Twins for the Soldier

by Rochelle Alers

  “The invitation still stands. You can always stay here until the work is completed.”

  She wanted to tell Viviana the last thing she wanted was to wear out her welcome. “I’ll think about it,” she said instead. “I’m going over to the bank to see the loan officer before it gets too crowded. When I come back we can go to Ruthie’s for an early supper. My treat.”

  Viviana’s golden brown eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. “Better yet, let’s go to the Wolf Den. Wednesday night is Ladies’ Night and all drinks and appetizers are half price.”

  Angela nodded. “Count me in. I’ll see you later.” After she’d ended her career and married Justin, socializing had become a thing of the past. She no longer had contact with some of the women with whom she’d bonded when modeling. A few had gone on to become actresses, one or two married rock musicians, and the rest had settled down to become wives and mothers.

  “Good luck.”

  Angela wanted to tell her the only luck she needed was finding a house in which to raise her children. She retraced her steps and walked out to get into her Honda Odyssey. It felt strange not to see the car seats in the second row. She’d given them to her parents to check at the airport for their flight to LA. Her brother’s children had outgrown theirs and she wanted to spare her mother and father from having to purchase them while they were in California. Angela wasn’t certain whether it was her imagination, but somehow the air smelled cleaner and the sun shone brighter as she headed in the direction of the business district.

  * * *

  Lee waited for the bank manager to bring him a bank check that would cover the delinquent property taxes. He’d done business with the same local bank for years. His military pay was direct-deposited into an account he had set up before leaving Wickham Falls.

  The manager returned and handed him the check with an envelope. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Leland?”

  He stared at the man he’d attended high school with. Gregg Jessup hadn’t left The Falls to find work because his family owned several businesses, including the bank. “My certificate of deposit is maturing at the end of the month, and I’ve decided not to roll it over. I’ll deposit the proceeds in my savings until I set up a business account.”

  Gregg smiled, exhibiting a mouth filled with large white teeth that had earned him the moniker of Toothy. “Are you planning to go into business for yourself?”

  Lee knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the plan to reorganize and reopen The Fall House as a B and B a secret for long, so he decided to tell Gregg the truth. After all, the man knew what he was worth down to the penny. The only exception was his retirement account he’d set up with a Fortune 500 investment company. He’d recommended operating a bed-and-breakfast because it was more cost-effective They would offer one meal instead of two, and revenue derived from charging for a daily room rate was higher than weekly or even monthly rates. And the overall expenses for B and B lodgers would be lower from those permanently living in the house: food, utilities, and laundry, and housekeeping duties.

  Gregg sobered. “I’m glad you’re helping out your sister,” he said under his breath as if they were coconspirators. “As quiet as it’s kept, only I know about her stolen identity. And I do feel somewhat responsible because I should’ve flagged certain transactions that looked rather suspicious. However, it was when she overdrew her line of credit that the warning bells went off. And when she came in and I showed her that her boyfriend had attempted to purchase a late-model, top-of-the-line BMW, she started talking about finding him and blowing him away, and I literally had to talk her off the roof. It was a side of Viviana I’ve never seen before and don’t want to see again.”

  A wry smile twisted Lee’s mouth. “She does have a quick temper.” He extended a hand. “Thanks, Gregg.”

  Gregg took the proffered hand. “No problem, Leland. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Lee stood up. “I will.” As he turned to walk out of the bank he nearly collided with Angela. His hands went out to steady her. “Sorry about that.”

  Her head came up. “I should be the one apologizing. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  His eyes lingered on her face. “Did you settle in okay?”

  Her eyes lowered demurely. “Yes. The suite is perfect.”

  Lee dropped his hands. “Good. I guess I’ll see you around.”

  She smiled. “I’m certain you will.”

  I know I will, Lee thought as he walked out into the bright summer sun. He had thought his feelings for Angela would have diminished over the years, but to his surprise they were back—stronger than before. What he had to figure out was what he was going to do about it.

