As they sat there, Meredith pointed out the dry-erase board on the refrigerator that listed the chores and told the guys she’d made new assignments. AJ was pleased he’d escaped bed duty for the week. Nick was not happy about dishes.
They spent time in the pool or on the patio, talking until it was time for Irene to get ready to go. Meredith followed her into her bedroom to watch her pack, lying across the bed.
“You coming back for the party?” Meredith rolled onto her side and propped her head in her hand.
“I’ll do my best. There’s a deal I’m trying to finish up. If I do get to come, it’ll probably be Thursday. Is that a problem?” Irene finished packing and zipped the bag shut.
“Nope. Just wanted to know.”
She followed her sister into the hall and toward the foyer. Irene poked her head into the den to say goodbye to Brian and Nick, and they both hugged her. She said goodbye to AJ and Howie, who hugged her as well. Kevin smiled at her when she met him in the foyer, taking her bag so he could walk her out to the car. Irene and Meredith hugged each other for long minutes before separating.
“Ciao, bella.”
“Arrivederci, bella.” Meredith tapped her sister’s nose before she walked out the front door with Kevin in tow.
The older woman headed for the spare room to strip the sheets from the bed. When she headed back to the laundry room, she found Brian and Nick huddled around the front window, peeking out to watch Kevin say goodbye to Irene.
“Get away from the window.”
Both men jumped, guilty expressions crossing their faces as they were caught. Brian tried to explain his way out of it. “But…”
Meredith just looked at them.
“But…” Nick began as well, but Meredith just continued to look at them.
Their shoulders slumped as they walked back toward the den. She waited until they had disappeared through the door before shaking her head and laughing softly. She continued toward the kitchen, knowing she’d get the rundown from her sister that evening. She had no doubts Kevin would hold onto any juicy details as long as he could just to torture the rest of the guys.
Meredith sliced a piece of cake, put some ice cream on it, then sat down at the table to eat. Brian came through the kitchen on his way to the laundry room to drop off his clothes, grabbing a bite of her cake. Nick sauntered into the kitchen for a bottle of water before heading out to the pool. He, too, grabbed a bite of cake. Howie wandered through as he also dropped off clothes, smearing a piece of icing as he removed it from the side of her plate. AJ bounced in, looking for Howie so they could play pool, and took the bite of cake and ice cream Meredith was about to put into her mouth. To his credit, he did get another bite of cake and ice cream and slid it into her still open mouth, smiling and winking at her before he left.
She closed her mouth and began to chew, watching as the pair left. Kevin walked into the kitchen after seeing Irene off and looked at Meredith. She lifted an eyebrow and pointed her spoon at him.
“Touch my cake, and you die.”
He stepped back, holding up his hands in defense. “I’ll just go get started on the laundry.”
She followed him with her eyes as he left the kitchen, on guard in case he doubled back for a sneak attack.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**
That night, as Meredith got ready for bed, she wasn’t surprised to hear the phone ring and picked it up, already talking into the receiver.
“Hey, reenie-beanie.”
[How do you do that?]
“Process of elimination. So?”
[So, what?]
“If you’re not calling to give me the scoop on Kevin, then why did you call?”
[Maybe I just wanted to let you know I got here okay.]
“You e-mailed me. Now, dish.”
[I really like him.]
“No, really? I never would have guessed.” Meredith laid back on her pillows and got comfortable.
[Bite me.]
“Think I’ll leave that to Kevin.”
Both women were silent for a moment.
[Has he said anything?]
“Nope, don’t expect him to either. He was smiling a lot this afternoon. Drove Brian and Nick crazy because he wouldn’t tell them what happened at the car.”
[They weren’t spying? I’m disappointed in them.]
“I busted them before the good stuff. Did he kiss you?”
Irene laughed. [Just a small one.]
“And?” Meredith shook her head.
[I wouldn’t mind another one.]
“Still planning on coming down for the party?”
[Hopefully. I’ll know better by Wednesday.]
Meredith looked at the clock and groaned. “I’ve got to get up early. Have a good week, hon.”
[You, too, Merry. Love you.]
“Love you, too.” She hung up the phone and smiled as she turned out the light and got ready for bed.
Week 2
On Monday, their run, PT, and the obstacle course were accomplished with minimum fuss. Meredith gathered her team together, and they followed the Seals to another area of the training grounds they’d never seen. When they cleared the trees, the guys found themselves in front of a 2-story tower. They looked up at it, then at each other.
