They were headed back to her mustang, the four of them. Realizing that he couldn't carry everything on his own, Frank had, reluctantly, allotted Esme' a small backpack to sling over her shoulder. He had his arms full and Esme' had dubiously wondered where they would find space for the two small suitcases, backpack, and the duffel bag, but she hadn't suggested they leave it behind.

She didn't have the heart.

So far she'd learned that Frank was a barber, a career her beloved grandfather had chosen. It was quite the coincidence, one that made her even fonder of the older man.

She'd learned , with bemusement, that Frank was a devout Christian who had a decidedly foul-mouth.

He seemed to try and taper off the curse-words around his grandson, but he often came up short or failed altogether.

Esme' had once been a sailor herself, in the way of words, but had learned to curve her habit once she'd taken on a career in caring for people with intellectual disabilities.

They were laughing together over Eddy, the failed mechanic, when they'd reached her mustang.

"Crazy bastar- er…crazy fellow that he is, rigged my truck up with duct tape and then had the nerve to charge me full price. Fool that I am, paid up. Just kept seeing three, small and hungry faces in my mind. Well shit, who could let a man's kids go hungry. The bible says-"

She'd stopped short, breath hitching at the sight they'd come upon.

Frank, catching the abrupt shift in her demeanor cut off his story, "What's wrong darlin'?"

Unable to answer, she felt her fists clench as she yelled at the man trying to jimmy her car open, "What in the heck do you think you're doing?"

The man in question jumped about a foot in the air and swirled on her, "Oh."

She rushed forward leaving behind her two new companions, "Don't 'oh' me; you're trying to break into my car."

He didn't try to hide it as he scratched his chin idly, "Thought the owner was long gone."

"You thought wrong," she snapped.

He smiled at her lazily, "Shame. Coulda' used a little extra supply. Saw you got some water bottles in there, wondered what else ya might got good."

Esme' huffed indignantly, "It's none of your business what else I got in there. It doesn't belong to you."

He chuckled at her, "S'that right?"

She stood her ground, allowing all 5'10 of her stature to resonate, "That's right."

The man held his hands up in playful surrender, jimmy dangling from one of them. Not ruffled in the least he drawled, "S'alright. Don't get 'ur panties in a bunch darlin'. No harm meant, no harm done."

Frank had called her 'darlin' a moment before and she hadn't thought anything of it; the way the redneck said it, though, put her teeth on edge. It felt crass and belittling.

Esme' had a deeper voice than most women. It was something she didn't particularly like about herself, but she used it to her advantage then.

Seeing him still standing there, making no attempt to leave she lowered her voice until it almost became a growl, "Get away from my car…now."

His previously dazed eyes seemed to sharpen at her tone. His eyes flit across each of them, assessing the threat they presented. He barely held his gaze on the boy who was shuffling his feet a little ways off. He did, however, let his gaze linger on Zeus then Frank. And then, he focused on her.

She understood what he was thinking; he didn't find the boy, who was hanging back, seemingly not interested in the heated exchange, any threat at all. The dog and Frank, however, were something to consider; but he'd realized, from their exchange, that she was the main contender in their standoff.

While she was above average in height for a woman, she was still a woman. Esme' knew that was a factor he was considering by the way he grinded his teeth in thought.

Besides her height, though, she was fairly intimidating with her particular build. Esme' did not have the body of a runway model, and while she was not quite what they called 'full figure', she wasn't skin and bones either.

Her job often required her to lift and pull on adults who were not capable of getting in and out of bed, the bath, or a vehicle by themselves. Not all of her clients were light in weight, either. The almost daily exertion of her muscles had toned them into something to be proud of.

Esme' was threatening, in her own way, even to a man. Not that he knew about them, but she was also relatively confident in her self-defense skills. Because of her line of work, she'd been mandated to take the lessons and had superseded her own expectations in them.

He took a languid step away, "Calm down sweet cheeks, I ain't looking for a fight."

She didn't believe him.

Neither did Frank, it seemed.

He had come up right behind her, placing a weathered hand on her shoulder in comradery. Esme' hadn't noticed before, but Frank was a menacing six and some odd inches tall and held himself well for a man in his late sixties.

While his tone wasn't menacing, it was stern, "You heard the girl. Best get on outta here."

The man smiled an antagonizing smirk, "That so? Or what?"

For someone who was, supposedly, not trying to start a fight, the presence of the black man sure stirred up some aggression in the would-be thief.

Before any of them could answer, Zeus growled, getting down on his haunches as if he were a linebacker waiting to tackle. With his lips curled and teeth showing, he looked pretty menacing.

She'd never seen him so aggressive before, but she was happy to have the back-up. A little cockily, she said, "Do you really need to ask?"

People were beginning to gather around them as the tension between the five filtered out.

Normally, Esme' would find the attention troublesome and embarrassing. Now, however, she wanted the witnesses. She had no doubt in her mind that her small, blended group could handle things, but she didn't want the man running off saying that they had started things.

This wasn't a simple misunderstanding. A stranger had tried to pilfer her belongings and when he'd been caught, had refused to leave.

Esme' was having none of it. Feeling empowered, she tugged on the leash as she stomped forward and repeated his words from earlier, "No harm meant, no harm done. Just leave now."

The dog slunk forward as she unwound the leash from her wrist. It was an intimidation ploy. Esme' had no real intention of letting Zeus fight her battle, not if it came down to something physical.

A southern drawl cut the tension, "Merle… leave it. Car ain't abandoned like we's thought. Ain't worth the trouble."

A fairly attractive, albeit scruffy, man pushed himself through the growing crowd. Noting the eyes that fell on him, he became visibly agitated as he bounded over to the man who hadn't moved more than a foot away from her car.

He clapped a hand on the thief's shoulder, much like Frank had done to her, but a lot rougher, "Com'n, let's go."

He tried to steer the shorter man away, but he was stubborn. As if noticing his presence for the first time he rounded on the younger man, "The fuck you think you doin baby brother?"

Hand still clasped on his companions shoulder, the younger man spoke in a low, gruff tone, "Keepin' your dumbass outta trouble. Let's go."

It looked like the man was going to refuse, but off a little ways, they all heard a shotgun being cocked. The crowd that had gathered around them, but had stayed out of the turmoil, parted to let the gun carrier in.

"Got a problem over here?" the familiar man asked.

Shane.

Lori and Carl were with him, standing a safe distance away from the drama. Lori gave Esme' a small, confident nod. They'd come to help her and Esme' was grateful.

A policeman in the ranks seemed to jolt the stubborn man out of his stand-still. He scowled at all of them, but let his brother pull him away.

The two brothers left the scene, heading farther back along the gridlock. Esme' let out a sigh of relief. She had been seriously worried about where that little confrontation was headed. She didn't have any doubt that she and Frank could have handled it, but she wasn't naïve enough to assume no one would have been hurt in the process.

She patted the reassuring hand that Frank had placed on her, "Thank you." After a moment she added, "I'm sorry if I caused you and your grandson any trouble."

Frank squeezed her shoulder in tender affection, "Nonsense. Bad folk can't be avoided in this world. Just glad we was here to back ya. Though-" he called Zeus to him, "I doubt you'd get into too much trouble with this one 'round, though. Pretty damn loyal, he is."

Esme' didn't agree nor did she disagree. She didn't want to explain that the dog, who had rolled over onto his belly to let Frank rub him, was more precious to her than her own life.