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“Definitely,” he smiled. “I’m thinking advanced forms of checkers and chess with an electronic component and artificial intelligence voiceover. Something like a comms team in your ears. If you go to move your knight, your headset says, ‘You have a thirty-five percent probability of failure with that move.’ It will teach the boys to really pay attention and be patient but also to trust their gut.”
“Hey, Grant,” said Gabe, watching as their friend walked toward them. “We hear that the house can be done by Christmas.”
“Hi, everyone. Yes, I think with my extra crews, we should have it ready by then. Georgie is working on bypassing the usual bullshit with the permits. With any luck, I can get started tomorrow. I couldn’t help but overhear. I was thinking about making this a smart home. Automatically call 911, if necessary, automatically turn lights on and off, that sort of thing.”
“I love it,” nodded Gaspar. “It will save us money in the long run on utilities but also give the boys an extra sense of security.”
“We did it a few years back at the girls’ home, and it’s worked extremely well,” said Grant. “We’re doing some minor updates over there, but Lauren, Erin, Grace, and Faith authorized a remodel about two years ago.”
The men looked at one another, smiling and nodding. Of course, their wives beat them to the punch at the girls’ home. They should have known.
“We’ve got a couple of old, broken-down cars behind the garage that we were going to scrap,” said Whiskey. “I spoke to Razor and Skull, and they both think we can fix them up and give them to the older boys. They need some serious engine work, which we can handle, but the rest is cosmetic. We can definitely handle that.”
“I like that,” said Miller. “I want them to feel a bit of independence. The two older ones have definitely taken on leadership roles at the home. Those boys deserve this.”
“I’ve got two storage units reserved for us,” said Code. “We should be able to store everything in those until the house is ready.”
“Anything we need to do to get the Sugar Lodge ready?” asked Ghost.
“No. It’s all set with the cots. The kitchen is fully stocked out there, and Dylan is sending out some of the staff to stay with them. The boys know the deal on keeping the location quiet. They’ll be taken out the back gates for school, so they don’t realize how close they are to the main compound. Gunner and Hunter are going to help with all of that,” said Gaspar.
“Sounds like we’re all set,” said Nine.
“We just have to keep the women out of it,” said Ian. “And that will not be easy. I have a hard enough time not telling Faith what I get her for Christmas. Keeping a big secret like this is going to be traumatic.”
“Traumatic? What are you? A thirteen-year-old girl?” frowned Miller. Ian flipped him the bird, and they all just chuckled.
Johanna, Robin, and Alexandra were walking the paths, laughing and talking in an animated way. They waved at the men, and they all waved back.
“Look innocent,” muttered Ghost.
“We are innocent, asshole!” screeched Nine.
“I know, but they smell us planning shit a mile away. They know when we’re up to something, and they always guess it before we get to it.”
“Alright, the first man who cracks gets a beating,” said Nine.
“You’d have to catch me first,” grinned Baptiste.
“I know where you live, dumbass.”
“They’re cute when they think they can hide things from us,” smirked Alexandra.
“All men think they can hide things from their wives,” smirked Robin. “Presents, money, affairs. It doesn’t matter. They all think they’re smarter, and the reality is, they’re all wrong.” The women laughed, nodding their heads.
“Let’s let them have this one,” said Johanna. “They really are cute when they think they’re better at this than we are.”
“Agreed,” nodded Alexandra.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Why are we here?” asked Rafe. “It’s fucking cold, the wind is picking up, and I’m still full from Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Stop your bitching,” groaned Gaspar. “We’re all cold and full from dinner. I swear to God, Mama works harder every year to make us explode from food.” He rubbed his slightly protruding stomach, and his brothers laughed at him.
“Just what is this place?” asked Ghost.
“We used to use it as one of the islands for part of the training locations,” said Gaspar, “but we stopped a few years back after we built the full training facility. It’s a great little island, higher than some of the others, so it doesn’t flood as often. There are some ready-made trails on it, along with some treehouses and shacks for shelter in case of bad weather.”
