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something.”
    Again with that smile of his. And it seemed to drown out all her worries, all her bad memories, and hidden secrets. Maybe she really did like him. Yeah, the more she thought about it, the more she thought maybe she “like liked” him. But he was married…
    “Of course I like you, Jed. You’re strong and good, and rough around the edges. You’re, like, a good friend maybe. I hope you are. But you know you have other responsibilities. I don’t know if Amber is okay with you having a friend like me.”
    Jed looked far away and was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, “Jaz, me ’n Amber haven’t been what you call ‘close’ in years. Not since we lost our other son, drowned in the crick. She blames me. I reckon she stays with my sorry ass out of love for the kids. She surely does love them, you know. But I seen how she looks at Ethan. Same as she used to look at me before I asked her out the first time. And he’s a good man, that Ethan. I think we’ll all be in this together for longer than we might think, and I reckon I don’t much worry about what she and Ethan do together down the road. But right now isn’t the time and not all secretive and sneaky when they do. I hope.”
    Jaz froze. Oh God, he’d never opened up like that before, not in any of their sometimes long talks along the way. The guy was hurt, but still only wanted Amber to be happy! She’d have to seriously reconsider this guy. Maybe he wasn’t so rough around the edges after all. And Jed said he and Amber had been distant for years. Long enough for him to come to grips with it. No need for rebounding, maybe. Oh, what the hell was she thinking? Did she really like him like that ?
    “Jed, it like, hurts me to hear that. She’s a good person, but so are you. I think both of you should have a chance to be happy. If you’re okay with her kicking it with Ethan, maybe she’ll, like, be okay with us being friends? I kinda think maybe we could be… really close friends. I want to be.”
    Jed slid an arm around her waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Jed let out a long, deep breath. “Jaz, you got more in your head than just friends. I think. I been thinkin’ about that too, for a while now. I haven’t smiled a real smile in a long, long time before you came along. I like being around you, girlie. You make me smile again. Let’s ease into it and see how Amber deals with us being friends. Okay?”
    With that, Jed stood and strode over to Michael and Cassy without a look back. Jaz had an avalanche of thoughts all tumbling around in her head, and she stared into the trees, thinking. Then she glanced around when she realized she’d spaced out. Jed and Michael were talking about something or other, but not Cassy. Sitting by Michael, Cassy stared at Jaz with one eyebrow half-raised, and she felt her cheeks flush red. Cassy made one curt nod and then turned away to Michael and Jed’s conversation.
    Jaz was once more alone with her thoughts, wondering what Cassy meant when she nodded at her like that.

    * * *

    Just before the sun went down completely, Cassy and the others finished preparing the make-shift encampment; latrine dug, coals burning merrily, and wool blankets set up as lean-tos around the fire, with another wool blanket under each lean-to set atop a bed of leaves and needles to insulate them from the ground. Sleeping in the rough with comfort, Cassy smiled to herself.
    To the south was the town of Devault; occasional gunshots could be heard from there, faint reports carried on the wind. Cassy and the others had already been briefed for the next day’s run because Michael insisted everyone know the plan just in case they had to flee during the night. Everyone could meet up at the next day’s encampment spot, if necessary, even if they split up and traveled alone. In the morning, they would travel along the I-76 greenbelt to the west until it ran out in a few miles, then bypass the town of Eagle by