by J. M. Madden
“Tell her we have a new calf from that black cow of hers. She was wondering about it.”
Tara’s expression brightened when she realized she could be the bearer of good news. “Okay, Chad. I’ll tell her. And you’ll be home in a little bit?”
He nodded, though he’d already begun fabricating an excuse in his head.
As she started the big truck her daddy had bought her a couple years ago and turned around, Chad wondered how he could foist her off on some other charity case. Before he’d gone to Iraq, they’d dated fairly regularly and gotten along well. When he’d come back, wounded and bandaged, she’d seen a kicked puppy needing care. It drove him nuts. She used to be an awesome girl, but now all she did was mother him and look at him with her sad eyes.
For the thousandth time he wondered if he shouldn’t just go somewhere else for a while. Get away from all the well-wishes and concerned looks. He could get physical therapy at any VA. He didn’t have to stay in Texas. His arm was healing and his prosthetic fit like a glove, giving him more freedom than he’d ever expected to have. If he put his blade prosthetic on, he could run for miles on a flat surface. Choppy ground was still difficult, but he would adapt.
As much as he appreciated Honeywell, Texas, and its residents, they still treated him like the kid he used to be. They’d given him a hero’s welcome when he’d come home, with a parade and his name on the soldier’s wall at the courthouse. But it was as if his combat experience was glossed over. To them he was still a kid who needed taking care of.
His parents were the same way. As much as he loved them, they smothered him. It had been months before they’d allowed him to do any work alone on the ranch. Once he’d gotten used to riding again, it had been easier to get away to find something that needed done.
No matter how many times he returned from chores unscathed, they still watched him as if he were going to break at any given moment.
His cell phone chirped in his pocket. Pulling it out, he smiled when he recognized the number. “First Sergeant, how the hell are you?”
Duncan chuckled at the greeting. “I’m fine, Chad. How are you doing? You get hitched yet?”
“God, no! Don’t wish that on me. There are women crawling out of the woodwork down here to try to entice the poor, wounded Marine.”
He turned and stepped over the fence roll. The horse was tied under a tree and looked content. Chad dropped down in the shade a few feet away and snatched a water bottle from the saddle bags, then allowed himself to lay back against the saddle. He twisted the cap from the bottle and quickly drank half the contents, washing away the pervasive Texas grit.
“They’d love a chance to get me to the altar.”
“You’re just too purty for your own good, Lowell.”
Chad choked out a laugh, looking at the gnarled skin of his forearm that wasn’t hidden by the leather glove. “Yeah, right.”
“Maybe it’s all that sugar you eat making you irresistible. Women love sweets.”
“Whatever.” Chad dug a piece of Double Bubble from his pocket, ripped it open and popped it in his mouth. “You’re full of shit.”
“Well, maybe they won’t bug you so much in Colorado.”
“Colorado. What the hell’s in Colorado?”
“Me. And the business I’m going to open up. With your help.”
Shock slowed Chad’s chewing down. He was actually going to do it?
“And what business is that, First Sergeant?” he asked carefully.
Duncan snorted. “I’m not a sergeant anymore, Chad. I’m just a regular guy opening up an investigative slash protection service in Denver. And who’s looking for a couple of partners.”
There was silence on the line for almost a solid minute.
“Chad? Did you hear me?”
“Are you serious?” Chad’s heart thudded against his chest wall as he waited for confirmation.
“I am. I already have a list of clients willing to hire us for several jobs.”
He was floored. Yeah, they’d kind of talked about it at Walter-Reed, but he didn’t think Duncan had been serious. Chad should have known better than that. If Duncan Wilde said he planned to do something, then the man was damn well going to do it.
Possibilities raced through his mind. Selfishly, his first thought was that he could get away from all the wounded hero crap that followed him everywhere here. If he left home he’d be able to reestablish himself without all the childhood baggage.
And, more importantly, he’d be able to feel worthwhile, doing needed work rather than the busy-work his parents had him doing.
“How much is it to be a partner?” Chad asked, not daring to hope yet that he could afford it.
Duncan named a figure that had to be incredibly low, but Chad jumped on it.
“When and where?”
Duncan sighed on the other end of the line. “I was worried I’d waited too long to get you to take a chance. As soon as you can get here we’ll start. I went down and offered John part of the firm too.”
Chad smiled. “Oorah! This will be exactly what he needs. Did he say yes? If not I’ll go down and kick his sorry ass until he does.”
“Oh, he agreed. Took a little more convincing than you did.”
“Ha! Well, I’m pretty desperate right now,” he admitted. “I was just thinking about getting away somewhere.”
“Well, now you have a place to go. You can crash at my apartment until we find you a place of your own. Call me when you have flight arrangements and I’ll pick you up.”
“I will.”
Chad hung up the phone and let out a war whoop, pumping the air. He could get out of Texas and away from the smothering. His mom and dad would be disappointed, but he had to make his own way in life.
Rolling to his feet without even a catch in his step, he attacked the fence with new enthusiasm. The sooner he got it done, the sooner he could move on down the road.
