by Marla Monroe
“We can’t allow that to happen. They’ll end up killing our females and children. Even if we aren’t the ones doing the killing, they won’t worry about who they are aiming at. They’ll just shoot.”
“I agree with you,” McCall said. “My experience with some of those types was to shoot first and ask questions later. Only it was too late to ask after that. You need to leave the area.”
“That’s why I’m here. I wanted to ask if you have room for us in your compound. We have cattle, chickens, and equipment that would benefit us all,” Jonathan said.
Abe and everyone else in the room started, looking from one to the other. Lyssa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They’d just arrived and already more people wanted to be a part of their newfound happiness. More people scared her. It meant more chances of discovery and danger. She drew in a deep breath when both Wade and Stanton squeezed one of her hands. It also meant more people to watch out for each other as well.
“Why do you think you would be any safer here than were you are now? I thought you were all going to set up there like we have here, like Brandon and the families there,” Abe said.
“We had planned to and had actually started enlarging the two main houses to allow for more families to live together but then all hell broke out and some of the men decided they were going to make all the of the decisions for everyone, including what to do about the bounty hunters and lawmen. Their ideas are dangerous and we want no part of it,” the man said. “You know my brother. He’s as stoic and unbending as they come, but he’s willing to step back some if you’ll take us in.”
“How many of the families want to join?” Abe asked.
“Us and one other. That’s all. We’re in the minority. Ronnie overheard some of the men talking when she was gathering eggs. They didn’t know she was in the henhouse when they stopped to talk. They are planning to get rid of the men who are against their plans and take our women. They think we are just going to get the women killed and women are too valuable for that,” Jonathan told them.
“That’s no different from the black market and bounty hunters’ ideas,” Russell snarled.
“Exactly why we need to leave.” Jonathan ran one hand over the back of his neck.
“Jonathan, we don’t have a lot of room in livable order yet. Can you hold out till spring?” Abe asked.
“No. I’m worried about them even now. I don’t have a clue what I’ll return home to when I go back. We are desperate or I wouldn’t be here, Abe.”
Abe looked around at everyone. Lyssa knew he was for allowing them entry into their little group. She didn’t know them and had no reason to trust them, but he’d let them in when he hadn’t known them. Who was she to make life and death decisions? Where was her caring and compassionate nature as a medical person? It shamed her that she was so terrified of change now.
“How do the rest of you feel? We live together here and make all our decisions together unless it is an emergency. What are your concerns? Is anyone completely against letting them join us?” he asked.
As Lyssa looked around, she noticed how silent it was. Then Marty stood up and walked over to Jonathan, sticking out his hand in acceptance.
“You’re welcome here as far as I’m concerned. We’ll do whatever we can to get you ready for winter.”
Everyone stood up but the three of them and nodded their heads. She looked from Wade to Stanton. Abe looked their way as well.
“What about your choice, guys? Are they welcome here?”
Wade frowned. “I don’t think we have any say in this. We just joined ourselves last week. We’re relieved and happy to be here. I don’t think any of us would ever deny someone safe passage or shelter. We’re fine with the consensus.”
Abe smiled. “Then it’s settled. You’re welcome here. When do you think you will arrive?”
Jonathan’s expression briefly exposed his relief before he managed to control his features once more. He nodded his head to each of them gathered in front of the fire.
“Thank you all. We have been slowly packing as quietly as possible for the last two weeks. We’ve been moving the farming equipment to the outer fields in preparation for planting our winter grasses so no one is the wiser that we’re getting ready to run. I think we can make the trip out in one day if we don’t run into trouble. I’d say that once I return, we could be here next Thursday,” Jonathan said.
“How will you keep from alerting them that you are leaving if all of a sudden you’re all missing?” McCall asked.
“Do you have children? How will you be able to keep them quiet?” she asked, thinking about some calming herbs they had available.
“We plan to leave at two in the morning when everyone is sleeping. Brice and Joel are on watch that night so it will work out perfectly for us. The children shouldn’t be a problem. The older ones are well behaved and we have to pray that the one infant we have will sleep through the worst of it.”
“Um, I can give you some herbs safe for children and infants that you can boil up into a tea. It will keep them relaxed and drowsy. It won’t put them to sleep but at that time of night, they should easily fall asleep anyway,” Lyssa offered.
Jonathan frowned, but Destiny jumped in. “She’s a nurse practitioner who knows herbal medicine. She’s helped little Hunter with colic already.”
He looked over at Lyssa and smiled. “I’d appreciate it then. If you’ll be sure and write down the directions for our wives, it would make me feel better. I don’t want to leave it to my memory.”
