On the other side of the coin, she was lovely, feisty, stubborn and brave, something he had seen for himself when she had appeared from the medevac Chinook. He had been completely stunned when he had seen her talking to one of his men, had watched in horror as she had ducked and swerved from bullets, had completely lost it when he had seen an errant bullet strike the ground close to her then, when she had run from the Chinook to the marine who had been shot, he’d acted like a madman. He could still recall with photographic clarity the look on her face when he had picked her up and thrown her into the interior of the Chinook.
As Joe’s feet pounded the concrete, he groaned inwardly as he remembered that she had winced as she had landed on the metal plating, and the way she had looked at him with terror in her wide green eyes.
“Crap.” He hissed through gritted teeth. She had been just as frightened of him as she had been by the firefight going on around them.
He went on to remember how her eyes had lit up when she had almost cannoned into him in the mess and how he had felt when he had seen her talking to the cook behind the hot food counter. He had heard every word of the conversation between Katie and the young corporal and remembered the feeling of jealousy—completely alien to his character—that had welled up inside him.
Joe checked his wristwatch and saw that it was time he turned back. He needed to shower and dress then he had to attend a briefing with his squad leader regarding the patrol the next night. He U-turned and began to jog back along the perimeter, his stride slower now, thoughts of Katie pushed to the back of his mind. He had his MOS to do, would need to focus. He would get the briefing over and done with then relax until the patrol tomorrow night. He would avoid going any place where Katie might be. He needed to clear his head, get his thoughts together, and seeing or being near her wasn’t the way to do it. Feeling a little easier in his mind, Joe jogged slowly back to the US camp and his tent.
After showering, he spent the hours before his briefing checking and rechecking his WARNO and the five paragraph order that he had prepared to let his squad know who was going on patrol, what their positions in the patrol would be and other similar information. It warned them so that they could get ready, and contained intelligence information such as enemy and friendly forces that would be in the area, supporting units—if any, what the patrol was about and what its intention was. It also advised members of the squad what their role in the patrol would be so that they could obtain information or equipment required. The navigator, for example, would obtain maps, special equipment, organize transportation, radio frequencies and call signs, and plot a route based on the area of the patrol. Eventually satisfied with the WARNO, at 1100 hours, Joe made his way to the USMC headquarters and reported to the office of his squad leader.
* * * *
Katie’s day was busy. During the morning, there was the sick parade to deal with, with its usual personnel suffering from the heat and minor injuries. Eight of the casualties involved in the bomb blast at the perimeter wall were going home and Katie had to fill in the requisite forms and make sure that all the patients’ notes were up to date for handover to the American medical contingents, or whichever country the patients were traveling home to. She kept herself busy helping the nurses with the remaining patients and carrying out her normal everyday duties.
There were no new casualties that day, which was a relief because they had already called on the standby nurses to come in and assist with those patients that they already had in the CTH. Katie was relieved when 1800 hours came and she was stood down for the rest of the night. She opted to go to the mess for something to eat, and on her way there attempted to convince herself that she wouldn’t see Joe and probably wouldn’t see him at the NAAFI that night either, even though he had said that he would be there. After all, he was a staff sergeant and they had their own post exchange—PX—to go to on Camp Roosevelt, so why would he come to the British one?
Joe did not appear in the mess, and, feeling a little despondent, after eating her meal Katie made her way back to her tent, determined to enjoy herself at the NAAFI that night.
Chapter Ten
The NAAFI was one of the larger solid builds on Camp Churchill. Gone were the long, interconnecting snake-like tents, erected in the early days of the camp. In its place was a prefabricated construction clad in the same khaki and sand-colored paint as the rest of the solid builds on the camp, complete with loud vibrating generator producing both light and electricity.
The NAAFI represented a place where both senior and non-commissioned ranks could meet in the evenings. It was a place that served to act as a safety valve, where tension and adrenaline resulting from the knife-edge existence that all personnel on the base were subjected to on a daily basis, could be released. It was a place where there was much laughter, and where friendships and relationships could start and also end.
Bingo nights took place at one end of the entertainment scale, and at the other end there had been occasions when well-known celebrities had visited and entertained the troops. On some nights, music played and people would expend their energy by dancing. The dance nights were not part of the camp’s scheduled events but the top brass turned a blind eye to the impromptu discos. Alcohol was banned on the camp, so they knew that what took place was just a releasing of high spirits. It was a place where both the UK and US Armed Forces gravitated to when they had free time, which wasn’t often, so when a NAAFI hop—as it was nicknamed—occurred, it was a night to look forward to.
As Katie and Wanda, both dressed identically in combat trousers, white T-shirts and combat boots with military caps perched rakishly on their heads, approached the building, light and a constant roar of voices and laughter spilled out from chocked open doors and windows. Service personnel, both men and women, lingered outside, smoking and drinking from cans of juice or water bottles, laughing and joking, their conversations mingling with the noises of the camp. The dusty, hot and humid night air neither inhibited their high-octane spirits nor prevented them from relaxing and enjoying their free time.
