Killa, Ghost, Inola, Bella, and Katya met for lunch at a pizza and salad place, and exchanged babies. They ordered cheese straws and a pizza with an arugula, pear, and goat cheese salad on it.

“I is as big as a house,” complained Ghost, nawing on cheese straws.

Killa leaned back, exposing her rounded belly. “I one-third ya size, an’ I feel like a trackta traila.”

Inola played with Luka. “I was huge,” she said. “Got real mad when Henry and Bella refused to let me ride.”

Bella snorted, nearly waking up Ivan. “She was having trouble getting up, even with a step up.”

Inola grimaced. “Being able to ride was the second-best thing about having Ryder,” she said.

“Best thing is baby,” said Katya, nodding in understanding. Ryder had a hell of a grip on Katya’s finger. “This one is strong.”

“Very,” said Inola, laughing. “Look in her mouth. See those teeth!”

“I am lucky. No teeth yet. When it happens, next day, I have bottle.”

“That’s what I did,” said Inola. “I’ll only bleed once. So, I expressed as much as I could for her. Getting dried up.”

Killa smiled. “We not havin’ to do dat. We be handin’ em over and makin’ dem women happy.”

“It’s a real-good thing you’re doing,” said Bella. “I might be the next one, if we want another one.”

Inola groaned. “I want to sleep. Baby means no sleep.”

“Glad we ain’t keepin’ em,” said Ghost. “Got bidness. Be makin’ bank. Like de little bikes, lookin’ de same as de big ones.”

“We need mo’ people in da place,” said Killa. “Tito be buildin’ on da back. Be buildin’ on de back on both sides. Gotta new nursery, two-year-old room, four-year-old room. Got ex-teachas wit’ dere own kids from da pre-school places. Be givin’ dem betta money, betta hours, betta in-su-rance.” She drew out the last words. “Nighthawks be bankin’ da green, and payin’ it out to fill up our lot.”

Callie and Ivy came by, pulled up chairs, and ordered a potato and bacon pizza. They passed around the babies. Ivy swiped cheese straws, and put in another two orders.

“I’m completely exhausted,” said Callie. “We got new baby rooms at the school, and we hired more teachers. All the parents pay into a fund, and Nighthawk businesses pay in as well. Ours are there, and we are paying into it as parents. We get a discount because I’m a teacher.”

“When you goin’ back to work?” asked Killa.

“Another month,” said Ivy. “Callie wants to teach again, but I can’t stand up long enough to tend bar. We sleep when the babies do.”

Katya laughed. “Is same with me.” She sucked on her de-caffeinated iced coffee.

Ivy sucked on her full-caffeine Coke. “Got through a few weeks, then Callie decided to breastfeed both,” said Ivy. “I get to drink my Coke again.”

“You’re not as good a cow as I am,” said Callie. All the women laughed, startling the babies. Ivan cried, and he was passed back to Mom.

They fell on the food like pigs, ordering more pizza, and rounds of key lime, chocolate silk, and peanut butter pie. They laughed, switched babies around, and then went to a coffee shop next door. They ordered various coffees and teas, and settled in to have their babies cooed over. The nursing moms covered themselves with blankets, and the rest of the women took turns burping the babies.

“How are the Nighthawks doing?” asked Bella.

“We lost some to the Valkyries, but we got a lot coming in,” Ivy said. “We haven’t been on the last rides.”

“Gregory, he go,” said Katya. “Miss him like crazy woman. They go to Baja. Be warm when I am cold. Eat Mexican food.”

“That’s my fault,” said Ivy. “I kind of dropped a kid.” Everyone else laughed. “Henry was there too, wasn’t he?”

“He was,” said Inola. “But said he wanted to ‘check out the new crop.’ All of ‘em sponsored. Couple of crack shots at the shooting range. Ex-military usually go to the Iron Knights, but we got two this crop. Henry’s gonna take the Paiute and Hopi on a sweat. Nantan’s checking out the Sioux guy.”

“He gay?” asked Killa.

“’Fraid not,” said Inola.

“Damn,” said Killa. “That boy need a boyfriend.”

“Damn straight,” said Bella.

“When are you getting a new Wolfpack?” asked Callie.

“They ain’t allowed to take my helpas,” said Ghost. “Them baby Valkyrie girls be workin’ it.”

They finally got up and went their separate ways, the babies all strapped into the cars and minivans, and Ivy’s actual van. The ladies poked their heads in to see the inside of Ivy’s van. She had it all tricked out —a cooler for baby bottles, a heater to heat up the bottles, and the back filled with diapers and wipes. There were also coolers for a road trip ready to go in the back. The ladies laughed in ripples that flew across the parking lot in the wind. They agreed to meet the next week, probably at a barbecue joint, then they got in their cars and left.

* * *

Thanksgiving was not a holiday anyone on the ranch celebrated, and neither did most of the Nighthawks, or the Valkyries. They did, however, have time off. The students, including Callie, who was still in school (despite being a mother of three girls and a boy), still had papers to write, tests to take, right before the holiday break. They all worked at breakneck speed to catch up before the four-day weekend, with Callie struggling to stay awake after feeding the babies to watch the lectures, take notes, and write papers.

Bao was a godsend, and the Chinese restaurant was doing well enough to hire more people. No longer a nearly-unpaid slave, Bao was now a full-time teacher at the Nighthawks’ homeschool. They took turns with days off and watching the girls and babies. Grandma willing to escape the restaurant and hold babies. Ace and Gregory both came over to hold babies as well, so Callie typed until she felt her fingers would bleed, and until her eyes felt like they might fall out of her head.

The ranch’s various businesses were in full swing as well. Nantan had dropped off what seemed like a million pumpkins for Halloween, which the Valkyries celebrated with, literally, having a field day and testing out their new armor. They invited the fighters from the Society for Creative Anachronism, who brought ale. A good time was had by all. The pumpkins kept coming, as Nantan knew about pies, holiday ones.

They spent day after day with their hands in pumpkin guts, popping out seeds to dry and to put in salads or pack as snacks, and mixing the orange parts with their own homemade pumpkin spice mix. They enjoyed selling it in sealed mason jars, two per pie. The moms and grandmas bought the jars and returned them empty for more. No one wanted to eat pumpkin anything at the ranch, so they sold all they grew.

Chayton spent his days coding eBooks in Sioux and Apache, and created a template to help David, Henry, Vu, and the Paiute Owls help create their own books. Vu, David, Alo, Yas, and Yoki all took turns illustrating the stories. Yanaba and Gwen helped with the coding. Chayton turned his hands to tribal eBooks on Math, Native and Tribal History and Culture, Horticulture, Natural Sciences, and Animal Husbandry. The Wolfpack helped where they could. They all loved the stories.

Chayton gave the template to Bao, who was delighted to make books in Mandarin. They added her to their book company, and she made a pretty penny selling the books to schools in San Francisco, including several immersion schools all over the United States, and to mainland China. She learned both Taiwanese Mandarin and the Hokkien dialect, and created English/Chinese books for children.

