The tour continued through the rest of the building where she saw the classrooms and practice rooms. Once they were shown the whole building, they were taken out to a large open area where all the students in both groups were mingling.
Sara weaved her way through the large group of people as she looked for Paige and Jake. She paused for a moment and stood up on her toes trying to see over the crowd, when someone ran into her. She tumbled backwards and landed hard on her rear.
“Excuse me,” a quiet, gentle voice said from above her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she mumbled. She got back to her feet before looking up at the person who had knocked her over, and she almost failed to stifle her gasp of surprise. She felt like she had seen him before, or should at the very least know him. He felt so familiar, but she did not understand why.
“Are you certain?” He asked as he brushed silver hair back from his face. “You seem a little lost.”
Sara looked down to try and hide her embarrassment.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she mumbled before she backed away and walked into the crowd again. It took her a little while before she finally spotted Paige in the crowd. When Paige saw her, her face broke into a huge grin. She grabbed Sara by the arm and pulled her with her.
“Thank goodness,” Paige said, her voice filled with excitement. “We have to talk to these guys before Jake gets back!”
Before Sara could even think about protesting, Paige dragged her over to a small group of three men. Sara’s face fell when she noticed one of them was the man who had run into her just moments ago. When they came to a stop, Sara glanced up at the two she had not seen before. They were both tall and lean with bright blue eyes. One had jet black hair while the other silver with light blue streaks.
“Raven,” Paige said to the one with black hair. “This is my roommate that I was telling you about.”
Sara glanced at Paige in surprise. She did not understand how they could already be on a first name basis. They could have only met a few minutes ago.
“Hi Sara,” Raven said, his voice a little too loud. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Sara smiled, but grimaced on the inside when she realized this guy seemed to be a lot like Paige. He even wore the same dark, gothic clothing as she liked to wear. He gave her a warm, friendly smile before returning his attention to Paige.
“So, your name is Sara?”
She glanced up and saw the man who had run into her earlier was standing beside her. He tilted his head when she did not say anything. She nodded when it felt like his grey eyes were looking through her.
“I am Kaedin,” he said.
Her brows furrowed when she caught a strange undercurrent to his voice. It felt like he thought she should know his name. When she glanced up at him, he held his hand out, “It is a pleasure.” She stared at his hand but before she could take it, she heard someone else walk up.
Jake stopped between the girls and draped an arm around each of their shoulders. Paige looked up and gave her brother a dirty look but knew better than to say anything. Kaedin raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the arm around Sara.
“The warrior,” he muttered under his breath.
“Excuse me?” Jake asked when he did not quite catch what he said.
“Forgive me, it was nothing of importance,” Kaedin replied with a forced smile. “I do not believe we have met. I am Kaedin.” He held out his hand to Jake for a handshake, which Jake accepted only out of politeness.
“I heard your introduction.” Jake’s voice took on a sharp edge.
“This is my brother Jake,” Paige interjected trying to break the uncomfortable tension.
“It is nice to meet you, Jacob,” Kaedin said, his tone taking on a sarcastic edge.
Jake narrowed his eyes but gave no other emotion away as he regarded him, “Let’s go, ladies. It’s time to head home.” He pulled the girls with him as they headed back to the jeep. Kaedin tilted his head with a frown as he watched them walk away.
Once they reached the jeep, Paige spun around and glared up at her brother.
“What is your problem?” She snapped.
“I don’t trust them,” he said as he opened the door for the girls. Sara climbed in, but Paige just stared at her brother.
“You don’t even know them,” she said as she climbed in beside Sara.
“They are boys,” Jake said, his expression darkening. “I don’t have to know them not to trust them.”
“When I die single it will be your fault.” Paige glared at him as he got into the driver’s seat.
He looked over at her with a smug grin. “I think I can live with that.”
Paige rolled her eyes in exasperation but let the subject drop. She knew even she could not win this one. Jake started the jeep and drove off the campus.
When they arrived back at the cabin, they were all surprised to see a military vehicle parked out front. Jake motioned for the girls to go in the house before he walked over to the sergeant getting out of the vehicle.
“Captain Riverwood?” The man asked.
“Yes,” Jake replied.
The sergeant held out an envelope which Jake took with a frown, “You have been reassigned, sir. The address of your new post is in the envelope. The base is local, so you will not need to relocate again. You must report at 0900 Saturday.”
“Why?” Jake asked, his eyebrows raising. “I was just reassigned to Fort Carson. Where am I going now?”
“I don’t know, sir,” the sergeant replied. “I was only asked to deliver your paperwork.
Jake gave him a curt nod and the sergeant headed back to his vehicle. He watched until he was gone before looking in the envelope. There was nothing inside that told him anything more than the address of the facility. With a heavy sigh, he headed inside.
