Page 19

EPILOGUE

AVA

The warm summer breeze moved the hair that had escaped from my sun hat, and I straightened to brush it back from my face as I looked at the rows of chamomile and lavender I’d planted.

It turned out that I didn’t just love growing things. I was good at it.

And I was learning so much. Grandpa’s notes had gotten me started on the concepts of yield and hardiness, and the books I’d been reading over the past several months only expanded the knowledge.

We now had experimental plant groupings in different fields using a variety of compost mixes.

It was exciting. Fun. Challenging. And I felt like I was a part of something that actually mattered now.

While there were still numerous supply caches in zombie-infested areas that the fey could raid, we all knew they wouldn’t last forever. Laying the groundwork for self-sufficiency now would help set us up for success later when the pre-apocalypse provisions ran out.

An engine started, and with a sense of satisfaction, I watched one of the fey move the water tanker closer to the cornfield.

Everyone was preparing for the major harvests we had planned in the upcoming weeks. The residents in Unity were working hard in the fields. The fey were stockpiling canning supplies, dehydrators, and freeze dryers in Tenacity. Tolerance prepared the prep space and work schedules to preserve everything quickly and efficiently after harvest.

The amount of planning and calculations that had gone into our efforts was staggering. How many people did we need to feed? How much would they need per serving? What did that equate to for plants per field? Did we have enough space? How would we water it all? Did we have room for cattle crops?

The list was endless, but it felt like we had a solid working plan.

Despite staggered plantings, we knew late summer and early fall would be non-stop work. We had corn, carrots, potatoes, green beans, and peas, just to name a few that were growing well. The peas had already seen several harvests. Same with the lettuce.

Fresh produce had never tasted so good. Well, to the humans, anyway. But that didn’t stop the fey from pitching in.

I looked at the row of tomatoes and caught Allison waving at me. With a smile, I waved back and watched her pluck a ripe tomato off the vine and bite into it. She gave me a thumbs-up. The small cherry tomatoes were the first things I’d planted in the greenhouse the day after I’d arrived. Pops had saved the seeds, noting they were the sweetest, most tender baby tomatoes he’d ever tasted.

I thought of my family often but hadn’t given up hope they were out there.

The groups who searched for survivors were slowly establishing supply drop locations for the people they’d already contacted. We were building better relations with each delivery. However, not everyone was welcoming. People attempted to ambush the supply locations a few times, but they quickly learned that the New Unity trucks weren’t easy to overtake.

Allison was still chewing as she pulled her water wagon forward to give the next plant a drink.

Ryan joined me while I was still watching her work.

“It’s weird seeing her without Hanno,” I said.

“He’s never far away.” Ryan nodded to a field over where Hanno was following Courtney and Kennedy. Courtney was the first one pregnant in their trio.

“What do you think he’d do if all three were pregnant at once?” I asked.

“Test their patience with his enthusiasm and overprotectiveness.”

I grinned and looked at Ryan. “You’re pretty smart for eighteen.”

“It’s not about the years; it’s about the experience. And I’ve had more than my share.”

“So, Mr. Experience…what brings you out to the fields?”

“Just got news from Mya that I thought you’d like to hear first instead of through the grapevine.”

“Oh?”

“Repeat is a papa, six times over.”

“No way.”

“Yep. Three girls and three boys. She wants to know if you want to keep any.”

I shook my head. “Nah, with all this food we’re putting away, we’ll want to keep a few for the fields and our food storage.”

He nodded.

“Any word from the latest outpost?” I asked.

His happy expression immediately shifted. “Sorry. They showed the picture. No one’s seen your family, but it turns out someone recognized a nephew in Tolerance.”

Rather than feeling dejected by the news, I felt hopeful. Sharing pictures of the people here in the communities could work. Maybe someday, I would see my family again.

“That’s really cool.”

“Yep, he’s thinking of flying out there to join them. Having a fey-friendly face there for future deliveries will be good.

