Storm Front

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Hey, soccer ball head,” Nelson said, walking in Devin’s room to find him standing up in his crib.

  “Nelson!” Michelle barked from the bedroom.

  Devin started squealing as Nelson walked over and held out his hands. Putting his coffee down, Nelson picked Devin up. “How’s daddy’s little man?” Nelson said, moving to the changing table.

  As Nelson changed Devin, he just clapped and squealed. After he’d dressed Devin, Nelson picked him up and grabbed his coffee. Meeting Michelle in the hall as she opened Gavin’s door, Nelson cleared his throat. “You can’t tell me that Devin doesn’t have a soccer ball head,” he said and Michelle glared at him. “It’s getting better as he gets older but when he was born, I thought he looked like Stewie off ‘Family Guy’.”

  Michelle let out a gasp as Nelson walked past her. “I know you did not just say that,” Michelle said, then walked in Gavin’s room.

  “Hey, baby boy,” Michelle said, moving over to Gavin’s bed. “It’s time to get up.”

  Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, “I’m up,” Gavin yawned.

  Michelle hugged Gavin and kissed his head. “Momma loves her big boy,” Michelle said, getting up and expecting Gavin to start complaining. When he didn’t, she turned around and saw him getting out of bed.

  Biting her bottom lip for a few seconds, Michelle finally quit and moved over beside Gavin. “It doesn’t hurt your feelings to be momma’s big boy?” she asked almost timidly.

  Gavin looked up at her grinning. “Nah,” he said and then to Michelle’s shock, Gavin hugged her tight. When he let her go, Michelle spun around, strolling out of the room with a broad smile.

  When she walked into the kitchen, Nelson saw the smile. “What happened?” he asked.

  Picking up her coffee, “It’s cool for the boy to love momma again,” she said beaming.

  “Gavin worships you,” Nelson huffed.

  “But he’s not ashamed of me telling him anymore,” Michelle said on cloud nine.

  “I would’ve made him sleep outside if I’d heard that,” Nelson said, taking a sip and Devin hit his cup, making Nelson move his hand back. “Boy, I will put you in the garbage,” Nelson said and Devin held his hands out for the coffee cup.

  “You just saw me put your bottle in the microwave,” Nelson said.

  Setting her coffee down, Michelle clapped her hands. “Is mean old daddy starving the baby?” Michelle sang out and Devin turned to her, letting out a squeal and reached for her. Taking Devin, Michelle stuck her tongue out at Nelson.

  “Zeus, Hera,” Nelson said, heading for the door and the dogs took off after him. Grabbing his rifle and tote bag, Nelson walked out. “I’m not old,” he snapped, almost slamming the door.

  “Touchy,” Michelle said, taking Devin’s bottle out of the microwave. Hearing movement, Michelle turned around and saw Lucy walk out, carrying a still sleeping Olivia.

  “Lucy, Bernard will be here to pick up Olivia,” Michelle said.

  “I told him I would bring her over,” Lucy said, glancing around. “I was going to the gym with you.”

  “Good girl,” Michelle said, giving Devin his bottle. Snatching the bottle, Devin drank like he had a hole in his stomach.

  “Isn’t Mr. Nelson going to the gym?” Lucy asked as Gavin came in.

  “He’s already gone,” Michelle said grinning. “Lucy, you need to stop calling him Mr. Nelson.”

  “Momma said if I didn’t, I was getting a spanking,” Lucy said fearfully.

  “I’ll talk to Dianna,” Michelle laughed, reaching out and rubbing Gavin’s hair. As Gavin fixed a cup of coffee, Michelle asked, “Lucy, you want some coffee?”

  “Oh, please,” Lucy sighed. “I’m going to take Olivia to Ms. Nellie.”

  After Lucy walked out, Michelle gave a curt laugh and saw Gavin had made two cups. “That was sweet, baby,” Michelle said.

  “Mom, I think Lucy likes Dad,” Gavin said, pouring sugar in his coffee.

  “I know, baby and I think it’s cute,” Michelle said, adjusting Devin in her arms.

  Setting the sugar down, Gavin looked up at her with a confused expression. “But it’s Dad,” he said.

  “Baby, we all have our crushes when we’re young. Mine was a teacher at school,” Michelle said. “Just like you have one on Nancy.”