Chayton helped Nantan when he could. The man was a machine, trying to be everywhere at once. Chayton took it upon himself to talk to Henry about purchasing more vehicles for the teens to drive, and eventually buy once they left, or to make deliveries and go to work with Tito. Chayton took them for their driver’s licenses, after training them himself. He also took the Valkyrie teens for their motorcycle tests. Eventually, four “hoopty” cars and three very good used bikes were purchased, and the teens all worked even harder to pay them off.

Chayton also became a much better rider under Nantan’s tutelage. Although not a “horse whisperer” like Inola and Jeffrey, he loved the horses and ponies, and they loved him.

Tam and Nico were a little confused by the strange man who spoke in a mix of English, Sioux, and Apache. The one who helped them with their homework, took them on long rides, took over household chores so their dad could spend more time with them, and played soccer and baseball for hours as the sun set over the mountains.

Nico finally got up the courage to ask. “Are you my dad’s boyfriend?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Chayton. “He did not speak of this with you?”

“Will you take him away from us?” asked Tam.

Chayton got on his knees in front of Tam. “No, I would never, ever do that. This is his home, and you are his sons. He is more proud of you both, than he is of anything else in his life. So, no, that would be stupid. He’d leave me in a heartbeat if I ever said such a thing. You are more important to him than me.”

“Are you moving into his bedroom?” asked Nico.

“I hope so,” said Chayton. “That is his decision.”

“Okay,” said Nico, “can we play soccer?”

“After lunch,” said Chayton. “Now, who wants to play math video games?”

“I like the one where the shark eats the numbers,” said Tam.

“Then we’ll play that one,” said Chayton.

Nantan stood in the doorway. He had been going in to change a load of laundry. He found himself unable to breathe. How had he found a man so willing to love him, and love his children? So willing to help with anything at all that needed doing? He realized his heart had expanded, past the boys, past his stallion, past his hydroponics farm, and even past the Wolfpack and the Paiute family that had taken him in. It had reached all the way to a ski slope, and the man he had found there.

Henry had a long conversation with Mrs. Gupta at their favorite restaurant. For Thanksgiving, the main dishes would all be… well, Indian. He ordered two of nearly everything on the menu; samosas, tandoori chicken, spicy masala, curries from mild to eyeball-melting hot, kebabs, and every kind of naan bread they had. No one brought turkey, stuffing, gravy, or anything of the kind. They brought Mexican food to go with the amazing work of Mrs. Gupta. And enough chips and salsa for the teens to mow down.

Ivy and Callie walked in, and promptly handed the babies off to Gregory and Ace. “We need to eat,” Ivy said. “Parenthood relinquished for two hours.”

Hu and Grace sat down to eat with Tam and Nico, and they started talking in a mix of languages. Most of the other kids from the Nighthawks homeschool showed up, and the parents, except Callie and Bao, were stunned that they played a math game called Buzz, saying Buzz whenever a certain number came up when counting either forward or backward. Done in their various languages, while pigging out on tamales and samosas. Katya passed around her babies, too. Ghost and Killa were waited on hand and foot, and the Wolfpack came and dropped off tidbits for them to eat when their plates looked empty.

Keiran and Pavel appointed themselves on Mommy Watch, helping rotate the babies, making sure the moms had food and drink, and even giving foot rubs.

“Hey, that’s my job,” said Gregory, pushing Pavel aside to rub his wife’s feet. Pavel cracked a joke in Russian that made Katya laugh. Grace was in the corner, doing the dog-training thing.

“Why did you bring the dogs?” asked Ivy, sipping on spiced apple juice.

“They must be trained in crowds, and around other dogs,” said Keiran.

“They will take the test when they return,” said Pavel. “The golden retriever, Juno, is very good with children. She will be a therapy dog for an autistic boy. The pug, Oskar, he is for a little girl who lost half her family in an accident, and is very depressed. The greyhound, Zippa, is for a little girl who was abused and has trouble sleeping.” He laughed. “She is a good sleeping dog.”

“You could specialize in just greyhounds. So many need rescue,” said Inola.

“We pick up from a variety of shelters and specialized rescues,” said Keiran. “We have expanded. There is a waiting list to work with the dogs. So, we have expanded twice. The greyhounds don’t bark and sleep most of the time, but they need vigorous exercise.”

“Very vigorous,” said Pavel. “They run like the wind. The adoptive mother in the family loves to run every day, so the dog will get much exercise.”

Ivy grinned. “Our Daisy now has four kids and two adults to look after,” she said, pointing to the dog at her feet. “She doesn’t know who to take care of.”

“Me,” said Callie. “I can’t see. I can’t type. My hands have cramps. I literally close my eyes and see computer screens.”

Pavel stood up, grabbed a stool, came over, and sat down in front of Callie.

He took her left hand and started massaging it. “Ohmigod,” said Callie. “You can stop that… never.”

Bao squeaked with excitement. “I am next.” Keiran grabbed another stool, and went over to her. “Mmmm,” she said.

“Hey,” said Chayton. “I work on computers all day, too.”

“Show me how to do that,” said Nantan. He crouched down next to Pavel, who explained the rubbing and stretching as Callie moaned in pleasure. He went back and rubbed Chayton’s hands.

Across the room, David put his arm around Henry. “Our Nantan is in love,” he said.

“Did you just notice this?” asked Henry.

“The early snowstorm,” said David.

“Always a good time to fall in love,” said Henry.

“We did,” said David. “You could not travel back, and I had food, water, and shelter in my cabin.”

“And that ridiculous bed.”

David made a hurt-feelings noise. “I built it for you,” he said. “It had to be big enough for you.”

Henry patted his hand. “You didn’t mean for it to collapse on the floor.”

David snorted laughter, and snagged another samosa. “I still have bruises from falling on the floor.”

Henry laughed at David with his eyes. “Sleeping on a tilted bed was strange.”

“You broke off the bottom!” said David.

“Then it was level,” said Henry. “Then we could sleep.”

David laughed. “We didn’t sleep.” He kissed Henry’s temple.

Alo walked by, made himself a chicken masala, lentil stew, and naan bread plate, and said, “Get a room.”

Both men burst out laughing. “This one is obnoxious,” said Henry.

“This one is hungry,” said Alo, stuffing naan bread wrapped around chicken masala in his mouth. He snagged a soda, and sauntered off.

After what was essentially a late lunch, not a dinner, little kids raced outside, rode ponies under Jeffrey’s watchful eye, and a soccer game erupted where Nantan and Chayton had put up the goals and painted out the lines the week before in the side yard. The game was fierce and ongoing, with members dropping out and new ones coming in as the participants became cold, exhausted, thirsty, or hungry and tapped out. Tito and his beautiful wife stayed in the whole time, and a vicious girl/boy soccer game ensued. They ended with a tie.

They had a bonfire in the back, and everyone rotated from the kitchen, to the games set up on tables in one corner of the huge living room. Every table had a different game, from the roaring fire inside, to the beautiful fire outside. Babies were passed, burped and put down for naps, despite the rock music —Ivy was in charge of the playlist.

They popped entire kettles of popcorn, some with butter and salt and some with homemade caramel, and made chocolate and cherry sodas. They disconnected Ivy’s music, overriding her sleepy protests, and put on movies. They pulled up Netflix and agreed on the Canadian horse show Heartland, and started it from the beginning. Many moms and dads napped a bit.

