Operation: Stripped & Stranded

by E Kay Sims

  I went red in the cheeks. “Sorry,” I barked out with a fake cough.

  “I’m sorry I was so angry. I know you don’t understand, but I also know you care.” He looked at the ground for a moment. “I’ve got a lot to deal with right now. I’m working on my issues, and I’m sorry I took it out on you.” He looked me dead in the eye. “I don’t want it to ruin our friendship.”

  “Neither do I. I have to remember that neither of us are teenagers, or twenty-one anymore. We’re both older, with more life experience—okay, you, more than me—and that sort of thing has changed us. You don’t even know about Casey, do you? I didn’t tell many people about her.”

  “Casey?”

  “A Deep Lake local. I was going to marry her. We were engaged for almost a year when she cheated on me. I don’t know why I’m telling you now, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, there are things we both don’t know about each other. So, I’ll remember to keep that in mind in the future.”

  “I’m sorry. I had no idea. I told you about Lynda, but you never mentioned Casey to me.” He looked at me not hiding the hurt. “I don’t know what to say to that, I feel like shit that you couldn’t even tell me you were engaged.”

  “I didn’t say because you were deployed, and I felt like sharing something so happy with you was like rubbing it in. Then it fell apart and I just thought I was lucky that I didn’t say anything. She fucked me over—literally. That was embarrassing, especially in a small town.”

  “Fuck, I know the feeling.” He paused. “Can we just move on, now? Give me your new address.” He changed the subject quickly. Eric didn’t do feelings very well.

  I whipped my mobile out of my pocket. “Texting it through now.” I forwarded the address from Colin’s message. “It’s fancy, mate. Not as fancy as this place on your la-dee-da golf course, but it’s brand new.”

  “Hey, I don’t even golf––that was Linda’s thing.” He looked back at the car. “Hang on a sec.” He waved at Everett, motioning her to get out of the car.

  Everett opened the passenger door, a shy smile played across her lips. “Hey there.” She waved.

  “Everett!” I pulled her into a warm hug. “It’s great to see you again.”

  “Yeah, glad you made it okay to Oregon.” She stepped back and stood near Eric, whose arm went around her immediately.

  I looked around, not that I could see much now it was almost dark. “Yep. Home sweet home. I can’t believe I made it. I finally broke away from the ‘rents.” My phone buzzed, and I saw a text message from Mum. I twisted up my mouth. “Or not.”

  “I have to drive the rental back to Washington tomorrow and report for work next week. But, the following weekend, maybe we could all get together and have a barbeque at my place?” He looked at Everett. “You could bring your new girlfriend, Gil.” His eyes never left Everett.

  I just about choked on my own spit. “Ahh… I don’t have a new girlfriend, Thorsen.”

  “My bad––fiancée, then…?” He gave me a knowing look. “Where is she, by the way? How’re you planning on getting back to Eugene?”

  My mouth just about hit the pavement. “How the fuck did you know we’re engaged? Do you have bloody spies in the Nevada desert or something?” I joked.

  “Ha, ha, ha, funny guy!” Eric scoffed. “It’s written all over your face, Gil. Remind me to start playing poker with you.” He laughed.

  “My sexy as fuck fiancée is waiting for me at the bar and grill down the road.” I jabbed my thumb in the general direction.

  Eric rolled his eyes. “Don’t keep her waiting, man. Get your ass back to her. I’d give you a ride but my truck’s up at Ft. Lewis. Or…” He walked over to the garage and punched in the code, triggering the automatic door opener to reveal a big black, shiny Harley Davidson motorcycle. “I have an extra helmet.” He pointed to the bike.

  My eyes practically bugged out of my skull. “Holy mother fucker, look at that beauty. It’s been a few years since I’ve ridden a bike. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Naw, I’ll give you ride, bro. You could follow us over, Everett, if you want, or do you need to get back to the farm?”

  “It’s all good, you guys go ahead. I’ve got to get back to Nico. We left him out of his crate, so I better go before he demolishes my shoe collection.” She hugged Eric.

  “Tell me you’re not talking about some playboy who has a fetish for cages and stilettos,” I muttered.

