Nerd and the Marine (20 page)

Like the salt Max managed to sprinkle
into several drinking glasses, was blamed on Ed. Or the meatballs
Max swiped off a few plates. Again, Ed took the blame.

Ben was right, Ed did resemble a human
ping pong ball. He was in motion all the time, like Laurie. Ed
doing all the same things she did, except he managed to cause
trouble, too. His daughters, or at least the girls seated around
him, caught him trying to slip salt into their drinks. The boy
sitting across from him yelled at him for trying to swipe garlic
bread and one of his sisters, Melly, caught him putting a bug in
one little girl's hair.

Mitch hoped the little one was his
daughter. Although, it didn’t seem to matter. The kids seemed
interchangeable. Whichever adult was handy took care of any
problems that arose.

Lainy and Max, while not having
children of their own, certainly were called to service often
enough. Lainy scooped more meatballs on one little guy’s plate, one
of which he promptly winged at the little girl across from him. Max
intercepted the meatball before the projectile reached its
destination. He tossed the food over his shoulder, and one lucky
dog snapped up the tidbit.

Mitch assumed this was perfectly
normal behavior. He savored every morsel of the family time. Lainy
did scold the little boy, but he didn’t look all that repentant and
when she looked away, stuck his tongue out at the little girl he’d
thrown the tomato encrusted ball at. The little girl returned the
favor and several other kids joined in on the action.

Laurie ended the fun, and another
little boy down the table, away from the camera started something
Mitch missed. The kids at that end of the table all jumped back and
Mitch laughed as a green, croaking amphibian hopped down the
table.

Ed snagged the frog and flipped it to
Lainy, who caught the amphibian and turned to set it free behind
her. Only to be greeted by Bentley, who wagged his tail furiously.
She handed the captive across the table to Max, who waved the
amphibian in the face of the little girl on the other side of him.
She screamed and he let the frog go, apparently content with the
scream and lunging effort to get away from him. He tugged on one
curly pigtail and she smacked him before returning to her supper,
her little legs swinging in contentment.

Mitch couldn’t help the smile or the
feeling of remorse that encroached. How he’d have loved to grow up
in a huge family unit like this. To be picked on and tormented and
loved and wanted. He’d hardly experienced those things. He couldn’t
enter into the feelings, yet he appreciated that Ed, a man who
didn’t know him, but one who appeared to trust him and welcomed him
whole-heartedly into the family had thought to share this moment
with him.

So far, he seemed in favor with the
Morrison family. But what happened if he lost favor? Could that
happen? Because he certainly didn’t want to be accepted for a brief
time only to be outcast due to behavior he didn’t know was
unacceptable. And was there a statute of limitations?

So long as you didn’t mess up for x
amount of time, you were in, no matter what? He didn’t know the
answers to those questions. But he wanted to be a part of the
family laughing and talking and teasing and loving around that huge
picnic table more than anything he’d ever wanted before.

Mitch had an advantage over Lainy,
too. Her brother sent him videos of her, but Lainy couldn’t see
Mitch in action. Recording himself wasn’t an option, not in the job
he’d come to do. Security matters were of utmost importance here.
Would that be held against him, even though he couldn’t help the
matter? Would she hate him once she met him in person? Did he stand
a chance in her family?

His eyes fell on Bentley, who received
a treat from one of the herd. Bentley was in. He didn’t question
his place. Mitch doubted he even cared. These people fed him, gave
him root beer, and let him play and swim in the lake. Bentley had
no worries. Life was good.

But Mitch on the other hand couldn’t
imagine life without Lainy now. He didn’t want to live outside her
family unit, but instead wanted to be like her brother-in-law,
Greg, who didn’t seem to worry about his place, either. Of course,
there were no doubts his wife loved him. No doubts the family liked
him. None of the in-laws seemed concerned about this. They appeared
secure in their place.

How had they done it? How had they won
the Morrison family love and respect?

Mitch leaned forward as
Lainy and several of the other women stood. He wished he could meet
them all in person. He wanted to hold Lainy close and he wanted to
witness the herd in action. He’d even enjoy seeing Bentley throw
her brothers in the lake. Heck, Bentley could throw
him
in.

He watched as more people, neighbors,
more relatives? Mitch didn’t know but they meandered up to the
table, were welcomed, and everyone moved over to give them room to
sit. A plate, utensils, and cup were passed down and the newcomers
helped themselves to the food. Mitch didn’t see any resentment,
just a warm welcome for whoever dropped by. No one appeared shy
about sitting either. Mitch thought the ladies had made quite a lot
of chow, but he watched in amazement as the food
disappeared.

Lainy stood and left to refill the
bowls a few times, as did her mother. Laurie and Ed jumped up a
dozen times to rescue drinks and catch flying objects or to pest,
at least on Ed’s part.

As the kids grew restless, the men
cleared the table. They carried in the dirty dishes and Lainy’s mom
disappeared into another cabin. A man who he figured to be Lainy’s
father followed her. They carried out several huge trays of
brownies and four oversized tubs of ice-cream.

The kids stopped being
restless.

The family dug into the trays and
ice-cream and Mitch watched as sundae toppings appeared on the
table. The adults helped the younger kids, while the rest of the
family built amazing brownie sundaes. There were nut and non-nut
brownies and four different flavors of ice-cream.

He watched with interest as Lainy
delved into a non-nut tray and then added chocolate ice-cream on
top. She slathered both with hot fudge sauce and topped the
confection with a dollop of whipped cream and four cherries. Her
sisters and grandmother had similar concoctions in front of them.
The men topped theirs with the typical vanilla, although Ed and Max
both selected French vanilla rather than the regular stuff. At
least he’d fit in with the men in Lainy’s family.

