A Soldier Finds His Way Page 16

  The problem was, she couldn’t stop laughing. Composing herself for a moment, she leaned toward him, bared her teeth and attempted to put on a mean face. “Grrr!” It was no use. It simply provoked more laughter.

  “Never mind. That was dripping with femininity.” He grinned and assumed his offensive position, ball on the ground. “This time, don’t let me get by. Defend.”

  Audra planted her feet on the spongy ground, still damp from winter’s thaw. Each step made a faint squishing sound, and inside her sneakers, her socks acted as a wick, drawing the intruding water to her toes. Eye to eye, crouching no more than a foot from his face, she stared.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She gave a nod.

  “Hut one.” His voice packed fierce resolve.

  She smiled as coyly as she could.

  “Hut two.”

  Did he notice the smile? She leaned in, turned her head to the side a tad, blinked in slow motion, and bit her lower lip.

  “Huu—”

  Her peripheral vision caught the momentary loosening of his grip on the ball. Taking advantage of his distraction, she charged him, leading with a shoulder, taking him by surprise.

  Off balance, he fell backwards to the ground.

  Audra thudded on top of him.

  For a moment, sidesplitting laughter overtook them.

  She pushed herself up and leaned into his face, growling through clenched teeth before rolling off him.

  Audra lay beside Edward and backhanded him in the gut. “How’d all that femininity feel when it hit you, oh manly man?” She got up and snatched the ball from his hand as he lay on his back. Waving the ball overhead, she did a brief victory dance and strutted toward the fence like a model on a catwalk.

  A strong hand clasped her ankle with a viselike grip.

  She gasped, stretched forward and tried to touch the ball to the fence. Instead, she fell, face down, short of the goal.

  Edward let go of her leg and scooted to a kneeling position beside her, his face serious. “Are you okay? I wasn’t trying to make you fall. I was only trying to stop you.”

  She sat up and laughed. “I’m okay. I’m not that fragile.”

  Edward ran a finger across her cheek as if scooping whipped cream off a pie. He held it out for her to see. “Your face is muddy.” A big smile stretched across his face.

  “It is?” She rubbed a hand across her cheek, lurched forward, and wiped mud across his cheek. “So is yours!”

  Edward sprang to his feet and gave her a hand up. “Come on, cheater. Let’s get something to drink. I have grit in my teeth.”

  “Why am I a cheater?”

  “You were offside, I never snapped the ball. Plus, you used your feminine wiles to throw me off.”

  * * * *

  Edward walked beside Audra to toward the house. Every time he looked at her, she smiled. How cute she looked with her face streaked with mud and her clothes brown-splotched. She didn’t seem to care, which made her all the more attractive.

  Hank stepped outside just as they reached the porch. He sized Audra up then said to Edward. “She’s a whole lot tougher than she looks, isn’t she?”

  “You saw?”

  “From the kitchen window. A few of us watched. Very entertaining.”

  Audra sat on a porch step and removed her dirty shoes and socks.

  The bags Edward had put on the hood of Hank’s Jeep were gone.

  Hank answered before he could ask. “I moved them upstairs to our room.”

  “Our room?”

  Hank chuckled. “She had everything planned. You and I are gonna share a guest bedroom. We’ve even got our own in-room bathroom. She says there’s a trundle bed in there. I’m not sure what that is, but I guess we’re going to find out. Come on. Take off your muddy boots and follow me.”

  Boots in hand, Edward fell into step behind Hank with Audra close behind.

  Upstairs, Hank went into the second bedroom on the right. Edward hesitated in the doorway and turned toward Audra. “Are you sure about this? Your parents know we’re staying?”

  Josie’s voice preceded her up the stairs. “Yes, Edward, we want you to stay.” As she stepped onto the landing, she looked at Audra and Edward’s filthy clothes and laughed. “It looks like you two had fun.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Your daughter plays a little dirty, as you can plainly see.”

