“When am I ever late?” I ask.
“If you’re not ten minutes early…”
“You’re ten minutes late, yeah I know. I know.”
“Civilian life is making you soft. Let’s get inside and harden you back up before your bad habits start wearing off on me.”
We walk through the door and check out a couple pistols. I haven’t fired a single round in over a year now, but that doesn’t mean Duke’s got an edge on me today at the indoor pistol range. I’m still competitive as hell, and he knows it.
“How’s the apartment?” I ask as the targets get set up.
“It’s good, man. Nothing fancy, but it sure beats sleeping on a cot in the Middle East falling asleep to mortar rounds.”
“I hear that.”
Duke stayed in one year longer than me. We were from different worlds, but once we were assigned to our first team together we were literally like brothers, and not just brothers in arms. We were brothers for life. I had encouraged him to get out at the same time I did, but he was mission critical and had to do two more six-month deployments, both to the Middle East. Thank god he came back in one piece, not that I expected anything less. Duke is a survivor who bleeds red, white, and blue.
Pap! Pap! Pap! The sounds of my pistol fire echo through the range. It doesn’t take binoculars to see I just landed three headshots, dead center. “With a daughter, these skills never go out of practice.”
Duke laughs, but it’s more like an exhale out of his nose than a full-on belly rattler. He’s always been single, so he has no idea what it means to have a family, let alone a little girl.
My wife and I decided to stop at one. We agreed on just one and then to spoil her completely. Personally I could have gone for a big family, and at forty-one there was still time, but my wife was devoted to her own career and I admired her for that. One had been more than enough. We love our little Daisy with everything we’ve got.
It was tough, all those years I was deployed, never seeing her as much as any of the three of us wanted. The Internet wasn’t what it was today, so satellite phones in the middle of nowhere, shared by thousands of guys, wasn’t really cutting it. They’ve got it easy these days. Sailors have smartphones with Skype and video chats. I’m not angry. Good for them. Just wish we had that when I was playing the distant dad role.
But I’m back in town now. Got my nice retirement check and I’m running a little security business on the side. Yeah, it’s cliché, but it’s what I know. And I know it damn well.
“Nice shootin’,” Duke says.
“Thanks,” I say, stepping back to let him have a go. “How’s the business going?”
“Not bad. You know I like this yard work stuff. Working with my hands, being out in the sun. There’s a science and an art to it, and it’s challenging. You get to use all of your mind and your body too.”
“The work you did at my place was more than worth what I paid you. You sure I can’t—”
“Tim, we discussed this. Eighty-five percent of market wages. I don’t want a penny more than what I deserve, and a friend discount of fifteen percent is really a lot less than you deserve.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind…”
“Not happening, for multiple reasons. One of which is that business is picking up.”
“That’s great. And it makes sense. Daisy said you did a bang-up job.”
“Thanks. She’s a…nice girl you got there, Duke.”
“Thanks. Our one and only.”
Duke lines up for his shot.
“Surprised it took you two this long to finally bump into each other.”
Pap! Pap! Pap!
“Ouch! Where’s your aim?” I say. Duke’s three shots have missed by a country mile. They’re all over the place, not even in a group. Something is definitely off.
“Gun’s a little off.”
“Come on! Never blame your equipment. You know that. Let me see that thing.”
I take the gun and line up.
Pap! Pap! Pap!
“See there. Three in the chest. Just like what would happen if anyone tried to mess with my family.” I turn and look at Duke. “Or my friends.” He looks down. “Cheer up, buddy. Ain’t your fault you’re not as good a shot as I am,” I tease.
We spend the next forty-five minutes lighting up the targets, or should I say I do. I can’t miss, and Duke can’t hit. I can see something’s bothering him. I know it’s tough transitioning back to civilian life, but he’ll get used to it just as I did a year ago. It’ll take a few months, that’s for sure, but it’ll come.
We leave the range and his mind seems to be wandering.
“Cheeseburgers?”
“Sounds good,” he says.
Twenty minutes later we’re biting into some of the finest cheeseburgers in the state. The onions, and pickles, and lettuce are just pouring out of those sesame seed buns which are holding 100% USDA Certified Angus Beef. God, I love being a man!
“What’s on your mind, sailor?” I ask. It’s bugging me seeing my friend down like this.
“Nothing, my man. I’m all good.”