The kids ended up wearing almost as
much as they ate, and Mitch saw several of the men finishing off
what the kids didn’t eat. Again, that interchangeable thing went
on. Ed ate one of Will’s kid’s desserts and Will ate one of Tom’s
kid’s desserts. And Tom finished off Will and Ed’s wives desserts.
Lainy snagged someone’s cherry and got a dollop of whipped cream on
her nose, which she rubbed on Ed.

Mitch winced. “Bad idea, Lainy,” he
muttered and watched in horror as Ed picked up the can of whipped
cream and aimed it at her. She picked up another can and returned
the favor. He opened fire first, but barely a millisecond before
her.

In about ten seconds, brownies,
ice-cream, toppings and even the remnants in the bottom of the
nearly empty cherry jar flew through the air. Shrieking and
throwing food at random, the kids’ laughter nearly overrode the
taunts of Lainy’s brothers to the women.

Lainy’s mom picked up one of the trays
that hadn’t been cut into and moved it to a safe place, then she
calmly picked up her half eaten dessert and flung the contents at
Will, the biggest taunter. Pretending to be shocked, he let his
mouth fall open, which proved to be a bad move, since Lainy was
still armed with the whipped cream. She squirted a huge mouthful
inside and Rachel added some caramel sauce.

Laurie and Melly backed Tom into a
corner and were dribbling chocolate sauce on him. Their husbands
were busy helping some of the kids wing mangled
brownies.

Ed held a wriggling woman in his arms
and Mitch soon realized he was attempting to wipe his whipped cream
on her. The woman got the upper hand when she licked his cheek free
of the stuff and his eyes darkened. Mitch figured the woman must be
his wife. She looked perfectly normal, but that’s all he saw
because the pair snuck off into the trees. He wondered if they
headed for the closet in Will’s cabin.

Max and three teenagers tossed
ice-cream at anyone who ventured too close. Granddad and Lainy’s
father quickly relieved the table of any dish with contents. Anyone
within firing range got brownie sundae contents tossed on
them.

Bentley, along with all the dogs, had
taken to licking anyone and everything within licking distance.
They barked in between when they felt it necessary but their
attempts seemed only half-hearted.

One of the sisters-in-law opened fire
with a hose and soon several joined in. Rivulets of melted
ice-cream, brownies and toppings trailed from nearly everyone. They
mopped up most of the mess and then everyone took a dip in the
lake. The screen blanked.

Mitch was left green with envy. And
remorse. All those amazing looking brownies going to waste. He
would have enjoyed the fun, but sitting several thousand miles away
in a hot, sandy, arid place where the food was dismal at best, he
ached for a brownie. He didn’t even care if it had nuts. He just
wanted one. He also wanted to remove some whipped cream from
Lainy’s lips with his, but he’d settle for a brownie.

And the chance to witness the whole
thing in person. Someday he wanted to participate in a massive food
fight just like that. He’d never been in a food fight before, but
hoped this was an experience he’d earn in adulthood.

Mitch tugged at his container of
cookies. He burrowed down to the bottom and came up with a
chocolate chocolate chip cookie. It worked. When he finished the
first, he started on another. He stared at his screen saver and
wondered when he’d get out of Kuwait. Some of the guys said they’d
only been slated for eight months and were still around fifteen
months later, with no end in sight. Most of them had children they
hadn’t seen in months.

Mitch shoved the rest of his uneaten
cookie away. He didn’t have kids, except for the herd, and he’d
come here to protect them. At least he wasn’t missing out on a
vital time in his children’s lives. He had it much better than some
of the men on base.

The call to leave came moments later,
and he sent a quick e-mail to Lainy. The first lengthy assignment
away from base, and three months without contact from her. His
heart ached.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lainy checked e-mail, happy
to see something from Mitch. When she read the line he cut out of
her e-mail and his subsequent question,
Why
, her heart dropped.

She couldn’t tell him about those
experiences. They were the deepest darkest secrets she possessed.
What if he viewed her differently? What if her past changed how he
felt about her? What if her revelations turned him off?

Swallowing the bile creeping into her
throat, Lainy fought tears. How could she tell him? Another e-mail
pinged her server and with a grateful sigh she opened the
message.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: Ben's
Visit

Hello Lainy,

Ben came, as promised. We
watched all four videos and talked.

Unfortunately, I got the
call to leave. I'll be gone at least a month, but I imagine it will
be even longer than that.

So, don't feel my silence
is because I don't care because that's not the case at all. In
fact, it's quite the opposite. I do need to send this promptly,
though, as I need to prepare for departure. You've become more
important to me than anything or anyone else in the world. You and
Bentley. You probably edge him out. You’re the most beautiful woman
in the world. Your assignment while I’m gone is to work on your
self-esteem. (Please.)

I wish I could write more,
but my transport leaves in ten minutes.

Yours,

Mitch

Lainy stared at her screen in
disbelief. She couldn't believe his message.

Did he love her?

Because that's certainly
what his message indicated. Since he didn't come right out and say
so, she wondered if he knew? Perhaps he hadn't even thought that
far. Maybe she ought to just take him at face value. He cared
deeply
for her
.
Goodness, but that was better than anything she'd heard in the
past. If he loved her, would her past change how he felt? Would he
love her more or hate her?

She glanced at Bentley, worn out from
playing with the herd, peacefully sleeping at her feet. Mitch loved
Bentley. So did that mean he loved her? He said she edged out his
dog. He also wrote that she was the most beautiful woman in the
world. How could that be?

Overwhelmed by this whole process, and
sufficiently depressed at being out of touch with him for the next
few months, she shut the program down and turned off her laptop. At
least now she’d have time to figure out what and how much to tell
him in response to his question. She sighed.