“In other news, Cassie asked for an update on the home remedy plants.”

We started talking about crops and harvests like we always did when we got together. Ryan, despite his youth, was an amazing leader. He actively listened, wanted feedback, and made carefully considered decisions that I rarely disagreed with.

“I think you’re right. Greens during winter are going to be important. Easy growers with higher yields make the most sense.

“How are the heirloom strawberry plants growing?”

“We’ve already doubled what I originally planted, thanks to the runners. I know we need to consider the greenhouse space for winter growth, but I’d really like to keep expanding the patch so we have enough to plant outdoors next year. My backyard has the space, but so does the corner lot on the East side.”

“We would have community mutiny if I said no to expanding the strawberry harvest for next spring. The small jars of preserves from this year are already gone. People liked it better than the stuff from the store. Speaking of stores…”

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a baggie with seeds.

“Cassie told Kerr she missed fruit. He raided a grocery store close to here and pulled these out. Apple, orange, and those little ones are bananas. He’s not sure they’ll grow. The food was pretty rotten.”

“I like a challenge,” I said. And the idea of growing greenhouse bananas really appealed to me.

Gyrik came running up to us as Ryan passed me the baggie. The big grey dreamsicle I called mine was radiating happiness.

“Did you hear Repeat is a father?” Gyrik asked.

“I did. Did you get to see them?”

Gyrik nodded. “I watched the last one come out. Cat births seem less painful than human births.” He seemed to realize what he’d said because he got really quiet.

I patted his arm. “You’re not going to scare me, Gyrik. I know how much having a baby will hurt, and no, that won’t stop me from wanting to have one with you. It’ll happen when it happens.”

He nodded and looked off in the direction of Hanno and Courtney.

Gyrik wanted kids bad. Like, really bad.

With Mya ready to pop any day now, all the fey were in full baby-daddy mode, captivated by each birth. Cats. Chicks. The cute little bull that was recently born.

They were obsessed.

And that obsession meant we wives lived in the Bone Zone, twenty-four-seven. Bending over to check a roast needed a frying pan ass cover. If not for his fear that I’d start finding sex painful as Allison did, Gyrik would never let me leave the house.

But I knew the moment he found out I was pregnant, I wouldn’t leave the house, anyway. Which is why I’d kept it to myself for the last four weeks. But he was a smart man. I’d caught him staring at the tampon supply he’d collected for me.

Ryan caught my eye and indicated that he was going to leave. I nodded and watched him walk away as I waited for Gyrik’s attention to return to me.

When it did, I could almost read his thoughts in the way he blinked at me, and I loved the man’s sex drive.

“You just had me screaming a few hours ago. We’re still on a sex timeout. And, for the record, Childbirth doesn’t scare me…having someone tell me I can’t do something does.”

“I remember,” he said. “A dick pushes you down. I’m not a dick.”

I grinned at him, loving that he not only remembered my story from when we first met but that he’d obviously asked for an explanation to understand me better. He did that a lot. Quietly asking for guidance so he could be the best version of himself for me.

“Exactly. So, when I get pregnant, what will you want me to do?”

“Anything you want,” he said quickly.

“What if I want to help harvest all the fields? It’ll make my back sore and my feet hurt. It might even make me too tired for sex. But I’ll still want to help with the harvest.”

“That’s okay. I’ll help you when you want it and rub all your sore parts when you’re done. Nothing will change. I promise.”

He took my hand in his, gently stroking my fingers. The look in his eyes no longer screamed impending visit to Drillville. I saw something else there.

I gave him a considering look.

“You already know, don’t you?”

He did the rapid blink morse code thing he did when I busted him on something and he didn’t want to admit it. I snorted and tugged my hand from his to wrap my arms around his waist.

“How long have you known?” I asked.

“A while.”

“Are you happy?”

“Very.”

“Me too. Thank you for finding me, Gyrik. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”

I tipped my head back and welcomed his kiss.