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That wakes me up. “For Jud,” I agree with a nod.
It takes a monumental effort for me to roll away from Grim and exit our little haven. But once we’re downstairs with the others, I’m glad. Despite the early hour, there are smiles aplenty as I make my morning hug-and-kiss rounds, but there’s also a heaviness in the air. We all know it’s time to train. I need practice with weapons, and the guys are planning to hone their Gifts.
But first, breakfast.
Stealth and Shep bustle around the kitchen. Their efforts have the whole common area of the soldiers’ home smelling like bacon and cinnamon. I help Scrap set the table, and I can’t help noticing he has an extra bounce in his step this morning.
I nudge him with an elbow as I lay a fork next to the plate he just set down. “Sleep well last night?”
He snorts. “Something like that.” His crooked grin tells me he and Rev had some fun. I’m glad. I love that two of my men are into each other in that way. And seeing them together—just wow. They’re beautiful and intense, and when they include me in their intimacy, it’s more satisfying than I ever could have imagined.
Mylifeis more satisfying than I could have imagined. I’m not happy about the Virus and the state of the world, but I am happy that I found these seven men. I’m ecstatic that they all love me, and I love each of them in their own way. For things to be perfect, though, I need Jud back. Looking around the dining area as men start scooting their chairs in for breakfast, I know they all feel the same way.
It's Doc who pulls out a sturdy log chair for me. I thank him with a kiss on his cheek and start to sit, but I don’t get far. I’m swept off my feet by a giant.
Brawn grabs me up and spins me around in an embrace I can only describe as playful. When he settles me with my legs around his hips and kisses me soundly, I pull back and stare at him like he’s grown a second head. He’s usually so gentle with me, like he’s terrified of hurting me. It drives me crazy. I’m a lot smaller than him, yes, but I’m not made of glass. This new manhandling is a welcome change.
“Good morning, petal,” he tells me, and he’s smiling. Honest-to-goodness smiling. When he’s happy, his face is totally different. It’s bright and flirty and I want to bask in his expression like I’m in a bikini and it’s a beach day.
I can’t help beaming back at him. “Well, good morning to you too, handsome.” I feel like I’m on a mountain top. Everyone else is lower than us, even Stealth, but only because he just filled the seat closest to the kitchen. It’s just me and Brawn up here in the clouds.
I’m in no hurry to be put down, and he doesn’t seem to want to be rid of me yet, so I wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle his thick beard. I want him to know how much I like this new, playful side of him.
Supporting my butt with one hand, he rubs the other over my back. It’s a tender gesture, and it makes me feel cherished.
Leaning back, I look into his brown eyes. For the first time since I’ve met him, those eyes look happy. Something has changed. I have no idea what, but I’m glad.
No words are needed between us as I squeeze my arms around his neck again. We just hang out like that, standing apart from the others as they dig in to breakfast. When he finally lowers me to my feet, it’s with obvious reluctance. And when I turn to sit in the chair beside Doc, Brawn pats my bottom.
Shocked, I turn to gape up at him.
He winks. Then, whistling, he finds an open seat and fills his smiling face with French toast and crispy bacon.
“What’s gotten into him?” Doc asks, head bent to me.
I sip from my coffee mug. “No idea, but I hope it’s permanent.”
“Hmm.”Doc appears thoughtful as he looks from Brawn to Rev, who sits a few seats away.
I shrug and pour syrup on my French toast. My plate looks like a masterpiece. Orange slices have been curled into pretty twists. The toast is stacked three slices high and dusted with powdered sugar, like the tops of the mountains around Eagle Peak. And the bacon is perfectly crisp with no burned or undercooked spots.
I glance at Shep when he takes his seat beside Stealth, and I can make out a broad smile behind his beard. He likes having another foodie to hang out with. In fact, everyone around the table looks happy and content. The Working definitely led us here for a reason. The soldiers are fine men. Friends.
We needed friends. And I think they needed friends too. I hope that when this mission to get Jud back is over, we’ll stay in touch. Something tells me Shep and Stealth will be trading recipes for many years to come.
Not all the soldiers are here. Last night, X-Ray and Target took a massive trailer to their nearest neighbor and will be gone until nightfall. Their ranch can’t be left without a caretaker, not even for one day and night. The animals need feeding and milking, and all the assets they’ve accumulated, including their amazing wind farm, need security. In exchange for watching their farm, the soldiers are bringing several animals to their neighbors. Bartering is the new economy, making paper money and credit cards completely worthless. It’s all about survival. Food. Fuel. Power. That’s where we’re at as a country, now. But we have the remnants of development. There are cars and computers and high-rise buildings. It’s a weird blend of an old-fashioned social structure and modern infrastructure.
Apparently, the soldiers’ neighbors are a pair of cowboys with a smaller ranch of their own a few hours’ drive away. They’re fair and decent men, according to Sarge, but they like keeping to themselves. I’ve been assured these men will split up, with one of them taking care of our ranch while we’re away. The neighbor won’t arrive until after we’re gone. This is by design, since none of us want more men than necessary to know about me.
By dinnertime, the tender notch between my chest and shoulder is sore from practicing with the twenty-two rifle Grim gave me, which, of course, we brought along. The scope on top makes it easy to aim, and after working with Grim, I can reload its fourteen-round magazine quickly and even clear a jam, when needed.
I also practiced with a .40 caliber handgun, but I don’t like how powerful it is. No matter how much I practice, knowing that big recoil is coming makes me flinch every time. It’ll be my last-resort weapon, and thanks to the soldiers, I have a nifty thigh-holster for it, kind of like a badass bridal garter. And my secret weapon, my last line of defense if anyone tries to steal me from my guys, is Jud’s Damascus knife, the one he dropped when he was being taken. Rev gave me the eight-inch blade along with a holster that Scrap adapted to buckle to my calf. It’s like having a piece of Jud hidden away on my person, hugging up tight against me, reassuring me everything will be okay.
I’ve got to admit, having all that hardware on me makes me feel like a badass. And knowing the men in New Orleans are holding Jud captive, I have no qualms about hurting them. I’ll even kill if I need to, in order to get my man back. Nothing and no one will get in my way.
As for the guys, Sarge put them through their paces physically, and Rev did the same but with a focus on their Gifts. They went easy on me, but I was still expected to walk several circuits around the sprawling house, which pushed me near to exhaustion. The plan for rescuing Jud will involve us breaking into teams to search for him on foot while the chopper team wreaks havoc on Raptor’s settlement from the sky. It’s important I can keep up, because I’m on one of the search teams.
Shep and Stealth are setting pans of mac and cheese on the table for dinner. Rolling my sore neck, I sidle up to Doc. I want to spend the night with my handsome heartthrob tonight.
