by Alina Jacobs
“I have my eye on Carter Holbrook,” Stacy said giggling.
“Ah, yes. Mr. Moneybags,” Allie said with a snort.
“You mean billionaire heir,” Stacy replied, handing over three beers.
“I can’t believe his father dumped him in the military,” Allie said. If she had Holbrook family money, she would send her kids to nice places, not the military.
“He flunked out of Harvard,” Stacy told her. “He’s a tragic case though. His aunt killed his little cousins in that house fire over Christmas a few years back.”
“Oh he’s related to them?” Allie said. “That was a horrible story.” She had heard about that fire. It was international news after all, but she never had connected it to the Holbrook family. “You know all the gossip, don’t you?”
“Oh yes,” Stacy said, “I follow his family religiously. He was just in his cousin’s wedding. It was a lovely affair.” She sighed longingly.
“Hey!” Allie said banging a glass in front of Stacy, “Pour more drinks. I want to clear a thousand in tips tonight. I need to pay for another college course. I’m almost finished with my degree.”
Stacy wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe you’re actually are still trying to finish college. You’re almost thirty; it seems pointless now. Just stay a bartender. Tips are good and the view is nice,” she said and winked at an exceptionally muscular marine.
“I can’t bartend in my forties,” Allie scoffed. “I’m not going to end up like my mother and rely on an ever decreasing quality of men.”
“Well there’s no shortage of qualified men here,” Stacy said. Ducking back behind Allie to hook up another keg she said, “I’m landing a husband this year and I don’t care what I have to do.”
“Well, set your sights lower than Carter Holbrook. His parents won’t let him marry some trash like you.” Allie winked at her friend to let her know she was kidding. Stacy stuck her tongue out at Allie and slid the drinks across the bar. The owner of the Wildcat did a sound check on the speakers and handed Allie the microphone.
“Hey boys,” she said over the sound system. The marines all hooted as she jumped up on the bar. “It’s midnight and you know what that means!” She grinned at them as they catcalled her. “It’s shirtless contest time. Let’s have our first contestant up here.” The marine took a shot from one of his buddies then jumped up on the bar. His flexed his muscles and did a little dance.
Allie watched and made commentary as each of the ten contestants strutted up and down the bar top. The Wildcat held one of these contests every month or so, and she had the timing down pat. The last contestant was Carter Holbrook. He sprang up onto the bar in one fluid motion then stalked towards Allie.
“Last and perhaps the least, maybe his battle buddies can let us know what he looks like in the showers, Carter! Show us what you’ve got, devil dog!” The marines watching cheered as Allie pursed her lips at Carter.
The marine stopped directly in front of her and did a startlingly sexy stripper move. She could tell Carter Holbrook’s good breeding in the way he walked. He didn’t have a decades of stress lines on his face, his teeth were straight and white, and his hair, as long as it could be while still being in regulations was glossy. Though she considered herself a grizzled veteran of the Camp Les DesChamps bar scene, Allie blushed when Carter looked straight at her, a bedroom look in his eyes. He gave her a mock salute then back flipped off of the bar.
“Wow,” she said into the microphone, hoping no one notice the squeak in her voice. “Looks like someone isn’t drunk enough!” The marines all hollered. “Someone buy this man a drink and then I’ll make my decision.” She jumped off of the bar and helped Stacy fill more drink orders.
“Who are you going to pick?” Stacy asked her.
“Me, obviously,” Carter Holbrook said, pushing his way in front of the bar. He passed her ten one hundred dollar bills. “A round for everyone!” he yelled over the din of the bar. Allie started pouring drinks, pointedly ignoring Carter. He reached a hand over the bar to grab for her.
“No!” she said and smacked him on the hand with a metal spoon.
“Ouch!” he yelped jerking his hand back.
“Don’t reach over my bar,” she growled and gestured meaningfully with the spoon.
“Yes, ma’am.”
After the drinks were distributed, Allie grabbed the microphone and climbed back up on the bar. “It’s that time of the night boys. I’m going to declare a winner. We had a great showing tonight and I can tell no one’s been skipping PT.
“Who’s the winner?” someone yelled out. Allie smirked—she loved drawing this out.
