Chapter 19

Wyatt

I run my hands through my hair and survey the scene. Honestly, to my battle-jaded eyes, nothing is wrong.

This is a walk in the park—almost literally.

So, we have to wait until the morning for food?

Hunger is good for you. Sharpens your senses. It’s only twelve hours without food.

Try five days. That’ll really give you something to really freak out about.

The evening sun is streaming onto the porch. The lake in the distance shows splashes of beautiful, vibrant blue. Crickets are humming, birds are flitting through the trees, and the world is peaceful. The air is still, warm, and comforting.

Lack of food aside, everything is idyllic.

But Ruby’s parents are pacing back and forth as if it’s the end of the fucking world, Ruby is chewing that cute little lip, and even Jake looks tense.

I want to tell them to just enjoy this beautiful day.

So, there was a bear? Bears live in the woods.

Better than a fucking land mine.

I should have paid more attention, and talked them out of leaving the food on the lawn.

Survival skills aren’t rocket science; they’re just incredibly naive.

I lost all my naiveté in the SEALs. Expect everything to happen to you, because, at some point, it will.

Lucky for them, they have me to help. I step right up to that fuckin’ plate. These people are the closest thing I have to a family. I don’t want to mess any of this up.

If I can pull a team of terrified nineteen-year-old boys through days of mud and rain, I can handle this situation. And if nothing else, I have to make sure Ruby is okay.

Peering over while I’m assessing the situation, I’m reminded of how unbelievably hot she’s looking in that cute little hiking outfit. I could bend her over, right fucking here.

God, she’s so magnificent. From her large, round tits pushed together in that top, the shorts that let her ass cheeks peek out just slightly, to her bronzing skin, glistening with sweat from the activity.

I crouch down next to Jake’s Dad for a man to man chat. I empathize: I’ve learned that a little bro-to-bro empathy can lighten the feeling of any situation.

“God, this is so annoying! You’ve gone to all this effort to make sure we’re prepared and along comes a bear!”

“Exactly,” he says, tensing his mouth into a little frown line, and looking worriedly towards his wife.

“But it’s really not that bad,” I clap him on the shoulder in a brotherly way.

He winces a little… sometimes I forget how strong I’ve become.

“I’ve always got some perishables on me,” I admit. “Tricks of the trade and all that. You guys will find chips, crackers, nuts and dried fruit in the pantry to snack on now. And I can go to the store in the meantime.”

Jake’s Dad makes that worried face again, “the store shuts at six.”

Honestly, this situation is laughable. How would these people cope with real problems?

Ruby seems to be the only person who agrees with me at all. “It won’t kill us to go a night without dinner,” she says.

What a sensible, survivalist mindset. “We can drive into the big town and have a diner breakfast in the morning.”

I think she’s talking plain, solid sense, but the family descends into an uproar. Everyone is protesting that it will kill them to go a night without dinner, especially, I notice, greedy Jake.

That bastard hasn’t changed a bit while I’ve been gone, I think ruefully.

Jake was the kind of guy who went through the lunch line twice per lunch period in high school. He’d eat every bite, burp, and wish he had time to go through it again.

I go inside to get out the non-perishables I’ve stashed.

But really, I want some air from all this fucking nonsensical drama.

Honestly, these people need to be sent to a war prep camp for a week.

I catch myself.

Drop the tough boy shit, bro. If you want Ruby, you have to be gentle, not some military stereotype. What did you learn on the job? Meet people where they’re at.

The food is still in the pantry. Thank God, Jake’s never been a very healthy eater, and didn’t get into the crackers and dried nuts in his extravagant midnight snack session last night.

Pull that shit in the Middle East, and he’d get sent out up ahead of everyone else on a scouting mission.

OK, we’re not in the military. We’re in the nice woods with nice middle-class people. Play nice.

I shake out my cynical mood, and come back outside to everyone, plastering my face with openness and helpfulness.

A plan is forming in my mind.

They pounce on the food. This isn’t going to last long, is it?

“Alright, I’ve got a plan. Jake here’s gonna make us a campfire, and I’m gonna go fish something for us to cook over dinner. I saw the canoe near the edge of the lake.”

I see everyone’s eyes widen… none of them have so much as thought about catching their own food. Well, aside from Jake. We learned how to fish at camp a decade and a half ago, but he probably hasn’t felt the need nor the want to try again since...

Everyone is hungry and intrigued. Jake is keen to show off his skills after his failure with eating the food I brought.

Everyone’s in. Nodding agreeably. Thanking me.

As if I’ve just agreed to so a solo-recon mission in enemy territory.

And then Ruby surprises me. “I’ll come too,” she says, standing up and looking defiantly at everyone.

It is adorable when she looks defiant. To be honest, she’s gonna be more of a hindrance than a help, but after what I read this morning, I really like the opportunity of having that sweet little body and those innocent eyes all to myself for a while.

I enjoy fishing a lot. It’s a serene way to just get in tune with nature, something I’ve always been keen on, and I’ve come prepared. Fishing poles, hooks, nets, a flare ‘just in case’.

You name it, I’ve got it. I wouldn’t be found dead without my Swiss army knife on me. Almost was found dead with it on me a few times actually.

Ruby comes to help me get my gear from the car. We walk down in silence, but I enjoy the view of that tight little ass in those tight little exercise leggings.

Completely inappropriate for real camping or hiking, but more than entirely appropriate for my viewing pleasure. Her strong little body silhouetted against the sunset, and the pine trees is a sight for sore eyes. It’s the best thing these eyes have seen in months.

I open the trunk and rummage around in all my over-the-top gear. She is peering in curiously. I pull out a couple of fishing poles, one in each hand, slinging them over my shoulder, ready to carry them to the lake.

“Is there anything I can get?” she asks.

She wants to help, but, as a man, it’s my job to get this done. I’ll have her company, but this is not a burden she needs to lessen.

“No, ma’am. I got it,” I reply, sharply but politely.

She pulls that gorgeous strawberry-blonde hair back into a ponytail, staring from me, to the gear, and back to me.

I notice with satisfaction that she’s checking out everything I’ve packed that we’re not bringing, too. I’m fucking prepared for the apocalypse.

As she ganders at my shit, I notice her checking me out.

Her eyes wander over my rippling shoulders, and my exposed chest.

Well, all those millions of push-ups were good for something.

This should be fun.

I take a step towards her, and she looks up at me, chewing her lip.

“Would you say you’re more of a fishing pole girl, or a net or trap girl?” I ask.

I’m teasing her. We both know she’s never held a fishing pole in her life.

But she surprises me by plucking it from my hand, and tossing it over her shoulder. “I’d say I’m a fast learner,” she replies, without skipping a beat. She turns down the path, towards the lake, sauntering a little.

Yes, this is definitely going to be fun.