“Nathan, Emma didn’t listen and is riding Ares like a horse,” Jasmine sang out, and Emma turned to her with a scowl. “Hey, he told you,” Jasmine snapped.
“Ares, sit!” Nathan barked from the bathroom and Ares sat down. Trying to hold on with her legs and grabbing Ares’ fur, Emma let out grunts as her strength gave way and she slid off, hitting the floor. When Emma stood up, Jasmine didn’t need a translator to know Emma was pissed as she babbled in a yell.
“Keep on, and I’ll let Jasmine shave your head and make you sleep outside!” Nathan yelled out.
With wide eyes, Emma stopped babbling in shock and turned to Jasmine, pointing a finger at her. “Naphn nabie’a lelatya wwahita kkons ahbat,” Emma said, waving her finger at Jasmine.
“Nathan, what the fuck did she just say?” Jasmine asked slowly, putting Nolan down on the bed. One thing she did know, whatever Emma had said, it wasn’t nice.
“She’s my baby and you’re not, and you’re sleeping outside without a blanket,” Nathan interpreted.
“That does it,” Jasmine growled, jumping off the bed. Emma let out a scream, spinning around and took off for the bedroom door. Emma knew she was faster than the wind, but was surprised when she glanced back, and saw Jasmine was getting closer.
Pushing her legs harder, the world in Emma’s vision blurred from her speed as she ran into the hall and turned for the living room.
Walking to the door, Jasmine took several deep breaths to calm down and saw Emma waddling toward the couch. Reaching over, Jasmine picked her up and Emma let out a cry of shock that Jasmine could move so fast. “Stop!” Jasmine snapped, and Emma gave a surprised jerk that someone had talked to her like that.
“You will be nice, or you will sleep on the floor. Now, give me a hug or you don’t play today,” Jasmine warned.
“Naphn,” Emma pointed at the bedroom door.
“No, give me a hug or no playing for Emma today.” Like someone was holding a gun to her, Emma leaned over giving a slight hug. “That does it!” Jasmine cried out and ran over to the couch, and held Emma down before chewing on her stomach.
The squeal Emma let out should’ve been heard on the East Coast. With one hand holding Emma’s arms over her head and the other holding Emma’s ankles, Jasmine held her spread out, chewing on her stomach. Emma howled in laughter and pleaded for Jasmine to stop. All Jasmine heard was laughing and some minor babble.
Stepping out of his bedroom and rubbing his eyes, Tim saw Jasmine chewing on Emma. “What the hell was that?” Sherry called from the room.
“Emma. I think Jasmine’s tickling her till she passes out,” Tim offered.
“Oh, that’s nice,” Sherry called out. “Since you’re up, check on Nolan and start the coffee.”
Turning to look at Sherry still in the bed, “You pushed me out, and I didn’t wake up till I hit the floor. That’s the only reason I’m out of bed,” Tim informed her.
“Well, you’re out. Check on Nolan and start some coffee,” Sherry told him, pulling the covers up.
Shaking his head, Tim turned around to see Nathan walking out with Nolan in his arms. Seeing Nolan was wide awake and leaning out to stare at the source of the screaming laughter, “I got ‘em,” Tim said as Amanda and Chip followed Nathan out.
“He’s all right,” Nathan laughed.
Ignoring Nathan, Tim pulled his son from Nathan’s arms. “Oh no, he’s doing something for me,” Tim grinned, and strolled back into the bedroom. “He’s awake. Watch ‘im while I start the coffee.”
“Tim,” Sherry snapped as Tim set Nolan on her and walked out of the room. “I’m going to beat Daddy,” Sherry told Nolan, who was just grinning.
As Nathan walked over to the couch, Jasmine stopped chewing on Emma’s belly and the laughter stopped as Emma panted hard. “Sa, Sa, Sa,” she panted out, and her face looked utterly drained of all energy.
“She’s telling you she’s sorry,” Nathan said.
Letting Emma’s hands and ankles go, Jasmine leaned over Emma’s face smiling. “I was nice this time,” Jasmine smiled. “I love you, so don’t be mean to me.”
“ahvu ew,” Emma panted, and Jasmine didn’t need a translation. Scooping Emma up, Jasmine hugged her tight.
Seeing Nathan about to speak, “I know, she said, ‘I love you’,” Jasmine smiled.