  As his jaw fell open, Gavin’s face instantly turned red and he jerked his face away. “Do not!” he cried out.

  Moving beside Gavin, Michelle wrapped one arm around him. “Baby, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a crush and it teaches you a lot about life,” Michelle said.

  Turning around, Gavin looked up at her and his face was still red. “Really?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

  “Yes, you just have to make sure the grownup realizes it’s a crush and not hurt the young person,” Michelle said.

  “I’m going to marry Nancy,” Gavin said, poking his chest out.

  Kissing his forehead, “I’m sure she will wait on you,” Michelle chuckled as the door burst open.

  “I’ve been waiting outside for twenty minutes,” Gerald snapped, storming over.

  “Well, you know how to use the door,” Michelle said, holding Devin out. Devin pulled his bottle out and squealed at seeing Gerald.

  Pulling Devin tight to his chest with a content sigh, “Did you sleep good, bubble warrior?” Gerald asked, hugging him. Devin squealed hearing the word ‘bubble’. Putting Devin in the crook of his arm, Gerald looked around. “Nelson taking today off?”

  “No, he’s already at the gym,” Michelle said as Lucy came back in. When she grabbed her coffee, Lucy kissed Gavin on the head, making him blush again.

  They all walked out and found Matt and Ashley talking with Ronald, Sean, and Dianna. “Gym’s going to be crowded,” Gerald said, seeing the rest of Sean’s kids on the deck.

  “Just the way I like ‘em,” Michelle said, sipping her coffee. Walking around the house, Matt moved up beside Michelle.

  “Where’s Nelson? We’ve missed like a week of workouts. He needs to get his butt up,” Matt said as they walked out of the yard.

  Walking around the berm, Michelle could hear loud music playing in the gym. “Matt, Nelson is feeling old today, so he’s going to be working out hard,” she said and glanced back. “The music today will be hip hop and very dirty. Nelson is feeling frisky.”

  “You mean, he’s going to be working out like a MAN, again?!” Matt shouted with joy and Michelle just stared at him blankly. “Hot damn, about time!” Matt howled and took off running.

  “Ronald,” Gerald said, looking over at him. “We aren’t working out with them today.”

  “No shit,” Ronald said. “I know that song and it’s a more than a little harsh.”

  “Well, I’m ashamed to say, Nelson had our kids singing it on our last road trip when someone cut him off,” Michelle sighed. “The heavy metal songs are much worse.”

  “Um, how long is Nelson going to feel old?” Gerald asked.

  Shrugging her shoulders as they reached the gym, “That, I don’t know. The last time he acted like this, he worked out stupid for almost a year,” Michelle said, cringing at the lyrics. “He got almost as big as Matt.”

  “Ronald, from now on, they work out together and we will team up,” Gerald said and then looked at Sean. “You can join us,” he offered.

  “Nah, I’m going to work out with the boys for a few days, but I might join you later,” Sean said as Michelle opened the door and everyone gasped as the muffled music became very loud.

  “I love this song!” Gavin cried out, running inside.

  “Gavin, don’t you dare sing along!” Michelle shouted, but couldn’t match the volume of the music.

  Everyone walked in and found Nelson bench-pressing four hundred pounds and Matt screaming encouragement at him. “Holy shit!” Gerald shouted at the weight Nelson was lifting. Devin let out a squeal, laughing and clapping hands with the music.

  Racking the weight, Nelson stood
up on the bench and started moving his body to the beat. Jumping off the bench, Nelson went to one side and threw on another forty-five-pound plate and Matt put one on the other side.

  “Baby, that’s heavy,” Michelle mumbled and walked off as Nelson crawled under the bar. Matt and Nelson yelled out as Nelson pushed the bar up and pressed out eight reps. When Nelson racked the bar, Matt threw up his arms yelling.

  Halfway through the workout, Michelle finally had to turn the music down, but refused to say anything to Nelson or Matt as they yelled and cheered each other on, along with Sean. As the others headed to the hot tub, Matt, Sean, and Nelson continued.

  “Michelle, Nelson was using those hundred-pound dumbbells,” Gerald said, tossing plastic balls in the tub. “I thought Matt was the only one that used the dumbbells with three numbers.”

  “No, Nelson has worked out with the one-hundred-and-fifty-pound dumbbells,” Michelle said. “Only Matt has ever used the ones above that.”

