closer and rested his chin on my shoulder. His hair tickled my cheek, his breath warmed my neck.
“Still upset with me?”
“No, I was never upset with you.” I pressed my temple to his forehead. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did. I’m sorry for that.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed just being alone with him, for however long it would last. He wrapped his other arm around the front of my waist and pulled me closer, then kissed my cheek.
“I’m not sure I accept your apology.” His hand slid further inside my coat and up my back. I leaned away just enough to look at him.
“Right.”
He pulled me close again, both arms wrapped around me now, only one was inside my coat. I laughed and tried shoving his arms away.
“You’re letting in a cold draft.” Each inch I scooted away, he moved two inches closer. “You know, this is always the part where the bloodthirsty psychopath jumps out of the trees and hacks the two lovebirds to pieces.”
His nose and lips brushed against my ear, his slow and measured sighs making me shiver, even though his strong and warm body did indeed make up for the cold air seeping inside my clothes, thanks to his wandering hands.
“Well then, let’s give him a show.”
Chapter Two
March 20 th : Twenty Miles East of the Ohio River
The first signs of spring were finally popping up all around us. I tried not to get my hopes up; March always has a few surprises up its sleeves. Instead, I took it in stride. At least now we could travel comfortably minus two layers of clothing. The trees were budding, new grass shoots pushed through the newly thawed ground, and the Easter Lilies were coming up. Well, that’s what we called them anyway. Regardless of their true name, they were always the first flower of the year to bloom.
Only one thing pissed me off about the change in weather: We were losing the trail. Correction, we were beginning to lose the trail. There was still enough to keep us going in the right direction, but only just enough. Once the spring rains started, we’d be playing a whole new ballgame.
“Hey baby, how’s it goin’?” Mia asked, riding up beside me.
Her silly face broke my stoic mask into a faint smile. We were running dangerously low on supplies, and the continuous warm weather had thawed many more swarms of deadheads. Add to that our slowly dwindling convict trail and the potential psychotic break I feared from Jake, and it was safe to say I wasn’t in the best of spirits these days.
“I don’t know, Mia. We need supplies, so a raiding trip is priority one now. And look at this shit.”
I swept my arm wide, gesturing at the muddy ground ahead of us. We were traveling through the woods between two towns, the trail nearly destroyed in this area. I was working on the assumption that the convicts had taken this shortcut between the two populaces. We’d know for sure when we cleared the woods and hit pavement again. If the next town was in the same shape as some of the others we had seen along the trail, then we’d know we were on the right track.
Mia was quiet a long moment before commenting on my grumbling. “Well, we’ll have to leave the trail to get supplies. Those cons haven’t been leaving much behind in the towns they’ve passed through.”
I agreed but didn’t offer any suggestions. I was feeling cranky and simply didn’t want to waste any more breath talking. I could hear the others behind us chatting back and forth. Gus was scouting ahead of me, always sniffing around for something to eat. It was mid-afternoon and overcast, the gray and dreary sky only adding to my brooding mood. I was even starting to question my decision to save Kyra and Shannon. With everything we’d seen since leaving home weighing on my mind, I wondered if going after the cons was even worth it. That’s when Mia once again proved how impeccable her timing was and spoke up as we rounded the last point before leaving the woods.
“As far as the