Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4 (27 page)

Smiling, Scott sat everyone down. “Good morning ladies and
gentlemen. This won’t take long today. Just some updates and catching up. We
also are planning the officer staff mixer. Any volunteers?”

Several people raised their hands. Sam pretended to be
interested in what her uncle was saying, completely ignoring the man sitting
beside her. He touched her leg, she moved away. She kept her hands on the table
so he couldn’t grab one. Her face remained stoic, although, to the others at
the table, that was normal. Her father, however, noticed the change and made
eye contact with her. She stared right back and he nodded. He knew she was
pissed and it was obvious with whom. Poor boy.

Scott asked for some volunteers for the weekend OOD and she
raised her hand, surprising her uncle most of all. He knew she hated duty.

“She must be pissed at Rich,” Scott whispered to his friend,
who nodded.

“Look at her body language. Wonder what he did last night to
bring this on,” Dr. Quimby whispered back.

“I’m also available for Sunday, sir. Please sign me up,” Sam
added. Rich cleared his throat and Michael caught the hint.

“Sorry, Lieutenant, but we have mandatory field training on
Sunday. You’ll be too tired.”

“I can—” Sam began to argue with her brother.

“No extra duty. That’s an order,” Michael said firmly.

“Yes, sir,” Sam muttered, wishing the other officers weren’t
around so she could tell her beloved brother what she thought of his orders.

“Lts. Quimby and Lewis, please stay after the meeting to
discuss the labs. Everyone else, you’re dismissed,” Scott said when he
finished. He entwined his fingers, resting his wrists on the table and leaned
forward while Dr. Quimby leaned back in his chair. “Well? Does anyone care to
share with me as to what is going on between you three?”

“Nothing, sir,” Sam said formally.

Scott nodded slowly. “I see. So taking extra duty was because
you love doing it so much, not because you don’t want to be home?”

“It gives me time to catch up with my computer work, General.”

“We are very professional behind closed doors today, aren’t
we? Don’t you and Rich have plans this weekend?”

“With all due respect, General Jenkins, my personal business
is not the concern of the command. Now, if you would please excuse me, I have a
full schedule that I have to complete today.”

“Dismissed. You too, Mike. Richard, stay,” Scott said,
watching his niece scurry away without even so much as a smile. “What the hell
did you do?”

“Actually, nothing. She’s just being pissy.”

“I’ll say. You really did nothing?” Dr. Quimby asked, amused.

“I teased her a little bit, but nothing unusual. She’s
testing me, that’s all. I can ignore it.”

“I hope so. Can we?”

“That’s up to you. She’s done nothing wrong, just pushing her
boundaries. It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Rich smiled.

Scott shook his head. “Just don’t let it go on for too long. She’s
got a stubborn streak she inherited from her father.”

“Yeah, right. The pride she got from me, the stubbornness
from the Jenkins side. Not a good combination. I hate to admit it, though, but
Scott is right. Don’t let it go for too long.”

“How long do you suggest?”

“No more than a week. If it doesn’t resolve itself, then you
take the steps to resolve it. Mike can help you there. He’s used to it.” Dr.
Quimby chuckled.

“Do I really want to be the one to do that?” Rich asked
cautiously, eyeing Scott, seeing his quick nod.

“Yes, in this case. If you don’t, then she’ll think you don’t
care. Let me know if you need my credit card.”

“I am NOT taking her shoe shopping, Scott. She’s being a brat
and trying to get her way.”

“How does one win a war, son?” Dr. Quimby asked softly.

Rich looked confused. “Strategy. Choosing battle sites and
foes you have a chance to beat.”

“Infantry 101. Choose your battle and win it. She’s a war
worth fighting. She wears size 7 shoes,” Dr. Quimby reported.

“If you’re really serious, go for boots. She loves ‘cute
boots’. Preferably suede and in unusual colors,” Scott mimicked Sam’s voice.

“Unbelievable. How many stupid pairs of shoes can one person
wear? Her closet is already full.”

“She has a second walk-in located in her bathroom with lots
of shelf room. Sorry, son.” Dr. Quimby sighed.

“You two spoil her. This isn’t good and you know it.”

“We choose our battles, my boy. And we typically come out
ahead.” Scott smiled.

