Full Measure: A Novel (37 page)

And his father was starting to seem like Archie again, too, thought Patrick. The months of darkness were beginning to admit light. “I’m off to work, Pop.”

“You and Iris on for dinner Saturday?”

“We’ll be there.”

“Fresh fish would be nice. Catch a big one for your mother and brother.”

The two men came down the dock bedecked in new fly-fishing gear—boots and waders and belts and vests—none of which they would even need on the boat. But what was wrong with that? Patrick guessed each at roughly twice his age. They walked fast, talking and laughing as good friends do. Patrick saw the glimmer of the rods in the new sunlight and identified their high-end makers by color and sheen. The reels were shiny new and the lines were rigged for river trout.

First timers, he thought, just like me. Love is what you do.

He offered his hand and welcomed aboard the first customers of his life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Fallbrook, my adopted hometown, for bringing me so much of this story without my even asking.

Thanks to Lance Corporal Tristen Chunn, who fought with the Third Battalion, Fifth Regiment of the Marines in Sangin, Afghanistan, and lived to tell about it.

And to Staff Sergeant Scott Meily, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine, and was especially thoughtful and articulate about combat and its consequences.

Of great help to me were Barbara Giberson and Sandra Jensen of the Camp Pendleton libraries. They had not only some fantastic resource books, but some very pointed and poignant stories of their own. Thanks for showing me around Pendleton.

Special thanks to author, Kit-Bacon-Gressitt for making the introductions.

Gail Chatfield and John Maki run the terrific Veterans’ Writing Group of San Diego. Thanks for having me to your meetings. Keep your fingers to the keyboards, servicemen and -women. We need your stories.

Thanks to the dozens of Marines I met over the years at Camp Pendleton and in my Wounded Warrior classes in San Diego—too many to name, but thank you sincerely for all you’ve done, and for being willing to talk about it.

Big thanks to Bob L. Vice for all things avocado. He’s the definition of a gentleman farmer—smart, good-humored, generous, and to the point.

And to Peter Piconi for his insights into fly-fishing San Diego Bay as a professional guide.

Many thanks also to Tucker Watkins, private wealth advisor for Ameriprise Financial in Irvine, for his valuable insight, both philosophical and technical, on being a financial advisor during a recession.

Thanks to Steve Bagley, city engineer of Greeley, Colorado, for showing me the ways that public safety projects can go both right and wrong.

Big gratitude to good friend Rick Raeber, who, over beers and hours of fishing in Baja, convinced me I could and
should
write this book.

Robert Gottlieb of Trident Media Group believed in this book from our first conversation over lunch, long before a word had been written. An author can have no better combat team than Trident Media. I thank Robert, Erica Silverman, Mark Gottlieb, and everyone else at this fine agency.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, especially Sally Richardson, who published my first book all those nearly thirty years ago. It’s great to be reunited with her, Charlie Spicer, and Joan Higgins, too. I offer a thankful memory of Matthew Shear, publisher, who loved this book from the beginning but didn’t get to see it born—thank you for the faith.

Last but first, deep thanks to my wife, Rita, for giving me love, liberty, and the belief that I was up to this task. Your belief counts more than you know.

Also by T. Jefferson Parker

Laguna Heat

Little Saigon

Pacific Beat

Summer of Fear

The Triggerman’s Dance

Where Serpents Lie

The Blue Hour

Red Light

Silent Joe

Black Water

Cold Pursuit

California Girl

The Fallen

Storm Runners

L.A. Outlaws

The Renegades

Iron River

The Border Lords

The Jaguar

The Famous and the Dead

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

T. JEFFERSON PARKER is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including
Storm Runners
and
The Fallen
. Alongside Dick Francis and James Lee Burke, Parker is one of only three writers to have received the Edgar Award for Best Novel more than once. Parker lives with his family in Southern California.

www.tjeffersonparker.com

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

FULL MEASURE.
Copyright © 2014 by T. Jefferson Parker. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Cover design by Michael Storrings

Cover photographs: silhouette © Ajari/
Gettyimages.com
; field © Panoramic Images/
Gettyimages.com
; truck and figures © Parker Fitzgerald/
Gettyimages.com

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-1-250-05200-1 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4668-5299-0 (e-book)

e-ISBN 9781466852990

First Edition: October 2014