May Dawney - Survival Instincts

Another tap with the same finger.

“So that means ‘yes’?”

Tap. Yes.

“How about ‘no’?”

Dani thought for a bit, then wove their fingers together. She tapped her middle finger on Lynn’s skin.

Lynn laughed. “Okay, fair enough.” She resisted the urge to stroke Dani’s hot cheek. The laugh died on her lips as she met Dani’s gaze. “You really scared me.”

A sad little whimper escaped Dani. She tapped out a yes . “What… happened?” She huffed, seemingly frustrated by her own lack of energy and her difficulty speaking.

“Long story.” Lynn smiled. “Bare bones?”

Yes .

“You took a turn for the worse, so I got Richard off the cart, got you on, and brought you to the Homestead. Everyone was sure I’d lured you into a trap so they kept me locked up—” She showed Dani the chafed skin of her wrist. “Until you woke up and told Ren and Eduardo that I hadn’t tried to get you killed. Then they let me go. Kate took everyone else out to get Richard’s body. They’ll be back some time tomorrow, if nothing went wrong.”

It took a while for the words to sink in; Dani stared at her, then blinked. No. She tapped her middle finger repeatedly, then dropped her gaze down to Lynn’s wrist.

“Don’t be surprised. You and everyone else thought I’d killed him when we left, so when I didn’t show up with him and you were half dead, there really wasn’t much I could do to convince them they’d been wrong.”

Dani huffed angrily and glared at the door. She squeezed Lynn’s hand.

“Hey.” Lynn smiled. “I don’t care about them. Just so we’re clear, though: do you think I killed Richard?”

No!

The sharp tap and Dani’s intense eyes had her smile. “Okay, good. That’s all that matters to me.”

Something bumped against her leg, and Lynn didn’t have to guess who it was.

“Someone wants to say ‘hi.’” She helped Skeever up onto the bed and stood so she could better control him. The last thing Dani needed was to be trampled on. “Careful, boy. Careful.”

Skeever lay down by Dani’s side and laid his head on her chest. His tail wagged energetically.

Dani beamed.

Lynn took Dani’s hand and moved it over Skeever’s head in a stroking motion. “Without him, you’d be dead.”

The smile died on Dani’s lips. She sighed and tapped her index finger up against Lynn’s hand. Her gaze drew up. “You?”

“I would be dead without you.” The horror of the bear attack flashed in front of her mind’s eye. “I… I don’t know how I would have lived with that if you’d died.”

Dani’s eyes searched hers. She wiggled her hand, and Lynn took it more firmly.

Lynn could see how badly she wanted to be able to say more, to express whatever was floating inside her brain. Her gaze tugged at something deep inside Lynn, at the source of her worry, her loyalty, and her butterflies.

She held Dani’s gaze with difficulty. Heat climbed to her cheeks. Dammit, how do I say this? How do Settlers ask someone if they like them too? “Dani?” Her heart thumped in her chest. “Could you tell me if… if what happened between us when we traveled together meant something to you?”

Dani hesitated only a few seconds. She licked her lips and lightly tapped. Yes.

Heat spread in Lynn’s chest. “It meant something to me too. All of it. It meant a lot.”

Dani relaxed and exhaled shakily. She smiled, then rapidly tapped yes , urging Lynn on.

A bit of the tension squeezing her heart lifted, and Lynn chuckled. “You know I’m bad at this, right?”

Yes.

“Okay, that’s just mean.” She shook her head as Dani’s eyes sparkled. “Okay, so… I’m not going to try to make it pretty because I’m not good at pretty talk.”

Dani smiled and tapped a supportive yes .

“But I was lying next to you after the bear attack, watching you get sicker and sicker.” She stared at their joined hands where Dani’s thumb stroked her skin. “And I realized that I was going to lose you if I didn’t do everything I could to stop it.” She looked up and tried to swallow down a lump of emotion before she started to cry. “Being with you makes me feel. I haven’t felt anything for a long time.”

Yes; go on , Dani’s finger tapped out.

“I don’t know what to do now, Dani. I was going to leave it up to you to choose, but now we’re here. You won’t be able to travel for a long time, and these people—” She nodded at the hallway and the entirety of the Homestead. “They hate me.”

No . Dani frowned.

“Oh yeah, they do. You’ll see.” She chuckled dryly. “So I don’t know what to do now.”

Dani tensed in preparation, then she managed to rasp, “What… would… like?” The words left her limp and breathing heavily.

Lynn met her gaze and swallowed. She could see the need in Dani’s eyes, along with the fear Lynn felt so strongly herself. She leaned down and met Dani’s lips in a soft brush. “I think you know,” she said softly.

The tap was expected, and she didn’t have to look down to check which finger it was. Yes .

LYNN BROUGHT THE SPOON TO Dani’s lips, and she took the bite of elephant stew, chewed it, and swallowed. Every time a door slammed or someone passed the room, they looked at each other, waited, and when no one entered, Lynn fed her another bite.

Kate’s group had arrived back at the Homestead a little while ago. The telltale sounds of their hellos and the shedding of gear left no doubt as to who they were. So far, Kate hadn’t made an appearance, but Lynn knew it wouldn’t take long.

Dani swallowed her bite and covered Lynn’s hand on the cup. She stroked her skin and gave her an encouraging little smile.

“I don’t like waiting. I know I locked him up well, but, you know… the Wilds.” She shrugged.

If they’d recovered Richard’s body, she’d be fully exonerated. If they hadn’t, they would forever question Lynn’s story, even if Dani confirmed it. What that would mean for Lynn, she didn’t know and she didn’t want to find out.

Dani squeezed her hand and parted her lips.

With a sigh, Lynn fed her another bite.

As Lynn scraped the last of the stew out of the cup, someone knocked on the door.

Lynn glanced at Dani, received a minute nod, and took a shuddering breath. “Yes?”

Kate pushed the door open. Her ashen complexion was enough for Lynn to know she’d found Richard; she looked as if she had seen a ghost.

To her surprise, Dean followed his mother. They lingered in the doorway.

“Good, you’re awake.” Kate forced a tired smile onto her features, but her eyes remained dead. “Ren told me you’d woken up.”

Lynn took Dani’s hand, but Dani didn’t use her fingers to communicate. She bit the proverbial bullet. “How did it go?”

Kate’s gaze drifted to her slowly. “As you predicted.”

Dean sniffed. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

“Good.” Lynn stifled a sigh of relief. “So the cuff stays off?”

“Yes.”

Silence settled heavily in the room.

Kate looked at her expectantly.

Maybe I’m not the reason they came by, after all. She checked on Dani to see if she’d come to the same conclusion.

She was looking at Kate and Dean with a frown.

Lynn took the hint. “Um, do you want me to, like, go for a while?”

Relief was instantly evident on Kate’s features. “Yes, please. Thank you.”

Dani squeezed Lynn’s hand before letting go.