Flying at Nathan, Jasmine wrapped her arms around him and Emma. "I'm so sorry. I was just worried. You guys were supposed to be back before sunrise," she said pulling back wiping tears from her eyes.

Nathan wrapped her in a hug. "It's not like we wanted to be late. But thank you." He kissed the top of Jasmine's head. Not liking that kid' kiss, Jasmine moved her hands to the back of Nathan's head, pulled it down, and kissed him on the lips.

"You kiss me on the lips buster," she said, releasing him and smiling.

Fighting not to blush, Nathan laughed. "People could get the wrong idea."

Jasmine scoffed, "Like I care."

Bob ran over with the rest of the family. Howard and his family wrapped up Nathan and John then Bob walked over as Nathan held out his hand not wanting to be crushed again. Bob batted his hand out of the way and wrapped his arms around Nathan.

"Oh s.h.i.t," Nathan muttered as the bear hug started. Luckily Bob's wife Mindy slapped Bob's arm.

"Bob, quit squeezing him so tight. He's changing colors," Mindy snapped.

Letting Nathan go quickly, Bob stepped back. "Sorry," he said, embarra.s.sed. "Just glad y'all made it." He reached out to shake Nathan's hand.

Nathan looked at the outstretched hand with dread. If his arms can do that, will he break my hand? Nathan thought as he slowly grasped Bob's hand firmly and quickly pulled in Bob for a man hug' with one arm. Caught off guard, Bob returned the hug and Nathan let go, getting his hand back uncrushed.

"We're glad to be back and to see you too," Nathan said, hugging Mindy.

"We're fixing to start unloading," Bob said, pointing to the barn. "We pulled out the tractors."

"Is one of the rooms in there empty?" Nathan asked, pointing at the barn.

"Yeah," Bob answered.

"Can we use it to store some stuff?" Nathan asked.

"h.e.l.l yeah, I'll give you the keys to it," Bob said, walking toward the barn.

"Later will be good. If you don't mind, I want some food," Nathan said.

Bob stopped and turned around. "The rest of the guys you went with are already inside eating. We're emptying the trucks," Bob said.

"We'll empty this truck," Nathan said, pointing at the deuce-and-a-half. "Don't worry, you will understand later." Nathan motioned to John to follow him to the house.

Seeing the two head to the house, Jasmine and the kids followed. They entered the back into the kitchen and Jasmine led them to the dining room area. In there they found the group that had made the run eating. Nathan put Emma down, which made her start yelling.

"Emma, I need to eat," Nathan whined, looking down at Emma.

Emma reached up and was opening and closing her hands. "Naafen," she cried out.

Surprised by that, Nathan smiled and reached back down. "Well since you almost said my name I guess I have to hold you now," Nathan said, picking her up. Emma squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Grabbing Nathan's arm, Jasmine led him to a chair at the table then brought him a plate. Like a starving man, Nathan vacuumed up the bacon, eggs and hash browns. Looking around the table at the group and seeing John smiling filled Nathan with warmth he had not felt in a long time.

Chapter 17.

Day 21 When Nathan finished eating he led his group back to the barn and was amazed to find most of the trucks empty. Looking at his watch, Nathan confirmed that he had only been inside about an hour. "s.h.i.t, they are fast," Nathan said leading his group to the deuce-and-a-half.

"What?" Jasmine asked.

"They're almost are done unloading," Nathan said.

"Nathan, Bob has five boys and one daughter, who are all married with kids. Then you have Rodger's three boys and their families. Then you have the four field workers and their families. Last night while you guys were gone, six deputies showed up with their families. They have close to fifty people who can work here," she told Nathan.

"Wow," Nathan said. "Then they have an excellent shot at making it."

"I'm still not staying," Jasmine snapped.

Not even replying, Nathan walked over to Bob, "Which of those rooms can I use for storage?" he asked.

Bob pulled a key from his pocket and led Nathan to a small room in the corner. "We used to store parts in here but it got too cramped so we built a bigger one," he said pointing at a much larger room on the other side of the barn. Opening the door, he showed Nathan a small ten-by-ten room. "This big enough?"

Nathan nodded. "Oh yeah."

When they were alone, Nathan and his group unloaded the truck, putting some ammo and all the gold, silver, jewelry, and cash in the small room. Locking the door Nathan went up to the loft with everyone tagging along. They looked out the loft window over the farm. "I'm sleeping up here," Nathan told everyone. "You can sleep in the house if you want."

