Page 31 of Dyana (Love in the Apocalypse #3)

Chapter thirteen

Bryce

I tipped the water can slightly to water the pepper plants.

When I thought of my future, growing my food was never part of it.

Growing up as poor as I did, I should have.

But I was a kid, and kids don’t always think of those things.

Then, when I got out and had money, why would I even think about growing food when I could buy it?

Luckily, Cora had this fantastic bunker, and lately, I had become obsessed with the growing process.

It amazed me how much growth there was underground.

I understood the science behind it with the grow lights, but it was still astounding.

I also found tending the crops incredibly soothing and made me feel like I had a purpose.

That even though I took life with my bare hands, they were capable of providing for my family.

The last month had been, well, at the risk of sounding cheesy, perfect.

Our relationship with Dyana was flourishing.

Every day, she opened up to us more and let a little more of the guilt she’d been carrying on her shoulders go.

Everybody saw the change in her. Isaac had told me the other night that it was good to see her finally settling in.

Due to the way she came into their lives, Dyana had never truly settled with them until we got here.

The chickens had settled in, which had me thinking about other animals we could bring back.

We’d have to find them first, which might take some time, but the thought of finding some cows and having fresh milk again made any obstacle feel worth it.

Not that I didn’t appreciate the powdered milk that Cora had stocked, it just wasn’t the same.

If we were going to get more animals, though, we’d need to do some deforestation.

Evan will undoubtedly handle the logistics when the time comes.

That man’s brain is always looking for another improvement.

“I thought I’d find you here,” Dyana said from the doorway, interrupting my thoughts. “You do know that a watched crop never grows, right?”

I chuckled at her lame joke. We were getting more and more of those lately, too. And every time Jack heard her make one, he relaxed a little more. “It’s peaceful down here,” I replied.

Dyana nodded. “My spot is the orchard. I love sitting among the fruit trees with the sun shining down on me. A slight breeze blowing through my hair while I watch the birds and the bees flutter around. It reminds me that not everything in this world is shit.”

My heart clenched, and I set the water can down to hug Dyana.

We hadn’t had the best time since the apocalypse started, but our challenges were nothing compared to what Dyana had gone through.

Nobody deserved to endure the atrocities that she has endured.

The fact that she never gave up is a true testament to her strength.

I wasn’t sure that I would have continued to persevere if I had been in her shoes.

There wasn’t anything I could say to fix her past, so I simply held her and tried not to preen when she let me, leaning into me and allowing me to support her weight.

We had come so far in what felt like such a short amount of time that sometimes I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

“I have something for you,” Dyana said after a few more minutes. She stepped back and pulled something from her back pocket. With a flourish, she presented the egg to me. “Hard-boiled egg?”

“Really?” I asked excitedly. We had finally started getting eggs from the hens last week.

We had waited until we had enough to feed everyone, and then had the best breakfast I’d had in my entire life.

It was nearly orgasmic, which sounded silly, but no less true.

I snatched the egg from her and peeled it, tossing the shells into the crop beds.

Once I had the egg shelled, I held it up like it was a precious gem.

With far more flair than was normal, I popped the entire thing into my mouth and moaned as the flavors burst in my mouth.

“Oh my God!” Dyana laughed. “You could have savored it.”

“I am,” I mumbled around the egg. I accepted the glass of water Dyana had fetched for me to help wash the yolk down, and then looked at her hopefully. “Got any more?”

Dyana pulled another egg out and held it up. “Well, I was going to give you this one, but with the way you ate the last one like a fucking heathen, I think I might keep it for myself. I’m not sure you appreciate it enough.”

The hell she would. I stalked toward her. “Give me the egg, Sweetheart, and nobody gets hurt.”

Dyana giggled as she backed up, matching me step for step. “If you want it, you’ll have to come get it,” she teased.

I growled playfully as I darted toward her.

Dyana shrieked, her laughter filling the room as she took off, weaving through the raised beds.

Seeing her path, I cut toward the right and waited behind the corn for her to appear.

Dyana screamed when I grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground as she ran by.

“I said give me that egg, woman,” I growled, blowing a raspberry on the side of her neck.

I carefully wrestled the egg away from her and set her down to enjoy the spoils of my conquest. For Dyana, I ate it in two bites instead of one and made a bunch of exaggerated yummy noises.

Dyana tried her hardest to look annoyed at my manhandling. “You big oaf! You’re lucky I lo—“

My heart stopped as Dyana’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You love me?”

“I didn’t say that!” Dyana quickly denied. Her eyes darted around the room as she looked for the closest escape route. Oh no, she didn’t. I wasn’t going to let the little rabbit run away after her almost declaration.

Like a snake striking its prey, my hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist before she could take off. I tugged her off balance and quickly pulled her into my arms and locked them around her. “You said you loved me.”

“I—, I—, maybe,” she finally said, hiding her face in my chest.

Gently, I tipped her head up until she met my eyes. “I love you, too, Dyana.”

She turned nearly the same shade of red as her hair. “You don’t have to say it back just because I said it.”

“Trust me, Sweetheart, that’s not why I’m saying it. I’ve loved you far longer than you’ve loved me, but I didn’t want to say anything too soon and freak you out. And technically, you didn’t say it.” There was a clear challenge in my tone when I said the last part, daring her to say it.

Dyana’s eyes narrowed. “I love you.”

My lips crashed to hers before she had finished speaking.