"Better safe than sorry," Mel thinks, wincing as the needle bites into her arm. She's heard enough about the Hudson River virus to accept the vaccine---usually she doesn't bother with flu shots or any of that fuss and she's never sick---but it sounds like Hudson is doing a scarily good job of killing a lot of people who survived the bombs and the harsh winter that followed.
She's timed her appearance at the outpost carefully---there's a little lull between patients---and she smiles at the ER nurse who's in charge of this station. "I'm right up the road from Miz Green," she says, keeping her voice low so the paramedic who's kibbitzing with one of the guys from the hardware store won't hear. "If you want, I can take a dose out to her."
Sue Ann bites her lip. "I'm not supposed to," she says, visibly reluctant. "And I'm sure Jake---"
"I don't know...Jake's pretty busy with his new job, and I'd hate to think of his mama being unprotected through an oversight." Melanie puts all the warmth she can into her tone and waits. She and Sue Ann were in Miz Green's Sunday school class back in the day, and she's pretty sure she knows which way Sue Ann will jump.
"I'm not supposed to," Sue Ann repeats. She rests a hand on Mel's shoulder and takes her hand in a friendly gesture. Mel feels a small cylinder being pressed into her palm. "But I understand your concern. Gail Green is such a good woman, and I'd hate to see anything else happen to that family."
Mel nods and says good night, tucking her hands casually into her pockets as she walks away, pleased with the success of her errand. She doesn't keep them there after she's out of sight though---there are too many strangers in town these days---she's not going to leave herself so defenseless. Her mare is tied up in Mama's tool shed, and she can be home in under an hour if she can stay under radar. She doesn't care to be waylaid by Mama or Aunt Tessie about why she never comes to visit anymore, so if she's quiet---
"Evening, Mel," her brother Bill drawls as she leads Dixie out into the backyard.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she breathes. "What's the idea of sneaking up on me like that?" She wishes she'd left the mare saddled---she'd be on the road by now, no snoopy little brothers need apply.
"I bumped into Sue Ann Langdon," he says, looking at her. "She asked me to give you this, said you were gonna make a house call to Mrs. Green." He holds up an individually packed syringe, snatches it away as she reaches for it.
"Why not? The ranch isn't that far out of my way." She grabs at the packet, wanting to yell at him, but all she needs is to get one of the old women in on this conversation.
"Maybe because I bumped into Mrs. Green when I was behind Gracie Leigh's." Oh, hell. She's screwed now. "She said you brought her some jam after Johnston died, and that she ran into you on the road to town tonight. Want to tell me what's really going on?"
"Not especially," Melanie answers frankly. "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies."
Even in the dull moonlight, she can make out the petulant expression on Bill's face. "It's for him, isn't it?"
She doesn't try to pretend she doesn't know what he's talking about, adopts a "Let's be reasonable" tone. "Well, it's not like he can come into town for it, can he?"
"Jonah Prowse is a cockroach. He's the last person we need to vaccinate. There's a damn good reason he's been banned from town. He's a low-life thief and a killer, and I wish I'd shot him when I had the chance."
He's distracted enough by what he's saying that she manages to snatch the plastic envelope with the syringe from him. "Bill, you don't mean that."
"You've gotten too close to him, Mel. What, now you think he's a nice guy? I saw him shoot a man in cold blood when we were raiding the convoy from New Bern. That was just before he broke the deal he made with us and took off with all their guns and supplies."
This is getting dangerously loud. Mel takes a couple slow steps toward the back gate, leading the mare by the reins. "Yeah, New Bern---those wonderful folks who wanted to turn Jericho into their own personal cash cow and food bank. The way I heard it was, you all were gonna turn the guy loose---so he could've grabbed the nearest gun, or gone back to New Bern for reinforcements---and Jonah made sure that wasn't going to happen." She unlatches the gate and eases it open. "And for someone you don't want around, he sure saved your asses when you were in that standoff at the bridge. If you're going to call him in to help you with dirty jobs, he needs the firepower to back you up. Fair's fair.
She breathes a little easier now that she's on the far side of the gate, but Bill's not through yet. "I hope you don't think sleeping with him means you're bulletproof. Because he'd cut your throat or sell you out if it served his purpose."
Sleeping with Jonah Prowse isn't something she's proud of, but Melanie doesn't have any of the romantic illusions her brother seems to think she does. She's been married and widowed, and this is pragmatism, not love. Horniness and proximity and a cold winter had brought about the unthinkable, and it's continued because getting the itch scratched the old-fashioned way once in a while isn't the worst thing in the world...even with him.
To Mel's surprise, Jonah had been better than she'd expected in bed. He'd been as pushy as a used car salesman, but he hadn't forced her. Once she'd given in and said, "Oh, fine! Go ahead!", he'd chuckled and slowly fondled her until she'd told him to get on with it, and from there, he'd made her say please...
"That may be," she answers, swinging up into the saddle and gathering up the reins. "But so far, Jonah's kept his word. He hasn't ripped me off, and neither has anyone else. As far as I'm concerned, it's in my best interests to keep him alive and well." She nudges Dixie forward. "Better safe than sorry."