Everyone began talking at the same time as plans were made and alternate routes discussed in case they ran up on trouble. They were going to attempt to escape with everything they owned including farm equipment and animals. It was a risky, seemingly impossible task, but they were determined to be self-sufficient when they arrived. Lyssa understood that.
By the time they’d gone over everything to the satisfaction of Abe, Lyssa was exhausted. She’d gathered what was needed for the soothing tea and written down the directions with dosages for each of the children. Between the two families, there were five children, three boys and two girls. It wouldn’t be long before they’d need to start a school for all of them. The oldest was five and the youngest four months.
She helped the other women fix dinner while the men continued talking. After dinner, Jonathan headed upstairs to bed down for the night since he was going to leave before dawn in the morning. The rest of them talked quietly in front of the fire, talking about what they needed to get done before the new families arrived.
“They can stay upstairs with us while we work on the cabins,” Russell said.
“The rooms aren’t large enough for them and the children, Russ,” Celina pointed out. “If they are comfortable with all of the children except for the baby sleeping together, we could put them in the room between them.”
“That’s a good idea, Celina,” Marty said. “That puts four of them in the one room so they aren’t afraid of being by themselves. With the room being between their parents’ bedrooms, they should be okay.”
“The bed in that room is only a double. I don’t think it’s big enough for all four of them to sleep in it. Kids tend to sleep all over a bed,” Destiny reminded them.
McCall grunted. “There’s an old trundle bed in that back room we haven’t cleaned out yet. We can dust it off, make sure it’s safe and air it out. It will pull out from under the bed for them to sleep on and then roll back under to be out of the way during the day.”
“Brilliant,” Celina said, clapping her hands together.
“What about the infant?” Stanton asked. “Where will it sleep? Do you have more baby beds?”
“I’m going to hope they are bringing one with them when they come,” Destiny said. “If not, we can always pull out a deep drawer and make a bed out of it for him until we can work something else out.”
“Wow. I can’t believe how many of us there will soon be around here.” Lyssa smiled when she s
aid it, but knew the men felt the tension in her body since they were pressed so closely to her.
“Once we get everyone settled in,” Abe began. “We’ll set up duties and rotate watch among all of us. It will mean being able to keep you and the children safe much easier with more eyes and ears around.”
“If we’re going to continue to all cook and eat in the lodge, we are going to have to pull out the other table and chairs again,” Celina said with a grin. “I can’t wait for our first communal meal together!”
“Which cabins did we decide to work on first?” Marty asked, standing up.
“The two closest to the barn and out buildings. They are in the best shape of the ones close together. I don’t want to put anyone off by themselves if we don’t have to,” Abe said. “We’ll start first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds good,” Stanton said. “We should head to our cabin and get some rest, guys.”
“I agree. Come on, honey.” Wade stood up and helped Lyssa to her feet.
As they walked across the big room Destiny, Marty, and McCall followed behind them. The four men lit lanterns from the row they kept ready next to the rack where coats and outerwear hung by the door. While Stanton wrapped one arm around her waist, Wade grabbed the rifle and checked it before Russell opened the door to let them all out.
“See you guys in the morning for breakfast. One gunshot in the air if you need help,” he reminded them before closing the door behind them.
Lyssa kept between her two men as they followed Destiny and her guys across the open yard of the compound. Once they reached their cabin, Wade walked in first to check that it was safe then she and Stanton followed, waving at the others.
“Wow,” she said.
Turning around in the middle of the room, Lyssa soaked in the fact that this was their home now. It felt good. Stanton locked the door, sliding a large wooden deadbolt across the frame on either side.
“What’s wrong, Lyss?” Wade asked, setting the rifle in one corner of the room.
“Nothing. Not really. It’s just that for a little while I felt really, I don’t know—free. Now I’m nervous about meeting more people. When I was in Barter Town, I was rarely around more than three or four people at one time. I was nervous the first few days with everyone here. Now there will be like eleven more people all at one time. I don’t want to lose it around them.” It embarrassed her that she still had fears and little quirks from her time being locked up.
Wade wrapped his arms around her. “Relax, honey. We’ll be right there with you. If you start feeling odd, one of us will get you somewhere that you feel comfortable until you’re better.”
“Darling. We love you. There’s no way we’d ever allow anything to happen to you. That includes falling apart. There’s nothing wrong with it but we know you’re embarrassed. We’ll make sure you’re always close to one of us until you feel more relaxed around them,” Stanton said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
Wade pulled back and smiled at her. “Abe seems to think these guys are good people. As hardnosed as he seems to be, I tend to trust his judgment.”
