Free After the Crux by Dani Worth

chivalrous. Ladies first and all.”
    “Like I believe that,” she muttered before smiling at him. But she took the bread. “I take it Jenna made it?” She bit off a piece. “Hey, it’s good.”
    “Okay, I get it. It’s shocking.” Something in that smile made Jenna pay closer attention. Georgia was coming out of her shell. There had been hints of it here and there over the last month or so, but lately, Jenna had noticed that she was starting to show a sense of humor, starting to show that she was really beginning to feel a part of their family.
    Warmth filled her heart. She loved all these people. So much.
    Then she wondered how they were going to feel about her new relationship. She glanced at Dorian to find him staring at her. She lifted an eyebrow and he gave her a reassuring smile before dropping his eyes to her breasts again. She glared at him. Her nipples needed a break.
    “So, is Ross coming out today or what?” Lynn asked. She handed Georgia the almond milk she’d made the day before. Almonds were a precious commodity because for the first few years, they couldn’t keep a tree alive through the winter. It took more than one kind of almond tree for them to work, so they’d built a huge section onto the greenhouse and managed to grow almond as well as olive trees for oil. They harvested and froze the almonds because they used them in everything. Georgia loved the milk as much as the kids so Lynn kept a ready fresh pitcher. “Though,” Lynn continued, “I must say I’ve enjoyed visiting him and his state of near undress a lot lately.” White teeth flashed in a cheeky grin.
    “Me too,” Georgia murmured.
    Jenna lifted her eyebrow in surprise. Jake ruffled Georgia’s already tousled, blonde hair, and then pulled out her favorite tea. “Guess I should have paid more attention. Just looked like Ross to me.”
    “You wouldn’t understand,” Lynn said. It was obvious she was trying not to make a big deal out of Georgia’s remark because it was a pretty big fucking deal. No one but Ross knew what Georgia had been through, but they could guess. He wouldn’t tell them. Couldn’t even talk about it. The only thing Jenna knew was Ross had killed to free Georgia and he didn’t regret it. Whoever they had been, they must have been the scum of the earth.
    For Georgia to even hint at something sexual was huge. Huge.
    Georgia must have realized they were all paying too much attention to her. She started to look uncomfortable, shrinking back a little.
    “Who’s up for fishing?” Jenna asked quickly. “Hey, Georgia, I’m craving that blackened trout thing you made last month. Feel up to making it again?”
    Georgia smiled and nodded before pouring almond milk into a mug of hot tea. “I’ll whip up the almond butter this morning so it can firm up in the refrigerator.” She sighed. “I do wish we had a cow. Have you ever tasted real butter?”
    This was more than she’d said at once in forever. Jenna nodded. “It was so long ago, I’ve forgotten what it was like.” She leaned toward Dorian. “Think we can expand your insulated chicken coop into a barn that would hold a cow, too?” They had a barn, but they’d turned it into a place to cook up their biodiesel since it was nice and far from the house. But there was plenty of room to build a new barn. Room for more houses, too, if they ever found more people.
    “Without a doubt. Finding a cow will be the hard part.”
    Jake nodded. “He’s right. Most were butchered for meat pretty fast. I haven’t seen livestock of any kind on our runs.”
    Lynn focused on the counter and cleared her throat. “I think maybe we’ll look harder this year. Someone out there has to have set something up like we have. There have to be other people out there like us, ones rebuilding instead of taking. We’ve learned to grow so much, trading could be a real possibility. I’d like to get Georgia her cow.” She cut a slice of bread.
    Jake hugged her before