“Alright,” Paige shouted to the rest of the girls. “Let’s get this boat loaded up.”

  It didn’t take us long to pack our bikes, duffle bags, and ourselves onto the boat. Thirty feet didn’t seem like a lot when I thought about it, but when it came to boat length, it was more than plenty for the five of us and all our possessions.

  Paige gave each of us a job and showed us how to do it. My job was to control the rudder with Paige’s help.

  “Why do they call ropes sheets?” Tara asked.

  “I think it’s because they’re used to control the sails, or sheets,” Paige explained. “But I never really questioned it before.”

  “Mhm,” Tara said with a blank face.

  “You’re doing great,” the brunette chuckled. “Just do what I tell you, and we’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll follow you!” Henry called out to us. “Just don’t crash!”

  “We’ll do our best,” I laughed.

  “Alright,” Paige said. “Release the main sail!”

  Anna and Tara did as Paige had shown them before, but they must have released too much of the rope, because the sail spread out quickly and the wind caught it and lurched us forward.

  “Bring it in!” Paige shouted. “Anna, crank that winch! Tara, don’t stand there! Move to your right and watch that line at your feet! Don’t let it hang up! Bailey, pull on that line on your right just a bit and look pretty!”

  “At least we’re moving,” Bailey laughed as the three girls followed Paige’s orders and got the sail under control.

  “Right,” Anna agreed.

  It took us a few moments, but soon we had everything in place and we were on our way across the harbor. The sun shone brightly ahead, and we glided forward across the water with Henry expertly following behind us.

  The lake seemed bigger once we were on it, and the shore looked far away.

  “Okay,” Paige said. “If we keep heading south, then we’ll be able to get onto Otter Creek.”

  “Are you sure we’ll fit?” Tara asked.

  “Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “Creek sounds a bit small.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Paige said. “But it will be a lot more narrow than the lake, so we’ll need to be careful to stay on course.”

  “Anna?” I asked. “Are you alright?”

  The redhead looked almost green as the boat gently rocked back and forth with the water. Her eyes were half closed, and her breath was heavy.

  “Never better,” she responded, but then she heaved and covered her mouth quickly before running to the side of the boat.

  “I figured one of you would get sea sickness,” I chuckled. “I didn’t bet on Anna though.”

  “Poor girl,” Bailey said with a frown.

  “She’ll be alright,” Paige said.

  “Is there anything we can do to help her?” Bailey asked.

  “She can try to lie down,” I said. “Sometimes that helps people.”

  “Or find a tree ahead to stare at,” Paige suggested.

  “I’ll be sure to do that,” Anna mumbled from the side of the boat.

  The redhead finished getting sick, then laid down on the floor of the boat and closed her eyes. I let her nap for a bit while we slowly made our way across the lake.

  “Do you think everyone will be mad that we want to make a trade?” Bailey asked.

  “I don’t think so,” I said with a shake of my head.

  “But what if they don’t want to give up our supplies?” Tara asked.

  “Hm.” I thought for a moment. “We need to trust each other. We’ve gotten plenty of supplies before, and we can do it again. Besides, we’re going to be harvesting again this year. We’re better equipped to take care of ourselves than most people are.”

  “I guess that’s true,” Bailey said.

  “Besides,” I said. “We need this boat to check the area and protect ourselves.”

  “Are we going to be able to get around in it pretty easy then?” Tara asked.

  “We should,” Paige said. “I charted out some courses for us already. We’ll have to come back up Otter Creek to connect with the other smaller rivers, but other than that it should be easy.”

  I looked back to see Henry at the back of his boat steering while the two children played a game of cards at the front of the boat.

  “How long until we’re back on land?” Anna groaned from her position on the floor.

  “It’ll be a few hours at least,” Paige said with a grimace. “But if you sit up and find something stationary to look at, you’ll probably feel better.”

  “I feel better with my eyes closed,” Anna said.

  “Do you think we’ll find people near the water?” Bailey asked.

