Military Men

by Shelley Munro

  She hesitated.

  “What?”

  “Brother Rick has the few books on herbs and natural beauty products my mother saved from her prior life,” Sorrel said. “I want them before I leave.”

  “Hell. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

  “You have your task and I have mine. I’ll have to take care while retrieving my stuff, but I need to be ready to leave the compound as soon as I hear from Alice.”

  “Do you know where he keeps them?”

  “In his private quarters, I think. That’s the last place I saw them, although they might have been shifted to the office.”

  “I see.”

  “Will you stop saying that? Are you going to help me or not?”

  “I’ve already told you I’ll help you.”

  “Good. You’re right about the gathering. Maybe we should have a trial run this afternoon. From what I’ve seen and heard, everyone takes one partner or more. They have sex in the hall where everyone can witness. Then, I’ve heard through the gossip vine that this time, if they want, they can do it again with another partner or leave for more privacy.”

  “An old-fashioned orgy.”

  “We’ll leave as soon as we can,” she said in a prim voice.

  “Hell, yeah,” Jake agreed. “You could always say you have your period.”

  A flush suffused her face again. “That’s a lie, and not a good excuse.”

  Jake pulled a face but wisely didn’t say anything.

  “I thought we could take a break during the walk home. People are becoming used to seeing us together. If we arrive back at the compound looking mussed, no one will say much.”

  “You’ve got it planned, haven’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happens if you get pregnant?”

  “I’ll have to risk it.” She clenched and unclenched her hands. “And you’ll have to promise if I get pregnant you’ll help me.”

  “I can get someone to whisk you to safety today.” He repeated his offer.

  “I’m not going without my mother’s books. My mother invented the cream. She taught me how to work with herbs. She was a genius. I’m good, but I need her books to guide me. I have one of her recipe books but she had others.”

  “I could get you out and grab the books for you later.”

  “You don’t know what you’re looking for.”

  Jake stared at her—a battle of wills. Finally he sighed. If he were her, he’d want the mementos too.

  “How come Brother Rick and the others have no knowledge of your mother’s recipes?”

  “My mother never discussed her recipes with anyone except me. None of the other young girls wanted to work here. They preferred to work with the children or at the shop. After her death, I took over.”

  The breakfast bell rang, a strident summons for everyone to break their fast.

  “We’d better get going with the delivery. We’re later than usual.”

  “I’ll grab us something for breakfast.” Jake limped from the workshop, making his way across the open ground in the center of the compound.

  Sorrel watched him for a while, before jerking from her reverie. She loaded the final items into the handcarts, thankfully not too many short after the intruder, and grabbed the perishable face masks from refrigeration. While she toiled, her mind darted to Jake and she wondered if he’d go ahead or balk at her request to make love.

  They’d kissed a lot since his arrival, and he’d touched her through her robe. The thought of more… Something she recognized as anticipation throbbed through her veins. She pushed the handcarts from the lean-to and watched Jake as he limped toward her.

  “Are you handsome without the beard?” She slapped her hand across her mouth. “Forget I spoke. It was inappropriate.”

  Jake chuckled. “Women seem to like me.”

  A flash of jealousy struck her at his words, and that was the instant she realized she was in trouble. “Bighead.”

  They pushed the handcarts through the compound gates and onto the dusty road. The center of the track was more even, and they walked single file in the middle. The sound of a vehicle and the impatient honk of a horn behind them made them hurriedly push their carts to the side of the road.

  Brother Rick and Brother John sped past, dust billowing after them. Sorrel turned her head away, eyes squeezed shut until the cloud settled. “Arsehole,” she muttered. “They must have managed to fix the truck after all.”

  “You okay?”

  Sorrel shook the worst of the dust from her robe. “Yes.”

  “I wish I’d known he was intending to leave the compound this morning,” Jake said. “Did you know?”

  “I would’ve told you.”

  He gave a clipped nod. “Maybe Luke can pick him up. He knows the registration of their truck.”