“Don’t try that B.S. on me. I’ve known you half my life, and I can clearly see something’s off.”
He bites into his burger, trying to ignore me.
“Money troubles? I can float you if you need some cash to get going.”
“Naw, I’m good there. I’ve got my pension so I can always get by on that.”
“Ladies treating you all right?”
He takes a swig from his beer.
“That’s it, ain’t it? Women. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em, although Karen is one-of-a-kind. We’ve never had so much as one little argument all these years.”
Still nothing.
“Damn. This one’s got you good. Want to talk about her?”
Silence.
“Come on, man. What’s her name?”
He’s taps his fingertips across the table from pinky to index. He does it again, picking up the pace. I notice the table moving a little and look down and see he’s up on the ball of his foot, bouncing his heel up and down, his knee following suit.
“The might Duke’s finally met the one lady who’s got him tongue tied.”
The sounds of his fingertips across the table are louder and faster now, and his knee is bouncing up and down uncontrollably.
“Can you at least tell me her name?”
“D-something,” he mumbles.
“D, what?”
“Daisy,” he says, under his breath.
I laugh and take a sip of my beer. “Ain’t that a coincidence? That’s the same name as my…”
He buries his head in his hands, his elbows on the table.
I feel my blood turn cold, then hot. My hairs are standing on end. If this were anybody else I’d already be kicking their ass, and I’m considering it at this very moment.
I stand up from the table and flip my tray over.
“How in the fuck is that for loyalty!” I say, as I storm over to my truck and tear out of the lot, sending gravel flying every which way behind me.
CHAPTER 6
Daisy
Y ou told him!”
“Daisy-”
“Oh my, god. You told him! What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking he’s been my best friend for twenty years, and we’ve saved each other’s lives, and more than just a time or two.”
I couldn’t believe he told my dad. And even worse I couldn’t believe how calm he was right now. The louder I yelled the calmer he seemed to get. What was wrong with this guy?
The phone rested against my ear as my eyes looked toward the wall in my room. I didn’t understand this guy, just as much as I didn’t understand what led me to him yesterday afternoon. And then I tried to step in his shoes for a second, and it made a lot more sense. This guy was worldly. He had seen it all. He had probably seen lives taken in front of him, and may have even been called on to do the same so I
could live a free life in a safe place. He was a true hero, who had been there and done that. As big as my problem seemed to be now, I realized to a man with this much life experience it was just a drop in the bucket.
“You didn’t tell him everything, did you?”
“A big part of knowing what to say, is also knowing what not to say. I may look like a brute on the outside, but I have feelings as well. Yeah, I don’t explore them much, nor care about them, but that all changed yesterday. We felt something. I know it. We both did. And it meant more than just some memory, not that I ever thought of it that way.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“We had a moment between the two of us, and that’s where it will remain…between the two of us.”
I breathe a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. All I told him was the truth.”
Now I wanted to know. I had to know. What, exactly, was the truth? “Right, it’s always good to tell the truth.”
“It’s the honorable, and honest thing to do, always. And that’s exactly what I did.”
“And then he came home and forbid me to ever see you again.”
“If I was in his position, I’d probably do the same. I understand. It’s a natural reaction for a high testosterone alpha male like your dad.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“But what’s also right is us, at least to see each other again under normal circumstances, because—”
“But I can’t. You know my dad.”
“I know him very well. And I know he’s slow to adapt to change, as am I. We’re two old dudes and we’re not getting any younger. Adapt or die is the motto, right?”
“I guess so.”
“And all three of us need to adapt, if we’re going to survive this craziness.”
“But that’s just it, there is no craziness. There can never be.”
“Because of your dad, or because it’s what you want too?”
“Because of…” There’s no denying it. It is what I want too. It’s not that I know exactly, but I do know that I want to at least see him again…find out where this can go.
“Just tell me you don’t want it and I’ll leave you alone. I’ll never bother you again.”
I wasn’t even about to pretend. I wasn’t used to this level of forwardness. Sure, from my dad I was, but not from any guy who was ever interested in me, or a guy I was interested in. I was so used to playing games, and to a certain extend I was becoming more conscious of just how many games were being played and how they were played. Unfortunately it was normal for people my age, even though I had a great distain for it. But I was never fully aware of how many games were being played between the sexes until I was spoken to with such radical honesty. Something about it made me just fall right in line and be honest and direct as well.
