Page 43 of Dyana
Evan set his chickens down beside the rooster and pulled me into his arms. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, Dyana. We should have. You’ve been through so much that we wanted to protect you from anything else that might come our way.”
“I don’t need you to protect me,” I replied. I felt my anger decreasing. While I was still annoyed, I didn’t feel like kicking their asses anymore.
“I know you don’t, but that doesn’t keep us from wanting to. And it doesn’t mean you can’t let us.” Evan pressed his lips to mine for a short, sweet kiss. “We care about you, Dyana. You are so fucking important to us, and there isn’t anything we wouldn’t do to keep you safe and happy.”
How was a girl supposed to argue with that? I knew that not telling me about the car came from a good place. I hadn’t considered any other explanation. I trusted them, and I didn’t trust many people. “Just don’t do it again,” I finally said. “I trust you, but if you all continue to keep things from me, that will stop.”
“It won’t happen again,” Evan assured me.
I nodded, grabbed the rooster cage, and headed up the mountain. Hopefully, whoever was driving through town didn’t see us leave.
“How long do you think we have to keep them in the coop before they consider it home?” Derrick asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet. I never knew a grown man could get so excited about chickens.
“The book says a few days to a couple of weeks,” Isaac answered. We stood around the coop and watched the chickens explore their new enclosure. Isaac’s book came in handy when we were figuring out everything we needed to give them the perfect home. Soon, we would have fresh eggs. And with the number of baby chicks we had, we could even slaughter one of the hens and have chicken in the near future.
“We should have a family dinner tonight!” Cora announced. “We haven’t had one since Jack, Bryce, and Evan came here.”
“That’s a good idea,” I replied. I heard rustling in the tree line, followed by a pitiful meow, and chuckled as I retrieved Killer. We had rigged a kitty door for him so that he could come and go from the tower as he pleased.
“He’s been running between our houses crying for you all day,” Cora said as she appeared at my side and stroked his nose. “He missed his mama.”
“If we have a family dinner, does that mean Dyana will make biscuits and bread?” Remi asked hopefully.
“I can do that,” I answered. I snuggled Killer a little longer and then set him down. He went directly toward the coop and began sniffing along the perimeter.
“Then I’m in,” Remi said, pumping his arm excitedly.
“Dyana, I’m telling you right now,” Derrick said, glaring at Killer. “If your cat kills my chickens, I’ll return the favor.”
“He’s harmless,” I replied.
“We’ll see about that.”
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics and scooped Killer up again. “Come on, baby. You can come inside with us.” Cora and I took Killer and Johnny inside to start working on the breads and side dishes for tonight’s meal while the guys pulled the venison steaks from the freezer to grill. We used to have regular weekly dinners together, which I always looked forward to. I enjoyed spending time with Cora and her family, but often felt out of place or like I was intruding, except during family dinner nights. Since Bryce, Jack, and Evan showed up, I haven’t felt like I was imposing as much.
Once everything was ready, we decided to sit outside and eat so that we could enjoy the good weather. Everyone chatted comfortably as we ate. Johnny loved every minute of it, and we passed him around the table to keep him entertained. When I returned from fetching another basket of biscuits, my heart overflowed as I paused near the house to take in the scene. Inever expected to have a family again, to have so much love for other humans again.
Jack caught my gaze and smiled as he left the table and walked toward me. He moved behind me, slid an arm around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder. “It’s surreal, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Them. Us. Somehow in this fucked up world, you managed to bring us all together to form a family.”
“I didn’t do this,” I protested.
“Didn’t you? You’re the link, Dyana. Without you, we’d never have come together.” I shook my head. I didn’t do this. This happened despite me, not because of me. Jack sighed as if he could read my thoughts. “You don’t destroy everything you touch, Doll. Far from it.”
I wasn’t entirely sure about that, but I was certain that I would do everything in my power to protect my new family.
When we eventually called it a night and made it back to the tower, I was still floating on the emotional contentment from before. I set Killer down on his little bed in the corner and then turned to my men. My men. “So, I think the first thing I need to address is the car in town. Evan and I have already hashed it out. I’m not mad anymore, but I need you all to understand that we can’t keep things like that from each other. Secrets destroy trust, and in this world, trust is essential for our survival.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Doll, but I’ll do whatever I need to do to protect you. And I can’t promise that won’t mean keeping something from you,” Jack replied.
“Why do you have to be difficult?” Bryce asked. “No more secrets, Dyana. Promise.”
“And as long as Bryce and I vow not to keep anything from you, Jack won’t be able to keep anything from you either, cause we’ll just rat him out,” Evan smirked at a glowering Jack.
“You two really are a bunch of traitors,” Jack complained. “Fine. No secrets.” I shook my head at Jack’s stubbornness. I hadn’t doubted for a minute that he’d come around in the end.