A few days later, very early in the morning, the girls and Jake were loading their things into his jeep. He was dressed in his BDUs since he was reporting to his new base. Once he finished loading the last of the girl’s boxes that had arrived from Japan, they loaded into the jeep and headed for the university. They arrived in front of a large brick building that looked like a large apartment complex. Before starting to carry anything inside they headed up to their room on the third floor and stepped inside their new home for the next four years. The girls were lucky that Sara’s parents were paying for the dorm, so they got one that was a small apartment instead of the one room which was normal for a new freshman. The apartment contained two bedrooms, a kitchen with dining area, a living room, a bathroom, and a small balcony.
“This is great!” Paige squealed.
Sara smiled at her and shook her head. Paige was so easy to get excited. She was grinning from ear to ear as she explored their new home.
“It is a nice place,” Jake agreed. “Let’s get all your things carried in. I have to get on the road soon.” He headed back out the door and the girls followed behind him. It did not take them long to get all their stuff out of the jeep.
“All right,” Jake said as he carried in the last box. “It is time for me to head out. Both of you be careful.”
Paige rolled her eyes, “Aren’t I always?” She asked with a grin. Jake just shook his head and gave her a hug before turning to Sara. He gave her a hug too, and this time neither one of them seemed to be uncomfortable. Paige’s grin widened.
“If either of you need me just call me,” Jake said as he walked through the door. Both girls waved bye and he shut the door behind him. Once he was gone, they shared excited glances before heading to their own room. They had a lot of stuff to put away.
Jake headed back down to his jeep before heading away from the university. He drove for a little while before he noticed that he was leaving the city. His brows furrowed as he picked up the map laying in his passenger seat again. There was nothing on the map showing any kind of base out this direction. Setting it back down, he drove for just a couple more miles before two black SUVs appeared in the road in front of him.
They blocked the road, and he was forced to pull over to keep from hitting them. He slid one hand down beside his seat and gripped the pistol that was concealed when soldiers started getting out of the SUVs.
A soldier with a rifle in hand walked up and tapped on the driver’s side window. Jake used his free hand and rolled down the window just enough that he could hear the soldier. He noticed the soldier’s safety was not on.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I’m following orders, I’m supposed to report to my new base at 0900,” Jake said inclining his head toward the paperwork sitting on his dashboard. The soldier glanced at it.
“Let me see it.”
Jake still did not release his grip on the pistol as he leaned over and picked up his orders. He had to roll down the window a little bit more so that he could hand it to the soldier. After looking over the paperwork thoroughly, the soldier looked back at Jake.
“I.D.”
Jake shifted enough that he could get his wallet out as he glanced around the jeep. There were three other soldiers standing at the ready around his vehicle. He opened it and pulled out his military I.D. card and handed it to the soldier. He took it and looked between Jake, the I.D., and the paperwork.
“All right, sir,” the soldier said. “You are cleared to proceed from here.” He handed him back all his things. “Proceed along this road until you reach the main gates.” Jake only nodded and did not remove his hand from his firearm until the SUVs disappeared down a side road. Once they were gone, Jake took a deep breath. He had no idea what that was about, but he had the distinct impression that they could have made him disappear. After taking a couple minutes to calm back down, he started driving again. It took him about fifteen minutes before a massive set of gates came into view at the base of an enormous mountain. After getting clearance at the gates, Jake drove onto what looked like a top-secret base. He parked in the lot he was directed to go to before he turned off the jeep. Looking around in confusion, he wondered how in the world he had been assigned here. The only thing he could see from where he was parked was a small two-story brick building that appeared like it was being swallowed by the mountain itself. The sheer rocks of the cliff face ran right up to the building. His expression darkened suddenly.
“I had better not be here because of him,” he said as he hit the steering wheel. He got out of the jeep and headed into the building to begin his in processing.
After spending several hours getting various forms signed, he finally had the opportunity to ask about his transfer.
“Do you know who requested this transfer?” Jake asked the sergeant currently helping with his paperwork.
“Let me take a look, sir,” he responded as he looked through Jake’s information. “It looks like General Riverwood requested this transfer.”
Jake closed his eyes as he clenched his jaw and took a sharp breath through his nose. The sergeant did not notice as he continued to look through the paperwork.
“Okay, sir, you need to see if the general is in his office for the next signature. Do you need me to show you where it is?” The sergeant asked as he handed the paperwork back to Jake.
“No, I can manage.” Jake stood up and left the office before he headed down another hallway. It did not take him long to find the appropriate office. Without knocking on the door, Jake threw the door open and stormed into the general’s office. He walked straight over to the desk and glared at the man sitting behind it.
“Why am I here?” He snapped.
“I don’t have time to speak to you right now,” the man snapped without glancing up from his paperwork.
Jake slammed his hand down on the desk causing a stack of papers to fall off and scatter all over the floor.
“We need to talk now!” He spit out between clenched teeth.
The general glanced at the aide who was standing beside him and waved him out of the room. The aide scurried from the office before the heavy-set general stood and stormed around the desk. He stopped directly in front of Jake and looked up at him. The family resemblance was slight since Jake was several inches taller than his father and the general did not share his son and daughter’s eye color, his was a dark brown. The only thing they had gotten from him was the dark brown hair.