Brian began to pale, and Meredith caught the faint movement of his body as he began to shiver.
“Littrell?” She started towards him, but Nick motioned for her to wait.
He pulled his friend to the side, placing a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. “You okay, Frick?”
Brian took a deep breath. “This is *not* good.”
“C’mon, Brian, you don’t know what she’s going to have us do.” Nick tried to calm the other man down.
“Frack, we’re standing in front of a tower where there are men hooked to lines, and they’re jumping off it!” By the time he finished, his voice had risen so that the others could hear them.
Kevin walked over to them. “Commander Davenport is ready for us to go up.” He looked at his cousin. “You gonna be okay?”
Brian took a deep breath, then another. He looked at the tower, looked at his friends, then closed his eyes. They could see his lips moving, and they knew he was offering a quick prayer. When he opened his eyes, he nodded and walked towards the rest of group waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
The group made its way up and stood at the top, looking out over the base. Brian stayed towards the back, not wanting to get any closer to the edge than he needed to before it was time. Curran explained what they were going to do---from putting on the harness to how to bend at the knees at landing.
Curran was first off the platform, showing the guys how it was done. Howie was the next one off. As he strapped on the helmet after rigging the harness, he listed to Leary’s last-minute instructions. He made it down safely, and everybody up on top clapped. Hawkins was the next Seal, leaping into the air almost before Leary finished screwing his hook on the wire. Kevin went next, after giving Brian an encouraging smile. Ramos slid down the wire, making it look effortless. AJ took the plunge, letting out a cackle as he slid down the wire to the landing pad below. Singleton was next, then Nick stepped up and was harnessed. He looked back at Brian, who smiled at his friend. Nick nodded, then jumped. Leary looked at Brian, who had paled even more. Meredith caught Leary’s eye, looking over her shoulder at the last member of her team. She nodded for the other Seals to go, leaving just her and Leary up there with Brian. Meredith moved to the back and sat down next to Brian, who’d slid to the floor after Nick had gone over the edge.
“You okay?”
He looked at her, fright making his eyes even bluer. “I can’t do this.”
“Which part?”
“Jumping. I can’t do it. Every time I think about getting close to the edge, I can’t breathe.”
“So, it’s the height?” She looked at him as he looked toward the edge of the platform.
“I’ve been afraid of heights for long, I don’t remember when it started.”
“Me, too.” She got comfortable next to him, smiling at the surprise on his face.
“You are? I didn’t think you were much afraid of anything.” Incredulous was the only way to describe the tone of his voice.
She laughed. “Yeah. Heights, spiders, and people who are incredible perky first thing in the morning.”
“You’re perky in the morning.” As they talked, the color slowly returned to his face.
“Well, I’ve also been awake for a while and I’ve worked out by the time you see me. I’m not perky first thing, trust me.”
She looked at Leary, then looked at the edge of the platform. “Tell you what. Let’s see how you do sitting on the edge, then we’ll see where we go from there.”
The pair slowly worked their way over to the edge and sat down, although Brian refused to look down. Meredith didn’t look down either, so she just looked out across the trees.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. “Think you can give it a chance? I’ll even go down first, and you can listen to me whine.”
Brian finally smiled. “I can try. I make no guarantees, though.”
She patted him on the arm. “Trying is all I ask.”
They stood and moved towards Leary, although Brian kept several steps back from the edge. Meredith put on the harness and a pair of gloves.
“Tell me again why I’m doing this, Leary.”
Leary sighed, having had this conversation several times before. “You never know when you’re going to be in the position that you have to jump. We’ve gone over this a million times, Commander.”
“Let’s make it a million and one, okay?” She settled the helmet on her head, turned back to Brian, and held up her thumb.
Stepping to the edge, she closed her eyes, held tightly to the handstrap, and jumped. When she felt the rush of air against her face, she opened her eyes and looked at the landing pad, refusing to look down. She bent her knees for impact and landed, stumbling a bit. Getting unhooked, she stepped onto the grass and bent over, resting her hands on her knees. She saw a pair of boots enter her field of vision, and she took a couple of deep breaths before she looked up into Nick’s eyes.
“Hey.”
“Are you okay?” He was concerned, her reaction seemed atypical for her.
“Getting there. I hate this part.” She took another deep breath and continued to calm down.
When she turned her head, she saw Brian step to the edge and leap off, sliding smoothly down to the wire to land on the pad. He came over to her when he was released, assuming the same position she held and taking deep breaths. They stared at each other, then grinned.