  “Um no.” EZee quirked up an eyebrow, her tone indicated I may have offended her. “He’s my dog, a Chihuahua.”

  “Sorry.” I shook myself out of it. “I’ve been learning all sorts of… things. I love dogs. Maybe I’ll get one!” I grinned at her.

  “Alright, guys, I’ve really got to get going. It was nice to see you again Gil. Best of luck. Hopefully, I’ll see you next weekend. Bye, Eric.” She hugged him, but before she could pull away, Eric had her in his embrace and right in front of me, he laid one on her, a bone melting kiss that left her breathless when he finally let her go.

  I felt myself blush profusely and I averted my eyes. I made quick steps across to the Harley and pulled the helmet on. “Take care, Everett.”

  “Goodbye,” she repeated, her eyes all glassy as she moved toward her car.

  I pulled my aviators from my pocket and slid them over my eyes. I was itching to get back to my lady and give her the same treatment. I missed her already.

  ERIC

  The bar was less than ten minutes away, not very long for a motorcycle ride. I was slightly disappointed. I hadn’t rode my bike since before the last deployment, nearly four months ago. Maybe after dropping off Gil, I’d take her out on a real ride.

  We pulled into the parking lot of Block Fifteen, a local watering hole with fairly decent food and local microbrews. The sound of music spilled out into the parking lot as I parked the bike and killed the engine. I waited for Gil to dismount before removing my helmet.

  “Alright, man, here we are,” I said, climbing off the bike.

  Gil stretched his legs, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “That was great! I need to do this more often. Maybe I need a dog and a bike.”

  “I have a buddy up in Washington looking to sell his Sportster, if you’re interested,” I told Gil, though I doubted he was serious.

  He lightly punched my shoulder. “Hook me up, mate.”

  “Alright, I’ll ask him when I see him next week.” I stepped toward him. “Congrats on the new job and the new fiancée.” I genuinely meant it. I pulled him into a bear hug, lifting him off his feet, crushing him in my arms.

  “You, too, Captain America,” he squeaked out. “Everett is awesome.” I set him back on his feet. “When are you getting down on one knee, then?”

  He took me by surprise with his question, but I recovered quickly. “We’ll see,” I said curtly, not wanting to jinx anything. I secretly hoped to marry EZee and start a family, but I wasn’t ready to share that with Gil just yet.

  “There you are! I’ve been waiting in here so long, I’ve managed to give the cook a lesson on how to cook the perfect steak!” A stunning blond stepped out of the bar and folded her arms across her breasts.

  Gil turned at the sound of her voice, his face lighting up. “G’day, beautiful. Sorry about the delay.” He rushed over to her and she literally leapt into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and clinging to his shoulders. “Eric took his sweet time getting back.” A shit-eating grin crossed his face. “Leah, this is my best mate, Eric. You remember Leah, Eric?”

  “Hello again.” I nodded, remembering clearly now where I’d last seen her, but it didn’t seem right to bring that up at the moment.

  Leah blushed. “Yeah, we ahh… we met. Kind of.”

  “I’ll let you two love birds get to it. I’ve got an early morning so I’m going to head out.” I put my helmet on.

  “Eric, wait!” Leah extricated herself from Gil and raced over to me. She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “Wh
atever went down between you and Gil, thanks for hearing him out, and hopefully, forgiving him. It hurts me when he’s sad.” She placed a small peck on my cheek.

  I simply nodded, not trusting myself to be polite or to say something I would regret, but I was thinking a whole lot. If you fuck my friend over, bitch, I will make your life a living hell! I nodded again and climbed on the bike, giving Gil a final salute before firing up the engine.

  I rolled out of the parking lot and made a left hand turn when I remembered that my luggage was still in the back of EZee’s car. Shit! Guess I was heading back down south for the night. I pulled over to make the call. It went to voicemail so I hung up and sent her a text.

  Hey babe, I forgot my stuff in your car. I’m headed down to get it if that’s okay?

  My phone rang a few seconds later. “Hello?”

