MilSpec Ch. 01

It was late afternoon when I went in, took a shower and dressed in a button up, my weapons, new cowboy boots and my cover. I headed out to the car and drove into Cusick. I found Ned's place and walked up to the door. Mona opened it as I arrived and smiled.

"Hi Jack," she said. She was wearing a sundress, white with a lot of colors of flowers, mostly red, but some pink and even purple, scattered on it. Mica rushed up and stuck out his hand.

"Hi Chief!" he said with enthusiasm. I shook his hand.

"Hi Mica, Mona," I said and they moved aside to let me in. Ned was in a recliner, sitting up as I came in. He tried to move to stand and I placed a hand on his shoulder, then reached for his. "Hi Ned," I said and nodded toward Dina, "Dina, how are you two?"

Ned grumbled under his breath and I made out the words old and okay. "Don't pay any attention, Jack. We're alright. Age is catching up to us, but we get by. Mona is a godsend. And we want to thank you for keeping her on at the ranch."

"I have to check on dinner," said Mona and she ducked out of the room. "Mica, homework. I want to see it before we eat."

"Yes, mom," he complained, but he went and sat at the desk in the corner anyway. I sat and talked to Ned and Dina, mostly about the ranch and some about the folks in town.

"We heard you got tapped by those con artists," said Ned softly. "The son of a friend of mine had a run in with that man. He was beaten pretty bad. But the man wore leather gloves, so there was no proof it was him."

"Well, they have them now," I said, "I just went down to get a beer and play some pool."

"We know, dear," said Dina. "Those kind prey on good people."

Mica must have been having trouble because he tossed his pencil down on the paper and closed the book firmly. I smiled then stood and went over. "Trouble, Mica?"

"This math!" he said, "It doesn't make sense! And it isn't like I'll need it."

"Yeah, math is pretty useless," I started, "well, unless you are trying to figure out how much food you can bring with you when you head to a combat zone. How many days that food will last. How much it weighs and if you need additional trucks to move it. Or what kind of reserve you need at a base or stash when you are moving through the jungle. How many ration packs a man can carry if he has only four pounds of capacity. I guess I'll take it back, I used math every day. Then looking at the future, how many bales of hay a horse eats in a day and how many days I need to feed that horse. All times how many horses I have. Hmm, that's a lot of math."

"Okay!" he said, "But I don't understand!"

"Let's have a look, maybe I can help," I said and we opened the book. He was learning fractions. We worked on it for about fifteen minutes and he got it. Really got it. He went to work and I stood and there was Mona.

"Do you want a drink?" she asked and led me to the kitchen. She poured me a drink out of a bottle that said Mike's Hard Lemonade, then poured a short one for herself out of the same bottle. She sat me at the kitchen table. "He'll be a few more minutes. Thanks for helping him. I can do math, but it isn't my strong subject."

"What is your strong subject?" I asked her.

"I don't know, I guess," she said taking a drink. "There were things I thought I was good at, but they didn't turn out so good. Nowadays, I think I am good at taking care of stuff. Making a list, making the list happen. That kind of thing, like what I did at your ranch."

"I was looking around today," I said, "There are still things that need doing, but for ten years of being idle, the ranch is in hella good shape."

She blushed and poured the last of the half a bottle in her glass, "Thank you, I just did what you were paying for."

"I don't think the flowers were something I was paying for," I said. "What made you plant daffodils anyway?"

"There were some there, and they were pretty," she said, "The white ones with the red centers were my favorites."

"My mom's too," I said. I was starting to become more aware of this hot woman as I sat and talked. Her voice was sultry and she smiled constantly. "How is it that you haven't hooked up with some guy?"

"Well, I guess the right guy hasn't made a move," she said and her body inclined forward just a little. That was an invitation, but the kitchen door opened then and Mica walked in. She smiled at me, then turned her attention to Mica. She pulled him to her lap and they looked over his assignment sheet and the homework assignment. Then she sent him to wash up and got up to work on serving the dinner. She made two quick plates and took them out to Ned and Dina.

I washed my hands and was drying them when she walked back in. The sun was slanting through the front window behind her and for just a moment, she was silhouetted by the sun. It was a gorgeous second as she looked at me. "What can I do to help?" I asked and she smiled, man that was unfair.

"You can set the table," she said and pointed out the dish cabinet and silver drawer. She stirred the gravy and took the buns out of the oven, then put pot holders on the table and put the pots on them, adding serving spoons and taking away the lids. The kitchen had smelled heavenly before, but the meat, a lovely roast, and the rest just filled it with a sumptuous smell that had my mouth watering.

"Oh god, now my mouth is watering," I said as I finished setting and Mica crawled into a chair. "Mica, get the milk please. Then ask if there is anything you can do before you sit down."

"Okay, Chief," he said and popped down then to the fridge. He came back with the jug of milk and everything was ready, so we all sat and Mona stretched her hands out to us both. We took hands and she prayed.

