Bayou

Chapter 6 ~ Protect

Chapter 6

Croc gave Julia and I the loft, and while I didn't feel comfortable leaving the children alone, Julia pointed out how small the shack was; we were practically in the same room. She thought Croc was harmless. I wasn't so sure. He confused me. Hell, the whole place would confuse anyone. Croc had the social skills of a caveman. I'd expect something like him to sooner feast upon our flesh than offer us a place to sleep. But, so far, that wasn't the case. He didn't need a deal. He didn't require it—not yet, anyway. He'd watched us climb the ladder with the saddest expression I'd ever seen on a grown man's face, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was beginning to agree with Julia.

I twisted in the tight space. A thin mattress offered little cushion, but the sleeping bags Merle had packed helped. We'd found three tightly rolled inside one of the duffle bags, and I'd stared at the third, chest tight and eyes watering, until Julia took it from me and draped it over the children.

I looked over at her, lying stiff and flat beside me. Every part of her was parallel to the ceiling, her arms at her sides, legs straight and toes pointed up.

"Julia," I whispered.

"Yes, Willow."

I bit my lip. A woman her age must be exhausted after the hell of a day we'd had, but I had to pee, she was on the outside, and I hadn't remembered seeing a bathroom anywhere since we'd arrived.

"I gotta pee."

"Of course, you do." She heaved a sigh. "If I climb back down that ladder, I'm not going to make it back up here." She cracked an eye open at me. "You've gotta crawl over me."

"But where? Did you see a bathroom?"

She was quiet a moment. "No. Just...look for one, and if worse comes to worse, ask Croc."

"Oh, that's a great idea. I'll just ask the man who wants to knock me up where I can go to drop my pants. Brilliant."

"I'll admit, the man doesn't know proper etiquette for shit, but I don't think it means he'd try to force anything on you." She tilted her head, pondering her own words. "It's like he's..."

"A kid?"

"Yeah, but...no. He's definitely a man." Her brows furrowed. "Think about it. I provide. I hunt. I'm strong. It's like he's going off what he's learned from animals. Hell, if that man had feathers, he'd have probably spread them out and did a chicken dance across the front porch."

I snorted at the image. "It does seem kind of sad. The way he reacted when you mentioned us leaving..."

Julia nodded. "I'm not sure what led to him being out here, but I've got a feeling he needs us just as bad as we need him." She patted my cheek, then flattened herself as best she could and motioned me over. "Go pee. I'm exhausted, and it's not like we've got anywhere else to go. We'll ask questions and figure it out tomorrow."

I scrambled across her, ignoring the bundle of nerves in my stomach. Julia was the wisest person I knew. She'd always, since the day I'd met her, known the right thing to do. I trusted her judgment more than my own. The woman was a matriarch, old enough to have seen it all and tough enough to have survived it. Even now, tonight, she didn't weep. Tight lipped, she held it in, refusing to grant herself the privilege of worrying about her husband. It kept me from breaking down. Who was I to cry over Merle when Julia couldn't? No. She was being strong for us, and in turn, I needed to be strong for her.

The ladder rungs creaked as I made my way down, and I sighed when I found the living space empty. I'd expected him to be laying on the worn-out couch, but even in the dark, it was clearly empty.