One week later…
Duncan looked up at the office building. Big, metal, kind of generic and non-descript, which suited their needs perfectly. They’d rented the fourth floor of the seven floor building, and they had room to grow. On the east side of Denver, the entire city was spread before them.
“I thought the Gunny would be here by now, “ Chad groused. “I want to see inside.”
He grinned at the younger man, enjoying his impatience. “He will. He’s coming straight from the airport.”
As if in answer to their words, a yellow cab mini-van pulled up to the curb. The side door opened and a ramp lowered down. Within seconds John, glowering true to form, rolled to the sidewalk. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he called to the driver. The stress of traveling domestic for the first time was written all over his lean face, and Duncan knew it had to have been hard dealing with the cabs and the airports and planes. Not to mention the public. But, in true Marine form, Palmer had gotten it done.
John wheeled his chair forward to meet them. Chad whooped and grabbed his hand, then leaned down to bump shoulders with him. “It’s damn good to see you, Gunny!”
“You too, Lowell.” He grinned. “Looks like that Texas sunshine has been agreeing with you.”
Chad ran his hand over his chin and grinned. Duncan realized Chad actually did look healthier. Even the few scars on his neck were fading. The arm still had a good ways to go but Chad seemed to be using it okay. As for the prosthetic leg, well, Duncan hadn’t even been able to tell he had one on until he’d lifted his jeans leg to show him. The man moved as if he still had two natural legs, definitely easier than he himself did.
John looked healthier too. His face was lean and he hadn’t shaved for a while, but his eyes were direct and strong. He’d switched to a more compact racing chair with slightly slanted wheels that responded to his hands as if it were actually part of his body. There was a frown on his face, but his eyes glinted with humor.
“So are we going to check this place out, or what? I need to start looking for a place to live.”
Duncan held the door for him to enter the lobby. He waved at the security guard as they walked to the elevator. “Twenty-four hour monitoring. There’s a physical guard on duty at all times. The top two floors have some kind of medical research firm.”
They stepped inside and he pressed the button for four.
“So, you said you had jobs lined up for us?” Chad asked, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms.
“I do,” he said. “I have a contact in the Worker’s Comp Bureau that needs a couple of cases investigated and another contact that needs records searched at the courthouse.”
Chad grimaced. “Record searches? Really?”
Duncan grinned. “Yep. Hey, we’re just starting out. In two days I have a lady coming in to talk about finding a son she gave away for adoption twenty-three years ago. We’ll get meatier contracts eventually, but we have to start with small stuff first.”
The doors dinged and they exited the elevator to stand in an empty reception area. A broad door was open to the right of reception. They walked through into an expansive office with a small kitchenette in one corner. “This will be my office.”
“So, where’s the furniture?” John asked.
Duncan grinned at him. “Well, we have to go get it. Probably tonight and tomorrow.”
“We’ve got customers coming in two days and the furniture hasn’t been delivered yet?” John rolled out to reception and down the hallway where the other offices were located, sticking his head in each one. Chad and Duncan followed along. “Is there any equipment at all?”
“Well,” Duncan admitted, “I haven’t actually bought any furniture yet. Or equipment.”
Chad’s dark brows shot to his hairline and his jaw fell open. John, on the other hand, looked furious. “You haven’t bought a god damn piece of anything yet? What the hell have you been doing out here?”
Duncan smiled at him, not disturbed by his anger at all. “Well, I’ve been closing escrow on the building, filing the proper business paperwork for the state of Colorado, getting your forms to be certified as investigators by the state, opening a bank account, making contacts and placing ads. Oh.” He reached into his breast pocket for a slip of paper, handing it to John. “And looking for handicapped accessible apartments.”
The heavy frown slipped away from John’s face. “Fuck handicapped.”
Chad laughed out loud and slapped him on the back. “Oh, Gunny. You’ve never served under First Sergeant Wilde, so you have no idea what you’re in for.”
Duncan pointed at a box against the hallway wall. “I did have some letterhead printed up.”
Chad crossed to it and flipped up the lid. He pulled out an invoice. “LNF? What does that stand for?”
“Lost and Found Investigative Services.”
They all shared a long look. They didn’t need an explanation on the title. They’d all been lost and found. With each other.
“Sounds good to me,” Chad said.
“Yeah, I guess it’s all right.”
But the look on John’s face said otherwise.
“What, John?”
The other man shrugged. “It’s just cheesy. I mean, LNF, really? You name anything else around here, Duncan, as your partner, I want a damn say…”
Duncan held up a hand to interrupt him. “We’re working with the public, John. We can’t use the word ‘fuck’ in anything. Why the hell do you think I kept controlling interest?” He grinned at the two laughing men, genuinely excited at the prospects before them.
It wouldn’t be easy building a business with men like them, but he couldn’t imagine tackling it with anybody else. The way he saw it, fate had thrown the three of them together for a reason. It would just take time, a willingness to learn and dogged Marine determination.
Many would say that success would be next to impossible, but then they’d already returned from impossible. “Let’s go shopping boys. We’ve got a lot to do.”
*****
Note from the Author~
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the beginning of Duncan, John and Chad’s stories. I would appreciate it if you would:
LEND IT- to friends and family. It is lending enabled.
