Vince took the knife and nodded at Hunter. “Come on. We have work to do.”
They worked until the early morning hours, ‘cleaning up.’ They didn’t volunteer any information about what they’d done with Prudence’s car or the two dead guards. And Josh didn’t ask. Somethings were better left unknown.
Dad called early the next morning and invited everyone to meet him, Liz and the trips at the Sundance Cafe in Nederland.
The bittersweet reunion filled everyone’s eyes with tears, even Vince's.
The trips mobbed Channie and refused to let go of her until she accidentally knocked them out with a be-calm spell.
Dad and Liz apologized to Channie as they carried the unconscious boys to their new minivan and strapped them in. They promised to bring the trips back as soon as she got control of her magic.
Channie assured them that she understood and agreed with their decision, but locked herself in the ladies’ bathroom and cried for fifteen minutes after they left.
Josh knocked on the door. “Hey, babe. The food’s here. Why don’t you come out and try to eat a bite?”
Channie opened the door and smiled through her tears. ”Can we just go home?”
“Of course.” Josh thought she’d enjoy getting away from the cabin for a while after being cooped up for months. But her emotions were understandably unstable. Hunter and Vince said they wanted to stay and finish breakfast. Josh suspected that they just wanted to give Channie a chance to compose herself.
When they got back to the cabin, Channie took Josh by the hand and led him into their bedroom. “I wanna make a baby.”
“Can’t we just practice?” After thinking that Channie was pregnant, Josh knew he’d love having a kid, but they were still too young and they still had a war to fight—and thanks to the damn Book of the Dead—Channie was determined to fight beside him.
But if she were pregnant, she couldn’t fight. Josh laid down beside her and traced circles over her flat stomach with his fingertips. “Do you really want a baby?”
Channie placed her hand over his, stopping his caress and sighed. “Yeah, but I think we better wait.”
“Why?”
“Because of the war. It wouldn’t be right for me to go into battle if I were pregnant.”
“It’s not right for you to go into battle, period.” Josh considered sabotaging the box of condoms in the nightstand drawer next to the bed. A thumbtack should do the job. But what kind of an ass tricks his wife into getting pregnant?
“The Book of the Dead says—”
“I know what the damn book says.” Josh flopped onto his back and slung his arm over his face, hiding his eyes under the crook of his elbow. “That doesn’t mean I agree with it.”
The bed shifted as Channie sat up. “If you won’t let me fight, I’ll join someone else’s rebel band that will.”
“Damn it, Channie.” Josh bolted upright and grabbed her arm. “That’s blackmail.”
“No.” She patted the back of his hand then lifted it off her arm. “That’s a woman determined to do everything in her power to keep her husband alive.”
~***~
Josh and Channie continued to argue about whether or not she’d be allowed to fight on a daily basis. He knew it was a losing battle when Vince and Hunter agreed with Channie. He’d expected Vince to take her side, but not Hunter.
“The Book of the Dead says to keep her by your side. You have to do what it says.”
“Are you crazy?” Josh wanted to pop Hunter in the nose, but knew that wouldn’t solve anything. “She’s too young. No one under seventeen is allowed to fight, remember?”
“I’m right here.” Channie waved her hand in Josh’s face. “Stop talking about me as if I’m not. I’ll be seventeen on July sixth. I need to start training so I’ll be ready for the next mission.”
Josh lowered his head until he was eye to eye with Channie. “If you can pass all the other requirements, you can fight.”
“What other requirements?” Hunter frowned and scratched the back of his head.
“The ones I’m going to discuss with Tim as soon as we get to Freedom Ridge.” Josh had no intention of letting Channie qualify for combat.
“The bar for new recruits is going to be a lot higher. In fact, it might be a good idea to rescreen everyone. Not just the new recruits.” Josh glared at Hunter. “Minimum height for all soldiers is five feet eleven inches.”
