Page 27 of G8
“Why are you calling to tell us this?”
“To prepare you in case there’s a backlash. We’ve tried calling anyone we can think of to see what the situation is over there, but we keep hitting walls,” the man answered. “Well, that’s all I got for now. Just watch your backs, all right?”
The man hung up before G8 could respond.
13ASSIMIL8
Ingrid lay awake,staring out the window on her side of the room at the nearly full moon shining in. There were no curtains, although a towel had been draped over the curtain rod to provide some privacy. She’d taken it down, preferring to stare up at the incredible night sky filled with stars. It was something she’d heard about but had never seen personally. Not with the town’s street lights and everything else blanking most of them from sight. But out here in the middle of nowhere, with no artificial lights to overshadow them, the brilliance of the heavens was breathtaking.
Carefully, she rose into a sitting position to peer into the corner where the infants were tucked in. They’d had a discussion whether to put the boys in separate boxes, but she had noticed the babies slept more soundly when they had each other to hold onto for comfort.
There was movement to her left. F8 rolled onto her good side and fell back asleep. The woman had volunteered to spend Ingrid’s first night with her, and to help with the babies in case they awoke in the wee hours of the morning. Ingrid knew the others would have to get up early to go into town to their jobs. She smiled to herself. That would soon come to an end, once she taught F8 how to drive. Until then, Ingrid had offered to be the group’s self-appointed chauffeur slash taxi.
She sighed. She was tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally, but she couldn’t sleep. She was too wound up. In less than twenty-four hours, her entire life had changed. It hadn’t done a one-eighty. It literally had gone off the radar.
A puff of wind came through the screen covering the open window. The weather was perfect. A touch of coolness marked the air, a promise of the coming fall.Maybe if I sit outside for a while, I’ll get drowsy.Easing off the air mattress, she made her way barefoot over to the cabin door and let herself out.
The campground was awash in the moon’s pearly glow. From where she stood, she could see the other cabins in the distance. The one N8 shared with Cydney was the farthest from the others to give the couple some privacy. Ingrid pointed to each of the other ones as she whispered their owners. “That’s K8 and F8’s. That one’s T8’s. That one’s P8’s. And the one on the other side of mine…”
A dark figure sat on the steps leading up into his cabin. It appeared that G8 wasn’t able to sleep, either. Ingrid clasped her arms around herself and walked over to join him.
“Guess you’re having sleep problems, too,” she softly observed as he scooted over to make room for her.
“Got too much on my mind.”
Ingrid nodded, understanding. “It’s nice out tonight. Beautiful weather.”
G8 glanced up at the stars. “It rained a few days ago, before you arrived. We freaked out.” He chuckled. “It was our first rain. It was like a miracle to be able to stand out in it and get wet. We got glasses and set them out to collect the rainwater.” He slowly shook his head. “That was the best-tasting water we’d ever tasted.”
“Just wait until it rains so hard it starts to flood. You’re going to love it and hate it at the same time,” she told him, snickering.
“It’ll definitely be a first for us. Everything we’ve experienced has all been firsts. Some of them were good, some were bad, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. This is what life is really about. What everyone else seems to take for granted.” He turned to look at her. In the moonlight, his face appeared silvery in color. “I thought I heard you calling your parents before leaving the main lodge.”
“I did,” she acknowledged with a nod. “I brought them up to date on what’s been happening.”
“I bet they’re worried.”
“Yes, they are, but that’s what parents do. It comes with the job.”
Impulsively, she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. She hadn’t been surprised to find he was as muscular and strong as she’d imagined when she’d hugged him earlier. No wonder she felt safe when she was with him.
“I told them it might be a long while before I’m able to come back.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Everything. I left nothing out. I also told them to keep their eyes peeled in case strangers start hanging around the house. If they suspected anything, I told them to call the police immediately.”
G8 grunted but didn’t reply.
“I also told them about you,” she murmured. That got his attention.
“Oh?”
“Like I said, I left nothing out.” Ingrid peered up at the night sky. “I told Dad to call my landlord over at the apartment complex and put in my thirty days’ notice to vacate. Tomorrow, he and Mom and a couple of his buddies are going over there to start packing up my stuff to move it out.”
“What are they going to do with it?”
“He’d mentioned getting one of those units at a storage place and putting it in storage.”
