My Little Rock Airman Read online

“Don’t you want a man of some sort eventually?”

  “Of course I do. But I want to find someone to settle down with. Down being the keyword. Not up and moving every two or three years.” I held up a hand as Madison began to protest. “And as much as I love you, these one-time dates at the karaoke bar aren’t showing much potential.”

  “What about Sam?” Madison jerked her chin back at the door then grinned. “He digs you.”

  “He does not!” I hissed, but I was laughing, too. “And keep your voice down! I don’t want things to get weird next year if I have to teach next to him again! Besides, I’m hopefully not going to have time for lots of dating in the near future.”

  “Oh, come on. He stops over here all the time.”

  “He needed a stapler.”

  “And tape. And a ruler. The guy’s been teaching for four years. There’s no way he’s that forgetful.”

  I paused. Unfortunately, Madison was making sense. I hadn’t thought much about it before, but Sam did stop by my room a lot. Still, I shook my head.

  “If he wants to ask me out, he’ll have to do it the old fashioned way.”

  “What? By bringing your father a goat?”

  I gave her a look, and she snickered.

  “He’s going to have to actually ask me out. None of this hinting business. Besides, I’ve got bigger fish to fry.” I stopped packing and pulled an envelope out of my desk drawer. Handing it to my friend, I tried to keep the triumphant smile off my face.

  Madison took the letter out and scanned its contents, her face lighting up. “You got into grad school?”

  I nodded happily. “Now all I have to do is save a little more, and I’ll be ready to go!”

  “This is awesome!” Madison paused. “But you’re sure you want to do more school? Aren’t you still paying off your first round?”

  I took a deep breath. “I paid off my degree a month ago, actually. And I’ve given it a lot of thought. I want to study speech therapy. Here, want some?” I grabbed a bag of goldfish crackers off my filing cabinet and held it out. After Madison had taken some, I went over to the little girl playing on the computer and set a napkin down beside her. “Do you want some goldfish, Jade?”

  Jade immediately shook her head, her eyes glued to the matching game on the screen. But then she seemed to reconsider and glanced at the bag again.

  “That’s what I thought.” I chuckled as I poured a little pile of crackers on the napkin.

  “I’m here! I’m here! And I’m so sorry I’m late!”

  I looked up to see Jade’s mother come flying through the door. Her graying blond hair stuck out from her hair twist in several places, and her work slacks were wrinkled.

  “It started raining on my way over, and traffic got all backed up on the sixty-seven.”

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Madison called, sliding off my desk and heading for the door. “But don’t think I’ve forgotten about Thursday!” she called back with an evil grin before disappearing through the door.

  I held back the smart retort I wanted to call after her and instead straightened and smiled at Jade’s mother.

  “Hi, Mrs. Allen.”

  “Congratulations on finishing your first year.” Mrs. Allen looked around the room. “It sure looks different in here.”

  “We have to take everything down so the janitors can give everything a final cleaning for the summer. Here, let me get you her things.” I turned and tapped the little girl on the shoulder. “Come on, Jade. Get your backpack, please.”

  “No.” Jade hunched closer to the screen.

  I was about to correct her when Mrs. Allen touched my shoulder. “Actually,” she said in a low voice, “I’d like to talk to you about something first if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course.” I indicated to my semi-circle kidney table then immediately regretted it when I remembered that it was the proper height for kindergarteners. But Mrs. Allen sat without complaining and folded her hands in her lap.

  “As you know, my husband and I have our own company,” she began, playing with the zipper on her Louis Vuitton bag. “This will be our first summer without year-round preschool, and we’re not sure what to do with her.”

  I frowned. “I thought her nanny was taking care of her over the summer.”

  “Oh, she was going to, but she got married unexpectedly and moved two days later. It was a shock for all of us.”

  “I can only guess.” I looked back at Jade. “What are you going to do?”

  “Actually, and I hope this isn’t too bold,” Mrs. Allen said slowly, “my husband and I were hoping you could help us.”

