Sudden Independents

Waking up to bright light was unusual for Jimmy. He popped up in his bed with the morning sun hanging in the sky outside his window. He only meant to rest his eyes after washing off the mud from the fiasco with Molly in the field. Now a brand-new day was in full swing and there might be an additional person in his community that needed welcoming.

He grabbed one of his hats, slipped on his shoes and was out the door at a full sprint. Before rounding the corner onto Main Street, Jimmy heard the rumbling whine of the portable generator they arranged for Vanessa’s delivery. Flowers, toys, and a large array of scavenged baby items lined the sidewalk in front of Luis’s clinic like an impromptu baby shower. Half the kids in town milled around and looked at him expectantly.

Some of them played board games in a shady spot on the sidewalk. Another group kicked a soccer ball in the street and Jimmy worried about windows because every time one got broken somebody had to go to another town and find a suitable replacement. There was a nice park one block over for that sort of activity.

He stepped in and stopped play. “Has the baby come yet?”

A sweaty twelve-year-old named Steve spoke for the group. “Not that we’ve heard. Samuel said he’d let us know when it happened. We’re dying for any kind of news.” Several heads bobbed, confirming this sentiment.

Jimmy set his hands on his hips. “I’ll go find out what’s going on, but in the meantime I’d like you to move your game to the park. Windows, guys. We’ve been over this before.”

A small chorus of grumbles rose from the soccer players, but Jimmy’s authority won out and the group walked to the park in a sullen herd. Jimmy overheard someone call him a jerk. The price of leadership is hefty.

The board game players asked for news as well. Jimmy told them he was headed that way and would make sure they were the next to know after him. He swung the door inwards to Luis’s and found Samuel stretched out on the yellow sofa in the clinic’s waiting room.

“What took you so long? You didn’t spend the night with Molly did you?” Samuel’s sleepy grin was filled with teeth.

“Isn’t it too early for that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been up all night waiting for the baby to arrive and keeping the mob outside from invading the delivery room while you’ve been out looking for Molly.”

“Let’s just say after I found her things got a little messy.”

“Were you able to talk some sense into her or did she beat the crap out of you?”

Jimmy pointed at a table full of baked goods. “What’s this?”

“Chef Brittany brought them over. I thought all that reaping wheat for flour was pointless until I tasted those blueberry muffins. She cracked open a can of coffee, figuring we’d need it. I think it was her last one and it tastes kind of stale. She left when the screaming started.”

Jimmy’s chest tightened. “Screaming?”

“Yeah, Luis explained it after I ran in the first time Vanessa screamed. She’s having something called contractions to deliver the baby. But that’s all I got before Vanessa flung a metal tray at my head and called me a name that you would not have appreciated.”

“The baby hasn’t come, yet?” Jimmy asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. The smell transported him back to a time his parents were alive; when he sat at a breakfast table before school while his mom packed his lunch and his dad watched the morning news.

“Not yet,” Samuel said, shattering the spell. “Just don’t freak out when—”

A gruesome wail sounded from the next room like someone’s guts were slashed out. Startled, Jimmy tossed his coffee in the air. The cup barely missed Samuel’s head.

“What was that?”

“Contractions.” Samuel picked the cup off the sofa and handed it back. “That’s what I was trying to tell you. It’s been going on all night. Now it’s down to every two minutes.”

Jimmy put the cup away, not trusting himself with hot liquids at the moment, and grabbed a linen napkin to wipe the trail of coffee off the hardwood floor. He realized how happy he was to be on this side of the wall. Childbirth sounded terrifying.

Then he remembered the cattle. “I guess we need to get used to this kind of stuff if we’re going to start breeding cows,” he said.

“Did you just compare Vanessa to a cow?”

“No, I did not. And if you say anything I will have you butchered.”

Samuel smiled like he was stockpiling information for future use. “Let’s assign some twelve-year-olds to be ranchers. You and I can stick to the farming.”

Jimmy nodded. “Good idea.”

He could hear Luis’s muffled voice speaking to Vanessa and Mark’s deep bass rumbling with encouragements. Vanessa yelled unpleasant things about the both of them. Everything fell silent after that.

“Why don’t you go say hello?” Samuel said.

“I’d rather not. They probably have enough going on without me getting in the way. I’ll just hang out here until I’m needed.”