The Valkyries showed up, with smoked chickens that went great with salad, Caesar dressing, and the naan bread, and the eating began again, this time is shifts. The kids made homemade peanut butter chocolate balls and double chocolate and almond cookies, and ate half of them before they left the kitchen. They made several ice cream pies drenched in caramel and chocolate, froze them, and sliced them.

“Mocha, chocolate mint, caramel crunch, strawberry banana,” said Grace, and people shouted out their orders. The Wolfpack brought them over, then consumed two pies by themselves.

Out by the bonfire, they brought out the drums and skirling pipes, and David brought out his sacred drums. They chanted and sang well into the night, long after those with babies had gone home, exhausted. The card tables were folded up, the games put away. Furniture was pushed against the walls. Every spare bed and couch was taken. Sleeping bags were rolled out, and bodies were everywhere. The drummers drummed, and they all sang and danced well into the night.

Later in the night, Rota said, “I am sorry for your day of mourning.”

“I did get your joke about the Indian food,” said Skuld.

“Damn fool Columbus thought he was in India,” said David. “They were looking for their spices, but we did one better with the corn and tomatoes.”

“Couldn’t have chips and salsa,” said Willow, her drum between her knees, her hair braided on one side.

David laughed. “No, that’s true,” he said.

“We have the best damn food,” said Alo.

Henry laughed. “We do.”

“And we grow half of it here!” said Alo. “My feed sales are through the roof. I’ve got the money to go to college, but I’ve had to hire other Wolfpack members to mix some of it, or I couldn’t get through my own courses.”

“Pays for the bikes,” said Ajai.

“Already paid off my truck,” said Alo. “That old white thing is amazing. Keeps going and going over the roughest roads. Just crank up the tunes, and delivery gets simple. I take boxes of Nantan’s deliveries, too. Got the farms covered.”

“Been taking the boys on the trails to make morning deliveries to the res,” said Nantan. “Their ponies don’t carry much, but they feel like they’re contributing. Their Ute is getting pretty good, too.”

“Their Sioux and Apache are excellent,” said Chayton. “I’ve started making computer games, painted ponies who talk. They love them.”

“Who’s got the boys?” asked Skuld.

“They’re right there,” said Chayton, pointing at two bodies on the other side of the picture window. “They wanted to curl up with their sleeping bags with the other kidlets. Gave up their beds.”

“Good boys,” said Vi. “Eat like horses. Run like the wind.”

“The best,” said Nantan. “I hope to get the adoption papers soon.” He sighed. “Then, we can marry, because I don’t want to put Chayton through the background check and classes and what all.”

“I already went through them,” said Chayton. “I told you I was taking classes.”

Nantan stared at him, open mouthed. “Why did you not tell me?”

“You never even asked which classes,” said Chayton. “And, I passed the background check, too. Of course.” He smiled. “I finished Tuesday.”

“Why?” asked Nantan.

Chayton reached out, and clutched his hand. “You never know if more will come and need us.”

Willow said what they were all thinking. “Why haven’t you two gotten married?”

Chayton sighed. “A year and a day.”

“Stupid,” said Skuld. “That’s for the hand-fasting.”

Skuld ran in, stepped over the sleeping bodies, went into the kitchen, did something, and came back out. The ribbons from the baby gifts —blue and pink, the ribbons holding the food —red and white, and a crimson one, too. She stood, and brought them in front of the fire. They all stood, and Alo texted the rest of the Wolfpack, playing games at the TV, with Vu in attendance. They streamed back, as Rota went in the barn for a broom. The teens came at a run, in fleece jackets and jeans. David sang a sacred song, the Valkyries sang the circle, and Skuld had them jump the broom.

Nico woke up, saw the ceremony outside, and woke up his brother. They wrapped themselves in their sleeping bags and went out onto the concrete in thick socks. Alo and Willow broke the circle long enough to retrieve them, to hold them up to see the ceremony.

Skuld wound the cords around their clasped hands and said the ancient words, calling on the Great Spirit that Nantan and Chayton believed in, instead of the gods. David chanted. Numa sang. Nantan and Chayton gave their vows in Sioux and Apache. Ajai translated, as Nantan and Chayton promised to love each other for a year and a day; to part if they chose to do so, to honor and love each other, the boys, the land, the farm, their friends, and family. Rota sang a haunting song, and Skuld unwound the cords and braided them.

Everyone hugged them. The boys fell asleep in their arms, and they put them back on the floor in the living room to sleep. They came back out, and David, Numa, and Henry sang sacred songs, as did the Valkyries; their beautiful voices rising up under the stars.

Nantan and Chayton found their bed inhabited by visiting revelers. Even the apartments over the sorting room were taken. So, they took their sleeping bags into the van, and Nantan rolled out the cushion he kept back there.

“I’m too old for backseat sex,” complained Chayton.

“This is a van,” said Nantan. “Made for deliveries and camping and all sorts of things.” He turned on the tiny portable heater he had brought with him. “Let’s keep warm.” They zipped their sleeping bags together, and shed their boots and jackets. Nantan took it slow, the kisses warm. “Why have we not done this before?” asked Nantan.

“I was waiting for you,” said Chayton. “You do the work of five men and two parents. I was waiting for you to drop from exhaustion.”

Nantan slowly pulled off Chayton’s soft blue shirt. “I cannot believe I was that blind.” He pulled off Chayton’s undershirt. “I cannot believe I was so stupid to wait.”

Chayton pulled off Nantan’s tan shirt, and his undershirt. “You are worth any wait.”

They fell together, kissed long and slow. Chayton kissed down Nantan’s neck, bit his ear, kissed his neck. Nantan held Chayton’s face in his hands, kissed his forehead, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. Their lips parted, and they kissed hungrily. Chayton’s chest was as flat as Nantan’s. They kissed, flicked tongues down each other’s chests. Chayton kissed his way down Nantan’s chest to his stomach, and his thighs. He helped Nantan take off his jeans, and Chayton did the same. Chayton’s penis was much smaller, but it was there. They stroked each other, and Chayton kissed the tip of Nantan’s penis, making him groan. He held Nantan’s balls in his hand, and licked him gently, then sucked, lightly at first, then harder. Nantan groaned, arched his back, and came.

Nantan groped for, then found, the wet wipes on the side of the van under the cushion. He cleaned them both up, and said, “Let’s get warm.”

They slid into the sleeping bags, and got so hot and sweaty that they turned off the little heater. Just before falling asleep, Nantan reached a hand out of the joint sleeping bag and turned the heater back on. He wasn’t stupid.

In the morning, they dressed and cooked breakfast for everyone. Vi tried to cook, but she was shooed away to sit and relax. Nantan had the pancakes and waffles, and Chayton had the home fries, bacon, and sausages going. Willow made an egg and cheese soufflé, Ajai poured carafes of orange juice and warming canteens full of hot coffee. Alo emptied the dishwasher, and the boys set the table. David and Henry ate first, then took over cooking. Everyone ate in shifts, and the Valkyries headed to the store to replace the empty larders.

Jeffrey and Willow took over Inola’s chores so she, and Bella, and Ryder could sleep in. Chayton brought them up a breakfast tray so they could have time alone together. With the chores done, the breakfast was cleaned up super-fast by willing hands. Then, some went on trail rides or hiking; Rota leading the hikers on a challenging path, wearing them out.

