Conflicted Home (The Survivalist Book 9) A American (fun to read .TXT) 📖

She was in the process of putting on her war paint. Something she hadn’t done in a very long time.

“All my makeup is drying out,” she complained as she fussed with a bottle of some potion or another.

“I doubt you’ll be seeing any more, any time soon, babe.”

“All the stuff we stored and I never even thought about it,” she lamented.

I laughed, “Because it wasn’t important.”

“To you,” she grumbled back at me.

“Besides, you don’t even need it,” I said as I leaned in to kiss her.

Her hand flew up and she shouted, “Do not touch my hair! There’s no more hairspray and it took me forever to get it to look like this.”

So, I patted her ass instead. “And it looks amazing.”

She paused from putting on eyeliner and looked at me in the mirror. “You really think so?”

I stepped up behind her and grabbed her butt. “Oh yeah. You’re hawt,” I said, using the term humorously. Then I leaned over her shoulder and whispered, “You know. Since you’re all dolled up, it’d be a waste to not take full advantage of it. If you know what I mean.”

She was back to putting on her eyeliner and replied, “Oh I know. Go get dressed and we’ll see. Your clothes are hanging in the closet.”

I went out to find a pair of khaki pants, a button-up shirt and a pair of dress shoes. It’d been so long since I’d worn anything like it that I immediately said, nope. I kept the shirt, it was nice enough in the generic way of button-down dress shirts. But instead of the khaki pants, I pulled down a pair of blue jeans. But, pulling them on, I quickly realized they were a no-go. I could pull them down to my knees even when they were zipped up.

So, I pulled out a plastic bag I kept older clothes in. From back when I was skinnier and younger. In there, I found a nice pair of Wranglers. And I stood in the closet laughing when they fit, perfectly, and looked pretty good. I grabbed my cowboy boots, another thing I hadn’t worn in forever, and carried them out to the bedroom. Once I was dressed, which required drilling a new hole in my leather belt, I stepped into the bathroom.

Mel looked at me in the mirror and said, “That’s not what I picked out.”

I held my arms out and made a little pirouette and replied, “I think I look pretty good.”

She turned from the mirror and studied me up and down. After considering me for a minute, she replied, “Not bad. I haven’t seen you in jeans in a long time.”

I slapped her on the ass and said, “You look pretty good too.” Then I gave her a kiss and turned to leave. I smiled when she slapped my ass as I headed out.

The girls were all busy getting dressed when I came into the living room. Little Bit was already dressed and looking adorable. She was in a little white dress, complete with pantyhose. Lord only knows where those came from. She had a little headband on with silk flowers. She was the perfect picture of a little girl about to participate in a wedding.

“You’re really pretty today!” I said to her.

She bounced on the sofa and smiled. “You look really pretty too, dad.” I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

Meanwhile, the older two were busy arguing in the bathroom. I walked down the hallway and poked my head around the corner. “You two knock it off and get ready.”

“Wow, Dad, you look great,” Lee Ann said.

“Have you seen Mom?” Taylor asked. “She looks amazing.”

“Yes, I have,” I replied. “And yes, she does.”

“We’re almost ready,” Lee Ann said.

“If you’ll get out of my way!” Taylor shouted.

Lee Ann rolled her eyes and stepped out the door. “There, now you can finish.”

I put my arm around her and said, “You look good, kiddo. I haven’t seen you in a dress in a long time.”

Lee Ann looked down at herself and said, “Yeah. Well, as soon as this is over, I’m taking it off.”

I went out to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of tea, then went out to the living room and sat down with Little Bit. She was holding a basket full of flowers and practically vibrating with excitement.

“You ready to do this?” I asked. I wasn’t involved in all the planning, but I’d picked up on what was going to happen today. Little Bit was going to be the flower girl as both brides walked down the aisle¸ for lack of a better word. Jace was going to be the ring bearer. But he was only going to carry the brides’ rings, as the guys didn’t have rings. Not that it was that big a deal.

Mel came out of the bedroom and announced, “Alright, everyone, let’s go.”

Taylor came out of the bathroom, still brushing her hair. “Give me a minute.”

“Hurry up,” Mel replied. “We need to go.”

Once she finished brushing her hair, we were ready to go. I had everyone gather in the living room. My family looked really amazing. After so long of not seeing anyone dressed up, it was incredible to see them all decked out and ready to go.

“I wish I had a camera,” I said. “You all look so good.”

Mel looked at the girls and said, “One thing we didn’t prepare for. Family photos after the apocalypse.”

“Alright,” I said, “let’s get this show on the road.”

We walked over to Danny’s house and could hear voices out back. The back porch was crowded with people. Thad was dressed in a suit and I had to do a double-take.

“Where in the hell did you find a suit to fit you?” I asked in amazement.

He held his arms out and said, “It wasn’t easy and Miss Kay had to make some adjustments. But it fits.”

“You look amazing,” Mel said, and she stepped up on her tip toes to kiss him on the