Vanessa screamed and Jimmy swore the windowpanes wobbled dangerously in their frames. He cringed in absolute horror, for once grateful there was little chance he’d impregnate anyone before he turned eighteen.

Samuel’s gaze drifted toward the door. “Now we’re down to every minute and a half. I think that means were getting close.”

The door from the street opened and a stack of folded laundry balanced its way inside.

“Here, let me help,” Jimmy told the walking pile of towels and clothes. He gathered the top half and Ginger smiled at him over what was left. He lost himself in her soft, brown eyes and his shortened-stack almost tumbled to the floor.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Jimmy broke out of his trance and returned her smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, just a little shook up by all the noise around here.”

Ginger nodded. “Contractions.”

“So I’m told. Are these the infamous baby clothes that caused all the fuss last night?”

Ginger lowered her gaze and her cheeks turned a rosy red. “Yes, and I feel so bad about that. It all got blown way out of proportion. I never thought it would have been such a big deal.”

Jimmy looked Ginger over from the neckline of her yellow blouse, down to her sandaled feet. Her pink painted toenails stirred a desire that made him feel a smidgen of guilt.

Samuel glided up beside them. “Here, let me help you with those towels.” He relieved Ginger of her pile and nudged Jimmy in the ribs. “Where does this stuff go?” he asked.

“Luis needs the towels right away,” Ginger said.

Samuel handed the towels back like they were infected with disease. “Let me get the door for you.”

Ginger disappeared into the delivery room just as another agonizing scream erupted through the open doorway. Samuel quickly closed the door shut and leaned against it.

From the top of the baby clothes, a Teddy bear stared at Jimmy through button eyes. He smiled back.

“Are you all right?” Samuel asked, moving away from the door. “You look dazed.”

Jimmy straightened up. “What do you mean? I’m fine. Still tired, I guess.”

“Uh, huh. It all makes sense now. I finally get it.”

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, curious of what Samuel thought he knew. “Get what?”

“You’re in love with Ginger, aren’t you?” Samuel tilted his head to the side and his mouth slid into a lopsided grin.

“No, I’m not,” Jimmy said in a hushed tone, shooting a nervous glance toward the door. “Keep your voice down.”

“You love her,” Samuel said with obvious pleasure over his newfound discovery. He bounced from foot to foot. “You want to do it with her.”

Jimmy dropped the clothes and Teddy bear on the sofa and narrowed his eyes. “I’m going to kick your butt if you don’t shut the—”

Another scream ripped through the wall, longer than the rest, and Jimmy found himself hoping Vanessa would breathe again soon. Shouts of encouragements to push could be heard underneath her powerful strain. Finally, she stopped screaming.

Luis yelled, “That’s it!”

The high-pitched cry of a newborn rose in crescendo like a bugle above the commotion of Vanessa’s sobs and Mark’s triumphant cheers. Samuel and Jimmy smiled at each other and bumped knuckles as though they’d just accomplished something important.

Luis cried over the newborn’s wail, “It’s a boy!”

Jimmy swung the outside door open and the board game players snapped their combined heads around to look at him. “It’s a boy!”

Game forgotten, the group jumped to their feet and split off in different directions shouting the news throughout the entire town.

Jimmy walked back inside with the tingle of excitement contagiously out of control and running rampant. Samuel stood by the delivery room door looking unsure if it would be safe for him on the other side yet.

The door opened and knocked Samuel in the head, bouncing him out of the way.

Ginger reappeared and grabbed the stack of clothes.

Rubbing his forehead, Samuel winked at Jimmy, who offered a sneer in return. “How’s the baby?” Samuel asked.

Her smile was big enough to fill the room. “He’s wonderfully beautiful and looks like a perfectly healthy little angel. I get to bathe him now.” She swirled back to the other room to perform her task.

Samuel lightly punched Jimmy’s shoulder. “See, she’s got those built-in maternal instincts already.”

Jimmy clenched his fists. “I swear if you don’t stop, I’m going to—”

The sudden blaring echo of motorbike engines resonated outside. Jimmy stepped to the door as Hunter and Scout pulled up out front. He went numb with relief now that his brother was safely home.

Scout propped his bike on its kickstand and helped a little girl off its seat. He rushed to the door and almost ran over Jimmy. “Where is she? Where’s Vanessa?”

Backing out of the way, Jimmy barely pointed toward the delivery room before Scout dashed through the other door.

