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Authors: Staci Stallings
To Protect & Serve
To Protect & Serve
A Novel
The Courage Series:
Book 1
By: Staci Stallings
KINDLE EDITION
~*~*~*~
To Protect & Serve
Copyright © 2012 by Staci Stallings
Cover Design by Allan Kristopher Palor
Contact info:
[email protected]
Formatting: Cindy Jackson
eBook Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the appropriate eStore and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
“To Protect & Serve”
“As you have come to expect from Staci Stallings, emotions run rampant through her characters, expertly captured into the written word. To Protect and Serve will hold you prisoner to its pages until the final one is turned. Prepare to cry, laugh, wish, love and maybe even cry again as you become enveloped in the hopes and feelings of Lisa and Jeff. You will find yourself encouraging them along the pathways of their lives, nudging them to find the right direction, perhaps daring them to chase the dreams long hidden in their hearts.
Staci Stallings has woven reality into fiction in a powerful way. ‘To Protect and Serve’ truly honors those who protect and serve us every day. You will definitely enjoy this behind the scenes glimpse of the sacrifices they make to keep us safe.
Cindy, Amazon Reviewer
I often read Christian romance suspense which the romance part is simply a "Will you marry me?" and the book ends, leaving out so much about love. NOT this book. It is a sweet story, down to earth, and very believable. The characters are not perfect...just like in real life. As far as a Christian romance goes, I give it 5 stars!
CPCoffman, Amazon Reviewer
I was drawn into this book from the very beginning! The characters seem to come to life and take over my heart. I love how Staci brings real life issues to surface where you can relate to the characters. I think the term fictional healing is the best way to describe her books. I always come away filled with hope, and a desire to show Christ's love more to those around me. Wonderful, Wonderful story! Thank you Staci Stallings for sharing your gift of writing with us!!
M.A. Pyles, Amazon Reviewer
To all those who are called to risk their lives to save others--
Y
ou are all my heroes!
May God bless you and keep you safe always!
~*~
To Protect & Serve
Chapter 1
“I promise concern for others, and a willingness to help those in need,” Jeff Taylor said as he stood, hands clasped behind his back, shoulder-to-shoulder with 28 of Houston’s finest. His chest swelled with the words he had committed to memory in anticipation of this very moment more than ten years before. “I promise strength… strength of heart to bear whatever burdens might be placed upon me…”
He closed his eyes and breathed the words into his soul. This pledge would change his life in ways he could hardly even imagine at the moment. Where would it lead? Up flights of steps as others fled the other direction? Into the mouth of hell to pluck a single life back? Those images from the future coupled with the words making it difficult to so much as breathe them, and yet somehow his voice managed far more than that.
Strong, with a strength he had gained and a strength he would have to find in himself to do this job, his voice came. A solemn vow to all those his life would touch. “…I promise to protect and serve to the best of my ability. I promise the wisdom to lead, the compassion to comfort, and the love to serve unselfishly whenever I am called.”
A moment of silence for them all to breathe, one more moment affording a final opportunity to turn back. But like the image of those steps, he knew he never would. If someone needed him, Jeff Taylor, now standing at the door to his destiny, was ready and willing to help.
“I said I needed those reports by two! What? Were you hoping my desk would blow up and I wouldn’t notice they weren’t here?” Lisa Matheson asked in fury as the phone shook in her hand. “I don’t need excuses. I’m tired of excuses. I want them here in five minutes—or you can pack your things and I’ll find someone who can actually do this job.”
Without bothering to say good-bye, she slammed the phone down, and her gaze swept the desk stacked a foot high. How was it possible that every single incompetent moron found their way into her office? They were everywhere—and each one had more excuses than the last one did. One carefully manicured set of nails sifted through the files on her desk, but without the latest sales reports, this information was useless.
She hit the intercom button. “Sherie, did Kamden call yet?”
“About ten minutes ago. He’s on his way.”
“Terrific,” Lisa breathed as she let go of the intercom button. More bad news. Kamden was sure to jump ship the second he figured out her little agency couldn’t even get a simple set of sales figures together. She had given her blood, sweat, and tears for the better part of a year to land the Kamden Foods account. Now, she had it, and it was going to be gone before she so much as had a shot at really promoting it. It never ceased to amaze her how long it took to build something and how very quickly it simply crashed down around her. One finger hit the intercom button. “When Joel gets here with those reports, send him in.”