  “I wonder how long he’ll be away. We might have time to search his quarters.”

  Jake shot her a long look. “We won’t make it back in time. Not if we take care of this other business.”

  The squeak of the wheels of her handcart seemed extra loud. Sorrel concentrated on pushing it up the slight gradient, her breath starting to come in loud gasps. “Are you agreeing to my proposition?”

  “At least I get to see you without your padding,” he said in lieu of answer. “I admit to curiosity.”

  Sorrel swallowed in an attempt to rid herself of the nerves threatening to close her throat. Honesty propelled her to admit she wanted this man, and better, she admired him. He treated her as a person. He saw her.

  During the last few days she’d dreamed of him running his hands across her naked breasts, his mouth tugging at her nipple. She’d fantasized of his fingers skimming her body and touching her everywhere. And she’d looked at him, imagined her hands roaming his shoulders and chest, feeling more of the hard muscles. For the first time she wanted a man to look at her with lust in his eyes. She wanted to stand proudly before him, her disguise discarded.

  The butterfly ached to burst from the cocoon and flutter free to play in the sun, to taste freedom.

  The rest of the trip to town passed in silence, which was normal for her. When they were almost at town, a vehicle stopped beside them.

  “Wait here.” Jake limped over to speak with the male driver. After a few minutes and a loud bark of laughter, the man drove away.

  “Was that James Bates?”

  “Yes.” Jake set off again without appeasing her curiosity. Before they reached the rear of the shop, he said, “I’m going to let you unload as normal. I need to meet my contact and sort out a few things.”

  “All right.” She watched him hobble from sight before knocking on the rear door.

  “Oh, good.” Sister Marigold’s silver hair glinted under the bright morning sun. “You’re here. We had a busy day yesterday. We’re sold out again.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about pricing.” Sorrel forced confidence into her voice and posture. “I think you’re selling everything too cheaply. Can I see what prices you’re charging?”

  “But, Sister Bitter, Brother Rick set the prices. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

  “Let me look.” She pushed past the woman, carrying a box of new stock. She scanned the shelves, her mouth dropping open in astonishment. “You’re selling everything for one dollar?”

  “On Wednesdays we have a sale and everything is fifty cents,” one of the younger sisters added.

  “But that doesn’t cover the raw ingredients. You’re selling everything at a loss.”

  “Sister Beth, Sister June, go and bring in the rest of the new stock.” Sister Marigold turned back to Sorrel. “A man comes each day and buys most of the stock. I think he resells it at a profit somewhere else. We will fix this now. Sister Bitter, come and tell me how much you think we should charge for each product.”

  Sorrel walked down the newly stocked shelves, giving the prices they should charge. Brother Rick made her account for the cost of raw ingredients, so she kne
w to the cent how much it cost to produce every item.

  “What are you going to do if Brother Rick questions the new prices?” Sorrel asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Sister Marigold said. “I’ll think of something, but we can’t keep going this way. I know you work late hours trying to make enough stock to keep the shelves stocked. I hate the way he treats you, Bit—Sorrel,” she corrected. “Others share my opinion. We liked your mother, and you’re a credit to her.”

  “Thank you.” The words brought a rush of warmth and a sense of pride. Brother Rick was wrong. She was important—in her own quiet way.

  * * * * *

  Jake sat in his usual spot by the river and waited for someone to join him. When the sound of footsteps told of an approach, he glanced up to see both Alice and Janaya. They carried coffee and a brown paper bag.

  Janaya scrutinized the area, relaxing when she saw no one else strolled along the riverbank. “We brought you a coffee and a muffin.” She handed over a coffee.

  “Thanks. I don’t have much time. Brother Rick has gone off somewhere in his truck. I presume it’s to pick up the men who’ve been absent for a couple of days. Someone needs to watch for his truck.”

  Janaya settled beside him. “Do the cult people know where he is?”

