Part 25 (1/2)
”Ares, quit,” Nathan said. Ares walked around and sat down, panting. ”Why didn't you stop her?” Nathan asked him. Ares just c.o.c.ked his head to the side looking at Nathan. ”Don't look at me like that,” Nathan said.
”Huffff,” Ares snorted, and moved over, putting his face in Nathan's.
Nathan scratched Ares behind the ears. ”Oh all right.”
”What are you doing awake?” Nathan heard beside him. Glancing over, he saw Jasmine glaring at him with her hands on her hips.
”I was a.s.saulted in my sleep,” Nathan said with a yawn.
”Ares wouldn't do that,” Jasmine said with an unhappy look on her face.
”Well he didn't, Emma did. She kept poking me in the eye,” Nathan replied in a peeved tone.
”Emma!” Jasmine snapped, and Emma burrowed further into Nathan's chest. ”I'm sorry Nathan. She was chasing Ares around the house while I helped fix some food. I only turned my head for a second,” Jasmine apologized.
”It's fine I had to get up anyway,” Nathan said, standing up while holding Emma to his chest. ”What time is it?”
”Almost three,” Jasmine answered.
”You guys didn't get much sleep,” Nathan said, noticing all the rocking chairs were empty.
”Us!” Jasmine exclaimed. ”You've only been asleep for a few hours.”
”I'm good to go. Where are the kids?”
”Some are inside helping and the others are out back getting some trucks ready to go somewhere,” Jasmine replied.
Nathan sat down in a rocking chair and Jasmine sat down beside him. ”d.a.m.n, they moved fast,” Nathan mumbled.
Jasmine narrowed her eyes, ”What does this entail?”
”I'm going to lead a group back to that camp and get those supplies. They could really use them here. Plus I'm getting us some horses,” Nathan told her.
”What supplies? And whose horses?” Jasmine asked, not seeing how the two fit together.
”For this group to survive they need more stuff to defend themselves with, and the rest of the supplies wouldn't hurt. I made a deal with Bob that I would lead him to the site and load it up. Then he would get us some horses,” Nathan explained.
”Oh,” Jasmine said with a tone that indicated she didn't like the idea.
Nathan sighed. ”Why don't you stay here with the kids? With those supplies they will make it.”
Stunned at the question, Jasmine sat back in her chair. ”You want us to stay?”
”Yes,” Nathan replied honestly.
Jasmine looked out over the yard, lost in thought. Nathan was about to ask her what she was thinking when she spoke. ”Tell you what, if all the kids stay I will too. But I just want to know why you want us to stay.”
Nathan took a deep breath. ”If you guys travel with me you could get hurt badly, or even killed. This trip has already been dangerous enough and h.e.l.l it's barely started.”
”So you just want us to be safe?” Jasmine asked, with a smile still looking away.
”Yeah,” Nathan replied with a long face.
”I thought you didn't want us with you because you didn't enjoy us,” she said.
”Since you brought it up, all of you do tend to drive me insane,” Nathan said.
Jasmine turned to him and smiled. ”Family does that to you,” she said. Nathan jerked back at her words. ”I want to ask you: do you know for a fact if you left us here that we would be safe?”
Blinking his eyes rapidly, Nathan stuttered, ”I- I can't answer that for a fact.”
”My answer stands. If all the kids decide to stay I will also,” she said.
”Will you help me talk them into it?” Nathan asked hopefully.
”Nope,” Jasmine answered instantly.
”Will you tell me your reasons?” Nathan asked.
”Love to,” Jasmine said turning her chair so she could look right at him. ”This trip will be dangerous but the destination will be safer than here. Also, you are teaching us how to survive. They can't do that here. We would have to learn it by trial and error. I really think several errors would cost lives. And we like you. Not that we don't like the group here. But they aren't you.”
Feeling she explained herself pretty well he shrugged his shoulders. ”It was worth a shot,” Nathan muttered.
”If we stay, will you miss us?” Jasmine asked.
”Yes, I will,” Nathan said honestly.
”That makes me feel better,” she said, reaching over and patting his leg, then stood up. ”What time are we leaving going back to the camp?” she asked.
Shaking his head, he told her, ”First We' aren't going, I am.” Jasmine took a deep breath to retort and Nathan knew it wasn't going to be good as he held up a hand for her to stop. ”Listen, I'm not exposing you or the kids to unnecessary risk, and that's what this is. And I have a request for you.”
”What?” she asked, letting the air out in a loud shocked huff.
”If something happens to me I want your word you will look after those kids,” Nathan said.
”You think you had to ask me that?” Jasmine barked at him, narrowing her eyes.
”It would make me feel better knowing,” Nathan replied.
”I would do whatever it took to take care of those kids, with or without you,” Jasmine said, making Nathan smile.
”In the bottom of the wagon, you will find a box with supplies' written on it,” Nathan said, winking. ”It is twenty pounds of stuff you can use for them.”
”Well don't let anything happen to you and we will be just fine,” she said, kneeling beside him. ”We've become attached to you.”
”No kidding,” Nathan said, looking down at Emma, who was asleep with her arms wrapped around his chest. ”Come on I have some work to do.” They walked inside and lay Emma on a couch. Nathan told Ares to stay.'
They found Rodger out back with a group of men around five ma.s.sive tandem axle cargo trucks and one old army deuce-and-a-half. Looking at the other trucks, Nathan could tell they were all farm trucks, none older than 1970. Three of the trucks were pulling empty forty-foot cotton trailers.
Walking over and wearing a big grin, Rodger waved his arm toward the trucks. ”Think we can get all of it with these?”