Without Law 7

by Eric Vall

  “Hear, hear,” I said with a soft smile, and I raised my glass along with everyone else.

  “Building off what Cathy said.” Betty grinned and stood up. “We did have a community here, for a long time, and I love my neighbors, but I want to state a fact, and that is that we are better off with all of you than we were alone.”

  “Here here,” Justin said, and he tapped his glass twice on the table.

  “So here’s to neighbors, old and new,” Betty said, and she smiled at Cathy who looked like she had tears in her eyes, then she leaned down and hugged the sandy blonde haired woman.

  “Alright, alright,” Briar said, and he groaned as he stood, then he looked at me and the girls. “I’d like to extend my gratitude, and my thanks.”

  “No thanks necessary,” I told him.

  “Yeah,” Bailey added with a smile. “You’re part of our tribe.”

  “No, no,” Briar said, and he shook his head. “I’m going to thank you and you’re going to like it.”

  “As you wish,” Paige chuckled.

  “Damn right,” the old man said with a grin. “I’ve always been a grouchy lone wolf, and when the world was better off I didn’t mind it so much, but now I’m happy to have a pack that cares about me. These old bones aren’t what they used to be, but I’m grateful you all consider me a valuable part of your group and that you’re willing to risk your lives for me. You’re good people, and if anybody can rebuild this shitshow right now, it’s people like you. So thank you.”

  “You’re supposed to end with a call,” Betty said with a laugh.

  “Oh, right,” Briar said, and he thought for a moment. “To new packs.”

  “To new packs,” we all chorused, and I gave Briar a big smile and a nod.

  “I think it’s your turn now,” Anna said to me.

  “Would anyone else like to go?” I asked, and I looked around the table.

  “Go,” Tara pushed with a grin.

  “Alright,” I chuckled, and I stood up. “Well first I’d like to say thank you to everyone. Not just for cooking today, or playing games, but for all the hard work you do each day. I know it’s not easy, but you all bust your asses for yourselves, and each other, and I’m proud of each and every one of you.”

  “Hear, hear,” Bailey said excitedly, and she banged her glass like Justin had done earlier.

  “Yes,” I laughed. “And also, I’d like to thank everyone for making today special. I don’t often speak about myself, but I want you all to know that it means a lot to me. It was around Thanksgiving when I was a kid that my mom and I got the news that my father was killed on duty, and that year and every year after that my mom tried to make Thanksgiving particularly special.”

  “Aww,” Tara said, and I looked over to see her blinking back tears.

  “I know today is special for everyone,” I said with a soft smile. “But it’s particularly special for me. So I’d like to end with a toast that I was told was one of my father’s favorites. May you never lie, steal, cheat, or drink.”

  “Whoa now,” Tara chuckled, and she raised a hand.

  “Let me finish,” I laughed. “May you never lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, lie in each other’s arms. If you must steal, steal kisses. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink with us, your friends.”

  “Isn’t that from Hitch?” Tara whispered to Paige.

  “Oh my God,” the brunette whispered back. “I knew I recognized it.”

  “Actually,” Merideth laughed. “It’s an old Irish drinking toast. My father used to say it too, but everyones’ is just a bit different.”

  “Thank you, Merideth,” I chuckled.

  “So here’s to lying, stealing, cheating, and drinking,” Anna said, and she raised her glass to me.

  “To lying, stealing, cheating, and drinking,” I laughed.

  “Hear, hear,” everyone chorused, and they took a ceremonial drink.

  “Now let’s dig in,” Paige said. “I’m starved.”

  “You’re always starved,” Bailey teased.

  “Damn right,” the brunette said, and she shoved a large bite of mashed potatoes into her mouth.

  The food was tremendous, the turkey was succulent and moist, the potatoes were light and fluffy, the vegetables were roasted to perfection, and the corn was sweet and salty.

  “This is delicious,” Justin said after a moment.

  “The only thing that could have made it better is butter,” Betty chuckled.

