A Soldier Finds His Way

by Irene Onorato

  “You don’t have to say anything else, sweetie,” Vanessa said.

  “No, Mom, I want to tell it.” She wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve. “I want to tell how Edward saved us from the water.”

  All eyes were on Zoe, and not a single one was dry.

  “I heard a dog barking. Then I saw Edward.” Zoe went on to recount, in her childlike way, how Edward rescued her and went back for Audra.

  Audra’s jaw quivered. She covered her face with her hands and wept.

  Mom put an arm around her.

  Zoe sniffled. “Edward put Aunt Audra on the ground near me and blew into her mouth and pressed her chest, like this.” She demonstrated on the coffee table. “Then, Aunt Audra came alive again. After that, Edward carried both of us all the way up the hill to the cabin. Then, when we got inside, he had to help Aunt Audra again because she was—” She threw herself into Vanessa’s chest and cried without restraint.

  Kyle and Hank’s voices approached from the direction of the stairs.

  Zoe sat up and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Her crying diminished to sniffles.

  Audra’s heart warmed as Hank and Kyle entered the living room. She’d always be grateful for the part Hank played in her rescue.

  Kyle introduced Hank to everyone.

  Dad shook Hank’s hand vigorously and couldn’t seem to stop thanking him for his participation in the rescue. He gushed praises for Hank, Edward, and the team that brought the girls home.

  “When Major Greco called us, we were elated,” Dad said. “I can’t even begin tell you how overwhelmed we were with relief to find out our girls were safe. Greco told us how Lieutenant Giordano, Edward, saved them from the river, and how you went to find Edward for him and ended up assisting with the rest of the rescue.”

  Dad sat and invited Hank with a hand gesture to do likewise. “After that first call, the major continued to keep us updated. By late last night, he told us he was able to secure a helicopter and a couple of pilots. He also said the team’s medic came up from his home in Virginia to offer his assistance instead of meeting up with the team at Fort Bragg.

  “Today, when I heard the helicopter in the distance, I got a lump in my throat the size of a baseball. When it landed and I saw Zoe and Audra get out. Let’s just say it was a moment that’ll live right here,” he tapped his chest, “for a long, long time.”

  Audra smiled at Hank. “Just think. If you hadn’t insisted Edward take Cricket with him to the cabin, this story might not have such a happy ending. Let’s not forget we promised her a celebration with a big, juicy bone.”

  Dad chimed in. “Oh, don’t worry, she’ll get her bone. I’ll see to that. Where is she?”

  Kyle answered. “She’s in one of the guest rooms. Lying on the bed.”

  Hysterical laughter broke out among the family.

  Hank’s perplexed face let Audra know he didn’t get the humor in what Kyle had said.

  Audra explained. “Dad never let us have a dog in the house, much less on the bed.”

  Hank stood. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll just go—”

  “Bah.” Dad waved him back down into his chair. “As far as I’m concerned, that dog can sleep in bed between Josie and me tonight, under the covers, and she can use my pillow if she’d like.”

  Audra enjoyed the laughter that filled the room for some time, followed by a few minutes of silence as worry and stress gave way to peace and contentment.

  Mom stood to her feet. “I think we’d better get Audra to the clinic to get her arm x-rayed and have the doctor give her a good looking-over. Let’s take Zoe, too. It wouldn’t hurt to have the doctor make sure she’s in tip-top shape as well.”

  Mom and Zoe started for the door.

  Audra followed, but turned before leaving the living room. “Hank, you’ll stay with us for a day or two, won’t you?”

  “I’d like that. Thanks for asking.”

  * * * *

  They returned from the clinic and Audra retreated into the living room and dropped onto the couch.

  Vanessa sank into the cushion beside her.

  Zoe skipped into the house and immediately sucked a deep breath through her nose. “Grandpa is cooking something that smells delicious.” She scampered toward the kitchen with Josie on her heels.

