I grabbed the box of leftover decorations and took it back to the attic. Looking closely at the crib, I decided how to decorate it so it would fit a boy or girl. As I turned to leaved Mason grabbed me from behind and nuzzled my neck. I let him. I know, I know, but winter and cold nights, bone jumping, and all that, remember? His arms were folded beneath my breasts which were now tingling. I was in trouble but I couldn't decide if it was such a bad thing.
My experience with men was short and not so sweet. I had no idea what I had in store. This mind reading thing wasn't always so controllable. Imagine hearing a man thinking the whole time if he could catch that chick down the hall when he got home. Or gee, I thought her breasts were bigger, or this makes the fourth one this week, I'm the man.
I shouldn't have that problem with Mason, because we could talk and kiss at the same time and man could he kiss. The soft, deep, toe curling, hungry for more kind. His nuzzling my neck was doing things down low and I decided to do something about it. He started to tug at my shirt where it was tucked into my jeans.
"Oh, well...maybe..." I couldn't seem to form a coherent thought and nearly lost my mind when his warm hands snuggled under my bra except for this thumbs which had found my nipples through the thin material.
"I've missed you." he said as his teeth tugged gently at my earlobe. The one on the right..yep, that's the one. It's the most sensitive.
"Where have I been?" I whispered. Moving my bottom against him, I found out just how happy he was to be there.
"Nowhere you should have been. Like with me. Have you missed me?"
"Huh?" I heard a ripping sound as my bra gave way and the cool air of the attic caressed my stomach.
"Shhh," he whispered into my ear, and then he turned me toward him. I unbuttoned his shirt briskly and eased it out of his pants and off his shoulders. I unbuckled his belt and began to work on the snap of his jeans. For some reason my fingers didn't want to work right and I was becoming desperate.
He took my hands and led them up to his chest. "Slow, cookie, slow," he said, his voice gone all soft and shivery just before his lips claimed mine again. I could feel myself relaxing inch by stubborn inch, and began to stroke his chest as he'd stoked mine. His hand went behind my head and pressed gently, deepening the kiss until I was almost crazy with the desire to get that zipper down. This time it cooperated and I began to push down his pants. He helped me to lie down on the mattress I'd walked on minutes before. He gazed down at me, touched my cheek, and slowly bent down to kiss me again. That was the beginning of a very long, wonderful day in the attic.
As attics go, that one was the best. Setting ourselves to right except for my poor bra, we walked down the stairs smiling at Lacy as she came from her room. She stopped, really looked at us and smiled, giving me the thumbs up. I know my face was fire engine red so I refused to look at Mason. He waltzed, softly through my mind, caressing me gently then was gone. I finally looked at him and his face held the look of the conquering hero. Men!
No one questioned where we'd been. Duke was sitting up eating some soup. Bet that went over well. Plans were made to recover Sweets and get the Christmas tree the next day. After all the trouble that idiot had tried to cause, Randy said the compound was secure.
The rich smell of venison stew made my mouth water as I washed up for supper. I must be hungry.
Go figure.
CHAPTER 16
Mason, Flynne, Randy and Melodies husband, Dave, left after breakfast to retrieve Sweets body and get a Christmas tree. Then Duke would dismantle the helicopter and see what he could salvage. Sarah had prepared a hearty breakfast for the men and after a quick okay from me, pancakes. I ignored them for the scrambled eggs and toast. Mandy had her usual hot chocolate and poptarts. I looked at the chocolate mix and after a moments hesitation, I added a packet to my coffee. Not bad.
Later, we were cleaning the kitchen, laughing and kidding around when Mandy said she heard gun shots. We listened and heard nothing and at first nothing then we heard a volley of shots.
Mason? You guys okay?
No, tell Joe to get ready, we're bringing in Dave. He was mauled by a mountain lion. It's bad, JD. I walked quickly towards the clinic and found Howard visiting Duke. "Joe, the guys are bringing Dave in, he's been mauled by a mountain lion."