  Lee wanted to make one more stop before driving to the county seat to pay the back taxes. He walked two blocks to the building housing the Chamber of Commerce. An elderly woman with blue hair peered at him over her half-glasses.

  “May I help you, sonny?”

  Lee bit back a smile. He hadn’t been called sonny in a very long time. “Yes. I’m here to sign up for the Legion and VFW military challenge.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Did anyone tell you that there’s a fee of one hundred dollars? The money goes to a fund for retired veterans who need assistance with living expenses or medical equipment. You can donate more if you wish, and we do accept credit cards.”

  Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, Lee took out a card and slid it across the counter. “Double it, and where do I sign?” He didn’t mind being generous for a good cause. She handed him a clipboard where twenty-four others had signed up. He jotted down his name, branch of service, active or inactive, rank and email.

  She processed his card and returned it to him. “Thank you.” Her eyes narrowed. “I thought I recognized you, but I didn’t want to call you out of your name. Don’t you remember me?”

  Lee shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

  “I used to work in the middle school cafeteria.”

  “I didn’t attend The Falls Middle School. I transferred over my first year in high school.”

  “I want to thank you for your service and generous donation.” She glanced at the clipboard again. “You did real well, Sergeant Remington. You’re the first army ranger to sign up.”

  He smiled. “Thank you.”

  “I want you on my team for the tug-of-war,” drawled a voice Lee hadn’t heard in years.

  He shifted to find Aiden Gibson standing behind him. Aiden was a few years older than Lee and was one of the few local boys who’d joined the navy. Most went into the army or the Marines. Vivi had told him that at last year’s Memorial Day celebration Aiden had proudly worn his trident pin for the first time.

  Lee offered the former SEAL his hand, but Aiden ignored it and pounded Lee’s back. “If we’re on the same team, then folks are going to accuse us of taking advantage of our brothers in arms because we were Special Forces.”

  Aiden laughed. “They can think whatever the hell they want. This is a challenge and I don’t like losing.” Even though his mouth was smiling, his blue-green eyes were serious. Although he’d left the navy years ago he’d continue to wear his blond hair in a military style.

  “I hear that you’re now a new poppa.”

  Aiden pressed large hands to his chest. “I got my boy. My girls carry him around as if he were a doll.”

  “What about his mama?”

  A flush suffused the face of the Wolf Den’s pit master. “She’s incredible. I never thought I’d get married again, but Taryn’s my queen. Why don’t you come by the Den tonight? I’m certain some of the guys will be glad to see you, because there was talk that you were coming back last year.”

  “I’d planned to but something came up.”

  “Something like a mission?”

  Lee nodded. “Yep.”

  “You got a special girl?”r />
  Unconsciously Lee’s brow furrowed. “No. Why?”

  “Because tonight is Ladies’ Night at the Den and maybe you’ll meet someone. The women come from Mineral Springs and a few other towns all over the county.”

  He wanted to tell Aiden he wasn’t looking to meet someone when the person he was interested in was currently staying with his sister. “I’ll definitely stop by.”

  Aiden pounded Lee’s shoulder again as he resisted the urge to wince. It was apparent the man didn’t know his own strength. Aiden didn’t like losing and neither did Lee. If they were given the option of choosing teams, then he would pick the former SEAL’s.

  He left the Chamber and walked to the parking lot behind a row of buildings to retrieve his vehicle. As soon as he paid the back taxes Viviana could exhale knowing she wouldn’t have to lose her ancestral home.

  * * *

  Angela checked her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She couldn’t believe she was going out at night—even if it was to a local sports bar and barbecue joint. She and Viviana had agreed they weren’t going to the Wolf Den to hook up with anyone, but they just wanted to have fun.