"Casey and I are staying here with you," Amanda said. Everyone else agreed they wanted to sleep there as well.

They went back to the house and gathered up their packs and the wagon, moving everything but the wagon up to the loft. As they were setting up, Bob brought them some old army cots to use. Nathan took a quick nap and was up again for lunch. He made his way to the picnic tables that were set up outside and he and his group sat down. The kids moved so Bob and Rodger could sit beside Nathan.

Rodger took off his duty belt. "I could sleep for a month," he said dropping down on the bench.

"I hear ya," Nathan said. "I had to take a nap."

"I did too," Rodger replied. Bob snorted with laughter.

Nathan grinned at the two. "Since you two run this group, I need to meet with you tomorrow afternoon. Just you and no one else. I really wouldn't advise telling anyone about what we discuss or what I give you." They both looked more than a little alarmed.

"What the h.e.l.l do you have?" Bob asked.

"Tomorrow," Nathan replied, and Bob reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.

Rodger leaned over the table. "Our other brother, Dennis, will be here tomorrow. Can we bring him?"

"Does he help make decisions for this family?" Nathan asked.

Bob and Rodger laughed, and Bob answered, "The General thinks he runs this family! If it weren't for him the farm wouldn't be here, not to mention the help he's given us since this started."

"Fair enough," Nathan told them.

Bob grinned. "Just to let you know, Howard is his favorite nephew. Dennis and his wife can't have kids so they spoil ours and the grandbabies. He's been by twice since this started but only for a few minutes. He told us last week he was coming up to spend the night tomorrow."

"Do you think he knows what's going on?" Nathan asked.

The smiles left Bob and Rodger's faces. Rodger nodded. "He knows a lot about what's going on. He hasn't told us much but he knows much. He's keeps a straight face but we know him and Dennis is worried about something."

Staring off, Nathan thought about what he needed to get done then addressed Bob. "I need you to get some people to show the kids how to ride and care for horses. I'm going to use several hundred rounds of ammo teaching the kids and Jasmine how to shoot. If you don't mind."

"We can start this afternoon. We have enough saddles to get started," Bob said.

"Rodger can you take me to the co-op to get some tack?" Nathan asked.

Shaking his head, Rodger held up his hand. "After lunch. I'm not moving till I eat," he said in a firm tone.

"Hey that's what I'm doing here," Nathan said, laughing.

The food was set out and everyone fixed a plate. Sitting back down, Nathan watched Emma just lower her face into her plate, shoving her face into some mashed potatoes. "Are you guys just going to let her eat like that?" he asked the group as Emma came up for air.

"That's how she eats off a plate. We've tried to feed her but when she sees a plate, she thinks it's a food trough," Jasmine told him as Emma dived back down.

Getting up, Nathan sighed and picked up Emma, who started yelling. He grabbed her plate and went back to his spot. "Hey! That's enough!" Nathan snapped, shocking Emma and everyone else into silence.

With wide eyes, Emma looked at Nathan with more than a little uncertainty. Nathan picked up his spoon and started it towards Emma's mouth. Having none of that, Emma turned her head and pushed the spoon away. "Fine, the hard way then," Nathan said and put her between his legs, wrapping her up. Grabbing the spoon, Nathan guided it to Emma's mouth as he held her head still. Emma wouldn't open her mouth so Nathan pinched her nose closed.

When she tried to breathe through clenched teeth, Nathan shoved the spoonful of mashed potatoes in her cheek. This gave her a lopsided chipmunk expression. Dropping the spoon, Nathan held his hand over her mouth as she tried to push the food out but couldn't. Emma fought so much she started swallowing the food. It caught in her throat, and she started to gag.

Hearing and feeling the heaves, Nathan removed his hand, letting her cough up the food, then sat her down and shoved a spoonful in as she gasped for air. Emma fought again and gagged. Nathan held her away from him as she coughed up the food. Ares caught on to this and ran up to them, eating what Emma spit on the ground.

The third time Emma fought she was weaker so she actually swallowed some food, but she still coughed and gagged. Repeating this process several more times, Nathan got Emma to eat. With watering eyes Emma realized Nathan wasn't going to stop and it didn't feel good. Reluctantly, Emma opened her mouth and let Nathan feed her.

After the potatoes were gone Nathan looked down at Emma, her eyes puffy and watering. "Emma, that was very good of you to eat without fighting me. I always win, so fighting me is useless. You will be the only one to lose," Nathan told her, getting another spoonful. He looked up to find everyone staring at him. "What?" he demanded.