"If you feel ok, Duke, you can go on to your room, but rest." Joe said as he grabbed some stuff off the counter, "I'll need some warm water, lots of bandages and Lacy." Duke scurried off the exam table with Howard's help, then took Lacys place at the monitors. She prepared the clinic while Joe headed outdoors to wait for the snowmobile which was fast approaching from the north. As he watched them he said, "You might want to rally around Melody, we need to keep her as calm as possible."
I wondered briefly as I went back to the kitchen, if the fun we were having in the kitchen minutes earlier had somehow brought on this series of events. Would us having fun have killed a nice man? Naw.
The girls stood at the window watching the approaching snowmobile but turned when they heard my footsteps. "The guys were attacked by a mountain lion. I don't know all the details but Dave," Melody gasped, "was badly injured," she started to the door but Sam blocked her, "Joe is meeting them on the front porch.
"No," Melody cried, "Not Davey." She pushed Sam out of the and hurried to the front porch with the rest of us in hot pursuit.
We got to the front door about the same time the snowmobile stopped at the bottom of the steps. All I could see as they lifted him and carried him gently inside, was a bloody mess of clothes. Melody was crying as she followed him inside the clinic, supported by Flynne.
"I need Lacy, Sarah and Randy, everyone else, out! That includes you Mel." She backed up against the wall by the door, crossed her arms over her child and glared at us. Ok. I pulled a chair over for her, then Flynne helped her sit down.
"You sit right here and I'll keep you company until Dave wakes up." He stood next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Lacy and Sarah was busy cutting the bloody clothes away, while Joe was doing medic type things, so I left the room, quietly closing the door. Everyone looked at me, but I could only shrug my shoulders.
"Mason, what happened?"
"When we got to the helicopter, it was surrounded by wolf tracks. Big as your hand those tracks. Another track was left by Sweets' body as it was dragged from the helicopter into the woods. Dave wanted to go after him and bring his body back. Said it just wasn't right, but we wouldn't do it and started after the tree. We thought he was behind us, guarding our flank, but when we heard the scream and saw he wasn't back there we took off after him. We found him right off, but the cat had already done a lot of damage."
Just then we heard Melody scream Daves name and then sobs so hard and loud I grabbed my stomach, "Dammit, dammit, dammit." I sat hard on the ottoman, grief for her loss so heavy I couldn't stand under it's weight. I knew she'd have to though, and my heart ached for her. Mason rubbed my neck gently as Sam fell into Howards arms. She'd know him a lot longer than the rest of us. I so did not want to go into that room, right then. No way.
A while later the door opened and Joe came out. "I've sedated her, although because of the baby, I didn't give her much. We have to do something with Dave. She'll need a funeral, now, tomorrow, soon. Get it over with so she can concentrate on that baby. She looses it and we lose her." He ran his hand throught his hair. "Fuck. What the hel kind of fucked up world is this? We were safe. Hell." He sat hard on the chair and continued to ruffle his hair. Taking a big breath, he looked up and said, "At least she won't have to pretend anymore."
Huh? What?
"Sweets was a pain in the ass but you have no idea how bad he could get. If he'd known that Dave and Mel wasn't married he would've been all over her whether she wanted him to or not. It wouldn't have mattered in the least that they were brother and sister. So they acted married to hold Sweets off, although, I don't know why that would matter to Sweets, but it did. Then there was the little matter of being homophobic.
He would've killed Dave if he'd known he was gay. So pretending to be married killed two birds with one stone. They were planning to tell everyone today but I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
"But they've been sharing the same bedroom." Sissy was as confused as the rest of us.
"He's been sleeping on the couch in the sitting room. They'd just found each other after two years and since they're maternal twins, they didn't look identical. The babies father died in a plance crash two weeks after she got pregnant."
"JD, there's a cemetary in that town east of here, right on the road...if I remember right, it had a mosoleum. Why don't I run over there and check, maybe make room for Dave in there."
"Not alone, Randy, no one goes anywhere alone anymore. I'm getting paranoid now. In fact, why don't you take Flynne?"
