At seven, Arthur made another bottle and tossed the towel away because Nicole had peed in it. Putting a diaper on her, Arthur carried her into his bedroom and laid her on the bed. As he got ready for bed, Mickey and Minnie jumped up on the bed and moved over to Nicole.
Hearing a growl, Arthur turned and saw Don growling at the cats. “Mickey, Minnie, get down!” Arthur snapped, moving over and picking up Nicole. “I should let Don use you for a chew toy.”
The cats sat down and looked up at Arthur cradling Nicole to his chest as she cooed. “Back off, cats or I’ll let Kong inside,” Arthur warned and the cats just laid down.
Moving pillows around, Arthur climbed in bed. After Nicole had eaten, Arthur did something he hadn’t done in over twenty years. Fell asleep with a baby on his chest.
Chapter Fourteen
Lives are saved
May 8
Not moving all night and still on his back, Arthur looked down on his chest watching Nicole sleeping peacefully. He’d woken every four hours and had fed her a bottle. The only time Nicole woke up was when she’d taken a dump and her butt had started burning from the rash. Arthur had cleaned her up with the speed of a NASCAR pit crew and Nicole had drifted back to sleep.
“Hey stinker, you hungry?” Arthur asked, kissing her head. Reaching to the nightstand, he grabbed the bottle as he sat up. Nicole gave a startle, then saw the bottle coming and opened her mouth. She looked up at Arthur as she latched on the bottle and he just grinned at her.
He walked into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Walking into the living room, Arthur almost started bellowing but took a deep breath, seeing the cats in the baby carrier, sleeping. Moving over, he kicked the carrier on its side and the cats jumped out and looked at him like he was insane.
“Oh, you’re so lucky Wendy loved you two,” Arthur announced in a quivering voice. Hearing whining, he turned to see the dogs at the back door. “All right,” he sighed and moved over to let them out. Nicole gave a jump from the cool air and Arthur started to close the door until he saw the dogs heading for Rudy.
“No!” he snapped and the dogs changed directions. Leaving the door cracked, he went back for the baby carrier and set it on the island. Spotting cat hair, he placed a towel in first and then put Nicole in the carrier. Arthur made some breakfast and turned when the dogs pushed the door open.
“You guys are going to have to learn to shut the door,” Arthur said, shaking his head and walking over to close the door. When his breakfast was done, Arthur moved the carrier over to the table. Grabbing a cup of coffee and a notepad, he made a list of what he thought he would need.
Glancing over at the baby carrier, he saw Nicole asleep. Getting up, he carried her to the bathroom and sat her on the floor, then stripped and jumped in the shower. He got out grinning to see that Nicole was still asleep. Moving her into the bedroom, he dressed and then carried her into the office.
Setting her on the desk, Arthur moved over to the ham radios and turned one on. He gave a sigh, hearing voices talking. “Well, we aren’t alone, blue eyes,” Arthur said, listening. The more he listened, the more he wished they were alone.
Reaching up, he changed the frequency and listened again. Like before, they were talking about masses dying but also violence everywhere directed at anyone. “Yep, need to make some changes,” he mumbled.
Rubbing his smooth face, he turned and saw Nicole looking at him. “What are you doing up?” he grinned and she squealed with a grin. Picking her up, Arthur moved to the linen closet and pulled out a silk sheet.
Putting Nicole back down in the carrier, he shook the sheet out, spreading it out over the bed and folded it lengthwise. Grabbing some string, he tied it around the rolled-up sheet while leaving a two-foot area unfolded. After he was done, he tied the two ends together and slung them over his head and right shoulder and the unfolded area was at his chest, forming a hammock or a baby sling.
“We have some work to do” Arthur said, taking Nicole out of the baby carrier. He dressed her and poured her a bottle, leaving two more to go. Wrapping Nicole up in a blanket, he tucked her into the sling across his chest and then moved the blanket away until it framed her face. She looked up at him with a toothless grin.
“We have to find you some boots,” Arthur chuckled, grabbing his pistol off the dresser and clipping it to his hip. After grabbing the magazine carrier, he picked up his AR and the bottle. “Dogs,” he said, heading to the back door.
As he drove the buggy to the barn, Arthur covered Nicole’s face up so the cool air wouldn’t hit it. It was a challenge to do the chores with Nicole on his chest. But Arthur even managed to feed Nicole a bottle as he hooked the milking machines up to the cows.
When the rooster crowed as the sun broke the horizon, Nicole gave a startle and started crying. If the gunshot wouldn’t have scared her so bad, Arthur would’ve shot the rooster. As he fed the sheep, he looked at the thick wool on them and shook his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you sheared in a few days,” Arthur promised and then headed back to the buggy when he was done.
Reaching the back patio,
