areas would be surviving better than the urban ones, but that they’d have more to steal.
“I’m worried about strangers coming into the valley,” she confided. “If one made it this far, others can. With gasoline in their vehicles the patrol can cover more ground, for a little while at least, but other than that I don’t know what to do.” She was silent a moment. “I went to see Ben Jernigan.”
Even hurt and drugged, Carol perked up at that news. Her eyes sparkled. “You did? What happened? Anything juicy?”
“He didn’t shoot me, if that’s what you mean. He listened.” By sheer force of will, Sela kept herself focused on what she was telling Carol, so she wouldn’t blush. “He seems to have a soft spot for Jim and Mary Alice, and I thought if he knew what happened to them he might be more interested in helping us. He said he’d come down tomorrow morning when everyone lines up to get gas, to talk to the patrol members, so that’s something. Oh—I also got in an argument with Carlette Broward.” She couldn’t control a little smile, really more of a smirk, but one full of triumph. “I won. I think I did, anyway. She started in on me about hogging the gas for myself and after putting up with Ted and all his crap I was fed up.”
“I don’t know Carlette Broward, I don’t think, but yay anyway. Did you bitch-slap her?”
“Good God, no. From the looks of her she could stomp me into a greasy smear on the road.”
“Oh! I think I know who you mean. Did you see a tattoo on her neck? Yeah, she could take you.”
For all Carol had been so vocal about wanting Sela to be in charge of organization, she did love having her finger in all pies and knowing exactly what was going on, even if she hadn’t been bored. Sela sat and chatted until Carol drifted off to sleep, then quietly stood and tiptoed out.
Sundown came early these days and it was already dark outside. Barb and Olivia were heating vegetable soup over the fire. Barb had made some skillet bread the day before and she was toasting the last of it to eat with the soup. The smell of the toasting bread made Sela’s mouth water, and she went through the simple meal as if she were a starving plow-hand, though she did occasionally pause between bites to bring Barb and Olivia up to speed on the day’s events, and to tell them that Nancy Meador was staying with Carol that night.
“I can do that,” Barb protested. “We can swap nights and do just fine.”
“You have day duty,” Sela pointed out. Barb was now doing all of the cooking. Olivia helped, but Barb was the one in charge. “I wouldn’t have a problem handling nights, normally, but today has been a challenge and it started early.”
“I doubt tomorrow will be any less busy, so if Nancy or anyone else offers to stay, take them up on it.” Barb dipped up a bowl of soup for Carol, added the toasted bread to the platter. “This stage won’t last long, when her ribs are less sore she’ll be able to get around on her own here in the house, and won’t need any more pain pills. I’m guessing a week.”
“I can help, too. What difference does it make if I sleep upstairs, or down here in Gran’s room?” Olivia pointed out.
“Well, that’s true.” All of Sela’s reasons for staying with Carol last night suddenly seemed less valid. Olivia wasn’t experienced taking care of people, but she was a smart kid, loved Carol, and doing the basic things that needed to be done wasn’t a complicated task. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Sela reminded herself to ask for help when she needed it. She’d forced herself to ask for help from Ben and look how that had turned out. She felt her face, her entire body, getting hot, and not from embarrassment. When we have sex . . . She felt breathless, her attention instantly fractured.
She was profoundly grateful to Nancy for staying with Carol tonight, so she could be alone and fantasize about everything that had happened today with Ben, and everything that could happen in the future. The near future, she hoped. While she understood why he was taking the very possibility of negotiation out of the situation between them, she wouldn’t have minded if they hadn’t waited at all.
Still, waiting was for the