mentioned that I never learned any during my childhood in the Stonewell home, and Patrick was now making it his mission to make sure I learned each and every song imaginable.
“Ring around the rosey, a pocket full of poseys. Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down!” he sang while he tickled me. I giggled while his fingers moved mercilessly against the sensitive sides of my stomach.
“Again with the nursery rhymes, I see,” Maverick said with a smirk, dropping stacks of papers onto the kitchen table. He was researching a new lead on the vaccine and it was keeping him up all hours of the night. He looked exhausted, but his spirit seemed renewed with the possibility of a breakthrough, so I didn’t scold him—too much.
“No work at the dinner table, Maverick,” I said. I removed myself from Patrick’s arms and made my way over to Maverick. Once close enough, he swept a curly strand behind my ear and kissed me on the forehead. Over the last week it had become his standard form of greeting, and I found myself craving his hellos throughout the day.
“How was your day?” I asked. Looking him over, I saw the black circles under his eyes, but a bright light flashed between his irises that brought joy to his tired face.
Maverick pulled me in for a hug and mumbled into my hair. “I’m so, so close, Ash.”
Cyler’s rough voice broke us apart. “Stop distracting the chef! She’s got a very important job to do, you know!” he joked while trying to sneak a bite of some left over cake I brought home from the Bakery. I walked towards him and playfully slapped his wrist before going back to work while Cyler and Maverick discussed an issue between the mine workers and the new Scavengers.
Kemper arrived just as I was finishing up dinner. I looked up to greet him with a smile, but instead of his usual happy stare, I was greeted with a look of utter terror. I stopped chopping vegetables for the salad and went to him.
“Kemper, what’s wrong? You look terrible.”
His eyes scanned the room and everyone became silent. I noticed how the room grew tense, as if preparing for the worst. Every scenario imaginable flashed in my mind, and I reached out to clutch his hand in anticipation.
“Lately, a few of the female Walkers have become a little more forward,” he began with a shudder. Patrick snorted, and the room erupted into merciless laughter.
“Another naked girl in your office again, Kemp?” Patrick asked, laughing. My eyes snapped to Patrick to gauge the truthfulness of his statement. Surely he was joking?
“No . . . worse. Much, much worse,” Kemper replied while pouring himself a glass of whiskey and downing it whole. “I was accosted while trying to use the restroom.” He threw up his hands in exasperation. “Becca is relentless!”
The sane part of me wanted to have empathy for Kemper; he was, after all, someone I cared deeply for. But the primal version, the one that felt wildly protective of him, wanted to claw Becca’s eyes out. She might be nice, but Kemper was mi— .
“Ash? You okay? You’re gripping the end of the table like it bit you,” Patrick asked in a concerned voice while licking his bottom lip. I looked down to see that I did, in fact, have a death grip on the mahogany table.
“I’m fine, just concerned for Kemper,” I managed to bite out while releasing my hold. Kemper’s knowing eyes met mine, and he smiled like he knew what I was thinking and was pleased by it.
“I’m just not used to the attention. We haven’t had women in Dormas for a while. I’m going to start telling them that I’m courting someone.” Kemper shifted his gaze to me.
“Oh! Haven’t you heard? We’re all courting Ashleigh,” Patrick said while studying his nails nonchalantly.
“What?” Maverick asked immediately while looking at me with the hint of a smile.
“Lois kept tossing some pretty un suitable suitors Ash’s way. It was pretty pathetic, really. Therefore, being the selfless and benevolent person that I am, I offered myself up, and you all, as her devoted suitors!” Patrick said with a clap of his hands.
“Perfect. I’ll add this topic to the Agenda for our Council meeting. We have a few logistics to work out.” Cyler grinned, and I remembered our moment in the treehouse.
“We’re not fucking taking minutes to discuss courting a girl,” Huxley said while sucking in a deep breath of air. “I mean, we