Katie and Wanda were eager to enter the building and become part of the noisy throng inside. On reaching the crowd outside the doors, both women paused, raising hands in greeting and calling out to those they were acquainted with. There were good-natured catcalls from some of the men, something that Katie and Wanda had come to tolerate, knowing that these voices were good-humored and harmless. Eventually freeing themselves from the quickly expanding crowd, Katie pushed her way to the doors with Wanda following. The brightly lit interior was blinding and Katie had to blink her eyes to get used to the light difference.
An attempt had been made to decorate the interior of the building, but the décor and furniture were purely functional, the drab colors of the paintwork laying claim to the fact that everything was purely temporary. The large room was crowded with a sea of camouflage uniforms, dusty boots and white and khaki T-shirts. All tables and chairs were full, standing room only at the counter.
Katie immediately glanced around the room. Prior to her arrival, she had been determined that she wasn’t going to look for Joe or think about him. Unfortunately, she discovered that her willpower where he was concerned was non-existent. Is he here? Will he be here? Surreptitiously, her glance locked on to every male that looked tall—either seated or standing—with dark blond hair. She could not see him in the room and the feeling of disappointment was intense.
Katie became aware that Wanda had sidled up to her. “What’s up, girl?” the woman shouted to Katie, attempting to make herself heard above the noise. “Is your staff sergeant not here?”
Katie felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “He’s not my staff sergeant,” she replied hotly. “I barely know him.”
“That’s a crock of shit if ever I’ve heard one,” Wanda replied slyly. “You watch your arse, girl.”
Katie laughed at the other woman’s warning. “Yeah, I’ve had the briefing and all that.”
They ventured farther into the r
oom and Katie heard her name shouted, barely audible above the tumultuous din. “There’s my lot,” she shouted to Wanda and together the two women thrust their way through the crowd toward the counter.
“Evening, Sergeant,” Katie greeted Sergeant Webster, who appeared to be propping up the counter.
“Less of the Sergeant, please, Katie,” Ron Webster said cheerfully. “Not only does it make me feel old, but it’s an insult to downtime.”
Both Katie and Wanda laughed and went on to speak to other work colleagues. They each got a frosted can of Coke, and Katie was grateful for the ice-cold beverage. It was hot in the room and getting hotter, and if possible, the noise had risen exponentially with the temperature.
“No music tonight?” Wanda asked regretfully.
“The noise level hasn’t risen high enough yet,” Corporal Alison Horner, a Trauma Nurse, replied. “Trust me. It will get going soon enough.”
As if on cue, at least half of the ceiling lights went off. The crowd cheered, the cheers interspersed with catcalls and ribald remarks. Some enterprising person had rigged an iPod to a pair of obscenely huge speakers and within minutes, music blared from them. Instantly, the NAAFI came alive. The song, one from the Vietnam era, galvanized the more energetic amongst the crowd into action. As if by magic, a large space appeared in the center of the room as personnel moved chairs and tables out of the way, shoving them to line the walls. The space quickly filled with dancers, rapping and stomping. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t dance or what your dancing technique was like. Dancing was a release, a safety valve.
Wanda grabbed Katie’s arm. “Come on, babe. Let’s dance.”
Katie hastily put down her Coke can and followed Wanda onto the makeshift dance floor, which was now full of singing and whooping men and women, stamping their feet and pumping the air with clenched fists. While dancing, Katie, mindful of her promise to herself, deliberately faced away from the door so she wouldn’t be able to see anyone that entered the building.
When the first song ended, Katie and Wanda waited for the next track to start. When it did, Katie began to dance again with a deliberate, sexy gracefulness that began to draw the eyes of a few males seated around the floor. A small space appeared around the two women, and perfectly aware of the attention they were both receiving, Katie and Wanda began to dance as though they were harem dancers. The men around the floor wolf whistled and cheered in appreciation and applauded the exhibition. Katie glanced at her friend and they both laughed exuberantly.
Staff Sergeant Joe Anderson, entering the building, instantly saw Katie, and took in every detail of her appearance in a flash. The attraction he felt for her was even stronger now that he was seeing her again in the flesh. His gaze completely captured by Katie as she danced, he was barely aware of one of his men thrusting a can of Coke into his hand. He was intensely aware of her hair gleaming under the harsh lights, the way the brilliant white T-shirt fitted her upper torso like a glove and showed off her tanned skin to perfection. The way her combat trousers hugged her bottom before widening to cover her long legs caused his stomach to turn over. He continued to watch her as she laughed, throwing her head back, the smile lighting up her face and causing her green eyes to sparkle. He was well aware of the sensation that she and her friend was causing, was acutely aware that the eyes of many of the men in the NAAFI were watching them.
