Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4 (6 page)

“Shit. Sam, you are unbelievable,” Scott growled.

“Are you okay, baby? Where you hurt in anyway?” Dr. Quimby
asked with concern. He could hear the pain in her voice.

“No.” She began to cry. “I am miserable. I don’t belong
there. Please, don’t make me go back, Daddy. I promise I will be good! I need
you. Please come home.”

Dr. Quimby’s heart ached. Her voice sounded so young and
frail. He knew she was putting on a show for Rich, but she was a very
convincing little actress. “You know I can’t leave here, baby. We know this is
hard for you, but there is an important lesson to be learned. You need to make
the best of it.”

“Daddy, come home to me, please,” Sam cried again into the
phone. Her demeanor even began to move Rich’s heart. He hated seeing her so unhappy.

“Damn it,” Dr. Quimby looked over at Scott desperately. Scott
simply shook his head. With a sigh, Dr. Quimby refocused his conversation back
to Rich. “Son? This can wait until we get home, don’t you think?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry, but I don’t think so.” Rich forced
himself to be firm. “She’s been giving Mike hell about school, has been sent
multiple times to the office, and has been acting up in class to embarrass the
teachers. This was the last straw for Mike, and pretty close for me. She
managed to leave out some very important things, too.”

“Really? What?” Scott asked, eyeing his friend with a frown. Sam
held her breath, this was going to blow.

“She was drinking and driving. She said she only had a small
amount, but she’s under age and would be considered under the influence.”

“Excuse me?” Dr. Quimby growled. “Samantha? Is this true?”

“Daddy, I swear, I only had a couple of sips. I don’t like
beer, you know that. I just did it to fit in. I spilled some on me, which is
why the boys could smell it,” Sam answered quickly, knowing this news would be
a turning point in gaining any further sympathy. It violated his house rules,
and there was no excuse in his book to do so.

“What the hell were you thinking, Samantha? If a cop had
stopped you, he would have smelled it. Diplomatic immunity or not, that is
inexcusable,” Scott barked. “And in MY truck too? Mike would have creamed you
instantly if it had been his Jag. I can’t believe that you had the audacity to
steal MY truck!”

“So now you can understand the severity of our situation,
gentlemen. I’m beyond angry right now and Mike went straight to bed, so you
know he’s pissed.” Rich watched as his tearful girlfriend moved to sit on the
edge of the bed. He handed her a tissue to blow her nose, all the while,
shaking his head.

“Let me talk with my daughter, please. Samantha, take me off
speaker, I have a few private words for you.” Dr. Quimby’s tone was hard and
filled with disappointment.

“Yes, sir,” she whispered, holding the phone to her ear. “Daddy,
please believe me, I am so sorry.”

“What I can’t believe is that you were foolish enough to take
it this far! Child, what the hell were you thinking? I seriously hope you got
some information that will make what you will be facing tomorrow worth it.”

“Daddy, I am so, so sorry!” Sam repeated, tears flowing down
her cheeks.

“I’m very upset with you right now. Despite the situation,
you should not have ever taken things to this point. Be glad I am not home. I
am beyond stunned right now.”

“I know it was stupid, okay? You both need to try to
understand that I’ve never fit in before. I was actually approached by people
tonight who were interested in me, not as an officer, or who my parents were,
but as just Sam. It felt good!” she said, hoping he caught her implication. He
did.

“So you made contact?”

“Yes, sir. I know you are disappointed, but I could not think
of any other way to make myself approachable. It was dumb.”

“Yes, it was. But, at least that’s been accomplished. No more
parties, though. They are too dangerous.”

“Daddy, please… only if I have to. I promise, no more
alcohol.”

“You had best not, young lady. I am not happy with that
decision you made either, and intend on having a long talk with you. And no
more showing off,” Scott ordered.

“Uncle Scott, you drink a heck of a lot more than I did, and—”

“Do you really think it’s really the time to be a smart ass? Yes,
I drink on occasion and have stopped doing so in excess after you and your
brother got on my case about setting a bad example, remember? More importantly,
I am of legal age AND I never drive under the influence. Ever!” Scott shouted
loud enough for Rich to hear him through the receiver. Both he and Sam winced. Rich
reached for her hand and squeezed gently.