  I couldn’t keep the surprise from my voice. “Me?”

  Mrs. Allen nodded. “My son, Derrick, just moved back here, and he’s living with us right now so he can help with her in his time off. But he works night shift currently, so we need someone to care for her and take her to her therapies during the day while he gets caught up on rest.”

  “I’m honored,” I said, racking my brain for reasons to accept or deny. “But if you don’t mind me asking, why me?”

  “Most people, even at special nanny services like the one we use, don’t understand Down Syndrome. Jade loves you, and you’re familiar with her. It would take a new nanny several weeks to adjust even if she understood Jade’s basic needs. And you wouldn’t have to worry about needing time to get ready for school when next year comes around again. We would give you whatever professional days off that you needed.” Mrs. Allen began to dig in her purse. She pulled out a blue envelope and handed it to me. “We would pay you, of course. That would be your salary per week. And if it isn’t enough, we could always work something out.”

  When I realized Mrs. Allen meant for me to open the envelope, I did so. And when I read the amount on the check, I nearly fell off my chair.

  “This is per week?” I gaped.

  “If it’s not enough—”

  “Oh, it’s not that!” I tore my eyes from the check to look back at Mrs. Allen. “I’m just…surprised. In a good way.” I grinned. “Thank you for the opportunity. I would love to stay with Jade this summer.”

  Mrs. Allen fairly glowed as she stood. “I was hoping you’d say that. Here’s our address.” She handed me a business card then paused. “But you being with her all summer…that’s not going to cause you trouble with your boss or anything, is it?”

  I shrugged. “I’ll double-check, but a lot of teachers tutor over the summer. So this should be fine.”

  “Could you come on…let’s see. It’s May twenty-seventh today, so two days from now would be the twenty-ninth. How about Thursday the twenty-ninth? Maybe around nine? I’ll be taking that day off, so I can show you around the house and get her therapy information all sorted out.”

  “I’ll be there.” I stood as well and shook Mrs. Allen’s hand. “And thank you again…so much.” I couldn’t help beaming. “I really needed this.”

  Mrs. Allen smiled. “So did we.” She checked her watch. “Come on, Jade. It’s time to go.”

  Jade just clicked away on the mouse, not giving her mother a hint of a glance.

  “I found a new geology website,” I explained as I grabbed a pen and sticky note pad and began to scribble on it.

  “Oh.” She rolled her eyes. “That explains it.”

  I peeled the note off and went to kneel by Jade’s side. “Hey, kiddo. It’s time to go home now.”

  Jade shook her head, her eyes still glued to the screen.

  I waved the sticky note. “I have the website written here for your mom so you can go home and play on it there. But you have to get off the computer first.”

  Jade turned slowly to look at me. Then she squinted at the sticky note. I had to smother a grin.

  “Here.” I held it out toward her mother. “I’ll give it to your mom as soon as you turn the computer off. I promise.”

  Jade stared at me for a long time then the sticky note. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if she would take the bait, but eventuall
y, she let out a dramatic sigh and did as we asked.

  As soon as Mrs. Allen and Jade had collected all of Jade’s things and were gone, I bounded over to Madison’s classroom, where Madison was wiping down tables.

  “Guess what?” I waved the check in the air. “Grad school is a go!”

  2

  A Little Longer

  Derrick

  “There. That should do it.” I put my tool down and slowly eased myself out of the cramped space. My hands were covered in hydraulics fluid, as was my shirt. It was a good thing I’d bought another pack of sand shirts the week before. This one was a goner.

  “All done in there?” Hernandez called.

  “Yeah.” I grabbed my tools, making sure I’d gotten all the extra screws, and made my way down the plane. “She should be good to go.”

  Hernandez looked at his clipboard. “Wow. We actually finished early. That means tomorrow we can—”

  Before he could finish, another man’s voice sounded from inside the office.

  “Who’s that?” I asked, signing Hernandez’s clipboard.

  “Sergeant Barnes.” Hernandez gave me a sly look. “You got a date for the ball yet?”

