Love in the Time of the Dead (30 page)

The look he gave her was tortured, haunted, like the ghost of the man he wanted to be stood within the pleading glance she gave to him. “I can’t do this, Laney.”

“Not just now,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave.”

Mitchell rubbed a hand over his face and opened his mouth to respond. His teeth clicked as he shut his mouth and left without another word.

Eloise came in a few minutes later, but the damage had already been done. To her body and to her heart.

Mitchell left early the next morning with the young family and three other guards. He didn’t come to say goodbye and Laney wasn’t able to see him off. Instead she was stuck in the deep throes of a raging fever that had scorched through her body and landed in her mind.
You’ll never see him again,
it screamed. The small part of her that was still sane was afraid the fever was right.

Chapter Nineteen

L
ANEY
H
EALED
, B
UT
S
LOWLY
. Much slower than she was used to mending. Dr. Mackey had opted to leave some of her wounds open so they could drain as needed. For three days he kept her in the infirmary, watching her until a small wrinkle of worry etched itself into the bridge of his nose and threatened to become a permanent fixture on his face. The attention had been exhausting, though necessary. She knew how sick she was. She hadn’t felt that bad in years.

Guist knocked lightly on the door to the small recovery room.

“We’re here to bust you out,” he said with a grin.

Eloise helped to put her jacket on as they received a list of strict instructions from Dr. Mackey.

“She shouldn’t be alone,” he told them firmly.

“Don’t worry. I’ve borrowed a cot and I’ll be staying in her room until you give us the okay.”

When Dr. Mackey was satisfied she was in good hands, the three of them made the tiresome hike to her cabin. Leaning on them heavily, she waved weakly to a group of passersby who gave her well wishes. Her arms weighed a hundred pounds.

“Any news?” she asked Guist.

“Not yet. They’re supposed to be gone for five days though, so no news doesn’t mean anything.” He held the cabin door open for her.

Home sweet home. She’d missed her room. It looked especially nice with all of the colorful scarves hanging from the ceiling and the hand drawn “welcome home” sign strung across her back wall.

“I was only gone a few days,” Laney murmured.

Eloise shrugged unapologetically. After showing Laney all of the board games she’d smuggled in, she proudly pointed to the tin of brightly colored nail polishes by the washbasin. Eloise had obviously tried to think of everything to keep them occupied while she finished her recovery.

“I’m going to get us some dinner,” Guist offered as Eloise helped her to the bed. Frigid air blasted through the room when he opened the door and left.

When the fire was stoked and the room comfortably warm, she dressed in her flannel pajama pants and tank top, which she rolled above her injuries so the fabric wouldn’t irritate them anymore. Eloise cleaned them thoroughly and put away the first aid supplies. The door opened, letting a bone-chilling draft in as Guist stomped the snow off his boots on the mat out front.

“Look who I found out there,” he said.

Mel stepped lightly into the room and pulled the chair up by the bed. “I made you chicken noodle soup. I know you don’t have a cold, but I figured you could go for some comfort food.”

Laney looked at it hungrily. Soup sounded divine.

“So I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve been doing for us,” Mel said quietly as Laney dug into her meal. “You have been working so hard, and you haven’t complained even once about all of the samples Dr. Mackey has had to take. And you risked your life to save some of our people without hesitating.” She nodded at Eloise. “I didn’t know what to expect when you came here, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. You and your team have a home here as long as you want it.”

The offer was a first for her. “Thanks, Mel. This place is kind of growing on me.”

Mel squeezed her leg and left her to the rest of her meal. “Do you guys have a schedule worked out with who is taking care of her or do you need some days off from livestock?” she asked Eloise.

“We worked out a schedule. Sean has a day off tomorrow so he is coming by first thing in the morning until we get off for dinner.”

A worried look flitted across Mel’s face, but no one seemed to catch it but Laney. “Mel, could I talk to you for a minute?” she asked the leader before she could get all the way out the door. “Guist and Eloise, could you excuse us?”

“Sure. I’m going to go get my overnight stuff. I’ll be right back,” Eloise said.

Mel sat back down in the chair beside her bed.

“I just wanted you to know you don’t have anything to worry about with Sean and me.”

Mel looked taken aback. “I would never suppose—”

“No, it’s okay. I know you guys have history, and I don’t know your feelings toward him, but if ever you think of hanging back on my behalf, don’t. Mitchell’s my man.” She smiled sadly. “Even if he doesn’t know it.”

“I don’t really know what to do about Sean,” Mel admitted.

“Well, I wish you luck with that. Arguing with that man is like trying to manage a lion with a sparkler.”