Scott continued to bellow, “Get your little butt to bed,
young lady. This discussion is over. Give the phone to Rich.”

“Yes, sir. Rich, they want to talk to you,” she said, looking
tired and depressed. Neither had said goodbye to her, or reinforced that they
loved her, yeah, she screwed up.

Rich took the phone, his eyes following her as she went into
the bathroom to change. “Sorry about this, guys. She asked to call you,
otherwise neither Mike nor myself would have said anything.”

“It was the right thing to let us know, so don’t you worry
about that. We also know that you’re ticked off right now, and that you have
every reason to feel this way. We both feel partially responsible for putting
her in this position where she really didn’t know how to respond,” Dr. Quimby
said softly.

“She’s never had to face the effects of true peer pressure. This
is our fault for isolating her from the real world,” Scott added.

“What’s with you two? No coffee yet? You are shouting one
minute and then justifying her actions the next. Damn, if either of you were
home, she would have been blubbering by now. What gives?”

“Maybe we’re getting soft in our old age. I hate being away
from home. Do whatever you feel needs to be done, but we’re asking you to show
a little mercy this time. It’s the first time she’s ever done anything like
this, and she’s had plenty of opportunities in the past,” Dr. Quimby requested
in a sad tone.

“Would you rather have me or Mike handle this?” Rich asked
firmly, moving over so Sam could climb into the bed. He suppressed a smile; she
was wearing Tinkerbelle pajamas with her hair in two high ponytails. Too cute.

“We will leave it up to you. Call us later with an update,”
Scott commanded.

Rich agreed, said goodbye and hung up the phone. “That was
interesting. Neither seemed too intent on having us deal with you.”

“Probably because they’re feeling guilty for making me do
this stupid school thing. Rich, I’m really sorry. I promise I will never do
anything like this again. I don’t like you being angry with me.”

“Go to sleep. We’ll work this out in the morning,” he said
gruffly, turning off the light. He roughly pulled her against his chest,
kissing the top of her head as he stared at the ceiling. He knew something was
up, but what?

The phone rang at six that morning and Michael answered groggily.
He walked into his sister’s room, dressed in his sharply creased Charlie
uniform that considered of a short-sleeved khaki shirt and woolen, olive
slacks. His shoes were brightly polished and his web belt buckle shining. “Wake
up, you two. I gotta go in to work.”

“You look hot in Charlies, big bro. You should wear them more
often.” Sam yawned, noticing how his arm muscle bulged from the sleeves and how
the tailored cut of the pants fit snugly around his hips, butt and thighs. “I
bet Jen would jump your bones if she saw you like this.”

“Mike? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Rich sat up,
rubbing his eyes and ignoring Sam’s comments.

“I just got called in to take OOD. The duty officer has the
flu or food poisoning or something. Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Samantha,
you had best not leave this house, use the phone, watch TV or anything else. You
are grounded.” He pointed to his sister.

“Yes, Michael.” Sam looked down at her hands, her heart again
aching because of the deception. “Please don’t be so mad at me. I’m really
sorry.”

“You and I are going to have a very long discussion when I
get back, little sister. And it won’t be pleasant for either of us. If you need
to balance, you are to do so at the dock and stay in Rich’s view, got it?”

“Okay. I’ll be good, I promise.” Unhappy tears welled in her
blue eyes. She had blown his trust and no mission was worth that to her. If
only he could be told!

“Hold up a sec, I’ll walk you out,” Rich said, hopping out of
bed. Even in his scruffy sweats and tee shirt, hair unbrushed with a dark
morning shadow on his face, Sam was stunned about how incredible he looked in
the morning. Too bad he was so upset with her, this would have been a prime
opportunity to grab some good alone time together. She was certainly in the
mood as she watched his tight backside leave her room. She also liked the rough
beard look. Maybe he would grow it for her during their next long vacation?