The rest of them laid around on chairs, the floor, anywhere. The card tables came out, and the Valkyries found they excelled at the board game Splendor. They watched action movies, the Valkyries acting out scenes they liked, and rolling on the floor laughing when the scenes were poorly plotted out. Lunch were trays of sandwiches the Valkyries retrieved for them, along with massive amounts of juices, flavored waters, and sodas. The teens found they couldn’t out-eat hungry Valkyries.

After lunch, the Valkyries sparred. The teens learned new moves. Even Nico and Tam got into it. David, Nantan, and Inola did some trick riding on horses, shooting arrows into targets. The Valkyries shot arrows at targets taped to hay bales that looked too far away to see, much less hit, but they did well.

Afterward, the lines at the showers were astonishingly long. They did indoor games, board and card games across every square surface. They roared with laughter.

They had absolutely no leftovers from the day before, so they ordered pizzas with every imaginable topping, except anchovies. They consumed towers of pizza boxes and guzzled sodas and flavored waters. The delivery guy rejoiced at coming all the way out to the farm; his tip was enough to buy Christmas presents.

The dancing and drumming lasted well into the night, once again. The Valkyries took off in the middle of the night, to celebrate in the desert. The next day as the sun rose, the Nighthawks went to Huntington Beach. They checked into hotels, shed their leathers, put on swimming suits, and took all their kids and teens surfing. Ace had Keiran and Pavel laughing in the water at his attempts to stand on the board. Lily managed to stand up just fine, and caught some big waves.

At the campsite where they grilled chicken and fish, Keiran asked Lily how she was doing. “It killed us not to come, it did,” he said. “Gregory, then my brother when he woke up said, stay put, and it wasn’t safe.”

“It wasn’t,” said Lily, “we were shot at twice.”

“So,” said Pavel, “Katya says she is having a baby for you.”

“Yes,” said Lily. “At first it killed me to hold her babies when mine was gone, but she was wonderful. And now, we’re going to have a baby!”

“Yes,” said Katya, a babbling Ivan on her lap. “I am knocked up. Tiny now, like grain of sand. Soon, fat baby.”

Pavel held the babbling Luka. He talked to the baby in Russian, and Luka tried to grab his nose. He laughed. “Is very good thing you do,” he said.

Gregory kissed Katya’s head. “She’s the best woman in the world.”

“Hey!” said Ace, holding Lily close. “My woman is the best in the world.”

“We tie,” said Katya. “We are both wonderful women. Now, give me back my little ones when they get hungry. Now, I take nap.” She arranged herself on her lounge chair, and went to sleep.

“She hasn’t eaten yet,” said Ace.

“Morning sickness,” said Gregory. “We’re back to crackers and ginger ale. She’ll be fine at one.”

“I have a little… secret,” said Lily.

Ace and Gregory stared at her. “What is it?” asked Ace, confused.

“Your wife is doing a wonderful thing for me, she really is. And, we’ve been really careful because I had such major surgery. And, Katya waited until the doctor released her because of the twins.”

Ace smiled. “You’re…”

“Pregnant,” she said. “Honey, we’re having twins, only with two moms.”

Ace picked up Lily and spun her around, whooping. Gregory slapped his back, once Ace put down his wife. Henry and Numa came over to see what the fuss was about, and Numa let out a war whoop that had the rest of the Nighthawks coming over to ask what was going on.

“No beer for Lily!” shouted Numa. “She’s knocked up!” There were cheers, and a lot of hugging and tears.

“Aiee,” said Katya. “She is having baby. Very good and special. Now, let me sleep.”

Winter Break

Three weeks later, Wraith and Skuld braved a fierce wind that rattled window panes to see how Amelia was doing. Roberto Domingo, the cardiac nurse, was also an Iron Knight who rode on trips with his husband, Georges Paul, on the back of the bike. He would take longer trips, either to cities Georges had to go to for accounting conventions, or alone if Georges flew too far away.

Wraith and Skuld knocked on the door of their low, wide three-bedroom house, a tan copycat of the closest fourteen neighbors.

A hurried Roberto opened it. “Sorry for the mess,” he said, patting the baby’s back. She stiffened and cried. “Soothing Amelia is a full-time job.”

“That’s fine,” said Wraith.

She moved a pile of laundry to sit down on. Roberto sat down in a rocker and rocked the wailing baby. The couch was covered with baby clothes, blankets, cloth diapers, and a few blue jeans. Skuld made a vague motion about washing her hands as she stripped off her riding gloves. Roberto nodded, and she left the room.

“I just wanted to tell you,” said Wraith, drawing an empty laundry basket next to her as the baby wailed, “Amelia’s mother is still Jane Doe. Her fingerprints and DNA show up nowhere. Your daughter’s DNA don’t hit on anyone, so we can’t find the father, either. We published her picture in the paper, announced her on TV. No dice.” She stripped off her riding gloves, grabbed some diapers, and began folding them.

“You don’t have to do that,” said Roberto.

“Yes, I do,” said Wraith. “If you saw her on Skuld’s lap, all filthy and covered with diaper rash, you’d fold diapers too.”

Roberto cringed. “Such a hard start in life,” he said.

“She has a better start. I talked to Social Services and told them this information. Their wheels grind slowly, but I suspect that you will be able to adopt her. Probably in five months when they notice she’s still here.”

“Oh, Gertie’s been by. She said she’d start the paperwork, was waiting on you.” He rubbed Amelia’s back. “You’re fast,” he said.

“Half the Nighthawks have babies,” she said. “If I didn’t learn how to do this, I’d be lost.”

“She’s precious, our Amelia Lucia Domingo.” He laughed. “Georges didn’t want to saddle her with Paul as a last name.” She began to squall less loudly. “I can try to get some milk down her,” he said. “She spits most of it back up. Hates to eat.”

“I’ll get it,” said Wraith, putting the finished pile of diapers in the laundry basket.

“They’re premade in the refrigerator. Georges is so good to me. He makes them before he leaves in the morning for the whole day. Just shake and heat up for a minute in the microwave, then screw the top on.”

“Will do,” said Wraith.

She went into the kitchen. Skuld had on yellow rubber gloves, and was rinsing dishes and putting them into the dishwasher. Wraith grabbed a bottle out of the bulging refrigerator, screwed off the top, and put it in the microwave for a minute. She peeked in the freezer. It was nearly empty. She texted Nantan for one of his minions to bring over frozen food for the family; gourmet meals if they could be found. She closed the freezer, opened the microwave just as it dinged, screwed on the nipple, tested the milk on her wrist, and wiped the milk off her wrist on a wet towel.

“You look pretty in yellow,” she said.

Skuld grinned. “You should see me in my gauntlets.” Wraith decided not to think about the gauntlets, and walked back into the room. She handed Roberto the bottle, and he fed Amelia, cooing at her.

Wraith filled up the basket, folded the jeans, and started on a second basket, this one of blankets and onesies.

“She’s actually eating,” Wraith said.

“Don’t jinx it,” said Roberto, smiling tiredly. “She’s going to spit up half, wait and see.”

“She looks a lot better,” said Wraith. “How old did the doctors say she is?”