  “He runs the place on a need-to-know basis.”

  Janaya nodded. “Anything else?”

  “We’ve had beef a couple of nights this week for dinner. The cooks were told Brother Rick swapped it for vegetables and wool. He also has some new farm equipment. Any complaints about theft of farm machinery?”

  “I’ll ask. We need to catch him red-handed,” Janaya said in a hard voice.

  “I’ll keep looking around the compound, but they work everyone pretty hard. It’s difficult to skulk when they expect you to work.”

  “It can’t be all work if you’re asking James for a packet of condoms.” Alice flashed a triumphant grin at him.

  Jake ignored the jibe. “Do you have a decision for Sorrel yet?”

  “I thought Children of Nature residents disapproved of birth control,” Janaya commented with an innocent air. “They’re always waving their placards in front of the Fancy Free factory. You’ve read them, Alice. All the signs declaring condoms nasty and how children are the future.”

  Alice nodded. “They screamed slogans at me this morning.”

  Jake stood abruptly. “I need to meet Sorrel. Can I give her news?”

  “Tell her the initial results look favorable, but we’re still conducting tests.”

  Jake frowned. “Can I give her an estimate of when you’ll know?”

  “Another two weeks.”

  “It really takes that long?” Jake frowned again. “To test a pot of cream.”

  “We have to make sure the person isn’t stealing someone else’s recipe or passing off an existing product as one of their own.”

  “When would she have time to steal someone else’s product?” Jake was indignant on Sorrel’s behalf. “She doesn’t have any money and spends her days slaving away to make soap and bombs.”

  “Bombs?” Janaya’s brows shot upward.

  “He means bath bombs,” Alice said. “One of those powdery balls you throw into your bath water.”

  “Well, that’s a relief.” Janaya’s smile kicked up into sly. “I’m gonna have to try a bomb in my bath, but meantime, about those condoms.”

  “Do you have some for me?”

  Alice smirked and produced a box from her handbag.

  “Thanks. Ladies.” After a brief nod, he limped away in the direction of the cult shop. He tapped on the rear door and waited until the door opened. “Is Sorrel ready?”

  “Sister Bitter, it’s time for you to go back to the compound,” the young woman called.

  Sorrel finished speaking with Sister Marigold and came to join him. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “Yes, we’ll need to hurry if we want to collect more leaves and twigs to decorate your candles.”

  “I thought I might gather pebbles from the river to make a change in the decorations.” She lowered her gaze. “Could we do that?”

  Jake wanted to tell her he’d go out of his way to help her with anything she wanted. But determined not to cause her any further trouble, he paused, as if considering the idea. “We can’t do both.”

  “No, of course not,” she agreed.

  “Your idea of river stones has merit,” he decided out loud. They’d also have more scope for finding a private spot where no one would discover them.

  He hustled Sorrel away, pushing his handcart at pace. The wheels let out a pained squeak, and Sorrel laughed. Startled by the sound, he cocked his head in her direction, and he found his lips curling in response. Sorrel didn’t laugh much but when she did, she was damn cute.

  Chapter Six

  Sorrel scraped a hand over her hair, fussing with the wisps around her face. Nerves. Her hands couldn’t seem to stay still and jerked to a new position on her cart each time she thought of what she was about to do. In contrast, she was thrilled the first man to touch her with tenderness would be Jake.

  “What do you look like without a beard?” She eyed the edges of his whiskers, ragged and unkempt. If it weren’t for the deep black color, he’d give Santa Claus a good contest.

  A flash of white showed against the black, and she found her lips twitching in response. She loved his smiles, big, full-on expressions of joy that made his cheekbones more pronounced and echoed in his eyes.

  “I’m a very handsome dude,” he said. “All my friends say so.”

  “What? You have friends?”

  Instead of snarling, he chuckled, and she was charmed all over again.

  “My friends won’t leave me alone with their wives.” Amusement colored his words and his brown eyes glinted with mischief.