  “I bet I can figure out how to make some,” Paige offered through bites.

  “It’s not the most fun process,” Marla laughed.

  “You know how?” Tara asked.

  “Oh, sure,” Marla said, and she waved her hand at the platinum blonde. “I’m sure most of us that lived around here forever know how.”

  “She’s right,” Jenny said. “But it takes forever.”

  “It’s a lot of labor,” Rolly added.

  Tara and Paige looked at each other, then back to the farmers.

  “We’ll do it,” they said in unison.

  “Well, alright then,” Marla laughed. “I can show you all how.”

  “We’ll help,” Betty said, and she nudged her granddaughter. “Won’t we Jenny?”

  “Sure,” the redhead said with an eye roll. “Maybe it will be fun.”

  “Even without butter you all did an excellent job,” Rolly said.

  “I agree,” I said, and I shoved another bite of green beans in my mouth.

  Everyone finished their meals in silence, then groaned after they were done.

  “That was great,” Jeff said, and he leaned back in his chair. “Thank you, ladies.”

  “Of course,” Donna said.

  “That’s not all,” Tara said excitedly.

  “There’s more?” I asked with a laugh. “I don’t think anybody has room for more.”

  “You’ll have room for this,” Paige said with a wink, and she and Tara headed into the dorm building and came back a moment later, each carrying two pies.

  “Are those pumpkin pies?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Bailey said happily. “Betty and Marla made them.”

  “They look delicious,” I said.

  “I’m guessing you have room now?” Marla asked with a raised brow.

  “I always have room for dessert,” I said seriously.

  The girls dished up everyone some pie, and I’m not ashamed to say I literally moaned when it hit my tongue. The spices were just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg, and the pie itself was velvety smooth.

  “Oh my God,” Tara groaned. “This is amazing.”

  “Yeah,” Anna sighed. “Can you teach Tara how to make this, too?”

  “Of course,” Betty chuckled.

  “Thank you, sweety,” Rolly said quietly, and he kissed Betty on the cheek.

  “So,” I said after everyone had finished eating. “Tomorrow Paige, Bailey and I will be heading to the ski lodge to get some solar panels.”

  “Solar panels?” Cathy asked. “Will those work?”

  “The ones the people in the woods had worked,” Paige said with a nod.

  “That’s great,” Jenny said excitedly.

  “It is,” I said. “We got a couple generators from them as well, so we may have working power for winter.”

  “Wow,” Marla said with wide eyes.

  “We also found candle making supplies,” Bailey said.

  “No offense,” Anna chuckled. “But I think the power is a bit more exciting.”

  “True,” Bailey laughed. “But I’m excited to make some scented candles.”

  “Oh, can I help?” Joanna asked with a grin.

  “Of course,” Bailey said, and she smiled at the sandy blonde-haired girl. “I’d love that.”

  “How long will you be gone?” Merideth asked.

  “I would say two days,” I answered.

  “Anyone who wants to come stay here during that time is welcome,” Anna sa
id with a soft smile.

  “Of course,” I agreed. “But until everything is moved here, we still need a guard posted at each property.”

  “I think we can handle that,” Justin said.

  “Now for the bad news,” I said.

  “I knew it,” Donna chuckled. “Lay it on us.”

  “Am I that predictable?” I laughed.

  “A little,” the black haired woman said.

  “Well, at least you saw it coming,” I said. “But the news is that we ran into some guardsmen last night.”

  “You did?” Cathy asked, surprised.

  “Does that mean they’ve moved out?” Mike asked.

  “No.” I shook my head. “They had left the camp in Burlington.”

  “They went AWOL?” Jeff asked seriously.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “They said they didn’t like what was going on at the camp,” Bailey added.

  “I wanted to shoot them,” Tara said seriously. “But they were actually nice.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Jenny said. “I think.”

  “It is,” I said.

  “So what’s the bad news?” Donna asked, and her dark eyebrows pulled together.

