Siege (As the World Dies #3)(118)

It was almost too much.

His stomach was clenched in a tight little ball and his heart felt fluttery. He felt dizzy for a moment.

Slowly, he lowered the tiny pink panties with the bows on them into the dresser drawer.



Jack lay on the bed next to the trash bags full of clothes and toys Juan was unpacking. The dog was trying to edge his way toward a stuffed bear. Jack was doing his best innocent look while being very sneaky.

“My bear,” Juan’s new son said to the dog and grabbed the teddy bear.

Jack whined and looked as pathetic as possible. The kids were moving into the suite he had shared with Jenni and Jason. It had been a sad little home for him and Jason and the ever-faithful Jack, but now it was filled with laughter and loud little voices. Jason sat on the bed opposite him, smiling from beneath his thick bangs, as Margie talked his head off. Holly, the middle child, was busy stuffing her toys into the shelf in the side table, talking to each one as she transferred them to their new home.



“Bad dog,” the little boy chided Jack. “Troy, don’t be mean to Jack,” Margie scolded her brother, then went on talking to Jason in her rapid, little-girl speak.

I’m a father, Juan thought. I have four kids. And a dog. How did this happen?



Oh..yeah...

Jenni.

With a wry smile he folded up some tiny jeans and placed them in the drawer. Troy leaned over and pressed his forehead to Jack’s brow and was given a sloppy lick in response. Troy laughed and crawled onto the bed and promptly tackled the dog. The tussle that ensued had Juan half-annoyed, half-amused as he tried to get the clothes tucked away.

A knock on the door startled all of them and Holly screamed, “I’ll get it!” and ran out of the room. A minute later, Travis walked in behind the little one, looking confused.

“Uh, you have kids,” Travis said to Juan and eyed his friend thoughtfully.



“Yes, yes, I do. I took over custody from Peggy,” Juan said with a sheepish, yet proud grin. “Daddy One,” Troy said and pointed at Juan. He was now lying on the bed cuddling his teddy bear and using Jack as a pillow.



Travis chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Well, fatherhood suits you. You beat me to the punch.”

“Yeah,” Juan said with a grin. “Weird how that happened. But it’s good. It feels right.” He looked down at the little Spider-man shirt in his hands. “Peggy did a good job trying to take care of them, but they feel like mine. It felt like it was time to bring them home.” Travis smiled and nodded. “I think I understand.”



Juan relaxed a little and tucked more clothes into a second drawer. “You have that look. That something is up.”

Travis sighed and rubbed his brow. “We need you at a meeting in thirty minutes. I didn’t realize you had such a huge life change and I hate to bug you right now, but this is urgent.” “About the stinky people?” Holly asked as she leaned against the bed and played with a battered Barbie.

“Yeah, the stinky people,” Travis answered.



“I don’t like them,” Troy said in a soft voice.

“They killed our mom and dad,” Margie added.

“They killed a lot of people,” Travis said softly. “But we need Daddy One to come help us make plans to get rid of them.”

Margie was frowning and Juan leaned over and kissed the top of her head. She was the little worrier. “It’s okay. I’ll come back soon. Jason, can you watch them?”

“Sure,” Jason answered with a typical teenager shrug. “I can do that...Daddy One.” He smirked a little and Juan lightly tousled his hair. “Make sure they get down to dinner and that they don’t feed Jack too many cookies.” He sounded like a Dad. Wow.



Jack gave him a reproachful look and Juan grinned.

“Dog farts in the middle of the night are no fun, Jack,” Juan informed the dog, who whined a little in response. Kneeling down, Juan let himself be engulfed by little arms and kissed the kids one by one. Standing, he felt his throat tighten with emotion.



Jason stood up and gave him a quick, light hug, then flopped onto the bed next to Jack. “Don’t worry about the kiddies. I got it covered, Dad.”

Juan felt tears in his eyes. He joined Travis at the doorway into the room and together they walked across the living room. “Daddy One, eh?”



“I blame Jenni,” Juan answered. Travis grinned and opened the door to the hall. “Ornery beyond the grave, ain’t she?”



Juan laughed as he headed down the hall. “That’s our Loca.”





3. Grasping Shadows

The sun was still blazing hot outside when Katie drew the curtains and turned down the air conditioner. She felt tired after her morning walk and decided to lay down again. At eight months pregnant, she was too big to run anymore.

Laying down on the bed in the cool darkness, Katie tried not to think of the latest news from Rune and the recon mission Travis was sending. Her eyes easily closed and sleep fell over her immediately.



She dreamed of her mother… “…Katie, of course you love your best friend. She is your best friend. Just because you love her doesn’t mean you have to kiss her. You’re just confused…”