AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I waved over my head to Bobby and continued on to the dock. There wasn’t anyone out at the seaplane. I went back to the office to check messages.
No note on the door.
“Hello there, ma’am. Are you Jade Campbell?” I jumped when I heard a deep male voice. “Sorry to startle you.”
I spun around to find myself looking up into a giant burly man’s face. The physique was scary, but the smile was friendly.
“Hi, I’m Jade Campbell. How can I help you?” I took a step back to uncrink my neck, looking up. “By any chance, is that your seaplane out there?”
“You caught me.” He put his hands up in surrender. “Although, I was waiting for you to show up.”
“We’re pretty casual here on the island.” I keyed the door and waved him in. “How long will you need to dock here?”
“I’m not docking. I’m going to Cloud Nine but, like I said, I was waiting around for you to get here. My name is Stan Gunner, by the way.” He put his hand out to shake with me. “Mrs. Hawthorne gave me your name. She also mentioned your father was an admiral in the marines.”
“Yes, he was. Special Forces, but don’t ask me more than that. I may not know the answers.” I shook his hand, then looked out to the other burly-looking guys standing on the dock. “Is there something you needed from me that you waited around?”
“We wanted to go over to the hospital to see your father but wanted to see if he was up for visitors first.” Mr. Gunner walked around the office looking it over. “You see, we had a buddy in the marines with the name Campbell, and we were wondering if your dad is, in fact, that Campbell.”
“What was your buddy’s first name?” I asked, a little suspicious since DeLuca had threatened me. “How come you’re not buddies still?”
“I see I’ve alarmed you. I’m sorry.” Mr. Gunner stopped in front of the counter I stood behind with my hand on a big, heavy wrench. “Campbell was secretive about his first name. He told us to call him Guy, but that couldn’t be his name. We never pushed him on it but, when I heard Campbell, I had to ask.”
“I’ve never heard my father refer to himself as Guy.” I wasn’t comfortable with this guy yet. “Could you give me a moment? I need to make a call to check on my next group.”
“Absolutely, I’m not in any hurry.” Mr. Gunner walked over to the door and waved over his friends. “Are you guys sure you never heard Guy use another name?”
I heard him talking to the other guys from the other room. I quickly dialed Bobby.
“Hey, can you grab some of your mechanics and come over to the marina really quick?” I said quietly into the phone. “I mean, like right now, and hurry up.”
“Be there in two minutes. Should I bring weapons? What’s going on?” Bobby asked
“Just come over here. There are some guys here that are scary and, after DeLuca threatened me, I’m nervous. Gotta go, he’s coming back in.”
“Mr. Gunner, sorry for making you wait. Was there anything else?” I asked, going back behind the counter.
“I sense you don’t believe me. Are you afraid of something?” Mr. Gunner reached into his coat. “Here, let me show you a picture of the squad together. Maybe you’ll recognize your dad.”
“Hey Jade, me and the boys wanted to see if you needed any help with the dock repair today.” Bobby and three of his mechanics bounded through the door with varied tools in their hands.
This is what good friends look like. Somehow, looking at those guys, I don’t think these boys would stand a chance.
“Miss Campbell, I can see you’re busy and now your, um, help is here, so we can get out of your way.” Mr. Gunner smiled now, holding the picture he mentioned.
“Why don’t I take a look at your picture before you go?” I put my hand out for the picture. “This is an old picture. You carry it around with you?”
“Yeah, I do. Those men in that picture were my family. Our family.” He gestured out to the others. “We’ve been missing two of them and were hoping we’d found one.”
Okay now I feel like a jerk. This is for real. Maybe Bobby will get a laugh out of it later.
I stood looking at the picture and, after listening to his explanation and the fact that he carried this picture around, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.
“It’s my dad. The man on the far right. That’s him.” I put my finger up to have him hold for a moment and went into the cash register.
“Are you sure?” Mr. Gunner looked so hopeful.
“You know why I know that’s him?” I handed him an exact photograph. “I know because he has the same picture.”
