When Quinn went back to his hotel room, he tried to be a little discreet as well, when he entered. He too, was a little disheveled. His shirt with the French cuffs were dangling around his knuckles as they had lost their onyx studs and his shirt was also missing three of its studs and was hanging open. His chest had a small red scratch below his nipple. If anyone had been observing, they’d thought he’d been in quite a tango, which just the thought produced a little grin.
Quinn immediately changed his clothes and grabbed a duffel bag that was kept packed with all essentials prepared for a moment’s leave of notice. He called his parents to have them pick up his tux and to let them know he was shipping out. Within fifteen minutes, he boarded his private twin engine airplane and was headed for Coronado Naval Base. By 0400 (four o’clock in the morning) of the New Year, he was on board a massive ship, headed for the foreign country of Afghanistan.
Quinn and his SEAL buddies had been assigned to rescue Marines from a rebel jail where they had been held for over twenty-three days. They had been interrogated and beaten within an inch of their lives. They needed to be gotten out of the jail while they were still alive. The job of the SEALS was to rescue the Marines and disappear into the mountains where a rendezvous with a helicopter would be waiting. The SEALS unit was not there to make peace, just to get their fellow marines out of Afghanistan and save their lives.
The SEALS helicopter landed in the landlocked country of Afghanistan, which is about the size of Texas, in total darkness. Most of the country is modernized with their western vehicles and technology while other parts are still riding camels, but neither was a concern of the Navy SEALS. They had a job to do and that was their focus.
The SEALS’ landing point was made in a remote area at the bottom of the cold mountains. They traveled along the foot of the mountain edge before they went through a potato field, making their way towards the crude jail of torture and executions navigated by only a global positioning system. When they reached their destination, they silently fanned out and the five SEALS began to move as one to the small Taliban village that held the Americans. The jail was underground. They only surmised that a few minutes later from the screams they were hearing. The place seemed to be secure, but not particularly heavily guarded. Nevertheless, they went underground cautiously hoping there would be more than one escape route if necessity called for it. Ready and steady, they entered the underground facility of horrors.
It did not take long for the SEALS to locate the cell with the three Americans. It was a small area, not even big enough for the three men to lay down in at the same time. Each one of them had had their feet beaten to a bloody pulp. None of them were able to stand. It took two SEALS per each man to drag them out of their nightmare. The one soldier with the broken knee cabs, Quinn threw over his shoulder and carried him for three miles. They got out without incident only because some poor man was being beaten in the cell down the hall, distracting the guards that had joined in to watch and enjoy the show.
Most missions didn’t go that smoothly. If it had been daylight, the rebbles might have followed the bloody footprints of their escaping detainees as their feet were partial dragged. As it was, by the time they discovered their missing prisoners, the SEALS and soldiers were already headed west for home on a black hawk helicopter. In spite of the atrocities and pain that the Marines had endured, the rescued prisoners were a happy bunch who were just grateful to be headed for America.
No SEAL ever carried cell phones into battle unless they needed to contact their superiors – too risky, someone just might forget to turn it off during a raid getting the entire battalion killed in the process. So, it wasn’t until Quinn got back to base a week later, did he get Jade’s message. He was more than disturbed by the content thinking that he would kill any son-of-a-bitch that might have harmed Lily.
Quinn called Jade immediately. Jade relayed all that she knew, which was very little except the part that got his attention was that Lily apparently had walked home from the hotel. Tense, he was convinced that something had happened during that time he was not with her. It never occurred to him that he was the culprit for the gown being in such dastardly sad shape.
Quinn ran his hand over his jawline trying to digest what Jade had just conveyed to him, struggling to come to terms with the possibility that something might have happened to Lily. Blaming himself for the chain events that kept him from walking her safely back to her room, he punched a hole in his wall. It didn’t help. All he had was a hole in his wall that needed to be fixed later.
Quinn felt sick in his gut, the same way that he had felt that disastrous day when the surf had grabbed Lily by the ankles, dragging her into the depths of its yawning monstrous mouth to the treacherous ocean bottom below the surface. It was that helpless deja vu all over again.
Quinn immediately started calling and writing emails to Lily every day for the next solid month. Call me. I need to talk to you, were the gist of messages. He worried and stewed. Damn her, she was not answering any of his phone calls or messages. The only thing that kept him from going AWOL was reassurance from Jade, who had been talking to her on a regular basis. She seemed all right, but Jade was still convinced that something had happened. He was afraid that she could be right.
After about a month, it didn’t take too much convincing that Lily didn’t want to hear from him or talk to him. He was more than afraid that she might be blaming him for what might have happened to her after the unfortunate timing of the phone call from his commander. Quinn seriously thought about just taking off and going AWOL anyway. But, like most jobs, you can’t just leave your responsibilities because you feel like it.
Suddenly, things had flipped. Now, Quinn was the one wanting to hear from Lily. He became moody. Even his friends called him a grouch. Of course, he could always count on the twins to hold nothing back on how they felt about his grumpiness. Siblings are always so generous in that respect.
