Freedom Fight: Beginnings Series Book 9 (5 page)

BOOK: Freedom Fight: Beginnings Series Book 9
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CHAPTER THREE
Ft. Peck Lake

Frank closed his eyes tightly in
the after moments of lovemaking to Ellen. In the bed of the pickup truck, under a quiet starry sky, they lay on and under sleeping bags. Frank kissed her once more then quietly moved to his back, embracing Ellen and holding her to his chest. He stared up at the sky, saying nothing.

Ellen felt his sadness. With all that happened with Brian, it had been the first time in eight days that they had made love. So unlike Frank, who always tried to bury his hurt within intimacies, he did not turn to Ellen for that during his grief. They had touched and they had kissed, but what Frank needed most from Ellen was someone he was not afraid to break down in front of and that someone could only be Ellen. Ellen could tell Frank searched for something during their lovemaking. He was different. The act was more an act of holding on, clinging, rather than anything else. It was quiet, so quiet. Ellen wished she could read his mind because it frightened her a little. Perhaps that was why she waited for him to speak first.

Frank waited long time before speaking. He cleared his throat subtly, swallowed harshly and kissed her on her forehead before saying a word. “I’m sorry.” He kissed her again. “I know it wasn’t very . . . it wasn’t very good tonight.”

Ellen lifted herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. He kept staring. “What are you talking about, Frank? I loved making love to you.”

Frank shifted his eyes to look at her. “Tomorrow will be better. I promise.”

“Frank,” Ellen spoke softly. “You’re missing the point here.” She kissed him lightly. “Making love isn’t always about making your body feel good. It’s about making
you
feel good, right here.” She laid her hand over his heart. “Right now, at this point in our lives, love making isn’t a performance issue; it’s healing issue. And that, for me, you’re doing great. I wish I could help you though.”

“You have with just this.” He pulled her back down to him. “Even though we have to sleep in the truck.” He felt Ellen chuckle. “Actually . . .” He looked up at the sky. “It’s not that bad. It’s so open out here. I feel alone with you which was the whole point of this trip.”

“Kidnapping.”

“That too.” His kissed her on the top of the head then whined some when in the distance, from the cabin he heard the phone ringing. “Man, Robbie again. What’s he trying to do, get all the calls he can in before the batteries die?”

“Maybe it’s important.”

“El, the last time he called he wanted to know if he could borrow my spare shoulder harness, come on. I’ll call him back in a little bit. Right now . . .” He pulled Ellen as close as he could. “I just want to enjoy this.”

^^^^

Johnny Slagel would not have thought it odd seeing Henry pacing around Beginnings at ten o’clock at night. Henry often paced, sometimes too fast to even consider it pacing. Standing in the doorway of the social hall, watching Henry made Johnny laugh. Henry actually paced as if he were on a mission. He carried a notebook and walked backwards most of the time. He’d scratch his head, move on, and scratch his head again. Johnny knew it was time to step in.

“Henry!” Johnny called to him.

“Shh.” Henry held up his hand “Distribution . . . back to mechanics . . . . the chapel . . . wait, Dean and . . .”

“Henry, what are you doing?”

“Going nuts. I’ve been over this a million times.”

“Still trying to figure out what it is you’re forgetting?”

“Yes.” Henry nodded his head. “It’s gnawing at me like nothing ever has.”

“Can I help?” Johnny asked.

“I don’t think you can.”

“Sure I can. I think I know what it is?”

“You do? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wasn’t allowed.”

“What is it?” Henry asked with impatience.

“Try this . . . Nick.”

“What about him?” Henry asked, then after a second his eyes widened. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Henry began to run in circles. “I lost my son! Where did I put him?” Henry grabbed on to his own head. “Think. Think. Think. Think.”

“Henry.” Johnny said his name with a laugh. “My Pap has him.”

Henry looked up to him. “What?”

“Actually he does now. Danny took him to the nursery this morning where Andrea picked him up. He’s been there all night.” Johnny started to laugh when Henry took off for the living section.

 

“Joe!” Henry bolted into Joe’s house.

“Knock.”

