Eden's Promise (15 page)

Man and horse moved out of her sight for awhile—too long, in her opinion, before he reappeared, astride the brown horse he’d charmed, and leading a black. She hurried forward as fast as her sore feet allowed, then hesitated beside the black horse he held for her.

“I figured we’d make better time this way. Do you know how to ride?” he asked, looking natural as could be on horseback.
 

Not to mention sexy as hell. She suddenly got the appeal of the cowboy.

She eyed the creature warily, as it eyed her. “Theoretically.”

He dismounted as she put a foot in the stirrup, and with a hand on her ass, boosted her into the saddle. She landed hard, and the horse shied, but Aaron calmed it and drew it alongside his. He handed her the reins.
 

“Don’t tug on them unless you really mean it.”

She nodded, staring at the back of the horse’s neck. She hoped he didn’t take exception to a rider after all this time, because of all the tragedies that could befall someone after the apocalypse, she was pretty sure a fall from a horse would be one of the more painful.
 

Aaron walked his horse, making sure Eden was secure in the saddle before he nudged his mount into a jarring trot, and then a gallop. She was grateful for the western saddle and the horn that she gripped as her horse followed. Finally she figured out that tightening her knees against her horse’s side made for a smoother ride.

Once they were beyond the town limits, he slowed, and her horse slowed as well without her having to pull too hard on the reins.
 

“Okay?” he asked, looking over at her.

She tried to nod but was shaking pretty hard. “Do they have helmets for these things?”

He chuckled. “We’ll go easier for a bit.”
 

So they rode that way for what seemed like hours, walking a bit, then galloping. Her back ached from her knapsack bouncing, her thighs ached from hanging on for dear life. And like an idiot, she watched Aaron, his easy posture in the saddle, how beautiful he looked, how confident.

“Where did you learn how to ride? Texas?” she asked when they slowed again.

“A little. Mostly on my way from North Carolina to Texas, and Texas out here. Desperation, you know. If I’d walked, hell, I’d still be walking.”

“So you taught yourself.”

“I had the basics. It was just a matter of finding a horse and tack.” He looked over at her again, inspecting her posture. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I may not be able to walk when I get down. And I may not be able to get back up.”

He chuckled. “You’ll be fine. And we’ll get to Sacramento that much faster.”

They crested a rise and Aaron drew back on his reins, holding out a hand to her so she’d do the same.

Below them, in the valley was a sprawling military base. And by the movement of men on the grounds, it looked to be active.

“Do you think it’s safe?” she asked Aaron.

His jaw tightened, which made her think no. But just when she thought he’d turn the horses around and skirt the base, a shout came from below.

They’d been spotted.

Aaron looked over at her, his expression tight. “We stick to our story, all right? Stay close,” he said, and urged his horse down the hillside.

Chapter Eleven

They arrived at the gates just as the sun was setting. Aaron looked at Eden, who was shivering in the saddle, not because of the chill in the air, necessarily, but because of exhaustion. Of course—they’d only had a couple of hours of sleep last night, and the night before, and the night before. Hell, they hadn’t slept more than four hours since they’d left Washington. He dismounted, looping the reins around his wrist and reached to help Eden down. She almost couldn’t keep her feet, and he held her against him as the gates slid open and two guards stepped out.

“Can we take shelter here?” Aaron asked. “My wife and I have had a long trip.”

The one soldier, just a boy, maybe sixteen, looked them over with hard eyes. “Where are you from?”

“North Dakota. We have our own food, but we just—it’s scary to sleep in the open.”

The first soldier inspected them. “You don’t have a tent or anything?”

“We got caught in a storm a few nights ago and it was destroyed. We haven’t come across any place that wasn’t ransacked to hell so we can replace it,” Aaron said.

“Wait here,” the second soldier said, and stepped back into the shadows of the gate to call someone else forward.

The next thing he knew, they were being frisked. Her handgun and his rifle and knife were confiscated with the promise they would be returned when they left the base. Their packs were inspected and returned with the comment that they hadn’t brought many clothes. Aaron explained those were lost in the storm as well, and then they were allowed inside.
 

He didn’t like the way the soldiers were looking at Eden. Even as bedraggled as she looked in her pilfered jeans, T-shirt and flannel shirt, there was no doubt she was a beautiful woman, and he was glad he’d gone with the story they were married. It might not keep her a hundred percent safe, but it would make a difference. He took her hand and drew her close to his side.
 

They were led to the mess hall, and were introduced to the man in charge. Commander Wayne was a tall strapping man who moved like a cowboy, slow and easy. He wore desert camo with a shoulder holster and a web belt loaded with more weapons than Aaron would hope they’d need inside a base. Aaron had trouble not saluting—it was so ingrained in him, but that would open up a can of worms he didn’t want to deal with. He did not want these people to know he was a former SEAL.

And the more he looked at them, the more he wondered if they were who they said they were.

Even the commander didn’t hide his interest in Eden. Aaron wondered if there were no other women on base. He found that hard to believe—no wives? No female soldiers? But he hadn’t seen any yet. He hooked his fingers through Eden’s belt loop, though that probably gave him more of a feeling of security than it did her.
 

“Mr. and Mrs. McKay,” greeted the commander in a booming voice. “I hear you’ve come quite the distance, and have farther to go.”

Eden nodded, looking appropriately exhausted when he offered her a chair. She dropped into it, but remained alert. Good girl.

