Without Law 9, page 18
I watched as the platinum blonde handed full bowls to the three strangers in our circle and watched as they scarfed down the warm food.
“Thank you,” Henry said after a moment. “I’ve been so sick of fish.”
“Is there no good hunting around here?” Bailey asked.
“It’s a bit hard to hunt with these two around,” the old man said with a gesture down at the kids.
“Oh, right,” the blonde said with a frown.
“How old are they anyways?” Paige asked.
“Rosy is six,” Henry said. “And Donald is four.”
“Still so young,” I said. “Have you been taking care of them since the EMP?”
“Not quite,” the old man said with a shake of his head. “Their mom was around for a bit, but she got ill.”
“She’s up in heaven now,” little Rosy said.
“I’m sure she is,” I said with a soft smile. “Was that your daughter?”
“Yeah,” Henry said, and he wiped a tear from his eye. “Rolly knew her since she was a little tyke.”
“I’m sure he’ll be heartbroken to hear about it,” Bailey said. “What was her name?”
“Rosalind,” Henry said. “She was a spirited gal.”
“Kinda like her dad, it seems,” I chuckled.
“I suppose so,” the old man laughed.
“Papa, are we going on the boat tomorrow?” little Donald asked.
“Looks like it,” Henry said, and he pushed the young boy’s hair back.
“Hey,” Paige said. “While you’re there, we could have Marla look over the children, I’m sure.”
“Look over?” Henry asked, confused.
“She’s a nurse,” I explained. “And I’m sure she’d be happy to just do a quick check on them if you’d like. And you, too.”
“Oh,” Henry said with wide eyes. “Well, that would be great. I’d like some reassurance that these little monsters are healthy.”
“Great,” I said with a smile. “I’m sure that it won’t take long.”
“Thank you,” Henry said.
“Of course,” Paige said.
The darkness had set in, and the sky was full of stars that reflected off the lake.
“It sure is pretty out there, ain’t it?” the old man asked when he saw me looking out at the water.
“It is,” I agreed.
“It’s a nice night, too,” Paige sighed.
The kids leaned against their grandfather’s lap and stared out at the gentle rocking of the boats until I saw their eyes flutter closed and stay that way.
“I think I should get them off to bed,” Henry said.
“Do you need help?” I asked. “I can carry them for you.”
“That’s alright,” Henry chuckled, and he lifted one child onto each hip and headed toward the store front. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Henry!” Bailey called with a smile, then she turned to the rest of the group. “I like him.”
“You like everybody,” Anna laughed.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “But he’s so nice and his grandkids are so dang cute.”
“They are cute,” I chuckled.
“They scarfed down their food so fast,” Tara said with a frown.
“We’re going to get them some supplies,” I said.
“Why don’t we offer for them to stay with us?” Bailey asked.
“We could try,” I said. “There’s no guarantee that he would, though.”
“I guess,” Bailey said with a frown.
“But we could always come visit,” I said.
“We’ll ask though, right?” the blonde pushed.
“We’ll see how the rest of the group feels first,” I said. “But yes, we’ll ask.”
“Tav says this,” Anna chuckled. “But he didn’t ask anybody before he brought Kimmy home.”
“Exactly, though,” Paige said. “Nobody would say no to a grandpa with two kids.”
“Ah,” Anna said with narrowed eyes. “I see what you’re doing here. Sneaky sneak.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said with a wide grin.
“Sure you don’t,” the redhead chuckled.
“I hope he decides to stay,” Bailey said. “And Mitch and Frank would love to have more kids around, I’m sure.”
“We’ll ask,” I said. “But people who have lived around here their whole lives might not want to move.”
“But they’re obviously struggling,” Paige said with a frown.
“To us it may seem so,” I said. “But they’re alive and well, and Henry is taking care of the kids as best he can.”
“That’s true,” Tara said. “It does seem like he’s trying really hard.”
“We’ll still ask,” I repeated. “Just don’t be too disappointed by whatever he decides to do. It’s his decision.”
“Alright,” Bailey said with a small smile. “Rolly will be happy to see him tomorrow, though.”
“Speaking of,” I said. “Paige, do you have our course plotted out?”
“I think so,” the brunette said. “We should be able to take Otter Creek all the way down to the school, at least until the bridge we blew up. That might be impassable now.”
“Perfect,” I said with a nod.
“What time are we leaving in the morning?” Tara asked.
“Hm.” I thought for a minute. “It probably will be more difficult to navigate in the dark. How about we leave once the sun comes up?”
“That would be super helpful,” Paige said. “I don’t know if I could navigate properly before dawn.”
“Alright,” I said. “We still have an early day tomorrow, I think it’s time to head to bed.”
“Deal,” Tara said. “I’m beat.”
“Me too,” Bailey agreed.
“Yup,” Paige said with a yawn.
“I feel great,” Anna said with a grin.
“Good,” Tara said. “Then you can put out the fire.”
Anna’s eyes narrowed on the platinum blonde, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at Tara’s remark.
