Free The Last Woman (All That Remains #1) by S. M. Shade Page A

He
ate and had a bath. He was happy to watch cartoons.”
    “I assume those are generators
I hear?”
    I nod. He’s fighting to keep
his eyes open. “I’ll let you sleep, but I’m right across the hall if you need
anything. Just yell for me.”
    “Thank you for taking care of
me and my boy.”
    “You’re more than welcome.”
    I change clothes and go to the
bathroom to clean up and brush my teeth. When I return to my room, Airen is
sitting on my bed.
    “So, he’s awake?”
    “He was for a few minutes. I
think he’ll be all right,” I reply.
    His hand runs through his hair,
a sure sign he’s stressed. What’s wrong with him? Why is he even awake?
    “Airen, do you want to talk
about something? Is something wrong?”
    He stares at me for a moment.
“No, I’m going back to bed,” he mutters and walks out before I can question him
further. I’m too tired to ponder the intricacies of Airen’s thought processes
tonight. My bed feels so good, I fall asleep almost instantly.
     
    * * *
*
     
    Most of my time is spent
taking care of Joseph over the next couple of days. Airen’s mood hasn’t
improved one iota. He’s so grouchy. I assume it’s because he’s getting stuck
with more of the household duties in my absence so I ask Jayla to take over the
cooking for a few days.
    Joseph is well enough to stand
up for a few minutes at a time. His fever is gone, and the wound is healing,
but he’s still very weak. I’ve been filling him in on how we keep the house
warm, how we cook, and shower.
    “Are you telling me you can
take a hot shower?” he asks, his eyes lighting up.
    I giggle at his enthusiasm. “Yes,
so can you when you’re up to it.”
    “Thank goodness, this dried
mud really itches,” he complains, scratching at a spotty red rash covering his
neck and chest.
    “Look...” I hesitate. “I’ll
help you get a shower if you aren’t too embarrassed. I’m sure you don’t have
anything I haven’t seen before, or I can ask Airen to help you.”
    “Are you sure? You’ve done
enough for us already, and I doubt Airen will like it.”
    I glance at him in surprise.
“Why do you say that?”
    “I wouldn’t like my girl
watching some other guy in the shower.”
    He grins. Is he trying to be a
smart ass? He’s seen Airen, and he has to know that isn’t the case.
    “Airen and I are just friends,
so don’t worry. I’ll go heat the water and get you some clean clothes.”
    The kids are all in bed, and
Airen is reading in his room when I help Joseph out of bed and into the
bathroom where we’ve rigged up the camp shower.
    “I don’t know how long I can
stay standing,” he admits.
    “It’s okay.” I place a plastic
chair just out of the spray. “Get wet, and then you can sit down to get soaped
up.”
    He nods and slips out of his
boxer briefs, avoiding my eyes. “I really owe you one after this.”
    “I’ll ignore your red face if
you’ll ignore mine.” Mud runs off of him for the first minute while he stands
in the spray. After rinsing as much as he can, he flops into the chair.
    “I just need a minute,” he
says apologetically.
    I take the washcloth from him.
“Let me.”
    His face is as red as a
stoplight, but he acquiesces. He’s weaker than either of us anticipated. I
quickly lather up the washcloth and wash down his back, arms, chest, and
stomach. “Can you stand and rinse for a second?” He complies, but his legs
start to shake. I turn the chair around, and he drops into it as if his body
weighs a ton. “Lean your head back into the water.” I work fast, washing his
hair and rinsing until the water runs clear. “Almost done.”
    “Thanks,” he whispers. Kneeling,
I wash his legs and feet before wiping his face and neck with a clean cloth. I
don’t like how pale he’s becoming. He’s had enough.
    “Here.” I hand him the cloth.
“Finish your...um...other parts, and you’re done.”
    He quickly washes his private
areas before standing under the spray once more to rinse.