Nerd and the Marine (27 page)

Mitch was back, bruised, but safe and
relatively sound. She didn't like the idea of that rockslide at
all.

She cried when she reached the section
about the Fandrichs. So he'd been adopted into another family for a
short while. Those wonderful people had laid a foundation on which
she could build. Sure, from the sound of it, they were only two
people while her family was eight hundred strong, but still. They
had accepted and loved him, just as her family would. Once she
determined he truly wanted her. But she’d made up her mind to trust
him. And judging by his message, Mitch Monahan was worthy of her
trust. Could she give it to him?

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: You're
back!

Hello Mitch,

I'm so happy you're back.
I've missed you.

Thank you for your remarks
about my past relationships. I never thought the men involved were
to blame. I just thought I was lacking, so it was my fault. You’ve
given me some things to think about.

I wish I could be there to
tend to your wounds, but since I'm not, have you seen medical
personnel? I really hope you have. Goodness but I'm happy to hear
from you. Seems like you were gone forever.

Thank you, also for
sharing about Russ and Wendy. I realize that must have been painful
for you. But am grateful you told me. I'm glad you inherited
Bentley. He’s a wonderful dog and I’m happy to keep him.

The kids have been back in
school for well over a month. They're pretty much in sync with
their classes and homework and after school activities now. Most
Friday nights are spent at football games. (When the games are
here.)

We're related to a good
portion of the team, so, we all go out to support the kids. Lots of
nephews on the team, and some of the nieces are cheerleaders. Plus
the band members. There are also the field hockey players and some
in soccer. Most any night of the week I can be found freezing on a
bleacher somewhere. We are certainly into October. I'll be
attending home games until November, I imagine. Since I think we'll
go on to districts in all of the aforementioned sports.

In case you were
wondering, yes, these sports span all of the age levels. So, not
only am I doing the high school viewing, but this extends all the
way down to pee wee level, too. Have you ever seen a bunch of seven
year olds try to play football? It's endearingly comical. I'll see
if I can convince Ed to send you a video. Too funny by
half.

We're carving pumpkins
next week and already the kids are talking about Halloween
costumes. I'll send pictures. ☺ I bought a new camera and have kept
it away from my brothers.

Oh, to answer your
question, Max was not in on the tying and tossing us into the lake
fiasco. He didn't make it down that weekend. So, it was just the
six bozos. We're still holding it against Max though, because had
he been here, we probably wouldn't have gotten tied up. He'd have
just started throwing us in. Which would have at least been better
than our experience. Just a get wet deal, not a get wet, nearly
die, and walk around with a sore kiester for the entire next week
deal. I'm healed, of course, now. But it was tough going for a week
or so. I don't recommend it.

Oh, please try to avoid
rockslides. That scared me!

I look forward to hearing
from you more frequently for a while. But I understand you'll have
to leave again soon. Which I despise, but I'm trying to think of
this as the sooner you leave, the sooner you'll come back and the
sooner this wretched year will be up and I'll get to hold
you.

Bentley sends his love and
says he can't wait to lick you. I promise to give him some teeth
cleaning biscuits before you come.

I missed you!

Yours,

Lainy

Reading through Lainy’s e-mail, he
thought of the kids already in school and of yellow school buses
and wished he could be on his way to work and have to wait for a
bus. He wished he could be on those bleachers with Lainy, holding
her close, savoring the feel of her against him.

He'd love to see a pee wee game with
her. Watch the little squirts playing without a clue as to what
they should do. He thought of the soccer teams and the band
members. Were there pee wee cheerleaders? And field hockey. He'd
never seen a game, but imagined Destiny probably played. She seemed
like the field hockey type.

He could sit in the bleachers with
Lainy and keep her warm at all these sporting events. He could hold
her to his heart’s content. Because he wanted to hold her for a
long time. And she said she wanted to hold him. Hopefully that
meant the idiots she’d dated hadn’t scared her off men permanently.
She said hold him, not hug him.

That alone warmed him through to his
core. Not that the air wasn't hot to the point of stifling and so
warm it could cook eggs left out on the counter. But this kind of
warmth was spread by love, not weather. He hadn’t known this kind
of awareness before, not even from the Fandrichs. What he felt now
seemed to delve much deeper.

He imagined her family carving
pumpkins. The kids would probably grow bored and the parents would
finish the job. He imagined the bakers, pulling trays of mouth
watering treats from the oven. Maybe they'd drink warm cider and
hot chocolate.

They'd sit by a fire and
the adults would gossip while the kids played. Maybe some of the
herd would chase Bentley and the family dogs. How he wanted to be a
part of their family celebrations. Instead, he'd be sloughing
through yet more sand or scaling yet another hill with loose rocks.
He'd be experiencing sand storms while Pennsylvania would see
snowstorms.
Joy
–
Mitch let out a long sigh.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: Fall
Colors

Hello Lainy,

Your e-mail is making me
homesick. I'm thinking of you walking in the park with Bentley,
looking at the beautiful fall colors. The trees are probably soon
going to hit their peak? I love the fall colors. Even though green
is my current favorite color, I’d still love to see the leaves
change. You'll be raking leaves soon. It's exciting to see the kids
playing their various sports, I imagine. I sure miss that I can't
be there. It'd be fun to cuddle with you in the stands. At least I
could keep you warm.

You'll have to tell me how
your pumpkin carving goes. I'd love to be there, too. I've never
carved a pumpkin, but I imagine it'd be fun with the
herd.

