Broken World (Book 6): Forgotten World by Kate L. Mary

anything.” Ginny pauses, and I hear her take a deep breath. “I was scared. That’s all it was.”
    “I know,” Axl says firmly. “Never thought it was anythin’ else.”
    Ginny clears her throat. “I’m going to tell her. I just have to figure out a good time. Do you think she’ll forgive me?”
    “‘Course she will. Vivian ain’t petty, and she’s gonna understand.” Now Axl’s voice is soft like he’s trying to comfort Ginny. I’m glad. They used to get along. Used to like each other, and I want it to be that way again.
    “Good,” Ginny says. “Because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t tell her the truth.”
    I wait for them to say more. To explain what happened and what all this tension has been about. To give me a heads up on what I can expect. Nothing happens, though. There are footsteps, and cabinets open. There’s a clink of metal against ceramic like someone is stirring a cup of coffee. That’s it, though. No conversation. Nothing to tell me what all this has been about.
    After a few seconds, I give up and head for the kitchen. So Ginny has something she wants to tell me. So what? I don’t know what it is, but I do know I will give her the chance to explain. It’s only fair. We don’t have much time left together, after all.
    “Morning,” I say, forcing out a yawn as I head into the kitchen. Acting like I didn’t hear a thing.
    Ginny’s eyes get huge. “Hi!” she says, her voice high. Like she’s going through puberty, not about to have a baby.
    I freeze. “Are you okay?”
    “Fine,” she says, shaking her head. “Coffee?”
    She turns away, and when I glance at Axl, he isn’t looking at me either. It’s a little weird, considering they were just talking about me , but maybe Ginny isn’t ready to talk about it. She did just work things out with Axl. She may need more time before she talks to me about whatever happened.
    “Here you go,” Ginny says, flashing me a huge—and forced—smile when she turns back around with a cup of coffee in her hand.
    “Thanks,” I say, returning her fake smile.
    I take a sip, savoring the hot liquid like it might be my last cup of coffee ever. Which it could. There are a lot of things we may not be able to start making again any time soon. Even if Atlanta and a few other places are back on their feet, we don’t have coffee beans. It’s all going to take time.
    “We excited about this meeting?” I ask, smiling over my coffee.
    Axl shakes his head. “Excited ain’t the word I was gonna use.” He glances toward the clock. “We got an hour before it starts, but I’m gonna head out now. Talk to Angus and figure out what we’re gonna do ‘bout this whole thing. I want all of us there, too, so I better give everybody a heads up.”
    “Okay,” I whisper. “I’ll get dressed and head your way in a little bit.”
    Axl nods. He downs the rest of his coffee as he crosses the room, setting the mug in the sink when it’s empty. On his way back out, he pauses long enough to kiss me on the side of the head, but it’s half-hearted. An afterthought rather than a necessity.
    He heads out of the kitchen, his footsteps pounding across the floor on the way to the front door.
    “What’s going on?” Ginny says the second the door has shut.
    “What do you mean?” I ask even though the nagging thought that met me when I first woke up this morning hasn’t gone away.
    “Something’s bugging you.”
    There’s fear in her eyes, but I don’t know why she’s scared, and I don’t have it in me to figure it out right now. Not when I’m thinking about what I want to say to Axl.
    I put my cup down and let out a deep sigh. “We’ve gotten too comfortable, which would be fine if we were a normal couple and these were normal times. But they’re not, and we’re getting ready to go back out there. We need to remember how dangerous it is.”
    “You need to talk to him. To clear things up so you aren’t stressed when you head out there.