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Daddy’s Fortitude

Page 213

by Laylah Roberts

Aimee couldn’t stop herself from worrying as she got ready to leave the cabin. Ammo was cleaning up the kitchen while she was packing all their stuff. Webb had already packed up his stuff and made one trip down, and he was coming up to get another pack to carry down.

“Well, Kevin, Garfield, Owly McOwlFace, I guess this is it,” she said. “I guess we’re moving to a new place.” It was strange. For a long time all she’d wanted was to get out of Greasy Knob, to move somewhere else and start over. But now that they were doing that, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

She didn’t really know much about this new place she was going to. Sure, she knew Webb, Zander, Keira, and Honey. She’d briefly met Eli. But she didn’t know them that well.

What if she didn’t like living there? What if they didn’t like her moving in? There were so many unknowns, and it was making her gut churn.

“Right. Kitchen’s all packed up and clean. Bathroom’s also clean,” Ammo said, walking into the bedroom. “Everything’s packed up, and Webb’s just gotten back. You okay, baby?”

She put a wide smile on her face. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

She didn’t want to say anything to Ammo about her reservations. She didn’t want to insult him. Or his friends. She just hoped she wasn’t going to make the same mistake again, of blindly following a man to his home, then finding herself trapped and alone.

But she was being silly. Things were different with Ammo. He was far different from Charlie. He wasn’t a selfish asshole and he loved her, and she loved him.

No matter what happened, she had to remember that. Whatever she had to do, wherever she had to live, it was worth it because she’d be with Ammo.

“Have you been to the bathroom?” he asked her as they moved through the cabin.

“Yes, I’ve been to the bathroom.” She glanced around the cabin. “I really enjoyed our time here together.”

He placed his hands on the back of her neck, squeezing lightly. “There’ll be other fun places, other cabins where we can stay.”

“Yeah?” she said.

“Of course.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I liked staying here with you too.”

She smiled at him. Things really were going to be all right.

They headed down the path. Webb walked far ahead of them. He had a pack on and was carrying Kevin’s cage. She walked a bit slower with Ammo who had a hold of her hand. Apparently, that was necessary so she didn’t wander off. She really didn’t know what he was talking about.

She wasn’t the type of person to just wander off.

They were going to stop and pick up Eli, and so she could say goodbye to Kirsten. She was really going to miss her best friend.

As they got to the bottom of the path where it forked off, one way leading to where the cars were parked, the other way leading to that weird toilet, she realized that she really did need to go, and that she might have actually forgotten to use the bathroom.

She tugged on Ammo’s hand, and when he turned to look at her, she gave him a sweet smile and crossed her legs, one over the other.

He just shook his head. “Baby, I asked you if you’d been to the bathroom.”

“I thought I had,” she said. “It wasn’t a lie. It was just a little bit of forgetfulness.” She tapped her forehead.

“Right. From now on, every time we leave the house, I’m gonna sit you on the toilet first.”

She sighed. That seemed ridiculous, but he didn’t look like he was joking, so she just nodded.

“I’ll just quickly go to the toilet and then come to the truck, I promise.”

He looked at the pathway, then straight ahead. “No, I’ll walk you there, then I’ll head to the truck.”

“Oh, all right,” she said. He led her over to the toilet and left her there.

She raced inside and did her business. Just as she was righting her clothes, there was a loud bang. It sounded like when Mr. Sampson took shots at cans in his backyard on a Friday night.

Only it wasn’t Friday.

And they weren’t anywhere close to Mr. Sampson’s house.