“Don’t tell him,” Mel said shyly. “I’ll work up the nerve eventually.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

Laney woke the next day fervently wanting a shower. Sean and Adrianna had shown up just in time to help Eloise drag her weakened carcass up the mountain to douse it with hot water. Eloise showered too and waited patiently for her to finish. Laney had to stop frequently and take rests, since the simple task of shampooing her hair proved draining. Eloise left for work after their trek down the hill, and Laney lay in bed with her hair dangling down the side of it. Her dark locks dried quickly in front of the heat of the stove. Sean had taken a seat on Eloise’s cot with a book, and Adrianna was playing quietly with the checkerboard on the floor. Laney was drifting in an out when someone banged on the door so soundly the walls shuddered.

“Come in,” she called, not bothering to get up.

The door rocked open, and Vanessa stood there, leaning against the doorframe with a feline smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Mitchell’s going to be pissed when I tell him how much time Sean Daniels is spending in your room.”

Laney propped herself up on her elbows and glared at her tiredly.

Vanessa’s eyes dropped to the still red and enflamed injuries across her hip and stomach. “Ew, you look awful.”

Did the woman not have a censor? “Um, thanks?” she said with an arched eyebrow.

Sean apparently found no interest in Vanessa and leaned back against the wall, continuing to read as if she hadn’t just let the cold air in and accused him of diddling the injured.

Vanessa closed the door behind her and plopped down onto the chair beside the bed. She stared unapologetically at Laney’s exposed and bruised stomach, her nose crinkled up in disgust. “What happened to you?”

Laney sighed and lay back down to dangle her hair in front of the stove once again. The heat was heaven against her scalp. “Doc had to run some tests and they got infected. Now I can’t be alone for a couple of days and Sean is the only one who has a day off today to make sure I don’t keel over.” She turned her head and smiled cheerily. “Since you seem so concerned about him being in my room, you could do Sean a solid and watch me for him until dinner. I’m sure he has better things to do on his day off.”

“No. I mean what happened there?” She pointed to the angry red puckered scar.

Laney gave a quick glance where she was pointing and plopped her head back onto the bed again. “A Dead bit me.”

Vanessa’s laugh dripped with sarcasm. “Funny, Landry.”

Laney shrugged. What did she care if Vanessa believed her or not? “Hey, while you’re here, can you paint my toes?”

Sean chuckled from the other side of the room.

“And maybe do a manicure on me and Adrianna?”

Vanessa glared at her. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you owe me. You know, for saving you and your brother’s life and all.” She was bored, and annoying Vanessa was proving to be very entertaining.

Vanessa groaned unhappily. “What color?” she asked, making her way to the tin of nail polishes.

“Adrianna, you pick,” Laney said.

One impressive and scandalously red manicure and pedicure later, Vanessa left the room grumbling about her “worst day off ever.”

The rest of the day consisted of napping, board games, and visitors. Finn, Eloise, and Guist came by and brought dinner for everyone. They all stayed crammed in the small room and ate amid easy laughter. It was late when everyone left and Laney was completely taxed, though happy, after entertaining for so long. She and Eloise got ready for bed and fell asleep to the sound of the wind picking up.

By the next morning, she was on the mend. Not a hundred percent quite yet, as she was still weak, but the redness and swelling had gone down and her belly didn’t feel like a basket full of hungry wolverines anymore. Credit went to Eloise, who’d cleaned the wounds every forty-five seconds. Or that’s what it felt like, at least.

She managed to get up the hill with only Eloise’s assistance, and she even mustered the energy to shave her legs. If that wasn’t a small victory, she didn’t know what was. Back in her room, she stared at her smooth limbs which tapered into an eye-pleasing pedicure and smiled. It had been a while since she felt feminine and pretty. Eloise had the day off, so she braided Laney’s hair and let it dry into cascading waves down her back. After lunch Laney decided she felt up to a short hike. The small room was stifling, and Eloise had Dr. Mackey check on her and okay a trip to the general store. With the absence of actual antibiotics, retail therapy was the next best thing. Being quite accustomed to living on very little, Laney hadn’t spent much of her earnings. She bought more warm clothes, including a pair of gently used snow boots. She picked out an array of sweaters that Eloise had assured her looked nice on her physique. She purchased two more small bottles of shampoo and another disposable razor, along with a new toothbrush and a bar of rose scented soap.

“Those are all things you need,” Eloise pointed out. “You just had a near death experience. You should pick out something you want.”

An old guitar sat in the corner of the store. Mitchell had played before the outbreak, actually quite well. The past three years hadn’t given him time or resources to do things he liked. The guitar would take the rest of her earnings, but he would love it. She hoped.

Breathing heavily, she trudged to Mitchell and Guist’s room. Guist was at work, so they let themselves in. Laney laid the guitar on Mitchell’s bed with a small hand scribbled note that read, “Hopefully you remember how.”

Mitchell’s bed still smelled of him, and a pang of worry shot through her for the thousandth time.

She and Eloise made it back to their room, and Guist and Finn showed up soon after to stomp them in a team game of Battleship. Just as she opened her mouth to declare the need for a rematch, the door swung open wide.

“Hey,” she exclaimed as the cold air blasted through the room.