Hunter walked in, holding the little girl’s hand. Jimmy pushed his anger over Hunter’s overlong stay in the Big Bad in order to offer a welcoming smile to the newcomer.

“Who do we have here?” he asked, kneeling in front of her. She smelled like summer wildflowers and looked like sunshine, he thought, puzzled by such a strong first impression.

Hunter made introductions. “Catherine, this is my brother, Jimmy, and his friend, Samuel.”

The girl stretched her arms wide. Her hug was gentle, leaving Jimmy refreshed and feeling good inside by the warmth of her little embrace. He patted her back and wondered why Hunter was grinning. “Very nice to meet you, Catherine.”

Samuel crouched low next to Jimmy to face the little girl. “I’m also Hunter’s friend.”

Hunter frowned. “You knew what I meant.”

“Yeah, well it’s the way you….” Samuel’s response was cut short when the little girl wrapped her arms around him. “That’s quite the hug you got there, Catherine,” he gasped.

“Thank you. I like giving them.”

“Where did you find her?” Jimmy asked Hunter.

“Under my tree, silly,” Catherine answered for herself. “I was all alone except for my tree, the family of robins, and that chatty squirrel, until your brother found me. He’s taking me home. Are we close?”

Jimmy processed the girl’s rambled speech and the question she directed at Hunter, who lifted his chin for Jimmy to respond.

“You sure are, Catherine,” Jimmy said. “Welcome to Independents, your new home.”

“Hooray! Home, home, home!” The blonde girl sang and danced.

Jimmy stood and brushed his knees off. He arched a questioning eyebrow at his brother.

“This could take a while,” Hunter said, stepping over and grabbing a couple muffins.

The door to the delivery room crashed open against the wall. Scout ran into the waiting room with wide eyes and an open mouth as if he’d lost something and needed to find it in a hurry. Then he locked onto the little girl. “Catherine, I need you in here. My sister—”

Catherine stopped her dance; seriousness falling over her like rain washing away the playful little girl. She took Scout’s hand and the door closed again.

This time Jimmy raised both eyebrows at his brother.

Hunter waved off the occurrence. “She’s complicated,” he replied around a mouthful. “These muffins are tasty. Do you think Brittany would bring over some scrambled eggs?”





Scout held Catherine’s hand—her firm grip somehow reassured him—and guided her through the door. The window blinds had been lowered a quarter-fraction of their length, allowing sunshine to fall across Vanessa. Scout fought the mental image of his sister’s soul rising in the light. She looked so close to death. Strands of damp hair were plastered to her head and her eyelids fluttered like a moth that had flown too close to the flame.

Luis paced, checked Vanessa’s pulse and listened to her heartbeat, but mostly shook his head and mumbled to himself.

Mark wiped Vanessa’s brow with a damp washcloth and spoke soft words to her; or maybe he was praying. When Vanessa first started seeing Mark, Scout doubted whether the guy would be good to her. Now he was ashamed the thought ever entered his head.

Catherine pulled him toward the baby.

“Wait, I need you to help my sister,” Scout said, tugging her toward the bed.

“Don’t worry. We have time, I promise.” She almost yanked him off his feet.

The baby was absolutely beautiful, with a dark, curly patch of hair. He stopped crying and stared at Scout with eyes big enough to capture his heart. In that moment, Scout knew he would do anything for the little guy.

Ginger handled the baby like a registered nurse in a pediatric ward, folding a blanket around him as he squawked underneath the lamp that kept him warm. The generator outside powering the lamp provided a soothing background hum.

“He’s so tiny,” Catherine said. “Look at his little nose.” She touched his head and the baby smiled at her. Catherine closed her eyes.

Ginger looked up at Scout. “We have a visitor?”

“This is Catherine. Hunter found her.”

Catherine pulled her hand away and smiled at Ginger. “The baby is perfectly healthy. He says he’s happy and you’ve been very helpful. Oh, and he’s getting hungry.”

“How do you know that?” Ginger asked.

Catherine regarded her like she was simple. “He told me, silly.”

Ginger appeared mystified as she held up a bottle. “I was just about to give him some of this baby formula.”

Catherine looked at the baby and nodded. “He says that will be fine for now.”

“What’s wrong with her, Luis?” Mark asked, jerking Scout’s attention back to his sister.

Vanessa’s eyes were closed and her chest barely moved with each shallow breath she took. Scout hadn’t heard a peep from her since he’d arrived.