“Sure thing.”
If she could just get organized before the next disaster hit, it would be nice. It would also be nice if she could sweep one hand across her desk and dump all of the problems there into the garbage. With a frustrated sigh, she reached for the folder she had been compiling since that morning just as Joel not so much walked but fell into her office.
“Nice of you to make it,” she said icily. She held out a hand for the information in his. “It’s all there?”
“The last three months,” he said, nodding.
However, when she opened the folder, her gaze fell across the tallies. “No, this is last quarter. I’ve already got this. I need the newest quarter.”
“Yeah, well, the newest quarter isn’t over yet, so...”
“No.” Lisa lowered her tone as her gaze skewered through him. “I need the figures for the newest quarter. Now!”
“Well, you said the quarter. I thought you meant...”
Her head was really starting to hurt. “Do you have the figures for this quarter or not?”
“For last month,” Joel hedged as he pushed his black glasses up on his nose. “This month isn’t...”
“Then get me the figures for last month.”
“But that’s not...”
“Get them!”
“O… okay,” Joel said, and although he looked like he wanted to add another excuse, one more look at her told him a quick exit would be best. “I’ll be back.”
In frustration Lisa twirled the single strand of auburn
-brunette hair that framed her face in a perfect arch. “Okay, this isn’t so bad. I’ve got the newest mock-ups. I’ll just show him those. I could probably wing the sales figures too if I had to...”
The intercom beeped. “Haley’s on line two.”
“No, no, no,” Lisa moaned as she reached for the phone. “I don’t have time for this!” The phone was at her ear in one motion, and she breathed one quick breath to squelch all of her frustration. “Hey, Haley-girl, what’s up?”
“I just wanted to make sure my maid of honor hasn’t forgotten about our little shindig tonight,” the sweet voice of Lisa’s younger sister said, sounding even sweeter couched in the middle of the most magical month of her life.
“No, I didn’t forget, but I am a little busy trying to get away in time.”
“I can come by and get you if you want,” Haley said. “Bryn and Chandra are going to meet us there.”
“I’ve got my car.”
“I know, but I also know you’re liable to get buried six feet deep in that paperwork of yours and forget.”
“I wouldn’t...”
“Be careful where you go with that statement. This is the same sister who sat at the airport for six hours waiting for you when you decided to drive from Dallas that time.”
“Okay, okay. Come get me, but I wouldn’t have forgotten this.”
Joel slipped into the room, and Lisa looked up at him, dreading the bad news he was obviously bringing.
“Listen, Hal, I’ve got to go.”
“Six.”
“Yeah, six,” Lisa replied, feeling the full weight of the duty fall on her shoulders. If she made it that long, life could only go up from there. With that promise, she hung up.
Carefully Joel handed her the folder. “Here they are, and I’ve got the ones for this month in there too.”
With her brain going in seven directions at once, Lisa opened the folder and tried to focus on what she was looking at just as the intercom buzzed.
“Mr. Kamden is in the conference room,” Sherie said.
“Lovely.”
Surrounded by the men who had become his best friends over the last nine months, Jeff stood, drinking punch and laughing about the exploits they had traversed together—like the time Dustin had fallen backward the first time they put the full gear on him, or when Craig got stuck in the door as he went through the obstacle course, and the time Ramsey slid down the pole holding his boots in one hand and his pants in the other.
Ramsey, who was one of the six black men in their class, had never been the most organized among them, but down deep, he had a heart as big as the Astrodome. In fact, as Jeff looked around at them, it struck him how very different each was from the others—but how well they had fit together despite their differences or maybe because of them. One strength made up for another’s weakness. He only hoped that his new post would work out as well.
“Well, gentlemen.” Captain Drake clapped Jeff on the back as he stepped up to the group. “It was touch and go there for awhile, but you made it.”
“Yes, sir,” they all chorused like a well-rehearsed kindergarten class.
“So, what’s up next?”
“I’m going down to South Houston,” Dustin said, speaking up first as he always did. Dustin. Cool, smooth, confident Dustin. The leader and the one Jeff would miss the most.
“I’m headed out to College Station,” Ramsey said with a nod.
“God help them,” Captain Drake said, and they laughed. He looked over to Craig.
“I’ve got two apps in. Depends who takes me,” Craig said with his slow Texas grin. Meticulous Craig—
the guy who always the right gear at the right time. Jeff would’ve followed Craig into a burning building that was destined to fall at any moment. It wouldn’t matter, Craig would be there with the right stuff to keep the whole thing upright until they had accomplished every last component of their mission.