Seeing Emma's head wobble on her shoulders from exhaustion, Jasmine gaped at Nathan in shock. "You could've choked her to death," she accused.

"I'm a nurse, I could've gotten her breathing again," Nathan said with certainty. "In case you're wondering, once I got her breathing again, I would've made her eat some more. Resistance is futile."

Watching the interaction, Bob and Rodger chuckled. Rodger leaned over the table. "You could've just taken her plate away till she ate like you wanted her to."

"I prefer the direct approach, less time-consuming and less headache," Nathan said as Emma continued eating. She was scared what would happen if she didn't eat.

"Hey I'm just saying," Rodger said as everyone else went back to eating. Ares looked up and moaned, seeing Emma wasn't going to give him any more food.

"Ares, shut it," Nathan snapped and Ares just laid down, giving Nathan sad eyes. Not able to take it, Nathan grabbed a chicken bone off Jasmine's plate and threw it to Ares. "There, you big baby," Nathan said as Ares s.n.a.t.c.hed up the gift.

"Nathan," Rodger said as he wiped his mouth, "what else do we need here?"

"A ham radio and someone who knows how to work it," Nathan said, dumping another spoonful in Emma's mouth.

"It's that important?" Bob asked.

"Bob, it's information. Information is what you need. They could run all the radios and keep up with what's going on around you," Nathan explained.

"I could see if Glen has his up and running," Rodger told Bob.

"If it is, see if he wants to move his family out here then," Bob said, nodding.

"Glen runs a computer store in town and has a nice radio set up. All I know it's big with a bunch of lights and boxes," Rodger told Nathan.

Feeling Emma's little tummy getting round and seeing she wasn't going to stop eating as long as he put food in front of her face, Nathan turned Emma around, putting her head on his shoulder. Emma was asleep almost instantly. Then Nathan picked up his fork and shoveled food down. "Is he someone that can be trusted and will work?" he asked between bites.

"h.e.l.l yeah, more than some of our family," Rodger answered.

"You can't let anyone skate by.' If they don't work they have to be dealt with fast. It's bad for morale and breeds resentment. It's your family and farm, but that's my advice," Nathan told Bob and Rodger.

"They work or we will put them in a tent on the back of the farm and let them fend for themselves," Bob snapped.

"What if that doesn't work?" Nathan asked. Bob and Rodger considered what Nathan said. "Family can screw you just as bad but most of the times worse than outsiders. I'm just saying you need to think about it," he told them as he finished eating.

"Let's hope it never comes to that," Rodger said looking down at his hands.

"You still need to expect it," Nathan said, motioning to Jasmine to get Emma. "Rodger, can we take a truck to get the stuff at the co-op? I don't think I can get everything in your Chevy."

"Sure," Rodger said, still thinking about what Nathan said.

Suddenly, dogs barked at the front of the house and everyone stopped eating. "Is anyone watching the place?" Nathan asked, looking around. Bob and Rodger jumped up, grabbed weapons, and ran for the corner of the house. Many of the men did the same, following them. "Guess not," Nathan said, grabbing his rifle.

Running around the corner of the house, Nathan saw several men heading back to the table. Walking through them, he found Rodger and Bob staring down the driveway. Following their gaze, Nathan saw two people on horses leading several more. He stopped beside Rodger and Bob. "Know them?" Nathan asked.

"Yep, that's the rest of your horses. That's Glenda and Mark. They run a horse rescue down the road. She's a vet and he's a farrier," Bob said, raising his arm and waving at the two.

"You really need to get some people on watch," Nathan said as the two rode into the yard.

"We are. We already started making the guard areas but we didn't have radios. With the stuff we brought back, we do now. The women cleared out my old office so we can monitor radios there," Bob said, as the two stopped and climbed off their horses.

"Here's the rest of your horses," Mark said walking over to Bob.

"They're his," Bob said, jerking his thumb at Nathan.

Mark sized Nathan up. "None of your horses need shoes, they all have good hooves but you need to care for them," he told Nathan offering his hand.

"I'm going to get some more supplies today," Nathan replied shaking his hand.

Glenda extended her hand. "Bob told us you were going to ride them to Idaho, is that right?"

"If they'll get us that far," Nathan answered, shaking her hand.

"Only if you take care of them," she said with a stern look.

Knowing she was worried about the horses, Nathan smiled at her, "Ma'am, I was raised with horses. If I had mine, I wouldn't think twice about riding him that far. I have a lot of stuff and really don't want to have to hump it on my back," he said.