Hunter’s face turned beet red. He was barely five ten in his boots. “You can’t do that!”
“According to the Book of the Dead, I’m the king. I can do whatever I want.”
Channie crossed her arms over her chest. “Are there any minimum requirements to train?”
“You can join the CDC.”
“What’s that?”
“The Camp Defense Corp.” Zen had organized it to appease the mages too young to fight. It was similar to the junior ROTC program. But Channie didn’t need to know all the details. “They get the same training as the regular army but their focus is on defending the camp against an attack.”
“It’s a start.” Channie gave him a quick nod then sauntered into the bedroom and resumed packing.
Josh knew she’d throw a fit when she found out the CDC was nothing but a bunch of kids. But at least it got her off his back until they got to Freedom Ridge.
~***~
Josh’d thought he’d be relieved to leave the cabin on the mountainside, but a sense of nostalgia weighed heavy on his heart as he pocketed the key to the front door.
He and Channie had decided to spend their last night in Colorado at Dad’s place in Breckenridge, so they could say good-bye. Josh didn’t want to get emo about it, but he wouldn’t be back until after the big battle on December twenty-first. If he didn’t win, this good-bye would be his last.
Channie put a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“You’re right about this place. A lot of really good things had happened behind those doors.” Josh slid an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “How many guys get to lose their virginity twice?”
It took a little under two hours to make the drive from Nederland to Breckenridge. When they arrived, Dad, Liz and the trips were all waiting for them on the front porch.
The trips bolted off the porch and made a mad dash towards the car. Josh slammed on the brakes and swore as the Rav4 skidded to a stop.
Dad vaulted over the handrail and hit the ground running, but Channie got to the boys first. She grabbed CoCo and Zeal behind their necks and glared at Savvy. “What the heck is wrong with y’all? Are you trying to get run over?”
Savvy’s lip trembled. “We had our shields up.”
“That won’t protect you from cars!”
Dad squatted down so he was eye-level with the trips. “What did Liz tell you to do?”
“Brush our teeth?”
“She told you to stay on the porch.”
“Sorry.” They all spoke in unison, but none of them sounded the least bit apologetic. “We forgot.”
“Maybe five minutes of timeout will help you remember.”
Josh waited for Liz to usher the boys inside then asked Dad, “What’s up with that? Why do they have to stay on the porch?”
“Do you remember the yellow lab that liked to dig in everyone’s flowerbeds?”
Josh nodded.
“A mountain lion snatched it out of the Peterson’s front yard last week.”
“A mountain lion? Are you sure?” Mountain lions usually preferred the foothills.
“Mrs. Peterson saw it happen.”
“Holy—”
“Exactly. A wildlife game warden went through the neighborhood and warned everyone to keep their pets and kids inside.”
Channie frowned. “Did you tell the trips why you wanted them to stay on the porch?”
“We didn’t want to frighten them.”
“Better scared than dead.”
Dad slipped one arm around Josh’s waist and
the other around Channie’s. “Why don’t we go inside? Liz might need some help keeping the boys in their chairs until they’ve served their time.”
Liz was sitting in the dining room, looking extremely frustrated, holding a kitchen timer in her hand.
Savvy was the only one sitting in his child-sized chair. Zeal and CoCo were standing on theirs.
Channie went to Zeal and whispered something in his ear. He immediately plopped down on his butt. She did the same with CoCo. He straddled the chair and folded his arms over the back refusing to face the corner.
It was so damn cute Josh had to bite the insides of his cheeks to keep from grinning.
When Channie returned to his side, he leaned over and whispered, “What’d you say to them?”
Instead of lowering her voice, she raised it. “I told them that if they didn’t settle down and mind Liz, I was gonna paddle their ornery butts.”
Liz set the other two timers for five minutes each. “Oh, honey. We don’t believe in spanking children.”
Channie smiled and shook her head. “You probably shouldn’t have admitted that in front of the little monkeys.”