“She was about four days old when you found her,” said Roberto. “We’ve made her birthday from that day.” He sang a little bit. Wraith smiled at him, and made her hands busy folding soft towels.

Skuld finished the dishes, turned on the dishwasher, left the pots to soak, and sent a text to Nantan to tell his minions to pick up another large, green, plastic, rolling trash can, and more recycling crates. She saw the trash schedule on the refrigerator door, nearly hidden by pictures of Amelia, and the trash wouldn’t be picked up for another day. She took out the trash in its white plastic bags, and took out a ton of recycling from bins under the sink. She finished the pots; the vinegar cooked to boiling in the microwave mixed with baking soda having done its work.

She then wiped everything down, and went after the refrigerator. She threw out some limp celery and rotted salad greens, and found some sprouted potatoes. She kept those for Nantan. She cleaned out the refrigerator, put everything back, then swept and mopped the floor.

By the time she was done, she received a text from Ajai. “Got the stuff.”

Skuld texted back. “Leave the large trash can and recycling in front of the garage.”

“And the food?” Ajai texted back.

Skuld realized that Wraith must have texted them, too. “Back door.” She texted the address.

Skuld slipped down the hall. She straightened up the bathroom, then received a text, “At back door.” She slid down the hall to the kitchen and opened the back door. Ajai went straight to the freezer and filled it up with gourmet chicken and pasta dishes, pizzas, and Mexican meals. Ajai handed Skuld a bill with the Wolfpack logo at the top.

“You need extra work?” she asked.

“Sure,” said Ajai. “We’ve got Ghost caught up, and she’s going to have the triplets soon. She’s ahead, so she can take two weeks off.”

“These people just adopted the drug-addicted baby in the other room. Wraith and I found her next to a dumpster by a 7-11.”

Agai cringed. “That’s horrible.”

“Her mother died in an alley two blocks away. So, this couple will adopt her. Anyway, Amelia was born drug-addicted, and needs constant soothing. The couple need to fill up the fridge and freezer, mostly freezer as they don’t have time to cook.” She snorted. “Or, take a shower, or even breathe. They need help with laundry, filling up the dishwasher, picking up, that kind of stuff. I suggest two hours a day three times a week, but that’s just an idea. Can you type up something, a contract, and include a price?”

“Sure,” said Ajai. “That poor little girl! The parents definitely need help.” She sat down at the kitchen table, and after some texts to Willow, had a contract typed up.

“Let’s talk to one of the daddies,” said Skuld.

Wraith helped Roberto by taking a diaper covered with spit up by replacing it with a clean one, and taking the dirty one to the wash.

“Hi, Ajai,” she said.

Roberto started. “Who is this?”

“This is a Wolfpack member. The Wolfpack do lots of things around town, and get money for college.”

“Hello,” said Ajai.

“We think they can help; come in, do dishes, laundry, fill up the freezer,” said Skuld.

“We delivered food tonight,” said Ajai.

“Well,” said Roberto, his eyes filling with tears. “That would be…” He wiped tears from his eyes. “That would be fantastic.”

Ajai held out her tablet. “I made up a contract for two hours, three times a week.” She quoted a price.

“Done,” said Roberto. He stood, fished his wallet out of his pocket, and sat back down. “Use the blue credit card, and put it on automatic deposit.”

He handed the wallet to Wraith. Wraith found the blue card, and handed it over. Ajai entered the card number and code, and pulled a card pay machine out that she attached to the tablet out of her pocket.

“This is for tonight,” she said, showing the total. She went over to him, gave him the total, and had him sign on the screen. She then put in the weekly charge, ran the card again, and he signed the contract. “I’ll email and snail mail you the printed receipt and contract,” she said. “What’s your email?” He rattled it off.

Roberto looked down. “She’s asleep!” he whispered. They all waved goodbye, and went out.

Skuld opened the garage door, brought in the second trash can, filled it up, filled up the new recycling bins, closed the garage door, went back in, washed her hands, and went out the front door, closing it behind her. She jiggled the handle to be sure it had locked automatically.

She put on her driving gloves, and she said, “Sonic?” The other two women nodded, and Skuld led the way.

Willow and Ajai each took their English (Willow picked debate, Ajai picked short story writing), Math (both of them took math related to programming), Computer Science, and an elective (Willow chose Songwriting, Ajai chose Pre-Columbian Art). In between, they joked that they were always on a bike. They worked for Ghost pouring for her molds, even painting some of the parts for her. Ghost assembled her miniature Harleys herself, until Willow and Ajai pleaded with her to learn how to put them together.

Their mommy-help business took off. The other Wolfpack members who wanted to do it joined, of course, but Ajai and Willow did most of it. They would bring in food and put it in the freezer, then run around putting dishes in the dishwasher, soak the pots in a hot vinegar/baking soda mix, and sort and start the laundry. Then a ten-minute break to snack and watch part of a video or read something for class, then running around picking up things. They started charging for, and bringing in… hooks, trays, and bins they labeled for toys, keys, and other necessities that parents tended to accumulate.

They had a two-hour limit, and twice or three times a week. Ivy and Callie were their second clients, twice a week, and Katya and Gregory their third.

“Got the babushkas out, finally,” said Gregory. “They are on a cruise, so this isn’t a long-term thing.”

“That’s fine,” said Ajai. “If you can recommend us, that’s good enough.”

They found out the social worker, Gertie (that they met at Roberto, Georges, and Amelia’s house) also made copies of their cards and passed them out to overwhelmed parents. She also became a client, as she had four kids, two adopted.

Other parents loved their work, and booked them four hours a day, solid. Yoki, Lena, Elu, and Jacy paired up and did the overflow, and they loved the money. Each pair of girls made enough money to make large payments on their bikes or, in Yoki’s case, a car. Tito rehabbed a small, six-apartment building in a pretty good neighborhood near the community college, and the girls moved out in pairs as they passed their GEDs and reached their eighteenth birthdays. Yanaba and Gwen both got tech jobs part-time at a small gaming company, and also went to school. They moved into Tito’s apartment house. Helaku shared an apartment with Ruby, and both of them became Tito’s people, working as apprentices.

Jacy chafed at being left behind; Chayton gave him math lessons to help him push through to pass his GED. Alo waited until Jacy passed his GED, as he had already done it, and moved in with him. Yas and Alicia passed their GED, and both decided to stay and work with Inola and Jeffrey, and take college classes online. They moved into separate upstairs apartments, on either side of Jeffrey over the barn.

Henry, Numa, Nantan, and Chayton took a trip to Arizona with two vans —Nantan’s and Henry’s new one, to the Grand Canyon to pick up a new Wolfpack. This time, they were a mix of Paiute, Sioux, Apache, and two Hopi. They greeted them in English and their languages, they took them for hamburgers and shakes, and got to know them.