  “It does seem kind of stupid to be out in the open,” Tara said.

  “They wouldn’t be out in the open,” I said. “But everybody needs a source of water, so it would make sense for people to stay near it.”

  “I guess it just feels weird traveling on a boat,” Bailey said. “If we see someone we can’t exactly just hide.”

  “No,” I agreed. “We can’t. But we’ll be extra careful and make sure that we know what we’re getting into. We have binoculars and a map, and those will both help us to know what’s ahead.”

  “How will the map help?” Tara asked. “I mean except for showing us what’s where, it won’t tell us where people are.”

  “It might,” I said.

  “How does that work?” Bailey asked with a raised brow.

  “We look at the map and see where we would stay,” Paige explained with a smile.

  “Exactly,” I said. “We should be able to tell where the best places are.”

  “Hm,” Bailey said. “That’s really smart, actually.”

  “We’ll look it over when we get home,” I said.

  “What supplies are we going to give Henry?” the blond asked.

  “We have plenty of canned goods left,” I said. “So we’ll give him some of those, as well as some smoked meat. We can always do more hunting.”

  “Paige said it will be a few hours, right?” Tara asked.

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  “We should see if they’ll stay for dinner,” the platinum blonde suggested.

  “Oh, great idea,” Bailey said with a grin. “And we can see if Betty will make a special dessert for the kids.”

  “I’m sure she’d have no problem with that,” I chuckled.

  We continued on down the lake until we came to the bottom and Paige led us to the east and a small canal that she said was Otter Creek. It was much more difficult to navigate the narrow passage than it had been on the lake. We never actually came close to the side or to crashing, but it still felt strange to have so little room on either side of us, especially when no one but Paige really knew what we were doing.

  We were lucky that it was a fairly windy day, and a light breeze kept us moving across the water. I hadn’t realized how little wind it took to keep a sailboat at a steady speed, and I had grown to enjoy the sailing experience. It was peaceful out on the water.

  We ate lunch on the boat, and before long we were nearly home. The scenery became strangely familiar, and I recognized the road across the way as the highway by our home.

  “Where are we going to park this thing?” Tara asked as she repositioned the sail slightly.

  “We should be able to park it by the bridge,” Paige said. “We’ll have to tie it to something though.”

  “There’ll be enough room for it?” Bailey asked.

  “Should be,” I chuckled. “We’ll get used to navigating this thing, eventually.”

  “It’s already so late in the day,” Tara said as she looked up at the sky.

  It was nearly twilight as we approached the bridge. Paige directed us so the boat sat near enough the shore for her and I to hop off, and we tied it to the left over stone beams from the bridge.

  “Alright,” Paige called. “We’re secure.”

  “Can you help me out?” Henry called, and he tossed us a rope.

  We got Henry’s boat tied off as well, and we all met on shore.

  “Sweet land,” Anna groaned as she laid on the ground next to me.

  “Get up,” Tara hissed. “You’re going to get filthy.”

  “I don’t care,” the redhead chuckled. “I’m just happy to be back on the ground.”

  “I am not washing those clothes,” Tara said with narrowed eyes, and the kids laughed at their bickering.

  “It’s almost dark,” I told the old man. “Why don’t you all stay the night? We’ll get you loaded up in the morning.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked while he rubbed his neck. “I don’t want to be a burden on ya.”

  “No trouble at all,” I said with a smile. “Let’s get inside. It’s starting to get cold out here.”

  “You think the boats will be okay there?” Tara asked.

  “Nobody can reach them except from this shore,” Paige said. “They’ll be fine.”

  We offloaded the duffle bags and bikes and walked them up the hill along with Henry and his grandkids. Once we reached the courtyard, I saw the door to the dorm building open, and Winchester shot out and over to us. He pranced around us happily and ran right up to the children to lick their faces.

  “Sorry,” Bailey said as she called the dog over to her.

  “He likes us,” Rosy said with a proud smile.

  “He sure does,” Bailey agreed.

