would have been the MREs they had stashed in nearly every building on the property. She opened a cupboard to demonstrate. It was filled with boxes of instant entrees like beef stew, sloppy joes, spaghetti with meat sauce, chili with beans, and more peanut butter Power Bars. Nearly the same selection that Ro’s dad had included in her backpack. Probably what she’d be eating starting tomorrow. Hopefully.
Finally, someone banged on the back door. Ro didn’t think before she hopped off her stool and rushed toward the door. She didn’t make it two steps before Lia grabbed a knife from the counter and held Ro back with an outstretched arm. Graham swung the door open. He froze on the threshold, causing Zach and Jonah to stumble into him.
Graham held both hands up. “Whoa, honey. We’re the good guys.”
Ro laid a hand over Lia’s on the hilt of the butcher knife. “It’s okay. They’re not going to hurt anyone.” She eased the knife out of Lia’s grip. “It’s okay.”
Lia spun, fleeing into the mess hall. They all watched through the serving window as she fumbled with the lock and raced out the front door.
No one spoke for a moment, and Ro laid the knife on the kitchen counter.
“I’ll go after her. Jonah, take Grace,” Allison said. She pushed the little girl toward her father and bustled toward the front door of the mess hall.
Graham and Zach strode into the kitchen. “You okay?” Zach asked.
“It’s been completely uneventful. Well … until just now.”