Chapter 11

School was out, so the kids were free, and with the case wrapped up, the WAR Agency shut down for a week while everyone took some needed R & R. Michael hired his mother Maddie to serve as a secretary, fielding calls they might get while they were gone. She took her responsibility seriously, confiscating everyone's phones to answer them, lining them up on her dining room table with a laptop and pad of paper nearby.

They'd been so wound up for so long, Sam wondered how the others would handle the time off. He wasn't as worried about Jack and Sasha, since Sam's plans for an isolated island vacation had turned into a group effort. He and Jack would be able to keep an eye on each other, make sure they were properly relaxing. The addition of Jack's family made the island a little more crowded, but at least Sam's kids wouldn't be alone, even if Jack's were much younger. It gave Espie a chance to hone her babysitting skills. Since the time he and Yvette enjoyed the island alone on their honeymoon, a larger beach house had been constructed on the west side, and the older cottage was on the north east end. Long sandy beach and acres of trees and jungle-like brush separated them, affording each family some privacy.

"Oh Dad, this place is so cool!" Espie gasped as she disembarked from the boat they rented to get there. She and Samuel took off running down the beach.

"You kids be careful!" Yvette called out after them, ending with a light laugh. "I wonder how many times they'll run around this island before they wear themselves out?"

"Maybe enough to get some Sammy and Eve time in," he smiled and kissed her lips.

"Hey, Sam, which house are you taking?"

Sam turned to Jack and pointed straight ahead at the cottage. "We were thinking of the house over there, the one we honeymooned in, but it's kind of small for the four of us. You've got little ones yet, so that one might be better suited for you." He glanced toward the west and saw the other house through the trees. "The guy who owns this place told me the other house has three bedrooms."

"Yeah, makes more sense for you to take that one." Jack grinned as he pulled Sasha to his side. "I've got no problem with being a little closer."

Sasha's smile grew. "If only our kids were a little older and they could go running off with yours. You guys enjoy unpacking and getting settled." She pecked Jack on the cheek. Then she settled Micah on her hip, took Ellie's hand, and she walked toward the cottage. She turned back for a moment. "Any dinner plans?"

Yvette responded. "I'm cooking tonight! Be over at six?"

"Sounds good! We'll be there!"

The men unloaded Jack and Sasha's suitcases and supplies for the week, and then Sam and Yvette got back into the boat and drove it to the dock in front of the other beach house. Two sweaty, out of breath kids waited for them on the porch that was outfitted with two rocking chairs and a hammock.

"See, I told you they were coming here," Espie huffed as she pushed herself out of the rocker and down the steps. She caught the line that Yvette threw her and tied the boat to the dock, using the knot she learned from her father. She tied up the bow and stern, keeping the boat snug, but not hitting the dock.

"Good job, punkin! I'll make a Navy girl out of you yet!"

"Oh Dad. Do you think you could still love me if I became a Marine?" She grinned up at him and saw the dejected look on his face.

"Of course, I'd still love you." Knowing she was only teasing, he leaned over the side of the boat with two pieces of luggage. "A Marine could carry both of these to the house. Think you can do it?"

"Sure, Dad." The larger one was on wheels, so she pulled it until she reached the sand. Then Samuel took the lighter one from her, and she took the bigger case in both hands, shuffled through the sand, and slowly made it to the steps. She was out of breath again.

Yvette came to the steps with a large plastic crate full of groceries. "Having a little trouble, Espie?"

"Mom, what'd you pack in this thing?"

"Your dad and I put our stuff together into one suitcase."

"Well, it seems like it's loaded with assault rifles or something, Mom! It's heavy!"

Yvette laughed. "I can assure you, sweetheart, that there are no weapons on this island."

For one second, Esperanza actually felt insecure. They had guns and ammunition around them on a daily basis, because often times they were needed in her father's work. But here, on this quiet, peaceful island with no other land in sight and no other boats, they were gun-free and there was no danger.

"You know, Mom, I'm not sure I've ever lived somewhere and felt like guns weren't necessary."

