by Eric Vall
I smiled at the girls, then maneuvered my arm carefully to take another sip of whiskey.
It really had been a wonderful day, and the girls around me were responsible for every bit of it. Not only had they shown compassion and teamwork today, but they had tried their best to make a bad situation better. I thought about what Tara had said earlier in the day about me not leaving them, she was right about that. These fierce women had become my own, and I would live and die for them and days like this.
I had gone out into the woods to find myself after coming back from combat, and even though I had seen plenty more since I had come out of the Vermont wilderness, I hadn’t really found myself until I met these four beautiful women and experienced everything they had to offer.
Each of them was uniquely beautiful both in looks and personality, and in a strange way we completed each other. That cliche had never quite made sense until I thought about it in the terms of all five of us. Not only did these women complete me, but they completed each other in a way I could never truly understand. They had overcome so much with and without me, and I swore a long time ago to always do my part to make their lives as fulfilled as I could. They deserved that, and so much more.
I took another look at the sleeping women, then I took another sip of whiskey and smiled to myself as I stared out at the stars. They dulled in comparison to the women around me.
Chapter 16
The next morning I woke early, but I found Paige, Bailey, and Anna missing. The only girl next to me was Tara, and she was still sound asleep, her chest rose and fell in an even pace, and I figured I wouldn’t wake her quite yet.
I got up, got dressed, and headed up to the roof, but I only found Anna standing in the dark of the early morning.
“Hey,” she said as I approached.
“How’s it going out here?” I asked.
“Good,” she said. “It’s been quiet.”
“Where are Paige and Bailey?” I asked.
“Down there,” the redhead chuckled, and she pointed off the roof to the ground.
I walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down to see Rolly, Paige, and Bailey sitting around the fire pit. Winchester laid by their feet, and I noticed they both had a backpack as well.
“Hey!” Bailey called up when she saw me.
“You all look ready to go,” I laughed.
“Oh, we are,” Paige said. She wore a dark gray hoodie, blue jeans, and hiking boots, but her hair was still down from the night before, and it flowed around her shoulders in a mane of chestnut locks.
“I’m ready to try out that hot tub,” Bailey said. The blonde wore her hair down, and her bangs framed her small face with a golden honey color. She wore black ripped up jeans, green Chuck Taylors, and a matching green hoodie.
“I’ll be right down,” I called.
“Rolly’s making coffee,” Paige said.
“I think we figured out how to get to the ski lodge with the truck,” Anna told me as I turned to leave the roof.
“Oh, really?” I asked, and I paused for a moment.
“Yeah.” The redhead nodded. “Paige came to me with a map, and then I showed her where I thought it was, and she mapped out how to get there using the actual roads.”
“That will be great,” I said.
“I figured you’d be happy about that,” she chuckled. “It’s a lot farther than hiking there in a straight line since you have to go around a mountain, but it will be a lot easier.”
“It means we can grab more stuff,” I said.
“Make sure to get Tara some more of that good wine,” the redhead joked.
“I’ll be sure to do that,” I laughed, then I gave her a hug and a kiss and headed downstairs.
“Hey!” Tara yelled at me from bed as I walked by. “Weren’t you going to wake me?”
“I figured you could sleep a little longer,” I told her.
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “But come give me a kiss goodbye.”
“I can do that,” I said with a smile, and I walked over to the platinum blonde.
Tara’s hair was a mess from sleep, and her makeup from the day before had worn off, but she still looked like a supermodel come to life. I leaned down to kiss her plump red lips, and she grabbed my neck and opened her mouth to let my tongue slip in, then she ran her other hand down my chest, and it landed on my erection.
“Hurry home,” she purred.
“Oh, I will,” I said, and I kissed her deeply once more, then I grabbed my to-go bag and my weapons and headed downstairs.
“Good morning,” Rolly said as I walked over to the fire pit.
“Morning,” I said, and I took a seat. “You all were up early.”
“We were excited,” Bailey admitted.
“Yeah,” Paige agreed. “And I wanted to plan out our course.
“Anna told me,” I said. “Mind if I take a look?”
“Of course,” the brunette said, and she pulled a map out of her backpack.
“It looks good,” I said as I looked over the map. “Honestly, I’m a bit surprised Anna remembered where it was so well.”
“She has a pretty good sense of direction,” Paige said.
“Not as good as yours though,” I chuckled.
“Not quite,” the brunette laughed.
“I filled you up some to go mugs,” Rolly said, and he handed each of us a to go cup.
“Thank you Rolly,” I said.
“You all be safe up there,” he said.
“Will do,” I said.
“And if they happen to have any fancy bourbon, I wouldn’t turn it down,” the old man said.
“I’ll check on that,” I chuckled.
“And since we can take actual roads, we can take the truck and trailer,” Paige said.
“Good idea,” I said. “Let me fill it up before we leave.”
“Already done,” Bailey said with a proud smile.
“Well, you two have thought of everything,” I laughed.
“We put a ladder in there too,” the blonde said. “And we fed the horses, chickens, and cows.”
“We even fed Winchester breakfast,” Paige said. “The only thing we didn’t do was check the traps.”