  Audra held up her new cast. “Six weeks of this. How will I ever manage?” She stuck a finger as deep into the cast as it could go. “Oh, Vanessa, it itches so badly. I think I’ll go nuts before this thing comes off.”

  Vanessa scooted closer and leaned against Audra’s shoulder. “Tell me about this Edward. What was he like?”

  “For one thing, he’s as handsome as a man could possibly be.” She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured his godlike body, muscles that rippled every time he moved, and eyes that melted her to the core. Handsome didn’t come close to describing him.

  Vanessa poked Audra’s leg. “You’re awfully stingy with information. I want to know more than that. I want to know everything.”

  “I’d say he’s about six feet tall, steel blue eyes, very dark hair, and nicely built.” An understatement for sure. “He’s sweet, he’s grouchy, he’s nice, and he’s nasty. He was mean to Zoe at first, but he apologized later. I haven’t completely figured him out.”

  “More.” Vanessa encouraged with a nudge.

  Audra scooched even closer and took her sister’s hand. “Vee,” she said, using Vanessa’s pet name. “I want to tell you about the day when Hank arrived at the cabin. Zoe may tell you about this later, but I want to make sure you know the facts from my point of view.”

  “Go on.”

  “The cabin was primitive, with no electricity or running water, just a hand pump at the kitchen sink. Zoe was sitting on the kitchen counter pumping water so we could take a bath. Edward and I were sitting across the room watching her. Suddenly, Cricket growled and we heard something outside.”

  Vanessa stared, wide-eyed, as if she expected to hear something horrible.

  “In a flash, Edward got up and took Zoe off the counter and shoved her toward me. The door flew open and Hank stood in the doorway. Of course, we didn’t know it was Hank just then. He was wearing a big parka and goggles. Edward placed himself in front of me and Zoe, and pointed a gun at Hank.”

  “He had a gun? Oh, my.” Vanessa put her hand over her heart and gasped.

  “Vee, Edward was willing to shoot anyone who tried to hurt us. That’s the point I’m trying to make. Don’t you see?” She squeezed Vanessa’s hand. “This shouldn’t upset you, it should make you thankful that we were under his care and protection. Once he knew that the stranger was actually Hank, he put the gun high up on a kitchen shelf, out of Zoe’s reach, and I never saw it again.”

  Vanessa composed herself with a deep breath. “You’re right. If Hank had been a madman instead of a friend, Edward would have protected you and Zoe.” She nodded slowly.

  “Audra,” Vanessa said. “I’m going to ask you something personal and I expect an honest answer. Did anything happen between you and Edward?”

  “I can’t believe you would even ask that.” Audra scooched forward and started to get up.

  Vanessa pulled her back.

  Stern and unsmiling, Vanessa continued. “Did anything happen? I have to know.”

  “If you mean something of a sexual nature, the answer is unequivocally, no.” She breathed a little harder and slipped into defensive mode. “Edward would never—”

  “Take it easy. I was simply going to ask if you two developed feelings for each other. But, you don’t need to say anything. I see it in your face and hear it in your voice every time you speak his name that you’ve formed an attachment to him.”

  “But how could I? No, I couldn’t have.”

  “It’s okay, sis.” Vanessa patted her hand. “Let’s sit back and relax for a while. It’s been a long day.”

  Audra snuggled close, rested her head on Vanessa’s shoulder and
closed her eyes. Stress began to melt from her weary body. It wouldn’t take much of a nudge to make her fall asleep.

  “Was it scary riding in the helicopter?”

  Audra’s eyes popped open at the sound of Vanessa’s voice. A little laugh puffed through her nostrils. “Not nearly as scary as being hoisted up into the belly of the beast by a cable. That was terrifying.”

  “What?” Vanessa pivoted and faced Audra. “Why didn’t they just land the thing and let you guys get on like normal people?”

  “They couldn’t. Too many trees.”

  “Poor Zoe. She must have been scared out of her mind.” Vanessa put a hand on Audra’s knee. “And you too, I’m sure.”