“She’s still hemorrhaging,” Luis said. “I can’t stop it. I’m not a surgeon.”

“What does that mean?” Mark asked, his voice rising.

“She’s bleeding internally because her uterus hasn’t contracted yet.” Luis nodded at the confusion on Mark’s face. “The area inside her where the baby has been growing is supposed to shrink back to its normal size after delivery. If it doesn’t, she could bleed to death. Back before the plague, a doctor would perform surgery in this situation, but I’m just not equipped or experienced to do that. I’m sorry.”

Luis went to a desk and leafed through one of the big black books from his piece-meal medical library that Hunter and Scout found and put together for him. His finger traced rapidly over the lines he read, but still he shook his head and mumbled, swatting over page after page in frustration.

Scout squeezed Catherine’s hand. She slipped free and walked over next to Vanessa. Mark stared at her in shock before turning angry eyes on Scout.

“Scout, get this little girl out of here! Your sister may be dying!”

Scout flinched from the strike of the harsh comment. He wanted to yell back, but quickly put that reaction in check. “This is Catherine. Trust me. She can help Vanessa.”

Catherine laid her hands on the white sheet that covered Vanessa’s stomach. After a moment, Catherine almost collapsed; she lifted her hands and looked at Scout. “I’m going to need your help,” she told him.

“What can I do?” he asked, stepping up beside her but afraid to gaze down at his sister.

“Put your hands on her,” she told him. “She needs your strength and love. Mark, you can help, too.”

Mark appeared too scared to move. Scout nodded to him before placing his hands on Vanessa’s shoulder. Mark sighed and cradled Vanessa’s hand. Without being asked, Luis joined the group, gently pressing Vanessa’s other shoulder, while Ginger remained with the baby.

Catherine returned her hands to Vanessa’s silent body.

Bright yellow light flooded from the open palms of Catherine’s hands. The light conformed over Vanessa’s body, warping like a vibrant field of energy.

Mark and Luis stared with wide eyes at the little girl. From their contact with Vanessa, yellow light pulsed up their arms. Mark closed his eyes tight, his lips moving. Scout knew he was praying this time.

The light crept up Scout’s arms, too. A startling tingle worked inside him, pulling at his inner essence. The weird sensation continued for another minute and then, as if someone punched the throttle, the pull converted into a forceful wrenching.

There was life in that light. A static connection furrowed through his arms, transferring part of Scout to his sister.

Scout’s knees began to buckle but he bridled his resolve, forcing himself to go all the way. He wished he’d grabbed a chair when he remembered what happened after Catherine’s healing of Hunter had ended.

Vanessa contorted and arched above the bed, then inhaled a deep breath and released it with a mighty exhale. The yellow energy field flowed from her body and the boys’ arms straight through Catherine’s hands and into the little girl’s mouth. Just like with Hunter the night before, the light disappeared down inside of her to who knows where and everything went completely dark, despite the sunlight Scout assumed still streamed through the top of the windows.

Catherine’s eyes snapped opened. The yellow light exploded into the room, immersing everything and everyone before simply fading away.

The baby giggled from his heated corner.

Vanessa sank back with a calm smile traced upon her lips.

Catherine panted, covered in sweat as though she’d just played a mean one-on-one pickup game with the devil. Suddenly, she rolled to the floor like a sheaf of paper, Mark slumped over in his chair and Luis collapsed on top of him. Scout regarded his sister one last time before his eyes glazed over and he crashed to the floor beside Catherine.

• • •

Scout awoke and found Jimmy hovering. Scout’s mom used to do the same thing whenever he was sick with the flu. He closed his eyes and groaned. His whole body ached like he’d been dragged behind Hunter’s motorbike over broken asphalt. When he opened his eyes again, Jimmy smiled from above.

“Sleep well?” the tall, town leader asked.

An unusual thickness to Scout’s tongue affected his speech. “Vanessa?”

“She’s fine. She woke up an hour ago. She’s been feeding the baby ever since.” Jimmy averted his eyes and shifted uneasily.

“What’s wrong?” Scout asked. He tried to sit up but realized his body wasn’t ready.

“Nothing. I’m just not used to seeing a baby being breastfed.” His face blazed red.

Scout chuckled until he figured out who and what they were talking about. “Hey, that’s my sister, man.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything.” Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck and changed the subject. “How do you feel?”

