Nerd and the Marine (28 page)

I miss you
already!

Yours,

Lainy

Mitch read Lainy's e-mail and when he
reached the part about Admiral Richard O'Riley, snapped the screen
shut and went to see his boss. His commander found the correct
phone number.

“
What's up, Monahan?” the
voice on the other end growled.

“
You happen to be missing a
dog named Rocky, Admiral?” Mitch asked, trying to be respectful,
but he'd known this man from the beginning of his career and was
fond of Rich O’Riley. Their meeting had been a freak accident.
They’d been assigned on a mission that had gone bad. O'Riley didn’t
have much family so they'd adopted each other. He'd forgotten the
admiral also had a dog.

O'Riley's end remained quiet for a
moment. “I had to give her up at a shelter, why?” His words sounded
gruff and Mitch understood. Apparently he'd not been the only one
to love his dog.

“
A woman by the name of
Emma Morrison...”

O'Riley grunted and Mitch heard papers
rustling, “She's the one who's organized all those packages we've
been enjoying on our bases, right?”

“
That's correct,
sir.”

The Admiral remained quiet and Mitch
figured he was processing information. In his early fifties, he'd
already earned the rank of full Admiral. He was dedicated to his
job, so much that he'd never married. A former SEAL, he was a
military man through and through. Giving up his dog would have been
part of the job. A nasty part, but one he'd do.

“
Emma Morrison has my
Rocky?”

“
She does. Apparently
Bentley, my dog, is quite taken with your dog.”

O'Riley grunted again. “Who has your
dog?”

“
Lainy Morrison, Emma's
niece.”

“
I'm thinking this Emma
woman is an angel.”

“
Lainy says she's a force
of nature. You get out of her way when you see her coming because
even though she's small, she'll knock you over.”

“
Is she Ben Morrison's
aunt?”

“
That's correct,
sir.”

“
He's said the same thing
about an aunt. Must be the same woman.”

“
Yes. Lainy said she's like
Carla, my assistant at my civilian job. Tough and practical with
the biggest heart you've ever known.”

“
Someone said this Emma has
a house full of stuff she's raised from the community and purchased
herself to send us.”

Mitch snorted.

“
What's that mean?”
O'Riley’s voice sounded suspicious.

“
Emma and Lainy belong to a
family about 800 strong, sir. She's got a huge family contributing
and she's gone around to most of the businesses and found very few
unwilling to aid us. They just need to know what to do. Apparently
Emma is quite capable of leading that cause.”

“
Does the woman
work?”

“
She runs her own
corporation. She does her item raising on the side,” Mitch said,
thankful for all the Morrison relatives he kept in contact with,
and therefore had some facts to share.

“
Do you have an e-mail
address for her?”

“
No, but I can give yours
to Lainy who'll pass it along to her Aunt Emma.”

“
Owe that woman a huge
thanks for all she’s done. Now I hear she's also got my dog.” Mitch
heard the slight catch in the man’s voice, but didn't say anything.
He understood.

“
By the way, Emma’s father
and brother were both Marines.” Mitch couldn't help adding that
little fact.

O'Riley offered a crack of laughter.
“Get off my line, Marine boy,” he barked.

Mitch laughed.

“
Make certain Emma gets my
e-mail address.”

“
Of course, sir.” He didn't
add Emma'd probably manage to find him all on her own, but at least
this way he'd be able to ease her mind some.

“
Take care, kid,” the
Admiral said gruffly. “And congrats on your promotion.”

“
Thank you and I will. You
too, sir.”

*****

After hanging up the phone
he selected his last video and popped the DVD in.
Lainy Can Fix Anything, Part
II
.

A loud crack stopped the football play
that opened the scene. Everyone went still and Mitch's eyes scanned
furiously for who ever had been stupid enough to fire a weapon so
close to people. He hadn't located the idiot when Lainy and Will
jogged across the field. A rusty, dented, mini pickup truck hurtled
into sight and backfired.

Lainy shook her head. “Dustin has so
got to get another truck.”

“
He says he'll be glad to
if one of us buys one for him.”

“
That rattletrap has to eat
up his paychecks.”

“
Oh, it does. And I think
Rachel and her folks both slip him money from time to time. I know
our parents and grandparents do. And that's not including all the
free hours of labor and parts you've put into the thing.” They
watched the little truck halt in front of them with a screech of
brakes and another backfire.

“
Aunt Lainy,” a young man
yelled as he popped out of the truck. The door creaked and stuck.
He had to reopen the door and slam it shut again. Mitch wondered
how the rickety thing stayed attached. Actually, he was still
trying to figure out how the
truck
stayed together.

“
Dustin,” Lainy replied
drolly. She crossed her arms over her chest while he reached inside
to pop the hood.

“
Aunt Lainy and Dad, I've
got a problem.”

Will shook his head. “Dust, I told you
that rattletrap wouldn't pass inspection. Lainy and your Granddad
tell you the same thing.”

“
Grandmom looked it over,
too, with the same comments,” Lainy muttered from under the hood.
“Yo, Dust, you've got more than one problem.” She brought her head
up and ducked beneath the hood, but didn't judge the distance right
and bonked her head. “Ow,” she yelped and rubbed it.

“
Sorry, Aunt Lainy.” Dustin
winced for her. “So, what else is wrong with my truck?”

“
There's not much right
with it. You’re still leaking oil and we just put in a quart
yesterday. That you need to carry several quarts of oil all the
time is bad. The radiator hose has more holes than your mom's new
colander, and the engine has a whine that spells trouble. Let's not
discuss the transmission.” Lainy rubbed her hands, apparently in an
attempt to dislocate the grease and dirt now clinging to her
skin.

