Ranger
THERE WERE THINGS in life that were uncertain, but Grammy’s opinion on how things were wasn’t one of them – never had been.
She wanted us together.
Grammy wasn’t going to get her way this time. Hero wasn’t the girl I left behind. The girl I left and intended to come back home to was as loyal and true as the sun rising every day.
At least she had been loyal to my brother through his death.
A little after noon, I got back to the motel room in town. I knew Hero had a lot more to do on the farm but I didn’t want to stick around anymore. There were too many memories hanging around like cobwebs, just waiting to assault me when I was most off guard.
I had enough cobwebs around without getting tangled in hers.
What I had said earlier was true. Hero did still matter to me. There are some people that are so deeply cemented in your life that nothing can rip them from you, even if you have to stay away from them to remain sane.
Hero was one of those people for me. She was in my veins and no matter how much I tried to deny it, part of my heart still belonged to her. I had to think about something else.
After powering on my laptop, I noticed that one of my old Marine buddies was online. I pressed the button.
“Hey there, Silver.”
The boys called me Silver, saying Ranger was too easy. They told me The Lone Ranger used to say ‘Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!’ to his horse, so they nicknamed me after his horse.
Figures.
“Hey, Pop-Tart. What’s going on?”
“Not much. Just getting the last minute preps done for boot camp. Starts in four months. I can still count on you, right?”
Four months would be plenty of time to get the money from my brother’s will and get the hell out of this memory quicksand.
“Yeah, I’m in.”
“Where the hell are you? Looks like 1978 threw up on that wall behind you.” I looked at the wall and he was right. Glenda, the motel owner, hadn’t updated the place. The orange and lime green on the wallpaper fit 1978 just right.
“I’m home in Langston. Came back to settle some stuff with my brother.”
He leaned back in his chair. There was an old map of Afghanistan behind him, pockmarked with pictures of our platoon. ‘“Oh yeah? How is your brother?”
“Dead.”
“Oh man, I’m sorry. That’s gotta be tough. But you’re back home, right? Should I even ask?”
We all knew about each other’s relationship status when we were in combat. The fact of the matter was just the thought of Hero kept me alive some days, got me to wake up most mornings, and kept me company when I was alone.
That was until the truth started funneling to me in the form of letters.
“My brother left a stipulation in his will. We have to attempt to reconcile or at least stay friends or we don’t get his insurance money.”
Pop-Tart, named for all the cases of the breakfast food he used to get from his mom, stared at me in shock. “That can’t be easy trying to make nice with the girl who stomped on your heart.”
“Nope. It’s not going to be easy, but I have to try. It’s what he wanted, apparently.”
“Well, get done what you need to get done and then come back to Arizona. We’ve got some companies signing up for our boot camp. I can’t imagine why people would pay to get yelled at and tortured, but it’s money in the bank for us.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. It won’t be an issue.”
“Later, Silver.”
I switched screens to look up Garrison’s obituary but there was none. The least she could’ve done was put an obituary in the paper.
A knock at the door startled me. Lots of things have startled me since getting home, but I’ve dealt with it the best I could.
“Yeah?”
“It’s Jacob. Let’s go grab some grub. I’m starving.”
I’d forgotten that I made plans with Jacob.
“I’m comin’,” I yelled back and grabbed my phone and my wallet.
I locked the door on my way out. This place still had the old-fashioned locks.
“Let’s go to the Burger Shack.”
I slapped him on the shoulder as we walked. “What? Mama don’t make you lunches anymore with the crusts cut off?”
“Come on, Ranger. I’m darn near thirty years old, just a few months younger than you, remember?”
“Yeah, but I spent a good many years eating sand for lunch. You’ve got it good around here.”
We walked in silence for a while. Jacob had never been much of a talker when we were kids, so the silence didn’t surprise me. He was great at writing to me though, which reminds me of a letter he wrote to me.
No letters from your girl in a while, Silver. What’s the deal?
With my head down, I kept reading the letter from Jacob. The letters from him increased with frequency and length while Hero’s got shorter and what was once a sweet note from her once a week was now like once a month.
“No. Not today. She must be a busy girl.”
I had no idea how busy and with whom.
“So how’s business? Seems like the feed store got a little makeover.”
“It did. Dad insisted on painting it John Deere green when I wanted it something more modern. Guess I can’t win with the old man.”
Jacob had always been sharp around the edges like he was ready to cut someone at any minute. He was on every team I was in high school, and our mothers ran the church nursery together. But he’d always kept a distance.
“What about the ladies? I can’t believe you and I are this old and not hitched. When I was a kid, I swore people couldn’t even finish school without being engaged or almost engaged.”
We reached the Burger Shack, a little red and yellow striped building that reminded me of a knock-off McDonald’s.
“Nah, the ladies around here are stale. I’ve been going to Rainesville to find some fresh meat but it’s the same old country girls – too smart for their own good.”
We walked in and took a seat. It was an off place. The floors were dingy and the tables were sticky, but I knew just from the smell that their burgers were out of sight.
“That’s a shame. Maybe I can take Hero here. The girl does like burgers.”
Jacob made a grunting noise and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I can’t believe you have to stoop that low.” There was anger in his tone.
