Deadlocked 2 Read Online Free

looked at me and smiled. "You didn't think I was just going to abandon you guys, did you?"
    Relief washed over me. "Yeah, I kinda did."
    "Don't worry girl. I've got your back." He punched me in the arm as if I were a schoolyard pal. "Besides, I don’t want to risk pissing you off. You're liable to knock me upside the head with my bat."
    I relaxed against the side of the cabin and looked out the window at my daughters. Kim gathered the lures that Jacob spilled and carefully organized them back in the box. I'd already picked up the hooks to keep Annie from getting them and then asked the girls for help cleaning the rest. Kim took the job very seriously while Annie snuck lures back out of the box when her sister's back was turned. I smiled as I watched.
    "You want something to eat?" I asked. We hadn't eaten since breakfast. The girls were probably starved.
    "Shit yeah," said Billy. "What do we have?"
    "It's school lunch food, so probably nothing good."
    "I'm not picky. There's a portable burner and a few pots and pans in that crate."
    "Okay, I'll see what I can whip up. Don't expect a miracle though."
    "Gave up on those this morning," he said as I left.
    Kim and Annie helped me get something together to eat. Actually, Kim helped while Annie tried to rip open a package of chocolate covered, dried apricots. It kept her occupied while we cooked stuffing and searched for dried vegetables to add to the bland concoction.
    Annie became impatient with her package and started to smack it against the side of a bench. I gave in and took it from her to tear it open. They were sticky and I dreaded the mess she would make with them, but she tugged at my pants and demanded I give her one. "Mommy, please. I'm hungry," she said as she reached up for them.
    "Okay, fine. Just a couple though. Dinner will be ready in a minute."
    She grabbed them from me and shoved them both in her mouth. Then she smiled and taunted her sister with her chocolate covered teeth.
    "I want some," said Kim.
    "After dinner," I said. She stirred the pot and scowled at me as I folded the package of apricots back up and set them aside.
    "That's not fair," she said in a huff.
    "I know. Get over it." I took over with the stuffing. "Check to see if there're any bowls in the crate."
    Kim grabbed a few metal bowls and we scooped the dressing into them. It was a gooey mess and tasted like paste, but it was good enough to fill us up. Billy couldn't find forks so we sat in the back of the boat and ate with our hands. We drank tiny juice boxes, which looked hilarious when gingerly sipped through a straw. We all laughed as Billy puckered his lips and sucked all the air out of the miniature box to get every last drop.
    Annie took a liking to Billy immediately and sat up against him as we ate. Kim was more reserved, but his kindness broke down her defenses before we'd finished dinner. By the time our bowls were clean, she was laughing hysterically as Billy let her win thumb wars over and over.
    If I closed my eyes I could imagine it was David playing with her.
    The sun set over the water of Hailey Bay and the cool night air rushed in. Billy set up a portable heater for us to keep warm as I washed out the pot and bowls with water I scooped up from over the side.
    "What about dessert?" asked Kim.
    "Oh yeah," I said. "We've got those chocolate apricots." I got up to get them but they were gone. "Where'd they go?"
    "I didn't touch them," said Kim as she held up her hands as proof.
    "Annie?"
    She smiled up at me with chocolate stained teeth.
    "You little devil," I laughed. "Where'd you put them?"
    "Did she eat them all?" asked Kim in disappointment.
    "No, she couldn't have," I said. "There were a bunch of them. She probably hid them somewhere."
    "A thief?" asked Billy with wide mouthed horror as he grabbed Annie's waist and started to tickle her. "Do we have a thief on this boat?"
    Annie guffawed and rolled around on the floor as Billy tickled her. "Do you know what we do with thieves on