Chapter 10: Rule #6

"Like this, baby. Hold it steady. There’s a kickback, so don’t let it hit you in the mouth.”

I looked up at my father and smiled. “What are we hunting, Daddy?”

He chuckled. “Today, cans. Tomorrow? Maybe deer or rabbits.”

He pointed to the fence where he had set up several dozen cans. “Take aim and fire.”

I lifted the gun to my shoulder and aimed like he had shown me to do. I took a deep breath and fired. One of the cans folded in on itself as it flew backwards. I lowered my gun.

“I did it, Daddy,” I squealed excitedly.

He smiled at me. “That you did, flower. Now, can you do it again?”

I took aim again and within minutes, every last can was on the ground. I held out the gun to him and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“What did you forget?”

I looked down at the gun. What had I forgotten? I lifted it up, searching for what I had missed. My eyes landed on the safety and I proudly flipped it into place, before holding it out my father again. He took it from me with a smile.

“Good job, flower. Now, recite the rules on the way home.”

We began to head towards the house where I knew my mother would be waiting for us with sandwiches and chips. He eyed me sideways, waiting patiently.

I walked silently for a moment. “Rule 1: the safety needs to be on when you are not actively hunting. Rule 2: Never aim at another person. Rule 3: Only kill what you have to, nothing more. Rule 4: Have respect for every living creature. If your shot doesn’t kill them, end their lives fast. Rule 5: Always shoot to kill.”

I paused as I went over the rules again, trying to remember the last one. I sighed.

“Daddy, I can’t remember the last one. Can you help me?”

He turned towards me and made me lift my face to look into his eyes. “It’s the most important rule, flower. Come on, think. What is it?” I bit my lip, thinking hard. “What animal do we never kill?”

I frowned, mentally kicking myself. “Bears. Rule 6: We never kill the bears in the area. They are our guardians and keep bad people out.”

He smiled and patted my cheek. “Good, girl. Now we better get home, before your mother comes looking for us.”

A horse whinnying made me jerk awake and I frantically searched the stall I was in. I was unusually warm, but the blanket was nowhere in sight. The horse whinnied again and I sat up. I moved deeper into the shadows as the sound of footsteps moved closer.

“Tasha?,” a voice called softly. “Are you in here?”

I perked up a little. Jamie stepped in front of my stall and leaned over to look inside. He saw me and his body immediately relaxed. He opened the door and came to squat in front of me. He tucked my hair behind my ear.

“We’ve been looking for you, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

“Who’s we?,” I whispered.

“All of us. After we got a deer, we came to check on you. Your mother told Raul she had asked you to leave. She didn’t tell him where you went. Why are you in here?”

“Because I had nowhere else to go,” I admitted.

He stood up and lifted me off the ground. He grabbed my bag and began to carry me out of the stall. I looked up at him.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To one of your homes.”

I blinked in confusion. “One of my homes?”

He pecked my lips as he walked. “You have six. Just tell me which one you want to go to and I will take you.”

I wrapped my arm around his neck and buried my face in his chest. “Is Timothy really mad at me?,” I asked quietly.

“No, Tasha. He was terrified we were going to lose you. He’s not angry.”

I moved my fingers through the hair on his neck. “Can I stay with you?”

“Of course.”

We fell silent as he walked to his house. He took me straight upstairs to what I assumed was his bedroom. He took me into the en suite and set me on the counter. He knelt at my feet and took my shoes off. He put the bag on the counter and kissed me before walking out, leaving me with orders to change for bed. I hopped off the counter and began to search through my bag. I pulled out outfit after outfit, looking for pajamas. I emptied the bag and there was not one set of pajamas. I shook the bag angrily and a piece of paper floated out of it. I grabbed it off the floor and instantly recognized my mother’s handwriting.

‘Since you have no need for pajamas, I didn’t send any. Whores sleep naked.’

My mouth dropped open and I crumpled the paper up. I closed my eyes as I fought back fresh tears. What I was doing wasn’t that wrong, was it? It wasn’t like I was fucking everybody in town, just a select few. I wrapped my arms around my waist. What was I going to do? I needed clothes to sleep in and I didn’t want to sleep in jeans. I left the note on the counter with my clothes and went back to the main room. I stopped in the doorway when I found all 6 of them waiting for me. Jamie raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure you want to sleep in that? It’s dirty.”

I shifted nervously. “Well, see.. I don’t have pajamas. I… I must have forgotten to pack some.” I blushed. “Do you think I could borrow a shirt or something?”

All of them immediately pulled their shirts off and held them out to me, except Jamie who walked to his dresser to get a shirt and a pair of boxers. He brought them over to me. He gently nudged me back towards the bathroom.

“Go on. Those are clean,” he said, emphasizing clean.

I shut the door softly and quickly changed into the clothes he had given me. As I was balling up my dirty clothes, I saw fur on them. I spread them out on the counter. Several pieces of black fur clung to my shirt. I touched them and pulled back when I was shocked. I stared at the shirt for a minute, before shaking my head. The same thing happened when you wore socks on carpet. I balled it up and shoved the clothes in a side pocket, before stuffing the rest of the clothes back in the main pocket. I threw the balled up note into the trash and walked back out. Timothy rushed over to me and tugged me into his arms. His hands ran over my body.

“Baby, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. Are you okay?”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned against him. “Daddy told me to never kill the bears in the area. I almost did.” I closed my eyes. “I didn’t want to lose. Rule 6 is the most important and I almost broke it.”

His hands moved over my back again. “It’s okay, darling. We need to eat. We have to kill whatever we can.”

I pulled back to grip his face. “Never a bear. They are our protectors. Promise me, you guys will never kill a bear.”

He searched my face. “Alright, baby, I promise you, we won’t kill any bears.”

I pressed my face back into his chest as my tears started up again. “All I have left of my father are my memories and his rules.” I raised my head to meet his eyes. “If I lose either of those, I’m afraid I will forget him. I can’t lose him. Not again. The first time almost killed me. I don’t think I’ll make it through a second time.”

The other guys came over to circle me. They pressed in as close as they could to me. Timothy laid his cheek on the top of my head.

“I promise you, Natasha, we won’t make you lose him again.”