  I looked back to see Anna was still barely cognizant. Her eyes were half closed, and she still looked like she could hurl at any second. I figured once we got inside she would feel better.

  “Hey!” Rolly called out from the doorway.

  “Hey, old timer,” I called back.

  “Who you got with ya?” he asked, and I could see he narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in an attempt to see.

  “I think you might know him,” I chuckled.

  “Hey, ya old goat,” Henry called out.

  “Henry!” Rolly said and a huge grin spread across his face.

  Rolly made his way out toward us and wrapped the other old man in a tight hug.

  “It’s good to see ya, brother,” Rolly said as he clapped Henry on the back.

  “Good to see you, too,” Henry said, and he held Rolly at arms length to get a good look at him. “You look good.”

  “So do you,” Rolly said. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

  “Uncle Rolly!” Rosy said, and she put her small hand on her hip.

  “Hello, darlin’,” Rolly chuckled, and he leaned down to pick up the small girl.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said and she kissed his old wrinkled cheek.

  “I’ve missed you more,” the old man said with a grin. “And where’s Don Don?”

  “Rawr!” the little boy jumped out from behind Henry in an attempt to scare Rolly.

  “Oh, my!” Rolly laughed. “You gave me quite the fright little one. Now get over here and give me a hug.”

  “Hi, Uncle Rolly,” Donald said as he wrapped his arms around the old man.

  I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the old man interact with these kids. I knew Rolly had a life before all this, but it seemed it was more full than I had imagined. He may have never had kids of his own, but he had plenty of people who cared about him, and even some kids that considered him part of the family.

  “Where’s Rosalind?” Rolly asked with a smile, and he looked around us.

  “She, uh, she didn’t make it,” Henry said solemnly.

  “Ah, Henry,” Rolly said with a frown, and he put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks,” the old man said with a soft smile.

  “Let’s get you inside,” Rolly said.

  “How on earth do you all have lights?” Henry asked with wide eyes as we stepped inside.

  “Some good engineering,” I chuckled.

  Betty, Kimmy, and baby Anthony were in the common room when we stepped in.

  “Oh,” Betty said, and she stood up and rushed to us. “I’m Betty, you must be Rolly’s friend from the harbor.”

  “That’s right,” Henry said, and he stuck his hand out. “Good to meet you.”

  “It’s good to meet you, too,” Betty said with a smile, and she shook the man’s hand. “And who are these two?”

  “Rosy and Don Don,” Rolly said.

  “Donald,” the young boy corrected. “Only you get to call me Don Don ‘cause you’ve been doin’ it so long.”

  “My apologies,” Rolly chuckled. “This is Donald.”

  “How do you do, ma’am,” the young boy said as he grabbed Betty’s hand.

  “Mighty fine, and you?” Betty laughed.

  “This is Kimmy and baby Anthony,” I introduced everyone as I led Henry to have a seat in the common room.

  “You know,” Betty said. “There are some other little boys upstairs. Would you like to go meet them?”

  “Can we, papa?” Rosy asked.

  “Please?” Donald begged.

  “Go ahead,” Henry said, and he stroked their hair. “But be good.”

  Betty smiled at the old man and led the children upstairs, asking them what they liked to play.

  “How about a drink?” Rolly asked, and he pulled out cups and bourbon.

  “That sounds heavenly,” Henry chuckled. “Where did you all find real booze? I think I raided the last store in town and the only thing left was whipped cream flavored vodka.”

  “Hey,” I said with a raised brow. “You’d be surprised how good that stuff is.”

  “Oh, I know,” the old man laughed.

  “We went on a lot of raids during the spring and summer,” Anna explained.

  “Raids?” Henry asked.

  “She just means that we went scavenging,” I explained.

  “Oh,” the old man said. “I wish I would have been able to do that. Would have helped a lot during the winter.”

  “Yeah,” Rolly said. “But you made it through, you old bird.”

  “Had to,” Henry said, and he lifted his glass to Rolly’s.