  “They told us the guard’s orders,” I said. “They were supposed to head to Washington D.C.”

  “Except they weren’t sure there was a D.C. left,” Anna said.

  “Oh.” Cathy frowned.

  “Yeah.” I nodded.

  “What does that mean for us?” Briar asked.

  “Nothing right now,” I said. “We stick to our plan.”

  “Okay,” the old farmer said with a nod.

  “Nothing has really changed,” Rolly clarified. “We are still going to be up here for the winter.”

  “Okay,” Donna said, but she still looked puzzled.

  “I just wanted you all to know,” I said. “I don’t want anyone to panic about it, we’ll handle whatever comes our way.”

  “You think whatever took out D.C. will come here?” Joanna asked.

  “It’s possible,” I told her with a calm tone. “But winter is coming, and it will be a big savior for us.”

  “I know I wouldn’t want to be out in the snow,” Justin said.

  “Exactly,” I said. “Our goal for now is still to get through winter, everything else we’ll plan for during that time and handle come spring.”

  “Okay.” Marla nodded.

  “I just wanted you all to know,” I repeated. “Don’t let this spoil our evening.”

  “Thank you for telling us,” Justin said.

  “Yeah.” Jeff nodded, then he grinned at everyone at the table. “I think we all need another drink after that.”

  “Hear, hear,” Rolly laughed and raised his glass.

  “How about a game?” Bailey asked.

  “A game sounds nice,” Betty said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “How about charades?” Paige asked happily. “My family always used to play charades after thanksgiving.”

  “Mine too,” Mike said. “I’m game.”

  “Charades it is,” I laughed.

  “I call Rolly,” Betty said.

  “There’s a lot of us,” Anna said. “Maybe we should do four-man teams?”

  “Sounds good,” Betty said. “You’re with us.”

  “Okay,” the redhead laughed.

  “Then I call Tav,” Tara said excitedly.

  “Me too,” Bailey said.

  “I’ll be with Mike,” Paige said, and they high fived across the table. “We’re gonna crush them.”

  Everyone else split into teams, and Paige retrieved some paper and a timer from out of one of the other board game boxes. We each wrote down a movie or person and put it into Rolly’s hat, then the game began.

  “We’re first!” Tara called after everyone put their papers into the hat.

  “Alright,” Paige laughed. “It won’t matter though, we’re still going to crush you.”

  “Bring it on,” Tara said, and she narrowed her eyes at the brunette.

  Tara leaned over and picked up a piece of paper out of the hat that Paige held out for her.

  “You aren’t the only one who used to play charades after dinner,” the platinum blonde threatened.

  “Now it’s a game,” Anna said.

  “Okay, so she acts it out, and we have a minute to guess,” I clarified.

  “Yes,” Tara said, and she rolled her eyes playfully. “Keep up, Tav.”

  “I’m sorry,” I laughed.

  “I’m counting on you bitches, so you better get this right,” Tara said.

  “Is it too late to trade teams?” Bailey whispered to me.

  “I heard that,” Tara said with narrowed eyes. “Alright, flip the timer.”

  Paige flipped the small sand timer, and Tara started to act out something, but I had no idea what.

  “Three words!” Bailey yelled as Tara held up three fingers.

  “Big hair!” Joanna, the fourth member of our group, yelled as Tara made a big circle around her head.

  Tara shook her head, then she got on the ground and opened her mouth and shook her head around.

  “What the hell is happening,” I laughed.

  “Um, an animal?” Bailey asked, and the platinum blonde nodded.

  “A crown!” Joanna said as Tara used her fingers to draw points coming from the top of her head.

  “A royal animal?” I asked, and Tara nodded fervently.

  “Oh, oh!” Bailey squealed. “I got it!”

  “Time’s up!” Paige called.

  “Come on!” Tara scoffed, and she stood back up.

  “Was it The Lion King?” Bailey asked, and she bit her lip.