I looked out the window, almost hoping to see her outside. I had to tamper that down. “She’s not that bad. Down deep she’s still the girl I knew, I suppose.”
He sneered at me while more customers filed in. “That’s not a girl. That’s a wh…”
Before he could finish that word, which had my fists balling at the thought, Beth, a cheerleader or once a cheerleader, who was friends with Hero approached the table.
“Well, Ranger Bronson, as I live and breathe. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, soldier. Hero wasn’t the only one around here missing you.”
I ignored the comment.
“What have you been up to, Beth?”
She wasn’t looking at Jacob. Jacob had a thing for her in high school. Every time she went with Hero and me somewhere, he’d insisted on going.
“I’m married to Troy. You remember him? Two years behind us in school.”
I thought about it for a second but it didn’t ring a bell. “I’m sorry, I don’t. But if you married him, he must be first rate.”
Her cheeks reddened. I did remember her blushing at everything.
“Okay, what will it be? The menu has changed a bit since you left.”
Looking over the grease-stained paper menu, I saw that it had changed quite a bit. What was once your basic burger and fry joint was now city-worthy choices.
“I’ll take the Hawaiian burger. That sounds good, with onion rings.”
She scribbled down the order and then asked Jacob for his order, still without looking at him. He could’ve been a fly on the table for all the attention she gave him.
Jacob ordered a double with cheese. She hadn’t even written it down before he leaned on the table and asked, “So, you can see other women while you’ve got this thing going with Hero, right?”
Inside I cringed at the thought. For me, there had never been anyone other than Hero. I suspect that had never changed.
“Nah. I’m just here to settle the business and leave. I don’t want to cause any more trouble than necessary. Don’t want to leave any broken hearts behind.”
I hadn’t realized Beth was still standing close. “Too late for that, soldier.” She muttered under her breath.
We spent the rest of the meal talking about Jacob. He had a lot to say about him taking over the business for his father and all of his future plans. He had a lot of them.
“What about you? Any plans for when you get out of here? How long are you here for anyway?”
The question caught me off guard. Jacob seemed glad to see me but was a little too interested in how fast I would be gone. The whole conversation, if I was honest with myself, was forced and uncomfortable. This wasn’t the guy who I was best friends with.
“Yeah, I’ve got big plans. My friends and I are starting a boot camp. Apparently, people will pay for military men to lead them in grueling exercises before the crack of dawn. Not sure how long this thing with Hero will take.”
“I bet it’s like punishment, huh?”
I wasn’t sure what Jacob was fishing for but his pole was broken and his bait was dried up. No matter what Hero did to me, I wouldn’t bash her, especially in public.
Not when I can tell her what I think of her straight to her face.
“No matter what she’s done, Jacob, spending time with Hero Danner is never punishment.”
AT THE BREAK of the sun, I was back at her house, dressed for work and armed with coffee – and this time cinnamon rolls. The day before, Beth had passed me a small piece of paper along with my receipt. It told me the cinnamon rolls at the diner were Hero’s favorite.
God bless, Beth.
I stood at the gate of her farm but didn’t dare let myself in. That woman was liable to tear out of the house and blow off my head or something else.
“It’s gonna take a whole lot more than cinnamon rolls to win my sister over. You about killed her when you didn’t come home and now you just show up and want to…”
“Wallace, shut up. He’s here on business, that’s it. Don’t start carrying on before I’ve had my coffee.”
Her brother had come up behind me like a pouncing lion and I was so taken aback. I didn’t know where in the heck Hero had sprung from.
“I have coffee and I heard in town that you’re a fan of these.” I hung the bag over the gate but higher up than I knew she could reach. She wasn’t that much shorter than me but short enough that I used to use my height to pick on her every chance I got.
Her eyebrow cocked. “You know I’m not playing that game anymore, right? You can give me your tickets to enter or you can carry your sorry butt home.”
It was worth a shot.
“I didn’t come to fuss, woman. I came to help out and to find out about our date. We need to get on this.”
With a good bit of attitude, she unlatched the gate and let both Wallace and me in. I sacrificed my coffee to her brother. He took it but there was no peace in his eyes.
“I can help my sister. We don’t need you here.”
His voice was stable and final.
“Wallace, come on, he’s just here to help. Anyway, you know what you and I talked about. Why don’t you go feed the chickens. That rooster was up earlier than the Lord this morning.”
Wallace kissed her on the cheek and did as she bidded but was not pleased with the situation.
“Look, I appreciate this and all, but it’s not necessary.”
Pulling out one of the still hot cinnamon rolls, I took a bite and chewed on what she’d said and the steaming sweet bread.
“Look, you took care of my brother and no matter the circumstances, I’d like to pay you back for some of that. Just let me help you, sweetheart.”
I’d said sweetheart out of habit. There was something about looking into those warm brown eyes that made me complete and total mush again and again. I forgot everything I was and everything she was at once.
She turned around and started walking as though the slip hadn’t meant anything to her.
“Fine. I have to exercise Donut and Boots today. You can help with that. You still know how to ride a horse, don’t you?”
“I do. It’s like riding a bike, right?”
“If you say so.”