The other girls laughed and headed to bed as well, but I stayed outside the tent and helped Anna put the fire out with some sand.
“How do you feel?” the redhead asked as we kicked dirt on the flames.
“I’m not too proud to say I’m sore and tired,” I chuckled.
“Hm,” Anna said.
“It’s okay not to be,” I said. “You train hard.”
“I didn’t mean to brag,” the redhead said softly.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I don’t think anyone is mad at you, they just had to give you a bit of guff about it.”
“You’re probably right,” Anna said with a soft smile.
“I’m sure I am,” I said. “Now let’s head to bed.”
“Alright,” the redhead said, but she paused and looked up at the stars, so I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
The sky was filled with little lights that reflected onto the water of the lake, and the world was still and calm for a moment.
Anna and I stood there for some time and just watched the stars linger in the sky. I was proud of my second in command. She had proven herself more times and in more ways than I could count, and I knew that while she had been upset about what had happened with the hillbillies, she had more than redeemed herself for her selfishness that day.
The next day would be a new and strange adventure for us. I wasn’t sure if any of the girls had been on a boat for any real length of time, but we were about to find out, and my money was on at least one of them getting a case of motion sickness.
I woke up before dawn as usual and set up a fire to cook up some breakfast. I rummaged through the duffle bag that was attached to Paige’s bag and found a small bag of coffee grounds, so I boiled some water first to decontaminate it, and then I added the coffee and let it boil for a moment while I watched the grounds flurry in the water.
“What are you doing?” Bailey hissed as she came out of the tent.
“I’m making coffee,” I said, then my face dropped. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “Move over, we’ll make it look like I did it. How long has this been boiling?”
“Um, about a minute,” I answered.
“Alright,” the blonde sighed. “There may be hope for this yet.”
“You make it sound so serious,” I chuckled.
“Tara will murder you if you mess up the coffee,” Bailey said with a serious face.
“Really?” I asked with a raised brow and a sarcastic voice.
“Metaphorically,” Bailey laughed. “But still.”
“She’s too spoiled for her own good,” I said with an eye roll.
“Probably true,” Bailey chuckled.
“Mmm,” Paige said as she came out of the tent. “Is that coffee I smell?”
“It sure is,” Bailey said.
“I was about to start some breakfast as well,” I said.
“Yum,” the brunette said as Bailey poured her some coffee.
“Did someone say coffee?” Tara asked as she and Anna stepped out of the tent.
“Yup,” Bailey said, and she passed out cups.
The blond looked at me as we waited for Tara to take a drink.
“Mmm,” the platinum blond said after she took a large swig. “It’s good. Thanks, Bailey.”
“You’re welcome,” the blonde said, but she turned to me and sighed.
“Did you make enough for Henry, too?” Anna asked.
“Of course,” Bailey said.
“We were just about to make breakfast, too,” Paige said.
“Oh, yum,” the platinum blonde said. “I’ll help.”
“What are we making?” Anna asked.
“Let’s see what we have,” Paige said, and then she dug into the duffle bag. “We have canned beans, some corn, smoked venison, and I grabbed a couple spices to use.”
“I can make something with that,” Tara said.
“What are you going to make?” Paige asked.
“You’ll see,” the platinum blonde said. “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”
Tara started to cook while the rest of us sipped on our coffee. The morning was chilly, but the fire was warm, and the dawn sun had yet to rise fully, so the sky was cast in a deep blue as it waited for the sun to ascend.
“Breakfast is almost ready,” Tara said after a while. “Somebody go wake up Henry.”
“I’ll do it,” Bailey offered, and she headed toward the store front.
I watched as the young blonde girl knocked on the door, and when Henry answered she pointed to the fire. The old man looked at our group with surprise, but shook his head.
“What did he say?” Paige asked as Bailey made her way back to the fire.
“He said he’ll be out in a minute,” the blonde hippie answered.
“Good,” Tara said. “This will be better hot.”
“What did you make anyways?” Paige asked. “It smells good.”
“I made corn and black bean fritters,” the platinum blond answered.
“Don’t you need like flour and eggs to make fritters?” Paige asked.
“Normally, yes,” Tara said. “But I didn’t have those, so I used the black beans to hold the corn together.”
“It looks delicious,” I told the platinum blonde.
“Thanks,” Tara said with a wink.
“Good morning,” Henry said as he approached the fire.
“Morning,” I said with a smile.
“Would you like some coffee?” Bailey asked.
“You have coffee?” the old man asked with wide eyes.
“Yeah,” the blonde said with a smile, and she passed him a cup.
“Mmm,” the old man groaned as he took a sip. “I haven’t had coffee in a long time.”
“Glad you like it,” Bailey said. “Sorry we don’t have any juice for the kids.”
“Wait!” Paige shouted, and she dug in the duffle bag and handed each of them an apple juice like the one we had drank the day before.
“Oh, goody,” Bailey said with a grin.
“What do you say?” Henry asked the kids who tore into the juice boxes.
