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BOOK OF THE MONTH: HOMEFRONT
CHAPTER FIVE
Gale looked up at the knock on his office door. Tellhouse, the Assassin Company first sergeant, stood in the doorway. “You get the message?”
It was strange being assigned with Tellhouse again. Gale had honestly hoped he’d left his past at his last duty station when Sarn’t Major Cox had him pulled down to Hood.
Something had changed since the last time he’d served with Tellhouse but Gale couldn’t put his finger on it. Either way, Tellhouse helped him get caught up on everything and hadn’t once mentioned the problems downrange.
“What message?”
“Sarn’t Major wants to see us.”
And there went Gale’s plan to get caught up on evaluations between PT and first formation. “Lovely.” Gale sighed. “Any reason why?”
“Two arrests this weekend for domestic assault.”
Gale scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “Shit. Who got arrested?”
“A guy in Chaos Company and a private in Headquarters Company.”
“And so we’reall going to get our asses handed to us?” Gale said.
“Yep, that about covers it. You still gonna argue with me about collective punishment?” Tellhouse leaned against the doorframe.
“Seeing how Assassin Company hasn’t had any arrests in going on two months, you’re clearly doing something right,” Gale said, grabbing his headgear. It pained him to admit that to Tellhouse. The idea of collective punishment went against everything Gale thought about leadership but to each his own. Tellhouse was convinced that his methods were effective and, well, clearly something was going right in Assassin Company. “Doesn’t mean I want to be supervising kids on the weekend when that’s what I’ve got sergeants for.” They stepped out into the sweltering heat. “No clue what the Sarn’t Major wants?”
“I figure it’s part of the same old song and dance.” Tellhouse fell into step next to him. “He’s apparently off his medication so he might be a little crazy today.”
Sometimes it felt like crazy was part of the job description. And Cox might be partially¾or mostly¾crazy but he was still damn good at what he did. If Gale had to lose a little skin off his ass to make the sergeant major feel better, then so be it. He’d known Cox for a long time and had seen some of the shit that loosened a few bolts. The soldiers might joke that Sarn’t Major Cox was on medication for several ailments but getting blown up a couple times would be enough to give anyone nightmares. Cox had at least three combat action badges and two Purple Heart awards. Even his drivers were afraid of him because of his mercurial moods.
He paused on the back dock of his operations. A skinny kid with purple and black hair slouched past them, glancing warily at Tellhouse and Gale. “New recruit?”
Beside him, Tellhouse spat onto the dirty concrete. “My kid.”
“He on drugs?” Pants that were at least five sizes too big jangled as he stomped up the steps into Tellhouse’s company. There was something skittish about the kid.
“Not that I know of. He knows his hair pisses me off. But his mother insists he’s just going through a phase.” There was a hard edge to Tellhouse’s words and Gale glanced over at him to find him glaring at his son with something more than disapproval.
“He’s just a kid, man. We all did stupid shit that pissed off our parents when we were kids.”
Gale’s dumbest stunt had been getting Melanie pregnant right after they’d gotten married. As long as he lived he’d never forget the watery feeling in his guts when he’d shown up at her place with her hand locked in his to tell her parents what they’d done. He’d never expected a baby would change their world so dramatically.
Married or not, he distinctly remembered thinking that her old man was going to kill him. It was disconcerting to be reminded of how badly he’d screwed up at life before he’d even gotten a chance to get started. Not that he regretted Jamie. Not by a long shot. But Mel’s dad had looked at Gale with disappointment. It was strikingly different from the pure animosity that ripped across Tellhouse’s face when he looked at his own son.
Tellhouse stuffed a wad of dip in his bottom lip as they walked toward battalion headquarters. “He’s a fucking waste of good sperm.”
“That’s a fucked up thing to say about your own kid.”
“You have no fucking idea what this kid has put me through. I never wanted him in the first place.”
“Jesus Christ, man. Cut the kid some slack. Shit, do you have a cousin or something he can go live with?”
Tellhouse grinned. “I’m just fucking with you. You know me better than that.”
Gale studied his friend for a long moment, not entirely convinced that Tellhouse was just screwing around. “Sure. Whatever.”