“Would you be upset with me if I choose to handle this my own
way?”

“Of course not. We just wanted to offer you the path of least
resistance. We won’t interfere, will we, Scott?” Dr. Quimby promised.

Scott muttered, “No. Not much, anyway.”

“I do appreciate your input, so thank you. Wish me luck.”
Rich sighed.

“You’re going to need it. Trust me,” Dr. Quimby remarked.

***

“What’s going on with you and Rich?” Michael asked, helping
his sister into the hopper.

“I don’t like being ordered around or assumptions being made
regarding my activities,” Sam snapped.

Michael held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t do
anything. You need to talk to him about it, not shut him down.”

“You don’t help. You encourage him being bossy.”

“Because I’m bossy too. But duty? Talk about cutting off your
nose to spite your face. You loathe duty.”

“It’s better than hanging around and waiting for him to
dictate my every breathing moment.”

“But you LIKE being with him every breathing moment,” Michael
reminded her.

“By my choice, not because he demands it,” she answered
stubbornly.

“Semantics. You’re just being a brat. You know that, right? Shoving
your independence in his face is not going to go well for you.”

“What mandatory training is on Sunday, by the way?” Sam
asked, trying to change the subject.

“I was just dictating what you will do on your time off. Are
you going to stop talking to me too?”

“You wish you were so lucky. I’m going for a dive when we get
in.”

“That didn’t sound like a request.”

“Michael, now is not the time to mess with me. Lay off.”

“Gotcha,” Michael said, taking the hint. “Do you mind if I
run a pattern before you leave? It will only take three minutes.”

“Fine, then leave me alone.”

“Okay,” Michael said, docking the boat. He helped her out and
escorted her into the lab. Jen smiled, waving and Michael signaled a throat strangle,
thumbing his sister. Jen giggled and returned to work.

“What’s with her?” she asked, watching her friend plunge into
the whale tank and take off quickly. Michael explained, seeing her nod. “I know
how that feels. I really hate being informed that I’m doing something. It’s
respectful to ask and give me a choice.”

“I gather you don’t want me to make plans for you, then?”

“You can plan a date, but I do liked to be asked if I want to
go out. She’s no different.”

“There’s more to it too. Rich withheld from her last night
and she’s pissed.”

“That was mean of him. He’ll pay for that, I’m sure, the big
dummy. I thought he was smart enough to know that tides are changed big time
when us gals are refused. It becomes personal.”

“Maybe you can talk with him,” Michael suggested. “You took
the role as his little sister. It might be good for him to hear how you feel
about it.”

“Oh, he’ll hear. Whether he wants to or not!” Jen said
firmly.

***

“I don’t know why you are laughing, Richard Lewis! You are
acting like a total, chauvinistic asshole!” Jen scolded, hands on her hips and
glaring at Rich as he leaned back on the couch in his living room. She had come
over after work to give him a piece of her mind.

“You’re cute.”

“Take me seriously, damn it! You are screwing up here.” She
stomped her foot.

“Maybe, but it’s my life to screw up.”

“You aren’t the only one involved, you stubborn piece of
shit! Sam and the whole family are affected.”

“You need to stop swearing, Jenny.”

“You’re infuriating!”

“Yelling at me isn’t going to change my mind either. Where’s
Mike?”

“He’s on his way to get me. Rich, I’m warning you, don’t fuck
this up. You’ll regret it.”

“I hear you. My god, the whole base hears you. Jen? You need
to tell Scott about your mouth when you get home,” Rich ordered. Red in the
face, she stomped her foot again and left, slamming the door behind her. Rich
laughed, flipping on the TV. He trusted his instincts, even though no one else
did.

Michael walked into the house about ten minutes later. “What
gives? Jen is outside and totally pissed. I mean, keep-all-sharp-objects-out-of-her-reach
pissed. Are you trying to break some sort of record today, buddy?”

“She’s having a fit because I wouldn’t cave to her orders. That,
and I told her to talk with Scott regarding her language when she gets home.”
Rich chuckled, putting down his laptop. “She’s getting quite the vocabulary.”

“It’s the men again. Our girls… any ideas?” Michael asked,
helping himself to a bottle of water.

“Toss me one, please. Thanks. I’m laying a foundation with
mine, that’s all. Would you believe your folks tried to talk me into taking her
shopping to get her over her ‘tude?”