“And after much careful deliberation, the winner is…” All the lights in the bar came on. The marines hissed and shielded their eyes.
“Hey!”
“What the—” her patrons cried. Several fire men pushed their way inside.
“Clear out! Clear out, now!” The head marshal pushed his way through to Allie and gestured for her to give him the microphone.
“Everyone needs to go back to base,” he announced. “This bar is over capacity. All of you need to leave immediately.”
He handed the microphone back to Allie.
“Sorry boys, you heard the fire marshal. Everyone settle your tab and exit please in an orderly fashion.”
As the marines either filed out of the bar or lined up to pay, she and Stacy hurried to settle any remaining tabs.
“Who won?” Carter demanded, cutting in front of the line.
“Contest was canceled,” she said while mentally trying to tally one man’s total.
“But—”
“You’ve already paid, so leave. Now,” she ordered.
Carter looked at her petulantly. “I would have won. I want my kiss.”
“Out!” she yelled.
Chapter 2
Carter
Shivering in the November chill, Carter walked back to the Les DesChamps base with his friends. Tyler was half carrying Leo who had just spent the majority of his paycheck on alcohol.
“I should have won,” Carter complained. Leo flung an arm around his shoulders.
“You were great,” he said, his alcohol-laced breath made Carter gag.
“Hold on,” his friend slurred. “Gotta use the men’s room.” He staggered over to a pile of trash. “Hold me up,” he said as he unbuttoned his pants, swaying. Carter propped his friend up as Leo watered the garbage heap. Carter heard something rustling in the trash pile.
Leo yelled, “It’s a rat! It’s going to bite my—”
“It’s not a rat,” Carter said as the animal nosed its way out of the garbage pile. “It’s a dog!”
“That is the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen,” said Tyler.
“Here pup pup!” Carter called, bending down and holding his hand out for the dog to sniff. The little white dog crept over to him, shivering.
“She’s probably cold,” he said. “You’re so skinny!” The dog looked ill. It was missing an eye and part of an ear and it walked with a limp due to an amputated front leg.
“What her name do you reckon?” Tyler asked as Leo pitched forward and landed face first in the urine-soaked garbage pile. Picking up the dog with one hand, Carter used the other to help Tyler haul Leo up. Gagging as the men slowly walked back to base, Carter said, “I think I’m going to call her Maggot. She’s little and white.”
Tyler nodded. “Makes sense to me.”
“Should we do a rideshare?” Carter asked.
“Not with that animal and Pukey McPukey face over here. A walk is good, it’s not that long. We’ll sober up in time for PT.”
The sun was just starting to rise as the guard at the gate greeted them. They weren’t allowed to have pets in the barracks, so Carter shoved the dog down the front of his pants.
“I bet we make it back just in time for PT,” Tyler said. Leo yawned and stretched as he handed over his ID. “Nice walk.”
“We carried you through most of it,�
�� Tyler said with a glare.
The guard waved them through, not asking about the bulge in Carters pants. He and his friends jogged the rest of the way back to the barracks and changed for PT.
“This sucks,” Carter said under his breath as their lieutenant stood in front of them practically dancing on the balls of his feet as he gave some stupid motivational speech.
“At least you’re almost out,” Tyler whispered him. “Couple more months and you’re a free man.”
“I won’t miss this place for one minute,” Carter said as they all started off on the morning run.
Carter could smell the alcohol wafting off of Leo as they walked back to the barracks after the lieutenant released them.
“I think you might have an alcohol problem,” he told his friend.
Leo made a rude gesture. “You’re about to have a dog problem. I heard a rumor that Sergeant is doing room inspections today. You need to find something to do with that animal.”
Carter ignored him. They never had room inspections on Fridays. He fished the dog out of the nest she had made in his dirty pants and headed to the showers. There wasn’t any hot water, of course, so he cleaned himself and the dog off as quickly as he could. While dressing in his room, a fist banged on the door.
“Inspection!”
“No,” Carter groaned as the door slammed open. He stood at attention as his sergeant and a corporal stepped into the room he shared with three other marines.
“Is that a dog?” his Sergeant asked after a moment. “You’re getting a write up, Lance Corporal, and that animal is going straight to the pound.”