“No, she didn’t,” Amanda huffed. “She just grunted.”
“I’m getting the boys up,” Nathan laughed, walking off.
After working out, the group just grabbed weapons and headed to the dining hall. Giving a groan that the food line wasn’t open yet, Nathan put Emma down and hung up his rifle. Hearing Emma squeal, Nathan glanced over his shoulder and saw Emma running full bore to the dessert table. “Ruth is doing that shit on purpose,” he grumbled.
“Holy shit,” Penny mumbled when Jasmine walked over. Normally, the group changed after the morning routine but today, they came in wearing workout clothes. The gray compression top and shorts Jasmine had on made her waist look very tiny, and didn’t reduce the size of her chest melons. In fact, they seemed to have grown.
Hearing his wife, Aiden turned and followed his wife’s gaze. Seeing Jasmine, his eyes grew. “Puddin’, you can’t put her down for dressing like that. You know they work out every morning,” Aiden offered.
“Aiden, if I had a body like that, I would flaunt it around in a string bikini,” Penny huffed. “Things get settled down, I’m getting implants,” Penny announced.
Wondering how or if he should respond, Aiden took the safe road. “I want you to dress like that now, and don’t go messing with my hooters. I like them just how they are.”
Penny turned with a smile and hugged him, “Oh, someone is getting thrown down tonight,” Penny giggled. Glad he’d chosen wisely, Aiden hugged her tight.
Strolling over while Emma pushed a chair to the dessert table to use as a ladder, Nathan’s step faltered. “She’s getting too damn smart,” he mumbled. Scooping Emma up before she climbed on the table, Nathan turned to see Ruth putting a huge pan of scrambled eggs on the serving line.
“Ruth, quit leaving these cakes out,” Nathan snapped.
“You hush,” Ruth popped off and came around the serving line. “That little one needs to eat as much as she can. She’s so little, I’m sure she has to run around in the rain just to get wet.”
When Ruth clapped her hands and held them out, Emma leaned out, going to Ruth. “That’s all Emma would eat, if I allowed it,” Nathan scoffed. “I have to put meat on her bones, not hype her up on sugar.”
“You get. I’ll fix her a plate,” Ruth said as Emma talked to her.
Since Ruth and Isaac were the oldest members, they were everyone’s grandparents, as well as the cooks. “Ruth, eggs and bacon on her plate,” Nathan said as Emma kissed Ruth on the cheek.
“Isaac made her some pancakes,” Ruth laughed out at Emma. “Go sit. Emma’s going to help me.”
Watching Ruth carry Emma into the kitchen, Nathan just gave a sigh. “This is hard work being a parent.”
“It’s supposed to be,” Vince laughed, walking up with Rusty. “Lanny and them got back last night.”
“They found targets that fast?” Nathan scoffed as he headed toward the table.
They both followed Nathan over to the table. “Yeah, they caught a group clearing the road where you hit them. They shot half a dozen, then pulled out,” Vince said as Nathan sat down, and they pulled over chairs.
“The other team said it looked like they tried to clear the landslide we created to block the road north, but stopped. It would take heavy equipment and days to clear it. Hell, half a mile of road is buried, and the slide hit the river and has backed it up. There’s a small lake now above the slide,” Rusty grinned. “Have to give it to ya, that was genius.”
“That just lets them know we’re here, didn’t it, hun?” Jasmine asked, watching Chip run around.
“Doll, this is the west,” Nathan laughed. “Rockslides are common here. Hell, w
e have slides that shut down interstates. There was already a small one there. That spot has one every year on its own. I knew if we helped it, we could make the road impassable.”
Leaning over, Jasmine kissed his cheek, “That’s my baby,” she smiled. Turning back to Chip, she saw him using the chair Emma had pushed over to the desert table, and she took off.
As Nathan watched Jasmine run over, Rusty leaned closer to him. “Lanny caught a tweaker,” Rusty said in a low voice.
Jerking his head and locking his gaze on Rusty’s face, “Preacher?” Nathan gasped. Rusty nodded and Nathan saw he was serious. “Why?” Nathan finally asked.
“He wanted to know why? Well, you know,” Rusty hesitated because he wasn’t about to say it.
“That really shook his faith,” Vince told them.
