Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem ( Elysia and Tarquin)

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Brock totally bought it. Without a second thought, he leapt straight from the

second floor, landing with a heavy thud.

"If it really is some wild mountain man, I'll strike it rich! Let's go!"

With his words, the whole crew swaggered out of the old ranch house and headed

past the white picket fence. But after a few steps, Brock remembered Elysia and

the others. He turned and barked,

"Leave this chick for me! Nobody touches her until I get back, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, Brock, don't worry! She's all yours."

Brock shot Elysia a sleazy grin before turning away, barely sparing a glance for

Tarquin or the kids.

To him, they were nothing-just harmless pests. Guns made all the difference,

after all. What could a few children and an old man do against that?

Once Brock and his men left, the little family of seven were herded into a bare,

musty room. Before the door slammed shut, one of the goons threw out a

warning:

"Sit tight and wait for Brock. Don't try anything stupid. This place is crawling with

our boys. If you think you can run, you're dead wrong. Don't make us use these."

The man waved his shotgun for emphasis and locked the door behind them with a

heavy clunk.

Evan rushed to the door, tugging at it, but it was sealed tight. No way out.

"White, go! Find Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma!"

White, their clever old sheepdog, understood right away. He gave Evan's hand anoveldrama

lick, then wriggled his way through a gap by the floorboards and was gone.

Elysia was wringing her hands, her voice trembling with worry.

"This is Grandpa and Grandma's

home! Why would these people be

here? They must be gone-if they

were here, they'd have come out to

greet us as soon as we arrived!"

"But this is their only place up in the mountains," Evan said quietly. "If they're not

here, where else could they have gone?"

Tarquin squeezed Elysia's hand gently. "Maybe... maybe they moved somewhere

else?"

Elysia shook her head fiercely.

"No way! Did you see the vegetable

garden out front? All those tomatoes

and zucchini are thriving-Grandpa

and Grandma must be taking care of

them. When we left, they promised

they'd stay here. They said we could

always come back and find them!”

Her voice cracked, and she blinked back tears, worry etched deep on her face.

"I'm scared something's happened. There are so many of them, and they have

guns..."

Elliot and Evan looked worried too, but they shared a knowing glance.

"Don't worry, Mom,” Evan said.

"Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma

have lived in these woods their

whole lives. They've handled wild

bears and coyotes, for heaven's

sake-these thugs are nothing."

"The worst that could've happened is they saw trouble coming and slipped out

early," Elliot added.

"Or maybe they just went into town for supplies and haven't come back yet.

Maybe these guys broke in while they were gone."

Elijah, the youngest, piped up, "This is deep wilderness. If they couldn't take care

of themselves, they'd never have chosen to live here. Don't worry, Mom."

Their reassurances helped a little, but Elysia was still on edge. She forced herself

to nod so she wouldn't frighten the kids.

Time dragged by. Then, finally, White squeezed back into the room, tail wagging.

Everyone looked at him anxiously. Evan knelt down. "Well? Did you find them,

boy? Are Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma safe?"

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