Rusty

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My phone rang as I was just about to nod off. I had checked into the inn and settled into my room. The big lunch I ate made me somewhat lethargic, so I had walked around town some more but decided a nap was in order. It was late afternoon, so I decided it was time to go to the inn.

“Hello?”

“Rusty, this is Lee.”

Her voice instantly perked me up.

“Hey, Lee. I didn’t think you’d call.”

“Sorry it took a while. I had therapy this afternoon and I’m just getting home. My answer is yes. What would you like to do?”

“Maybe you should decide since you’re the hometown girl.”

A soft laugh hit my ears. “Honestly, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of options. But I’ll meet you at the inn and we’ll go from there. Does that sound okay?”

“Sounds great. How’s six?”

“I’ll see you then.”

I had an hour to get ready. I should’ve asked her what to wear, but this seemed like a casual town, so I was fairly certain jeans would be in order. It better be because that’s all I brought.

Right before six, I went to the lobby of the inn and waited. When she walked in, it was as though someone let the sunshine in. She wore a simple black tank top that exposed her lovely shoulders, along with a pair of jeans. I loved her in jeans. They showed off her ass very nicely.

“Hey,” she said.

“Wow, you look great.”

She winked at me. “That’s quite a compliment coming from someone like you.”

Her comment puzzled me. “What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you supposed to give me hell since I was a marine?” she asked.

“I think I’ll make an exception this time. Besides, why would I want to give hell to such a gorgeous woman like yourself?”

Her lips formed a perfect O and it took all sorts of restraint not to press my own to hers. I remembered how Harrison once told me that when he first met Midnight, the attraction was so potent he couldn’t stop thinking about her. This was exactly what I was experiencing toward Lee.

“Shall we?” I offered her my arm and we left. I slammed the door behind me and she jerked so hard I thought she left the ground.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. Loud noises still affect me from being over there, you know?”

“I understand. I shouldn’t have slammed the door so hard.”

“Hey, don’t make excuses. It’s my problem, not yours. I’m much better than I was when I first got back.”

My truck, which was parked in the lot, wasn’t difficult to miss. “I hope you don’t mind riding in a truck.”

“Not at all. But since you have no idea where you’re going, it’s probably best if I drive. Besides, I have something planned for us.”

“Sounds great.” We walked to a Honda Accord that was parked a few spots down from my truck. I held her door open and then I got in.

“I thought I’d give you a tour of the area and then take you to a favorite place of mine.”

“This is a great idea,” I said. “You’re my personal tour guide.”

She drove away and pointed to several landmarks that dotted the scenery. “There truly isn’t much to Drummond, but it’s a cozy little town and was a wonderful place to grow up.”

“So how did you end up working in the restaurant.”

“Oh, that’s easy.”

She explained about her friend from high school who became a chef and came back and opened up the cafe. “That’s a great story.”

But then her excitement grew as she told me about the new plans they made only today for the future and their new joint venture.

“How awesome for you.”

After a quick sidelong glance at me, her eyes were back on the road. “Yeah, well, I had planned on making a career out of the marines. I really loved that life. But, things didn’t quite work out that way. When I got back here, the restaurant had opened, only I didn’t know it was Jackson who’d owned it. I was super excited for her. We were best friends in high school but had lost touch over the years. It’s a win-win for the two of us.”

“Sounds like it. Can I ask you what happened that took you out of the marines?”

“It was an IED.”

“Ah, fuck. I’m sorry, Lee.”

“I may as well fill you in. I’m an amputee.”

“No shit.”

She laughed humorlessly. “No shit. Call me stumpy.”

“Oh, you think you’re funny.”

“Not really,” she said. She ran a finger around the edge of the steering wheel.

“Good, because that shit isn’t funny one bit.”

“No, it’s not. I came pretty close to dying. I lost the lower part of one leg and came damn close to losing the other.”

Even though the gesture was far more intimate than our relationship called for, I rested my hand on her thigh. I’m terribly sorry. I can’t imagine going through anything close to that. We face it all the time, but for it to really happen …” I can only shake my head.

“Thank you. I’m much better than at the beginning. I cursed a lot. My physical therapists—whew, did they ever put up with some seriously bad language.”

“Hey, you’re in the military. They should’ve expected it. But looking at you now, you don’t give me that impression, Lee.”

“Yeah, when I knew I’d be coming home, I had to clean up my act. My little brother is very impressionable and that wouldn’t have set a very good example.”

“Little brother?”

“Yeah. His name is Glenn, but I call him Scuttlebutt because he can’t sit still for anything and always has the latest news in town. He’s really an amazing kid and I adore him.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s fourteen and adorable.”