  “Hey,” EZee breathed, “I just got your text. I’m so sorry. You had me all flustered with that kiss goodbye, I completely forgot about your stuff in the trunk.” Her voice was sultry coming through the phone in my ear.

  “You got me all worked up with that sexy voice of yours, I’m gonna need to drive back down to your place tonight.”

  She laughed. “Seriously?” There was a momentary pause, and I thought the call had dropped but then she broke the silence. “Eric, I want you so bad right now.” Her voice was breathy.

  “I’m on the way,” I said abruptly, the anticipation of seeing her again already making my dick hard.

  “Drive safe,” she whispered.

  “Will, do. You too.”

  I took all the back roads, speeding like the devil was at my heels, breaking a new record on the bike, hitting speeds up to a hundred miles an hour. The sound of Rico’s voice echoed in my head, “Drive it like you stole it, bro!”

  I got this, brother. You can rest easy, my friend. Until we meet again. For the first time since Rico died, I let the tears escape, finally allowing myself to let him go. I knew he was out there somewhere, watching my six.

  When I finally made it back to the farm, I found EZee sitting on the front porch, rocking gently on the swing, waiting for me. I left the bike in the driveway and made my way up the porch steps. She met me at the top and wrapped her arms around my neck. The glow of the porch light behind her made it hard for me to see her features cast in shadow. But, I didn’t need to see her face to know how she felt. I sensed it in the way she kissed me in that moment, as if I was finally home. It was the best feeling in the world, being in the arms of the woman that I knew was my future.

  “I’m falling hard for you, babe,” I murmured against her lips.

  “I’ve already fallen,” she replied.

  LEAH

  I

  hugged the bowls of Greek salad, Asian salad, and Gil’s special chocolate and coconut lamington ice cream close to my body as Gil rang the doorbell to Eric’s home. This was a fancy area, built into the hill by the golf course. The guy must’ve got paid a packet to be able to afford a place like this.

  Danger money. In his line of work, what else could it be?

  When Eric opened the door, his ice-like gaze traveled over both of us and I stiffened. The guy didn’t like me, I knew it. After so long as a stripper it had become easier for me to read people. No amount of military training could hide that from me. My hands tightened on the bowls as Gil gave his buddy a hug.

  “Now, let’s take a look at this place, hey?”

  I laughed quietly as I shook my head at Gil. His shyness lessened when he was around the people he cared about and the smartass in him came to the fore. It was incredibly sexy.

  Gil whistled low as he reached the top of the first set of stairs, which led to the great room. “This is posh.”

  The two of us took in the caged fireplace, a curved gray couch, the glass artworks, and glass dining table.

  Gil thumbed one of the glass sculptures. “What are these?”

  “Those were done by a local artist, the wife of a buddy of mine actually. You remember that time back in high school we went over to the coast? You know, the aquarium? There was that glass blowing place. That’s where she learned glass work and eventually went to college for it.”

  “Not the girl you paid to do body shots with me?” Gil’s mouth dropped open.

  “Hell no! She didn’t go to high school with us. Her husband is a Ranger buddy of mine.”

  “Who was that body shot chick?” Gil said it as though he was reminiscing but didn’t honestly care.

  Eric glanced over at me for a second before answering, “I don’t recall. And I never paid her. She paid me to set her up with you!”

  Gil sniggered self-consciously. “Whatever.”

  “Who wouldn’t want to do body shots with you, handsome?” I told him. “Heck, I’ll do ‘em with you for free, if you want me to.” I shifted as I began to lose a hold of my armful. “Uh, Eric, where should I put these?”

  “Hi there. I’m EZee, let me help you with that.” EZee took the bowls from me. “I’m just finishing up in the kitchen, would you care for a glass of wine?”

  A big, toothy smile stretched across my face as I followed her. “Sounds great, what do you have?”

  “Red or white? I prefer the Cab Sauvignon myself. It’s local.”

  I slapped the benchtop like it was a bar. “Hit me up, girlfriend.” I paused. “Sorry. That’s the Vegas girl coming out in me.”

  She only smiled and poured me a glass. She seemed a bit shy. The X to my Z. The Dano to my McGarrett. I hoped we could become friends the way Gil and Eric were. I always found it difficult to make lady friends in the past, given my… extracurricular activities. I sipped from the wine and nodded appreciatively.

