Angered Seasons: The Worst Birthday Ever (Volume One) by Mireille Chester Read Free Book Online Page B

around so I faced him.
“You?”
    He raised an eyebrow at me and I grinned.
“I’ve been up for about forty-five minutes. I didn’t want to move
in case I woke you up.” He pressed his lips to my forehead.
    “Oops. Sorry.” Pete set two cups of coffee
down. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
    I sat up and grinned. “You’re not
interrupting anything.”
    He grunted. “Alright, then.”
    “Pete! Can you bring me the diaper bag,
please? Ashley just puked everywhere. I need some wipes.”
    “Coming!” He turned back to us. “So?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Sorry.”
    Jason pulled his long frame out of the truck
and joined us after getting a coffee. “Do we have a plan for
today?”
    Lane nodded. “I want to head into town. If
the stores are open, we’ll stock up on ammo, water, canned food;
that sort of thing.”
    “I’ll come along.” Jason took a bite of his
muffin.
    “Me, too.” I met Lane’s eyes and frowned at
the shake of his head.
    “No. You stay here. These guys are going to
need one of us here.”
    “Pete can handle it.”
    “No. He’s got Marie and Ashley to worry
about. He’s got enough on his plate.”
    “Lane, I’m not just going to let you go by
yourself!” My heart was starting to pound in my chest.
    “I won’t be by myself. I’ll have Jason.”
    “I’m a better shot than Jason.”
    Jason nodded. “She’s got a point.”
    “Stay out of this, Jason.”
    Jason stood, his hands up in the air. “Let me
know what you decide. I’m good to go when you’re ready.”
    I waited until he was in the office with the
others before turning back to glare at Lane. “What the hell is your
problem?”
    “I don’t have one.”
    “We’ve always done everything together.
Equally. What’s with the macho, order the women to stay home,
attitude?”
    “That’s not what I’m doing!”
    “So, why don’t you want me to come?”
    “Because someone needs to stay here with the
kids!”
    Everyone looked up at his shout and he
blushed, running his hands over his face to hide it. If I’d been
about to yell something else, it didn’t come out. Lane never
yelled. Ever. I looked him over carefully and suddenly, I could see
through the calm exterior he’d been putting up the last day.
    “Hey.” I put a hand on his arm. “It’s
ok.”
    He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“Look. Can you just stay here? Please. I’ll feel better if I don’t
have to worry about you out there and someone should really stay
with these guys.”
    I gazed into his pleading eyes and nodded.
“Ok,” I whispered. “Just… be careful. God, be careful.” My throat
tightened and I had to swallow hard. “Lane…”
    He nodded. “I’ll be careful.” He looked over
my head to the office windows. “Jason!” He bent, grabbed the ammo
backpack, handed me a few boxes of bullets, and took the rest. “You
need to keep one of the guns. Just in case.”
    Jason fired up the one ton and I watched as
Pete pulled up the overhead door. Lane started to walk away.
    “Lane!” I grabbed his hand. He gave mine a
squeeze.
    “I’ll be back. I promise.” He held my face
gently. “I promise.”
    I relaxed slightly. How many times had he
promised me that? Whether it was after he’d made sure my newest
foster family was treating me well, or while he was sneaking out of
my bedroom window because I’d called him, crying about something or
other; he must have made that promise to me a million times. He’d
never lied to me.
    He looked up as Jason honked the horn.
    “Lane! Let’s go!”
    Lane took one step away from me, turned back,
and softly pressed his lips to mine. My heart kicked in my
chest.
    “I’ll be back.”
    I stared, stunned, as he walked away. I
looked around at the others as the door slammed down and Pete put
the lock on the chain. Everyone was smiling at me.
    “He, uh… he didn’t mean to call you guys
kids. He’s just a little stressed out.” It was the only thing I
could think of to say. I wanted to