Earthfall Read Online Free PDF Page B

for another day of work. Usually, a spouse would get a free day or two after an SCEV team had come back from the field, but the cost of the beer was high: Rachel had to cover for a sick coworker as part of the deal. They’d each had one of the beers last night. While they were good—fantastic, actually—Andrews was no longer convinced they were worth the price Rachel was paying for them.
    The shower was turned off, and Andrews got up from the table. He brewed another cup of coffee for Rachel and set it down for her, along with a piece of toasted cinnamon bread—plain was how she liked it, which Andrews thought was boring as hell—then slid back into the plastic chair. He didn’t have to wait for long before she emerged from the bathroom, stark naked, a towel wrapped around her hair.
    “Morning, sweets!” she said, smiling at him brilliantly. “Sleep well?”
    “Like the dead—you really tired me out last night.” Seeing her in such a state of undress caused a flush of heat to surge through his groin. Rachel Andrews, née Lopez, was one of the most beautiful women in Harmony Base, and somehow, Andrews had gotten lucky enough to score her as his wife.
    Rachel looked at him and her smiled widened. “Uh-huh … doesn’t look like it to me, mister.” She pointed at his crotch. “If I’m not mistaken, it looks like you’re pitching a tent in your bathrobe.”
    Andrews laughed and turned away from her, crossing his legs. Carefully. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you late for work.”
    “We’ll see about that. But maybe I’ll get dressed now, just in case.”
    “Your call, babe.”
    She walked to the bedroom, intentionally shaking her ass a bit, making him laugh. He heard her open the closet in the bedroom and pull out a work uniform, then listened to the rustling noises as she dressed.
    “So, what did you find?” she asked from behind the bedroom partition.
    “Nothing.”
    “What do you mean, nothing?”
    Andrews sipped some more coffee. “All we found were burned-out cities. Collected a ton of scientific data that doesn’t mean crap. Put a few thousand miles on the rig, and somehow, we didn’t kill each other after more than a month driving around looking for life.”
    “You didn’t find anything ?” The disappointment was obvious in her voice.
    Andrews sighed. “Well, we did find some fortified communities that survived the initial war. But once their supplies were exhausted, they had to abandon them. We don’t know what happened to them, but the fortifications were empty.” He paused for another sip of coffee. “Cheyenne Mountain’s gone. Looks like it was hit with several ground strikes. The area was still way too hot for us to go EVA and check it out.”
    Rachel walked to the table, fully dressed. She slid into the chair opposite him and looked at Andrews with sad, dark eyes. “So … we’re all that’s left?”
    Andrews shrugged. “I don’t know. We still think the Northwest is the best place to look, but the command staff wants to take baby steps and start local.”
    “Jim Laird’s rig is going to head northeast,” Rachel said, sipping her coffee. “Up the Ohio Valley, or something.”
    Andrews grunted. “Wrong direction, but at least the powers that be are thinking we need to stretch our legs. When did you find that out?”
    “His rig was moved into vehicle prep last week. Kelly told me that was the plan.”
    “Jimmy’s a good commander. If there’s anything to be found out in that part of the country, he’ll find it.”
    Rachel hesitated. “Kelly also mentioned something else,” she said, finally.
    “Do tell.”
    “Word has it that Benchley might create a new staff position. Director of Field Operations.”
    Andrews snorted. “More management, huh? Hooah, just what this place needs.”
    Rachel ignored his remark. “Babe, you’d be a natural. You’re a great leader, and you have an eye for detail. And it’s a base position—limited field time involved.”
    “Me?