  “It doesn’t count now,” Tara said. “But yes.”

  “Good job,” I told Bailey.

  “And you,” Tara said, and she narrowed her eyes on me. “Were you even trying?”

  “I tried,” I said. “I’m not good with movies.”

  “Well, you need to step it up mister,” the platinum blonde chuckled.

  “I’ll try,” I said.

  Paige and Mike’s team went next, and Paige had guessed it before the timer was even half gone.

  “She’s cheating,” Tara muttered.

  “Don’t be a sore loser,” Paige retorted, and she stuck her tongue out at the platinum blonde.

  By the end of the game Paige had beat us all with a three point lead, and my team had come in dead last with only one point to our name.

  “Did you want me to gloat now or later?” Paige asked the platinum blonde with a raised eyebrow.

  “How about never,” Tara said with narrowed eyes.

  “I’ll do it later then,” Paige chuckled.

  “I think it’s about time we head home,” Marla said, and she looked over to where the boys had laid down with Winchester. The three of them were snuggled together, and the boys were sleeping happily.

  “Okay,” I said.

  “We should help clean up first,” Justin said.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “You all go, we’ll clean up.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “Alright then,” the black haired man agreed.

  The Millers and those staying at their house took off, but Betty and her group stayed behind and started to clean up.

  “You all can go too,” I said. “We can handle this.”

  “Shush,” Betty said. “And start taking chairs back downstairs.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I chuckled.

  It didn’t take long for us to clean up the dinner remnants, especially since there wasn’t much food left, and Betty’s group took off after we were done, so I was left on the roof with Rolly, Winchester, and my girls.

  “You ladies did something wonderful today,” I said and I took a sip of my whiskey. “Thank you.”

  “Of course,” Tara said.

  “We thought everyone deserved a good day,” Bailey said.

&nbs
p; “Well it was much appreciated,” Rolly said. “If you all don’t mind I’d like to hit the hay.”

  “Of course,” Anna told the old man. “Get some rest.”

  “Wake me if you need me for guard duty,” he said.

  “We got it tonight,” Paige said with a soft smile.

  “Well, goodnight then,” Rolly said, and I could tell from his low eyelids that he was exhausted.

  The old man made his way inside, and Winchester came over and flopped down in between the girls and I with an audible sigh.

  “I guess Rolly isn’t the only tired one,” Bailey laughed.

  “It appears not,” I chuckled. “If anyone else wants to go to bed, I’ll take first watch.”

  “I’ll take you up on that first watch,” Anna said. “But for now I’d like to stay and finish my drink.”

  “Me too,” Tara said. “It’s a nice night.”

  “It really is,” Paige said, and she looked up at the sky. “The stars are so beautiful.”

  “And since there are no city lights you can see them so well,” Bailey said softly.

  I looked up at the sky too and smiled to myself as I remembered Thanksgiving with my mother.

  “Hey,” Anna said quietly, and I turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m great,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Bailey said with a frown. “But I don’t think any of us knew about your dad and Thanksgiving.”

  “Probably not,” I said. “I don’t talk about it much.”

  “Well, we’re glad you told us,” Paige said gently.

  “Me too,” I said, then I pulled their chairs closer to me. “Now come over here.”

  The girls all scooted their chairs near mine and piled their legs on top of me while I wrapped my arms around them.

  “It was a good day,” Bailey sighed.

  “It was,” I said. “Thanks to all of you.”

  “It was a pretty brilliant plan, wasn’t it,” Tara said.

  “Always looking for recognition,” Anna laughed, and Tara elbowed her.

  “You deserve it,” I chuckled. “It was a good idea.”

  “Thank you,” the platinum blonde said, and she grinned up at me.

  I kissed Tara’s forehead, and she snuggled in closer to me. I sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the feel of my girls against me, but after a few minutes I heard their breathing grow slow, and I looked down to see that each of them had fallen asleep leaning on each other.