“I won’t tell you that, because it’s not what I want either. I want to see you again.” The words felt empowering and refreshing. Why couldn’t everything be this simple, this straightforward?
“Good, because as much as your father is a brother to me, this is your life we’re talking about, and you have to make the decisions that will effect you. I’d never pursue you if I wasn’t 100% sure. There’s just too much to risk, but I’d risk everything by not pursuing you…because I am 100% sure. I want another chance with you, and I know that chance is going to lead to another, and another, and another.”
“That sounds a little cocky to me.”
“Confidence. There’s a fine line between the two, but a world of difference. I’ll never take you for granted, but I’m sure that once you get more time with me, and me with you, that you’ll see how perfect the two of us can fit together.”
“But what about you?”
“I already know.”
CHAPTER 7
Daisy
One day later
I ’m three blocks from my house and it’s raining buckets. I try the half-walk half-run technique, but it’s way too late for that. I take off in a dead sprint for my door, and a few minutes later I’m in front of my house. I’m reaching in my backpack, but I can’t find the key. It hits me that I forgot my small clutch this morning, and where is it when I need it? Sitting on my dresser in my room. Crap!
I run around to the back of the house and lift up the flowerpot. What the heck? The key’s gone. My paranoid dad must have removed it after the incident with Duke.
I run next door and start nocking furiously, but I already know the answer. Nobody’s going to be home in my neighborhood this time of day. To make matters worse my dad is out of town and my bestie Dawna is at the gym, probably with her headphones turned up on full blast. I’m stuck.
What can I do? What can I do? I keep repeating the phrase over and over in my head.
I know if I call Duke he’ll come right away, but I don’t want to set a precedent of calling him when I’m in trouble. My dad’s out of town for the day, so he can’t help me right now anyways, not that he’d want to. The more I think about it I realize it’s my dad’s paranoia that has me in this mess. If the key out back was in place then I’d already be inside and have a hot shower running.
Wait a minute. Duke must have got into the shed to get the tools to do our gardening the other day. My dad surely gave him a key. And some of the tools Duke needed I know for sure my dad keeps in the garage, which is attached to the house.
And when dad and Duke met yesterday, I know my dad stormed off so there’s no way he got Duke’s spare key back. And I highly doubt he just mailed it to him. Military guys are all about security, especially SEALs, so it would be a handoff. A handoff that’s nowhere near happening anytime soon.
So there’s my solution. I’ll call Duke, but just to let me in. I won’t ask him for the key back, because then my dad will know. It’s that or stand out here in this sideways rain that’s starting to look like some of the typhoons I’ve seen on The Weather Channel. I’m not about to take a stray tree limb to the side of the head.
I pull my shirt up over my head and try to dial without getting my phone soaked.
“Duke!” I yell into my phone.
“Are you okay? Where are you?”
“Locked out of my house. Do you still have a key?”
“I’m on my way.”
Seven minutes seems like an eternity when rain, wind, and debris are obliterating you, but it’s probably faster than any first responder could have arrived in my town. I’m on the wrong end of town, at the wrong time, for that anyways.
But Duke is more than a first responder. He’s my only responder. The only person I really trusted in this situation.
I hear his tires squeal, amid cracks of thunder as lightning shoots through the skies. He rounds the corner with a quickness and parks right in front of my house. He’s out of his truck and sprinting to the front door practically before the engine is off.
“I got it,” he says, as he turns the key and pushes open the door with one hand and shields the rain from my face with his other.
The door flies open and I quickly step inside.
“What are you doing?”
“You asked for me to let you in,” he yells over the wind. “Nothing more.”
“Duke, it’s raining outside. I really shouldn’t—”
Thunder cracks and I see lighting hit the neighbor’s tree. The tree falls toward the house and Duke immediately wraps me up, protecting me from the tree.
Luckily it falls well short of the house, but his path to leave is now blocked.
“You can’t leave,” I yell.
“Throw ‘er in reverse, no problem,” he says.
He’s stepped back out in the rain, but he can see the fear on my face. I’m scared not only for this terrible storm, but for him. I don’t want him driving in this. The roads are flooding fast and if we just saw a tree struck by lightening then there must be more.
“Stay until it slows down, at least.”
“I can’t,” he says
, but he’s not turning to go.
Gardener: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 18) Page 3