  Josie looked at Audra. “Nice tackle.” She held up a hand for a high five.

  Audra slapped the offered hand and proceeded into the next room, laughing as she went.

  Josie went on and turned left at the end of the hall.

  Edward stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He took off his dirty clothes and stuffed them into a plastic bag he’d stored in his backpack.

  Hank thumbed through a magazine on the desk and looked over the top of it as Edward slipped his T-shirt over his head. “Why’d you wear your fatigues today instead of civvies?”

  Edward laughed and dropped the shirt into the bag. “When Greco handed me my leave papers, he told me, ‘Wear your uniform when you go. Chicks dig it.’”

  Hank nodded. “Sounds like something he’d say.”

  Edward went into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. Rivulets of thin mud swirled around his feet as he scrubbed his hair. Warm water cascaded over his head and relaxed him. Young and strong, it wasn’t physical things that caused the tension he often felt in his neck and shoulders. But navigating the mental and emotional side of life? That brought a great deal of stress.

  Audra. Such strange, overwhelming feelings she brought to surface in him. Her greeting at the door worked like powerful medicine, calming and stimulating at the same time. She welcomed him with open-armed acceptance. How many times had he slammed the door of his heart on those who tried to reach out to him? No, he wasn’t going to let that happen this time. Audra extended her hand to him and went out of her way to coax him to be near her. He wasn’t going to mess this up. He couldn’t. The stakes were too high.

  Chapter 21

  Edward wrapped a towel around his waist and went back into the bedroom.

  Hank lay on the bed with a magazine draped over his face.

  Edward smiled. Hank had always been a serial napper, never shying away from an opportunity for a siesta. Edward dressed without making a sound.

  Hank’s voice surprised him as he finished tying his last shoelace. Hank lifted the magazine off his mouth. “I forgot to tell you that while you were mud wrestling with Audra, Kyle’s friend brought your truck over. It’s parked somewhere out there.” He flung a hand in the general direction of the window then let it dangle off the bed.

  “Thanks.”

  Hank responded with a weak thumbs-up with the dangling hand.

  * * * *

  The truck glistened in the sun, its black paint shiny and flawless. Edward circled the vehicle and dropped to a knee to look under the rear end. A brand new exhaust system was installed where his old rusted out muffler and piping had been. Four new tires replaced his may-goes. The spare looked used, but better than what he’d had before.

  He sat in the driver’s seat of the spotless cab. On the narrow rear seat behind him, a plastic crate held the items that had been scattered everywhere; a pair of sneakers, an ice scraper, various bottles and cans of fluids for the truck. The sleeping bag he kept for emergencies lay rolled up tight next to the crate, and his blue metal toolbox sat on the floorboards, stowed behind the passenger seat.

  In the glove box, insurance papers and invoices told him how much everything cost. He scanned for the bottom line. What Joe paid out of his own pocket. An incredulous breath forced its way out of his lungs in a single puff, and he shook his head in disbelief. Eyes closed, he folded his arms across the steering wheel and rested his head on them.

  “I hope you’re happy with the repairs.” Audra stood next to him at the open driver’s side door.

  How long had she
been standing there? Her voice resonated with uncertainty, or perhaps, timidity. Did she see his reaction and think he was angry? He turned and slid off the seat. His feet touched the ground inches from hers. In an instinctive move, his hand brushed her arm for reassurance.

  “Something is bothering you. I can tell.” Her tone begged for an explanation.

  He forced a smiled. “It’s nothing. I’m happy with the…repairs.”

  She looked away.

  He took a deep breath. The hesitation was a dead giveaway. How could he have been so stupid? Now, he’d have to explain how he felt.

  “Audra, this is not a repair. This is a complete makeover. Your father didn’t have to do this. It’s too much to accept. I should pay him back.”

