Page 95 of The Outsider
Zach Jameson stood in the open doorway of the barn, a cocky smirk spread across his face. I had no idea why he was there; we hadn’t been expecting anyone. At the sight of the spilled milk spreading across the barn floor, I cursed, and Zach laughed.
“You sure scare easy,” he continued. “Can’t imagine what Madigan is thinking, bringing you here. You think you won’t face far worse than a little spilled milk before we kick your ass out?”
He was confident, arms folded over his chest, and he leaned against the doorframe like he owned the place.
“I know you’re not threatening me right now,” I said, sounding braver than I felt.
His lip curled. “Not a threat, sweetie. A promise.”
Asha sneered at him. “Go home, Wastelander.”
Zach snorted. “That cute nickname supposed to scare me, cupcake? All it does is remind everyone that you’re an outsider. You fucking Madigan to earn your keep, just like Red over there? I gotta hand it to him, you compound chicks are good-looking, if totally useless in any position except on your knees.”
Asha’s displeasure deepened the lines on her face, and she opened her mouth to reply, but Kimmy appeared behind Zach.
“Is there a reason you’re in my barn, Jameson?” Kimmy said acerbically, stepping past him. “Don’t you have your regular appointment to jerk off and cry somewhere?”
She retrieved a rag from a pile of barn tools and handed it to me. I dropped to my knees to clean up the mess, biting my lip to stifle my humiliation.
Zach laughed. “The viper herself, in the flesh? Hate to break it to you, babe, but dykes aren’t my type. Red, on the other hand, looks awful pretty kneeling like that.”
My cheeks burned, and Kimmy looked ready to murder him, her hands curling into fists at her sides.
“What do you want?” she demanded. “If you just came here to harass my family, you can fuck right off.”
Zach rolled his eyes, unfazed. “I’m here to trade, unfortunately. I went up to the house first. Anyway, we need more PNCs. My father is willing to make a generous offer.”
Kimmy shrugged. “John’s the one who’s been keeping track of the PNC trade. You’ll have to come back when he’s home.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Zach’s lips twisted into a nasty smile.
“He’s not here, watching over his women?” he said, his eyes scanning over me. “Interesting.”
I stood, sodden rag in hand, my chest tight. I didn’t like the way he looked at me, leering, like I was a piece of meat. He looked at Asha the same way, and it made me want to crawl out of my skin.
“Get off my land,” Kimmy ordered, her eyes like steel. “Now.”
Zach huffed but backed up a couple steps. “Fine. I’m going.”
He turned on his heel and left, not bothering to shut the barn door behind him. We waited for a moment, listening to his footsteps crunching in the snow.
“I’ll follow him to the gate,” Asha said, her expression hard. “Make sure he leaves.”
Kimmy nodded, then gathered another bucket and milking stool to help me finish my work. Thankfully, there was only one cow left that needed milking. After Asha left, we worked in silence until the job was done and the cows were safely back in their stalls.
By the time we’d finished, Asha still hadn’t returned. I had a peculiar feeling in the pit of my stomach as we left the barn to search for her.
He wouldn’t do anything to her on Summerhurst property…right?
Kimmy’s expression told me she was having similar thoughts. As we approached the front gate, however, Asha appeared, walking back in our direction.
“What happened to you?” Kimmy asked. “We were starting to worry.”
Asha gave a small, cavalier laugh that sounded unlike herself.
“It was fine,” she said. “He cussed me out, and we went our separate ways at the gate. Nothing else happened.”
“He didn’t threaten you, did he?” Kimmy said skeptically.