  “I asked my fiancée, but I don’t think she can come. She’s coming tomorrow, though, for the awards dinner.” My heart jumped a little. Not because I was getting an award, as I’d been back in Arkansas and in my new squadron less than a month. But showing Amy off would be the highlight of the weekend. Well, that and just having Amy in the same state. Why she’d made me wait until the end of May to do so I still couldn’t understand.

  I went to put my tools away. “Why?”

  “So you’re the new guy.”

  We both turned to see a man coming toward us from the office. His footsteps were heavy but unusually quick for someone wearing steel-toed boots, and his dark eyes were sharp. I got the feeling that this guy didn’t miss much.

  “Sergeant.” Hernandez stepped forward and shook hands with the man. “Yeah, this is the new guy, Allen.”

  I stepped forward to shake the man’s hand as well. “Derrick Allen, sir.”

  “When did you get here, Allen?” Sergeant Barnes asked.

  “About three weeks ago.”

  The man nodded. His dark, curly hair was mostly black, but gray was beginning to creep up from his temples and neck. He looked to be in his early forties. “Sorry it took me so long to welcome you. I was on leave with my family in Texas for a few weeks to celebrate my nephew’s graduation.” He took out his wallet and removed a picture and held it out to me. He was in the picture, as were a handsome woman about his age and a young woman who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties.

  “Isn’t she pretty?” He pointed with his thumb to the young woman.

  I nodded. “She is.”

  “She’s my daughter.” He pulled the picture back and looked at it fondly before returning it to his wallet. “Say, it’s what, almost June? The ball’s in September. Do you have a date yet?”

  I glanced at Hernandez, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Um, I have a fiancée. I’m hoping she can come.” What was the man thinking? Was he really trying to hook me up with his daughter five seconds after meeting me?

  But I didn’t ask, and Sergeant Barnes only smiled a little and said, “huh,” before putting the wallet back in his pocket. “Well, it’s good to meet you, Allen. I expect good things.”

  “What was that about?” I asked when the sergeant was out of earshot.

  Hernandez laughed. “I was trying to warn you. Barnes is retiring soon, and he’s determined to see his poor daughter attached to one of us before he does.”

  “But I’m engaged,” I said, thinking again of the sergeant’s little smirk.

  “He’s convinced that he’ll either see your girl at some event or she’s made up.” Hernandez hung his clipboard up and shrugged. “He’s not completely nuts, though. A lot of guys have made up girls just to get him off their back.” He chuckled again, shaking his head. “Which is weird. Because he’s a good NCO. Best I’ve ever had, aside from his obsession with finding his daughter a husband.”

  “Hernandez.”

  We both jumped as Barnes came toward us again, and Hernandez was about as red as a cherry. Thankfully, the sergeant didn’t seem like he’d overheard.

  “I wanted to ask you about this report you left for me last week.”

  As they went over the report, I washed my hands and grabbed my stuff from my locker. Then I pulled my phone out. Through the window in the locker room, I could see that the sun was just peeking over the eastern horizon. It was seven, which meant it was five in Colorado. But Amy would be up. She always got up to run the track at the gym before going in to work. I decided to call.

  “Hey, stranger,” I said when she picked up.

  “Hello, yourself.” She yawned. “What are you up to this early?”

  “You’re up earlier than I am.” I smiled. “I just got off work, and I’m headed home.”

  “Going home sounds fantastic. I’m on my way to the gym.” She yawned again. “As much as I love hearing from you, I haven’t had any coffee yet. What’s up?”

  “What do you mean? Can’t I call my fiancée?”

  She laughed. “Derrick Allen, you never call before eight in the morning. Not if you can help it, at least.”

  I smiled and nodded as I leaned against my locker. “Fine. I have a question. And I know you already said no, but I need you to check your schedule and see if anything’s changed.”

  “Huh. All right. Let me pull into a parking spot first.” I waited a minute and then heard her clicking through her phone. “What day are we talking about?”