Joe had been determined that he would not attend the NAAFI that evening but, as the day had gone on, he had crumbled. After making up his mind that he would avoid seeing Katie if he could, since the briefing with his squad leader he had tried to keep himself busy, but the tempting thought of attending the NAAFI hop that night and that she might be there had kept intruding into his thoughts and in the end, in exasperation, he had hastily showered and joined some of his men in making their way to the NAAFI—and there she was. It appeared, however, that he would be queuing up for her attention along with every other male in the room. He was neither naïve nor unaccustomed to women’s attention, but his undeniably strong attraction to this woman, which had materialized in so short a time, was becoming impossible to deny. She was definitely too young for him, but he was positive that on the few occasions that they had met, she had been as equally attracted to him as he was to her.
The song finished, and laughing together, Katie and Wanda went back to the counter to finish their drinks.
“Hi, Katie.”
Katie turned to a new member of the group and forced a smile of greeting onto her face. Corporal David Hudson was standing directly behind her, a smile on his face, a blush highlighting his features. Try as she might, Katie couldn’t muster the slightest bit of enthusiasm at seeing him. She wanted him out of her hair. He was becoming an irritation. She felt sorry for him but that was all.
“Hello, David.” She finally returned his greeting with as much friendliness in her tone as she could muster.
“You’re looking good tonight, Katie,” David commented, eyeing her up and down. “Really nice.”
Katie could barely suppress a shudder. She felt violated by the admiring look he had given her, eyeing her up and down as though she were a piece of meat for sale. For some reason, the man made her feel uneasy, and she believed that sooner rather than later she would have to use some harsh words to get him to back off. She figured that his ego was so huge that he could not accept that a woman was not interested in him. At present, she had to continue to be polite to him if for no other reason than to avoid an out-and-out confrontation.
“Listen, Katie, there’s a film being shown here tomorrow night. Do you want to come with me?”
Katie sighed inwardly and turned her face away. “Thank you, David, but the answer is still no,” she replied firmly. “We’ve been through this before. We can be friends but I’m not going out with you.” Turning back to face him in an attempt to soften the blow, Katie was a little taken aback by the look on the corporal’s face.
“Not good enough for you, huh?” he asked coldly and with hostility in his tone.
Katie tried to find words to reply to the remark. “That’s not it at all, and you well know it. You just can’t—or won’t—get the message that I don’t want to go out with you. Now, back off, David. Please, just back off. No means no in my language.”
Corporal Hudson was silent for a moment then he put a hand on her bare arm. “I’m sorry, Katie, believe me. I just… I really like you.”
“Well, that’s fine, David,” Katie answered as gently as possible, shaking his hand from her arm. “I’m really flattered, but I don’t want to go out with you.” There was a note of finality in her voice.
Wishing that Corporal Hudson would slide out of sight, Katie took a long, cool mouthful of her Coke. Wanda tapped her on the arm to get her attention.
“What a jerk,” she exclaimed.
“Yes, he’s getting to be a problem,” Katie stated. “He just won’t give up.”
Wanda lowered her head close to Katie’s ear. “Have you seen your staff sergeant yet?” she asked.
Katie shook her head. “No,” she answered and slowly began to sip her Coke. Sighing, she turned to glance over her shoulder and her heart leaped into her throat as she saw him standing by the door. A sudden surge of excitement made her nerves sizzle and tingles run up and down her spine.
Joe was watching her, standing completely at ease with one hand in the pocket of his combat trousers, the other holding a can of Coke. His dark blond hair was tousled and there was a faint tinge of stubble along his jaw line. He looked tired and drawn.
Katie’s and Joe’s gazes locked together. Katie felt heat rise to her face and her knees suddenly began to feel weak. Her breath caught in her throat and for a moment she thought she would choke. The impact of the man’s presence was so powerful that she could not understand, with some amusement, why she hadn’t crumpled to the floor and turned into quivering jelly.
Both Katie and Joe stayed immobile for what seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds, then Joe
’s eyes moved down to her boots, traveled slowly up her legs and torso and eventually arrived to rest on her face. Then he smiled at her.
Katie’s breath shuddered. Thoughts tumbled in her mind and a shiver ran through her body. The feelings this man was stirring in her were, beyond a doubt, speeding out of control, and the way he had just run his eyes up her body had sent heat flooding through her veins. She knew that she was in a very heady and intoxicating situation. All women had attended briefings before being deployed to the Afghanistan theater. Although not specifically ordered against becoming entangled in relationships in-country, it was outlined to them that romances in a war theater were short-lived, passionate and usually resulted in heartbreak. She had scoffed at the idea that it would happen to her, and now this US marine staff sergeant was sending her safety mechanisms flying, her pulses racing and scattering her common sense.
For the Love of a Marine Page 11