“
Butch said not even he
could pass this. The windshield wipers don't work, now, either.”
The kid bit his lip.

“
I can probably fix those.
It's the rest of the truck I have trouble with.”

“
I hoped you'd be able to
fix the wipers. I'd hate to be driving somewhere and not have them.
It's been raining all summer.”

“
Right. But you're going to
need something else, Dust. This truck isn't safe anymore.” Lainy's
voice drifted out from beneath the hood.

“
I know, but I can't afford
another truck.”

Lainy sprang out from under the hood,
but didn't knock her head. “Stop spending money on this useless
piece of junk and you'll have plenty of money. Don't put another
penny into this vehicle. Use every bit you make and are given and
put it toward a down payment for the next truck. Your dad can
cosign a loan for you. Make sure Ed or I go with you. Sometimes you
can find a good vehicle that needs a little work.”

“
Define a little work,”
Will chimed in.

Lainy sent him a glare. “This needs an
insurmountable amount of work.” She swung back to Dustin. “Do not
buy a truck your dad thinks is good.”

Dustin’s lips lifted into a half
smile. “Right.”

“
Hey, I know what to look
for.”

“
You told him this beater
was fine. It's got more rust than paint, everything leaks and now
the windshield wipers don't work. This does not say you’re someone
who knows how to buy vehicles.”

“
My latest van works
great.” Will tried to defend himself.

“
Dad, that's only because
Mom took Ed and Grandmom along.”

“
Oh, yeah, you can take
Grandmom, too. Or Granddad.” Lainy bit her lip and she hunched back
under the hood. Mitch saw her jerk a wire and it came loose in her
hand.

“
Aahhh!” Lainy turned to
glare at Will, who must have decided to leave while he still
could.

“
I think I'll go back to
the game,” he mumbled and left without haste.

“
Now where is this from?”
Lainy stared at a wire in her hand. She turned to glare at Dustin.
“Take your mother to cosign your loan, but do not under any
circumstances take your father shopping for another truck with you.
Take Ed or your great-grandmother, or me.”

“
What about Uncle Tom? Or
Max?”

“
You can take Ben, or Max,
if you have to. Tom, no. He's as useless as your dad. They
shouldn't be trusted to purchase vehicles. You know this Dustin.”
The exasperation level in Lainy's voice had risen to new heights.
Intrigued, Mitch leaned closer.

“
Yeah, I know. But I really
wanted this truck.”

“
Don't go shopping alone,
either.”

The screen went blank and then a small
light clicked on. Mitch realized the light came from the camera Ed
used. Peering closer he saw Lainy fast asleep and heard Dustin's
voice. The clock showed two a.m.

“
Aunt Lainy?” Dustin
whispered.

Lainy mumbled something.

“
Aunt Lainy?” He shook her
this time. She sat up abruptly and Dustin leapt back. “Yo,
sorry.”

“
Wmglfrdff?”

“
My windshield wipers died
again and it's supposed to rain tonight.”

“
Oh.” Lainy rolled out of
bed.

“
Uuummm, Aunt Lainy?”
Dustin stopped her when she made for the door.

“
Whaa?”

“
Don't you think maybe you
should put some clothes on?”

“
I got clothes,” she said
in a sleep roughened voice, squinting down at herself.

“
You're in workout
clothes.”

Lainy stared at him
blankly.

“
Aunt Lainy, I've got some
college buddies outside. There's no way you can go out there
looking like that.”

“
Like what?” The blank look
didn’t fade from her eyes.

“
You're my hottest aunt,
and the guys are going to take one look at that little outfit and
start a problem and wake up the entire camp.”

Lainy blinked at him a few more
times.

“
Okay, let me put it this
way. Uncle Mitch will not want you going outside like that with a
bunch of college guys around.”

“
He'd want me to put more
clothes on?”

“
Yes. I doubt he's going to
be too open to coming back here after a tour in Kuwait to find a
bunch of my friends trailing after you everywhere.”

Mitch decided he liked this kid. As a
matter of fact, he made a note to send Lainy an e-mail to take
money from his account to pay for a new truck for the
kid.

Lainy looked incoherent again, but did
slide her legs into a pair of jeans. She located a shirt from the
floor and tugged it on. A pair of flip flops completed her hasty
wardrobe.

“
Ready,” she said nasally.
Mitch doubted Dustin would receive much help. Her incredible brain
didn’t seem to be firing on all circuits.

They tromped outside, and Mitch
noticed a large brown shadow roll to his feet. Bentley shook
himself and padded after them. If he'd been a person, he'd probably
be grumbling about college boys and the hours they kept. The lake
shone like a mirror in the background.

One of the boys had a powerful
flashlight trained on the truck and Lainy ducked under the hood.
She peered at something, muttered something else he didn't catch
and then turned and lunged for another flashlight her nephew
produced. When she directed the beam where she wanted it, she
indicated Dustin should hold the light. She then directed the other
kid.

In the dim light the flashlights
produced, Mitch saw one of the boys watching Lainy's denim encased
bottom with avid interest. Feeling possessive to the extreme, his
hackles rose until he realized Lainy showed no interest in the kid
whatsoever. Indeed, she didn't even seem aware of his perusal.
Mitch wondered what she'd think if she did know. She yanked at
something and an ominous noise reverberated through the night. She
wiggled something else with the same result.

Bouncing out from under the hood she
located her nephew and shook her head. “Sorry, kiddo, but that
wonderful noise you just heard was the sound of your windshield
wiper motor box detaching, via rust and corrosion. This truck is
officially dead.” Lainy dusted her hands.

“
Aunt Lainy, I've got to
take these guys home.” Dustin indicated his friends with a wave of
his arm.