THE LONG ROLL HOME
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THE LONG ROLL HOME
By Diana E. Anderson
Published by Creative Texts Publishers
PO Box 50
Barto, PA 19504
www.creativetexts.com
Copyright 2020 by Diana E. Anderson
All rights reserved
Cover design copyright 2020 Creative Texts Publishers, LLC
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual names, persons, businesses, and incidents is strictly coincidental. Locations are used only in the general sense and do not represent the real place in actuality.
KINDLE EDITION
THE LONG ROLL HOME
by DIANA E. ANDERSON
CREATIVE TEXTS PUBLISHERS
Barto, Pennsylvania
Acknowledgments
There are several people I would like to thank for their assistance. First, I’d like to thank my wonderful husband Mike for his support and encouragement. Thank you for the many long nights I spent in front of the computer writing while you took care of dinner and dishes. Thank you for the feedback you gave when I would run ideas by you, and for keeping me from getting too far off track or outlandish. Finally, thank you for keeping me from getting discouraged when the going was rough.
I would also like to thank Dan and all the folks at Creative Texts Publishers. I appreciate how hard you all work to turn my words into a product that readers will enjoy and of which I can be proud.
Finally, I’d like to thank my readers. Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope my words will have meaning for you, be it a few hours of pleasant distraction or an inspiration to improve your own preparedness.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to the memory of my mother, who was taken too soon.
I love you and miss you, Mom.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 1
Cassie Blake sipped her coffee as she drove down the mountain highway through the darkness. She had already been driving for two hours and it was not yet even dawn. Although she had driven this route many times, she knew that there was always the risk of elk or other animals on the road. That made her slow down below the posted limits. The trip so far had been uneventful, with very little traffic. Cassie let her mind wander a bit, thinking ahead to how much she was looking forward to visiting with her dear friend, Jennifer Warren. Jen was flying in from Washington, D.C. for a two-week visit, and Cassie could hardly wait. She had a lot of activities planned for her city-slicker friend. Jen had never been to a ranch before, and Cassie planned on giving her a great taste of country living.
“I am so lucky to live on a ranch instead of the city,” she thought. “I’m not sure I could survive in a cramped, dirty city.” She thought fondly of the ranch that she and her sister had inherited from their parents. Her father had died several years ago. Her mother was still living but was in very fragile health thanks to a heart condition that had worsened after Cassie’s father’s death. Because her health was so tenuous, she transferred ownership of the ranch to the sisters on the condition she be allowed to live there for the rest of her life. Cassie and her sister Lilly were both close to their mother and wouldn’t have it any other way. They lived in the sprawling ranch house built many years ago by their great-grandfather with plenty of room for everyone. Even after Lilly married Steve Jeffries and had three children, there was still a lot of room. In addition to the ranch house, there was also a good-sized bunk house that housed the ranch foreman, his wife, and their six ranch hands.
A car suddenly appeared around a sharp bend in the road ahead, its headlights crossing Cassie’s windshield and pulling her from her daydreaming. She decided to turn the radio on to help her stay awake and focused.
“…In international news, Iran made another show of flexing their military muscles yesterday by sending more than a dozen ballistic missiles towards American military bases in Iraq. None of the missiles caused any damage and there were no casualties. The President reassured everyone that any retaliation would be economic and we would not take any strong military action unless there was a real threat to US assets. The United States responded to the barrage by moving a carrier strike force through the Strait. Once the carrier group was in place, several Iranian fighters attempted to engage US planes in international airspace. We did not allow them to engage our planes, and after some tense minutes, the fighters flew back to Iranian airspace….
In the border battle, the latest caravan of migrants from Central America is approaching the US border and is expected to arrive within the week. Instead of shrinking as prior caravans have done, this caravan has grown and is now estimated to have over 150,000 people, all wanting to enter this country. The president has ordered more military to guard the border. This time, he says, they will be armed and ready to repel boarders. No-one will be permitted to cross into the United States, and lethal force has been authorized if necessary…
“China is protesting the newest trade tariffs recently imposed. This morning, the President of the People’s Republic of China threatened to dump all American holdings, including over one trillion dollars of treasury bonds. The Chinese ambassador to the United States refused to make any comments on his government’s threats. A spokesperson for the White House says the threats are nothing to worry about, but the stock market dropped sharply after the Chinese announcement. A Wall Street spokesperson said the drop was not significant and was just a sign of some market variability. She said she anticipated the drop being regained by the closing bell today.
“In other news, North Korea is again refusing to allow nuclear inspectors into the Hermit Kingdom, stating they are already providing adequate proof to the United States of the dismantling of their nuclear program and do not need intruders entering the country. In addition, the North Korean leader is promising a “holiday surprise” for the United States if sanctions are not lifted immediately. The Secretary of State left this morning for Pyongyang to try to resolve the conflict...”
