She was mildly surprised to see Coop in the coop again the next morning. He leaned against the wall, watching her work, and she found herself surprisingly at ease. “So, you mentioned your gran?” she asked as she gently scooted Lionel with her foot so she could move past him.
“Yeah. She had a farm in Iowa, and I used to spend most summers with her.”
She nodded. “She had chickens?”
“A bunch, though I don’t think she felt at all maternal toward them.”
Mina blushed slightly. “I still think friendly is the best approach.”
“Your girls certainly seem fat and sassy.” He bent down to pick up Trudie, who had been pecking around his feet. She clucked at him, but settled against him like a froufrou dog.
“That’s Trudie. She likes you to stroke her wings.” She pushed back her short bangs with her forearm, already hating the morning heat. “I miss air conditioning.”
“And computers.”
“And hot running water.” Mina sighed. “I know we’re luckier than many, with having the farm and the artesian well, but I sure miss how easy life was before The End.”
Coop returned Trudie to the floor before coming closer. He moved to the nesting box beside her, reaching in like he’d done egg collecting a thousand times before. “It’s bad out there. Several times, I was sure we wouldn’t make it here. Wyoming seemed a million miles away when we were in Germany.”
“I’m glad I’m not out there. We’re pretty isolated here, but we’ve still had some scary times. A few people have tried stealing from us. One rough-looking group of men offered to trade my father a generator and a working tractor for one of us girls.”
He drew his breath in raggedly. “How’d Mr. Marsden handle that?”
“We all showed them our guns and told them to leave—then spent the next couple weeks worrying about if they’d come back to try to take one of us.” She shrugged. “Thankfully, they must have moved on. I just hope they didn’t come across any women traveling alone or who were vulnerable.”
Coop looked haunted. “Yeah. We saw some…things that are burned in my head. Lots of violence out there. People are desperate and starving. Of course, it brings out the worst in everyone.”
They had collected all the eggs, and she realized they were just standing by the boxes talking, but she didn’t try to rush away despite a busy day. “I can’t really blame someone for doing what it takes to feed your family or take care of your kids.”
“Yeah, I know, but some of the things people did…killing for things they didn’t need. Raping—” He broke of abruptly. “Well, I have to get started. Your pop has a laundry list of chores for me.”
“For us all,” she said with a silly grin, finding it difficult not to smile in his presence.