Finding Valor (46 page)

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.”
 

“Hey!” Josh averted his gaze but not quickly enough to miss the sight of Hunter gazing adoringly at Kassie as she nursed the baby. “That’s my cousin.”

“Did you see how HJ’s holding onto my finger while he eats? That boy’s got a good grip and an even better appetite.”

“You said that was your second favorite picture.” Channie was the only one to pick up on that. Probably because she was the only girl in the group and not distracted by Kassie’s bare boob. “Which one’s your favorite?”

“It’s actually a video.” Hunter scrolled to the end and loaded the clip. He and Kassie were sitting on the front porch swing, the baby was nowhere in sight. The video was cock-eyed with the swing much higher on the right edge of the frame. Hunter must have propped his phone up on something. He slid off the swing and dropped to one knee in front of Kassie. She covered her mouth with both hands. Hunter’s back blocked the camera, but Josh guessed what was going on by the look on Kassie’s face. She nodded and launched herself off the swing, throwing her arms around Hunter, knocking him and the camera over.
 

“Oh my gosh!” Channie jumped up and did a good imitation of Kassie tackling Hunter. If he weren’t already sitting down, she would’ve knocked him over “You’re getting married!”

“And that ain’t all. Eric said he’d let me adopt baby HJ.”
 

Josh knew Eric well enough to know it was only so he wouldn’t have to pay child support, but he kept his mouth shut and gave Hunter a hug, pounding him on the back. “Congrats, man. I’m really happy for you and Kassie.”

Hunter pulled out of the hug first and raised his eyebrows. “And HJ.”
 

Josh laughed. “Yes, and HJ.”

He really was glad that Hunter and Kassie were happy, but he couldn’t help wondering if their impulsive engagement had anything to do with the war.
 

Integrating back into life at Freedom Ridge was even harder than Josh had thought it would be. He knew he was losing ground with both camps while he was hiding out in Colorado with Channie. Every time he showed up for a brief visit, he received less and less magical energy from the loyalty of his people. But he’d thought he’d quickly regain their trust, love and loyalty when he returned. He was wrong.

A lot of the Ozark mages resented the way Channie’s family had run away after Money killed Dominance’s grandson and favorite horse. Josh understood their anger—her parents could have at least warned them that Dominance was royally pissed before leaving—but that wasn’t Channie’s fault and he wasn’t going to put up with their snotty attitudes.

Then there was the problem with her magic. She gained control over Enchantment’s energy within a few days of getting her powers back, but Chastity’s magic refused to be tamed. It never attacked Josh, not even during sex. Channie said it was because they were married, so whatever they did “between the sheets” was considered chaste. Chastity might have considered it chaste, but Channie sure didn’t. She’d let Josh kiss her and cuddle, when it wasn’t too hot, but she rarely let him go much further—bothered by the lack of privacy in camp.

It seemed as if Josh couldn’t do anything right. He totally forgot about Channie’s birthday on July sixth. Hunter gave her a whistle he carved out of a willow twig and a bouquet of flowers. Josh wanted to kick his own ass—and punch Hunter in the face.
 

He’d let Zen put Channie in charge of the CDC, hoping the leadership position would satisfy her demands, as well as the Book of the Dead’s instructions, that she fight by his side. Unfortunately, that put Channie in close contact with every adolescent boy in camp. The poor kids were constantly getting zapped.
 

Channie tried to pass it off as “keeping ‘em on their toes,” but after a few days, parents started complaining about her overly aggressive training methods that continued even when the kids were off duty.