Forever Lovers (8 page)

It did not take long for the SEALS to locate
the cell with the three Americans. It was a small area, not even
big enough for the three men to lay down in at the same time. Each
one of them had had their feet beaten to a bloody pulp. None of
them were able to stand. It took two SEALS per each man to drag
them out of their nightmare. The one soldier with the broken knee
cabs, Quinn threw over his shoulder and carried him for three
miles. They got out without incident only because some poor man was
being beaten in the cell down the hall, distracting the guards that
had joined in to watch and enjoy the show.

Most missions didn't go that smoothly. If it
had been daylight, the rebbles might have followed the bloody
footprints of their escaping detainees as their feet were partial
dragged. As it was, by the time they discovered their missing
prisoners, the SEALS and soldiers were already headed west for home
on a black hawk helicopter. In spite of the atrocities and pain
that the Marines had endured, the rescued prisoners were a happy
bunch who were just grateful to be headed for America.

No SEAL ever carried cell phones into battle
unless they needed to contact their superiors – too risky, someone
just might forget to turn it off during a raid getting the entire
battalion killed in the process. So, it wasn't until Quinn got back
to base a week later, did he get Jade's message. He was more than
disturbed by the content thinking that he would kill any
son-of-a-bitch that might have harmed Lily.

Quinn called Jade immediately. Jade relayed
all that she knew, which was very little except the part that got
his attention was that Lily apparently had walked home from the
hotel. Tense, he was convinced that something had happened during
that time he was not with her. It never occurred to him that he was
the culprit for the gown being in such dastardly sad shape.

Quinn ran his hand over his jawline trying to
digest what Jade had just conveyed to him, struggling to come to
terms with the possibility that something might have happened to
Lily. Blaming himself for the chain events that kept him from
walking her safely back to her room, he punched a hole in his wall.
It didn't help. All he had was a hole in his wall that needed to be
fixed later.

Quinn felt sick in his gut, the same way that
he had felt that disastrous day when the surf had grabbed Lily by
the ankles, dragging her into the depths of its yawning monstrous
mouth to the treacherous ocean bottom below the surface. It was
that helpless
deja vu
all over again.

Quinn immediately started calling and writing
emails to Lily every day for the next solid month.
Call me. I
need to talk to you,
were the gist of messages. He worried and
stewed. Damn her, she was not answering any of his phone calls or
messages. The only thing that kept him from going AWOL was
reassurance from Jade, who had been talking to her on a regular
basis. She seemed all right, but Jade was still convinced that
something had happened. He was afraid that she could be right.

After about a month, it didn't take too much
convincing that Lily didn't want to hear from him or talk to him.
He was more than afraid that she might be blaming him for what
might have happened to her after the unfortunate timing of the
phone call from his commander. Quinn seriously thought about just
taking off and going AWOL anyway. But, like most jobs, you can't
just leave your responsibilities because you feel like it.

Suddenly, things had flipped. Now, Quinn was
the one wanting to hear from Lily. He became moody. Even his
friends called him a grouch. Of course, he could always count on
the twins to hold nothing back on how they felt about his
grumpiness. Siblings are always so generous in that respect.

Quinn was frustrated. He realized that a
grown women is a whole lot less malleable than a child/woman. He
didn't know why he was surprised, he grew up with them. He should
have known. They challenge. They see things differently from a man.
They have their own opinions that in all likely hood does not agree
with yours. They become “dick yankers”. How they become such
accomplished nutcrackers before they are even out of their teens is
beyond him. He'd rate Lily right up there with the best of
them.

CHAPTER 13

Lily had simmered for well over a week,
thinking that Quinn would call any day not realizing that he could
not have called even if he had wanted to do so. When he finally did
call, it gave her a huge amount of pleasure and joy to delete each
message with a great deal of gusto, not so much as listening to a
single one of them.

