The Malefic Nation (Graham's Resolution Book 4) by A R Shaw Read Free Book Online

Ennis’s voice. He still missed the man.
    Stop it. Don’t go there .
    Then, he eyed the shower. In doubt he turned the knob, and to his surprise water began to trickle out.
    I’ll be damned. Still can’t figure this one out.
    In no time he was clean. Cold from the frigid water, but clean and dressed in fresh clothes. To live this life made you appreciate the simple things—clean clothes and bathing being high on that list. He flipped off the light after he emerged from the bathroom, and then McCann eagerly took his turn.
    The smell of baked beans wafted throughout the cabin. “Man that smells so good,” Graham said to the group sitting in the front room.
    “Tala found an unopened bottle of barbecue sauce in the kitchen cupboard,” Bang said, his eyes wide and excited.
    Graham raised his eyebrows. “So, barbecue beans? Even better.” He sat down on the beige couch between the twins, who were silently zoning out at the fire within the woodstove. Mark halfheartedly stood guard at the window, watching the moon’s reflection on the rippled lake. Tala sat in a comfortable living room chair, and Bang was on the floor in front of her. Graham let out a loud sigh. The fire crackled and occasionally popped, and everyone sat in contemplation without speaking or even looking at one another, drifting into the safety of silence and appreciating these creature comforts.
    Tala finally looked up at Graham, breaking his trance. When their eyes met she asked, “Hungry?”
    He chuckled. “When am I not ?”
    Macy yawned loud and long. Mark, still staring out the window, reached for the door handle.
    “What’s up?” Graham asked him.
    “Sheriff. He’s wandering around, looking for us out there.” He opened the door and whistled low. Sheriff ran to the door, and in no time he’d settled down on the floor next to Bang, licking him in the radiant heat of the woodstove. He sniffed and then eyed the pot on the woodstove like Tala knew he would, and she said right off, “No.”
    Sheriff averted his eyes from Tala but licked his chops.
    “It’s okay, Sheriff. I’ve got something for you,” said Macy. “I found a few cans of actual dog food under the sink in the kitchen. I’ll give one to him now, and save the other two for Frank and Elsa.” She got up and called Sheriff into the kitchen as Bang followed her.
    Soon all could hear the unmistakable sound of Sheriff enjoying an unusually hearty meal; Bang and Macy giggled at the sight of it. Soon they heard the water from McCann’s shower stop, and Tala stirred the beans in the pot while Marcy located several bowls and spoons; moments later they passed around heaping bowls of barbecue beans with a surprise side of saltine crackers.
    “Look what else we found,” Macy said.
    “Monopoly?” McCann said.
    “Yeah. Let’s play!” she said.
    “I’ll keep watch at the door. You guys go ahead and play,” Graham said.
    He couldn’t get over this serene moment. They’d been through hell in the last several days. Scenes of it reran through his mind, torturing him day and night, and yet here they were, enjoying an evening in solace, having escaped with their lives. They were vigilant, of course, but so precarious was their position, so subject were they to death’s will. So close—and yet, they were alive.
    With bowls full of beans and crackers, they settled the Monopoly game on the living room floor. Graham glanced at them between shoveling food into his mouth and keeping watch outside. They giggled and laughed, and soon Tala was yawning. It was contagious, and everyone else began to do the same. They never finished the game, but decided it was a tie and that Mark cheated; he was the designated banker, and they were convinced he’d slipped himself a few extra hundred. They wrapped it up, and the girls said good night and headed upstairs to a bedroom with Sheriff close behind. Bang and Mark were sleeping in the opposite room upstairs, and McCann had the couch in the living room.