Turning to the boys, “Son, how long have you been here?” Arthur asked.
“Four days.”
“How long have you three been out here alone?” Arthur asked as Nicole finished her bottle.
He set it on the counter and pulled her up to his shoulder, patting her back and the boys moved closer to look at the tiny baby. “Daddy wouldn’t wake up after we got here,” the oldest told him.
“Momma and our sisters wouldn’t wake up on the ride here,” the youngest said with tears welling up in his eyes.
“Boys, are you telling me that you’ve been alone out here for three days?” Arthur gasped as Nicole let out a loud burp, making the three grin.
“Yes sir,” the oldest said.
“It’s scary at night,” the youngest whimpered with quivering lips from fear and the cold mud and water covering him. “Can you stay here with us?”
“Boys, I can’t because Nicole,” he said, shifting the baby on his shoulder, “would get sick.”
The three dropped their faces in despondency. “Please? It’s scary at dark,” the oldest begged in a breaking voice.
Moving to the back wall, Arthur sat down on a bench and patted Nicole’s back as she slept. “Boys, come over here,” he said and the three slowly moved over, hanging their heads low. “What’s your names?”
“I’m Kirk,” the oldest said and then pointed at the middle one who hadn’t spoken yet. “He’s Pat and he’s Jim,” he said, pointing to the youngest.
“How old are you guys?’
“I’m ten,” Kirk answered, looking up with hope since Arthur was asking questions about them. “Pat is eight and Jim is six.”
“You have any family close?” Arthur asked and all three shook their heads. Looking at the filthy boys, Arthur took a deep breath and let it out in a long-dejected sigh. “Okay boys, I want you to listen and don’t say anything until I finish and ask for your answer,” Arthur told them and all three looked up with hopeful smiles.
“I will take you with me, but you will do what I say because you will have to learn to work on a farm, ride horses, and learn how to shoot guns, not to mention a million other things. If you don’t want to work, I can take you to a hospital and they can find you a place to go,” Arthur said and at the mention of ‘hospital’, the smiles fell off to be replaced by looks of terror.
“Please, no hospital!” Kirk shouted and Nicole gave a jump.
“Shh,” Arthur whispered, patting Nicole’s back and rocking back and forth. Kirk clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Sorry,” he mumbled around his hand.
“Okay, if you don’t want a hospital, I will find you someplace else,” Arthur said and Pat raised his hand, looking at Arthur timidly. “Yes,” Arthur said, feeling Nicole drift back to sleep.
“Can’t we just stay with you?” Pat asked, but it sounded like begging. “We’ll be good.”
“Boys, if you stay with Nicole and I, you will have to listen and work. There is no way around that and I’m the boss. I will work harder than you, but each of you will work and learn. I will protect you, but you will show me respect and I will show you respect,” Arthur told them.
“Will bad men find us at your house?” Jim asked.
Arthur turned to Jim. “Jim, a bad man has already shown up at my house and I shot his ass,” Arthur told them and all three stepped up, almost touching Arthur’s knees.
“We want to go,” Kirk said and his brothers agreed with wide grins.
“Have you guys seen lots of bad guys?” Arthur asked.
“Yes sir,” Kirk answered. “They shot at our house in Memphis and at our car when we left.”
Slowly, Arthur stood up and moved Nicole until she hung across his chest in the sling. “My name is Arthur, and we are now family,” Arthur said and the boys took off, running out the door. When they were outside, they started jumping up and down and cheering. “Well, they waited till they were outside,” Arthur nodded.
Stepping behind the counter and grabbing a bag, Arthur moved down the aisle and grabbed a can of the soy formula, just in case he ran out. Walking around, he filled the bag as the boys came back inside. “Thank you for not waking up Nicole. She gets cranky if you wake her up after eating,” Arthur told them and started filling another bag.
When he had six bags filled, he walked past the boys and put the bags in the Blazer. “You have clothes?” he asked and they nodded, pointing at the minivan. “Have you boys been up to the cabin since your dad hasn’t woken up?”
They all shook their head and Kirk pointed at the store. “We been sleeping in a closet in there,” he said.
“Where are your clothes?”
“In the van,” Kirk answered.
“Okay, follow me. You don’t have to go up there, but I need you to tell me if it’s yours,” Arthur sighed and started walking.
The three boys ran up beside him and Jim reached up to hold his left hand. “We aren’t scared if you go with us, you’re big,” he said and Arthur looked down at the small kid and smiled.
“And I’m mean when someone wants to hurt my family,” Arthur informed him.
With a look of excitement, Kirk looked at Arthur. “That means us now, right?” he asked.
“You said you wanted to be part of mine and Nicole’s family, so that means you three,” Arthur chuckled and the boys grinned so big their white teeth seemed to glow against their muddy faces.
Getting closer to the minivan, Arthur’s pace slowed at seeing the bullet holes in the back door and side panels. He opened the back hatch and was almost knocked over by the smell of rotting flesh.
