Page 204 of After the Burn

Grief was so common these days that people didn’t even ask why anyone was crying anymore.

Ben watched from several yards away. Adrian, Lucas, and Beck stood beside him. Close, but letting me break the news to my friend.

Eventually, Ethan pulled back and wiped his face. “I need some time alone. Can I find you later to get the whole story?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Later, after everyone had been shown where to settle, Ben found me near the old jousting field.

I had just finished at the shower house, where lukewarm water felt like the greatest luxury left on earth. Someone lent me a clean pair of black leggings and an oversized gray T-shirt that reached nearly to my mid-thigh. My damp hair hung down my back, and for the first time in months, I no longer smelled of sweat, blood, smoke, or rot.

I felt almost human again.

Beck, Adrian, and Lucas had disappeared into the men’s side of the shower house a few minutes earlier, which meant I finally had a rare moment alone.

Or I would have.

I looked at my father. His hair had more gray in it since I last saw him. A new scar marked his jawline, but he was alive and breathing.

“I thought you were dead.”

“I thought you might be too.”

“I watched you fall.” I shuddered at the memory.

“It was touch and go for a while. I managed to get away from the infected, but one of Nash’s men got off a lucky shot. If it hadn’t been for a couple of the men in this community finding me, I would have died. Enhanced or not.” Something in his expression broke. “I’m sorry, Taryn.”

I blinked. Ben Calder apologizing might have been stranger than the dead walking.

“I came looking for you as soon as I recovered.” Ben rested his forearms on the old wooden rail.

I blinked back tears. “I would never have left you if I’d known you were still alive.”

“I’m glad you left.” He turned to look at me. “You’re the most important thing in my life.” He turned back to the field. “I taught you how to survive alone.”

I wiped my eyes. “You did.”

“I don’t regret it, but I’m glad you didn’t have to.” His eyes returned to mine. “Each of those three men would die for you.”

“It doesn’t bother you that I’m with all three of them?”

We didn’t try to hide our relationship on the trip here. I’d seen Ben looking at us in confusion a couple of times, but he hadn’t commented.

“No. The more people invested in you staying alive the better.”

“I’d die for them too, you know.” I wanted him to know I was just as invested as my men were.

“I know.” He looked almost annoyed by how much that frightened him.

I smiled faintly, then stepped forward and hugged him.

Ben froze. Only for a second, then his arms closed around me.

“I missed you, Dad,” I whispered.

His grip tightened. “I missed you too.”

Eventually, I pulled back. “So?”