“We’re so grateful for your hospitality,” she said, her words a little slurred with her fatigue. “It will be nice to sleep inside four walls with someone else keeping watch.”

“Have you encountered a lot of trouble?”

“Not encountered, but we’ve seen some,” Aaron said. “We’ve been able to avoid being seen for the most part.”

“A skill a lot of people don’t have.” The commander gave Aaron an assessing look.

Shit. Aaron knew that look, and his suspicion heightened. “A self-preservation instinct, I guess.”

The commander turned his attention to Eden. “You’re lucky to have him.”

“I know,” she said with tired little laugh.

“I’d like to know more about your travels, but I can see you’re worn out.” The commander rose and motioned to one of his men. “Show Mr. and Mrs. McKay to Captain Aldine’s old room. They can have some privacy and a shower.”

“Our horses?” Aaron asked before they walked out.
 

“Already stabled and being fed and watered.”

“Thank you,” Aaron said, forcing himself to sound grateful even though alarms were going off in his head. He didn’t like this place, didn’t like the commander. Something was off. He’d be damned if half these guys were army. He and Eden needed to be careful while they were in here. God, had he brought her to a trap?

He made note of the route to their room, of the layout of the base. The barracks where they were taken were close to the mess, but there was another building to the south that was seeing a lot of activity. Curiosity pulled at him, but he needed to get Eden safe first.

Finally they were alone in a room, small but private, no windows, but with a dresser and full-sized bed, with a bathroom around the corner. Still, he got the feeling they weren’t really alone. He scanned the place for peepholes and cameras—the place had generators and power to run them, if they had a mind to.
 

“Be careful where you undress,” he said, low, to her. “I have a feeling this place is bugged.”

“An army base?” she asked, a hair too loud for his comfort.
 

“I have my suspicions.”

She widened her eyes. “Should we leave?”

“We’ll stay the night,” he said. “But yeah, we should leave first thing.”

“Okay.” She staggered toward the bathroom, glancing about for those cameras. “I smell like horse. I hope there’s soap.”

When she disappeared, he looked at the small bed. Not the most ideal sleeping arrangement, but after two nights in the open, at least they’d be warm.

She emerged from the shower a few moments later smelling of man’s soap, but smiling.
 

“Who do you suppose Captain Aldine is? More importantly, where do you think he is?” she asked.
 

“No idea. Out on patrol maybe?”

“Maybe. Bed looks warm, anyway.”

He couldn’t decipher the look she gave him as she moved to the bed and got beneath the covers. She was still moving stiffly from her hours on the horse.

Jesus, the horses. He hoped Commander Wayne didn’t eat them.

“Going to shower?” she asked sleepily from the covers.
 

“In a minute.” He wanted to get a better sense of his bearings before he settled in for the night. “Go to sleep.”

She took him at his word, dropping off almost immediately.

He hated leaving her alone, vulnerable. But he wouldn’t be gone long, just long enough to get the lay of their part of the compound. He knew it wasn’t likely they’d be able to leave without notice, but he at least wanted a place where they could hide, a fallback position.

The place was locked up tight, hallways blocked off. If this was the officer’s quarters, hell, he didn’t want to see where the enlisted lived. The place couldn’t be more Spartan. There were no fallback positions available, which made him feel even more vulnerable as he slipped back into the bedroom.
 

Eden’s blonde hair was spread over the pillow and he had to move it before he stretched out beside her. And he was going to have to spoon her or move her closer to the edge of the bed. Already his body was responding at the thought of snuggling up against her, but he wouldn’t disturb her sleep.

He drew back the covers and slid in behind her. She was warm and smelled good, but he resisted the urge to press up against her. She turned and nestled against him, her head under his chin, her hands curled against his chest.

He should never have started sleeping with her. As good as she felt, as good as they were together, he was in no way ready for a relationship, and Eden was young and naive, if he was honest. She would read more into sex than he meant for her to.

Yes, he liked her. She was strong and determined and tough. But as he’d told her, what was the point of a relationship? To get married? And the point of that was, what? To have kids? In this world? No. No way in hell.

And all that was contingent on if they had a future, if they got to Kelly and got back to the island.
 

Jesus, that was looking less likely. So maybe he should start taking one day at a time, and enjoy having this woman in his life. He turned and wrapped her in his arms, letting his guard down against every instinct he had.
 

Chapter Twelve

“We need to get out of here today,” Aaron said when Eden woke the next morning. He’d barely slept at all, partly because of the small bed, partly because of his arousal and partly because of his concern about the men on the other side of the door.

“Are we going to ask about getting a ride to Sacramento?” she asked.

He blew a breath through his nose. This was one of the things he’d turned over in his mind last night. “I don’t want to raise their suspicions about our story.” He made sure he kept his voice low and his head down, so anyone listening couldn’t hear, anyone watching couldn’t read his lips. “I don’t think these guys are all army, Eden. Trust me. I think we need to just get out as soon as we can.”

She opened her mouth as if to argue, then nodded, just as someone knocked at the door.

When Aaron opened it, the soldier on the other side seemed disappointed that Eden was dressed.

“Commander Wayne wants you to join him for breakfast.”

Aaron nodded shortly, then turned to Eden. “Got everything?”

She hoisted her knapsack on her shoulder and nodded. “I’m ready.”

“You can leave your gear here,” the soldier said.

“I think we’re going to try to get an early start today,” Aaron said. “A long way to go.”