REVIEW IT- at the site you purchased it from. Positive reader reviews have a huge impact on the success of a book.
RECOMMEND IT- to anybody you think would enjoy it.
A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. If you would like to make a personal donation, you can find information at http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
Thank you so much for reading.
And finally, a sneak peek at
Embattled Hearts,
John’s story. Enjoy!
Chapter One
Shannon looked down at her rear tire incredulously. “Are you serious? Why today, damn it?”
Snow flurried around her as she stood there, hands on hips, and tried to decide what to do. She’d have to change it, of course. And call Duncan to let him know she’d be late. Grumbling, she stomped up the walk and into the house to change her clothes.
Twenty minutes later, she was positively livid. Not only was the brand new snow tire flat for no apparent reason, but so was the freaking spare. How the hell did that happen? She could hear her father’s amused voice in her mind now, as he whispered ‘oh, calamity Grace’. Little black rain clouds followed her sometimes and no matter how many pairs of boots she wore or umbrellas she carried, she always managed to get drenched.
Lisa pulled into her driveway two houses down just then and waved. Shannon heaved a relieved sigh and crossed the snowy ground to her. “Hey, neighbor.”
The pretty strawberry-blond flashed a tired smile. “Hey, yourself. Something wrong? You’re usually gone by now.”
Shannon waved a hand at the lopsided Explorer. “Somehow, I managed to get not one, but two flat tires sitting in my driveway.”
Lisa scrunched up her face and laughed. “Really? Oh, Shannon, even for you that’s impressive.” She looked down at her blue scrubs. “Give me a minute to change and I’ll drive you to the garage. Come on in.”
Shannon followed Lisa up the walk and waited on her entry rug while she changed. “Wow, nice TV,” she called. The flat screen took up a huge expanse of wall-space. Looking around, she could see evidence that a man might be staying with her neighbor.
Lisa peeked her face around the corner, grinning.
“You like that? Boyfriend’s last apology for being a schmutz.”
Shannon laughed and shook her head. Lisa’s up and down relationship with her boyfriend was more tumultuous than a Colorado snow storm. “So why do you stay with him?”
Her friend’s face closed down. “There are some things you can’t change in life; who you’re related to, taxes, the nasty boss you’d like to shove off a roof. And you can’t choose who you’re attracted to.”
Oh, boy. Didn’t she know it?
Lisa drove her to the garage, then back home and hour later. Shannon couldn’t quit wondering aloud about the tire. “If nothing was in it, how did it get flat then?”
Lisa glanced at her and shrugged, but Shannon could tell her patience had worn thin.
“Sorry. I know I keep harping on this, but it’s driving me nuts.”
“Well, do what the mechanic said and drive the truck in and he’ll check the other tire too.”
Shannon nodded and looked out the window. She needed to think about something else.
“I’m sorry I’ve dragged you away from your sleep. Did you have a bad shift at the hospital?”
Lisa grimaced as she turned into their subdivision. “Bad enough,” she admitted. “A three year old swallowed two quarters and a nickel, an old guy came in with chest pain, and there was a car crash out east that was flown in. Not pretty. They all managed to survive though.”
“I don’t know how you do it, Lisa.”
The other woman shrugged. “You get used to it.” She grinned. “I don’t know how you
sit at a computer all day.”
“You get used to it,” she retorted, laughing.
Lisa stayed with her long enough for Shannon to change the tire, then headed home. Shannon changed her clothes, again, and drove to the garage. The nice little mechanic had the truck ready to go in minutes.
“Nothing in that tire either, ma’am.”
Shannon stared at him for several long seconds, and asked him to repeat that. He did, but it didn’t make any more sense the second time. She paid the man and walked out to her truck in a daze. What would cause both tires to go flat that way?
Or who?
Unease tightened her scalp, and she glanced up and down the busy street. Then she shook her head at her craziness. It was a fluke. Had to be.
John Palmer gritted his teeth and clenched the wheels of his chair in his fists as he listened for Shannon in the outer office. She’d come in beautiful but frazzled two hours late and said her tires had been flat. That actually hadn’t worried him as much as the unease he had seen in her eyes. She’d tried to laugh the incident off, but he’d been watching her for a long time. Everybody else accepted her explanation, but in his gut he knew something didn’t ring true.
Something one of the men said snagged his attention and he tried to pay attention. He was supposed to be taking part in the meeting, but the proposal was so ridiculous he’d zoned out, straining to hear Shannon.
With effort, he focused on the two men seated beside him. Were they for real? Yes, they were competent, knew the security business and had plenty of money to throw around, but at the bottom line they wanted the publicity of financing an all-veteran detective agency. His eyes flashed to Duncan’s across the desk. He seemed just as unenthused.
Why were they wasting their time?
“Are you fucking serious?” he snarled.
The men looked uncomfortable for all of two seconds before they plowed on with their spiel.
As if it wasn’t bad enough they were disabled, now these yahoos wanted to make money off them? No fucking way. Even Chad seemed turned off. Texas was his home state. He’d pushed for this meeting to talk about a possible expansion to Dallas. John personally thought that the Denver office was enough for now. They were busy, but not so busy that things slipped through the cracks.