Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 (15 page)

“C'mon, son, times a wastin'.” Carol’s
father, Andy Carney, was a retired CPA. Over the years, his girth
had grown right along with his retirement fund. His thinning
salt-and-pepper hair was hidden beneath a Carolina Panthers
baseball cap.

He and Rob had grown to be friends. Andy had
been skeptical at first. Not of Rob's love for his daughter, but
for her future. SEAL snipers had a way of turning wives into young
widows, often leaving them with children to raise alone. When Rob
reported to his post at Naval Weapons Station Charleston, his
father-in-law had, literally, thrown a party. He was as thrilled
with Rob's career change as he was with their move back home.

Andy nudged Rob's father, retired Master
Chief Petty Officer Theodore Tyler, standing next to him. “Ted, can
you light a fire under that young man?”

Their host was five foot six with a solid
athletic build. He hadn't varied more than three pounds away from
what he weighed when he was twenty-two. In his youth he had sported
thick, wavy, jet-black hair, but it had long since turned silver.
He was clean-shaven with piercing blue eyes, a feature he used to
disarm the most disagreeable of sorts. A golden glove in the
welterweight category in his younger days, he was still light on
his feet. His fighting record was twenty-four wins, two losses and
one tie. He had been a force to be reckoned with.

“
Acabe-se aqui, o filho
,” Ted said.
It was Portuguese for “get yourself over here, son.”

“I'm comin'. Keep your pants on.” Rob
approached, trying to remember which way to hit the ball. He didn't
know the rules, but he figured he had to be a part of any game that
used something called “wickets.” The others goaded him as he walked
back to the game field that had been set up in the back of the yard
between the pool and the encompassing six-foot privacy fence.

“I hope you’re a better teacher than you are
a croquet player,” Ted commented in his typical deadpan manner.

“He must've gotten some smoke in his eyes
when he was grillin',” Andy chimed in as he put his mallet over his
shoulders, draping his arms over it.

“Don't pay any attention to them, Rob.” It
was Melissa's turn. “They're just jealous because croquet seems to
be the only thing you’re terrible at.”

“Thanks, Mom. I knew I could count on your
support,” Rob said with a smile.

“No problem whatsoever. Would you like me to
get you some eye drops?” she added, building on her husband’s
remark.

Carol smiled. “Good one, Mom.”

“Hey.” Rob looked back at Carol. “Comments
are only accepted from people who actually
play
the game.
Not from people who wuss out.”

“Hey Rot, do ya want me to paint targets
behind the hoops for ya?” Sack shouted from the pool.

Becca screwed up her face. “Okay, are y'all
sayin' Rob or Rot?” she asked in her thick Texas accent.

“Rot, darlin',” Sack answered.

Becca's expression didn't change. “Well, why
are y'all callin' him that? That ain’t very nice.”

Sack smiled. “It's a long but interestin’
story, baby.”

“And it's not a very nice story, either,”
Carol added from where she sat. She picked up her cell phone and
checked the time. It was 6:22.

* * * * *

CARLA AND DANNY
had volunteered to go
inside and prepare the desserts. Danny took the opportunity to
retrieve the envelope from the Jeep that contained Rob's
orders.  Carla was in the kitchen just starting to scoop the
wedges of apple, blueberry, and cherry pie onto paper plates when
Danny came back through the front door. He looked at his
watch.  “It's almost six-thirty already.”

“I know,” Carla acknowledged as she dropped
some cherry pie on the counter. “Dang it,” she said.

“Rob's dad’s nice, isn't he?” Danny asked as
he wet a sponge to clean up the mess. “A little reserved at first,
but nice.”

“What about that Stacey character? The one
Rob calls Sack?” Carla asked. “He's a monster! I'd hate to meet up
with him in a dark alley.”

“I'd be cool with it,” Danny said
confidently.

Carla looked over at him doubtfully,
thinking he was being a little cocky. Danny smiled. “As long as he
was standing next to me and not in front of me.”