"Why don't I start making plans for the funeral and we take him to one of the cabins till then. They aren't heated and he would be ok there until the funeral. I don't like the idea of the caves." Lacy had a good idea, and we all agreed to it. What wasn't said was in the unheated cabin the animals couldn't get to him and he wouldn't decompose as fast.
Melody, however, became almost catatonic. She just lay there staring into space, not eating or drinking. Joe started an iv to keep her hydrated but she needed food for her and the baby, whom Joe was also keeping a close eye on. He said it was doing ok, but Melody just wasn't there right then. Joe was preparing to put in a feeding tube when she finally started to come around.
We'd known we would have to make a run into town in preparation of the baby's arrival but we thought we had another month or so. It was decided two days after Daves death. They'd check out the cemetary on the way back. Lacy was going this time and although, it was her turn but I was still worried. Joe made a list and made sure everyone knew what he wanted.
I don't know how much formula and diapers they could get but if we had to we'd go back to town. Melody insisted that Dave be buried on the property so the trip to the cemetary was cancelled . She did however, want a nice casket. Sigh. Ok, well, they would check on it while they were gone.Where and how I had no idea and didn't want to know.
Flynne never left her side as she told us how they had come up with the idea of a being married and how Sweets figured into the plan. Only Joe knew about it because he had been Daves best friend throughout high school. A lot of people thought they were more than that but that's just the way people are. They ignored it and joined the national guard at the same time. Staying close, they managed to be in the same unit and the friendship continued. He made Flynne understand that Melody was like a sister to him and nothing more. Flynne just smiled and nodded.
I waved bye to the team the next morning and although I was apprehensive about Lacy going, I tried not to let on. She was so excited, that I didn't want to ruin it for her. They had a specific plan and I was confident it would work cause I knew the team, I just remembered the last time at Walmart.
One thing we had to do while they were gone was get that damned tree done. Joe let Melody sit on the couch and watch things but the saddness in her eyes was a distraction. Mandy kept asking her opinion to the point that Joe finally led her back to the clinic where she would live until she had the baby. No more climbing stairs for her. We decorated that tree all day. Mandy would find something else to put on it and up the ladder Joe would go. Sissy was at his side to the point he was tripping over her. I finally sent her with Sarah to start supper . She started to object until she remembered our "agreement" then sulked off behind Sarah while Joe shot me a look of graditude. When we finally had the tree the way Mandy wanted it, we were too absorbed in Dave's death to be excited.
I was up all night waiting for the crew to return. I paced the floor and wondered what Lacy was doing and if Mason was ok. All night long I worried and tossed and turned. I couldn't think of a good enough reason for them not to have returned the day before. I cornered Duke the next day and asked if there was something he could come up with that would enable us to communicate at long distances. He said he didn't know but would start working on something. I left him to play with the idea.
I couldn't eat breakfast so I drank a pot of coffee instead. Melody was depressed but seemed better that morning. The death of a twin had to be tough but she was handling it the best she could. Dave would have a funeral in the lodge after Christmas and he would rest in his casket in one of the caves until the ground thawed enough to dig a grave sometime in June. She made all the arrangements and then she rested. It sounded like a solid plan and one we could all live with.
I sat in the recliner and dozed until Duke yelled the teram was back. Mason, is everyone ok?
Yea, we're ok, just tired. I'll explain when we get in.
I've been nuts waiting for you to get back. He caressed my mind then was gone. I ran to the front door at the same time as a caravan of semi's and trailers rounded the bend toward the lodge. I had taken to counting them since the time they brought back Flynne, so I was relieved when only three semis pulled to a stop in the parking area.
Lacy didn't run to greet me like she would have a year ago. I missed that hug. They climbed down from the rigs and tiredly shuffled into the lodge. Sarah had thrown together a decent meal, venison steaks, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and homemade bread with peach cobbler for dessert. I was able to wait till desser before I wanted answers.
