The Mysterious Stranger (The Confidence Game 3)

Macy eye-rolled. “You think that’s why you stand out? Everyone knows you went to HQ shouting about your brother. You’re lucky Orrin didn’t boot you back to the decay. He’s a saint, that man. And to think he singled you out.”

“What exactly am I singled out for?” She needed the clearest picture possible.

“The men do their part. The women do the growing, birthing and the caretaking. We share our wisdom and our hands, and no one is left alone to struggle. It looks like Orrin is interested in you for himself. Touching you intimately in public, that was declaration of intent.”

She needed Macy to say it so her own impression from her encounter with Orrin was verified. “What intent?”

“You might be useless but that doesn’t make you stupid,” said Macy. “You pop out his babe, you’ll always be favored.”

There it was. That accounted for Cadence’s mixed signals and her own revulsion at Orrin’s words and touch. “I’m not interested in being favored.”

“Maybe you are stupid. It would be an honor to be bedded by him.”

“I’m not ready for that honor so soon.” She chose the words carefully, heeding Cadence’s warning.

“So soon.” Macy made a tsk-tsk sound. “The world is ending. It’s not like we have time. You’re healthy, fertile?”

“That’s not it.” Rory dug her heels in and spooled out her cover story. If she was lucky, the gossip ran all the way back to Orrin and he’d meditate on her reluctance. “I was an addict. My body is still recovering. I’m not even regular yet.” She was also wired up with an IUD and progestin, so pregnancy would be a genuine miracle, plus she didn’t have to worry about having a period while she was on this rollercoaster.

“No one is ever ready,” said Macy. “You’ll have all the help you’d never get in the decay.”

“From Orrin?” Rory asked, struggling to keep incredulity from her voice.

“What do men know about raising children? Having a man around is like having another child. A lot of us here were raised by single moms or had deadbeat dads. Women are natural with kids. Your sisters will be with you all the way. You won’t have sleepless nights or struggle with feeding or teething or potty training. Our kids get all the attention they truly need and deserve without anyone needing to be exhausted.”

That was some gender normative bullshit. “You truly believe that?” If Zeke fell for someone and decided he wanted to be a dad, there’d be no stopping him being up to his armpits in the chaos of that. Rory scratched her neck. All this talk about motherhood was giving her a rash.

Macy laughed. “Oh don’t you look like you lost your virginity all over again. Girl, you are saved now. Whatever worries you have from your old life, you don’t need to think about them anymore. Once you’ve bonded with Orrin you’ll have respect, and no one can ever take away the fact that you’re the mother of our founder’s child.”

“What if I say no?”

Macy looked at the sky as if it had better answers to Rory’s questions. “I was wondering if I was too harsh calling you useless, but now I know I wasn’t. Half the women here would do something desperate to have Orrin pay them one heartbeat of the attention you got tonight.”

She’d been here a week and not only was she a troublemaking slacker no one wanted to talk to, she was favored as a brood mare. Time to watch her back and reel her defiance in. “It’s a shock, that’s all. Everything is so different.”

Macy studied her. “Hmhm. Okay, okay.” She threw her hand up. “This here is a party, and it’s for dancing and making eyes at men, and getting some later and I’m in need of some. I’m out.”

Macy’s departure was Rory’s cue. She had a lot to think about and a signal jammer to find.

Chapter Nine

Cadence had no intention of dancing with Zeke. He asked her three times. The first time to be polite. The second because the band were playing “Radio Nowhere” and his feet were tapping and so were hers, and the third time because Susan was on her way back.

“Dance with me. If you don’t, Susan is going to take Rory’s seat and I don’t think you want that.” He sure didn’t. He angled his head towards the dancers and smiled at Cadence. “Save me, please.”

Cadence stood with the grace of a drunk giraffe that made him want to laugh. He followed her onto the dance floor, conscious of the eyes on him, Susan’s frown and Chuck’s undisguised astonishment.

The band played “I’m on Fire.” This was slow dancing and he wasn’t sure how to approach that. Cadence looked around, hands flapping at her sides. “I just wanted to get away from her. I didn’t realize it was this kind of dancing.”

All the other couples were doing their best prom impersonations, holding close, barely moving. “We could just sway a little. It’s still dancing.” He planted his feet wide and shifted his weight between them.

She snuck a look around. He figured she’d bolt if she wasn’t certain that would attract more attention than coming out here already had.

“Maybe we could hold hands.” Zeke turned his towards her. “Just the one.” He didn’t want to touch her with his injured hand and he didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than she was.

Cadence stepped in closer and took his hand, was fine about him folding it to his chest. They danced like that for the remainder of the song, barely moving, no other co

ntact, part of the sea of others doing the same. When the song changed he expected her to head off, but she made no move to.