Yvette frowned. "I'm sorry, honey." She would have to talk to Sam about that. No kid should have to live that way.

"But when we're home, it's not like it was when I lived with my birth mom! I feel safe with you and Dad. The guns and stuff are just...there. I meant that it was weird not having them around, you know?"

She nodded. "I understand." She still didn't like the idea that her daughter thought that living that way was normal.

"Hey, you're holding things up here, ladies!" Sam stood behind them with a large cooler and another box balanced on top. "Now this, this is heavy!"

"Dad, I can take that box," Samuel said from the porch as he slipped it off the cooler and took it inside.

"Okay, I don't know what you did to these kids, Eve, but they're so helpful. What would people think if they knew?"

Both Yvette and Esperanza laughed at his joke. Then they picked up their loads and took them inside. After one more trip, the boat was empty. The nearest land with a store was almost two hours by sea. The boat had plenty of gas to make the trip, but they came prepared to hunker down for the week without support or an extra grocery run. Yvette stocked the kitchen and discovered that the stove and refrigerator ran on propane, which explained the large tank well away from the house, half hidden by bushes. A smaller tank took care of the waste water, and a third tank held potable water. The propane and water tanks were well stocked.

After everyone was settled in, the kids went back out to play in the aqua colored ocean. It was shallow and went out quite far before dropping off, which Esperanza discovered by shuffling her feet.

"Espie, what are you looking for," Yvette asked as Esperanza ran into the house and searched the kitchen drawers. She found a red towel, grinned and waved it in the air. "What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm making a flag, and I'm going to put it right where the sandbar drops off, so Sammy or Ellie don't accidentally go too far and drown."

Yvette stared at her, and then her look softened. "That's really sweet of you! You're probably going to need more than one of those though, don't you think? That sandbar has to extend for quite a ways up the beach."

"Yeah, but I'm going to set up more sticks, so we say we can only go in the water in this area, like they do back home. That'll be okay, right?"

Her mother's smile lit up her entire face. "You are such a resourceful girl, Espie. That's one of the things I love about you." She hugged her daughter, and Espie hugged her back.

"Dad's a good influence on me. You are too, Mom. Just so you know that." She turned out of Yvette's grasp and ran back outside, saying, "Thanks, Mom!"

Yvette still beamed when Sam came downstairs. "I've got everything unpacked up there." He glanced at her. "What's up?"

"Our daughter is amazing, Sam."

He snorted. "Like you didn't already know that?" He took her into his arms and kissed her, pulling her closer against himself. When he released her lips, he whispered, "You're pretty amazing yourself."

"We better check on the kids. Espie's setting up a perimeter for safe wading, and I want to make sure Samuel is keeping out of trouble."

A sigh escaped Sam and he released her. She moved out to the porch and watched the kids. Esperanza created a pole out of a long branch and stuck it in the sand near the end of the sandbar. Samuel collected more of them, and together they worked on setting up the boundary. The sticks were crooked and ugly, but it gave them something to do, and made a safe area for Ellie. Micah was too young to wade.

"Looks like they'll be busy for awhile." Sam snuck up from behind, put his arms around her midsection, and leaned her into his body. He nestled into her neck with kisses, knowing full well what that did to her. She playfully swatted at him, but he chuckled and continued, until she retreated inside with him.

Their kids didn't know much about the birds and the bees, although Esperanza had been asking questions lately. Questions about why, when their bedroom door was closed, they were off limits. She was satisfied with their safe answers, but it was only a matter of time when she would want more details. Until then, they left those to themselves as they enjoyed the quiet and each other.


"Mom?"

"Yes, Sammy?"

"What happens when it gets dark around here?"

"What do you mean?" She stopped stirring the pot of chili and turned to see him finishing up the table settings.

"There aren't any light switches on the walls, and there are these lamps all over the place."

"That's because there's no electricity here." Yvette answered with an amused tone, anticipating the freak out that was sure to come.

"No electricity? What kind of place is this, anyway?"

"What? You were having a great time until you discovered there was no electric power. It's not like we brought any video games or anything anyway, so what's the big deal?"

