Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Having the gathering at his house seemed to be easiest with his newly discovered Little. He wanted her to be comfortable and have a place to retreat to if she needed some alone time. Zale loved his team, but they were a lot. Competitive and physical to the core, the team magnified a simple game like corn hole into an epic battle.
He was happy about how close the women had become. Aspen was obviously delighted to have a friend. The two Littles had a great time roasting hotdogs and s’mores. He could tell Aspen helped Pippa feel more comfortable in being herself in the crowd. Zale would have to thank her privately for being such a good friend.
“Daddy?”
Zale smiled at his little girl who stood by his side with a gooey s’more in her hand. “Did you make that for me?”
“I burnt the marshmallow just how you like it,” Pippa assured him.
“How about if you come sit on my lap and we’ll eat it together?” The last thing he needed was another s’more, but she’d had so much fun roasting marshmallows he hated to refuse. He took it from her hand and lifted her with one arm onto his thighs.
“I don’t want any more, Daddy,” she said, leaning back against his chest.
“Are you okay?”
“Just over sugared,” she confessed.
“How about if I distract you then?”
She nodded eagerly.
“I promised Pippa that I would tell her about other things I found in the woods,” Zale announced to the group as he set the s’more down on a napkin on the small table next to him.
“Not the jungle story again,” Koa bemoaned.
“The jungle story?” Aspen asked, climbing up on Jerico’s lap to listen as well. “Have I heard it?”
“It was before Jerico joined the team,” Caden added.
“And me,” Hank chimed in. “Is the story appropriate for… everyone?”
“Definitely,” Zale assured him. “So, we’re out on a mission and we’re waiting for some bad guys to shift so we can slide past them. The terrain was heavily wooded, with lots of wildlife. Everyone was hunkered down.”
“We’d been there for several hours,” Koa pointed out.
“We had,” Zale agreed. “Caden communicated that a snake had bitten him.”
When the girls gasped and pulled their legs up further from the ground, Zale reassured them, “No snakes here,” before continuing. “Luckily, he’d killed it and determined it was not poisonous. Nevertheless, the wound needed to be treated. I was making my way back to him.”
“And I was dangling from a tree,” Koa jumped ahead, trying to speed up the story.
“Not only was Koa hanging from an overhead branch up ten feet…”
Koa interrupted. “He caught me with my pants down.”
“Wait. Koa was hanging from a tree with his pants down? His… stuff was hanging out?” Aspen asked, giggling throughout the entire question.
“Even better, a swarm of rats marched through the jungle under his feet. He’d had to jump up to avoid them,” Caden shared.
“A lot of them?” Pippa asked.
“There had to be over three hundred. I took shelter in a tree as well,” Zale said.
“Did you see them coming?” Aspen asked. “Were they friendly?”
“They came from behind me. I just heard this rumble of chittering. I don’t think they wanted pets, Aspen,” Koa told her.
“Why were they swarming?” Pippa asked.
“It turns out the bad guys had blocked the river to flood the area. Thank goodness he got caught with his pants down. We had enough warning to get to higher ground,” Zale said.
“So, if Koa moons us, we should run to the top of a hill?” Aspen said, struggling to keep her face straight.
“I am never going to live this down, am I?” Koa asked, rolling his eyes.
“Probably not. It’s the perfect storm of memorable events—pants down, rats, forest,” Zale pointed out.
“What else have you found in a forest?” Pippa asked, as if trying to distract everyone from teasing Koa.
“We had that camel that fell in love with Max,” Caden suggested.
“I think he fell in love with her, too,” Hank pointed out.
“She did have the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen,” Max said with a straight face.
The laughs around the fire felt good. Zale squeezed his little girl as he considered his teammates. They were all so different, but linked by their dedication to their jobs and their commitment to each other.
“You’re really lucky to be on a team with these guys,” Pippa whispered in his ear as if reading his mind.
“I am, kitten. I’m even more fortunate to have you in my life.”
“Especially because I’m the favorite thing you found in the woods. I have to say, it’s not too tough to beat rats and camels. They spit,” Pippa pointed out.
Zale chuckled. “Definitely. That’s another reason the camel liked Max. He can spit farther than she could.”
“That was never proven,” Max called, and Pippa dissolved into giggles.
Glancing around the fire, Zale celebrated being here with everyone. Life kept getting better. An ominous shiver ran down his spine. Was he jinxing something bad to happen?