Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Two days later Lara gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She was a bride! Shawna, Kimber, and Katie had persuaded the younger Miller sons to hitch up the wagon and take them searching in the ruins of the closest town. Laden with an assortment of items, they returned triumphant but somber. Digging through the remnants of the lives of others did not come without significant remorse and guilt.

But this was a day for celebration and the entire Miller homestead bubbled with anticipation.

The scavenger team had managed to find a dress suitable to be worn as a wedding gown and with some alterations by Mrs. Potter and a little creativity, she was properly dressed with all the wedding regalia she could have dreamed of.

The rest of the girls were fitted out in a variety of items meant to be festive. Even Brittany had condescended to wear some flowers in her hair.

Throughout the turmoil of the time since they’d left campus in the wake of the devastating earthquake, each of the young women had shown remarkable skills and Lara continued to be amazed by their resourcefulness and creativity. Who would have guessed that quiet Grace was a genius with hair and braids? Lara’s waist-length hair had been plaited into an intricate design resembling a halo adorned with flowers.

The girls’ bedroom was aflutter as each of them prepared for the big event. Mrs. Potter entered the room and exclaimed over all of them before taking Lara aside for a private talk.

“I’m sorry your mother isn’t here to spend this time with you,” the kindly Mrs. Potter said.

“Me too,” Lara said around the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat.

“If you don’t mind, though, I’d like to have a chat with you, the way I imagine your mother would if she was here.”

“Thank you,” Lara said softly. “I would like that. I can’t believe it’s my wedding day and my family isn’t here.”

Mrs. Potter squeezed her hand. “I know, dear. Nothing is as we had expected it to be, is it? Yet, in all of the chaos, love has bloomed for you and Caleb and that’s the great miracle here, don’t you think?”

Lara hadn’t thought of it that way, but the notion made her smile. “Yes, I guess you’re right.”

“Not only was I surprised when you showed up at our camp in the woods with several Amish men in tow, but I was even more surprised when you announced that you’d gotten engaged during the short time you’d been away from us.”

“It was rather sudden,” Lara said. “Do you think we’re being hasty?”

“The real question, my dear, is do you think you’re being hasty?”

Lara paused for a moment before answering. “I know it seems hard to believe that we could meet and decide to get married almost right away, but when Caleb said he believed the Lord had brought me here to be his wife—after I got over the initial shock—I realized he was right. I believe the same thing. And nothing has happened to make me believe otherwise.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Mrs. Potter smiled and appeared relieved. “I’ve been watching you and Caleb closely, and though I was skeptical at first, I have to admit that I think you two are well-suited to each other.”

Lara let out a sigh of relief. Although she felt strongly about her plans to marry, she was glad to have confirmation from Mrs. Potter. But, there was still one thing that worried her.

“Do you think it’s okay to get married even though we don’t have a real minister or a marriage license? Would it be sinful for us to… you know… consummate our marriage?”

Mrs. Potter hugged Lara then pulled away and said, “We are living in an unusual time, dear. If you dedicate yourselves to each other with all of the intentions of being faithful and loving, then I think God will be satisfied.”

“Thank you. I feel better now,” Lara said. “I think it’s time for me to get married.”

Brittany observed the scene around her. She wanted to be happy for Lara, honestly, she did. But, why, oh why did it always feel like even in a catastrophe, Lara’s life was like floating on a cloud and all Brittany could do was try not to slip and fall into a mud puddle?

Yes, it was jealousy and so much more. Her life had always felt like a struggle.

“Why can’t you be sweet like your sister?”

“She’s not like Olivia, is she?”

“Brittany, why do you make everything so difficult?”

And then there was Lara. She was even sweeter than Olivia. And look at her now, surrounded by the entire group, all telling her how beautiful she was. And damned if she wasn’t beautiful. How could someone make scavenged clothes look so good?

Yeah, yeah, she knew it was wrong to be jealous and prideful about appearances, but come on… if she had to spend the rest of her life on a farm with a handful of people, why did one of them have to be perfect Lara?

What was wrong with her that she couldn’t be happy for Lara and Caleb? They looked as though they were really in love. Brittany studied their faces and wondered what it would feel like—both to give love like that and to receive it as well. The idea was foreign to her.

Maybe she just wasn’t meant to be loved. That was certainly the impression her mother had always given her. Oh, sure… to the outside world all was perfect, but there were always the little digs that let Brittany know she really wasn’t good enough. Particularly not compared to her sister, Olivia.

It was one thing to hear it from teachers or busybodies at church, but each time her mother said, and did, hurtful things, it was like a little layer of crust built around her heart and with each dig, each insult, each snub, the layer got thicker.

Caleb and Lara were about to cut the wedding cake. She moved to join those gathered around the happy couple and positioned herself between Katie and Grace. Maybe their good attitudes would rub off on her.

If nothing else, at least she’d get a piece of cake. Hard to believe that just a few days ago she and the other women had all been subsisting on herb broth.

Even Brittany had to acknowledge that the Miller family had been incredibly generous, admittedly more than she would have been, in sharing their food with their unexpected guests. However, they were all aware that supplies were limited and once the wedding confection was gone, it was unlikely they’d be eating cake or other sweets any time soon.

Shawna and Kimber had taken over the duties of serving the cake after Caleb and Lara made the initial cut.

She’d been avoiding Daniel since her unfortunate comment about broodmares at dinner two nights before. She’d barely seen him since then and she assumed he’d been avoiding her as well. Much as she told herself it was what she wanted, she still caught herself glancing about for him whenever the Miller men were around. Daniel had stood with Caleb as his best man during the wedding ceremony. She’d taken the opportunity to study his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and firm, rounded ass.