“There is no why. They’re evil incarnate,” Nathan said in a low voice while the members of the posse moved down the table, seeing the mini conference.
Shaking his head, “There is a why,” Rusty told him, glancing around to make sure no little ears were close. “Big D does it, so they can never leave, even if they shake the drug habit. If people ever find out you were a cannibal, they’d kill you. It doesn’t matter what side, color, or gang affiliation. You’re dead, and from what we’ve heard, it’s not a fast or easy death. Doyle’s bound them to the gang for life.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, “I should’ve shot his ass when I pulled him over,” Nathan muttered.
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, Nathan,” Vince told him.
Jerking his eyes to Rusty, “Lanny get numbers?” Nathan almost panted.
Nathan’s heart nearly stopped when Rusty nodded slowly, not answering right away. “Over fifteen hundred,” he finally said. “There is good news. We’ve whittled them down over two hundred.”
“So, there’re only thirteen hundred?” Nathan asked with hope.
Shaking his head, “No, fifteen hundred was after our attacks. The one Lanny caught had a few brain cells still working. They keep up with numbers by how much meth they hand out in a day. Each tweaker gets an eight ball a day, if they perform the duties the day before. Like guard duty, convoy out to get supplies and survivors,” Rusty told him, and Nathan felt sick.
“There’s no way there are that many there, I’m sorry,” Nathan replied. “I can believe five to six hundred, you guys got from our pictures. We would’ve seen over a thousand, and you don’t send out that many on runs. I know I predicted a thousand, but to be honest, I was just going high.”
“You’re right, they have other camps, and one near Burke,” Rusty said. “Lanny and his team went to check it out. They just confirmed it, but didn’t scout it.”
“That’s not even ten miles from the interstate!” Nathan cried out.
“Yep, that’s where they catch many of the new recruits,” Vince nodded. “Just so you know, they’re adding around a hundred a week.”
“I feel sick,” Nathan mumbled.
“Well, this won’t help,” Rusty sighed. “They have a new lab set up and pumping the shit out in Prichard. But now, they have guards around both camps.”
“How did Lanny get the guy to talk?” Nathan asked suspiciously.
Giving a nod as he leaned back in his chair, “Just sat down, pulled out his Bible and talked,” Vince said. “It took him an hour to wear the guy down, but he did.”
“We still have the captive?” Nathan asked.
“Nope,” Rusty answered, shaking his head. “After Lanny got the answers he was looking for, he put his Bible away, pulled out his pocket knife, and cut the guy’s throat ear-to-ear.”
“I like it, that’s cold,” Nathan grinned.
“You need help,” Vince mumbled.
Getting up from the table, Nathan walked around Vince’s chair. “Where are you going?” Vince asked.
“To talk to Lanny, and tell him I’m sorry again for almost pulling a gun on him,” Nathan answered.
Watching Nathan walk over to Lanny’s table, “Man, he still feels bad about that,” Rusty mumbled.
Pulling a chair out, Nathan dropped down. Normally, Lanny was smiling and cheerful, but not since that day. “Heard you scored on your trip out,” Nathan said.
“Yeah,” Lanny nodded. “Nathan, don’t apologize again. I know why you did it, so let it go.”
“Lanny,” Nathan started, and Lanny cut him off.
“Nathan, I can honestly say, had the roles been reversed, I would’ve shot you or anyone else who’d even suggested we talk about it,” Lanny said, turning to Nathan. “Most here, I would’ve wounded,” he nodded. “Nathan, I just can’t believe that kind of evil is here, in this country.”
Giving a grunt, “You act like the evil just showed up,” Nathan replied. “It’s always been here, that’s why I never fell in with ‘overcome evil with kindness’. The way I see it, evil has a team and good has a team. Unless those on the good team stomp the evil team’s asses into the ground, evil will win. I’ll never forgive and forget. The only time I’ll show compassion to my enemy is after I’ve killed them. My family is on the good team, so I’ll just follow my own rules.”
Leaning back, Lanny laughed. “Yes, that is who you are. Your safety has never been a concern to you, but your friends and now family? You’re a mother hen and always have been.”