  The humor left her. “You’d cheat on your friends?” She couldn’t hide her appalled reaction and stopped abruptly, the squeaky music from her handcart falling silent. She refused to give herself to a liar and a cheat.

  “Of course not.” He halted. “I met Nikolai and Louie at the Special Air Services training camp. They know I’d never make a move on their women. I flirt, and Summer and Mac flirt back. That makes my friends grumble.” He stared into the distance, a memory bringing pleasure because he grinned. “We mightn’t have blood ties, but they’re my brothers. You’ll like them. I’ll introduce you once we get out.”

  Sorrel gave her handcart an extra hard shove to get it moving again. Jake fell into step beside her, the noisy chorus of squeaks startling the birds from a manuka tree.

  “I’ll shave off my beard once I leave. You can tell me what you think then.”

  He was talking as if they were a couple. “Are you going back to the army?”

  “If I can pass the tests the medical staff throw at me.”

  “But your friends aren’t active soldiers now?”

  “No, Nikolai has a new baby, and last I heard, Louie and Mac are expecting a kid too.” He shook his head. “Times have changed.”

  And he was left behind, Sorrel thought. “There is a swimming hole up ahead and a nice grassy clearing. It’s sort of private.”

  He shot her a questioning look, and she shrugged, recalling crashing James and Alice’s picnic.

  “Not my finest moment,” she confessed. “I was desperate to talk to Alice Bates, but I couldn’t ring her for an appointment. I followed her and her husband here one day. Before I could pluck up the courage to show myself and ask her about my cream, they started ripping off their clothes.”

  He let out a bark of laughter, and she watched, mesmerized as small crinkles appeared at the corners of his deep brown eyes. “What did you do?”

  “I got caught because I panicked and stood on a stick. It’s not something I prefer to remember.”

  “You’d like Nikolai’s wife, Summer. Louie and I met her not long after Nikolai. Someone broke into her house, so she climbed out the window in her nightie and went
to her neighbor’s for help. Nikolai was her neighbor, and he thought she’d crawled into his bedroom window for a quickie.”

  “What happened?”

  “Summer refused to stay put and followed us while we chased off the bad guys.”

  “That’s not embarrassing.”

  “It is if your nightie is transparent.”

  “Oh.” She paused, dragged her sandal through the pile of river sand to make patterns on the edge of the track. “I’ve never owned anything so frivolous.” Even she heard the wistful sound in her voice. Maybe one day. “It would be nice to have a pair of jeans. They seem practical.”

  “I’ll buy you some when we get out of here.” His voice was rough with emotion as he pulled her to him and squeezed her. He made her feel safe. Secure. And best of all, he made her feel like an individual with rights and a voice.

  “Will this spot work?”

  “If it’s good enough for Alice and James Bates, it’ll work for us.” He opened his handcart and pulled out a blanket. “Last chance to change your mind.” His gaze was steady, although without pressure as he waited for her reply.

  “No, I’m very sure. I-I like you,” she ended on a rush.

  He held out his hand. “Let’s do this then.”

  The way he spoke made awkwardness jump to the fore. She stumbled, his grip on her hand keeping her upright. Panic flared, squeezing her chest, yet his touch kept her grounded, made her suck deep for courage. While this situation mightn’t be ideal and the need for them to hurry added pressure, she wouldn’t stop. In the short time she’d known Jake he’d impressed her with his behavior and his determination to complete his assignment at the compound.

  “Do you think Brother Rick is stealing cattle?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jake said, “but he acts in the manner of a man with a secret.”

  “If he’s arrested, it will split Children of Nature apart.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Jake scrutinized the clearing before choosing a sun-dappled spot near the riverbank. She realized they’d see or hear any intruders unless they were of the sneaky kind.

  “I’ve met most of the people. Some of the women are strong and more than capable of running the place. I think they’d do a better job of it too. It would be more peaceful. A good leader is what they’re lacking most.”