“Thank you,” they said in unison, and then they continued to rip off the straws.
“You all didn’t have to share your breakfast with us,” Henry said with a frown.
“It’s no trouble,” I told him with a smile.
“Yeah,” Tara said. “Besides, I like to cook for people.”
“Well, thank you,” the old man said. “I appreciate it.”
Tara dished up plates for Henry and the kids first, then for everybody else, and we ate in silence for a while. The fritters that the platinum blond had made were delicious. The texture was nice, with a slight crunch on the outside, but a soft, warm middle, and I wasn’t sure what she had used to season them with, but whatever it was, it was delicious.
“This is amazing,” Henry said after he was mostly done.
“It’s really good,” Rosy said. “Thank you, miss ‘ara.”
I watched as Tara’s heart melted when the young girl mispronounced her name. The platinum blonde’s face grew soft and warm, and a sweet smile spread across her mouth.
“You’re welcome, Rosy,” Tara gushed.
“Have you all been on a boat before?” Donald asked as he took another bite.
“I have,” Tara answered.
“Me too,” Bailey said. “But probably not as much as you.”
“Probably not,” little Donald said. “I’ve been on a boat for my whole life.”
“That’s a long time,” Paige chuckled.
“A real long time,” Donald agreed.
“I’ve only been on a boat a couple of times,” Anna said.
“Really?” I asked.
“Why is that surprising?” the redhead asked with a raised brow.
“You just do, like, every sport,” Tara said. “I guess we figured you would have done something on a boat, too.”
“I don’t do every sport,” Anna laughed. “And I mostly did running and skiing. I didn’t really do water.”
“You’ll be alright,” I said with a smile.
“Are ya prone to motion sickness?” Henry asked.
“I don’t think so,” Anna said with pinched together brows.
“Then you should be fine,” the old man said.
“If you get the motion sickness, then you’ll throwed up all over,” Donald said.
“I’ll try not to do that, then,” Anna chuckled.
We had all finished our food, even the kids, but there was still a bit left in the pan, so I caught Tara’s eye and gestured to the kids, then the pan.
“Hey,” Tara said to the kids. “There’s still some fritters left, do you all want them?”
“Don’t you want them?” Rosy asked in a soft voice.
“Nah,” the platinum blond said. “I’m full.”
“Me too,” Bailey agreed. “You all should have them.”
“Okay,” Rosy said with a wide smile. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” Donald repeated after his sister.
The kids ate the rest of their breakfast, and Henry sipped a second cup of coffee while the girls and I took down the tent and put it away. The sun had begun to come up the horizon, and it would be time to leave soon.
“So which boats are we taking?” I asked Henry.
“I’m takin’ my boat,” the old man said and he pointed to a medium sized sailboat in the corner of the harbor.
“Looks good,” I chuckled.
“It is,” Henry said. “And you all should take that one.”
The old man pointed to a boat larger than his own. It was a sailboat as well, and since I didn’t know how to sail very well, the ropes and sails looked a bit complicated.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “That boat is bigger than yours.”
“There’s more of you,” Henry chuckled. “Besides, I’m not losing any money in this deal.”
“I guess that’s true,” I laughed. “Well, thank you.”
“Of course,” the old man said. “But I’m not doin’ it out of the kindness of my heart. We have a deal.”
“Yes, we do,” I agreed with a smile. “Are you all ready to head out soon?”
“Should be.” The old man nodded. “Let me know whenever you’re ready.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “It might take me a minute to figure out the sails.”
“You’ve never used a sailboat before?” Henry asked with a raised brow.
“Afraid not,” I said. “Any hints?”
“Don’t crash,” the old man said, and he clapped me on the shoulder and then walked away.
“Don’t crash,” I repeated with a shake of my head. That wasn’t exactly the advice I had hoped for, but it would have to do.
I had joined the army and not the navy on purpose, but it looked like I was about to enlist whether I liked it or not.
Chapter 12
“So which one’s ours?” Paige asked as she came over to stand by me.
“That one,” I said with a point.
“A Tartan thirty foot,” the brunette said with a nod. “Looks good.”
“You know boats?” I asked.
“A bit,” Paige said. “My dad used to go sailing in the summer.”
“So you know how to sail one of these?” I asked.
“Yeah,” the brunette said, and then her eyes narrowed on me. “You don’t?”
“No,” I chuckled. “I was hoping I could figure it out.”
“Oh,” Paige laughed. “Good thing I’m here then. You don’t just ‘figure out’ a sailboat.”
“That must be how you got your sense of direction,” I said.
“I guess so,” the brunette agreed. “My dad had me out with him every summer since I was barely old enough to walk.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know that,” I said. “How come you’ve never said anything?”
“I don’t know,” Paige said. “I guess it just never really came up.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” I said. “Just tell me what I need to do.”
“I think I can manage that,” the brunette chuckled.
“Ready when you are!” Henry called from his boat, and I turned to see that he and the kids were already boarded.
