Ninety Degrees Out
Chapter Sixty

Chay came down the stairs into the garage to find Arimina leaning over the top rail of Corky’s stall. The compact quarter horse was the newest addition to their stable. His Pinto patches of russet brown and black vivid against a silvery white background, his face white with a black forelock brushing between his eyes.

Arimina was patting his cheeks while Jazz sat in front of the stall gate watching. Bingo and Dolly munched on their oats; their heads buried in their feeding troughs.

“How’s Corky doing?” Chay asked.

“I think he’s happy. He ate all his barley and oats. And there’s not much of his water left. We need to get more for him.” Arimina climbed down.

Chay walked over to help her with the reel where it was attached inside the overhead garage door.

“Pull it over to the horses, Ari. I’ll turn the water on for you.”

“Thanks.” He watched as she slung the nozzle over her shoulder and tugged the green hose across the floor. “When you’re done, I need to ask you a question.”

Arimina glanced back over her shoulder with a strangely adult expression. It wasn’t unusual for her. The quirky mix of child and adult was never easy to deal with. Her love of her teddy bears, versus the detachment from the death of one of the lynx kittens was hard to accept at times.

“Good, because I need to ask you a question too.” Arimina dragged the hose up behind her as she climbed the side of Corky’s enclosure.

“Do you want some help?” Chay asked. He knew better than to assume. Ari would literally growl at him if he stepped in without permission.

“Can you hold the hose up? I can aim it, but it’s heavy.”

He took the weight off her shoulder and waited while she went through all the stalls, filling the water troughs.

“Okay, do you want to go first?” Chay inquired as she let go of the nozzle trigger.

“No, I’m kind of scared to ask.”

Chay wondered what would put her into a position of fear.

“Then I’ll ask first. I want to know if you would be my daughter?”

Ari’s eyes went round with surprise as she turned her head to face him.

“Your mom asked me to marry her last night. I told her I couldn’t say yes until I knew the answer to this question.” Chay already knew what she would say, but the expression on her face brought a fierce knot of emotion to his chest.

She launched herself off the top rung of Bingo’s stall, leaving the hose hanging over it. He caught her in a hug, loving the trust she showed.

“Tell her yes. Please! I love you, and Jazz and everything. I want you to be my Daddy. Please can I call you Daddy?” Her words were muffled against his shoulder and her arms had a death grip around his neck.

Chay felt her tears wetting his shirt. Did this little sprite really miss having a father more than either Alicia or he knew?

“Sweetie, look at me.” He pried her arms away and set her back on the top rung of Bingo’s stall. He waited until she rubbed the tears off her face, then spoke again.

“Ari, this is my promise to you. You are my daughter from this moment forward. No ceremony, or paperwork will ever change that. When your mother and I say our vows, I’ll be saying another set to you. After things get back to normal and we can register paperwork officially again, we will fix it so I can adopt you legally. So, yes, you can call me Daddy. I would be honored. Do you understand?”

Her ringlets bobbed as she nodded her head solemnly.

“Thank you, Daddy.” Ari reached forward and he caught her in another hug.

His swore his heart flipped as she kissed his cheek. Looking up he saw Alicia watching them from the doorway into the kitchen hallway. He met her liquid eyes as two tear drops spilled down her cheeks.

His voice rough, tight with feelings overflowing from a well of love, he whispered in Ari’s ear. “Let’s tell your Mommy, I say yes.”

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The armory lights glowed late, pushing battery capacity to the limit.

Akira pushed the door open carrying a tray of sandwiches. Over her shoulder, a large thermos filled with the last coffee sloshed with the fragrant stimulant. Tea bushes were already started, but she wondered if anyone could track down a way to start coffee bushes and cocoa plants.

“Hey, I’ve got food people,” She announced as she walked into the munitions area.

“Thank you!” Killika rubbed her eyes and stretched. She poured the powder charge she finished weighing into the tiny funnel in the mouth of one of the empty casings on her tray, handing it over to Jerry who sat at the crimping machine beside her.

Akira pulled cups out of her tote bag. Powdered creamer and sugar followed. “Enjoy the coffee. It’s the last of it. We can’t get more beans, instant, or pre-ground. I’m hoping to smuggle some bushes in, so we can grow our own.”

“Shit,” Jerry’s comment expressed her own feelings on the matter precisely. He pulled the handle on his machine and popped the finished bullet into an ammunition case.

Grange stopped the tumbler where spent casings were spinning a mix of jeweler’s rouge and crushed walnut shells.

“I’ll take a cup. I think I can get the rest of these sorted by caliber before we shut down tonight.”

“Any of the 50 cal in there?” Jerry asked as he helped himself to an egg salad sandwich.

“A few. We’re going back to old fashioned lead bullets. The military tracked down a supply of ore we can melt and mold.” Grange sat down on the only empty chair as he took one of the other sandwiches. He reached across to Killika, handing it to her.

“I’m running out of the right powder for the pistol rounds. We’ll have to switch to rifle rounds now. I’ll be ready for those casings after we eat, Grange. Can you set primers for me?” Killika sipped her coffee, inhaling the aroma with a quick indrawn breath.

“Can I tell Hakan you’ll be done with this in a couple of days?” Akira asked.

“We will be. We don’t have the correct forming dies for the smallest calibers though. Is our stash of 22 ammo still safe?” Jerry asked.

“As far as I know it’s locked in the safe in the other room. The light rifles will be okay.” Akira reassured him.

Grange nodded. “We’re going to be ready for Rico and his gang.”

Killika finished chewing her bite of tuna sandwich. “Damn right. I can’t believe Angel hooked up with him. Nothing but trouble since I can remember.”

“Ariel told us,” Akira said. “It’s a sad story.”

“Bad seed,” Killika said. “And now she’s out of control.”

“Don’t worry about her too much,” Grange said. “We’re setting up parameter watches in the morning.” He finished eating and pulled a set of latex gloves on. “I’ll have these sorted in a few minutes.”

Akira nodded. “I’ll let Hakan and Erik know.”

The tiny Chinese woman turned to leave, closing the door behind her. Walking across the grass runway, she felt prickles running over her neck. The sensation of someone watching was intense. She stopped and turned in a slow circle. Where was it coming from? Were Rico and his misfits closer than they knew, or was she simply letting her anxious nature take the lead?

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