Ahote, the Hopi girl, had a wiggling foot and restless eyes, and she was whippet-thin. Chua, the Hopi boy, looked at everyone warily. Enapay spoke fluent Sioux and spoke slowly, but intelligently. He kept his hair in a silver clip, like Nantan. Jacy didn’t speak a word of Sioux and glared at everyone. Kohana spoke some Sioux, and said he was ready to ride some horses. Bly spoke good Apache; she was tall and moved gracefully. Cocheta spoke only a few words of Apache. She was shy, with a moon face and huge eyes. Nova and Talulah were both Paiute. They were sisters, with wide-set eyes and ready smiles. Neither one of them knew much Paiute. Howi and Wesa were brothers, and they spoke fluent Paiute. They looked nothing alike; Howi was wide, strong, and moved slowly. Wesa was thin and moved slowly until he saw something he wanted, like a drink or the chair he liked, then he moved lightning quick.

Yuma spoke both Apache and Sioux. “My mom is Sioux and my mother Apache,” he said. He was all bones and angles. Ilia spoke almost no Apache. She had a fierce gaze and a ready smile.

After lunch, they got sodas and snacks, and their charged tablets. They fell on the tablets like wolves. Henry got them all on Google Docs, gave them a chore list, and split them up into the two vans. They hashed out a chore list, including texting one another about who did what. Then, they were allowed to study for their GED. Every twenty-five minutes their tablets buzzed at them to stop, and they took drink and snack breaks, with the occasional stop at a rest stop.

After the dinner stop at a pancake house, Nantan and Chayton’s band fell asleep —they had the boys —and Henry and Numa’s girls not only kept working, but rushed out of the van when they stopped to do their assigned chores. The boys did theirs grudgingly, and they went off to explore the pods. The boys were asleep in minutes, and the girls went to the big house to ask for microwave popcorn and sodas. Vi gave them both, and even showed them how to make a version with tiny bits of caramel and chocolate chips. They ran off to watch their favorite TV shows on Netflix —Henry figured it was cheaper than paying for cable television.

The next days were full of chores, riding, and homework. Tam and Nico were mystified by all the comings and goings, even after Henry, Nantan, and Chayton explained how the ranch and the Wolfpack worked. But, they found new soccer partners in Howi and Wesa, and they studied with the Wolfpack every day, as usual.

* * *

Pavel and Keiran came home for winter break with six dogs. They trained and walked them, and took them to busy places to get them acclimatized to being around people. They also played video games, slept, and ate Lily and Ace out of house and home. Lily escaped to coffee shops to do her work, and to visit either Katya, or Callie and Ivy, and the babies, and Ace escaped to Dirty Vegas.

Ivy decided they needed to bring in money, so she went back to work twice a week, after Skuld showed her kickboxing to firm herself up after the baby. She got to sing, dance, pour alcohol, and drink large amounts of cinnamon-laced apple juice. She was in heaven. Callie waited longer, as she was trying to finish off the pre-winter break school things, and close out two classes. Bao was in the same bind with finishing off her American teaching credential, so they studied at very early hours of the morning. They were all delighted when the babies began sleeping through the night.

Gregory and Katya invited Lily, Ace, Callie, Ivy, and the kids over for a Christmas celebration almost a week before the day. They brought Bao along; it was her first American Christmas. Gregory put on carols, wore a silly moose sweater, and entertained the girls; the boys played video games with Ace and kicked his butt, while consuming large amounts of cookies.

Lily passed the babies to Ace, Bao, and eventually back to Callie, Ivy, and Katya. Katya exclaimed over Aiden and Kiya, and gave them little outfits.

“Luka and Ivan wear their clothes for one minute, they spit up or pee on them, I wash them, and they grow out of them,” complained Katya.

Callie laughed. “Sometimes they wear clothes for ten entire minutes without peeing, pooping, or spitting up on them.” Kiya spat up, and everyone laughed.

Dinner was a rich potato soup, rolls, butter, herbed chicken, and salad. The boys ate like wolves, asked to be excused, put their dishes in the sink, and went back to their Wii sports game, where they played various sports with a white controller in their hands. The girls demanded to play, so they all jumped around.

“Sugar high,” said Ace.

“May as well let them jump it off,” said Gregory. The adults passed around babies, fed them, and got them to sleep.

They all exchanged presents. Keiran and Pavel got video game website cards so they could play for free —no game consoles were allowed on campus at their school. Elena got a soccer jersey, shoes, shin splints, and two balls.

“She’s trying out in the spring,” said Gregory, proudly. “Her first team sport.”

Hu and Grace each got beading project sets. They immediately escaped to a table in the corner of the room and began reading the directions.

Bao got a certificate for Chinese medicine. She cried. “I so wanted to go, but the girls…”

Callie said, “They’re our girls, too.”

“They’re all our girls,” said Ace.

“They already have a very nice college fund,” said Ivy. “Started it the first day Hu started coming over.” Bao burst into tears, and Callie had to explain that she was crying because she was happy.

Ivy and Callie got a free couples massage. They jumped up and down as if they had won the lottery. Katya got a spa day. Gregory and Ace both got noise-canceling headphones. They both laughed until they cried.

The babushkas arrived, and brought delicious desserts, tiny cakes and pies.

“Any alcohol in these?” Gregory asked.

“No!” one said.

“Of course not!” said another.

“We know there are nursing moms and children. Do you think us monsters?” Gregory assured them he didn’t think they were monsters. They punished him by serving him last.

They watched the Grinch steal Christmas, and the miracle happened on 34th Street once again. The babies snoozed, and Ivy and Callie very quietly left with the sleeping babes. Bao stayed; she had brought her own car. She popped movie theater butter popcorn, handed out sodas, and was entranced by It’s a Wonderful Life. The babushkas went home in a cloud of perfume, with scarves trailing behind them.

Ace removed the boys, and kissed his wife. “It is a wonderful life, isn’t it?” he said, opening the door to their car for her.

“Yes,” said Lily, and she burst into tears.

Ace held her tight, trying to keep her warm in the frigid wind. “It’s okay, honey,” he said.

“I know,” said Lily. “I’m so happy we’re all alive.”

“And that Katya has our bun in her oven.”

“That too. I feel guilty for making her go through it, since I’m pregnant, too.”

Ace wiped the tears from her eyes. “We get two. That’s a heck of a lot.”

She smiled through her tears. “Twins.”

“Fraternal twins, but yes. One of them will probably come out speaking Russian.”

She laughed. “Probably!” she said.

The boys took the dogs on their walks, several for each teen, small dogs first, then the big ones so they could really run with them. Ace sent his wife in for a shower, and then he prepared the bedroom. He lit candles, put on some jazz, locked the bedroom door, and prepared a special present for her. He took off his clothes, threw them in the hamper, and slipped into the shower with her.

“I love you,” he said. “With everything I have, or was, or ever will be.”

She turned, and he realized she had been crying. “I lost our child,” she said, and threw herself against him. He held her as she cried. “This one, the two, they don’t make up for losing the one.”

“No,” said Ace, “they don’t.” He rubbed her back as she sobbed. Once the tears stopped, he washed her face, kissed her, and quickly washed his hair and himself. He stepped out of the shower, and drew a hot bath in the tub. He added bubbles, turned off the shower, and walked her to the bath. She slipped in. He carefully washed her hair and conditioned it, then washed her all over with a pouf. Then, he opened the door so she could hear the soft music. He brought in some of the candles, and gave her a book to read.

