Jake arrived later that morning with flowers and full of apologies. He begged Jolie to forgive him and forget all the tension he'd caused. He reminded her it was his last day in town, they'd made plans with others, and he didn't want to part badly.
She'd found herself in an exceptionally good mood after recent activities. She watched him, with great effort, showcase his best manners in his greeting to Warren even while being stared down by his adversary. As awkward and painful as it was to watch, she had to give it to him, he was trying.
Jolie buckled. Warren tried hard to hide his irritation, only the tick of the his jaw gave him away. She made a mental reminder to reward him for his self control that evening.
Eventually, all three adults accepted the truce. They sat at the kitchen table tossing around small talk in between sips of coffee and bites of English muffin slathered in strawberry jam.
"Do you remember the night Colson put his cruiser in the duck pond?" Jake laughed at the memory as he took a bite of his muffin. He pointed at Jolie with the remaining crescent. "It was right after you were cross trained between the agencies."
They'd been trading old memories and new stories of funny incidents for a while now. Warren had supplemented the conversation with a few good tales of pranks he'd pulled on Dustin and Luke while they'd been deployed.
"I remember! He yelled shit on the radio as he was sliding into the water and got in trouble by his supervisor." She giggled. "We were all giggling and laughing in dispatch, picturing his patrol car surrounded by muck and ducks and wondering how it happened."
"He put a patrol car in a duck pond and still had a job?" Warren asked incredulous.
"If I remember right, the story was that he failed to set the parking break when he jumped out to chase someone. He lost the guy and when he came back to the car it was just in time to see it slipping into the muck." Jake used the last bite of his muffin to illustrate the patrol cars demise.
"Did Luke ever tell you about the time he took out the fire hydrant with a Humvee?" Warren took a drink of his coffee and watched the amused look of curiousity take over her face.
"No! Please tell!" She'd never solicited stories about Luke because she'd thought they would upset her. Recently, with Warren, she found she really enjoyed them. They made her feel closer to her late husband. She could picture Luke, Warren, and Dustin as the three amigos, brothers in arms, together in the desert. It was a comforting thought, even if not entirely accurate.
Warren leaned back in his chair with his mug. Even Jake appeared ready to listen and enjoy the story. "It was right before he re-enlisted. We were back in the states. We pulled some crap, busy work detail transporting vehicles between bases. We'd just finished moving a convoy of 7-tons, which are really big transport trucks, over 200 miles." He tried to remember not everyone followed his terms. "We'd all piled, Luke, Dustin, two other guys and me, into a Humvee for the trip back. Luke was driving which was bad news. I don't know if you share my opinion, but Luke- he was a terrible driver."
Jolie giggled and grinned. She remembered gripping the seats in nervousness during long trips. Riding with Luke had been like being catapulted from location to another. Lots of speed and seemingly little control or regard for the laws of gravity.
Warren continued. "We were all pretty relieved when we made it back to the original base in one piece. Just as we were turning into the base, seriously we were home free, he pulled the turn too sharp. He ran right into, and on top of, a fire hydrant."
Both Jolie and Jake were laughing openly and leaning forward in anticipation of the conclusion.
"So there we are, right in front of the gates, MP's staring at us like we're nuts. I'm sure they were trying to decide if we were a terrorist threat, drunk or what. The front end of the Humvee was jacked 2-ft. up in the air and we're all staring out the windows down at the ground in shock." He stopped with a dreamy, nostalgic grin, reliving the moment. "Finally, Dustin looked over at Luke and just reached over and smacked him in the back of the head.That's when we all lost it. All the shocked chuckles turned into roaring laughter."
YOU ARE READING
SHELTER
RomanceAs far as Jolie was concerned, all hope was lost. She bought a bike and headed off into the sunset to wander alone. When she wrecks outside a tiny Oklahoma town, it turns her whole world upside down. Maybe all hope isn't lost?