Catherine slept on a green cot over by the wall. Hunter sat in a chair next to her. He smirked at Scout and gave him the thumbs up. Scout laid his head back down, fighting a rush of nausea that threatened to pull him under again.

“I feel like hell,” he said. “Where are Mark and Vanessa?”

“They’re in the next room having family time. Mark woke up first. Once Ginger was sure he was okay, she gave him the baby and left. She was pretty shaken by the whole light show. Luis asked us to move the rest of you out here.”

Jimmy sat and gave Catherine’s sleeping form a considering look before returning his gaze to Scout. “Hunter told me about his broken arm. I guess we owe our new little friend a lot. Can you tell me anything else about her?”

“She can heal people. I never believed such a thing was possible. It happened the same way with Hunter, but she needed help healing my sister.”

“What was that like?” Jimmy asked.

Scout closed his eyes and tried to figure out a way to describe the event. “Like part of me was taken to fix my sister.” Scout looked at him again, but Jimmy was staring straight ahead, focused on nothing. “She really can heal people, Jimmy.”

Scout’s words and their implications hung in the air between them. Then Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck again and smiled before patting Scout’s shoulder gently. “Get some more rest. Hunter tells me you were up all night watching over both of them. I appreciate you bringing him back.”

“I know. You owe me big. So where’s Aunt Molly? I haven’t seen her yet.”

Jimmy frowned and Scout wondered what was wrong this time; it was always something with that girl. Vanessa tried making friends with her, but it takes two. Molly just didn’t seem interested. Mark kept saying she’d come around someday.

Jimmy shifted in his seat and picked at the front of his shirt. “She blew up at dinner last night about Ginger making clothes for the baby, and now we can’t find her.”

“That sounds kind of extreme, even for Molly,” Scout said. “Why would she run away?”

Jimmy leaned in close and dropped his voice. “I went looking for her last night to make sure she was okay and let her know the baby was coming. When I found her, she sort of threw herself at me.”

Scout smiled; if ever somebody needed a girlfriend to squeeze, Jimmy’s name was at the top of the list. “Did you hit that, man? You lucky—”

“No,” Jimmy hissed. “That’s the problem. I told her no.”

Scout dropped his grin in disappointment. “Dude, seriously?”

“I am being serious.” Jimmy’s face turned a nice shade of red again. It looked really funny this time now that they weren’t talking about Vanessa. “I like someone else. When I told her, she ran off and now we can’t find her anywhere.”

Scout folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. “Well, you can count me out. I’ve already done my search and rescue for the week. It’s Hunter’s turn.”





Molly couldn’t believe all the unfair, horrible crap happening in her life. First Vanessa, then Mark, and now Jimmy’s rejection of her; nothing could hurt as bad as that. He said he liked someone else. But who could he possibly like?

Molly decided to make him jealous. He would suffer when he realized his one and only chance with her was shot. She felt like such a fool. She placed all of her hopes and dreams in a box labeled Jimmy, wanting him to be her companion forever. Instead, he dumped her in the mud. She would never allow him to know how much his rejection hurt. He couldn’t. Molly hated being rejected, but she never wanted someone’s pity.

She finally reached her destination at the top of the hill. She’d been walking to it all day and the sun was way past afternoon in the sky. She turned to glare at the dot in the middle of the large prairie that was Independents. Molly hoped everybody was sick with worry because she was missing.

Now she was stuck in the middle of nowhere. Jimmy would need to send someone out to look for her, but Hunter and Scout were the only ones that really knew the Big Bad and they probably hadn’t returned yet. Maybe no one would come.

Molly didn’t want to be rescued, she decided with a desperate pout as tears threatened yet again. She stared back at the distance between herself and Independents, certain that she’d never make it back by nightfall and scared to sleep in the open prairie.

She kicked at the tall grass. “Of all the stupid things!”

Maybe Mark would come. Mark would find her and all would be forgiven. He would be so relieved to find her safe and sound. She’d apologize for her outburst and promise to be nicer to Vanessa. Yes, Mark would come. After all, he was the sheriff of Independents and Molly was a missing person, right? He had to come.

Molly began her journey back to town. The sun glare in her face gave her a pounding headache throbbing between her eyes. She was tired and thirsty. The tall grass proved more difficult now that her anger simmered from the passion that carried her out, abandoning her for the return trip. Fear was the only thing that propelled her back toward safety.