Cassie reached over and turned the knob on the radio until music floated through the van. “There’s enough bad news in the world right now, and I’m tired of hearing about it,” she told the passenger sitting in the front seat. The passenger just looked at her without responding. “What’s the matter, Petra? You didn’t want to listen to that, did you? I know you’d rather listen to music while we’re driving.” Petra gave a small bark and went back to watching out the window. Cassie reached over and gave Petra a fond scratch behind her ears, causing the three-year-old German Shepherd to bark again.
“What do you think, Petra, should we sing along to the music?” Petra barked once in response, bringin
g a grin to Cassie’s face. “That sounded like a yes to me.” Cassie began to sing along with the radio, and soon Petra was howling along with her. Petra was so much more than just a dog to Cassie. She was a best friend, a companion, and at times, a lifesaver. As a result, Cassie often treated Petra more like a human than a pet. She would hold long conversations with Petra, talking through some of her problems. Petra was a great listener, and even offered a bark or two in response to whatever her human was saying.
After a while, the song ended and both Cassie and Petra became quiet. “We’re almost there, girl. Not too much longer now. Are you ready to get some breakfast and see Jen?” Petra barked with excitement, although Cassie wasn’t really sure if it was at the thought of breakfast or seeing Cassie’s friend.
The sun was barely over the horizon as Cassie turned into the airport parking garage. Jen’s flight was not due to arrive for about an hour and a half, but Cassie liked to get places early. She hated being late, and she especially hated having to rush. Her plan was to settle down in one of the restaurants near the baggage claim area and enjoy a good breakfast while she waited.
Traffic in the airport was light and Cassie was happy to find a handicapped parking space right up front next to the baggage claim area. After parking her van, she took a minute to look in the mirror. The face looking back at her was pleasant enough in a wholesome sort of way. She wore no make-up, but her deep blue eyes were shining with excitement. Her nose was straight, and lightly dusted with freckles. She wore her long dark hair in a single braid down her back. Dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans, and boots, Cassie was slender, but muscular. She quickly adjusted a few stray hairs and applied lip gloss, and decided she was as ready as she was going to get. She quickly activated the controls on her electric wheelchair and undid the safety strap that held it in place on the driver’s side of the vehicle. After turning the chair around, she opened the door and pressed the button for the ramp to deploy. Petra remained quietly in her seat until Cassie called, “Petra, come.” At that command, Petra jumped over the seat and hopped out of the van. Once Cassie was out of the vehicle with Petra at her side, she pressed the remote on her key fob and the ramp retracted, closing the door at the same time. She took a moment to clip a leash onto Petra’s collar. Petra whined, and Cassie laughed.
“You know the rules, girl. We go out in public and we have to use the leash.” Petra stopped and looked at Cassie. “No arguments. Let’s go.” As she rolled towards the terminal, she heard a ding on her cellphone. Pulling the phone from her purse, she saw a text from Jen.
“Hey, Cass, my flight was canceled for mechanical trouble. I’ll be on the next flight out and I should get there around 1:30. Sorry, see you soon, Jen.” Cassie frowned, then typed a quick response back.
“Well, there goes the morning,” Cassie thought to herself. She shrugged and rolled herself into the terminal. Unlike big city airports, this airport only had two restaurants in the baggage claim area. Neither restaurant was crowded at this time of morning. Cassie did not care for crowds, which is one reason why she chose to live on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. She was happy to see the restaurant she chose was almost empty. She picked a table in the front of the restaurant facing out into the concourse, but off to the side where Petra would not be easily seen by other diners or passers-by. She knew that some people get upset to see an animal, even a service animal, in a restaurant. Cassie tried to avoid upsetting others, but she was not about to leave Petra in the van. Luckily, the waitress did not seem to have an issue with Petra, as she spent a minute or two fussing over the dog. With a lot of time to kill, Cassie ordered a huge breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns and gravy, biscuits, orange juice, and coffee. Getting up that early and driving to the airport helped her build up quite an appetite. She also ordered an extra order of sausage and eggs for Petra. The waitress was grinning when she brought Cassie’s order to the table.
“Are you sure you can eat all of this?” the waitress asked.
“I have no doubt, and I’ll probably be back for a snack later,” Cassie said with a laugh. Of all the issues she had with her body, gaining weight was not one of them. She thought to herself how fortunate she was that she could eat almost anything she wanted and did not ever seem to gain any weight. Of course, her rigorous therapy schedule and working on her ranch helped burn off a lot of calories.