“Me, too.” Stanton pulled her from Wade’s arms. “Let’s go to bed. I want to make love to my woman.”
“Our woman,” Wade said, giving Stanton a playful shove.
“So when is our woman going to get with the program and give us a baby to add to the horde that’s about to descend on us?” Stanton asked out of the blue.
Lyssa froze. Had he just asked about children? She hadn’t even thought about them having children. It wasn’t like they had anything to use to keep her from getting pregnant, so why hadn’t it occurred to her before?
“Lyssa?” Wade sounded worried.
She turned to look at him. “Huh?”
“You got pale all of a sudden. Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just hadn’t thought about having a baby. I mean we just met a few months ago and found a home and I really hadn’t thought about it.” She licked her lips and looked over at Stanton.
He grinned. “I’m ready whenever it happens. I can’t wait to see a pretty little girl with your gorgeous hair and inquisitive eyes. I bet she’ll be into everything.”
Wade chuckled. “We’ll have to tie a rope around her to keep her close to us.”
“A baby?” she still couldn’t quite get past that. What if she was already pregnant?
Lyssa tried to count back to her last cycle but couldn’t remember when it was. She’d stopped being regular about two years after she’d been locked up. She was almost positive that she hadn’t had a period since she’d met the two men. It didn’t necessarily mean she was pregnant, but she might be.
“Looks like she’s trying to figure out if she is or not, Wade.” Stanton grinned at the other man.
“Lyssa. We’ve already talked about it. You probably are since you haven’t bled since we’ve met you.” Wade’s matter-of-fact observation had heat burning her cheeks.
“I–I’m not always regular anyway. With everything that’s happened, I’m probably just late as usual.”
Stanton pulled her into the bedroom then gently pushed her back on the bed when her knees hit the edge of the mattress.
“My money is on you’re being knocked up, but if you aren’t yet, we can sure work on remedying the situation. Right, Wade?”
“You got it, man. I’m all for giving it the old college try. I’ve got dibs on sucking those hot nipples of hers first,” Wade said in a deep rumble.
“I love you Wade,” Lyssa said when he stretched out next to her and began unbuttoning her blouse.
“I love you more, Lyss, more than there are stars in the night sky.”
She kissed him then turned to where Stanton was undressing next to the bed. “I love you, too, Stanton. You both make me very happy.”
He smiled and stepped out of his jeans. “I love you more than all of the tea in China, darling. You make me so happy it hurts sometimes.”
She watched as he slowly climbed on the bed to lie on his side next to her. With him on one side and Wade on the other, Lyssa had never felt as safe and cherished as she did in that moment. Despite her phobia of wide open spaces and unease around crowds of people, they still loved her. Living with her wasn’t going to be easy sometimes, but they left no doubt in her heart that they were there to stay.
A new era was about to begin for those living in that part of America. Five families were banding together to support, defend, and encourage each other. They would be a force to worry about if they were crossed. A common goal to survive and remain free bound them while their natural need for companionship drew them together in the first place. Together they would rebuild civilization with one thought uppermost in their minds. Freedom isn’t free. You have to earn it and then you have to defend it.
Lyssa knew firsthand what the loss of freedom felt like. She would support her men and work every day to preserve their chosen way of life. She and her new friends would raise their children to cherish it while their fathers fought for it.
“Did someone say something about making babies?” she asked, grabbing at Wade’s belt buckle.
“Easy there, honey. We’ve got all night and the rest of our lives to get it right.”
“We’ve already got it right. Let’s get it going.” Lyssa wrapped her arms around Wade’s neck and kissed him as Stanton pressed his very naked and aroused body against hers.
THE END
WWW.MARLAMONROE.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marla Monroe has been writing professionally for about eleven years. Her first book with Siren was published in January of 2011. At this time, she has over 60 books available. She loves to write and spends every spare minute either at the keyboard or reading. She writes everything from sizzling-hot contemporary cowboys, emotionally charged BDSM, and dangerously addictive shifters, to science fiction ménages with the occasional badass biker thrown in for good measure.
Marla lives in the southern US and works fu
ll-time at a busy hospital. When not writing, she loves to travel, spend time with her cats, and read. She’s always eager to try something new and especially enjoys the research for her books. She loves to hear from readers about what they are looking for next in their reading adventures.
You can reach Marla at [email protected], or visit her website at www.marlamonroe.com
Her blog: www.themarlamonroe.blogspot.com
Twitter: @MarlaMonroe1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/marla.monroe.7
For all titles by Marla Monroe, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/marla-monroe
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