Samuel glanced around the room. "It's gonna be weird, that's all."

"It'll be fun." She pulled him into a one armed hug and kissed the top of his head. "I've got an idea. Why don't you go looking for some wood and branches for kindling, and we'll have a fire out on the beach tonight. Okay?" She smiled. "I made sure to bring marshmallows, and I think it's pretty safe to say we won't have any raccoon problems like when we went camping."

Samuel giggled. "Alright!" He left the house, trotted down the steps, and went on his assignment.

After supper, the sun sank in the west and they had a nice fire on the beach with Jack's family. They roasted marshmallows and watched the sparks snap up into a star-filled sky until Ellie and Micah lay on a blanket sound asleep, and Samuel and Espie fought to stay awake. Jack and Sam put out the fire, and their wives got the kids to bed. They said their goodnights, and Sam grabbed an oil lantern that was perched on a rock, taking it to light their way to the house. The kids were already settled in and asleep, so they headed to their room for some more quality time before drifting off in each other's arms.

Every day was spent in pretty much the same way. By the third day, however, the kids were getting bored. Sam anticipated that, so he and Jack took them in the boat to an area that was known for good fishing. Neither Samuel nor Esperanza had ever been fishing before. Since they were Axe children, it was high time they needed to learn. Sasha and Yvette stayed behind with Ellie and Micah. The little ones played in the sand while the women lounged on beach chairs and sunned themselves.

"Yvette, this has been the best vacation ever! Seriously! It's so relaxing here, no sounds of civilization...if we got stranded here, I don't think I could complain." She sighed and settled back into her chair.

"Our kids would go insane, I'm afraid. When they get older, they need stuff to do. I'm hoping they'll get into fishing and we can finish out the week with them doing a lot of that. I know Sam wouldn't mind spending all day out there on the water with a fishing pole in his hands."

"Jack too. Those guys are too much alike!"

They heard the sound of a boat motor nearing the dock, followed by the soft bump of the side making contact with the rubber bumpers. "That's odd. They just left a little while ago."

"They can't be back already!"

"You stay here with the kids, Sash. I'll see what's up." Yvette left her magazine face down on her seat and walked toward the beach house. A large white boat with no distinctive markings pulled up and moored to the dock. It had a conning deck and was almost too large for the dock. She shielded her eyes against the glare from the sparkling water, looked up, and asked, "Can I help you folks?"

A man about her age with wind-blown blonde hair and several days' growth of beard jumped off the boat and walked the deck to where Yvette stopped in the sand. His smile turned into a grin as he looked her up and down. "Hey, honey, we, uh, just had some engine trouble. My buddy's gonna get it fixed up real soon, but we needed somewhere to pull in for him to do it. Y'all don't mind, do ya, darlin'?"

"I suppose that's okay."

"You got a phone I can use to call the mainland? We're supposed to be somewhere, and we're already running late..."

"No, I'm sorry. We don't have a landline, and I don't think cell service works out here."

He looked at her in disbelief. "And you're all by yourself?"

"No. My friend and I are here with her kids, and our husbands are out fishing with the older kids. I could hail them on the radio and have them come back in. Sam's good with cars, maybe he can help you with the boat."

"Oh no, no, that's not necessary." He gave her a warm smile. "Teddy'll have ours back up and running in no time." He held out his hand. "Sorry for bein' so rude. My mama would smack me upside the head for not introducin' myself. Name's Ray Banatello. My friends call me RayBan."

"Ray. I'm Yvette." Taken aback by his forwardness, she gave him only her first name, took his hand and shook it politely. She was dismayed to find he held it a little longer than necessary. Yvette pulled out of his grip and gave him a cool look behind her sunglasses. "Well, Ray...if there's anything you need, we're over there on the beach."

"Thank you, ma'am. We shouldn't be too long and we'll be on our way." He winked at her.

Yvette didn't like the way he was looking at her, and that wink set her on edge. Maybe Esperanza was right; living without access to firepower might not have been the best thing. Then again, she was probably just overreacting. She'd spent way too much time around spies and gotten too involved in their cases. She really did need this vacation!