He dried himself off, kissed her, left her to relax, and blew out the bedroom candles. He put on a robe, and sat on the edge of the bed. He so regretted the loss. Most of all, Ace regretted not being there. He had been shot, in a haze of pain, as the same ones who shot him came to the hospital and shot at Lily and Ivy.

Only a ricochet had entered Lily’s belly and murdered their child. He wished them alive so he could kill them again, but the shooter died. He cried his own tears, wiped his face, and checked on his wife.

“Still good?” he said. The book was on the bathroom rug by the bath, and she was asleep.

He put the book on the counter, sat on the commode, and waited until the water was getting chilly before he woke her up. He drained the tub and wrapped her in a soft robe. He blow-dried her hair as she put lotions and potions on herself. He took the candles back into the bedroom.

He led her into the bedroom. “Oh!” she said. “You had a whole seduction scene planned, and I ruined it.”

He kissed her. “You didn’t ruin anything. Besides, you needed a good soak.” He turned away to turn down the bed for her.

He turned back, and she dropped her robe. “Come here, lover,” she said. He did as she asked. She grabbed the back of his head and kissed him, softly, slowly, then more deeply. They came up for air, and she pulled off his robe. “My love,” she said, and kissed his neck, “I love you.”

“Strange,” he said. “I think I love you, too.”

She laughed, stroked his shoulder. “Take me to bed,” she said.

He led her there, and they slipped in. He kissed her mouth, her forehead, her cheeks, and nipped at her earlobes. He kissed a trail down her neck. She reached down, and grabbed his cock in her hand. He groaned. He made it down to her right breast, then her left one, kissing and sucking each, before she came, arching her back. She flipped over, and led him into her. They came together, their movements slow, then faster, then slow again. He kissed her, turned her, then looked into her eyes. She leaned back, clenched, and came in great rolling waves. He drew her to him, kissed her, and came in a great whiteout of his senses.

He came back to himself. She laid on him, with him still inside her. He stroked her back slowly, gently. She reached over and grabbed the wet wipes out of the drawer, and cleaned them both up. Then, she laid back down on him again, kissed his heart, and put her head down, her knees by his hips. He stroked her, up and down, and gently kissed her head. He felt her slip into sleep. Damn, he thought. Didn’t get to give her the present.

When she awoke, she smelled coffee, and heard Keiran and Pavel give their pancake orders in excited voices, until Ace shushed them. She looked at his pillow, and saw a blue box tied with a ribbon. She opened it, and gasped. There was a diamond solitaire on a silver chain. She put it on. There was a note in it.

It said, “Wife, mother, lover. You are my everything. Happy Yule, Ace.” With trembling fingers, she put it on.

She padded into the bathroom, did her business, and came out. She put on thick socks, soft-blue yoga pants, and a cranberry, soft-wool top. She took out a box from her nightstand and put it in the pocket of her yoga pants. She padded out to the kitchen. The dogs paid close attention to her, but Pavel told them to stay. Every single one of them had a fat dog treat bone in its mouth.

She waited until Ace plated blueberry pancakes for Keiran and strawberry for Pavel to go up and kiss him. “Merry Christmas Eve,” she said. “You are my everything too,” she said, and kissed him. She held up the box. “I’ll flip, you open.” She flipped his apple pancakes.

He opened the box. Inside was a silver ring, a flattened version of the traditional skull ring. He looked inside, holding it up to the light.

It said, “You are my... everything.” He put it on, and kissed her, while Keiran and Pavel whooped. They managed not to burn the pancakes, and they all had breakfast.

Farm Yule

The Valkyries celebrated Yule, the longest night of winter, in a big way. They did it at the farm —a log, spiked and un-spiked wassail, drums, dancing. Exchanging presents, one each, in private, in some isolated corner of the barn, spooking the horse a little. The Nighthawks descended again, families in tow. It was only three o’clock in the afternoon, and the party had only just begun.

The wind was like ice, the sky overcast, the temperature dropping. Some came in trucks, vans, and cars, but most came roaring up on Harleys, in so many layers they all looked like fat, slow people. They came in; in twos, and threes, and fours, and fives. They stomped off the dirt on the porch mat. They went inside, stripped off layers of leather coats, gloves, and mufflers, and hung them on two hall trees that were groaning. Soon, they began to fill up the hall table, then they rolled up their things in piles and stuck them under the table.

They were greeted by the kitchen smells. Beer, sodas, and flavored waters that were in ice chests, and the wassails were clearly marked “kids” and “adults.”

There was also a huge pot of Kona coffee, with all the fixings. Even more card tables were out, boxes of games and cards on them, and more folding chairs. There were beanbag chairs along the walls, movies on the television (Iron Man, loved by all). There were bassinets and high chairs for the babies, another couch, and the kitchen island groaning with food. They cooked roasts, chickens, and hams. Vi make up batches of herbed cheesy biscuits. Henry made giant salads —Caesar, potato, and corn, all in a variety of colors. There were clam chowder, potato bacon soup, and lentil stew, and brown bread with butter.

Partygoers could either graze or sit down for a full meal. Conversation flowed, kids ran around like banshees, and back bedrooms were opened up for moms to nurse babies in peace and quiet. The kids broke out the chips and salsa to go with their sodas, finished Iron Man, and went on to The Avengers. Everyone cheered when Agent Phil came on; they all watched Agents of Shield on Netflix.

They played every game under the sun; from new ones like Splendor and Apples, to old ones like Dominoes. Chinese checkers, and Risk were also added into the mix. The adults would swing through, get trounced by teens or children, and move elsewhere in shame.

Tribal elders hung out in the glassed-in atrium with the Owls —those that weren’t playing games with the kids, or cheering on Tony Stark and friends. Henry, David, Nantan, Chayton, and Inola gave a report on each teen, and received updates that all the ones who left Nevada were doing well.

“This program is amazing,” said Keyan, who came from Arizona to see his brother, Chayton. “Three to six months, getting them to work and get their GEDs. Including training them on various jobs, helping them move into apartments. We’re just stunned.”

“Some have stayed longer,” said Henry. “Some just plain stay. We are amazed and gratified, ourselves. The first crop were terrified. The last ones were so excited, half of them didn’t sleep on the trip back from the Grand Canyon.”

“We are amazed that you are making so much headway at creating Ute, Sioux, and Apache materials,” said Little Bill, down from Arizona. “Can you branch out?”

Chayton nodded. “If I can get an expert in that language, yes. I am especially worried about the tribes with few members. We’re going to lose the languages entirely. I want to contact all of the Nations, giving them my template, having them do their own stories. I am terrified of losing what little language diversity we have left.”

“I’ll help with that,” said Keyan.

“I will, too,” said Little Bill.

“I will as well,” said Numa. “We have already given all of Chayton’s work to the Northern Paiute. They are very excited. The Dine already have done much work in this area, but they did thank us for the stories and templates. The Hopi, Apache, and Sioux are all very pleased. The Hopi are working on their own stories. We need to reach out to more First Nation people, the Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Ojibwe, Cherokee… there are so many that can benefit from this.”

“Your program is very special,” said Little Bill. “You have such a long waiting list, because so few of us have prosperous farms, and you are close to such a large city where our people may go to school and find jobs. And, Numa and Henry, you excel at helping these students find scholarships and grants.”

