Read Online The Orphans Series Vol. 1: The Orphans by M. Evans - Free Book Online Page B

his dad but felt that a few years after his mom passing would have gone more smoothly had he have been there when she had passed away.
                  A sharp knock on his the door removed him from his deep thoughts. It startled Shaun who was trying to lose himself in his journal. He picked up the pencil and looked up to meet his dad's eyes. He rejected the smart ass pull to call his dad Francis and simply sighed. "What's up, dad?"
                  Frank was thinking hard about the coming day and the knock-down drag-out verbal war which was sure to come on their annual hunting trip. Frank thought about canceling it this year, something he was pretty sure that Shaun would not be worried about. He kept it because it was a family tradition going back to when he was a young man. The lessons he felt it taught about wilderness survival, learning to use a firearm and be productive with it, and a cut off from all the damn technical advances cell phones, music players, and video games wouldn't hurt him a bit.
    He looked around Shaun's room at the game console, a laptop sitting opened, and a cell phone next to it making weird noises. "So are you all set for Saturday morning? We need to get up bright and early to get on the road."
                  Shaun sighed thinking how the tensions between them had been boiling at the brim lately. The thought of sitting with dear old dad made him squirm and if he decided to have small talk about Karen then things would be getting heated fast. His dad was under the mindset if he kept inviting the girls over that they would just be one big happy family. Did his dad somehow think he was a baby and went to sleep at 9pm every night, and that he couldn't hear Karen arriving a few times a week, or his dad leaving a few times a week for overnight stays?             
                  Shaun looked around the room. There were clothes everywhere but the camouflage fatigues which should have been laid out along with his sleeping bag and his extra clothes for the next few days just weren't put together yet. It wasn't a current priority. "I'll pack later and be ready for tomorrow."             
                  Frank had been ready for two days, already pre-packed with all his gear ready to go sitting in the living room for an easy carry outside in the morning. He ran his hands through his hair--it was a nervous trait. He thought about when he was Shaun's age--he would be so excited and pumped up with adrenaline to go hunting with his own dad that he could barely sleep the night before. His dad didn't have to worry about him being ready. The night of Deer Hunting Eve, he'd be oiling his shotgun and double checking everything was ready. It annoyed the hell out of him how nonchalant his own son was about going. Someone who was half of himself he thought the trait would have rubbed off.              
                  "It's all about the finish work, you know? A successful hunt is because of good preparation, Shaun. Don't forget the cabin is a few hours away and most of that is on foot. So whatever you think you need, be ready to carry it up in your pack."
                  Shaun thought about this. "This is just our annual deer trip right? We're not going to become survivalists in the mountains right? Or I guess it'd be the hills of Iowa?"
                  Frank shook his head and smiled. "No, smart ass. Just make sure you stuff's ready to go. I already made sure that the guns, ammo, and hunting tags were taken care of. I picked up some new two and three quarter steel slugs guaranteed to punch a hole right through them. They're good to go. Wheels on the road at oh-four-hundred, so make sure you're up. I'm going to turn in soon, so make sure you don't stay up too late. You might need to drive."
                  "Right.... A thirteen-year-old driving. That'd be legal! Anyways, it's