  Once she had returned from the real estate office, she’d spent the better part of an hour undoing her braided hair before washing the chemically straightened strands, blowing it and securing it in a ponytail. She had opted for the braided hairstyle to save time. Now that she was working she had little time to devote to herself. Most of her time away from work went into taking care of her children. Although Joyce watched Malcolm and Zoe when she was at work, Angela insisted on getting the twins up, bathing and getting them dressed before breakfast. And weekends were devoted to spending as much time with them as possible. She managed to get a hair appointment, manicure and pedicure whenever she could—which wasn’t too often. A few times she’d paid her stylist to come to her home to do her hair.

  Viviana had been forthcoming about her breakup with her last boyfriend. Not only had he taken out credit cards in her name but he had also had someone duplicate her social security card and birth certificate, while he’d become adept at forging her signature. And he must have had a female accomplice who looked a lot like her so he could use a photo ID in Viviana’s name. Angela laughed when Viviana told her she’d posted his photo on as many social media sites as she could, in order to warn women to be wary of him because he trawled dating sites for unsuspecting marks.

  Viviana’s mood had changed, becoming somber, when she admitted having to file for bankruptcy and alert credit monitoring companies that she had become a victim of identity theft. Angela had tried to reassure her that he would eventually get caught and sent to prison.

  Angela looked at herself in the mirror again. She had decided to wear a pair of black stretchy pants with cuffs that showed her ankles. She had changed her blouse twice, finally deciding on a long-sleeved black boat-neck top in the same fabric as her slacks.

  She did not have much of a choice when it came to footwear. She’d left Joyce’s house wearing the running shoes she’d worn on her trip back from Florida. In her Pullman, she’d packed several pairs of sandals for her vacation and one pair of dress shoes in case she was going to an upscale restaurant with her parents. Bending over, she now slipped her bare feet into a pair of black slingback stilettos.

  A light knock on the bedroom door garnered her attention. “Come in.”

  Viviana walked in and stopped short. “Well, look at you, Miss Supermodel Extraordinaire. Now I see why you were paid the big bucks for working the runway. Girl, you’ve still got it.”

  “Wearing spandex is a far cry from haute couture.”

  “Spandex or raw silk, you’re the perfect human on which to hang clothes,” Viviana said, grinning. She pointed to Angela’s left hand. “Are you going to take those off?”

  She looked down at her fingers. “No.”

  Viviana ran her hand over her hair. “You can tell me it’s none of my business, but are you trying to keep men at a distance by making them believe you’re married?”

  Angela stared at Lee’s sister. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. Whether she wore her hair in a mass of black curls, straight, or in waves as she did now, she was definitely someone men could not ignore. She was average height for a woman, and before her recent weight loss, her body would have been described as lush with curves in all of the right places. Her large golden brown eyes looked as if she was perpetually smiling. Tonight she wore a pair of stretch jeans, a white silk man-tailored shirt and three-inch navy leather pumps. She’d rolled back the cuffs of the shirt to reveal a number of colorful African and Native-American-inspired beaded bracelets on both wrists.

  “I wear my rings because in my heart I’m married to Justin.”

  “Does that mean you’ll never marry again?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying. If I meet someone and fall in love with him I’ll definitely be open to marrying again, but only if he’s willing to accept me and my children. We come as a package deal.”

  Viviana smiled. “Good for you. I didn’t know Justin that well, but I’m willing to bet he didn’t want you to spend the rest of your life in mourning if anything happened to him.”

  Angela didn’t know if Viviana was clairvoyant, because those were the exact words he’d said to her when he received his orders that he was to be deployed.

  She nodded. “You’re right. But tonight we’re not going to pick up men but have some fun.”

  Viviana launched into a raucous rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and Angela joined her as she picked up her cross-body purse.

  * * *

  Lee walked into the Wolf Den and couldn’t help smiling when he saw a banner stretched over the bar: WELCOME HOME US ARMY RANGER SERGEANT LELAND WOLFE REMINGTON. He endured slaps on his back and handshakes until a piercing whistle rent the air.