"Gee, where to start?" I tried to raise just one eyebrow, but as usual I just looked surprised. Mason got the hint, and Lacy stiffled a giggle. "We didn't have much trouble at the warehouse. There were still several trailers at the dock so Howard hooked up to one and I started filling it. Got a lot of baby stuff...formula, diapers, jars of baby food, though I don't know how good it is yet. Picked up some gardening stuff for the ladies too. We managed to half fill the trailer and then had to find the rest of the stuff."
I refilled his coffee and he softly kissed my hand. Taking a sip, he continued. "We found there were several specialty stores in a strip mall on the other side of town, so Howard offered to be the decoy while we mined them." A decoy went as far from the mine (area to be stripped) as possible and as soon as the miners were in position he made some noise, usually a car alarm, which attracted the walkers away from the area. "We broke out the window of a baby store and gave Howard the sign. We heard the alarm and went in the store, bagging and loading as quick as possible. We were so busy we didn't notice the alarm had stopped until the walkers came barreling into the store. We didn't know at the time, that the car alarm only lsted about five minutes cause the batter ran down."
"I had a hell of a time finding another car that had an alarm that was active so I used the horn on the truck. By then, Mason and Lacy was locked in a bathroom in the store and Randy was locked in the trailer." Howard said as he petted Bubba.
We all gasped at that, then for some reason, I don't know, I got tickled. I could feel the corners of my mouth starting to turn up and then I laughed. It wasn't funny, but I laugh when I'm tired or nervous. I remember once in high school, I had this very prim and proper French teacher. She walked around the room, back stiff, smacking a ruler in her hand as we recited french. Anyway, she walked primly and sedately past my desk one day, stepped on a piece of paper and her feet went straight up in the air, and her ass hit the floor. Her hair had come loose from the very proper bun she had it in and a hair pin was dangling from some strands of hair, while one shoe had flown three feet away. I was the only one laughing then and I was the only one laughing now. When I finally got control of myself again I motioned for Howard to continue, while I cleared my throat.
Glancing repeatedly at me, he coninued, "So I drove around blaring my truck horn until I hit a dead end. I mean a dead end as in can't-go-another-foot-at-the-cemetary dead end. I'm not real good at backing trailers, especially a 53 foot trailer. So with walkers climbing all over me, I'm trying to back up enough to get turned around. I accidently hit the truck horn one time and it stuck. So, not being able to go anywhere, I turned the truck off, climbe
d in the back and shut the curtains. That horn blared for over an hour before it finally quit, so I figured the battery died."
"Meanwhile," Mason said, "we're in the bathroom with walkers beating on the door. There was a window but it was one of those with the thick glass blocks you can't see out of. I knew if I broke it, it would be heard for blocks so we just sat tight."
"I'm in the trailer with walkers bouncing me back and forth like crazy until I finally found a hand hold and held on. I figured if it was quiet inside they would eventually go away. I could barely hear Howards truck horn so I didn't know what he was doing."
We all looked at Mason. "We spent the better part of the night in that bathroom, waiting. We didn't hear anything for over an hour, but I knew they could just stand in one place until something got their attention. Truth be known, we were too scared to do anything. I guess Randy was having the same problem. We finally got the walkies to work but couldn't reach Howard.
So now we're all stuck. We managed to doze during the night but we were so worried about Howard we didn't sleep well. Anyway, somewhere near dawn there was a loud explosion. Rocked the building and Randy said the trailer swayed." Randy nodded his head when everyone looked at him.
"I heard it in my sleeper of the truck, so I peeked out the window and saw the walkers headed in that direction. I waited till I couldn't see them anymore, then rolled my window down and looked behind me. There was a fireball from hell north of town, so I got out the map and looked and saw there was a propane company in that area. Not long after the first explosion, I heard trucks racing by a few blocks over and using my binoculars saw they were a bunch of guys wearing scarf things and football helmets." He shrugged his shoulders at that.
I suddenly remembered Del and Dean from the Walmart store a few months back. They had both worn those scarfs on their head. If this a part of their group I could almost see them trying to steal propane and screwing it up.
Walkers (Book 1): The Beginning Page 13