“Uh huh,” Carla grinned. She thought a
minute. “He sure likes ‘em young. His girlfriend looks half his
age.”

Danny rinsed the sponge off and ignored that
comment.
I’m not opening that can of worms.
“Rob has a heck
of a nice family. His dad, Carol, the kids …” He let the words
trail off.

Carla winked at him. “Changed your mind
about one of our own yet?”

Danny only smiled at the comment. “I just
hope the assignment we've been evaluating Rob for isn't a dangerous
one. That's all.”

Carla laid the spatula in the sink. “I don't
wanna think about it. It's not our responsibility. After tonight …”
She paused as her expression turned to sadness. “After tonight, we
probably won't ever see them again anyway.”

Danny didn't speak as he helped Carla with
the desserts, but he couldn't shake the feeling that his
relationship with the SEAL-turned-instructor would continue. Over
the months he had spent with Rob, he found a friend in him that he
truly admired.

Maybe we can still be friends after all is
said and done.

* * * * *

CAROL WAS TALKING
with Mary, Ted’s
friend, as they watched the children play Marco Polo with Becca and
Sack. She was impressed that the older woman always managed to keep
her silver hair in some sort of stylish fashion.

Rob's father had withdrawn socially
following the death of his wife. He’d stayed at home for days on
end, sitting in his recliner with the television as his only
companion. He’d avoided people, interacting with as few of them and
as infrequently as possible. Rob’s mother had died in a car
accident while Rob was deployed with his SEAL team. He had been
unable to attend her funeral. It took several years for him to come
to terms with that fact. Some time later, he and Carol had met Mary
Calhoun at the church that they now all attended. She was an
outgoing woman in her sixties, around his father’s age. It wasn’t
long before the prayers started flowing. Rob and Carol repeatedly
invited Ted to church, but he had always declined. He would cite a
laundry list of things around the house that needed his
attention.

Finally, on Easter Sunday three years
ago, they enlisted the aid of C. C. and Christian. Ted’s twin
grandchildren were encouraged to beg and plead with their Papa to
come to church. He finally agreed. Rob introduced him to Mary, and
they were soon inseparable. Carol even believed that the master
chief might propose marriage to Mary sometime in the near
future.

Carol and Mary were startled by a
blood-curdling scream as Sack threw Becca’s bronze bikini-clad body
nearly halfway across the pool as easily as he had thrown the
seven-year-olds before her. Her blonde head came within inches of
the side of the pool.

“Be careful, Sack! You're gonna kill the
poor thing,” Carol admonished. She immediately cupped her hand over
her mouth, realizing too late that she had used his nickname. She
closed her eyes, hoping that no one had caught the gaff.

She should have known better.

From the croquette field, Rob shouted,
“Who's Sack, Button?”

Picking up on the game, Ted nudged Andy, who
hadn't a clue what it was all about and asked, “Sack, who's Sack?”
Andy simply shrugged and joined the others looking at Carol
questioningly.

Mary couldn't contain a snicker as she
turned her attention back to the
Southern Living
magazine
she had been flipping through.

Danny slid the glass door open and stepped
out on the patio, followed closely by Carla. They each carried a
tray of desserts. They heard the twins shout in unison from the
pool, “Who's Sack, Mama?”

Sack, who had been swimming underwater,
emerged from behind them and, placing one hand on the top of each
of their heads, proceeded to dunk them.

Becca was laughing. Melissa was looking from
Carol to the children to Rob, who was trying to maintain his
composure while grinning clownishly. Sack and the master chief
shared a knowing look before the big man turned to Carol, who was
still holding her hand over her mouth. He held his arms out wide.
“I'm just a big ole' sack o' taters,” he said, just after the twins
popped their heads out of the water and proceeded to climb him.

Carol, relieved that Sack had found a way to
cover for her mistake, was impressed with the improvisation. She
dropped her hand, smiled, and winked at him. “Nice.”

