Nerd and the Marine (7 page)

It's sunny today, which is
the first. If we don't have rain, we have overcast skies, so we're
grateful to have some actual sun. Of course, the herd is out en
masse, and Bentley is enjoying the romp with them. There's even a
squirrel in the yard, but he's having way too much fun to
notice.

I imagine I'll have a
rather wet dog to sleep with tonight as the kids are going to a
relly’s pool. (I'll have to bathe him, since chlorine isn't one of
my favorite smells. Combine that with wet dog, and well... you get
the picture.)

I might even end up with
some wet kids, too. One of my cousins is due to go into labor at
any moment, and if so, I'll probably get her three kids. (We do
seem to have big families. Most of my sisters and cousins have at
least three kids.) My sister Laurie had her baby. A girl! So at
least Destiny has company now - she's fifteen and has six little
brothers.

I've attached some
pictures from our time in the park. Bentley rid the place of
squirrels, birds, chipmunks, and most of the butterflies, too. He
had a busy day. Plus, he played every game with the kids and even
had time with the other dogs.

He was so tired I thought
I'd have to carry him. Which wouldn't have worked. I think he
weighs as much as I do. I coaxed him into the house, but he didn't
sleep with me for the first time ever. He was too tired to climb
the stairs. Instead, he curled up on his bed down here and sacked
right out. What a dog!

I’m working on another
project for a client, so I'd better get back to that. Glad you're
back safely from your work. We're all praying you come home
safely.

Yours,

Lainy

P.S. I'm scared to ask,
but have you received the videos yet?

Laughing out loud at her last comment,
and sniffing a bit from her praying for his safe return, Mitch
swallowed the tear producing emotions and enjoyed the laughter. He
could almost hear her trepidation. Since his debriefing was over
and he had a few free days, he wanted to sleep, eat cookies, and
watch her family videos. But he needed the sleep more than he
needed to watch the Morrison Family antics, or ducks poop, or
whatever.

He clicked on the attachments and
opened the pictures she'd sent. Sure enough, when the pictures
formed on his screen he saw lots of kids and a few brown blurs. The
kids and Bentley looked awfully happy and something swelled
inside.

He was fighting to keep these kids
safe. To protect them from the atrocities of terrorism and war. So
they could laugh and play and learn and not have to experience
firsthand the horror of terrorism. Some of them were old enough to
remember September eleventh, but they might not understand what
that one act of cowardice meant.

Mitch did. He'd understood then he'd
be going to war. He'd known he'd have to give up Bentley. But he’d
come to this place because his country asked him to.

Flipping through the photos again, he
reaffirmed his reasons for living halfway around the world in a
hot, sandy place not of his choosing. Mitch reconfirmed why he'd
been willing. With deep thanks for the reality check, he yawned,
tired but happy for the work already accomplished.

He did snap a quick reply to
Lainy.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: I got the
videos.....

and don't mind watching
ducks poop. It's got to be better than watching the sand
blow.

Hello Lainy,

I need sleep more than I
need to watch these videos right now, but I'll get to them
tomorrow. I'll let you know what's on them. Plus, I have cookies
and popcorn to eat. Al's sister doesn't bake, but she did send a
huge box of popcorn, so I'm going to swipe some of his
stash.

This'll be just like going
to the movies at home.

I'm looking forward to
seeing the DVDs, but am about ready to drop. We didn't get much
sleep on this mission, so I need to catch up.

There're a few videos from
the lake, so I'll start with those. Should I be worried?

Yours,

Mitch

P.S. Sorry about Bentley
sleeping with you. He couldn't with me, because I only had a
slightly larger than twin bed, so there was no room for him. He
snores, if I remember right? Sorry. Of course, Al is in
the next bed, so it's not like I'm not hearing my fair
share.

With a chuckle at what he thought
would be her response, he tugged his favorite picture from the desk
and took it to his cot. He climbed in, gazing at the woman laughing
back at him, her arm slung around his dog. He loved how her eyes
sparkled with mischief and intelligence. He liked the laugh lines
around her lips and the way her lips, when not stretched into a
smile, were full and lush. Just like her chest and
bottom.

Groaning, he set the picture aside,
afraid he'd end up with sexy dreams. He wanted Lainy to be a
conscious, completely willing partner if and when their
relationship matured to that step. That step, in his opinion, came
after marriage.

He thrust his hands behind his head
and stared at the ceiling, trying to envision her asleep on her bed
with his dog snuggled up against her. It wasn't hard. Except that
they wouldn't be sleeping now as they were hours behind Kuwait.
She’d be eating or seated in front of her computer, typing out a
message or working on a project. Lainy might even be opening the
door for Bentley to chase squirrels. Or she could be corralling the
herd. Smiling, Mitch's eyes drifted shut and soon he was enveloped
into a deep sleep.

He dreamed of laughing children
colored like butterflies chasing brown dogs and a tall, lusciously
curved woman with intelligent eyes who directed them with an
electronic device and a sweet smile.

Chapter Ten

After reading Mitch's newest e-mail,
Lainy groaned. Of course her crazy brother had sent him the videos.
And of course Mitch would be excited to see them. She hoped if she
featured in any of these family movies, she had combed her
hair.

Lainy tried not to think that whenever
she went to the lake, she usually didn't bother to brush her hair.
Why hadn't she taken into consideration the fact her wacky brother
always brought his camcorder? She’d forgotten Mitch was a new
viewer and therefore could be subject to anything.

Frantically, she tried to
remember when she'd seen Ed with his camera and with a blink came
up with ...
nothing
. She hadn't seen him with his camera at all. She'd seen him
get knocked into the lake a few times by Bentley and she couldn't
think of a meal he'd missed, but otherwise she didn't remember
seeing the camera in his hands.

