She motioned with a hand to take in the whole room. “If they could do this in that short length of time, think what they could have done if we hadn’t caught them.”
“It’s a scary idea,” Knox said.
“I’m way too wound up to sleep, and one of us needs tobe awake the rest of the night in case there are more in their little purple bandanna gang to come back for retaliation,” she told him.
“What do you want to do, then?”
“I need to do something physical to get all this tension out of my body,” she answered.
“I’m in the same boat. What have you got in mind?”
“We could get the floodlights out of the storage room, run a couple of extension cords out to the cabin we’re working on, and build a wall or two before dawn. The little punk-ass kids won’t even turn into the road if they see things all lit up,” she suggested.
“I’m in,” Knox agreed and followed her to the room where the tools were stored behind the kitchen.
“What kind of security are you putting up tomorrow?” she asked as she loaded a small wagon with a skill saw, two nail guns, and boxes of nails. Then she clipped a tape measure to the waistband of her jeans and tossed one to Knox.
Knox caught it, looped two extension cords over his shoulders, and picked up a floodlight on a six-foot stand with each hand. “There was one at a place where I worked years ago. It was motion-activated. Any movement could set it off, and when that happened, lights flooded the place, and a siren loud enough to wake the dead sounded. That’s what I intend to buy and set up.”
“It’s a shame that we have to do this at all,” Lottie said with a long sigh as she pulled the wagon through the recroom. “When I have kids, they are going to be taught accountability from the time they can crawl.”
Knox followed behind her. “So, you are planning to have children?”
“Of course, at least three and maybe four, and all a couple or three years apart. I don’t ever want to have a tagalong like I was,” she answered. “Don’t you want a family?”
“Yes, I do, but I was thinking maybe six to start out, maybe with a couple of sets of twins right off the bat. I loved having a brother the same age as me.”
“You are crazy!” She was amazed at how much a simple giggle eased all the tension from her body. “Why would you want a family that big?”
He took her hand in his free one and led her back to her trailer. “Because I’ve been around Mary Jane and Joe Clay and learned how precious a huge family can be. And life is better with siblings, don’t you think?”
“By the time I went to kindergarten, my brothers were out of the house, either in college or working their first jobs, so I didn’t know much about that.”
Knox stopped long enough to plug in the two extension cords and then strung them all the way out to the third cabin. “This will really put us ahead of schedule.”
“Yep, and work some out of the anger at the same time.” She connected the saw and stretched a tape over a board, marked it with a pencil, and made the cut.
When Cheeto announced the morning, they had built one wall, and another was almost ready to stand up onMonday morning. Lottie sat down on the floor and leaned back against a stud. “Is all the anger out of your body?”
“Oh, yeah.” Knox eased down beside her with a groan. “I haven’t pulled an all-nighter in years. That chainsaw kid might be right about me being an old man.”
“I don’t think so,” she singsonged and covered a yawn with her hand. “I’m so wrung out that I feel like I just walked out of a massage.”
“Never had one of those, but Brodie says he’s like a wet noodle when he gets one,” Knox said.
“When we finish this job, we’ll both get one. My treat,” she said.
“I’m game. Will it be one of those couples’ massages?”
“Maybe,” she answered and yawned again.
“Think you can sleep now?” Knox asked.
“Probably not. Every little sound will wake me.”
“I’ll share my earplugs with you. Tripp snores when he’s really tired, and I’ve learned to keep a jar of them close by.”
“And you want a dozen kids?” she asked as she stood up. “What if they all get their uncle Tripp’s DNA and snore? You’ll have to go to the barn to sleep.”