“We don’t have to do that again, do we?” He rubbed his face slowly.
“Not today. Maybe next week.”
Brian rolled his eyes at the thought, but didn’t say a word. When both had sufficiently calmed their racing hearts, they stood straight and headed for their group.
The rest of the day was kind of a let down. After leaping off a tower and flying, bookwork just didn’t have the same appeal. They made it home, had the rest of Irene’s casserole for dinner, and split up. The guys were taking various warnings about local nightlife seriously and didn’t want to venture out and cause any sort of riot.
Between the pool, game room, television, books, and computer, Meredith had a lot to choose from to occupy their minds. If that didn’t interest them, phone calls to family or working on music was an option. Meredith loaned them a guitar that had belonged to Andy’s mother. Brian tuned it and left it in the den for everyone’s use.
Howie dialed the familiar number and waited for someone to answer. His wish was answered when his father picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Howie! How’s the training going, son?”
“Parts of it are good. Parts of it are not so good.”
Papa D could easily pick up the undercurrent of distress in his youngest child’s voice. “What is it?”
“We have to go through weapons training. It’s part of the curriculum.”
“And you didn’t do so good?”
A sharp bark of laughter greeted his father. “I wouldn’t say that.”
In a flash of clarity, the older man understood the dilemma. “Guess you got a gift from the old man after all.”
“I don’t understand. What gift?”
“Did I ever tell you I spent a couple of years on the SWAT team?”
Howie was shocked. His father only talked about his days on the force in generalities, with specific incidents told to illustrate a point. “No, sir, you didn’t. When was this?”
“Oh, not long after Caroline was born. I didn’t stay because your mother worried so much. The point is, they sought me out because I was very, very good with a rifle.”
The young man settled back onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling. “That’s what I was told. Apparently, the Seal team used to have this expert shooter who was the sniper. Curran, he’s in charge of the team, said I could be as good as him.”
“I’m guessing you’re not particularly thrilled with this honor.”
“I don’t know why it’s bothering me. Everything about the guns is bothering me.”
Howie sighed, and his father echoed the sound. “Do you think it’s because I drilled into your heads the necessity of leaving my guns alone?”
He shrugged even though his father couldn’t see him through the phone line. “I guess. Most of the time I’m working with either the pistol or the rifle, this little voice is telling me I shouldn’t be messing with it.”
“I think that’s probably it. When you were a child, it was very important for me to enforce the “no gun touching” rule. But you’re old enough to exercise caution. I know you can handle those weapons just fine, Howie.”
“Thanks, Dad.” He was silent for a moment. “I’m still not sure about this whole sniper thing, though.”
“I always tried to remember that I was using this talent to help people. There was one situation where an armed bank robber had a hostage, this pregnant woman. He’d already shot three other people, and I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot this woman. I was given permission to fire if a shot opened up. I didn’t make that decision lightly, son. I waited until there was no other choice. That woman made it, and there’s no telling how many others made it because of my actions. *Always* remember that you are not hoarding the right to live or die, just the ability to save a life.”
Howie ran a hand over his face. “I’ll keep that in mind, Dad. Thanks for listening.”
“Anytime, son, anytime.”
“I’ve got to get my clothes together so Kevin can get the laundry done.” He sat up on the bed and lifted himself off of it.
“Kevin’s doing laundry?”
“Oh, yeah. Meredith has us all doing chores. I got beds this week.”
“What does everyone else have?” Papa D chuckled into the phone.
“Brian’s got vacuuming, AJ’s got dusting, and Nick’s got kitchen duty.”
“He’s not cooking, is he?”
The concern in his father’s voice had Howie rolling in laughter. “No, just cleaning; although we all help out with dinner.”
“I’m sure your CO would like to keep her kitchen intact.”
“Yes, sir, I imagine she would.” Howie finished throwing his clothes into a pile. “I’ll talk to you later, Dad.”
“I love you, son.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
With a click, Howie hung up his cell phone, staring at it for a moment. Sighing, he laid it on his nightstand and gathered his dirty clothes to add to the loads of wash waiting in the utility room.
Tuesday and Wednesday followed the same general schedule of wake up, eat, sweat a lot, eat, read a lot, eat, have fun. They spent more time on the range, and Howie worked through his “disinterest” in the whole aspect of weapons training.
Table of Contents
Chapter Fifteen