Ranger held the command right up until he saw his big alpha get out of the truck. He whined one more time, and Rob gave him a nod and a grin. The big dog barely got four feet on the ground in the thirty feet it took him to get to his master. Ranger barked happily, dancing in circles, everything wiggling. Angelica, his other human, got out next from the black and white car and she gave him a quick scratch on the head before running to the group. Ranger watched as she scooped up her own pup, spinning him in the air, crying and laughing at the same time, before covering the little human with kisses.
Ranger looked up at his big alpha and barked happily, then rubbed his head all over Rob’s leg.
“I know buddy, I missed you too.”
Ranger chuffed.
Twenty-Nine
Rob had called the two troopers who had offered to help, and they had both taken work vehicles. They had checked them out to assist in the investigation at the farm. Instead, they spent almost ten hours driving. Rob, his gear and Angelica rode in one vehicle, with the Governor and Bailey in the other. Sherry and the other police officers had to leave in a hurry though, to maintain cover. They had offered the officers a spot at the kitchen table for dinner, but they had to decline.
“So, Bailey,” Rob said, digging into some fried chicken and cornbread, “how did you and my wife team up?”
The group had avoided asking the question. They knew the madness that had infected Rob when Angelica was taken. They had figured many had died, a great many. Harry had been sitting in his Mom’s lap the entire time since they had arrived home, even though there wasn’t a huge size differential.
“We were roommates,” Angelica said sweetly.
“Roommates? Why didn’t you bust the ass of whoever worked her over?” Rob asked pointedly.
Bailey started laughing softly, then looked at Angelica and nodded.
“Bailey was sent to work me over my first night after I woke up from being sedated. I told her if that first monkey stomping wasn’t enough, I’d give it to her again, and make her my bitch.”
Goldie couldn’t help it, she biffed Angelica in the back of the head lightly. Bailey chuckled, not believing she was sitting in a survivalist compound full of right-wing wackos and gun lovers and they were… normal?
“So, I went after her again,” Bailey told Rob. “I had to. It was part of a deal I worked out with the guards there. I got my ass beat pretty badly, but it wasn’t by anybody but Angel.”
“You did that?” Steven asked, his mouth dropping open.
“I made her my bitch, and Momma, you biff me again or use your spoon, we’re going to bless each other’s hearts until one of us is going to be eating dirt and picking grass out of their teeth.”
Rob started chuckling at his mom, who was turning an alarming shade of red as she sputtered.
“So that is how you made friends with her?” Luis asked.
“She came and visited me in the hospital wing,” Bailey said. “We had a long heart to heart talk. I sort of pitched my lot with her, I go wherever she goes. As long as she lets me be around.”
“You’re almost as big as my Daddy,” Harry told her, having been staring at her multicolored hair.
“I was born like this,” she told him. “Doctor said I probably have a hormonal imbalance, but I quit growing when I turned 20.”
“Will I grow until I’m 20?” Harry turned to ask his mom.
“Probably,” she said, kissing him on top of the head.
“Miss Bailey, is your hair… can…”
“I dyed it. Come here, I’ll show you.”
Harry had since lost all shyness around Bailey, who seemed to be his Momma’s friend, and walked over. Bailey leaned over and shook her short hair. It wasn’t in the spikes, but the colors were still in there. The sides of her head were stubbly. Harry ran his hands across the fuzz on the side of her head, then ran his hands through her hair. When he was done, she sat up, looking at both Rob and Angel quizzically, hoping she hadn’t over stepped.
“Your hair is so pretty. I love the colors. Momma, can I get my hair done like that?”
Angelica nodded to Harry. He just wanted an undercut, and she knew how to do that. She was surprised to see Bailey’s eyes welling up with tears.
“Bailey,” Leah asked, “what day did the stitches go in?”
It was as much a curiosity as a change of subject. Bailey told her and three of the group nodded.
“As long as I get a mirror, I can cut the stitches out in a couple of days,” Bailey told them.
“I can do you one better, I’ll pull them for you when it’s time. I’ve got a delicate touch, I’m told,” Andrea told her.
“Sorry ma’am, I’d rather do it myself unless you folks know of a doctor I can go to?”
Governor Christian was confused as they all burst into laughter, then he understood. He had heard the Langtry Farm had three doctors there. Maybe Angelica hadn’t had a chance to fill Bailey in on everything. Governor Tom Christian had a pretty good idea though. Between what he already knew about the group, what he’d learned during his incarceration after his supposed death, and what Bailey had filled him