  “Zoe was happy as a lark, chattering the whole way as we walked from the cabin to the spot where we were going to get picked up.” Audra laughed. “Your little trouper was still jabbering away while the helicopter hovered overhead and Hank tethered his and Zoe’s harnesses together on the cable. She shrieked when their feet left the ground. But, once inside the chopper, she was wide-eyed with excitement and seemed to enjoy everything about the flight.”

  “And you?” Vanessa smiled.

  Audra laughed. “Being pulled up into the helicopter was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”

  * * * *

  Later that night, Audra lay in her bed tossing and turning.

  Hank’s voice carried over from the next room. Clearly, he was talking to Cricket.

  She pulled on her robe and left her room. Hank’s door stood ajar and as she neared, Cricket ran to greet her. Audra went in and took a seat on the edge of the bed while Hank sat on the floor with his back up against the dresser, petting the dog.

  Hank patted Cricket’s hip and nodded with approval. “She’s back to normal now.”

  Audra mustered the courage to bring up the subject she came to talk about. There didn’t seem to be a way to segue into it, so she got straight to the point. “What can you tell me about Edward? One moment he could be charming, and the next, well, not so much. Whenever I asked him about anything that even hinted of a personal nature, he put up defensive shields. He seemed to have trouble relating to children, too. I don’t understand why.”

  Hank rose, pulled the desk chair close to Audra, and sat. “My brother seems to like you a lot, so I’ll tell you a little bit about him. Before Edward came to live with us, he’d been bounced around the foster care system. At one point, he ended up with foster parents who…” He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his bearded chin, as if deciding how much to divulge. “It’s a sad fact that there are people out there who can hurt children in ways that leave scars no one will ever see. These people did things to him that can only be described as torture. I won’t elaborate. By the time he came to live with us he didn’t trust anyone.”

  Audra blinked back the tears that threatened.

  Hank went on. “Our foster parents—”

  “Benjamin and Marlene?”

  “That’s right. They tried everything to win Edward’s affection. I think in his own way he does love them. But, he wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t bring himself to call them Mom and Dad, like I did.”

  He smiled. “Mom has always shown affection with hugs and kisses. She’d wrap her arms around him and try to hug him, and he’d stand statue-still, board-straight with his arms to his side, looking away from her. The first time I saw him reject her like that, I wanted to bash his face in.”

  Hank’s scraggly beard bobbed as he spoke. “I followed him up to his room and slammed the door behind me. I shoved him and was going to knock him clear into tomorrow. I got right in his face and shouted, what’s the matter with you? Who do you think you are treating Mom like that? All she wanted to do was give you a hug.”

  Riveted, Audra leaned closer. “What did he say?”

  “He said, ‘Nobody ever really loves you. It’s all just for show.’ I saw in his face that he actually believed what he said. He’d given up. He’d been running on empty for so long that he didn’t think it was possible for anyone to love him. I began to understand how broken he was, and my anger disappeared.”

  “Did he ever learn to accept her embraces?”

  “Over the years he loosened up, but he never reciprocated, if that’s what you mean. Look, I don’t want to paint my brother as some nut case. He’s not. He puts up walls, but he’s not an impenetrable fortress.”

  Audra absorbed Hank’s words. “Thanks for telling me all this.” She rose to leave but stopped short at the door and turned.

  “Hank, do you think I have any chance of making it across the moat into his castle?”

  Hank smiled and rubbed his beard one more time before giving a slow nod. “I think he would lower the drawbridge for you.”

  Chapter 12

  Edward leaned back in his seat and tried to divert his thoughts from Audra. He switched his headset back to the common channel. “Hey, Greco, where’re we headed?”

  “Nicaragua. First, we’ll return this bird to Stewart Airport.”

  “What about the rest of the guys?”

  “They’re already gearing up at Bragg. We’ll join up with them down there. They didn’t have this rotten weather to contend with.”

  “What do you know about this mission?”

  “From what I understand, we’ll investigate a weapons cache. Supposedly stolen US assets. I don’t have all the details yet, but that’s the gist of it.”