  “Eric tells me you’re a trained chef. That must be exciting. I love to cook, but I don’t have any aspirations like that. However, I am writing a cookbook that I hope to publish someday. Most of it is my grandmother’s recipes from the farm.”

  “No kidding!” I lowered my wine to the bench. “Oh my god, food is my life. It’s like art to me. I love creating new dishes, dishes that people have never seen before, or spinning old favorites into something new. My aspirations in Vegas were maybe a little high. I wanted to be the best female chef on the Strip. I put a lot of pressure on myself. But I think I’d love to do something slower paced than a top Vegas restaurant now, so then I can spend more time with Gil.” I laughed self-consciously. “Sorry, I’m babbling.”

  “No, it’s great that you’re passionate and enthusiastic about what you love. Oregon is a great place. We have wonderful fresh food and the wine. Oh, my gosh, the wine rivals France. I have a huge garden on the farm––organic. You should come by sometime.”

  “Oh, my gosh. It sounds like a dream! I’d love to cook with some of your produce.” I leaned in closer to her. “Don’t tell Gil yet, but I’m hoping to find somewhere I can open up my own little restaurant where I can cook to my heart’s content and I can also serve his ice cream as part of my desserts.”

  “You have ambition. I love that quality in a person. I’ve been sort of thinking about selling my produce to the local restaurants—they’ve been asking. And there’s my grandmother’s lavender field. She used to make soaps, candles, creams, and such to sell along with her jams and jellies at the local farmer’s market. I’ve been meaning to do something about the lavender. The farm is getting a bit much for me to handle on my own.”

  I just about squealed as I bounced on the balls of my feet and took a hold of her wrist. “EZee, I have the best idea! The best! Soaps sound amazing, but do you know what’s even better? Goats milk soaps. And goats milk ice cream! It could totally be a thing!”

  “Well, that is what my neighbors across the street do. They have goats and sell goat milk. I have a horse farm. Currently, I board horses to keep the farm above water. It’s a good income.”

  “What if you could capitalise on that?” I challenged.

  “On what?”

  “Well, you board horses. What if you boarded people, too? A B
&B with a restaurant that offers a combination of traditional and modern cuisine? That sells soaps and wine and whatever else we make from the farm? It could be pet friendly, too, to an extent.”

  “My home is on the historic register, so chances of that are slim. However, the property across the street…. The neighbors I was telling you about with the goats? Mrs. Nichols says they’re going to sell it and move to Florida or Arizona. She can’t make up her mind.”

  I wrinkled up my nose. “Why does everyone want to move to hot places? You know they’ll just drop off the perch as soon as a severe heat wave rolls on through.” I snapped my mouth closed. Sometimes I was way too honest.

  “Or a hurricane.” EZee laughed. “You couldn’t pay me to move to Florida. Arizona, maybe. If you’re still here through the winter, you’ll know what I mean. S.A.D. is a real thing here in Oregon. We don’t get much sun at all in the winter months. That’s why most of us are pasty white.” She showed me the inside of her forearm.

  I cocked my head to the side. “S.A.D.?”

  “Seasonal Affective Disorder––due to lack of sun.”

  I threw my hands up. “I’m sure I’ll be okay. I have great friends to keep me company.” Oh, god, I think I was being too forward again. I gulped and looked at EZee with wide, anxious eyes. “I mean… I hope.” I twirled the glass absently.

  She held up her wine glass in a toast. “To making new friends.”

  I bit back on the goofy smile that begged to break free and clinked my glass against hers. “Friends.”

  “I hate to break up this little party, ladies, but dinner is done.” Eric stepped into the kitchen carrying a large tray with four T-bone steaks fresh off the grill. It didn’t escape my attention that he gave me the stink eye.

  I couldn’t help but inspect the steaks. After all those months working in Delmonico, I was quite particular. “How much pepper and salt did you use?”

  “Don’t even,” he said, then Gil came in carrying the baked potatoes. Eric didn’t finish what he’d been about to say.