Dad turned and nodded at Micah and the guys. “I’m sorry for getting upset over you and Tori. It’s just that she’s my daughter, and you’re new to her life. It’s a weird feeling to treat her as an adult.”
“She’s been an adult for years,” Nathan muttered, and Micah elbowed him before clearing his throat.
“I understand the place of concern, but I only accept the apology on the grounds that you treat all of us as adults going forward.”
Dad groaned before reaching his hand out and shaking Micah’s. “Sounds good. I’m sorry, Tori.”
“It’s okay.” I glanced back at the house again, and my chest filled with a bitter nostalgia.
I’d grown up in that house my entire life, and it was home in more ways than one. It was where I learned all of my firsts, and the fun times I had with my family and animals there were ingrained in my memories, even if we were no longer living there. I’d packed most of my room, but I purposefully left thealbum Daisy and Jay made a big deal about, only grabbing the framed photos on my wall.
“I promise we’ll keep making trips until you have everything you need and want,” Nathan murmured with a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you for doing this for us.” I turned toward him, and his lips met mine, sending tingles of comfort through me.
After a tearful goodbye to the ranch, my parents got on Belle to lead Trigger and Dolly with the trailers down the path back to the Oasis.
Daisy and Jay walked behind the trailers but ahead of the cattle, and the rest of us walked behind the group.
Spencer gripped my arm tightly as we walked away from our home, and I rested my hand on hers. The guys stayed behind us as we huddled together, and we didn’t say anything for the first hour of the walk.
Spencer’s grip loosened, and she turned to look at me with her brows furrowed together. “We’re really not going back home, are we?”
“Not to live there anymore,” I confirmed, and she nodded with a glassy sheen over her brown eyes.
“It’s weird.”
“It is, but at least we still have each other.” I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Yeah. I’m glad.” She glanced down as we walked over the cold ground, and the wind picked up, blowing chilly air around us until it seeped further into our clothes. “I’m sorry Mom got so hung up on the fact you and Micah had sex in the kitchen and totally spaced on what Daisy said to you until you left the room with the guys.”
A weak chuckle left my lips, and I shook my head. “It’s not your fault.”
“She and Dad did go after her when you left the room. I don’t think what she said to you actually sunk in until the initial shock wore off on them.”
“What’d they say to her?”
“Told her she was ungrateful and disrespectful. They told her if she kept that up, she could stay at the ranch and take her chances with the zombies.”
“Really?” My eyes widened, and Spencer grinned.
“Yep! As she deserved. She apologized, but I doubt she’s sorry. I don’t remember her being so hateful as kids.”
“She wasn’t.” I glanced up and saw her holding Jay’s hand and smiling up at him like she didn’t just cause a lot of unnecessary drama. “I don’t get it, but it’s not really my problem, is it?”
“No. It’s her problem.” She glanced over her shoulder. “So, you slept with Micah?”
A genuine smile spread on my lips as I nodded. “I did.Twice.”
“What about Nathan and Calix?” she whispered.
“Nathan and I have been intimate, but we haven’t had sex yet, and Calix and I have kissed,” I told her, and my cheeks started to ache from smiling.
“It’s so freaking good to see you smiling like that. I’m glad you found them, Tori.”
“I am too.”
A high-pitched shriek jolted us from our conversation as a small gray blur jumped from a nearby tree and onto one of the cows beside Daisy and Jay. Its head snapped toward Spencer and I, and its eyes glowed with an eerie yellow that made my heart drop into my stomach. Its fur was matted and disheveled, and its body was emaciated and rotten.
