By the time Joey returned to base, he’d all but forgotten about making plans to try and connect with Marissa. The team was training for deployment, literally standing on the runway with their rucks on their backs, their gear packed, when the colonel walked up to them.
“You got a reprieve boys,” he said grinning at them. “You can unpack. We’ll focus on training for the next mission but this one took care of itself.”
“Took care of itself?” frowned Joey. “When do these things ever take care of themselves?”
“Be happy about it Dougall. I know you’re used to the way SEALs do things but we’re Rangers.”
Joey frowned at the colonel who seemed to have some sort of vendetta against SEALs in general, but especially his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
“Colonel, due respect, but I’m well aware of the differences between SEALs and Rangers. It had nothing to do with the branches of service. My question was how this fixed itself?”
“You don’t need to know the details, Dougall. The problem went away,” he frowned. “You’ve all got a four-day pass. Enjoy your time off. We’ll get back to training for the next mission on Monday.”
The rest of the team was excited by the sudden change of plans but Joey knew that something was wrong. He quickly sent a text back home, asking if anything had come across the wire that might explain the turn of events.
He headed out of the base and toward his apartment off base. Fayetteville, North Carolina was the home of Fort Bragg, one the largest bases in the U.S. military. With a population ofslightly over two-hundred thousand, close to half of those were connected to the military.
Joey showered, put his gear away and made himself a sandwich. By the third bite, he realized it wasn’t what he wanted at all. He wanted a steak. He wanted a loaded baked potato and he wanted to see Marissa Jordan.
CHAPTER TWO
Marissa Jordan was never so happy to leave her family in all her life. As a triplet, and also the sister of another set of triplets, her family was overwhelming.
For most of her life, they’d lived on the Victorian island in the old mansion along with her cousins, also triplets. It was a good life and there were always plenty of kids to play with but it would have been nice if they’d been closer to some of the other kids at Belle Fleur.
Every day they would take the boat across the bayou, have breakfast with the others and walk to school together. Every day. The problem for Marissa was that she never felt as though she had a moment to herself. There was always another sibling or cousin hanging around.
If she wanted to read in quiet, she would climb up to the top floor and hide on the gabled window seat. When her siblings found that hiding spot, she had to find another. It seemed as though there was never a moment that belonged just to her and there were never enough hiding spots to keep her siblings away from her.
“Hi bug,” smiled her father. “How was your day?”
“Dad. I’m almost eighteen. Please stop calling me that,” she frowned. Christopher looked at his daughter, his wife Ramey smirking at him.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“No. Nothing is wrong. Just, well, you have to stop talking to me like I’m three, Dad. I’m leaving for college in a few weeks and you’re still treating me like I’m a child.”
“Because you are, bu-, Marissa,” he said, correcting himself. “You’re my child. You’ll always be my child and I’llalways treat you that way. If I’ve made you feel as though I don’t see you as a young woman, I apologize.”
“Thank you,” she said sighing.
“Now, what’s wrong?” he asked her. Her mother sat down at the kitchen table staring at her. She had a way of staring straight through Marissa, as if she knew every thought, every word in her head.
“I-I need to tell you guys something. I’m not going to LSU.”
“What do you mean? Are you going to work here for a while and start next year?” asked her mother.
“No, Mom. I mean, I withdrew my acceptance from LSU and took the offer from Duke.”
“Duke? As in Duke University in North Carolina?” asked her father.
“Yes.”
“You did that without telling us?” he frowned. “Duke is a lot more expensive than LSU, Marissa. We needed to know that.”
“I know. I know, but I got a partial scholarship and I already have a job in the lab on campus. Their chemistry department is superior to just about anyone and I really want to go away.”
“I see,” said Christopher staring at his wife.