God… she could use a good fuck.

Shawna—or was it Kimber—brought Daniel a piece of cake and lingered as though she hoped he’d chat with her. He thanked her for the cake and then set about ignoring her. It was rude, he knew, but ever since the girls had arrived he’d been in a foul mood.

He’d prayed about it. Racked his brain trying to figure out what had come over him. It was not as though he’d ever been lighthearted and full of fun, but some sort of demon had possessed him. He was angry, moody, and sullen.

He ought to have been happy for his brother. Despite their lifelong rivalry, Daniel cared a great deal for Caleb and, although he’d had some initial reservations about Lara, he had to acknowledge their obvious love for each other.

His gaze wandered to a cascade of unruly auburn hair. Brittany. The more he worked to resist temptation, the stronger the temptation became. His body pulsed with barely controlled energy that he had no idea how to use. He’d hardly been sleeping and had been working practically nonstop on his house. He told himself it was because he wanted to move in there to have some privacy from the overcrowded main house. In truth, physical labor leading to exhaustion was the only thing that had kept him from carrying Brittany into the woods and engaging in all manner of depraved acts.

Courting was too tame a word for what he wanted to do to her.

Pushing the half-eaten cake away, he stood and, heedless of how it might appear, he strode away from the gathering, not pausing until he entered the solitude of his house. Closing the door behind him with a satisfying thud, he finally exhaled.

Upstairs in his bedroom, Daniel stripped off his shirt and undershirt. Pouring water into a basin, he splashed the cold liquid on his face. Though refreshing, it did nothing to cool his ardor.

Assuming he would be undisturbed, he refrained from donning a shirt. Many in their community would be shocked by his immodesty, but since they were all dead, what did it matter?

What did anything matter?

He wanted to think of Lara and Caleb’s marriage as an act of optimism, but he was too much of a realist, or maybe just too cynical. In his experience, all women did was leave. His mother, the precious little sister they had all hoped and prayed for, pious Rebecca. Even Aunt Agnes had been off visiting and hadn’t returned. Maybe that wasn’t her fault, but Daniel was caught up in counting life’s injustices, and wasn’t necessarily fair in his thinking.

Bare-chested, he went outside and chopped wood. Swinging the axe and feeling the satisfying thud when it made impact helped to calm the frantic energy within.

Brittany’s jaw clenched and her head began to throb as she watched Kimber deliver a piece of cake to Daniel and then hang around trying to get his attention. She’d never wait on a man like that.

Why couldn’t they have been taken in by a group of millionaires who had a retreat in the woods with a hot tub and a wine cellar? No, they were destined to live out their lives with the butter churn and bonnet crowd.

Wow. She really was ungrateful. Even she could see it in that thought. She chalked her extra acerbic mood up to being forced to pretend this was a wedding like any other wedding she had attended—as though the bride and groom had a bright future ahead of them.

Hell, none of them even knew what they’d do when their socks wore out, let alone if there was a medical emergency or a fire.

From the corner of her eye she caught movement. Daniel was leaving the party. But he wasn’t heading for the main house. Curious, she gave him a few minutes and then followed.

The scavenger party that had gone in search of wedding supplies had brought back a few Amish garments that the other girls had taken to wearing, but Brittany had given her own clothes a thorough washing and intended to dress like she always had for as long as the clothes held out. Not wanting to be a total party pooper, she had agreed to wear flowers in her hair for the wedding. The blossoms did make her feel sort of pretty, though she’d refused to admit she liked them when Grace had insisted—as much as Grace was capable of insisting—that she wear them.

Not wanting to let on that she was following Daniel, she exited the gathering in the opposite direction and then circled back to the path Daniel had used. His powerful strides carried him through the woods quickly. Not daring to move rapidly and risk making a noise that might alert him to her presence, she kept her eyes on his back—and tight ass—and moved as stealthily as she could.

Where could he be going? Her mind raced with the possibilities. But, when they got to a clearing and she saw Daniel enter a house, she stopped in her tracks. Another house? There was another house on the property—she’d been sharing a room with five other girls while a house sat empty?

What if it wasn’t empty? What was Daniel hiding out here?

She stayed behind a tree and took in the whole scene. A sturdy house, nothing fancy, of course, but looking at it made her smile. It felt… homey.

Just as she was about to try to get a closer look, Daniel exited the back door.

Shirtless.

Holy crap .

The muscles of his neck, shoulders, and arms bulged like a seven foot alien’s in the naughty books she used to read on her Kindle. Glancing at the bulge in his pants, she wondered if his cock was thick and long too. She licked her lips and her pussy pulsed with urgent need.

Brittany was not an innocent. Her parents had forced her to attend a Christian college, apparently in hopes that some goodness would rub off on her. Brittany had never felt like she fit in at Collier College. Everyone was just so… nice. Despite what her parents had told her her whole life, Brittany was nice too, sometimes. And she wanted to be a good girl, but… yeesh… it was so hard.

Daniel had gone to a pile of logs at the rear of the house and was splitting wood. From her hiding place she could see the muscles of his back ripple with power as he swung the axe and sliced through the wood like it was no more than cotton candy.

Her body was at a fever pitch while she watched him working the axe. She ought to turn around and go back, get out of there.

But she couldn’t leave without at least looking inside the house. Based on the large stack of wood that Daniel apparently intended to split, she ought to have enough time for a quick snoop and still get back to the wedding party before anyone became too suspicious. It’s not like anyone cared if she was there or not, anyway.

When Daniel turned away to pick up another piece of wood, she scurried to the house and slipped in the front door.