  “Edward, no. It would hurt my father deeply if you offered to pay him back.” She reached inside and took the key he’d left in the ignition. She cleared her throat, squared her shoulders, and offered the key ceremoniously in the palms of her cupped hands.

  “On behalf of my father, I present to you a clean, mechanically sound, freshly painted vehicle as a mere token of his inexpressible gratitude. You bestowed upon him a living granddaughter, who laughs and plays and will grow up to be a fine woman some day. You plunged your hand across the line that divides life and death and snatched his daughter back from—”

  Her eyes glistened with moisture. “Tell me, Edward, who received the more valuable gift, you or my father?”

  The answer was obvious. Nothing needed to be said. Eloquently chastised, though he was certain she didn’t mean it that way, he took the key from her hand and gave himself a mental kick in the pants for even suggesting he repay her father. He was an ignoramus to the nth degree, a dunce. Now, he could only hope Audra didn’t hold his foolishness against him. Later, he would thank her father and accept the gift with all the grace he could muster.

  Audra’s smile returned, relieving him of his uncomfortable moment.

  “Chocolate cake?” She tilted her head and raised her brows.

  Chocolate cake sounded good. Following her cue, he closed the truck door and made for the house.

  * * * *

  Beyond the living room curtains, the red hue that painted the evening sky faded to gray. Edward scooched over on the couch and let Zoe wiggle into a spot between him and the armrest.

  She beamed a sunshiny smile and rested her hand on his thigh. “Want to go outside and sit on the porch swing with me?”

  Her exuberant invitation piqued his interest. Already drowsy from the stuffy living room air, the drone of many voices threatened to finish him off. Besides, he had nothing to lend to the conversation.

  What could he talk about that a family would be interested in? His job? How would that go over? “I prefer an M-four with an underslung grenade launcher. What’s your preference?” No, he was better off smiling and nodding than opening his mouth.

  The night was young. Fresh air would do him good. A slight tap on Audra’s leg with the back of his fingers gained her attention. “Would you like to sit on the porch with Zoe and me?”

  She consented with a smile.

  He rose and let Zoe lead him by the hand.

  Outside, they took their places on the swing with Edward in the middle.

  Zoe popped off the seat. “I almost forgot Hank and Cricket.” She ran into the house and returned shortly with Hank, Cricket, and a blanket.

  The living room light filtering through the sheer curtains spread a soft, pleasant glow on the porch. Zoe sat beside Edward and spread her blanket out, covering Edward’s lap as well as her own.

  “Get close, Aunt Audra, we’ll share,” Zoe said, leaning over Edward somewhat.

  “Yeah, get close, Aunt Audra,” Edward repeated with a little grin on his face.

  Audra seemed more than too happy to comply and scooted closer to Edward.

  Hank sat on a separate swing facing them and invited Cricket onto the wooden bench slats next to him. She propped her head on his lap right away and nudged his hand. “Pet me,” she seemed to say. Hank obliged.

  Despite the cool, crisp air, Edward was warm with Audra leaning on his right, Zoe on his left, and a blanket stretched across his lower half. He read Hank’s smiling face like yesterday’s paper. Without a doubt, Hank was happy to see him sitting between these girls.

  Zoe looped her arm around his and rested her head on him. A shock of curls spilled onto his chest. A vortex of light swirled through each corkscrew, illuminating shades of gold and even red highlights in her brown hair.

  She tilted her face toward him and smiled a smile that turned his heart to liquid.

  Zoe was cute. Real cute.

  “I think maybe I owe you a story,” Edward said, looking into the child’s face.

  Her eyes brightened and she drew an excited breath.

  “No one gets their pinky toe cut off in this story, do they?” Audra laughed a little.

  “No, I can assure you no extremities will be severed.”

  “So, once upon a time,” Zoe started for him.

  “Once upon a time there was a little boy who didn’t have a mom or dad,” Edward began.

  Zoe cut him off. “Why not? Did they die?”

  Edward moaned.

  Hank chuckled.

