Eve Langlais - Apocalypse Cowboy

“When I saw the house on fire and saw you in danger…” His voice trailed off and he hugged her chokingly tight. “I can’t lose you, Hannah. I love you too much.”

“I love you too, Brody.”

“I’m sorry about the house. I wish I could have gotten there sooner and saved it too.”

“Who cares about a stupid old house. At least we’re both safe.”

Brody pulled back. “Who are you, and what have you done with my kitten?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah, well, I had an epiphany when you were gone. Turns out it wasn’t the house and stuff that I loved so much. It was my family. Without Beth and Fred and you, well, it was just a house. I was going to tell you when you got back, but then shit happened.”

“So we’re moving to the settlement where Beth and Fred are then?” he asked almost timidly, as if afraid he’d misunderstood.

“I will follow wherever you want us to go. Except for a major city,” she amended shivering. “They’re just creepy.”

Hannah’s ribs were crushed again, and he burned her with a scorching kiss, an embrace that turned into a much slower bout of lovemaking.

And after cradled in his arms, Hannah smiled. This is home.

Three years later…

Hannah smiled as she watched Brody chase Duncan across the front lawn, his shrieks of laughter the most beautiful sound in the whole world.

After an easy pregnancy but a hard labor she’d thanked the stars she’d had a midwife for, she’d birthed her nine and a half pound baby boy. She and Brody had spent a terrified year waiting to see if he’d succumb to the virus or other childhood illnesses they no longer had vaccinations for but, at just over two and a half, Duncan was a sturdy little boy with a smile brighter than sunshine.

She and Brody had been welcomed into the settlement with open arms. A house had been found for them with plenty of bedrooms for children-hint, hint. Fred had elected to stay in the boarding house with other “folk closer to his generation,” as he liked to say. Beth had lived with them for a little while before getting engaged and marrying Mike. The happy couple had been blessed with a little girl just the year before.

After her year of solitude, Hannah had found to her surprise that she quite enjoyed the community they’d joined. Everyone chipped in to take care of the chores that needed tending from farming, to livestock, to blacksmithing, the early results which had been laughable. Their village had grown as other survivors had made their way to them. Even more fantastic, they’d made contact with another thriving group a few days’ drive from them. In a joint effort, there were work crews going out every few days, intent on clearing the path between the two colonies for quicker movement.

The world might have died with a sneeze but through hard work and plain old stubbornness, people were recovering and adapting. Gone was the stress of money and working for faceless corporations. Now everybody worked for themselves and the neighbors they lived and shared with.

And even better everyone was happier. Smiles and laughter were the music that replaced the hustle of the old world.

Rubbing her distended stomach, Hannah walked down the porch steps to join her two favorite people in the world. Life had never been better, especially since she had her very own apocalypse cowboy there to remind her every day of why she was so blessed.

Eve lives in Bowmanville, Ontario, with her family consisting of three kids, two cats, one guinea pig, and her hubby. She’s a homebody at heart who loves reading, video gaming, swimming, and spending time with her family. She hopes you’ll visit her home on the web at http://www.evelanglais.com and drop her a line, because she loves to hear from readers.