Quinn was frustrated. He realized that a grown women is a whole lot less malleable than a child/woman. He didn’t know why he was surprised, he grew up with them. He should have known. They challenge. They see things differently from a man. They have their own opinions that in all likely hood does not agree with yours. They become “dick yankers”. How they become such accomplished nutcrackers before they are even out of their teens is beyond him. He’d rate Lily right up there with the best of them.
CHAPTER 13
Lily had simmered for well over a week, thinking that Quinn would call any day not realizing that he could not have called even if he had wanted to do so. When he finally did call, it gave her a huge amount of pleasure and joy to delete each message with a great deal of gusto, not so much as listening to a single one of them.
Quinn still didn’t get it. Just because he was brilliant didn’t mean he didn’t possess the idiot gene. She wasn’t going to sit around the rest of her life waiting to hear from him on a daily basis. She’d done that since she was sixteen. She was finished!! She didn’t need him to make a life of her own. She’d work on convincing herself of that! As a determined young woman, she managed to do a mighty fine job of it – almost.
CHAPTER 14
In a college town, there is always a party and plenty action; especially, with all the continuous recreational activities at the state park, Tuttle Creek – a quiet oasis north of Manhattan, Kansas. It is a reservoir on the Big Blue River with hiking trails, camping, fishing, and even has its own urban legend of a manatee that is reported to be living in the lake.
Even though it was summer, Lily was still in town working at the new Manhattan Institute on animal research. Today, Lily was getting ready to go to The Country Stampede Music Festival, a yearly event at the Tuttle Creek Dam held in late June. It would be the hotspot in the region for the next four days featuring big country music artists such as Toby Keith, Tom McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and many more. A giant country star screen would be put up that could easily be seen by all 160,000 visitors plus, that came within a t
wo hundred mile radius.
In addition to country artists there would also be an all-day carnival, plenty of fried food, and a rocking Last Chance Saloon, which always manages to serve a liberal amount of beer along with plenty of action, and entertainment. A choice spot for most of the party people.
Lily was going to be part of Last Chance Saloon’s entertainment today. She was the main attraction when the cancan girls weren’t doing their high leggy kicks in tune to rowdy saloon songs. She and the other girls were dressed in their bustier of black lace with the rest of the costume in the colorful mix of red, hot pink, and of course purple – Wildcat colors – with matching ruffled skirts. Their legs were encased in sexy black fishnet stockings with creamy white flesh that could be seen tantalizing and teasing above the tops of their stockings. Colorful feathers adorned their hair, heavily rouged cheeks and bright red lips completed the ensemble. She was sure that “fuddy duddy”, Quinn, would have had a stroke over her costume and wasn’t that just too bad!
Lily was dressed totally in purple as she meandered among the saloon guests who spouted their own western gear of cowboy hats, jeans, and boots. She sang more rowdy saloon songs as she ran her fingers through curly locks of hair and playfully sat on accommodating laps of various young men who were no different than their predecessors who frequented similar establishments over two hundred years ago. The vintage upright piano that stood in the corner was pumped by a talented young man that accompanied her and who played for most of the day.
By noon everyone always began getting ready for the first band performance of the afternoon beginning at two-thirty. It ended at nine-thirty with a new gig every hour and half throughout the day. Some patrons went home after the last band performed or to various motels while others just pitched a tent and a sleeping bag. Even though the music ended, the carnival went on until well after two-thirty in the morning when the Last Chance Saloon closed. Of course, all that were left and still hanging around after the early morning rays of the summer sun peeked over the dam, were the professional “pukers”.
Nothing is more fun than a music fest outdoors if that is your thing; especially, as the sun begins to set. It is that magical moment that you watch the sky turn magenta, orange, and purple before it disappears from the horizon. It’s like watching the lights dim before the show in a theater and the main band of the day comes on stage. For those at Tuttle Creek Dam, they looked forward to not only a new band on stage, but a cool breeze coming off the reservoir saving the audience from the summer heat and sizzling sun of Kansas.
Everyone joined in the singing and clapping whenever a new band started up. Some were dancing near the stage. All seemed to be having a good time. Lily was part of that group hanging out with friends and participating in the fun of the moment, when a skinny young man approached her. He was not the usual stud guy on the make. He kind of wiggle through the crowd and sat down beside her. It made her leery. As she was trying to decide if he were harmless or not, he began a conversation in-between the changing of the bands. She soon began to find him intelligent and interesting.
“I saw you this morning at the saloon singing. I was impressed with your talent.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you from around here?”
“Born, bred, and will probably be wed here as the Kansas song says,” Lily smiled slightly. “Where are you from, Jim?” she asked back.
“California.”
“It seems a long way to come for a country rock festival. Don’t they have any rock concerts in California?” Lily asked with a cheeky smile.
He smiled back, “I work for a small magazine in the Los Angeles area. I’m a photographer here to take pictures and do a story.” He handed her a business card. “You can check me and my company out on the internet if you want. So, what’s the most beautiful spot around Manhattan, Kansas do you think?”
Lily cocked her head, “That would be the sunflower fields south of town.”
Jim questioned her farther, “Why would someone plant a field full of sunflowers?”