“I told them it was a bit dark for that,” Rolly said. “I’ll take care of that after Tara gets up.”
“You may have to wake her,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “That girl could sleep for days if I let her.”
“I’ll do that,” the old man laughed. “But I’ll let her sleep a bit longer.”
“Just bring her some coffee,” I joked. “I’m sure that she’ll be less grumpy.”
“Why don’t you two take the horses to check the traps,” Bailey suggested with a smile.
“Good idea,” the old man said.
“Alright,” I said to the girls. “You ready?”
“So ready,” Paige said excitedly.
“Yeah,” Bailey said, then she leaned down to pet Winchester. “Bye boy, be good for Rolly.”
“Ah, he’s always good,” the old man said with a wave of his hand.
“You be careful,” I told Rolly. “You and Anna are in charge while I’m gone.”
“We’ll be alright,” the old man chuckled. “You all have fun and bring us back something good.”
“We will,” I said, and I clapped him on the shoulder before I headed to the truck.
Winchester followed us over to the truck and tried to hop in after Bailey, but Rolly called him back over.
“Aw,” Bailey said with a frown. “I hate to leave him.”
“We won’t be gone long,” I told her with a smile, and I started up the truck.
“I know,” the blonde sighed. “I’ll just miss him. I’ll miss all of them.”
“Just think about the hot tub,” Paige urged.
“That does help,” Bailey said, and they both laughed.
I pulled out onto the main road, and after a few minutes I turned right on a side road called Steam Mill Road. It was o
bviously a back road, the pavement was old and seemed like it had been poorly maintained even before the EMP, and some sections were straight up ungraded dirt.
“You sure this is the right way?” Bailey asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Trust me,” Paige said. “We’ll stay on this road for a while, then we’ll take a dirt road that should lead us up to the cabin.”
“At least it isn’t as creepy as the road up to the hillbillies,” I chuckled.
“That’s true,” Bailey laughed.
“Let’s play a driving game,” Paige said excitedly.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked, and I took the first sip of the coffee Rolly had made us. The black liquid was rich and delicious on my tongue, and I sighed after I swallowed.
“Well, all the usual driving games are out obviously,” the brunette said. “We can’t exactly play the license plate game.”
“No, we can’t,” I chuckled.
“I have one,” Bailey said.
“What is it?” Paige asked.
“My family used to play this game called fortunately, unfortunately,” the blonde replied.
“How do you play?” Paige asked, and her brown brows pulled together.
“Well, you start with fortunately,” Bailey explained. “So you say something fortunate, like a fortunate situation. Then the next person says something unfortunate about it, then the next says something fortunate. Does that make sense?”
“Not really,” I laughed.
“I think it’s easier once you start playing,” she said.
“We have plenty of time,” Paige said. “Teach us.”
“Okay, I’ll start,” Bailey said. “Fortunately this is my first trip to the cabin. Now Paige, say something unfortunate about that.”
“Does it have to be real life stuff?” the brunette asked.
“It can be,” Bailey said, then she grinned at the brunette. “But it’s more fun if it isn’t.”
“Okay, okay,” Paige said, and she thought for a moment. “Unfortunately the cabin was infested with spiders.”
“Good one,” Bailey said. “Now Tav you say something fortunate about that.”
“Hmm,” I said, and I pursed my lips and thought for a moment. “Fortunately I just got my exterminator license.”
“Good one,” Bailey said, and she grinned at me.
“Thanks,” I said, and I took another drink of coffee.
“Unfortunately you forgot your equipment,” the blonde said.
“My turn?” Paige asked, and Bailey nodded. “Okay, fortunately I have a strong musk that repels insects.”
“Nice,” I chuckled. “Okay my turn. Unfortunately spiders are drawn to your musk.”
“Fortunately I’m versed in the spider language,” Bailey laughed.
“Unfortunately all you can say is ‘eat me’,” Paige chuckled.
“Fortunately it was always my dream to get eaten by spiders,” I said.
“That was good,” Bailey said through laughs.
“I like that one,” Paige laughed along with Bailey.
“We’ll have to play that at our next dinner,” I said.
“Yeah, we will,” Paige said, then she focused on the road and pointed. “Turn up here.”
“Okay,” I said, and I took the turn onto the dirt road, but I was going a bit too fast and the road was incredibly bumpy, so we all bounced up and down for a second before I hit the brakes and slowed us down.
“Jeez,” Bailey laughed. “That was like a roller coaster.”
“Oh, man,” Paige said with a longing smile. “I miss roller coasters.”
“I used to love them when I was little,” I said.
“You did?” Bailey asked with wide eyes, and she took a drink of her coffee. “I could never get into them. I don’t like to be scared.”
“It’s not really scary,” Paige said. “It’s more exhilarating.”
“Maybe for you,” the blonde chuckled.
“That’s fair,” Paige laughed. “You didn’t like to go to fairs, though?”
“I did,” Bailey said. “But I mostly went with my family, I would take my younger siblings on the kiddie roller coasters when they were still small.”
“That’s very sweet,” I told her with a smile.
