Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 22647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Old Mrs. Lowe sneered at me when she saw me, as was her usual.
The woman hated me.
I didn’t know why, and she didn’t expound, but we stayed clear of each other, because otherwise, there may be a slap down in the woman’s near future.
Likely it had to do with the fact that my husband didn’t hide the fact that he hated Mrs. Lowe’s son, who was a douche and a half.
The man was downright creepy, and made no attempt to hide the fact that he was watching me, even if my husband happened to be at my side.
“Alright, big…” I said looking down underneath the dog’s legs. “Boy, go pee pee.”
Miraculously, he did, and it became the beginning of a brand new partnership.
One where I cried into his coat because I was missing my husband, and he let me.
He was a good cuddler and all, but he wasn’t my husband.
***
Elliott
Three months later
“Did she call you cussing you out yet?” Sam asked as he plopped down in the seat beside me.
I shook my head. “No. She even sent me a care package to express her thankfulness. How about that?”
Sam rolled his eyes.
He wasn’t fooling me, though.
I knew he got just as excited to get a care package as I did.
“Open it, open it,” Dougie clapped his hands, imitating a six year old girl waiting to open her birthday presents.
Knowing they wouldn’t be leaving until I opened the box, I fished my knife out of my boot and slit the tape open.
I unfolded the box, and lifted out a shoe. A bra. A makeup bag. A pair of underwear. And finally, a half-eaten block of Velveeta cheese.
“Holy shit,” Sam said, barely containing his laughter. “It looks like she’s trying to tell you something.”
No doubt.
Especially since each individual item had been torn to smithereens, and was barely recognizable.
“What’s the note say?” Dougie asked, bending down to read over my shoulder.
I flipped open the note, and scanned it quickly, managing to hold my laughter in until I’d made it all the way through.
“She says she wanted me to feel like I was home, so she sent me some of Steeler’s favorite things,” I chuckled.
“How thoughtful,” Jack said dryly.
She would never knew what that chewed up crap meant to me.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “How very, very thoughtful.”
Chapter 6
I wish my life had background music so I could figure out what the hell is going on.
-E-card
Blaine
Christmas number 3
I waited impatiently for my boys to get home.
Their deployment had been extended twice since they’d left last Christmas, and instead of a six month tour, they’d done nearly a year.
All the news stories one would hear about their soldier coming home two or maybe three months early, and there mine was getting extended by two and three months. Twice!
It’d been a year of trials and tribulations.
A year of praying.
A year of pleading with God.
They’d been hit more than once, but that last time had been the worst.
Which was why Max was currently standing next to me instead of getting off the plane that was still sitting in the middle of the runway, when it should be hooking up to the departure gate.
“Do you think something’s wrong?” I asked worriedly.
Max glanced down at me, and then back up toward the plane.
In a cool, no nonsense tone, he replied. “No. I think that either A, Elliott got drunk and the air marshal had to get physical, or B, they’re short staffed and they’re waiting for someone to come help them get the plane where it’s supposed to be.”
I slapped Max on the arm. “You’re such a shit. Can’t you just be serious about this? I miss him like crazy, and there he is less than a football length away from me, and I can’t get to him.”
He winked down at me, “Give me a minute.”
I watched as Max disappeared, limping slightly and holding his head tilted slightly to the right, causing my heart to pang in my chest.
That day had been a nightmare.
***
Two months prior
“Hello?” I answered, trying to juggle thirteen bags of groceries up the stairs of my apartment and answer the phone all at once.
“Blaine.” My husband’s deep, rough voice greeted me.
I stopped on the stairs, closing my eyes at the sound of his voice. God it was good to hear from him. I hadn’t even realized that I’d been so anxious to hear his voice.
Although it’d only been a week this time, it still felt like a lifetime.
“Hey, baby. How are you?” I asked softly.
It was a good thing that I started up the stairs and placed my bags on the landing, otherwise what came out of his mouth next would’ve made me drop every single one of them.
“Our hummer was hit with an IED last night.” He said gently.
My mouth fell open in pain. “What? Is everyone okay?”
I mean, of course he was okay if he was calling me, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt in some way. That the others in his unit were okay.
“Max was transported to Germany with a head injury. Everyone else is okay, though. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing that we haven’t had before,” he reported calmly.
I, on the other hand, was anything but calm. My heart was racing, and I was fairly sure I was on the verge of a meltdown.
“Is there anything I can do?” I asked urgently.
“No. Max’ll be okay. We followed up with him as soon as he got there. There is some partial hearing loss, and he has a few large cuts from being the closest to the blast, but he’ll recover. He won’t be back, though. Not anytime soon,” Elliott admitted.
I felt my heart constrict when I thought about his sister who was probably freaking the hell out.
“Is he coming home?” I wondered.
“Yeah, but they’ll be sending him to a specialist near his sister. That’s about all I know right now,” he explained.
I breathed in deeply, letting out a pent up breath of relief. “Good. Good. But…but are you okay?”
He let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, baby…shaken but okay. I saw my life flash before my eyes. I don’t ever want to experience that again.”