“It's true,” Harry chipped in. “I'm the best vehicle mechanic in the entire unit. I believe I hold the record for the fastest transmission replacement on the base.”
“And that's your problem,” Captain Harrison said with frustration in his voice. “You're a damn good worker and you are smart. You just don't have enough to keep your mind busy so you find other projects to work on and those projects make everyone else's life hell.”
“It's not exactly the Army life that my recruiter promised me,” Harry said with a smirk.
Suddenly the Captain sat straight up in his chair with a twinkle in his eye. “I think I know the perfect place to put you. It's an opportunity for you to stay busy and it gets you out of my hair.”
“I hope it's somewhere nice,” Harry said.
“I got an email yesterday asking for volunteers to go to Central Africa working with some people there doing some charity work. It's some shit hole village in the middle of nowhere. It's so remote that a couple of surplus Army vehicles are being used to transport people and supplies in and out of the jungle. The Army is looking for one of us to go with and make sure that our trucks are taken care of properly.”
Harry had stopped listening when he heard 'Africa'. Being shipped off to the middle of nowhere made his stomach drop. The last place on Earth he wanted to be was around some hippies trying to put shoes on a bunch of natives who made their houses out of sticks and cow droppings.
“I don't want to do that, thanks,” Harry protested.
“Too damn bad,” Captain Harrison said turning to his computer. “You are going. Go home and get your bags packed. You ship out in the morning,” the Captain said, typing furiously.
“Fuck this,” Harry said as he stormed out of the office.
Harry stormed back to the barracks cursing his situation the entire time. The only bright spot of the day was the look on some young Lieutenant's face when he tried to scold Harry for failing to salute him and only got a middle finger. The memory of that Lieutenant's jaw dropping to the concrete gave Harry a nice chuckle.
Once back in the barracks, Harry pulled out his green duffle bag and began to shove his clothes into it. He didn't even bother to make sure that things were packed properly. He simply shoved things into the bag until it was able to close.
Sure, maybe it was true that Harry could be a bit 'mischievous', but it was only because things in the Army were so regimented that it drove him crazy. He felt like his innocent pranks were taken way too seriously.
“The problem is that all the officers have brooms shoved up their asses,” Harry muttered to himself as he changed out of his uniform. “It's not like I killed a man. I wonder when the last time any of them got laid. That would probably calm them the fuck down.”
Finally free of his uniform, Harry put on a pair of basketball shorts and a grey Army shirt that showed off his bulging muscles and laid down on his bed. He laid there staring at the ceiling and steaming at this unfortunate turn of events until he eventually fell asleep. He never even once thought about what was going to come out of this assignment.
Sara managed to sleep through most of the flight from Orlando to the airport in Kenya. In the times when she was actually awake, she would watch a movie on her laptop and try to tune out the droning sound of the airplane engines. Her parents sitting on either side of her kept their noses buried in a book. Her dad, being the reader that he was, finished two books on the flight.
From Kenya, the Harpers boarded a small bush plane that took them to a remote airstrip in the middle of the desert and from there they flew to another patch of dirt in the middle of a jungle. Sara felt like each new plane that they boarded became smaller and more dangerous. No matter how many times she flew to new places, flying always made Sara nervous.
Finally, after too many hours of traveling, Sara and her parents landed on a dirt runway at the foot of a rugged mountain range. Sara stepped out of the plane as soon as the door opened and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. This wasn't her first time in Africa, but the heat still bothered her. Even in her short khaki shorts and tank top, she overheated.
Looking around, she saw nothing but trees and a few old, green trucks with white stars on the doors. She had seen similar trucks before in movies and in pictures. They were obviously old Army trucks. Two of them were huge flatbeds with crates stacked on them. The third was an old Jeep driven by a muscular black man wearing a green jumpsuit. Sara assumed that these trucks were for her parents' work and the driver had been provided by the local government to take them into the village.
Sara's father helped the pilot unload the baggage from the plane and Sara watched as he carried it over to the Jeep. Sara was far too exhausted to even consider lifting heavy baggage. She reached into her backpack that she always kept on her and removed her canteen. As she took a long drink of cool water, she watched as her parents talked with the Jeep driver.
After quenching her thirst and stretching her legs out nicely, Sara heard her father call her over to the Jeep. Sara slung her backpack over her shoulders and walked over to where her parents were standing.
“Sara, I want you to meet Sargent Harry Freeman,” Sara's dad said as he gestured towards the driver. “He's here to take care of our trucks so we can get supplies in and out of the village.”
Sara was a bit surprised. In all of their travels, they had never been sent in with a military escort. “How long are we going to be here that we need a mechanic?” Sara asked.
“Only about six months,” Sara's mom said sweetly. “We are going to be building a brand new clinic in the village as well as a new school. We need these trucks to bring in bricks and mortar and such from the other side of the mountains.”
“The roads are pretty rough,” Sara's dad interrupted. “You could barely even call them roads. So, we were able to hire out these trucks and we were lucky enough to get the mechanic as part of the package.”