We're scheduled to depart
in two days. I figured my leave wouldn't last long, and my
commander was apologetic, but I’m not surprised. I saw too many
things while out in the field that still need done. I imagine we'll
be gone another three months. I should be back sometime in January.
I got a promotion, too. I’m now a Junior Major. Which is
nice.

You'll have the holidays
and celebrate them with your family. One good thing about the field
is we rarely take notice of the days. They all run together. And
the time spent there goes fast. We have a lot to do. At least I'll
be sort of healed. Today is much better than yesterday.

I had intended to see my
last video, but fell asleep for most of the day. Many of the other
guys said they slept, too. I didn't feel like such a wimp then. The
heat takes a lot out of you and we live and work in it. Plus when
you’re out in the field, you need an extra level of awareness that
drains us as well. By the time we leave again, we'll all be ready
to go.

I miss you,
too!

I think about you all the
time.

Yours,

Mitch

P.S. Remember, all men are
NOT created equal. I don’t know a Marine in my entire company who
would have treated you the way those idiots treated you. Keep in
mind that real men treat women a lot different than jerks. Give a
real man a try.

Mitch hoped he hadn’t made
that completely obvious, but then, he didn’t want Lainy hurt again.
He wanted her to experience how wonderful love could be.
With him
.

Not that he had much experience to
draw on, but something told him it would be different, perfect,
with her. The right woman could make all the difference. Somehow,
he knew that. But would she take a chance?

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lainy's heart sank when she
read Mitch's e-mail. He'd be leaving again, soon. And for such a
long time. She didn't want him to leave again so quickly. A voice
in the back of her mind sneered,
the
sooner he goes the sooner he’ll be back
.

The thought didn't comfort her now as
it had when she'd written those words to him. She had fooled
herself into thinking he'd be on base at least a week. But this
wouldn't amount to more than four days. Which was paltry at best.
And he’d been promoted. She was happy for him. But sick that he
would be gone so soon.

She also didn’t intend to tell him
someone had broken into her lake cottage. The police told her
things had been overturned but nothing destroyed. She’d had to
drive to the lake and put things back to order. Lainy thought who
ever had gone through the cottage had been looking for something,
but what? She rented the place out over the summer, why would she
keep valuables there? With the break-in not making sense, she
decided to keep quiet. No sense worrying Mitch. What could he do
from Kuwait but worry?

Swallowing, she decided she'd tell him
her big news and try to keep her dismay of him leaving and her fear
about the break-in out of the e-mail. Telling him how heartsick she
was wouldn't help him. Especially when he had an important and
dangerous job to do. She needed to be thankful he was willing to do
what he did.

With a heavy heart, she started an
e-mail, striving to sound upbeat and chirpy so he'd leave with some
cheer. He did this because he had the skills and training. He
fought for their country because he loved the United States and
believed in her. And Lainy wasn't willing to dampen his spirit.
Hers might hurt because she feared for him and wanted him home safe
and sound, but the world didn't work that way, and she refused to
be selfish.

She'd have some chocolate when she
finished and indulge in a good cry while she was at it.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: Bentley's got a
girlfriend!

Hello Mitch, (Or should I
say Junior Major, sir?) ☺

Bentley has a girlfriend.
And no, she's not a poodle, thank goodness. She's a really cute
dog. A blonde golden retriever. She's athletic and energetic and
Bentley can relate. I never figured he'd choose a sporty girl, but
that's who he seems ga ga over. There is a very prissy poodle on
the block (not a relative) whom we don't much care for. She's
extremely fussy, just like her owner, and Bentley seems to laugh at
her more than admire her. (We like most poodles, just not this
one.)

But Rocky, the golden
retriever, appears to have captured his heart. She helps him rid
the park of squirrels. And she's a bit of a bird dog. She likes
watching the birds, which has caused Bentley to notice them. (My
yard is now bird free, too.) They run and tussle and have a great
time.

Actually, she might be one
of your colleague’s dogs. Do you know of an Admiral O'Riley?
Because I think Rocky is his. My Aunt Emma found Rocky and
explained to the family who had adopted her what happened. They
very kindly gave her up, as they'd only had her a short time.
Someone messed up the paperwork and she stayed at the shelter
longer than anticipated. My aunt bought them a golden retriever
puppy to make up for giving up Rocky.

Do Marines have admirals,
or is he Navy? I don't know the ranks very well, I'm afraid. His
full name is Admiral Richard O'Riley. Aunt Emma was really happy to
find Rocky, but not happy to be unable to locate her owner. She's
afraid something happened to him and that's why she can't contact
him. All she heard was that he left for Iraq or Kuwait within about
the same time frame you did. We’ve been trying to find Ben to ask
him, but sometimes he’s out of contact for weeks and months at a
time.

If you've heard of this
Admiral, could you let us know? Aunt Emma's taking excellent care
of Rocky, and will be happy to keep her indefinitely, but wanted to
relieve this man of worrying about his dog, if possible. Perhaps
you'll have better luck finding him than we are?

Bentley is quite taken
with Rocky, so we've had to keep an eye on them both. Neither is
fixed, we've noticed. Not that puppies would be a problem, exactly,
and Bentley's got some retriever in him but he's bigger than she
is, by quite a lot, (he’s got the Mastiff size) so we're worried
about the strain on Rocky. Until we locate her owner, we don't have
all the facts. Again the paperwork hit a snafu so we don't have
much to go on.

I'm saddened to learn
you're leaving again so soon. Congrats on the promotion, by the
way. Are you healed enough to go? Is that a stupid question to ask
a Marine? I figure you must have needed medical clearance to be
able to leave again, so I'll stop nagging, okay? Sorry. I worry. I
know you can take care of yourself, but it doesn't make me feel any
better.