  Aiden, wearing a chef’s blouse over a pair of black-and-white checkered pants, waved his hands above his bandanna-covered head for silence. “When I ran into Sergeant Remington earlier this morning and invited him here I thought he wouldn’t show up. Now that he’s here, you dudes have to show him some love.”

  Lee glanced at the men and women standing two-to three-deep at the bar, finding it odd that he had to wait until he was thirty to be accepted by those in his hometown. “Petty Officer Gibson should know army rangers never cut and run.”

  Those who’d served in the army cheered loudly as some sang the marching cadence, “Here We Go Again.” Feeling buoyed, Lee launched into “Fired Up,” the workout to the running pace of the US Army Rangers, with everyone echoing the chants.

  Someone handed him a mug of ice-cold beer and he took a deep swallow. This was what he loved and missed about the military: the camaraderie that made men and women who served a special breed. It wasn’t until he turned and placed the empty mug on the tray of a passing waitress that he noticed Angela and his sister standing in the doorway. He didn’t know how long they’d been there watching the antics, but he was glad to see them.

  He pushed his way through the crowd and found himself unable to pull his gaze away from Angela’s face. Smoky shadow on her lids and a raspberry color on her lush mouth accentuated her best features. Leaning closer, he brushed a kiss over her cheek. The outline of her body in the black garments and the subtle scent of her perfume snared him with a spell of longing he had not thought possible. He repeated the gesture with Viviana.

  “I never expected to see the two of you tonight.” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the sounds of escalating revelry.

  Angela pressed her mouth to his ear. “Viviana said it’s Ladies’ Night, so I decided to come with her and check it out.”

  Lee smiled at her. “I’m glad you did. Let me see if I can get you a table or a booth.” It wasn’t quite seven and the Wolf Den was filled to near capacity. He motioned to get Aiden’s attention. />
  “What’s up?” Aiden asked.

  “I need a table for my sister and Angela.”

  Aiden craned his neck. “I’ll get someone to shift a couple of tables to make room for them. Meanwhile have Sharleen take their orders.”

  For Lee it appeared as if nothing had changed in his absence. Sharleen Weaver still waited tables in the family-owned-and-operated eating establishment. He knew kids who couldn’t wait to turn twenty-one to drink, because the Wolf Den was the only place in The Falls licensed to serve alcohol.

  Another shout went up and Lee recognized Sawyer Middleton, who’d also joined the army. “Where’s my fellow army buddy?” Sawyer shouted.

  Lee excused himself and went to greet Sawyer and gave him a rough hug. Sawyer was several years ahead of him in high school, and the Middletons, like the Wolfes, claimed roots that were recorded before West Virginia achieved statehood.

  “How did you know to show up here?” Lee asked Sawyer. He was as surprised as many residents had been when the software engineer returned after a stint in the military and subsequently established a successful company in New York before deciding to come back and settle down in The Falls.

  “Aiden sent out an email to everyone military, whether active or inactive.”

  Lee wondered how Aiden was able to pull the gathering together so quickly, including printing the colorful banner. “How long did it take you to adjust to life as a civilian?”

  Sawyer signaled to one of the bartenders for a beer. “It was easy because I hadn’t planned to be a lifer. What about yourself?”

  Before Lee could answer, a deep voice shouted, “Hoorah!”

  “Damn,” Sawyer swore under his breath. “Some jarhead just walked in.”

  Throwing back his head, Lee laughed loudly. It was apparent Sawyer wasn’t too fond of marines. “There’s a lot of them in the house tonight.”

  Lee’s smile was still in place when he came face-to-face with Sheriff Seth Collier. The former military police master sergeant had joined the Corps within weeks of graduating high school much to the disappointment of his father, who’d expected him to join the family’s general contracting company. Seth had campaigned for sheriff of Wickham Falls, won in a landslide, and he had also made history as the first African American to hold the office.