Chapter 76: Just Pretend

The month flew by. Jackson had been busy getting all his gear together, making inventory lists, and had done more packing. Since their townhouse wasn't that large, all his military gear was still over at Josh's place. He'd offered to find a place for it all and get it out of their basement, but Payton had insisted that he just leave it alone.

Groaning Emma held up an item and said, "If I have to say 'grenade pouch' one more time, I'm gonna scream."

Jackson chuckled and kept his head bent over the laptop as he typed in the next item in Emma's hand. After another hour, they'd finished the inventory for his last bag. He hoisted up a bag and headed for the stairs. Hearing a loud grunt, he turned back to see Emma trying to heave up the heavy rucksack. The look on her face had him cracking up.

"You're actually going to carry that thing on your back?" she asked as it thudded to the ground.

"Oh yeah, and I'm going to do it while wearing that eighty-pound vest."