“Yeah,” the blonde said, and she smiled softly. “I remember one time when I was in middle school I took them to the fair by myself for the first time, and I let them eat a bunch of funnel cakes and cotton candy.”
“Oh God,” Paige chuckled. “They hurled on you, didn’t they?”
“Oh yeah,” Bailey laughed. “I took them on the roller coaster right after, and they threw up on me, the coaster, and the people in front of us.”
“In front of you?” I asked with a laugh.
“Yeah,” the blonde said. “The kiddie coasters don’t go that fast and they leaned forward and just kinda… well you know. The mom in front of us was not happy.”
“That’s so funny,” Paige laughed. “I always wanted a big family.”
“It’s pretty nice,” Bailey said. “But I was the middle kid, so I took care of my siblings a lot.”
“How come?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Paige said, and her dark brows pulled together. “Were your parents not around?”
“They worked a lot,” the blonde said with a shrug. “They were good parents, and they loved us all, but our older siblings were a few years older, and they didn’t want anything to do with us young kids after they became teenagers.”
“Teenagers are dicks,” Paige said dryly.
“It’s true,” I laughed. “I know I was.”
“Yeah,” Bailey chuckled. “But that left me and Caleb and Melodie to hang out a lot.”
“Is that why you came to Piper?” Paige asked. “To get away from your family?”
“Kinda,” Bailey said. “I wanted to be more independent and do something for myself.”
“I bet you miss them,” Paige said gently.
“I do,” Bailey said with a soft smile. “But I bet they’re okay. They’re pretty tough.”
“If they’re anything like you I’m sure they’re doing fine,” I told her.
“Thanks,” the blonde said, and she leaned her head on my shoulder for a second.
“How much farther?” I asked Paige.
“We’re on the right road,” the brunette said, but she pulled the map out to double check. “We should be able to just keep going up the mountain.”
“It looks like we’re about to start climbing,” Bailey said, and she pointed ahead of us.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
The daylight had broken over the horizon, and the sky was lit up with the beautiful colors of fall.
“I love mornings like this,” Paige sighed.
“It is beautiful,” I said.
“There’s something about early mornings that’s so peaceful,” Bailey said. “It’s like the air is still and fresh.”
“Yeah,” Paige agreed, and she rolled the window down a bit. “Even when it’s chilly out, I love early mornings.”
“I love the cold morning air in fall,” Bailey said.
“Me too.” I smiled. There really was something about cool morning air that made you feel renewed.
We continued up the mountain as the sun continued its ascent for the day, and as we climbed, the air got cooler, and I took in the sight of the trees with their red, yellow, and orange leaves that blew slightly in the wind.
“I think I see it!” Paige exclaimed, and she pointed ahead.
“That looks like it,” I said.
“I’m so excited,” Bailey said, and she bounced up and down happily.
“Do you want to use the hot tub first?” Paige asked.
“No,” Bailey said, and she shook her head. “You can go first.”
“Wait,” I said, and I raised an eyebrow at them. “When do I get to go?”
“Well you can come in with us,” Paige said.
“Why don’t we a
ll go together?” I asked.
“If that’s okay with Bailey,” Paige said, and she looked to her blonde friend.
“Sure,” Bailey said, but I saw her blush slightly out of the corner of my eye.
“First things first, we need to load up the truck and trailer,” I said.
“Right,” Paige said. “Work first, play later.”
“Exactly,” I said.
I pulled into the driveway of the ski lodge and parked the truck.
“It’s even prettier in person,” Paige said as she stepped out of the truck and stared at the house.
“It’s so angular,” Bailey said with wide eyes. “It’s like something on HGTV.”
“I imagine it cost a pretty penny,” I chuckled.
“Uh, yeah,” Paige said, and she shook her head. “I can’t believe somebody would even leave here.”
“It is pretty incredible,” Bailey sighed.
“I think this was a young man’s residence,” I said. “And I’m betting he didn’t know how to live without amenities.”
“Probably true,” Paige said. “If you could just buy whatever you wanted why would you learn how to survive without it?”
“Kinda makes me glad I didn’t grow up rich,” Bailey chuckled.
“Tara was pretty bad after the EMP,” Paige laughed. “Remember she tried to charge her phone every day for a month?”
“Oh, yeah,” Bailey laughed. “She kept saying that the power had to come back on sometime.”
“She learned though,” I said.
“Yeah,” Paige said with a soft smile. “We’ve all come a long way.”
“Yes you have,” I said.
“Hey,” the brunette said, and her eyebrows pinched together. “If we take off the solar panels won’t the power stop working?”
“No,” I said, and I shook my head. “Not right away at least. There’s a battery that stores the energy for the house. We should have enough for a few days or at least the night.”
“Are we taking the water heater too?” Bailey asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “But we’ll get that tomorrow before we leave.”
“Right,” Paige said. “Because we need some hot tub time.”
“Right,” I laughed.
“Well, let’s get to work,” Paige said with a clap.
“Yes, ma’am,” I teased.
“Normally I would apologize for being bossy,” she said. “But the sooner we get this truck and trailer loaded up the sooner we can get in that hot tub.”