Tellhouse shot him a funny look but said nothing. They walked the rest of the way in silence.
He thought he’d rather deal with purple hair and chains on clothing, thank you very much, instead of a kid who’d carved bloody lines into her own skin. She’d terrified her mother and given Gale an anxiety attack in the middle of Iraq.
But he said none of that to Tellhouse. And somehow, Gale doubted that Tellhouse would appreciate the comment.
***
Melanie stared at her cell phone for the seventh time in the last five minutes. Her blood pressure was still pounding on the inside of her ears.
Jamie wasn’t in school.
She fought the panic that gripped her lungs as she opened up her calendar. No, today wasn’t an early release day and the school hadn’t messed up Jamie’s schedule like it had done before.
She tried to call Jamie again. No answer. Fear was a live thing in her belly as she closed out her e-mail. Maybe she was at the house.
She grabbed her keys and purse and headed for the door. Her ten o’clock meeting was going to have to wait. As she pulled into traffic, her phone vibrated furiously in the cup holder. Ignoring her no-driving-and-talking rule, she snatched at it.
“Jamie?”
“Hey.” Gale’s voice was deep and smooth over the phone. Disappointment raced over her skin. “What’s wrong?”
She clicked on the speakerphone and waited impatiently to turn left toward her house. “I’m heading to the house. I think Jamie skipped school.”
“Does this happen often?” A loaded question asked after a long pause.
“It happened a few times before I found out she was…you know.” She hated that word. She squeezed her eyes closed, forcing down the memories.
“I’ll meet you at the house.”
That simple statement made her pause. “I—you don’t have to.”
“I’d like to help, Mel.” A world of unspoken things in that simple sentence.
She could tell him no. She could tell him she didn’t need his help. She could push him away and handle things the way she always did, by herself.
But the words didn’t come.
Because she was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of arguing. Tired of facing alone the fear that her daughter would move beyond the impulsive urge to cut into something with far deadlier consequences.
“Okay,” she said. That single word lifted the weight from her shoulders. “I’m heading there now.”
“I’m already on my way.”
There were a hundred questions she could ask him about why he was doing this. Why now? “Thanks, Gale.”
He made a noise and the line went dead. It was strange thinking that he would be there. They’d never gotten a chance to be a team because they’d both given up on their too young marriage. They’d been too young for a child. They’d been too young for life.
Despite her walking away from him when they were younger, the man who’d shown up on her doorstep the other night was a far cry from the boy she’d fallen in love with. She wondered what the war had done to him. How it had changed him and molded him. But she didn’t have time for that now.
Gale pulled into the driveway right behind her. He drove an F150 – an older model but it looked like he took care of it. Rough around the edges and built for a life of hard work.
Kind of like the man who stepped out of the truck.
His uniform didn’t hide the size of his body or minimize the strength of the man. And why did she keep noticing how much he’d changed? He stopped just short of stepping into her space.
Mel adjusted her purse, palming her keys, and headed for the front door. She met his gaze and instantly realized her mistake. He was edgy, coiled energy, poised to spring. She looked away and stepped into the foyer.
She could deal with him later. For now, right now, she needed to find her daughter.
He followed her into the house silently. But his presence did nothing to alleviate the terrible feeling of being alone.
Just like always.
***
Gale followed Melanie into the house. He’d done this a time or two before. Not with this house, but he’d gone into troubled homes before. Had to break up more arguments between soldiers and their wives or their husbands. It was always tricky when it involved the kids. He glanced up the stairs, listening carefully for anything out of the ordinary.
He’d never thought he’d be entering into a situation with his own family, though.
“Jamie!”
“There’s music on upstairs,” he said when the ringing in his ears finally stopped and he could hear clearly once more.
Mel tipped her head and listened. Gale tried to hear if there was anything else beneath the dull echo of sound but all he could hear was the beating of his own heart.
Mel climbed the stairs quickly. Gale followed closely, feeling out of place behind her. He was used to leading the way up the stairs, not following. And even though they weren’t conducting a clearing operation, it felt funny not being first.