Rich followed Michael out, telling him about the conversation
he had with the older men. Michael grabbed his gear bag, listening carefully
with a frown. “You’re right, that’s not like them. Maybe Sam hit the nail on
the head about them feeling guilty. Rich, I don’t feel right in dealing with
this. Something is not meshing for me here. I know her so well I can tell when
she is lying or hiding something, and I think the old men know what it is. What
do you think? I need your honest opinion.”

“Okay, let’s assume there is something else in the works that
they are hiding, do you believe either of them would have made her do this? Whether
they feel guilty or not, this was a step that she should not have taken. It put
her in danger. I honestly don’t care about the school crap, Mike. That is
bullshit. But drinking and driving? There is no way I will ever justify that.”

“I agree. You are also right. They both are very specific
about following their house rules, no matter the situation. Please make sure
she stays in her room today. I will take care of things when I get off duty.”

“I was going to ask you if you would mind if I handled this
instead. She needs to learn some things about me. The first and foremost is
that I am not a pushover. I will enforce both your family’s rules, and my own. And
I have made my position very clear to her regarding alcohol use.”

“I don’t think she feels you are a pushover at all. Trust me,
I have seen her around men who she thinks she can manipulate, and you are not
one of them,” Michael reassured his friend. “However, if you really want to be the
one to deal with this incident, I won’t object. To be honest, it isn’t in my
heart to do anything right now. Like I said, something does not feel right to
me. It really feels too much like a set up,” he reiterated, leaning against his
car thoughtfully.

“Even if it were, does that justify her putting herself in
deliberate danger? Do you think your folks advocated what she did, even if it
were in the line of duty? They are too honorable to disregard their standards
to encourage anything like that. Set up or not, what she did was stupid and
wrong.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Michael conceded. “Just be fair
with her, okay? Give her a chance to explain herself. If she doesn’t, well...
Use your best judgment.”

“Don’t worry, I will. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Good luck, buddy. I’ll call Jen and let her know where I am.
Maybe she can come down and keep me company during my breaks.” Michael forced a
smile. “Sammi did point out that I look hot in my Charlies.”

“Oh, Lord. Your duty is to watch your post, not screw your
girlfriend.” Rich groaned as Michael laughed while sliding into his car. “Call
if you need anything. Drive carefully.”

Rich stretched his back, watching Mike drive off. He turned
back to the house and walked slowly upstairs. Sam was still in bed, looking a
little more refreshed. She had obviously cleaned up a bit while he was outside.
The brat.

“Move over, I’m going back to sleep.”

“Hold me first,” she ordered.

Rich wrapped his arm around her, pulling her back to his
chest. She fit so well there, spooned next to his body. “Mike and I decided that
it would be appropriate for me to handle your discipline today. Enjoy this
snuggling while it lasts,” he said into her neck.

She shivered, pushing harder against him. “Yes, Rich,” she
whispered. “But you will also cuddle me afterwards, right? I need that so I
know that you forgave me. Please?”

“Don’t worry. I will both cuddle and forgive you, but there
is a price to pay first. Now, sleep.”

Sam sighed deeply, grateful that her parents had obviously intervened
with a stroke of pure genius by putting Michael on duty. However, it did not
necessarily mean things would be easier on her. Judging by the tone in Rich’s
voice, she wondered if she had gone from the frying pan into the fire. At least
she was confident that no switches would be used. His belt, though... that
raised a much different concern.

“Because this is the first time I’ve had to seriously
discipline you, I want to make it clear that I have rules,” Rich said, pacing
before her in her bedroom after a light dinner that evening. He had spent the
day making her do Saturday chores, including cleaning her bedroom, dusting and
scrubbing the bathrooms. Sam had kept her complaints to herself, relieving the
horrors of OCS boot camp as the tall man leaned over her, watching every move
she made. She had prayed that her cooperation would earn forgiveness. No such
luck.

“I will be finished when I feel you have learned your lesson
and not one second before. If you even think of biting, pinching or scratching me,
I can assure you that I can go on all night. I’m not at all concerned about the
condition of your backside, so the prospect of bruising does not bother me. And
finally, I will use a cane on you if you even think of repeating these offenses
ever again. The switch Mike used on you was nothing compared to my cane work. Understood?”