  Ronald turned to see Nelson and Matt running on the treadmills, but both were dancing as they ran when a pop song came on. “I want whatever they took,” Ronald said.

  “They tell you, get me some,” Gerald huffed, climbing in. “Nancy, you coming?”

  “No, I’m getting in with Lucy and Kim, so the boys don’t outnumber them,” Nancy said, moving over to the mats on the floor and watching the kids wrestle with Sean.

  “Dianna, please stop making Lucy call Nelson ‘mister’,” Michelle said as Devin started the war.

  Dianna looked at Michelle bashfully. “Um, she has a crush on Nelson,” she said.

  “I know, I saw it the first day she met Nelson,” Michelle chuckled. “You have nothing to fear.”

  “Oh I know, I just thought you might get mad,” Dianna said.

  Shaking her head, “No, my first crush was my math teacher in fifth grade,” Michelle chuckled. “Who was yours?”

  A blush crept up on Dianna’s cheeks. “Bernard,” she whispered. “I met him when I was eleven at our church and just fell in love with him. Sean is always picking on me about it, especially now.”

  “Hell, I had a crush on our next-door neighbor when I was twelve,” Gerald laughed, handing Devin more balls.

  “So, you don’t mind?” Dianna asked.

  “No and if he hears her calling him ‘mister’ too many times, this episode will go on forever,” Michelle sighed.

  “Dianna, I will give you my truck if you let Lucy just call him Nelson,” Gerald said. “I’m tired just watching him lift the kind of weight Matt does.”

  “I’ll tell her it’s okay,” Dianna said as Nelson and Matt walked over, sweating. They leaned over and kissed their wives, then headed for the door.

  “Baby, what are you going to do?” Michelle called out, closing her eyes.

  Turning around with a smile, “Get those old tractor tires out of the barn and drag them around,” Nelson shouted and Matt hooted, pumping his fist.

  When Gerald finished cleaning the floor, they left the kids and Nancy in the hot tub and walked outside. Everyone stopped and stared with open mouths. Nelson had a rope tied to a huge tire and was dragging it across the yard. Matt had another tire and was flipping it over, ‘walking’ it across the yard.

  “I told Lucy not to call him mister,” Dianna said, watching the two work the tires.

  “Huh?” Sean said watching.

  “Nothing, dear,” Dianna said.

  “That seems like a good workout,” Sean said and walked away from the group. He stopped beside Nelson, motioning to the tire. Nelson smiled, handing the rope to Sean.

  “I’m having second thoughts about this,” Gerald said as Sean started dragging the tire across the yard.

  The group walked around the three and headed in to get cleaned up. Michelle waited but Nelson or Gavin never showed up, so she took Devin to the house for breakfast. No sooner had she walked in, then Gerald took Devin away.

  “Michelle,” Bernard said, walking over. “Do those boys know those tires weigh over three hundred pounds?”

  “I’m sure they do now,” Michelle said, opening a cabinet and grabbing a stack of plates. She turned to the table and stopped. “How in the hell did the table get longer?”

  “I had Bernard go up in the attic and find the middle section,” Nellie said, walking around her. “We can seat six to a side now.”

  “I’m going to get that other table from the barn and set it up in the den for the kids,” Bernard said, sitting down.

  The front door opened and everyone heard heavy breathing as Matt, Nelson, and Sean walked in, still sweating. “Man, that was a good workout,” Nelson said, moving over to Michelle kissing her.

  “Those tires weigh three hundred pounds and you three were pulling and tossing them around the yard,” Bernard cried out.

  “Yeah, Sean says they have some bigger tires at Dallas’s. We’re going to bring them over this week,” Matt said grinning.

  “I’m going to shower,” Nelson said, kissing Michelle again. Matt and Nelson left out the back and Sean headed upstairs. Everyone turned to Michelle.

  “What? Why is everyone looking at me? Matt works out like that all the time and nobody looks at Ashley like this,” Michelle said.

  Grabbing Mike’s bottle, “My husband is crazy, and it’s Nelson who’s supposed to keep Matt’s head here on the planet,” Ashley said, putting the bottle in Mike’s mouth.

  Michelle just shrugged as the kids came in, talking loudly about the three and the tires. “That was awesome!” Gavin cried out, walking in the kitchen.

