Marty frowned and worked his jaw back and forth as he thought. "Seems to me, these two boys you ran into are scopin’ out our neighborhood."
"Could be," Cami mused as she rubbed her arm. "I've heard people claiming empty houses are being broken into." She shrugged. "Other than Harriet snooping around asking if I knew of any empty houses, that's the only real proof I have of anything going on."
Marty nodded. "That woman's up to something, ain't no doubt about it."
"I'm just so mad," Mitch said. He pounded a fist into the deck railing. “I can't believe those guys got the jump on me." He looked at Amber, then at Cami. "I swear to you, that will never happen again."
“Good…that’s a good start," Marty's agreed. "Y'all sit tight. I'll be right back." He grunted and got to his feet, then hobbled across the deck, and disappeared inside the house.
"This isn't your fault, Mitch," Cami said. "It's mine. "I should've told you both to take weapons with you, I should've known—I did know…”
"It's not your fault, mom, it's mine. If I hadn't spoken up and said that it would be fine for us to leave the guns…” Amber said with a shake of her head.
"I done told you to knock that off—ain't nobody's fault. Now get over it," Marty growled. He stepped back onto the porch and plopped a crossbow into Mitch's lap, then handed over a quiver of bolts. "There. That's for you. Quieter than a gun, and reusable ammo. You practice with that. Get good at it. You’ll be able to take down a man just as quick as you can with a gun."
“I-I don't know what to say," Mitch said as he held up the heavy weapon.
"Just say thank you," Marty replied. "I ain't as young as I once was. Can't even draw that thing back anymore. You may as well get some use out of it." He turned to Cami and leaned on his cane. "There's another thing I’d like to talk with you about, missy. We need to set up rotating watches. Keep an eye on our properties, night and day."
Cami nodded. "I was thinking something along those lines myself. I'm just not sure how to go about doing it."
Marty squinted one eye at her. "Why's that? Seems pretty simple to me. Somebody stays up at night, the others sleep. If an all nighter’s too much for you kids, we can split it into shifts."
"We?" asked Cami.
"Yes, we. I don't sleep much anymore. Be happier than a ‘possum eatin’ sweet potatoes to take most of the night shifts. Just keep a radio nearby, and I'll keep an eye on your house and mine. Long as you promise to do so during the day. I can't stay awake 24-7—I tend to take naps in the morning and the afternoon."
"It's a deal—provided you allow us to take our share of night watches. There's three of us. We can easily rotate nights on and off."
Marty nodded. "Fine. Now—you told me you were fixin’ to get these young pups trained on shootin’. Done that yet?"
Cami's shoulders slumped. "No—we had to secure the garden and get the harvest in."
Marty nodded. “I seen y'all carrying all those veggies in and out. You about finished?"
Cami nodded. "We are."
"Good. I suggest you take these youngsters out into the woods tomorrow, learn ‘em how to shoot. One day ain’t gonna make ‘em Marine snipers, but they'll be a lot more comfortable and less likely to leave guns laying around again."
"Trust me, I'm not walking around without a gun," Amber said.
Marty smiled, like a cat who just trapped a canary. "Is that so?" he asked with a cackle. "Where's your gun right now?"
Amber blushed. "Oh. Well…it’s still in the house."
Marty nodded. "You just survived mistake number two." Marty looked between Amber and Mitch. "In my experience, most people don't make it to mistake three." He looked off into the trees beyond his backyard. "Yep, I figure you take these kids out in them woods a good couple hours, ain't nobody gonna pay much attention if you pop some rounds off."
"Agreed, but why rush it? Shouldn’t we take our time with this and approach it slowly? To make sure everybody’s safe?"
"I don't think so," Marty said. He shook his head as if convincing himself. "No ma'am. These two jokers prowlin’ the neighborhood is just the tip of the iceberg. They could very well be canvassing the neighborhood every night. Y'all might be the first ones to get rolled in broad daylight, but they'll be back. Might be more of ‘em, too. Y'all need to get this settled right quick."
"What if Harriet stops by? She was here today…” Cami said.
Marty shook his head. "I doubt she'll visit you tomorrow. She's gotta go meet with her cronies on the HOA board and plot their next move, right? You might have a day or two before she comes back." He nodded again. "Nope, you need to get out in the woods, do some target shooting tomorrow. Might be your only chance."
Cami leaned back against the deck railing. "All right, fine. We'll pack up and head out at first light. I don't like being away from the house right now."
"You got good instincts, missy. Trust ‘em. They'll serve you well."
Cami smiled at Marty. He was gruff—and blunt as a block of raw New Hampshire granite—but his heart was in the right place. In his own way, he wanted to take care of her and the kids. She didn't