Quinn still didn't get it. Just because he
was brilliant didn't mean he didn't possess the idiot gene. She
wasn't going to sit around the rest of her life waiting to hear
from him on a daily basis. She'd done that since she was sixteen.
She was finished!! She didn't need him to make a life of her own.
She'd work on convincing herself of that!
As a determined young
woman, she managed to do a mighty fine job of it – almost.

CHAPTER 14

In a college town, there is always a party
and plenty action; especially, with all the continuous recreational
activities at the state park, Tuttle Creek – a quiet oasis north of
Manhattan, Kansas. It is a reservoir on the Big Blue River with
hiking trails, camping, fishing, and even has its own urban legend
of a manatee that is reported to be living in the lake.

Even though it was summer, Lily was still in
town working at the new Manhattan Institute on animal research.
Today, Lily was getting ready to go to The Country Stampede Music
Festival, a yearly event at the Tuttle Creek Dam held in late June.
It would be the hotspot in the region for the next four days
featuring big country music artists such as Toby Keith, Tom McGraw,
Kenny Chesney, and many more. A giant country star screen would be
put up that could easily be seen by all 160,000 visitors plus, that
came within a two hundred mile radius.

In addition to country artists there would
also be an all-day carnival, plenty of fried food, and a rocking
Last Chance Saloon, which always manages to serve a liberal amount
of beer along with plenty of action, and entertainment. A choice
spot for most of the party people.

Lily was going to be part of Last Chance
Saloon's entertainment today. She was the main attraction when the
cancan girls weren't doing their high leggy kicks in tune to rowdy
saloon songs. She and the other girls were dressed in their bustier
of black lace with the rest of the costume in the colorful mix of
red, hot pink, and of course purple – Wildcat colors – with
matching ruffled skirts. Their legs were encased in sexy black
fishnet stockings with creamy white flesh that could be seen
tantalizing and teasing above the tops of their stockings. Colorful
feathers adorned their hair, heavily rouged cheeks and bright red
lips completed the ensemble. She was sure that “fuddy duddy”,
Quinn, would have had a stroke over her costume and wasn't that
just too bad!

Lily was dressed totally in purple as she
meandered among the saloon guests who spouted their own western
gear of cowboy hats, jeans, and boots. She sang more rowdy saloon
songs as she ran her fingers through curly locks of hair and
playfully sat on accommodating laps of various young men who were
no different than their predecessors who frequented similar
establishments over two hundred years ago. The vintage upright
piano that stood in the corner was pumped by a talented young man
that accompanied her and who played for most of the day.

By noon everyone always began getting ready
for the first band performance of the afternoon beginning at
two-thirty. It ended at nine-thirty with a new gig every hour and
half throughout the day. Some patrons went home after the last band
performed or to various motels while others just pitched a tent and
a sleeping bag. Even though the music ended, the carnival went on
until well after two-thirty in the morning when the Last Chance
Saloon closed. Of course, all that were left and still hanging
around after the early morning rays of the summer sun peeked over
the dam, were the professional “pukers”.

Nothing is more fun than a music fest
outdoors if that is your thing; especially, as the sun begins to
set. It is that magical moment that you watch the sky turn magenta,
orange, and purple before it disappears from the horizon. It's like
watching the lights dim before the show in a theater and the main
band of the day comes on stage. For those at Tuttle Creek Dam, they
looked forward to not only a new band on stage, but a cool breeze
coming off the reservoir saving the audience from the summer heat
and sizzling sun of Kansas.

Everyone joined in the singing and clapping
whenever a new band started up. Some were dancing near the stage.
All seemed to be having a good time. Lily was part of that group
hanging out with friends and participating in the fun of the
moment, when a skinny young man approached her. He was not the
usual stud guy on the make. He kind of wiggle through the crowd and
sat down beside her. It made her leery. As she was trying to decide
if he were harmless or not, he began a conversation in-between the
changing of the bands. She soon began to find him intelligent and
interesting.

“I saw you this morning at the saloon
singing. I was impressed with your talent.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you from around here?”