Suddenly, I’m back to being fourteen again and I can hear my asshole of a father screaming at me, throwing a gut punch to me because I didn’t fold a towel perfectly, or maybe it was because the hose in the yard hadn’t been coiled correctly. I carried so many bruises every day from him that I could barely walk and stand up straight.

“Rusty? Earth to Rusty? You with me?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Where’d you go?”

“Someplace you don’t ever want to be.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s just a place filled with bad memories. I’m glad your little brother has you as a big sister and friend.”

“Did I tell you he was instrumental in some of the plans for the restaurant?” And then she explained.

“It sounds like your little Scuttlebutt is going to be an entrepreneur someday.”

“I think so.”

After Lee showed me several more places of interest, she drove a short distance out of town and then pulled off the road where there was an old covered bridge.

“Well, look at this.”

“Pretty cool, huh?”

“I’ll say.”

“There’s a really neat creek below with some minuscule rapids where the water dances over the rocks. You can hang out and splash in the water and it’s also fun to fish here too. Do you like to fish?”

“I love it. I think Drummond is a special place.”

“It is. Let’s go.”

She got out of the car and went to the trunk. Inside were a blanket, cooler, and a picnic basket.

“Here’s my surprise. We’re going to picnic on the covered bridge.”

“Nice,” I said. “This is a first for me.” I carried everything but the blanket, but when she had the perfect spot picked, I spread the blanket out for us.

She pulled out a bag that contained plenty of candles, which she set around us and lit. “Just so you know, Jackson put this together. She thinks of everything.”

“Nice. I need to thank her.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised she didn’t sit in your lap earlier today and hug you for flirting with me.”

“Is that a fact?”

“Yes. She thinks I take life far too seriously.”

“The military does that to some people. It makes others far too reckless.”

“Yeah, I can see that. So, tell me about yourself. Why the Seals?”

“It sort of just happened. I was this scrawny kid growing up. Helpless and bullied in school. My old man used me as his punching bag and beat the shit out of me every day. Or if not every day, every other day.”

“Oh, God, Rusty, I’m sorry.”

The sun has set, so it’s too dark now to tell for sure, but somehow I knew her eyes were filled with sorrow for me. But not pity. I didn’t want her pity. And I knew for damn sure she didn’t want mine.

“It’s in the past from a long time ago and the bastard is dead now so …”

“Yeah, but those kinds of scars never go away, and no one should have to endure that kind of crap. I hate that for you.”

“Thank you. But somehow, it made me strong. Strong enough to survive SEAL training.”

“Damn. And I hear that BUD/S is a cruel bitch.”

“You can say that again. I didn’t think I’d ever warm up again.”

“I’ve heard stories.”

“So, yeah, when the call went out, I thought, what the hell. What do I have to lose? And damn if I didn’t make it.”

“But Team Six?”

I shrugged. This is really an off-limits topic for me. “Yeah, well, it’s just a designation. DEVGRU is what I was assigned to. It’s a unit in the military like any other.”

She scoffed. “You might be able to pull that bullshit line on other civilians, but you can’t do that to me. I’ve seen some of your squadrons in action. Or I should say I’ve seen the aftermath of what you guys can do and you are not the average soldier.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Sure, I’ll give you that. Our training is impeccable, and we are highly specialized. But unlike the rest of the military, we’ve spent months and months doing this. It was intense and swear to God, most of us have near-death experiences doing it.”

“I get that. But take the credit for it.”

“Okay. Now, can we change this touchy subject? This is pretty much an off-limits discussion, you know.”

“Yeah, I do. Sorry.”

“Not a problem. Besides, I’m starving and dying to see what you have in your little box of tricks over there.”

That got a good chuckle out of her and it diverted her attention, so she went about digging into the cooler and presented me with a drink.

“Thank you.” I popped the beer open with the opener she handed me. “That’s the only thing I dislike about these fancy beers. They don’t have the twist off caps.”

“Yeah, but I think they’re cool.”

The candlelight caught her smile and her beauty charmed me. The first thing that came to mind popped out of my mouth. “Were you not constantly hit on when you served?”

“What?”

“I mean, you are so damn beautiful.”

A hand flew to her hair and she smoothed it. “Please don’t.”

“Don’t what? Tell the truth?”

“Yes, no. I don’t know.”

“Then what?”

Her eyes blazed holes through me.

“Wait. Don’t tell me it’s because of your foot?” When she didn’t answer, I plowed on. “If you think for one second just because you’re missing a foot that I’m going to somehow think lesser of you, then you don’t know me very well. But then again, you don’t know me at all. We just met. So, I’m going to do my damnedest to prove to you I’m not that kind of guy. And don’t even think about not letting me because I’m an obstinate motherfucker. Now, are you gonna feed me or let me starve to death here?”