  “August eleventh. The military ball.” I paused. “Can you come?”

  Amy sighed. That was never promising. “Derrick, I told you, I’m traveling that day for the firm. I would cancel, but we’ve been planning this for months.” She paused. “I’m really sorry. I wish I could be there.”

  I bit back the pathetic pleading that I really wanted to employ and took a deep breath instead. “I get it. I just wanted to make sure. I’d love to have you there .” My mind flashed back to the last ball she’d attended with me. She was dazzling. Dark hair piled up on her head, the sapphires in her earrings bringing out the blue in her eyes. The dark green dress she’d worn had been a tad on the revealing side for a military function, but she’d worn it so well no one had said anything.

  “I know, babe. I just can’t blow this account,” she said. I could hear her closing her car door as she did.

  “Okay. Well,” I paused, “I guess we can talk about it when you get here on Friday.”

  “Oh, that reminds me!” She cried. “I nearly forgot.”

  “What? That doesn’t sound good.” I tried to laugh.

  She groaned. “Look, babe. I meant to tell you last night, but it totally slipped my mind. My boss has to have emergency knee surgery, and I have to take his place in a case.” She paused. “Tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” I swallowed. “So…I take it this means you can’t come to the ceremony then.” I could feel Barnes and Hernandez staring at me, and I suddenly had the desire to melt into a puddle.

  “I’m so sorry.” She huffed, and I could just see her running her hand through her hair. “I really had planned on coming.”

  I cleared my throat. “No, um. I get it. I…I guess we’ll talk later then?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Love you.”

  Hernandez and Barnes were still watching me when I hung up and turned around. “Well.” I forced a smile. “I guess you’ll have to wait just a little longer to see her.”

  “Uh-huh.” Hernandez nodded, but Barnes smiled slightly. Gathering what remained of my dignity, I straightened my shoulders and went out to my truck.

  It wasn’t that bad, really. I’d only moved back three weeks ago. I couldn’t expect her to drop everything and visit me constantly. Not when she had just landed the job of h
er dreams. Of course, I’d known it would be hard to keep a relationship living in different states, but as we were engaged, I’d figured it wouldn’t be too long before we were together again. And yet, four months after proposing, we were apart. Still waiting.

  I pulled in front of my parents’ house. After locking the truck, I let myself into the backyard and into the little casita on the other side of the oversized swimming pool. As I unlaced my boots and tossed them into the corner, my phone buzzed. It was Amy.

  “Hey.” Why did I sound like a pouty little kid?

  “Look,” she said. “I’ll go through my schedule again and see if—”

  “Derrick? Are you in there?”

  I looked up to see my mom banging on the sliding glass door. I huffed as I went to open it. “Hold on, Amy. What is it, Mom?”

  “Oh good, you’re home. I wanted to tell you to get cleaned up and presentable.”

  “Mom, can this wait? I’m talking to—”

  “Jade’s teacher is coming over for a a rundown of Jade’s summer appointments. She’ll be here within the hour.”

  I scrunched my eyes shut. “Look, I gotta go, Amy. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I need to get on the elliptical. But Derrick?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll try. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try.”

  Even though she wasn’t there to see it, I grinned. “Thanks, Amy.” Maybe I would get to pull that green dress out on the dance floor again after all.

  3

  Interrogation Camp

  Jessie

  I pulled up the driveway and let out a whistle. I’d known Jade’s family made decent money, but I hadn’t expected anything like this. Perhaps I should have, though, based on the salary they were offering me.

  I might as well have been pulling up in front of a castle. The three-story brick building was set on a corner lot with an emerald green yard twice the size of the other houses on the block. Red and white brick contrasted nicely with a spotless cream-colored garage door. Matching cream-colored trim decorated the rest of the house’s windows and rooflines. I was suddenly quite aware of my old blue Camry’s dents and scratches as I gazed at the sleek white Lexus beside mine. The only car that looked remotely close to mine on the street was a beat up red pickup parked on the corner. Who did that belong to?