  Was she going to ask questions every time he opened his mouth? “No, they didn’t die. Can we save that for another story?”

  “Okay.” Zoe settled back against his arm.

  “Sometimes the little boy lived in foster homes with people who were nice. People who gave him chocolate cake and told him bedtime stories. Other times he lived in foster homes where he was treated badly.

  “When he was in third grade, he went to four different schools and lived with five different families. He was mixed up and angry, but most of all, lonely. Sometimes when people feel that way, they become troublemakers just to get attention. That’s what this little boy did.”

  Hank petted Cricket and listened without saying a word. If anyone understood him, it was Hank.

  “When the boy was twelve years old, he had a fight with his foster parents’ real, biological child. A social worker came, packed him up and took him to the Child Services building. For hours and hours he sat on an uncomfortable wooden bench in the hallway outside an office where he could hear the social workers talking about him. They said things like, ‘He’s nothing but trouble. He’ll never amount to anything. Where are we going to stick him now?’

  “Later that afternoon, a tiny woman and a tall, thin man walked toward him in the hallway. They stopped near the boy and overheard what the social workers were saying inside the office. ‘Are they talking about you, young man?’ the woman asked. The boy nodded.”

  Audra sat still and quiet. Her body heat warmed his side like an electric blanket.

  Edward pushed the swing back and forth with his feet.

  Zoe prodded with a little poke to his leg. “Then what happened?”

  “Just then, they heard one of the social workers on the telephone saying, ‘He’s a twelve-year-old monster, and he needs someone with a heavy hand to control him.’

  “The little woman and the tall man stormed into the office. The little woman snatched the phone from the worker’s hand, slammed it down on its cradle, and shouted, ‘Don’t ever let me hear you suggest that someone put a hand on a child! These children need love and affection, not the beating of their lives.’”

  Zoe pushed the blanket aside and adjusted herself onto her knees where she could look into Edward’s face. With eyes wide open, she begged him to continue.

  Edward complied. “The social worker looked shocked. She pushed back from the desk in her rolling chair and said to the little woman, ‘Marlene, what do you suggest I do? I’m running out of options.’

  “Marlene put her hands on her hips and said, ‘We’ll take him. That’s what I’m suggesting.’”

  Hank mirrored Edward’s smile. He’d heard the story more than a few times
and knew it well.

  “The tall man spoke for the first time,” Edward started again. “He said, ‘Indeed, we’ll take him home with us this very day.’

  “The couple signed some papers and came out of the office. The boy stood by the wooden bench not knowing what to say or do.

  “The tall man said, ‘my name is Benjamin Shultz, and this is my lovely wife, Marlene. We’d like you to come live with us. No one will hurt you, and you can stay as long as you choose. We have three other foster children, and you’ll like them very much, I guarantee. Will you come live with us?’ He spoke politely and waited for the boy’s response.”

  Under the blanket, Audra hugged Edward’s arm. He glanced in her direction, but she didn’t look up.

  “Where was I?” He turned to Zoe, who still knelt beside him, holding onto the back of the swing while it rocked.

  “Benjamin asked the boy to go live with him and Marlene.” Zoe’s response came quickly.

  “Right, the boy nodded, and Benjamin picked up the small suitcase and put his arm around the boy’s shoulder.

  “They drove a long, long way into the night until they got to a great big house. In the moonlight, the boy saw a beautiful lake, surrounded by woods. He’d never seen such a place in all his life.”

  Edward swallowed the lump that had made its way into his throat.

  Hank’s slight nod prompted him to go on with his tale.

  “They went inside and Marlene fixed the boy a sandwich and a glass of milk and put it on a small tray. He followed her upstairs to a cozy bedroom. She told him it was his room and no one was allowed to come in unless they had his permission. This was his space. He even had his own bathroom. Marlene put the tray on the desk, patted the boy’s head, kissed his cheek, and said good night. She walked out and closed the door.