AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sky shrugged. “Well, Abby, to tell you the truth, I never really had much schooling in feminine things. I didn’t feel confident in choosing something myself and Lauren’s a sniper. She’s got a good eye, so I dragged her along for her valuable second opinion.”
Grinning, Lauren said, “Yeah, kicking and screaming. Let’s see… How long has it been since I wore a dress?” She struck a thoughtful pose, her finger on her dimpled chin. “The last dress I wore was for my high school graduation.”
“And you’ve never looked back,” Sky said, returning her grin. “Hold that thought. I want to put my dress away.”
Abby sat down on the stool. “The boys are gonna be gone all day on their scuba diving adventure out in the kelp beds. You don’t have to worry about Cal unexpectedly showing up and seeing it.”
“I know,” Sky said. “I hope they’ll have a good time.”
“You’d better hope they find enough abalone steaks for all of us tonight for dinner or he’ll be showing up with McDonalds!” Lauren said, sitting down at the island.
They all laughed.
Sky said, “I’ve never eaten an abalone steak.”
“Me neither,” Abby admitted. “But Joe told me last night they taste good. He said the SEALs would often go out, rent a dive boat, and anchor it off the kelp beds near La Jolla to dive for abalone and lobster. I guess they grilled a lot of those things back at their HQ on Coronado.”
Lauren shook her head. “Things is the correct word. They’re a certifiable bunch. Forget mermaids. We have Aquamen.”
Sky put the dress away, closed the door and joined her friends at the island. She sat at one end of it, appreciating female companionship. “Cal said I’d love them.”
“Do you like oysters?” Lauren asked.
“Ugh, I HATE oysters because they’re so slimy… Oh no, don’t tell me abalone tastes like them?” and Sky gave them a stricken look.
“It’s a shellfish,” Lauren reminded them. She raised a brow. “Just in case the three of us don’t cotton to abalone, I bought some nice New York steaks yesterday. They’re in the fridge. We can force the boys to put them on the grill and we’ll eat beef instead.”
Abby smiled. “You truly are a sniper, Lauren. Always thinking ahead of the curve.”
Lauren nodded and sipped her wine. “I understand you were a sniper, too?”
“Oh, no,” Abby said quickly. “I was assigned to Joe’s SEAL team in Afghanistan, and he was a sniper.”
“But,” Sky interjected, “Cal said you shot like a sniper.”
Abby wrinkled her nose. “My Pa, Floyd, was a Marine Corps sniper. He began teaching me to shoot when I was a young’un. When I got to Joe’s team, they were short a sniper. I told them I could shoot pretty well.”
“Bet that went over well,” Lauren deadpanned.
“Yeah, like throwin’ a red-hot horseshoe in a bucket of cold water,” Abby agreed, chuckling.
Sky gave Abby an admiring look. “What happened?”
“Well, one of the SEALs who really disliked me being there was a sniper, too. His name was Hammer and he challenged me to a shooting contest with a Win-Mag .300, their sniper rifle of choice for certain distances. My Pa shot a civilian version of that rifle, so I knew it pretty well. Joe saw his team ganging up on me, so he came over and volunteered to be my spotter and coach for that shootin’ match.”
Sky hung on every word. “And? What happened? Did you win?”
“Well,” Abby said, giving her a bashful look, “I held my own. I outshot the guy and technically, I won the match. He was pretty pissed off. Half the team was with him. But the other half, including Master Chief Butch, the officers, and Joe, were on my side and congratulated me.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Men are SUCH weenies. Women are well known to be better shooters and snipers than any man will ever be. Our brain is wired for details and that’s what being a sniper is all about that. During World War Two, Russian women were snipers and helped save their country. All their men were fighting the Nazi’s, and the women picked up the rifles and went to work. What they did? It’s legendary to this day. So don’t tell me women can’t be snipers and outshoot any man.”
Crowing, Abby said, “That’s right.”
“Did Joe’s team ever get over that loss to you?”
“Sure they did.” Abby smiled. “They were short a sniper. As long as I could shoot straight and hit targets, they didn’t care if I grew horns.”
The women laughed.
