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The door to Dad’s room slowly opened. We all froze and Dad put the pizza box on his lap to cover Moose. I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh, seeing the sheet wiggling.
“Hey, do you mind if I come in?” Sawyer asked, still in the doorway.
“Hey, look, our ride is here.” Lou waved him in. “You want a slice of pizza?”
“I just ate, but pizza is tempting. I don’t want to interrupt your visit.” Sawyer stayed by the door. “Just wanted to see how you were doing, sir, and wish you luck.”
“It’s gonna take more than luck, but this man’s the toughest there is.” Gunner walked over to Dad’s bedside. “We gotta get going, Admiral, but I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Admiral, you give ‘em hell.” Lou patted Dad’s shoulder. “I know you know how.”
“Hurry back. Your girlie is gonna make me fat with her cookies.” Charlie shook hands with Dad. “Make sure she sends a few batches with you. You might need ‘em to bribe the nurses.”
“Charlie, don’t give him ideas like that,” I chuckled.
“Admiral, I’ll keep the boys in line until you’re back in command.” Robert saluted from the foot of the bed.
“Well, hell, I’m not dying. What’s all this girlie stuff? I’ll be back in a few months,” Admiral grumbled, uncovering Moose. “This is the one I’m gonna miss.”
“Thanks, Dad, and here I thought it was me you were gonna miss.” I smacked him on the foot. “No cookies for you now.”
Sawyer still stood at the door. Each man had his say, then they stood together at the foot of Dad’s bed.
“Ooray!” They saluted in unison and left the room without another word.
Dad looked like he needed a minute to collect himself.
“I’ll be right back.”
I caught up with the men at the elevator. I gave each of them a hug. Their being here and doing that was beyond what I could have imagined to give my dad the strength he needs to get through rehab.
“We’ll see you tomorrow.” Lou smiled.
“What about Moose?” I realized they left without him. “You forgot him.”
“Someone much higher than us got permission for Moose to stay with your dad.” Gunner winked. “He’s going to rehab too. Once a soldier always a soldier.”
They stepped into the elevator and waved.
How did I get lucky enough to have them back in Dad’s life at this moment?
Chapter 68
Sawyer
“Icalled Johnny, the engineer we use on all the hotels, and he’s flying in this afternoon,” I said to Asher when he joined me for breakfast “Gunner and the guys took the boat over to get the ATV’s I had overnighted.”
“Awesome, I want to go check out this walkway and see where we can put the solar panels.” Asher buttered his toast. “How many did you buy?”
“I bought ten of them. I figured five women, me and you, and a few extra for the guys.” I counted on my fingers. “Probably not enough of them now that I think about it.”
“When the family comes, we’ll need more than that, especially if we make this path enjoyable.” Asher continued eating. “I’ll order five more, that should do it.”
“Gunner said they set up for a crew to be here around noon to start clearing the area more.” I finished my breakfast. “Are you sure we can push the paperwork through?”
“The engineer can do what he needs to do in a few hours and we can do the blueprints tonight.” Asher stopped. “What day of the week is it?”
“It’s Tuesday. You really have no concept of the real world, do you?” I tossed my napkin at him. “You make us all look bad.”