"Gaia bless this food for the sustenance of our bodies and minds. Keep us safe and healthy, warm and loved." she said the little prayer and Mica replied.

"So say we all," he said and I repeated it.

We ate and it was delicious. When I say delicious, you have to understand. I'd had thirty years of military food, many of those years, simply eating rations with no mess hall. I loved home cooked food, but somehow, that day, in that moment, the food tasted like the best meal my mother ever made. Maybe it was the company, or maybe it was just cooked well, either way, I enjoyed it far more than I usually did. At the end of the meal, Mica was ready to scoot, but I stopped him.

"What did we learn at lunch yesterday?" I asked him.

"We all help." he said letting his shoulders slump.

"That's right," I said, "so tonight, you will be in charge of getting the dishes ready to be washed. That means, Ned and Dina's dishes, then ours, scraped and stacked neatly. Then you can go and do whatever."

"Play video games?" he said and looked at his mom who nodded. "Okay, Chief. And, Chief?"

"Yes, Mica," I responded.

"Thanks for treating me like a man, not a little kid," he said.

"I treat everyone the way I want to be treated," I said, "That's a lesson I learned when I was about your age and I lost my mom."

He nodded then hugged his mom and went to get dishes. Mona was tearing up a bit, none rolling, but her eyes were full. "You have a way with him," she said and started to stand and work the dishes.

"Stop," I said and she turned to look at me, her smile faltering. "You sit down right there. Do you want to split another of those lemonades?"

Her grin returned and she nodded as she sat down. I went and got one, found our glasses and split the bottle. I got directions to the containers for food storage and put the food away about the time that Mica finished his part. He was poised to leave but held himself back.

"Chief?" he said and I looked down at him.

"Yes, Mica?"

"Um, is there anything else I can do to help?" he asked and I saw Mona's hand go to her mouth. I had put the silverware in a pot and I handed it to him.

"You can load those in the rack in the dishwasher," I said, "the part you put in your mouth up, knives go blade down. Spread them out so they all get clean." I moved him around the opposite side of the dishwasher and I rinsed and loaded the rest, putting soap and water in the two large pans.

He watched what I did and stayed until I finished washing the two pots. Overall, taking maybe another five minutes. Then it was done and I put the dishwasher on delay start. I grabbed him and lifted him then hugged him and he hugged me back.

"Thanks for the help, Mica," I said and he grinned, "Now, go play video games so your mom and I can talk."

"Okay, Chief!" he said with a sloppy salute then ran off.

I sat down at the table and took a drink from my glass, "You are awesome with him. Are you trying to win me over through my son?" she asked, then covered my hand with hers, "because that's not really necessary."

I leaned forward and kissed her as she leaned in to me. My other hand went to her cheek and my thumb ran over her face. She moaned a bit into the kiss and moved to my lap. We made out for about ten minutes before she called a halt. I must have whined a bit.

"I know, but I can't just start like that," she said, "I have Mica to think about. I want to, I want to badly. But, can we go slow?"

I nodded and kissed her lightly, "Of course we can. I..." I paused trying to pinpoint how I felt, "I guess it is kind of who I have been for my adult life. I spent seventeen of the last thirty years in combat zones, twelve of those in the last fifteen years. There is always the chance that the moment you are in is the last one. The girl you are with is the last one. The experience, the last one."

"Oh goddess, Jack," she said.

"I am trying to get better," I said, "Last night, that's how it was. Then he came in and I took him down, tied her and tried hard to figure out why I wasn't supposed to just kill them, you know, to be safe, keep the unit safe." I sighed. "I go on Thursdays now, to see Alison, the psychiatrist. She's going to help me. She helped yesterday."

"Well, anytime you need help you can call me," she said, "Look," she grabbed my phone and typed in her contact information, then set the phone for *11 auto dial of her number. "You open the phone, press *11 and send. That will ring my phone. I don't care what time it is, day or night. If you need me, you call."

I nodded a bit too choked up to speak. Ned came shuffling in about then. "Jack, I'm going to step out for my evening cigar. Want to come along? Dina already headed to bed. After this, I will as well."

I glanced at Mona and she smiled, unfair, and nodded yes. I kissed her and stood, lifting her straight up with me. I set her on her feet and she pushed me to the back door. I followed Ned out and provided an arm as he worked to sit.

"Damn arthritis is in my hips and knees," he said, "They scraped the joints last year and it was better for about a month." he finally sat and opened a humidor next to him and pulled out a couple of decent stogies. He handed me the clipper and I clipped the ends and handed one back then pulled out my zippo and lit him then me. I sat and Mona came out. She set a shot glass with what looked like whiskey in it in front of Ned and offered me one. I nodded and she moved next to me and stood with her hand on my shoulder and leaned against me.

"Ned, my place looks great," I said, "I've already told Mona, but you need to hear it as well. I am very pleased with the results."