Lily was surprised at the question. “Where do you think they get sunflower seeds? Now, don’t tell me you’ve never eaten sunflower seeds or I’m going to think you’re a real hick.”
“Of course I have,” he laughed, “I guess I just never thought about where they came from. So, how big are the fields?” Jim asked.
“Several acres.”
“How big is that?”
Lily looked at him. Haven’t you ever seen the Wizard of Oz?
“Well, yeah, but I never thought about them being real.”
“Think Hermosa Beach – about half that size.”
“Oh, so I guess it would be big enough to do a photo shoot?”
“Mmm and then some,” Lily mumbled losing interest in the conversation as a new gig came on stage.
Lily got the feeling that Jim was getting ready to ask her for a date. She was about to get up for a beer before she would have to turn him down. Jim, anticipating her move and not wanting her to leave before he popped the question, blurted out, “My Company is making calendars of each state in the union. My job is to find twelve Kansas beauties to fill that bill. My boss didn’t think I could find any. Boy is he going to be surprised when I come back home!” Jim said with excitement building in his voice. “I’ve never seen so many beauties walking around this place. Would you ever consider being one of the calendar girls for your state? Besides, it would really help me out.” Not at all the question Lily had been expecting.
Lily looked at Jim trying to decide if he were for real. She felt his enthusiasm was genuine and tried not to get caught up in the moment.
“I don’t think so,” she paused. “Why would I want to?”
Jim looked chest fallen with disappointment. But, not getting discouraged, he began to plead his case. “You’re gorgeous and wholesome. Just think, it would be like Cheers where everyone would know your name. It’d get you dates. Every guy you’d meet would want to take you out.”
“I don’t need any more guys asking me out.”
“Well, maybe you’d like to impress a certain guy?” Jim could sense he might be on to something. “Maybe you’d like to tease some guy or make someone mad or – ”
Lily held up her hand. “Stop right there,” she interrupted. “I’ll do it. When do we start?”
Jim grinned, he had successfully pleaded his case. “I’ll call you tomorrow or you can call me. Phone number is on the card.”
CHAPTER 15
A few days later, Lily stood in the middle of the sunflower fields with Jim and her filly, Hot Pants, wondering how she’d ever gotten talked into this photo shoot in the first place. It wasn’t as if Quinn would ever see the calendar, she thought. Little did she know how wrong she would be in that evaluation.
Lily wore a blue and white checkered cotton long sleeved shirt with cut off jean shorts and a pair of cowboy boots. She hadn’t worn a bra that day as it was much too warm. Besides, no one could detect that lack of garment since the shirt was not fitted, but lose and “blousy”.
The only concession Jim asked of Lily was if she’d mind tying the shirt in a knot under her breasts and unbuttoning the top western snap. It was a hot day and she was only too happy to accommodate. It was a minor thing, but it made her sexier than hell combined with the faded jean shorts that she had just washed and taken out of the drier that morning. Now, we all know what happens to jeans when we first take them out of the drier – they shrink and tighten up right around those delicious little buns giving magnificent detailed character to any cut offs. Lily’s buns were no exception as they made her butt cheeks sneak out from below the hemline of the frayed shorts. She didn’t need any more enhancements.
Photo shoots can sometimes be miserable. This was one of them. Just as the summer sun was beating down on them with all the intensity of that time of year, they were surprised when they were bombarded with the automatic irrigation that suddenly switched on and a much welcomed artificial rain b
egan to fall on them ever though there was not a cloud in the sky. Jim caught the spontaneous laughter of Lily on film as Hot Pants turned to nibble on the crown of sunflowers that she had worn in her auburn hair as if to ask her what they were doing out there and if they intended to stay much longer. Of course, the water plastered the shirt to Lily’s breasts like it was really really thirsty for every ounce of moisture on her skin. Her body suddenly became wet and shiny like she had been rubbed down with the lubricate baby oil. The spontaneity of the moment was captured with the clicking of the camera. The pictures ended up being much more sexy and seductive than could have ever been if the whole scenario had been planned. For Jim, it was a successful shoot – actually, his best. It landed Lily on the cover of the calendar making her the most celebrated women of the year in Kansas.
The calendar came out that fall a few months later for the following year. It was bought by nearly every male over the age of sixteen, which they promptly hung on their wall long before January. The calendar was especially popular at Ft. Riley, which is located just twenty miles west of Manhattan, Kansas. It is one of the United States army military bases that originated in 1853 as it played a major role in settling the Wild West with the famous Buffalo Soldiers. Today, it houses and trains around 25,000 men and women – a small city for Kansas.
Nearly every single man on the Fort Riley base bought the calendar that fall. It became like a status symbol to own one. Whenever any of the soldiers went out cruising for women, they kept their radar out for any of the twelve calendar girls like they were on a scavenger hunt. There was a small wager among them on who could find one or all twelve. It never happened, but it lifted the spirits of the young men who were away from home for the first time and brought some light heartiness to basic training. One young man swore he’d seen Miss August at the Stampede Festival last summer. No one believed him and after that whenever someone saw a redhead, they’d ask him good-naturedly if that were her as they laughed at their own joke.
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