  “I’ll talk to him,” Michelle said.

  Chapter 11

  Steering the UTV through the Jack Fork River, Nelson rode along the opposite bank and looked back to see the line of four-wheelers and UTV’s following him. When everyone was across, Nelson headed up into the trees along the bank of the river. They had to drive north to reach a spot where they could actually get down to the river and not take a near vertical slope.

  Weaving between the trees, Nelson headed south for half an hour until they saw a large sandbar next to the river. Taking his foot off the gas, Nelson let the side by side roll to a stop. Grabbing his AR, “If it’s clear, I’ll call you up,” he said, getting out.

  “You do remember we are meeting people here, right?” Michelle said, moving over to the driver’s seat.

  “Duh,” Nelson said, press checking his AR and walking off.

  Leaning over, Michelle rested her head on the steering wheel. “I wonder if I wear all the Leia outfits if this would end faster,” she mumbled. For the last week, Nelson was still acting like he was twenty. Michelle couldn’t figure out how he could move after the workouts, or Sean for that matter. Matt didn’t count because he always worked out intensely.

  Hearing movement, she lifted her head and saw Matt, Sean, and Gerald walking past her to follow Nelson. Leaning back, Michelle sighed as Bernard walked up and stopped beside her.

  “He any better?” Bernard asked.

  “No,” Michelle said. “He’s not going to put us in danger, if that’s what you’re worried about, Bernard.”

  Giving a loud snorting scoff, “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried he’s going to hurt himself,” Bernard said.

  “Well, you and I have the same worry,” Michelle said as Nelson’s voice sounded over her earbud.

  “It’s clear, roll on up,” Nelson called over the radio.

  “It’s clear,” Michelle said, putting the UTV in gear. When Bernard moved back to his ride, Michelle steered between the trees. Pulling out into an open area, Michelle raised her eyebrows at seeing a tennis court. They were using a resort on the Jack Fork that Bernard had told them about. It was secluded and empty, so it fit their criteria.

  Reaching a road, Michelle turned and followed the road and saw resort cabins along the sides of the road. Seeing a large pavilion, she drove off the road and over the grass. At one time, the grass had been trimmed low but now, it was waist high.

  Tu
rning the engine off, Michelle got out and looked around. “Surprised no one has showed up yet,” she said, grabbing stuff from the back.

  “Oh, we have two watching us,” Nelson said loudly, walking over.

  Holding the boxes, Michelle turned to him. “Are they close enough to hear that?” she asked.

  “Yep,” Nelson smiled, grabbing the other boxes.

  “They’re coming out, Nelson,” Sean said and Michelle turned to see two figures getting up, wearing ghillie suits.

  “Lucky Nelson didn’t shoot their ass,” Michelle mumbled, seeing one was carrying the massive M107 Barrett fifty caliber sniper rifle.

  When the two reached them, Michelle saw it was Curtis and one of the men from his house. “Figures. The accountant that thinks he’s Rambo,” Michelle chuckled softly.

  “How did you see me?” Curtis said, setting the massive rifle down on one of the tables.

  “Light off your scope lens,” Nelson said, putting the boxes down. “I saw you before I entered the clearing and I’m telling you this once and only once. You put me in your crosshairs again; you better pull the trigger because I will.”

  “My finger was never on the trigger,” Curtis said.

  Gerald stepped up. “I know, because I was watching you as Nelson checked the clearing,” Gerald said. “When I saw you weren’t targeting him, I let Nelson call an all clear.”

  Opening the boxes, Michelle snorted. “Curtis, we are glad you came and scouted, but you don’t aim a gun at anything unless you’re willing to destroy it,” Michelle said, setting out clipboards and then looked up at Curtis. “I would’ve shot your ass.”

  Throwing his hands up, “I swear, I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Then it’s lesson learned,” Michelle said with a smile. “I’m still training Nelson and if I would’ve had to start over, let’s just say it wouldn’t have gone well for you.”

  Curtis laughed, “Point taken and I won’t do it again.”

  “No, you cover until you’re certain,” Gerald said. “But you saw who it was. My God, that’s not a scope, that’s the smaller brother to the Hubble!” he said, pointing at the gigantic scope on the rifle. “You can see a person’s DNA with that thing.”