“And how about you, Taylor? What’re your big plans?”
The attention from the group descended on him in a flash, and Jeff ducked fully comprehending that he was now center stage.
“Oh, you know, Taylor,” Dustin said after a beat. “He’s just looking for the station with the best stud calendar.” As though the statement needed emphasis, Dustin struck a heroic pose.
Instantly Jeff shook his head even as he buried it into his chest.
“Well, that’s the only way he’s ever going to get any action,” Ramsey said with a laugh.
“Yeah, Lord knows, he’s never going to actually ask anybody out,” Craig said, joining in on the ribbing session that had been going on for more than six months.
Somehow, Jeff knew he never should’ve admitted he wasn’t exactly an expert in the area of women. The other three, two married and one constantly on the prowl, made women seem like a subject with the difficulty of third-grade reading. However, when they taught the lessons the other guys had obviously learned, he must have been absent because as far as Jeff could tell, he was clueless on the subject.
It wasn’t totally his fault. It was something about how he was wired. Around the guys it was hard enough to get a few words in, but bring a woman around, and the already errant signals from his brain to his mouth became downright unintelligible.
Captain Drake laughed with the others and patted Jeff on the back. “Well, if you need a good reference…”
“He needs more than that,” Ramsey said, and they all burst out laughing again.
“Thanks, Captain.” Jeff extended his hand trying to be oblivious to the joke. “It’s been an honor, Sir.”
“Good luck, Taylor,” the captain said, and his smile spoke in terms
of I hope to see you again someday
and
take care of yourself out there
. Then the captain moved on to the next cluster of graduates.
“Hey, you know, this punch is nice and all,” Ramsey said, spinning his little cup, “but I’m thinking we really deserve a better send off than this.”
“What do you have in mind?” Dustin asked as he took a drink of the punch.
“The Bar Houston?” Ramsey said quizzically. He jerked his head over to the table where the wives sat. “You can even bring them along if you want.”
Craig laughed. “How generous of you.”
“I try.” Ramsey shrugged and downed the last of his punch. “Even though I seriously hate the thought of diluting the opportunity pool. Know what I'm saying?”
“So, you going to let my man Jeff come along too?” Dustin asked, draping an arm over Jeff’s shoulders.
“Why not?” Ramsey said with a knowing smirk. “You’ve got to actually talk for the prospects to notice you’re in the hunt.”
“I don’t know.” Jeff shrunk away from the thought. “I’m kind of busy.”
“What? Polishing your boots?” Ramsey taunted.
It was too close to the truth to deny too vehemently, and Jeff scratched the back of his ear wishing he could just disappear and be done with it. “It’s been a long day.”
“And what better way to relieve a long day than a little one-on-one time with some very lovely ladies?” Dustin asked. Then he looked at Jeff. “Oh, yeah. I forgot who I’m talking to.”
They laughed as annoyance landed squarely on Jeff’s chest. “Fine. Let’s go.”
“I knew it.”
Lisa jumped at the sound of her sister’s voice suddenly in the middle of her office; however, she kept her gaze solely on the campaign spread across her desk. “Knew what?”
“You aren’t ready yet.” Haley crossed her arms in irritation.
“I am.” Head down, Lisa wrote out the rest of her idea. “I was just waiting on you.”
“Uh-huh, and I didn’t see you downstairs.”
“I figured you’d come up and get me.”
“Okay, so I’m here.”
Lisa’s gaze never lifted from the drawings. “You know, Hal, the whole bar thing really isn’t my scene.”
“Yeah,” Haley said as she walked around the desk where she laced her arm through her sister’s and tugged on her, “and if I’d let you, you’d hole up here forever and never go anywhere.”
Quickly Lisa made one more mark before she allowed herself to be pulled up. “And that would be a bad thing?”
“Come on, Bryn and Chandra are waiting.”
“Now this is a party!” Dustin said as he draped one arm over the shoulders of his wife, Eve, a lovely brunette who huddled in closer to him.
“I just hope the babysitter doesn’t charge overtime,” Craig’s wife, Bridget, said looking at her watch.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Ramsey said with a definite scowl. “Now, you ladies know I love you, but come on. Babysitters? You’re cramping my style.”
“And what style would that be, R.J.?” Eve asked teasingly.