“We should get on the road pretty soon,” Sargent Freeman piped in. “The sun isn't going to be up much longer and I would like to have everything unloaded while there is still some light out.”
“We can get going in a minute,” Sara's dad said. “I just need to check the inventory in the trucks so that I know what I will need to put on order before we cross the mountains.”
“Whatever, Doc,” Sargent Freeman said as he stepped out of the Jeep. “I'm just here to make sure the trucks run right.”
Sara leaned against the Jeep and prayed for some shade to protect her from the harsh African sun as her parents climbed into the flatbeds and began inspecting the crates. She took another sip of water as Sargent Freeman leaned against the front of the Jeep and lit up a cigarette.
Watching this big, black man in his green jumpsuit and polished black boots with the sun shining of his shaved head, Sara felt a familiar turning in her stomach. In all of her travels, she had seen many attractive men, but none that spoke English unless she was back home. Unfortunately, she had never had the chance to pursue any romantic interests because she was constantly traveling. However, Sara thought, with this muscular mechanic with them, things might change. At least she would have a companion while her parents were busy making the world a better place.
As she stared, Sargent Freeman turned and looked back at her. She quickly turned her head and tried not to blush, embarrassed at being caught ogling him like that. Sara prayed that he hadn't noticed or at least would just ignore it. Sadly, her hopes were dashed when he walked over to her and stood directly in front of her.
“So, what do you do?” Sargent Freeman asked as he exhaled smoke.
“What do you mean?” Sara asked, looking up at this soldier who stood a good foot taller than her.
“Your dad is a doctor, your mom is a teacher. What do you do?” Sargent Freeman asked again.
“I mostly just help out wherever I'm needed,” Sara answered. “Sometimes I help my parents, sometimes I just help the villagers cook food or clean up or whatever needs to be done.”
“Can you turn a wrench?” Sargent Freeman asked as he killed his cigarette against the sole of his boot.
“I can,” Sara answered as she ran her hand through her hair. “I like to help my Grandpa out in his garage when we are home.”
“Good,” Sargent Freeman said bluntly. “I'm probably going to need an extra pair of hands working on these trucks. If you don't mind getting dirty, you could come help me out.”
“I don't mind being dirty, Sargent Freeman,” Sara said. When she heard Sargent Freeman chuckle, she felt embarrassed again knowing how suggestive that statement must have sounded.
“You can call me Harry,” he said, either ignoring or just not catching what Sara said.
“Well, Harry, I'm glad that you are going to be with us,” Sara said with a wide smile.
Harry had flown from his base in North Carolina to an Air Force base in Germany where he had been loaded up in a cargo plane with the trucks and crates of gear and equipment only to be dropped off at the base of some mountains in the middle of Africa. As soon as everything was unloaded from the plane, it took off again and Harry was left all by himself with nobody else around for miles. The only sounds that he could hear were the distant calls of birds in the trees.
With nothing else to do, Harry took a seat in the Jeep and waited for more people to come along. He was given very little instruction on what to do. The only thing that Captain Harrison told him before the flight was that he would be working for some doctor and his wife. There were plenty of spare parts for the trucks and even a few weapons just in case there was a need for them. Aside from that, Harry didn't really know what to expect.
After a few hours of sweating away in the intense African heat, Harry heard the familiar hum of an airplane engine cut through the air. A small bush plane landed on the dirt air strip and came to a stop. Harry's jaw almost dropped when he saw a young woman with black hair, tan skin, and legs that must have been a mile long climb out of the plane.
“Maybe this trip won't be so bad,” Harry thought to himself. As he looked at this girl he saw a couple that must have been her parents climb out of the plane. The older man stepped out of the plane and started carrying some bags over to the Jeep where Harry was waiting.
“I'm Doctor Harper,” the man said after he tossed the bags into the back of the Jeep. “You must be our Army mechanic that I was told about.”
“Yeah, I'm Sargent Harry Freeman,” Harry said. “I wasn't really told much about what I'm supposed to be doing. I was just told that I'm going to be working for you.”
“You won't really be doing much,” Dr. Harper said, “Just keep our trucks up and running and make sure that me and my family don't get hurt.”
“Is there a big risk of injury on this trip?” Harry asked. “I thought you were just going to be building a few new buildings and then we would all be going home.”
“Well, there might be some attacks from the neighboring tribes,” Dr. Harper explained. “The Nguntu people are peaceful but the Kutus that live across the river are more violent. If something does happen, the Nguntu are perfectly capable of protecting themselves, but my wife and daughter and I will need some protection. That's why I asked my old friend at the Pentagon to send us a soldier.”
“That explains why we brought those weapons,” Harry muttered to himself. He was not prepared to get involved in some tribal wars to save some doctor and his family.
Before Harry could ask many more questions, Dr, Harper called over his wife and daughter to introduce them. He was very happy to be introduced to Sara, the dark haired beauty he had seen earlier. Up close, he was mesmerized by her bright blue eyes and her charming smile.
Harry knew that the absolute worst thing he could do is get caught with the doctor's daughter out here in the jungle. Harry knew that if he was sent home after this, his time in the Army would be over. He was going to have to be very sneaky about getting this girl into his bed.