“We don’t believe in discipline through fear or intimidation either.”
Zeal propped his feet on the wall and pushed his chair back onto two legs.
“Zeal, put your feet down.” Liz pointed at the timer. “Or I’m going to add another minute.”
Josh grabbed Channie’s arm when she lunged towards Zeal. “They do believe in natural consequences. As long as it’s not too dangerous.”
“He could fall over and hit his head.”
“He probably will. But it’s a tiny chair. He’s less than a foot off the ground and the floor’s carpeted with a thick pad under that.”
As if on cue, Zeal toppled over and slammed the back of his head against the floor. His eyes widened in surprise.
Josh tightened his grip on Channie’s arm, sensing her desire to run to Zeal’s rescue. “He’s fine.”
He whimpered, but didn’t cry.
The timer went off in Liz’s hand. She squatted down and opened her arms. All three boys ran to her, nearly bowling her over.
She made them each apologize and tell her why they’d had to sit in timeout. None of them could remember anything other than, “We didn’t mind you.”
Liz gave them a mini-lecture about staying away from moving cars then kissed each of their cheeks and released them. “Can you and Channie help Ezra keep an eye on the boys while I start lunch?”
Channie cocked her head to the side. “Can I swat their butts if they misbehave?”
“Dad and I’ll watch the boys while you women cook.” Josh gave Channie a gentle push towards the kitchen. It was a good thing she wasn’t pregnant yet. After the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her mother, he thought she’d be opposed to spanking.
Liz arched her eyebrows. “Us women?”
“Dad and I can slap some sandwiches together if you’d rather do trip patrol.”
Liz whirled around and disappeared into the kitchen.
Zeal and CoCo spent more time sitting in the corner than not. Josh was starting to believe that maybe Channie’s method had some merit. He was about ready to swat the two little hellions himself. But Savvy was the model of a well-behaved child.
Josh pulled him onto his lap and bounced him up and down on his knees, while Zeal and CoCo ‘sat’ in timeout yet again. Zeal laid on the floor with his feet on the chair. CoCo stood on his chair. Neither Josh nor Ezra commented on their unorthodox interpretation of ‘timeout.’ At least they were being quiet. “Hey, little man, how come you never seem to get into trouble?”
“I like Liz and Ezra.”
“And you don’t want to make them sad by misbehaving, huh?”
“I don’t want them to send me away.”
Zeal and Coco froze then slid into their chairs, faced their respective corners, and clenched their hands in their laps.
It just about broke Josh’s heart. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t know if Dad and Liz had even talked about adopting the boys or if Wisdom might fight for custody. Channie was their closest living relative, but she was too young to be a legal guardian.
Dad turned the knob on the timer, making it ding three minutes early. “Come here, boys.”
Zeal and CoCo crawled onto Dad’s lap. He gave them both a squeeze and kissed the tops of their heads. “Liz and I aren’t going to send anyone away, but Josh is right. It makes us sad when we have to punish you. You don’t want to make us sad, do you?”
They all shook their heads with solemn expressions on their identical faces.
“Then you need to do what we say so we won’t have to put you in timeout. Can you do that?”
Coco sighed and held his hands out, palms up. “We can try.”
“That’s all anyone can do, kiddo.” Dad tousled his hair. “Who wants to watch Sesame Street?”
“Me. Me. Me.” CoCo and Zeal hopped off Dad’s lap. Savvy slid off Josh’s. They all ran into the family room and piled on the couch in front of the TV.
Dad popped in a DVD then nodded at his open office door. “I need to talk to you for a second.”
“What about the boys?”
“Uncle TV will keep them out of trouble. And we’ll keep the door open, just in case.”
Dad’s office in the Breckenridge cabin wasn’t as big as the one at home in Boulder, but it was just as impressive. Josh perched on the edge of the desk. “What’s up?”
“I’ve been talking to Channie’s aunt.”
“And?” Josh had a pretty good idea where Dad was going and he didn’t like it.