Except that on the way up the stairs, he could savor the gentle sway of her hips as she climbed. And he was neither a saint nor a monk.
He enjoyed the view.
Maybe he’d tell her so sometime.
But not today.
Not when they were supposed to be a united front with their daughter, who was determined to push as many boundaries as she could.
“Jamie!”
Beneath the music, there was the sound of human movement. Relief contrasted starkly with the sound of the dark, pounding, violent music that Gale recognized easily: the same stuff his boys listened to when they were getting psyched up before patrols. Gale glanced at his ex-wife. “Does she always listen to Five Finger Death Punch?”
Mel shrugged helplessly. “I never thought I’d miss the Disney days,” she admitted. “I try to keep her from listening to truly horrible stuff. But yes, she listens to heavy metal.” Mel frowned. “How do you know this band?”
“It’s really popular with the boys.”
“You listen to it?”
He shrugged and wished he didn’t notice the slight curl at the edge of her lips or the curiosity in her eyes. “It’s good to run to.”
A smile teased the corner of her lips. “Huh. How about that.”
“What?”
“You used to listen to country.”
He jerked his chin toward the door. “I still do. Maybe we can get our daughter to lay off the angry metal music and back to Kenny Chesney or something less likely to give her old man a heart attack.”
Smiling, Mel reached for the door handle. It didn’t budge.
She slapped her palm against the doorframe. “You have two seconds, young lady!”
The door yanked open in one. “What!”
Jamie’s eyes were red and mascara streaked down her cheeks. Gale’s heart twinged at the sight of his little girl in tears.
Mel, however, didn’t miss a beat.
“What happened?” Mel asked. “And more importantly, why aren’t you in school?”
“I failed my last biology test.” Angry, frustrated words. Gale stayed silent, simply observing interaction between mother and daughter. They’d done this dance too many times, he realized.
Except for his daughter’s quick glance toward the floor. If Mel noticed the movement, she said nothing.
“Don’t lie to your mother,” he said quietly.
She looked up at him angrily. “I’m not lying, Dad.”
“This is the last time I’m going to warn you about blocking the door,” Mel said. “And you belong in school, failed test or not.”
Jamie made an ughsound. “Will you both please leave?”
Neither of them moved.
“I feel like there’s more to this than just a bad biology grade.” Gale didn’t move, didn’t take his eyes from the bedroom door. Something wasn’t right but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He was tempted to push the door open and see what else was going on. He was reasonably certain that anything he did right now was going to go over like a condom on a collection plate.
Which meant exactly zero as far as constraining his options.
Especially since he wasn’t sure exactly what was triggering his bullshit meter but his Spidey senses said that there was more to what was going on in that bedroom than their daughter was letting on.
He didn’t want to raise a red flag, though. This was Mel’s territory and while he was happy to be her moral support, he didn’t want to push any boundaries that may or may not exist. Knowing that Jamie was okay was enough for now.
“Ten minutes,” Mel said. “Then you’re going back to school.”
“Fine.”
Gale followed Mel out into the hallway and the door clicked shut behind them. Not quite a slam but really, really close to one. About as close as Jamie felt like she could get without really crossing the line.
He looked down at Mel. Her eyes were less strained than a moment before; some of the tension around her mouth had faded. “Hey.” His hand on her shoulder stopped her. Her shoulder was tense beneath his touch. “You okay?”
***
The simple question broke her. It shattered the chains that held the lid on her emotions. Her eyes burned. She turned her face away, unwilling to let him see her cry. “I have to be, don’t I?”
His hand on her upper arm was more gentle than she remembered. He seemed patient and calm, two things she’d never associated with him. For the briefest moment, she stood there and let herself pretend that the intervening decade and its wars hadn’t dragged them apart. That they’d managed to stick together when there had been more month than money.
That she hadn’t screamed his name alone in the darkness when she’d sat in the hospital while the doctors stitched their daughter back together, wishing he was there instead of off to that god forsaken war.
For the briefest of moments, she stood there, stealing a moment of comfort from a man who’d always let her down.
Because she could do nothing less and she was afraid that if she moved, she would shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.
CONTINUE READING…
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