Cassie took her time eating. After all, she had a couple of hours to kill. While she was eating, she indulged in one of her favorite past-times: people-watching. While she did not like being in crowds, she enjoyed sitting on the sidelines and watching the people around her, trying to guess where they were going and why. Her seat off in the corner of the restaurant gave her a good view of the people walking across the concourse. She loved making up stories of who the people were and what they were doing. The young family with three small kids must have been to Disneyland. The kids all had mouse hats and were hyper, and Mom and Dad looked exhausted. The older lady with the balloons and a handful of lollypops was probably meeting her grand kids. Cassie couldn’t help grinning at the nervous young man carrying roses who was obviously meeting someone special. A large crowd of adults with a couple of small kids passed by, all decked out with ‘Welcome Home Daddy’ signs and American flags. Cassie guessed they were probably meeting a service member coming home on leave. Three young women dressed in Hawaiian shirts and shorts (in spite of the brisk autumn weather) must be headed out on a tropical vacation. Although it was still early in the day, the three women looked like they had already enjoyed a cocktail or two. Cassie guessed they were off to the beach somewhere to troll for surfer dudes, since all three were too pale to have just returned from the tropics. Sometimes the stories she told herself were a little outlandish; the image of surfer dudes lining up to meet the three slightly tipsy girls made her laugh out loud. Petra looked at Cassie as if to tell her to hush, but Cassie continued to watch and speculate about the people going by.
As she sat enjoying her third cup of coffee, she noticed a man about her age sitting at another table in the same restaurant who also seemed to be watching people go by.
“I’ll bet he is military,” Cassie thought to herself. After being in the Army herself for nine years, it was easy for her to spot a fellow soldier. She continued to steal quick glances at the man. He was attractive in a rugged sort of way, tanned with short light brown hair. He was well-muscled, and was dressed casually in jeans, a tee-shirt, and a light jacket. Although he seemed to be trying to look relaxed, he had that special alertness or situational awareness she recognized as being particular to people who served in combat zones. “I’ll bet he is home on leave and is waiting for his family,” she thought. “He looks like a family guy – something about the smile lines around his mouth. Probably has a cute little blonde wife and two or three little kids,” she whispered to Petra. Petra looked at Cassie, made a faint whining sound and went back to watching the concourse. “Petra, you’re no fun,” Cassie scolded. Petra looked up at Cassie, gave a short yip, and put her head back down on her paws. When Cassie looked away from Petra, she noticed the man was watching her, smiling. She smiled back, then looked away. “Nice eyes,” she thought to herself.
About ten minutes later, she looked his way again and noticed he was no longer sitting at the table. “Too bad,” she thought, “he looked like someone I would enjoy talking to.” Suddenly, she heard Petra give a low growl, and at the same time felt a light tap on her arm.
“Would you like some company while you are waiting?” said the guy she had been watching.
“Suit yourself,” she said, as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Is your dog going to attack me?”
“Not unless you do something silly. Petra, it’s okay, girl.”
“Petra, that’s a good name for a dog. She’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Cassie replied. “I named her Petra because she is my rock – I depend on her a lot, and she takes really good care of me.”
“Can I pet her?”
“You can try. You’re probably safe, she had a good breakfast a little while ago and probably isn’t hungry yet!” Cassie grinned at the man, and he laughed. He reached down and let Petra smell his hand before he gave her head a good rubbing.
“I used to work with a dog who looked a lot like Petra. Her name is Ruby. She’s a German Shepherd also, and I miss her a lot.” He grew quiet for a moment, then shook his head. “Where are my manners? I’m Andrew Rittenhouse, but my friends call me Andy”, he said, reaching out his hand to shake hers.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Cassie Blake. Are you waiting for someone to arrive?”
“No, I’m waiting for the plane coming from Raleigh to land with my luggage. I got here last night, but my luggage decided to take a side trip without me,” he said, laughing. Cassie noticed Andy had nice smile lines and although he looked tired, he seemed to be very easy going.
“Have you been here all night?” she asked.
“Gee, do I look it? Yes, I didn’t find out until around six this morning that they found my bags. I was afraid to leave because almost everything I own is in those bags. How about you?” he asked. “Waiting for someone?”
“Yes, a good friend of mine is supposed to be coming in from Washington, D. C. Unfortunately, her flight got canceled and now she’s been delayed a couple of hours until the next flight out. Looks like I’ll have a few hours to kill until she gets here. Of course, it could be worse – she could have rescheduled for tomorrow and then I would have lost a whole day waiting for her.”
“Couldn’t you just go home and come back again tomorrow?” Andy asked.
“No, I live too far away – almost 150 miles from here. I don’t want to have to make that drive twice in two days. Plus, I have work to do at home that really can’t wait.”
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