“Born, bred, and will probably be wed here as
the Kansas song says,” Lily smiled slightly. “Where are you from,
Jim?” she asked back.

“California.”

“It seems a long way to come for a country
rock festival. Don't they have any rock concerts in California?”
Lily asked with a cheeky smile.

He smiled back, “I work for a small magazine
in the Los Angeles area. I'm a photographer here to take pictures
and do a story.” He handed her a business card. “You can check me
and my company out on the internet if you want. So, what's the most
beautiful spot around Manhattan, Kansas do you think?”

Lily cocked her head, “That would be the
sunflower fields south of town.”

Jim questioned her farther, “Why would
someone plant a field full of sunflowers?”

Lily was surprised at the question. “Where do
you think they get sunflower seeds? Now, don't tell me you've never
eaten sunflower seeds or I'm going to think you're a real
hick.”

“Of course I have,” he laughed, “I guess I
just never thought about where they came from. So, how big are the
fields?” Jim asked.

“Several acres.”

“How big is that?”

Lily looked at him. Haven't you ever seen the
Wizard of Oz?

“Well, yeah, but I never thought about them
being real.”

“Think Hermosa Beach – about half that
size.”

“Oh, so I guess it would be big enough to do
a photo shoot?”

“Mmm and then some,” Lily mumbled losing
interest in the conversation as a new gig came on stage.

Lily got the feeling that Jim was getting
ready to ask her for a date. She was about to get up for a beer
before she would have to turn him down. Jim, anticipating her move
and not wanting her to leave before he popped the question, blurted
out, “My Company is making calendars of each state in the union. My
job is to find twelve Kansas beauties to fill that bill. My boss
didn't think I could find any. Boy is he going to be surprised when
I come back home!” Jim said with excitement building in his voice.
“I've never seen so many beauties walking around this place. Would
you ever consider being one of the calendar girls for your state?
Besides, it would really help me out.” Not at all the question Lily
had been expecting.

Lily looked at Jim trying to decide if he
were for real. She felt his enthusiasm was genuine and tried not to
get caught up in the moment.

“I don't think so,” she paused. “Why would I
want to?”

Jim looked chest fallen with disappointment.
But, not getting discouraged, he began to plead his case. “You're
gorgeous and wholesome. Just think, it would be like
Cheers
where everyone would know your name. It'd get you dates. Every guy
you'd meet would want to take you out.”

“I don't need any more guys asking me
out.”

“Well, maybe you'd like to impress a certain
guy?” Jim could sense he might be on to something. “Maybe you'd
like to tease some guy or make someone mad or – ”

Lily held up her hand. “Stop right there,”
she interrupted. “I'll do it. When do we start?”

Jim grinned, he had successfully pleaded his
case. “I'll call you tomorrow or you can call me. Phone number is
on the card.”

CHAPTER 15

A few days later, Lily stood in the middle of
the sunflower fields with Jim and her filly, Hot Pants, wondering
how she'd ever gotten talked into this photo shoot in the first
place.
It wasn't as if Quinn would ever see the
calendar,
she thought. Little did she know how wrong she
would be in that evaluation.

Lily wore a blue and white checkered cotton
long sleeved shirt with cut off jean shorts and a pair of cowboy
boots. She hadn't worn a bra that day as it was much too warm.
Besides, no one could detect that lack of garment since the shirt
was not fitted, but lose and “blousy”.

The only concession Jim asked of Lily was if
she'd mind tying the shirt in a knot under her breasts and
unbuttoning the top western snap. It was a hot day and she was only
too happy to accommodate. It was a minor thing, but it made her
sexier than hell combined with the faded jean shorts that she had
just washed and taken out of the drier that morning. Now, we all
know what happens to jeans when we first take them out of the drier
– they shrink and tighten up right around those delicious little
buns giving magnificent detailed character to any cut offs. Lily's
buns were no exception as they made her butt cheeks sneak out from
below the hemline of the frayed shorts. She didn't need any more
enhancements.