Pursing her lips she tried
to think of his children, but they were all too young to be
entrusted with a camera. Especially Ed's pride and joy new DVD
camcorder. Not happening. She tried to think back to whether or not
another brother had wielded the thing.
Nope
.

She didn't dare breathe a sigh of
relief until after Mitch told her what he'd seen on those DVDs.
Then she'd stop worrying. In the mean time, perhaps she'd better
let Bentley outside for a romp and work on the computer program
she'd yet to finish debugging.

*****

Mitch awoke feeling rested and
content. Rolling over he saw the photo of Lainy and Bentley on his
nightstand and smiling, he reached for the picture. What a great
way to start the day. Staring at the two beings who were most
important to him, he saw their happy faces and the emotion grew in
him.

He rolled out of bed and padded to the
bathroom. He only encountered about eight other men, which was
nice, and finished quickly. Before he left the sleeping quarters,
he swiped a couple packages of popcorn from Al's stash and slid
them into the drawer with his cookie supply. He intended to watch
Morrison Family videos all day long. There was a moment of
satisfaction when he had trouble closing the drawer, since the
contents almost exceeded capacity.

Whistling, he headed for
breakfast. Twenty minutes later found him on his way back to his
quarters. Still whistling, he opened his overfilled drawer and
selected a cookie while he booted up his computer. He spent the
time waiting by sorting through the precious discs and found one
that sounded intriguing.
Lainy's Detour
Routine
. Hhhmm.

The video began and Mitch had a good
view of the inside of one of the cabins. They progressed down a
hall lined with doors and into the kitchen. He caught a stealthy
movement to the right at the same time the cameraman did. The
camera swung in time to see a mid-thirtish couple peek furtively to
the left and right before sneaking into what he assumed was a room,
but he couldn’t tell for sure. The woman giggled, and he heard the
man hiss, “Hush, Laurie, or the kids or Lainy'll hear
us.”

Which set off more giggles, muffled
this time, from the woman. Mitch wondered if this was Steve's mom
and Lainy's sister. The cameraman stepped back and the view widened
enough that he caught sight of Lainy notice the couple entering the
space. He watched her brows wing into her hairline before a
mischievous look crossed her face. He could almost see the sparks
of humor and non-good will emanate from her amazing
eyes.

Light glinted off her glasses as she
glided across the kitchen to a door. She opened the screen door and
yelled, “Granddad just opened a box of Twinkies and doesn't want
any rugrats to come in right now.” She slammed the kitchen screen
shut and locked it before hurrying over to hover just outside the
room the couple had snuck into.

The front door opened with a crash and
a swarm of little bodies filled the foyer. Mitch counted several
furry bodies among the small human ones. Impish eyes laughed up at
Lainy and the hidden cameraman as they all tromped down the hall
toward the kitchen, which lay behind Lainy.

Just as the parade pulled abreast of
her, Lainy whisked the closet door open and intoned in a deep
announcer’s voice, “Construction in the kitchen. Detour.” She
ushered the kids and dogs into the closet before snapping the door
shut.

Nearly as soon as she'd accomplished
that, another troupe of kids and canines poured through the door
and Lainy detoured them, too. “What, no Twinkies?” one chubby
little guy asked and Lainy shook her head. “Not this time. There's
more important business for you to take care of right
now.”

The kid nodded his head
sagely. “Are Mom and Dad at it
again
?” He rolled his
eyes.

“
Afraid so, buddy. And it's
your mission to stop them,” she intoned and Mitch realized this was
the first time he'd heard her voice. Not nasal or high, but husky
and warm enough to send shivers chasing down his spine. He liked
her voice. He liked her brain. He liked her.

Lainy only just closed the door on the
second group before footsteps sounded above them and Lainy turned
to face whoever plodded down the steps. He saw a teenage girl,
probably about fifteen enter the foyer and turn right toward the
kitchen.

“
Sorry, sugar, detour,”
Lainy informed her and indicated the closet door. Behind which
emitted some very interesting noises. Barking and giggling and
squawks of protests. Mitch grinned. Snagging a cookie from the
still open drawer he realized he was enjoying himself.

“
Aunt Lainy, I am so not
going in there,” the teenager protested.

“
Well, honey, you don't
have to, but think of the odds,” Lainy pointed out.

“
Odds?” The girl sounded
dubious.

“
I think all eight of you
were conceived in this very closet. Odds are that every pregnancy
has a fifty-fifty chance of producing a boy or a girl. So far,
you've got six brothers and only one sister. If you want another
brother, by all means, keep going. Otherwise, I suggest you enter
zee clozet,” Lainy finished on a really bad French
accent.

Her niece sighed and looked musing for
a moment before rolling her eyes. “I don't need another brother,”
she decided and stared at the door in resignation. “All right, I'll
go,” she said, as though Lainy had just asked her to be a virginal
sacrifice for the local dragon.

“
I figured you'd feel that
way.” Lainy swung the door open. Two kids and one dog fell out.
Lainy and her niece herded them back in before the young woman
followed them inside and shut the door.

Lainy grinned at something shouted
through the door and slid home a bolt on her side. Whistling, she
entered the kitchen and unlocked the door before yelling, “The
Twinkies are now gone. Anyone wanting to enter may do so at their
leisure.”

She backed hastily away from the door
as a huge man entered. “Lock Laurie and Greg in the closet again?”
He started opening cupboards at random.

Lainy sighed and shoved the behemoth
out of the way to open the only cupboard he hadn't. “You own this
cabin, how can you not know where the glasses are?” She sounded
exasperated.