“Who do you think you are talking to captain?” He asked in a hard, disapproving tone while gesturing to his four-star status. Jake ripped off his BDU jacket with his captain’s bars and threw it on the floor.
“Dad,” he snapped while he stared the general right in the eye. “Why am I here?”
“I am helping you out, son,” came the short clip reply.
Jake bristled at the word son, “I don’t want your help. I made that perfectly clear several years ago. Until you acknowledge, Paige, I want nothing to do with you.” He started to shake with anger when he clenched a hand into a fist.
“Do not say that name in from of me,” the general growled.
“She’s your daughter! How can yo--.”
“That is enough! You’ve been assigned here, and I expect you to make the best of it. Now get out of my office.” The general turned his back to Jake and returned to his seat.
“I want a transfer now,” Jake demanded. He was beginning to shake worse as he struggled to reign in his emotions.
“Denied,” the general snapped without even looking up from his paperwork. “Now get out of my office, captain.”
Jake ground his teeth together to keep from retorting. He spun and grabbed his BDU jacket, which was now missing several buttons, and left the office. The aide who was waiting outside looked at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. He had never heard anyone talk to a general like that before and not get demoted. Jake gave the man a dark look as he continued past him and headed straight out of the building. Once outside he turned and kicked the side of the building several times before he took a few deep breaths. Ignoring a couple of disapproving looks thrown his way, he made his way back toward his jeep. When he started to cool down, he was thankful he was not wearing his captain’s bars. He could have gotten chastised for his behavior.
After sitting in his jeep in silence for a little bit, he was back in control and dragged himself back out as he shook his head. This could end up being a complete disaster. He knew he was going to have issues being in such close proximity to his dad. Pulling his duffle bag from the back, he headed into his new residence.
Several weeks later both Jake and the girls had settled into their new routines. Sara sat in her room, early in the morning, working on an assignment for the only math class she was forced to take for her music degree. She sighed as she was beginning to get frustrated. Math was not one of her strong suits. She dropped the pencil on the notebook after getting another problem wrong, when the door to her room suddenly burst open. Paige came bounding into the room. She was radiating excitement and Sara grimaced. She was not in the mood for one of Paige’s crazy ideas.
“Sara!” Paige exclaimed with a grin. “Drop all that boring old school work. We’re leaving for a whitewater kayaking trip in an hour.” She hurried over to Sara’s closet and grabbed out a small bag to start packing clothes for her.
“I don’t really swim well,” Sara said with a frown. “Plus, I need to get this finished.”
Paige turned around with a pout on her face, “Oh come on! I got Raven and his buddies to come. We are going to spend the whole weekend at the river.”
“I’m not going whitewater anything,” Sara said, apprehension beginning to show on her face. “Besides, we don’t know those boys very well.”
“Oh Sara, you might, not but I’ve been hanging out with Raven and them almost every day while you’re in class. They are so cool and so hot,” she said with a huge grin. Sara rolled her eyes before Paige continued, “Okay, what if we avoid the whitewater? I know the river well enough. Jake and I have done it tons of times. Will you go then?” She held up her hands like she was begging. “Please?”
Sara sighed with a shake of her head
. She knew she was not going to get out of this, “Okay.”
“Thank you,” Paige yelled as she grabbed Sara in a bear hug. “Let’s get ready!”
About an hour later Paige and Sara were putting their bags and Paige’s small tent into the back of Raven’s SUV. Sara could not help but wonder where they got the dark blue car. It seemed too new and clean for an average college student. She pushed the thought out of her mind when it was time to climb in and she realized she had to sit in the back with Kaedin and another man whose name she had not caught yet. When she looked to Paige for help, she just grinned at her and hopped into the front seat with Raven, unfazed by her friend’s discomfort. She did not even glance back before she started talking to him. Sara gave her a dirty look before she got into the seat behind Raven by the door. Once she closed the door, she slid over as far as she could get when Kaedin climbed in next to her. She kept her eyes focused out the window as they drove.
“Have you ever been kayaking before?” Kaedin asked trying to make conversation with her. Sara gave him a sideways glance before shaking her head no. “What do you like to do?” She started fidgeting with the hem on her t-shirt as she grew more and more uncomfortable.
“Um…”
“Hey, she’s really shy. Don’t play twenty questions,” Paige said suddenly from the front seat. Kaedin raised an eyebrow before he looked back at Sara.
“My apologies,” he said.
Sara nodded and turned her attention out the window. Kaedin watched her out of the corner of his eye before the other man tapped him on the arm.
“What Hikaru?” He asked turning his attention to him. Hikaru glanced at Paige and Sara before whispering something in Kaedin’s ear.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Kaedin replied as he glanced at Sara again. She did not look at them but noticed the interaction and now felt even more certain they should not be there. A sudden desire for Jake to be there hit her hard. He always knew how to handle any situation.
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