“Sorry.” Henry backed up, knocked and ran back in. “Joe!”

“Yes Henry?” Joe stood from the couch.

Henry took a moment to calm down. “This is . . . this is a little embarrassing. But . . . do you have Nick?”

“What if I told you I didn’t?”

“Oh, Joe, please, I’d die. Do you?”

Joe grumbled and walked to the steps yelling up. “Andrea! He remembered!” Joe looked back at Henry. “She’s giving him another bath. Seems Alex now has a hair infatuation and like someone else I know, she put a hell of a lot of Hair Hold on that kid’s hair while he slept.”

“He has bad hair, Joe.”

“He has your hair, Henry,” Joe scolded.

“Joe, please.” Henry ran his hand through his hair. “I work hard.”

“You wouldn’t have to if you’d cut the shit out.” Joe switched his views to the steps when he heard Andrea singing and coming down. “Here he is. You can hand him over, Andrea.”

“He’s such a good boy.” Andrea held him up to her eye level speaking that high pitch tone to Nick. “Aren’t you? Are you a good boy? Yes you are. You gonna go home now. Oh you sweet thing.” Andrea kissed Nick several times. “Grandmommy loves you.” She brushed her nose against Nick’s nose. “Yes, she does. She loves you. Yes she . . .”

“Andrea!” Joe snapped. “Give him his kid.”

Delivering a sequence of kisses to Nick, Andrea handed him to Henry. Immediately Nick started to cry. “Oh my.” Andrea reached, saw the glare from Joe, and then held her hand up. “I’ll just make my nightly cup of tea. Night Henry.”

Nervously Henry bounced Nick. “Well, I’d better be going. Thanks Joe.”

“Hold it.”

Henry stopped in his escape to the door. He cringed before turning around. “Joe, he’s really fussy, I should go.”

“I want to talk to you.” Joe walked to him. “But first . . . give me the goddamn kid.” Joe took Nick. Nick stopped crying. “Sit down, Henry.”

“No, I think I . . .”

“Sit!”

Henry rushed to the couch and sat down.

Holding Nick, Joe walked before him. “Now you know I’ve known you a lot of years and I like to think of you as my oddball son.”

“Thanks Joe.”

“Glad to hear you appreciate that. Anyhow right now, I’m going to talk to you as if you were my own flesh and blood. Ready?”

“Yes.” Henry swallowed.

“What in God’s name were you thinking about!” Joe yelled. “Thirteen hours! Thirteen hours! You didn’t know you lost your baby for thirteen hours?”

“But Joe . . .”

“Shut up, Henry! We all thought one hour. Two was pushing it, but when the end of the workday came and went, you pushed abandonment. Now listen to me and listen to me closely.” Joe neared him. “I know Frank looks at this kid as his own. I know he plans on raising this kid. But keep in mind one thing, your wiry ass sperm created this kid and you will learn to be a part of his life. You will learn to take care of him. You will not! Not! Push the responsibility on anyone else when you are in the position to care for him. You hear me!”

“But Joe, he doesn’t like me.”

“Make him like you, Henry.”

“I don’t know how.”

Joe handed him Nick. “Learn. Now is the perfect opportunity since Frank is away. Learn.”

Henry whined when Nick started to cry, “See.”

“No, what I see is you taking my grandson home and being a father to him.” Joe walked to the door and opened it. “Go.”

“But Joe . . .”

“Go.”

Henry slowly walked to the door. “Bye.”

Joe stopped him, kissed Nick, then let the two of them leave. He shut the door with the loudest of exhales.

Andrea came from the kitchen. She handed Joe a cup. “For you.”

“I hate tea.”

“Drink this. You’ll like this. It’s perfect for how you feel.”

Joe took a sip and gasped loudly.

“Too much whiskey?”

Joe looked back to the door and sipped again. “Perfect.”

^^^^

Ft. Peck Lake

Frank laughed a silent laugh so not to wake Ellen. He spoke in a whisper while on the phone to Robbie, “What was Henry’s reaction?”

“Shocked,” Robbie answered.

“Who won the poll?”

“Danny Hoi. He bet three work hours that Henry wouldn’t remember for nine hours. He was the closest.”