“That dates underwear models,” Regina chimed in. “How could you even date someone like Patrice? She was the worst of all of your hussies.” For a second, Lanny was about to reply and tell his wife why Nathan did. There was hot, then super sexy, and then there was Patrice. About to talk, Lanny stopped before deciding he needed to keep his mouth shut. Besides, he was glad to see his wife getting her spark back. These last few days had been hard on everybody. Team Evil, as Nathan put it, had cast a pall over everything in its wake.
Giving a shrug, “I was a guy, sorry,” Nathan replied. “But I have me a woman now,” he grinned.
Rolling her eyes up at the ceiling, “Thank you,” Regina told God.
“So, are we clear? Stop apologizing,” Lanny said.
Nodding, Nathan leaned close and looked around before turning to Lanny. “How do you ask a girl to marry you?” Nathan whispered. Lanny and Regina just stared at Nathan in a catatonic state. “I mean, do you do it like in the movies and get down on one knee? Or do you send her a card? I mean, how do you do it in real life? I can’t ask the posse because they would give me shit, but you’re the pastor. So, how do you do it?”
When he finished, Nathan realized neither was blinking. “Guys?” he said, waving a hand in front of their faces.
Glancing over his shoulder, Bill saw Lanny and Regina both catatonic and Nathan waving his hand in front of their faces. “Great, Nathan broke the preacher,” Bill sighed.
“I don’t want to know what he asked, so don’t tell me when you find out,” Janice informed him.
“What’s wrong?!” Nathan cried out, and each finally blinked as they jerked back in their chairs.
“You’re serious?” Lanny accused.
“Duh,” Nathan sang out. “I’m asking you because you’ve married people and are married, so how do you do this and not look stupid?”
Trying to think, Lanny turned to Regina. “You just ask her,” Regina smiled. “Tell her why you want to spend the rest of your life with her. Why she’s special and why you love her.”
Biting the inside of his cheek, Nathan nodded. “Okay, but do I need to get on one knee? Do it alone? I mean, when’s a good time?”
Turning back to Nathan, there was no question in Lanny’s mind that Nathan loved Jasmine. “Nathan, in normal times I would tell you, take them someplace special, just the two of you and ask her. Now, with the way the world is, I’m disappointed you’ve waited at all. Jasmine loves you and I never thought it possible, but you’re in love with her. Just ask her,” Lanny told him with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan let it out slowly. “Am I supposed to be, like, really nervous?”
“I f
orgot my own name when I asked Regina to marry me,” Lanny grinned.
Nodding, as he pushed back from the table, “I can do this,” Nathan said to himself.
Lanny could tell Nathan was a little pale when he left. “I feel so honored that he asked me,” Lanny chuckled.
“Me too,” Regina said, hugging him. “If Jasmine turns him down, she disappears,” Regina stated, and was surprised when Lanny nodded in agreement.
Trying to remain calm and not spank kids, Jasmine was sitting at the table holding Chip. “You aren’t climbing on the dessert table!” Jasmine shouted, and Chip just looked down in his lap. Lifting her head, Jasmine saw Nathan walking over. “Hun, are you all right?” she asked, seeing he looked pale.
“Yeah,” Nathan nodded, fidgeting with his hands. Then he pulled something from the pocket of his workout shorts. “Um,” Nathan stuttered. “Well, you know…”
Feeling lightheaded, Nathan paused, moving closer to the table to lean on it, and the entire table turned to him. “I just wanted to say I love you,” Nathan blurted out fast.
With a warm smile, “I love you too,” Jasmine replied, then the smile slowly fell as she saw Nathan break out in a sweat. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” Nathan admitted. “I know I was pig-headed, but when I first saw you, my heart stopped. Before we left that lake, I admitted to myself, I was in love with you. I didn’t want to be because you’re like, super everything, and I’m just me. Never would I want anyone to look at you weird,” Nathan rambled.
Jasmine smiled as he spoke and then when he neared the end, he lost her. “That was so beautiful, but what about the weird part?” Jasmine asked.
“Well, I’m old and you’re not, and I fell in love with you…” Nathan sighed, and Jasmine forced her smile to stay on her face. “I mean, I’m like a pervert because you’re smart, can think, great with the kids, and oh my god, are you a hottie. Yeah, so, I just didn’t want anyone to look at you weird.”
With a huge smile, “The first fucker that does, I’ll cut their eyes out with a fork right here on this table. I just saw you, not a man or older man, just you,” Jasmine told him.
War Zone: Homefront Page 24
