1
CARTER
“Hello?” I answered the house phone.
“Carter, hey man,” said Deacon’s voice from the other end. He sounded excited and cheerful. Maybe a couple beers in too.
“Hey Deacon, what’s up?” I asked, shifting to my good leg. There must be a little weather coming in. My knee was aching under the scars. Who needed the weather channel when I had Iraqi shrapnel to help me predict a storm?
“All set to head to your neck of the woods,” Deacon said. “We finished packing everything into the truck a little bit ago. Figured we’d get a good night’s rest before we headed out.”
“Probably a good idea. Do you know where you’re going? I know you’ve been out this way a couple of times, but in case you can’t remember how to get to your new place, I can meet you in town and you can follow me up there.”
“I appreciate that, but I think we’ve got it. I downloaded the state map to my GPS app, so even if we lose signal, I should be able to find the place anyway.”
“Good deal,” I said. “Well, let me know when you get here. I’ll come help you move in.”
“Will do,” Deacon replied.
After I hung up the phone, I figured I should probably go do my shopping now. If it did storm that evening, I didn’t want to get caught in it, and I might not have the time to do any of it the next day.
Harleigh and Brett’s twin girls were about to have their first birthday, and Brett had invited me over for their party. There weren’t a ton of choices for places to get stuff for kids in town, but I figured I could go down, grab a bite to eat, and then stop for supplies while I tried to find a gift for them. It had been a while since I let myself have a fast-food lunch, and something about a chicken sandwich was sounding really good at that moment.
I drove down into town and found myself in a department store with a belly full of French fries an hour later. Pushing a cart through the only department store in town, I looked for something to get for the girls. They were only turning one, so it wasn’t like they had a ton of preferences. Mostly, I was buying something I hoped they would grow to play with as they got a little older.
I found something I liked—a pair of stuffed bunnies that played a lullaby—and headed through the store, grabbing other things I needed. Specifically, dog food. The two chocolate Labs waiting at home tended to eat as much as I put in front of them, and I was guilty recently of overfeeding them. Scanning the section for something a bit healthier, I grabbed a big bag and some cans and shoved them in the cart.
It was shaping up to be a hell of a week. Life in Ashford, Tennessee wasn’t always all that interesting, but there were a few things to look forward to this week. Ever since I had left the military with my “souvenirs” in my leg, I had enjoyed the slow pace and quiet of the mountain. However, recently, I had been feeling like something was missing.
Deacon and Everett had wanted to move down for a while, joining me from their hometown and getting away from the lives they had been living in since leaving the military themselves. They wanted to start something new, and their loyalty to me meant they wanted to bring me in. Everett’s uncle was willing to put up funding for us from his business ventures, Deacon had money from his grandmother who passed, and I had always been good at saving. It made sense for us to go into business together. I could trust them. And they knew for a fact they could trust me.
Everett always said that if I hadn’t pulled them out of the tank when I did on that last mission, they would be dead and they owed me for it. They would pay it back by making sure I was taken care of, and my injuries were looked after.
As much as I appreciated that sentiment, it was a little embarrassing too. I didn’t want pity. I had done my duty. I signed up the same as they did. When took the oath, I put myself in the position of doing what I did, the same as they would have had it been them outside the tank and me inside.
Thinking about that day wasn’t something I relished. I colored it with comedy and big storytelling tricks when people asked about it, but the reality was that day was one of the worst of my life. As I checked out of the store, the limp that I had on my way back to my truck wasn’t something that would ever go away. It was a constant reminder that the story I had about that day in the desert wasn’t just some anecdote.