“Oh shit, you know what this reminds me of, don’t you?”

“No. What?” Robbie asked.

“When Jimmy got married. Remember the day before he got married?” Frank heard Robbie laugh at the recall of that memory and he continued. “Yeah, he dropped off Lindsay to get her nails done and he went off running around. When he arrived home, you, me, and Hal were there waiting. We went out drinking before the dinner.”

“Jimmy totally forgot what he did with her. Man, I thought they weren’t getting married. She was so pissed.”

“He kept telling us the same thing. There was something he was forgetting.”

Robbie chuckled. “It was a good thing for Jimmy that Hal was such the word man. He talked her out of being mad.”

“Yeah, the big dick. He blamed it all on me. Lindsay hated me from that moment on.” Frank felt Ellen stir in his arms. “Hey, I gotta go. Talk to you later.”

“Be careful out there.”

“I will. Thanks Robbie.” Frank shut off the phone and extended his arm, laying it down above his and Ellen’s heads. He slowed down getting comfortable and stared at a sleeping Ellen. Frank’s mind drifted and he smiled, thinking back to his brother Jimmy’s wedding weekend. How long ago was that? Eleven, twelve years? Thinking of the length of time it had been, Frank’s mind went back . . .

 

“Frank.”

Frank held a bottle of beer as he sat at the bar in the restaurant the night of the rehearsal dinner. He ignored the call of his name.

“Frank,” The male voice called him again, this time tapping him on the shoulder.

“Go away, Hal. I’m still pissed at you. Fuckin Lindsay reamed my ass out for nothing.”

“Come on, Frank. I brought you a peace offering.”

Grunting and holding his beer, Frank spun around on his stool. Hal stood there with woman, a smaller built woman, with long brown hair, and a prominent chest. Frank’s eyes hit there first then moved to Hal.

Hal grinned arrogantly, looking so much like his father. “This is Jennifer.”

Frank hid his snicker and shook the woman’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Hal had his hand on Jennifer’s back. “She likes big guys. Stand up Frank.”

“What?”

“Stand up. Jennifer, if you think I’m tall . . . stand up Frank. Come on.”

Frank, grumbling stood from the stool. He towered over her and smiled a fake smile.

Jennifer giggled. “Whoa.”

Hal nodded. “Told ya. And . . . he’ll be wearing his uniform at the wedding.” Hal’s eyes rose. “She likes big guys in uniforms.”

“Hal says you’re a general in the Army,” Jennifer said.

Frank nearly choked on his beer. “Hal exaggerates. I’m a Lt. General. Hal . . .” Frank grabbed his brother’s arm. “Jennifer, excuse us.” He pulled Hal off to the side. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Fixing you up,” Hal said. “It’s the least I can do. She’s cute.”

“Why do I need fixed up?”

“You need a date for the wedding tomorrow. Even Dad has a date.”

“Dad always has a date. What about your date?”

“Eh, Dad says his date’s open game. I plan on hitting on her unless you want to.”

“No, you go right ahead and hit on the old broad. I don’t need a date.”

“All right.” Hal took a deep breath. “Think about it. Sit at the bar and talk to Jennifer. You might hit it off.” He leaned to Frank. “Check out her boobs, Frank.” Hal cupped his hands in front of his own chest and mouthed the word, ‘huge’, then nodded and grinned. “Go for it, big brother.” Hal gave a swift pat to his arm and moved on.

Frank walked back over to the bar where Jennifer was seated. He sat next to her and grabbed his beer. Silently he sat, listening to her ramble on about something he couldn’t recall, downing his beers quickly, and grateful when he heard his father’s voice behind him.

“Slow down.” Joe laid his hand on Frank’s back and smiled at Jennifer. His eyes immediately shifted to the hard-to-miss chest. “Who’s your friend?”

“Dad, Jennifer. Jennifer, my Dad.”

Joe extended his hand to Jennifer. “Joe Slagel.”

Jennifer smiled with a tilted head. “You’re tall too. Are you a general also like your sons?”

BOOK: Freedom Fight: Beginnings Series Book 9
9.33Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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