Their croquet game turned into a tournament
as different players were periodically exchanged and substituted.
As the sun began to set, Danny shot a defeated look at Carla. They
had only planned to stay long enough for dessert, confess the news
about their having observed Rob and Carol for the past ten months,
and give Rob the sealed envelope containing his orders. Carla
simply smiled and shrugged. Her-always-make-the-best-of-it attitude
had kicked in.

But the Carters weren’t the only ones who
had a task to complete before the night was through. Rob saw that
the daylight was fading fast, and he still had a conversation to
have with Danny.

Carol scanned the scene. The pool was empty.
Sack, Becca, and the twins had long since toweled themselves off
and gone inside the house. She could see through the patio door
that the twins were draped over them on the couch, half asleep,
watching television. Her parents were saying their “good nights,”
citing Andy’s eight o’clock tee time as the reason for their
departure. Rob was helping his father put the croquet set away and
Mary, Danny, and Carla were busily cleaning up.

“Danny and Carla,” Carol said softly to
herself. She really appreciated that they were helping with the
cleanup. But as she watched, she wondered what their true
intentions were. She, Rob, Sack, Ted, and Mary all knew that the
couple had ulterior motives for their friendship. She also knew
that Rob had been more than patient, going along with the charade.
He said earlier in the day that he would get to the bottom of the
situation tonight. She had no doubt that he would, one way or
another. But as much as she tried to keep her distance from the
two, she had really grown to like Carla and had begun to enjoy the
time that they spent together. They shared, or at least seemed to
share similar interests. They had a similar sense of style and
humor. They enjoyed the same kinds of books, food, and movies, and
Carla was wonderful with the twins. She seemed to be the type of
friend that Carol could come to appreciate.
But was it all just
an act?

“What is it, Doll?” It was Ted. Over the
years, Carol had gotten used to the man suddenly appearing out of
nowhere. He had sidled up to her during her musings as silently as
a church mouse and was following her gaze toward Carla, who was
wiping down the tables where they had eaten.

Without looking at him, Carol answered,
“Rob's gonna confront them tonight.”

“And?”

“And, I'm not looking forward to it.”

“Because?”

This time she looked him in the eye.
“Because they came here and invaded our privacy, offered us a false
friendship and—”

“And you and Rob knew before they got here
that they had been sent by the brass. You didn't have to play along
with them. You could have confronted them from the beginning.”

“That was Rob's idea.”

Ted squared his shoulders and faced her. “As
much as you tried to fight it, you and Carla became friends in
spite of the fact that they were ordered here to do … whatever it
is that they’ve been doing. Now, how'd that happen?”

Carol didn't have an answer that she was
willing to speak out loud. She wanted to be angry with them so that
she wouldn't feel the pain of loss she was sure was about to
happen. She was trying to make herself mad at the Carters, and her
father-in-law wasn't making it easy.

“They came here on orders,” Ted reminded
her. “People in the military do things every day that they wouldn't
normally do, because it's their job. Rob understands that and so do
you.”

“But, Dad—”

She began to protest, but the master chief
cut her off without even blinking. “They had no control over the
situation.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “You did.” Then he
turned and walked toward the house just as silently as he had when
he joined her.

She knew Ted was right. She had tried to
resist Carla's approach at first. And then fencing with her had
almost become a game. But more recently, she had begun to feel a
bond with the woman who had tried so hard to be her friend. Cursing
herself for getting emotional about the situation, she turned
toward Rob. She knew he was preparing himself for the
confrontation. He turned to face Carol across the yard, smiled and
nodded. She knew it was time.

“Danny and Carla.” She said it again under
her breath. Her expression then softened a bit. “What a shame.”

* * * * *

“
HEY, DANNY.” ROB
caught him as he
was bringing a bag of trash out of the house through the open patio
door.

“Yeah?”

“You and Carla got a minute?”

“Sure,” Danny answered. “Just let me put
this in the trash.”
Finally, we can get this over with.
He
was relieved at the opportunity to finish their business with Rob
and Carol, no matter how painful it was going to be.

Carla heard the exchange, too. She laid the
sponge that she had been using on the table and sat down as she
noticed Carol walking toward her.
Uh oh
.