Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
She knows that. She also knows we’ll be gone before those seeds yield food.
Maybe this attempt to start a small garden, to coax the soil to life, is an act of hope.
We’ve been living on pemmican for weeks and rationing for months. Veggies would be a welcome change. Anything sprouting from the cold, stubborn ground would be a welcome change.
Hunting season remains months out of reach. We can’t hold out that long.
We’ve extended our food supply to its limits. With the pemmican we have left, surviving another month will be pushing our luck.
Kody stands a few feet away, loading a bolt in his crossbow. “Give me another target.”
“Okay.” She twists toward him, scanning the perimeter. “How about that rock? The one with the pointy side?”
He lifts the bow and trains it on a boulder thirty yards away. “Behold, as I, the great and fearless Lord Strakh, take aim at the beast most foul, a vicious Boulderax, known to strike terror into the hearts of the bravest souls.”
As he releases the arrow and nails the target, her laughter rings out, vibrant and unconstrained.
Christ, she’s beautiful.
“Oh, my God.” She erupts in more giggles. “I’m dying. How about that can over there?”
Securing a fresh arrow in the crossbow, he follows her gaze to the recycle bin and takes aim at the can on top. “Watch closely, fair maiden, as I embark on a perilous quest to vanquish the dreaded tin dragon, perched menacingly upon yonder stand, its gaze enough to petrify a lesser man.”
He lets the bolt fly, hitting the mark.
“I can’t…” She hugs her midsection, cackling hysterically. “I’m going to pee my pants.”
I draw my bottom lip between my teeth, biting down on a grin.
My brother is in rare fucking form. Who knew he could be so entertaining?
“One more.” He slots a new bolt, his tone serious.
“The compost pile.” She wipes tears from her eyes.
“This is it, the moment of truth, where legends are born, and tales of epic battles are woven into the fabric of history, all centered around the mighty clash between man and…well, essentially a rotting pile of shit.”
She falls over, howling with laughter before he even releases the shot.
That sound, that infectious, carefree peal of happiness, is something that’s been scarce in this place. I can’t remember the last time I heard anyone laugh like that. Maybe never.
And Kody…what the fuck? He’s actually smiling. Cheeks lifting, teeth showing, eyes shining, full-on smiling. I don’t even recognize him.
He catches me staring, and I grin back, shaking my head. It feels weird, sharing such a lighthearted expression with the grumpy bastard. Things are changing, indeed.
A soft, guttural croak overhead pulls my attention skyward as a ptarmigan approaches from the North. Its wings beat through the air with a whooshing whisper, steady and purposeful.
Kody watches it momentarily before readying a new arrow and training it on the bird’s path.
If we stewed its meat with herbs, it would be a mouth-watering delicacy after weeks of eating nothing but pemmican.
But a moment of hesitation has him glancing at Frankie.
She’s on her feet, lips parted, and huge eyes fixed on the bird with wonderment.
He lowers the bow, the shot forgotten, and stares at her with adoration.
She watches the ptarmigan until it fades from view. Then she sighs, her breath no longer visible in the sunlit air.
Turning back to her garden, she locks eyes with me. “Hey there, gorgeous.”
“Hey, yourself.” I nod toward the seeds she planted. “You think those will take?”
“They better.” She cocks her hip. “If they know what’s good for them.”
The snowdrifts reach waist-high in most places around the property. But here, where we repeatedly walk between the cabin and the workshop, the snow is worn down and melty.
I kick at the ground, now more slush than ice, watching it slowly reveal the soil beneath. “We’ll be trading snow for skies in about a month.”
“Just in time to see my garden grow.” She shrugs. “Something for the rabbits to munch on.”
“The rabbits? We don’t feed the critters. They feed us.”
“Exactly.”
She planted this here as bait?
Damn.
Gorgeous, sassy, and smart as hell. I couldn’t love this woman more if I tried.
“I told her those seeds won’t sprout there.” Kody prowls toward her little patch of dirt. “This time next year, we’ll be laughing about it over a real meal somewhere far from here.”
He and I exchange another grin just as a snowball flies out of nowhere, smacking him squarely in the face. Stunned, he pauses, blinks away the surprise, and gently clears the icy mush from his vision.
“Talking shit on my garden?” She tosses another snowball back and forth between her hands. “Do it again. I dare you.”
“Shit, man.” I laugh. “Consider yourself officially challenged to a duel.”
With slow, deliberate movements, he sets aside his weapons and removes his fur coat, revealing his bare chest beneath.