"I know you were paying for me and my know-how," he said, "I helped her learn. I just wasn't there to do the lifting. I heard there are some boards down in the paddock."

"There are, but nothing that I can't fix. I am no stranger to a hammer and nails."

He chuckled at that one, "I remember you as a young un. You was always helpin your dad. If it wasn't on the car, it was on fence or with the horses. He was awful damn proud of you. Mona, can you get me the little box in the den?"

"Sure, Uncle Ned," she said and kissed his cheek as she moved past.

"She hasn't had an easy time of it," he said, "She's had no one for three years now. That ass hole she married sends child support, barely, but has nothing to do with Mica. And he is good boy."

"I saw that right off," I said, "and she's had you. She obviously cares for you."

"Mary was my sister, my baby sister, born when I was full grown," he said, "she captured my heart and was like the daughter Dina and I never had. It nearly killed us when she and her husband were in that accident. Mona was our reason to keep going. She was married at the time, but Mica was just a baby. We helped where we could. Then when Dick left her, with one of his students and moved to the Caribbean, leaving her with a rental that he hadn't paid on, an eviction notice on the door and a ton of bills, we moved her in here."

"What he is not telling you," said Mona as she brought the box in and set it on the table in front of him, then filled the shot glass and set the whiskey on the side table by the door. "Is that they could not afford us. He had to rent out my parent's house to make the insurance and property taxes payments. The rest he used to keep us. I didn't know for a year. Then I found out what was going on and started working to help. I started putting half my child support in the community fund and used the rest for clothes and stuff that a child needs. But Ned and Dina, they are my heroes. I love them like crazy. It has been them that saved my life."

Ned opened up the box and pulled out a few things, "This is all stuff your dad wanted taken care of until you came home to stay. I haven't looked at it all. But there is some stuff in here that might be important. But here... ah, here it is." He pulled out a scrapbook and set the box aside. He opened it on the table and I could see all my baseball awards, pictured and included. Every award I got in school, and then my acceptance into SEAL school. News articles, usually something like "Local Boy is Hero" and stuff like that. There was even an article about me coming home after my injuries in 2008. I'd spent a couple months here and wondered why so many of the neighbors came by. And there were pictures, pictures of me and my mom when I was little. He and I working on the car, me building the paddock. Me riding Ruddy, my horse. Me heading out to junior prom, the prom picture with my date, Mary.

"She never did get over you," said Mona, "she just couldn't be married to a soldier."

"You'll take me up to see her?" I asked and Mona nodded.

"I will, though it is a sad sight," she said. "And the injury to her head doesn't let her remember some things. She's alive but there are times we think it might not be a blessing."

Ned stubbed out his cigar, "I think it is time for me to go to bed."

I leaned in and lifted him easily, gently placing him on his feet. Mona moved to him and I relit my cigar. She looked at me and said, "I'll be right back. You'll wait?"

"I'll be right here," I said and she moved into the house, slowly, supporting Ned.

I smoked on the cigar and looked through the other stuff in the box. There was a promissary note, uncashed in, from Mary's husband, Charles. It was a considerable amount too, amounting to 80% of the value of the ranch. Another surprise was a sheaf of treasury notes. A quick glance and I estimated the value at somewhere around five million dollars. But that was face value, some of them would be worth more. Then in the bottom was an oilcloth and leather wrapped Peacemaker. It was stamped with the number 15. There was a certificate of authenticity and the information that it was originally owned by a Texas Ranger, Jackson Pollard in 1873.

I put it all back in the box, kicked back the shot of whiskey then filled it and set it back on the side table. I sipped a bit at the shot, and puffed the cigar. Mona came out and sat down on my lap. She'd changed into yoga pants and a tight tank top.

"So, do I need to back off, or are we good and you won't push?" she asked me.

I smiled at her and said, "Well, that is one hot outfit you're almost wearing. It would be easy to let myself go and I think you would as well. But I will honor your wishes. You will be out tomorrow?"

"I will. I usually come out and work for a few hours, then tend the flowers and lay out until time to pick up Mica from school." she said.

I kissed her and let my hands wander a bit, sticking to the outside of her thighs, her waist where I exposed a bit of her skin and across her prime bottom. I got completely hard too and there was no hiding it in our current position.

"Mmm," I said, "You have got to be the sexiest woman I've held in a long time."

She swiveled and knelt, straddling me. She kissed me hard and wiggled just a bit on my lap. "Goddess, I haven't felt like this since High School."

We held each other for most of an hour, kissing and fooling. I had about all I could handle without taking her and we moved into the house.

"Don't forget your box," she said and I picked it up. "You're supposed to take it home with you."

She walked me to my shitty old car, well, it looked shitty on the outside, the engine was a fine piece of machinery. "Hey, tomorrow, can you get someone else to pick up Mica? I need to shop for a truck and I was hoping you could drive me. Just in case we aren't done in time."

"Sure," she said, "That sounds like fun."

Then I kissed her and climbed in the car and headed home.