  Pensive, Edward sat, elbows on knees, picking at his fingernails, staring at the floor. A few minutes ago, Audra had been next to him. The adjacent seat cushion still bore the indentation from her weight. He groaned and held his head low.

  Jackson and Dexter stared at him with stupid grins.

  “What are you looking at, and what’s so funny?”

  They chuckled, and made no attempt to hide their amusement.

  “Nothing. Nothing at all,” Dexter said.

  “Nothing, huh? Then quit looking at me. Go on, mind your own business.”

  Dexter and Jackson laughed even more.

  “She was cute, LT. Real cute.” Dexter’s comment added fuel to Edward’s mounting anger.

  “Shut up, Dexter. Say one more word and I’ll knock that stupid grin off your face.” He coiled his fingers into tight fists and poised himself for a lunge at Dexter.

  “Lieutenant, stand down.” Greco stepped in to diffuse the situation.

  Edward obeyed at once and sat back, cracking his knuckles before relaxing his hands. He continued to glare at the two, but he calmed down and recognized Greco had prevented an all-out brawl.

  “And you two idiots,” Greco said to Jackson and Dexter, “shut your mouths and quit provoking him.”

  * * * *

  Monkeys howled and chattered in the unseen recesses of the Nicaraguan jungle. Cicadas whined in rising and falling volume.

  “Backup? You’re kidding me. We don’t do backup. We aren’t a contingency unit.” Edward’s complaints were met by Greco’s shrug.

  “Look, I don’t like it any more than you do,” Greco said, “but we got here late, so they got first dibs.”

  Sweat drizzled down Edward’s temple. He wiped it and dried his hand on his pants. “Whose unit is here?”

  “Lieutenant Harmon and his guys. They’re taking the lead. I’m going to be in the command center.”

  “Harmon’s a good guy. But still.” Edward shook his head. “Backup.”

  “It is what it is.” Greco shrugged.

  “Yeah. I guess. Where can we stow our gear? Where will we be quartered?”

  “You’re going to love this.” Greco snorted. “The locals prepared our luxury suites over there.”

  Twin shacks stood at the edge of the tree line looking as if they could fall in at any moment. No windows or doors. Just holes with mosquito netting hanging over the openings.

  Edward stepped into the nearest one-room shack. The team stood outside, milling around.
“Hammocks. I see backaches in our future, boys.” Five hammocks stretched from wall to wall across the room in front of them, the first one only a few feet from the doorway.

  Peanut tossed his duffel bag onto the first one. “I claim this one.”

  Greco flipped the hammock and dumped Peanut’s bag onto the ground. “I don’t think so, kiddo.” He put his own duffel bag on it. “You see that one, way in the back of the room? You claim that one.”

  Edward, Dexter, and Jackson snorted with laughter as Peanut complied and ducked under the ropes until he got to the back of the room. Being the lowest-ranking man in the unit, he had to put up with this sort of treatment.

  Peanut laughed. “Hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  Marcus stood in the doorway. “Guess I’ll take the rest of the guys and settle into the Hilton annex.” He turned to go.

  “Hey, Rev.”

  Marcus came inside and looked at Edward. “Yes?”

  “What’s the holy book got to say about us living in a dump like this?”

  A smile split Marcus’s face. “It says to be content wherever you are and to do all things without complaining.”

  Edward dropped his bag onto his hammock. He should have known Marcus would come up with something positive.

  * * * *

  Edward shook Lieutenant Harmon’s hand. They stood outside the rickety buildings Edward’s team occupied.

  “The people in this village are dirt poor,” Harmon said. “I’m talking seriously dirt poor. When we first got here, we were ticked off at the lousy living arrangements.” He pointed to similar shacks that housed his team. “But I’m done complaining.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Did you know that several families vacated these buildings for us? That’s right. When they found out we were coming, they packed up their kids and meager belongings, and doubled up with other families. It kind of makes you think twice about griping, doesn’t it?”