“We should not be the only ones,” said Henry. “The waiting list gets longer and longer, and I have people filled to the rafters. I’m going to have to buy another barn.” Everyone laughed. “Seriously, I don’t have unlimited funds. We need more housing. The pods are a great way to fit a lot of people into a small space, and still give everyone privacy. We can take on more, maybe, but we need the living space.” He sighed. “We also rescued four more horses over the past month, and their veterinary care is expensive. We recoup that when we sell the horses to good homes, but that is a huge cost.”

“You need a grant,” said Chayton. Everyone looked at him. “You already got one for the solar power, right?”

Henry nodded. “It’s the only way we could have afforded it.”

“There has got to be an organization that wants to help First Nation youth. Or, just youth in general to get trained and find jobs. That’s what we do here, right?”

“Yes, but there must not be strings attached,” said Henry. “Every single one of us has gone through foster parent training, and continuing parental education training. All these kids are First Nation, and we have tribal agreements for them to be here, and parent or guardian contracts, as well. We can’t have anyone messing with what we do or how we do it, or they’ll destroy everything we have built in less than a year. I’ve seen it happen.”

The others listened as he spoke. His wise words were true.

His face grew bleak. “People who know nothing about us think they have a solution, and they are determined to implement it their way, even if nothing they are saying will work in that environment. They are also remarkably good at not listening to a thing anyone says against whatever conceptions or notions that they have going.” They all nodded. They had all seen these things.

“What about crowdfunding?” said Keyan. “There are richer tribes. We don’t have to do it online, exposing this ranch to the world. We could ask other tribes for help, even have short-term loans with interest.”

“That could work,” said David, slowly. Everyone stopped to listen carefully; a medicine man was never ignored. “But, some bad elements have entered some nations, following the money. We will not know if the people we approach are the good or bad ones, so we may be asking for more, unwarranted trouble.”

“Also,” said Nantan, “What will they want in return? We can take on the youth of other nations, but we can’t grow, not indefinitely.”

“What about Kiva?” asked Keyan. “They ask for small loans of twenty-five dollars for many people, then the people receiving the money pay them back.”

“I would rather not take the money from the First Nation people in Peru,” said Little Bill. Everyone stared at him. “What? I have two Kiva loans out to groups of women growing crops there. They look very First Nation.”

Nantan sighed. “We need more businesses, with apartments with pods on top, and workrooms underneath. Granted, all our businesses are doing well, especially with the hydroponics farm working year-round. Many people on the res are working with us, such as the Alpaca Sisters.” Everyone laughed, except Little Bill and Keyan. “There are ladies on the res, two of whom are former Wolfpack, and they raise alpacas and goats, and use the goat milk to make expensive cheeses, and the alpacas to make sweaters and rugs from brushing their coats. The ladies also work with Ghost and Killa from the Nighthawks, making the straps that go in boxes. The ones that go on the back of motorcycles to hold dogs,” Nantan explained.

“I’ve seen the boxes,” said Little Bill. “Ingenious.”

“So, the businesses intertwine,” said Keyan.

“Exactly. Our Owl Pack make beaded things and knit as well, and sell their work in my shop,” said Numa. “They get the alpaca fur from me. I buy it from the ladies, and wash and spin it.”

“We need to think deeply,” said David. “We must all find ways for those on the reservation to work. Many Paiutes are on our res, the one just off the back forty of this farm. They make things they sell online, or they do accounting or something else they can do without having to leave the res. There are opportunities we did not have even a few years ago. We must learn to take advantage of these ways.”

“Alo and his feed,” said Nantan. “A Wolfpack boy. He took his knowledge of what I grew, Inola’s knowledge of animal husbandry, and designed feeds for horses and rabbits that are used here on the farm, and locally. It is his contribution that keeps the farm in the black, along with the food delivery business.”

“We need to pay attention,” said David. “Our own children sustain us. We must find ways to bring in money, without killing Nantan. And even with two permanent Wolfpack helpers, he does far too much.”

“He does,” confirmed Chayton. Nantan ducked his head.

“I will get you some money, a short-term loan, nation to nation,” said Little Bill. “Five percent interest, so don’t argue with me. In the meantime, we must do as our medicine man has said, and pay attention. The young have ideas. We must heed them.”

David smiled. “Good. Now, I am very hungry. I suggest we eat, and enjoy the good friends and family around us.”

They all stood. Henry’s pocket buzzed. He saw the text, and ran out of the room. David, Numa and Nantan followed.

“Wraith,” said Henry to Gregory, who was leaning against the hearth and telling a story to Ace.

Gregory pointed across the room. Wraith had Katya’s baby Ivan, and was making him giggle. Henry stepped around all of the revelers in his way. Wraith saw him coming, handed over the baby to Katya, and stood up.

“Spiked or not?” Henry asked, referring to the doctored wassail.

“Un-spiked. I never know if I’m going to be called into duty.”

“Follow,” said Henry, and they all went to the front. Gregory and Ace stopped talking to one another, and they met him at the door.

There was some confusion while they sorted out whose jacket belonged to which person.

“Report,” said Wraith, and she crowed with triumph as she found her jacket, muffler, and gloves.

“Helaku is in the hospital. Tito dropped off Helaku and Ruby at an ATM two blocks from the apartment, and went to the nearby grocery store to pick up stuff to bring here. He dropped his basket on the floor and ran out of the store, and back to Helaku. Ruby texted him that she and Helaku were attacked. Some idiot arrested Helaku, even though he’s the victim.”

Wraith whipped out her phone, once she zipped up her jacket. “Which hospital?”

“Valley,” said Henry. They stepped outside, gasping at the frigid air.

“Denise? It’s Wraith. Serious issue. Some idiot just arrested an eighteen-year-old victim of an attack. He’s Native American, so we think it may be racism. Helaku is his name, and he’s at Valley being treated for his injuries. No, that’s all I know. Yes, meet you there.”

By the time she hung up, they were all at their bikes. “Valley. Gregory, stay here and look after the family. Henry, Nantan, Ace, let’s go. The rest of you hold down the fort here. I’ll send info.”

“Stay safe,” said Gregory. Chayton kissed Nantan briefly. They rode out.

Katya was in the doorway, holding her arms across her chest. “What is it?” she asked.

“Two of our Wolfpack were assaulted,” said David, darkly.

“They made a serious fucking mistake,” said Gregory. He grabbed his phone. “Tito, where did this happen?” He nodded. “We’re going to go there, take pictures, see if they arrested the yahoo who did this. Yeah. Henry’s going to the hospital. Yeah. Bring your family here, we’re going to take care of this. No, it’s not your fault, it was still daylight, wasn’t it? Yeah. Me too. Bye.” He ran over, kissed his wife, and said, “Nighthawks business.”

“Get the evil people who would hurt one of ours,” she said.

“On it,” he said. “Go inside. David?” David took off his own jacket, put it around the shivering Katya, and walked her back inside.

“You two with me?” Gregory asked.

“Absolutely,” said Chayton.

“Let’s ride,” said Ace.

The rest of the people inside continued on; they enjoyed each other’s company, most of them oblivious to the news. They would all support each other, no matter what. They were great friends that had now become… chosen family.

“It takes a village to make sure parents don’t die from exhaustion.”