She thought about Jimmy again. His face contorted with the ugliness she felt for him now. How did she ever fall for such a bumpkin? She was willing to spend the rest of her life as a farmer’s wife, but not anymore.

Molly wanted to be a big city girl again.

Maybe that was what she should do, she thought, turn around and never look back. But she knew she wouldn’t get far, not without preparation for such a trip. No, she needed a better plan. She needed supplies and direction and probably a faster means of getting somewhere. And before she left, Jimmy would suffer.

The sound of a small engine woke Molly from her stride and thoughts of revenge. Her hope soared; Mark finally arrived to take her home. The motorbike traveled fast and she realized Mark wasn’t that reckless or that good on a bike. Only two people could ride like that, and only one would. As the bike sped closer, she saw the final component to all her plans heading her way. A wonderful idea popped in her head. This would be fun.

Hunter coasted the last fifty yards and slowed, gripping the brake as the grass fell under his approach and he killed the noise of the engine.

“Out for a little hike?” he asked. Hunter was cocky up there on his bike. He was also very different from his brother. Shorter, broader, quicker to anger, and he didn’t back down from a fight if he thought he was right. Best of all, he drove Jimmy crazy.

Molly lowered her eyelashes and smiled, letting her hair fall across her face. “I was just blowing off a little steam. Didn’t realize how far I’d gone until I got up there on the hill. Thanks for finding me.”

Hunter flinched. “You’re the second person to say that to me in the past twenty-four hours.”

“Who else did you rescue?”

He dug out his water bottle. Molly was so thirsty her throat ached. Hunter took a long drink first; she almost went over and slapped him before he finally handed her the bottle.

“I found a little girl. She managed to survive on her own. She claims I found her, but I doubt it. She wasn’t really that lost.”

Molly swallowed gratefully as the water quenched her thirst. She capped the bottle and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. “Why do you say that?”

Hunter stared back towards town and Molly took the opportunity to look him over. She always thought of him as a little boy, but Hunter was only one year younger. Molly never would have considered being with someone younger, up until now.

Hunter coughed and she lifted her wandering attention. He smiled, trying to pose and flex, all nonchalant. Molly laughed and he relaxed the muscle show.

“The girl’s name is Catherine. She has some type of magical healing power. I’m telling the truth. I broke my arm last night and she healed it.” Hunter shook his arm at her as visual proof. “And after Vanessa delivered the baby, Catherine saved her from hemorrhaging to death.”

Molly staggered forward. “What? Vanessa had the baby?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Hunter said, smiling and tapping a beat on his gas tank. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“No. How could I?” Molly frowned.

“Yeah, well, he’s pretty cute, even though he resembles the Boy Scout.” Hunter squished up his face in a sour expression. “He’s got a set of lungs on him, too.”

What a time for the baby to arrive, Molly thought. Mark would never forgive her. He was a new dad with a baby boy, and his stupid sister was nowhere in sight.

“Did Mark send you to find me?” Molly asked, voicing her last hope.

Hunter shook his head and she felt worse, if that were possible. “No, Jimmy did. He worries about everyone.”

She gave Hunter a hard look, wondering if Jimmy already blabbed about what happened between them, and if she was now the laughing-stock of Independents.

“Yeah, Jimmy’s a pain,” Hunter said. “First he sends Scout out to find me and then he sends me to find you. The guy seriously needs a hobby.”

Molly was either lucky, or Jimmy was so embarrassed by her revelation that he didn’t want anyone to find out about their encounter. She hated him even more now.

She gave Hunter back his water bottle. “I guess you have to get me home right away, huh?”

Hunter laughed, packing away his water bottle. “We should just stay out here all night and give Jimmy a heart attack.”

Hunter was only joking, but the seeds of a masterful plan began sprouting inside her. Here she thought Jimmy was the only farmer in town who could grow something. Now that there was an experienced partner involved, Molly wasn’t so afraid of being outside Independents after dark. Hunter was perfect.

“What could we do all night underneath the stars?” Molly asked.

Hunter smiled at her. It was a deep, mischievous smile. Not the smile of a boy, but one of somebody free to roam and grow up quickly. Molly reworked all her perceptions of Hunter. He was not a boy at all.

Slowly she licked her lips and Hunter caught the signal. Molly was amazed at her sudden desire. As soon as he swung his leg off his bike, she rushed into his arms.