  “Did the lake freeze over this year?” Rolly asked.

  “For a few weeks, yeah.” Henry nodded.

  “How’d the little ones do?” Rolly asked with a grin.

  “Rosy’s great at fishin’,” Henry chuckled. “It’s Donald who has a hard time.”

  “He cry again?” the old man asked.

  “Only the first time,” Henry laughed.

  “Why was he crying?” Bailey asked with a frown.

  “Let me guess,” Kimmy said. “He cried when you killed the fish.”

  “He did,” Henry said. “How’d you know?”

  “I did the same when I was a child,” Kimmy chuckled. “My father took my sister and I fishing and when he pulled the fish out and cut the head off I bawled and bawled.”

  “He’s a sensitive boy,” Henry said with a smile. “He loves the fish, but after this winter I think he understands better that we can love them and eat them.”

  “He’s a sweet kid,” Bailey said.

  “Alright,” Betty said as she came back downstairs. “Who’s hungry?”

  “Are the kids okay up there?” Henry asked quickly.

  “Oh, they’re fine,” Betty assured him. “Marla is keeping an eye on them.”

  “That’s the nurse y’all got, isn’t it?” Henry asked me.

  “Yes.” I nodded. “And I’m sure she’d do exams for you all in the morning.”

  “She already said she would,” Betty agreed. “But for now, let’s eat.”

  “I’ll help,” Tara offered.

  “Me too,” Kimmy said.

  The women headed to the laundry room while Winchester plopped down on the floor between us all and sighed heavily. I think he was happy to have us home. Rolly and Henry finished off two drinks before Betty and the women returned.

  “What did I miss?” Betty asked as she sat by Rolly.

  “We’re just tellin’ fishin’ stories,” Rolly said with a grin.

  “I hope I didn’t miss any embarrassing ones of Rolly,” Betty said.

  “Not yet,” Henry chuckled. “I do have a few, though.”

  “Well, let’s hear it,” Betty said with a grin.

  “Well,” Henry started. “There was the time we tried to fish with dynamite.”

  “Oh, Lord,” Rolly chuckled and put his head in his hands.

  “What happened?” Kimmy asked.

  “He almost blew up the damn boat,” Henry laughed.

  “It wasn’t just me,” Rolly protested.

  “Alright, alright,” Henry contended. “We almost blew up the damn boat.”

  “That’s more like it,” Rolly chuckled.

  “How did you manage that?” I asked.

  “We lit the end of the dynamite,” Rolly said. “Then we got to drinkin’ and almost forgot about it.”

  “We were lucky we didn’t blow our hands off,” Henry laughed.

  As everyone chatted, baby Anthony grew fussy. Kimmy tried to soothe him, but to no avail, and when he began to scream she stood up and apologized.

  “Hey,” I said gently, and I caught her by the elbow. “Let me see him.”

  “He did calm down last time you held him,” the curly haired woman said.

  She handed me the child, and he screamed once more, but then grew quiet as he reached to tug on my beard.

  “Anthony!” Kimmy screeched, and she reached to undo his hands.

  “It’s fine,” I chuckled. “He’s not hurting me.”

  “Alright,” she said with a frown. “Let me know when you want me to take him.”

  “I will,” I said with a smile, and I settled back into my seat.

  Baby Anthony smiled and bounced on my knee, then laid on my chest and started to doze off.

  “I can’t believe he likes you so much,” Kimmy said with wide eyes.

  “Tav’s good like that,” Tara chuckled.

  “I’m surprised and honestly a bit jealous.” Kimmy smiled at me.

  “I’m sure you can have a turn sitting on Tav’s lap when Anthony is done,” Tara teased.

  “Oh,” Kimmy gasped. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “We know,” Bailey laughed. “Tara was just teasing you.”

  “I wasn’t teasing,” Tara laughed. “We all want to snuggle with Tav.”

  “Tara!” Anna groaned.

  “What?” the platinum blonde giggled.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28