Deciding that he should play it cool with Sara, Harry stepped out of the Jeep to have a cigarette as the doctor checked up on the cargo. After taking a couple of drags, Harry could feel that someone was looking at him. He looked over and saw that Sara was staring at him. He walked over to her and began talking to her. He thought that the best way to get her alone with him was to have her helping him out working on the trucks. There, he could talk to her and convince her to meet him in his tent at night.
After talking to Sara for a bit, Harry could feel that it wouldn't take much to lure Sara into his bed. If her parents hadn't been there, Harry felt that she would have let him fuck her right there against the Jeep. The thought of it made him excited. He was snapped out of his fantasy by the doctor's voice.
“Cargo's good to go,” Dr. Harper shouted as he walked back up to the Jeep. “Let's get going.”
Harry climbed behind the wheel of the Jeep and the Harper family got in after him, Dr. Harper riding shotgun and the two women sitting in the back seats. Two local boys got into the big trucks and started up the engines.
Following Dr. Harper's instructions as he read from a map, the convoy made it to the Nguntu village after two hours of rocky, treacherous mountain terrain. When they finally arrived, Harry was presented with almost the exact thing he expected to see: mud huts and barely dressed natives.
“Fuck this place,” Harry thought to himself.
Sara spent the two hour drive to the village with nothing but Harry on her mind. There was something about him that turned her on in a way that no man ever had before. Maybe it was the way relaxed yet confident way he carried himself or maybe it was the air of danger that surrounded him. Either way, Sara was looking forward to spending some more time with Harry.
After hours of slow driving over rocks and rivers, they finally reached the small village of the Nguntu. Of all the places that Sara had been dragged to by her parents, it wasn't the worst. The people walked around the village wearing loincloths made of the hide of some animal or another. There was a large communal fire in the center of the village where women were cooking meat. Men walked in and out of the jungle carrying in dead animals of all kinds or fruits from the jungle. Surrounding the fire were several huts made of sticks, leaves and red mud. Behind the circle of huts, a river flowed off into the depths of the jungle.
“This isn't so bad, is it?” Sara heard her mother ask.
“Better than that one place in the Philippines where we had to sleep in one big hut in the dirt,” Sara admitted.
“That place did suck a little bit,” Emily said with a small laugh.
“It wasn't so bad,” Sara's father interrupted as he unloaded his luggage from the Jeep. “I thought it was a good family bonding experience.”
“Our family doesn't need any more bonding,” Sara replied.
“Where should I set up my tent?” Harry asked, a green duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
“Well, the trucks are going to be parked where they are, so maybe you can set up near here,” Sara's father replied.
“Where are we going to be staying?” Sara asked, secretly hoping that it wasn't too far from where Harry was sleeping.
“Actually, I don't know yet,” Sara's dad said as he looked over at the village, “but I think we are about to find out.”
Sara turned around and saw that the entire village was walking over to where they stood. In the front of the group was an old man wearing several pieces of jewelry made of different bones and polished stones.
“I am King Takwane,” the old man said in a gruff, firm voice.
“I'm Doctor Jack Harper,” Sara's dad said, stepping forward. “I'm here to build your clinic and my wife, Emily, is going to be building a school.”
“Yes, Doctor and Teacher,” King Takwane said. “We expected you. Welcome to our village.”
Sara was always a bit nervous when being met by a new village. Not everyone was so happy to have outsiders invading their space. This King Takwane seemed hospitable, but his face never changed from a stoic grimace. Looking around she
saw that both her parents seemed confident and calm, but Harry's fists were clenched tightly.
“First time meeting the locals like this?” Sara whispered to Harry as she put her hand on his.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Harry said, his fists relaxing.
“Don't worry,” Sara said calmingly. “I've been doing this my whole life and nobody has tried to kill us yet.”
After all the appropriate introductions were made, King Takwane led Sara and her family to a hut just outside the circle of other huts and informed them that they would be staying there for their time in the village. King Takwane also showed them an area of land where they would be building the clinic and school.
After the tour was over, there was a massive feast to celebrate Sara's parents coming to help the villagers. The sun had set and the only light around was the light given off by the fire in the center of the village. Sara's parents were given places of honor along side the King and were given meats and fresh fruits. After the King and Sara's parents were given food, Sara and Harry were given a meal on clay plates. Harry took his plate and ventured off into darkness. Sara, wanting to spend some time with Harry and knowing that her parents wouldn't miss her for a few hours, followed him with her plate.
“Why aren't you at the party?” Sara asked him as she took a seat next to him in front of his tent.
“I'm not really a social person,” Harry said, not looking up from his plate. “I figure that I'm just better off her by my tent.”
“I'm not really much for these kinds of parties either,” Sara admitted.
“I really thought you would love this kind of thing,” Harry said sounding slightly surprised. “Your parents really seem to like it.”
ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Bad Boy Brother (Stepbrother Interracial College Romance) (Contemporary Stepsister Taboo Romance) Page 39