“It works. Positive reinforcement. Sort of.”

“No way. All she has to do is throw a fit and she gets new
shoes? Uh, uh. Sorry, dude.”

“We don’t do it all the time,” Michael defended his family. Rich
raised an eyebrow, saying nothing as he looked at him. Michael shrugged. “Okay,
you’re right! It’s easier to diffuse her that way. She does appreciate it. We
met you because of it,” Michael reminded him.

“Yes, and don’t think I’ll ever forget that. However, her
tantrum is uncalled for. Now, if I had done something reasonable to piss her
off, I can understand. Not this time.”

“She told me what happened.”

“Did she tell you everything?”

“Just that you teased her and wouldn’t finish up. And that
you ordered her to wait for the weekend.”

“Does that sound unreasonable to you?”

“Not to me, but we’re talking about Sammi. She’s got her own
definition of reasonable.”

“She has her own dictionary of definitions, for sure. She has
this little stubborn and defiant streak I’d like to see toned down a bit, Mike.
It’s one thing when she pulls it on her family, another when she tries the same
thing on me. She needs to allow me to be the commander at home and she doesn’t.”

“She can be a bit bossy, I admit. It runs in the family. If
it makes you feel any better, mine is, too.” Michael thumbed to the outside
porch where Jen waited impatiently.

“Go on and call her to come inside,” Rich said with a smile.

Michael laughed. “Yeah, right; that’s all I need is for the
two of you to start fighting. Do you think I’m a total idiot?”

“Have you ever heard me raise my voice?”

“No, come to think of it.”

“That’s my power, my friend. These girls don’t know quite how
to handle it.”

“I can see that. I remember my biggest fear of my father was
when he stopped shouting and got real quiet. That’s when I shook the hardest. Scott
always yells,” Michael recalled.

“That’s Scott’s weakness and your dad’s strength. Of course,
my little Sam tunes them both out when she doesn’t want to listen, doesn’t she?”

“So you’ve seen that?”

“I miss very little. Now, either have Jenny come inside or
take her home. She’s pacing.”

“Jen? I want you to come inside, please,” Michael requested
from the doorway.

“No. I don’t want to be around that infuriating, swelled
headed, egotistical—”

“Let me rephrase. You are to come inside and apologize for
your language. Now.”

“But Michael—”

“I didn’t ask you. Inside, now.” Michael held the door open
for her. Snarling, she reluctantly obeyed. She crossed her arms and stood next
to the door. “Well? Do you have something to say to Rich?”

“I apologize for swearing at you,” she growled, not looking
at Rich.

“That doesn’t sound very sincere. Try it again, please,” Michael
ordered.

Jen rolled her eyes. “Fine! Rich, I’m very sorry I was so
rude to you and cussed you out. You made me mad and I should have had better
self-control. I’m sorry.”

“That was better. Now go hug your brother. We don’t hold
grudges in this family,” Michael commanded. Jen looked at him pleadingly before
obeying.

Rich stood to embrace her, then held her chin up to look at
him. “I still want you to talk with Scott about your language, Jen. It’s not
appropriate for such a beautiful young woman. Understand?”

“Yes, Rich,” she answered softly, ashamed of herself. Michael
shook his head. How does he do that?

“Go on home, now. Give my love to the folks, okay?” Rich
said, kissing her temple.

Jen paused then turned to him again, hugging him tightly. “I really
am sorry. Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not. But, if you ever speak to me like that again, I
promise to exert my brotherly rights to your backside. Got it?”

“Yes, Rich.”

“Go wait in the car, I’ll be out in a sec,” Michael said,
opening the front door for her. He looked at his friend. “I have a lot I need
to learn from you. You are a combination of both my parents. It’s the perfect
balance for my sister. You’re right, I’m going to trust you to handle things as
you see best. Damn, I sound like my dad with Uncle Scott.”

“They have a long history together and loved the same person.
We don’t have that history yet but we do share that love. I’ll see you
tomorrow, okay?”

“Let’s grab some sparring time, too. About 1330? That is
1:30, Sam’s time.” Michael tried to look serious, punching Rich’s arm.

“Yes, sir, commander. I’ll be there,” Rich smiled, walking
him out.