“She wants to rejoin your group but she’s afraid you’ll retaliate for her part in Prudence’s escape.”
“Damn straight.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest.
“She didn’t give me any details, but I could tell from our conversations that she’s been through a lot. Don’t you think you could find it in your heart to—”
“She nearly got Channie killed! I can’t forgive that.”
“She has nowhere to go.”
“She should have thought of that before she took off with a criminal.”
“What do you think Channie would want you to do?”
Josh dropped his chin to his chest then raised his head with a sigh. “This isn’t just some family squabble. I’m supposed to be the leader of over five hundred people. I can’t afford to look weak.”
“Wisdom said you have royal blood.” Dad smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. “Vince should be next in line for the throne, but she said that it’ll most likely be you.”
“Not if I can help it.”
“You don’t want to be a king?”
“Would you?”
“Heavy’s the head that wears the crown, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“How can I help?”
“By keeping everyone safe. It’ll help a lot if I’m not worried about everyone back home while I’m…” Josh froze and watched Dad out of the corners of his eyes.
“While you’re at war?”
Josh nodded. “What all did Wisdom tell you?”
“Just enough to keep me up at night.” Dad squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. “Are you going to be involved in these ‘battles’ between the different factions?”
Josh could make it easier for both of them and say that all he was doing was recruiting people, but Dad deserved to know the truth. “I’ve already seen combat.”
Dad sucked in a deep breath then let it out slowly. He stared at his hands. The theme song from Sesame Street wafted in from the other room.
Josh couldn’t stand the tension any longer. “Say something, please.”
Dad stood up and pulled Josh into his arms. “Be careful. And come home as soon as you can.”
“I will.”
~***~
The drive from Breckenridge to Boulder seemed to fly by. Hunter and Vince had spent the
previous night in Louisville so Hunter could spend a little extra time with Kassie and the baby. She was going to drive them to Boulder County Airport where they’d all rendezvous with Zen. He would fly them back to Freedom Ridge so they wouldn’t have to worry about running into trackers on the road.
Josh knew that Mom and Elijah were staying with Kassie and Aunt Mary, but he hadn’t expected to see either of them at the airport. He should have known that Elijah would figure out that something big was going on when Hunter and Vince showed up. And of course he’d talked Kassie into letting him tag along.
Saying good-bye to Dad, Liz and the trips was hard. Saying good-bye to Elijah was even harder. But watching Hunter clench his jaw to keep from crying as he peeled Kassie’s arms off his neck punched a hole in Josh’s heart.
Even tough, old Zen had to turn his back when Hunter kissed baby HJ good-bye. There was a lot of throat clearing and coughing but no one said a word until they stopped to refuel.
Hunter pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Do y’all wanna see some pictures?”
Instead of passing his phone around, Hunter made everyone look over his shoulder so he could give a running commentary…
”This is me and baby HJ taking a nap.” Hunter was in a recliner, the baby cuddled up on his chest, nuzzling his neck.
“This is me and Kassie.” It was a classic selfie with Kassie and Hunter making silly kissy faces.
“This is me and Kassie and HJ at the grocery store.”
“Oh, and here’s one of HJ in his car seat. Ain’t he just the cutest thing?”
They all murmured their assent.
“Here he is sleeping in his swing. And here he’s sleeping in his cradle. Oh, and here he is sleeping in his Grandma Mary’s arms.”
Everyone ooh’d and ahh’d at each photo, even though they got a little repetitive. It seemed like all the kid did was sleep.
“Kassie took this one.” It was a close up of Hunter’s face, scrunched up and frowning, looking like he was about to puke.
“Why are you making such a disgusted face?”
“I was changing my first poopie diaper.”
Josh couldn’t resist. “I didn’t know you wore diapers.”
“Ha. Ha.” Hunter rolled his eyes. “This one here is my second favorite.”
Finding Valor Page 36