“But it’s a kill shelter, sir,” Carter said. “And she’s not my dog. She belongs to a friend of mine; I found the dog wandering around. Just let me call my friend and—”
The Sergeant held up a hand. “You have thirty minutes and that animal better be gone when I come back.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” said Carter as the sergeant and the corporal left the room.
Carter slumped down on Tyler’s bunk. “What am I going to do?”
“You don’t have anyone you can call?”
“Not that could be here in thirty minutes!” Carter said and curled up on the bed. “Think,” he told himself. Something dug into his hip and he pulled an old pizza crust out from Tyler’s sheets.
The dog wagged her stubby tail. “This might be the last meal you eat,” he told her sorrowfully. The dog gnawed on the stale crust as Carter’s phone beeped. His rideshare app notified him he still had a 50% off his next ride.
“I think,” Carter said smiling, “I have a solution.”
Chapter 3
Allie
After spending hours arguing with the fire marshal, the Wildcat was slapped with a fine.
“You all keep having violations,” the fire marshal said sternly. “The noise complains, the trash your patrons leave outside. Y’all need to clean up your act.”
After they finally finished cleaning and prepping for the next evening, Allie washed her face then sat in her car and logged onto her phone for her next job, driving for a ridesharing service.
“You can take me home, right?” Stacy asked her.
“Sure,” Allie said, “but if a ride comes through I have to grab it,” she warned her roommate.
“It’s super early so there probably won’t be anyone needing a ride yet,” Stacy yawned.
“I hope so. I’m beat.”
As Allie pulled out onto the main road to take them to the small apartment they rented, a notification came through on her phone.
Pick up at camp Les DesChamps.
She accepted the ride
“That’s odd,” Allie said, taking a sharp turn to drive towards the base.
“I wonder who needs to be picked up at this hour,” Stacy said, snuggling down in her seat. Allie opened the windows.
“Hey it’s freezing!”
“We smell like stale booze. I don’t want a bad review,” she warned. “It’s probably some officer needing to go somewhere. The last thing I need is to lose this gig.”
After presenting their IDs at the front gate, Allie drove slowly to the pickup location indicated by the blue dot on the map. They stopped in front of the barracks.
“Oh my goodness,” Stacy said sitting upright in her seat. “It’s Carter Holbrook.”
“Hi,” Stacy said as they pulled up in front of him. He had a cardboard box in his hand. Allie tapped the rideshare app.
“You want to go to New York City?” she screeched. “I have to bartend tonight. I am not driving to New York City!”
“Look here,” Carter said, opening the door and climbing into the back seat of her car. Something in the box was moving.
“Is that a rat? What is that?” Allie demanded turning around in her seat.
“Relax,” Carter told her, “This is Maggot.”
“You brought maggots into my car? Get out. Now. And cancel this ride.”
“Please?” Carter said. “I just need you to babysit my dog until I can work something out. We aren’t allowed to have pets in the barracks.”
“I’m not driving your dog to New York,” she said.
“Then put in whatever destination you want. I just need you to hold the dog for me for a couple of days. Here,” he said handing her a wad of cash. “This should cover food, vet, grooming, whatever you need. If you spend more, here is my contact info,” he said taking her phone and typing in his information. Allie raised an eyebrow.
“Just look after her, ok? Please?”
“Fine,” Allie said. “Only for a few days.”
Stacy took the box from Carter, batting her eyelashes at him. Allie hit her friend lightly on the leg as Carter scooted out of the backseat. He gave Allie a thumbs up as she drove away.
Allie took a look at the dog and said, “That is the most pathetic animal I have ever seen.”
“I think she’s a Chihuahua mix,” Stacy said. Allie changed the destination to a veterinary clinic across town. After calling to see if they would take a walk in, she and Stacy drove over.
She received a text from Carter while they sat in the waiting room.
Everything ok?
Allie wrote back,
I’m changing her name. How does Margot sound?
Carter replied,
Perfect!
“This dog is just hungry and dirty,” the vet said after looking Margot over. He pulled two ticks from behind her ear and gave Allie some flea medicine.
“Let’s go shopping!” Stacy said holding up the little dog. At the store, they filled up the cart with toys, treats, and grooming items. Stacy also found several little outfits for the dog that Allie thought were too expensive.
“We are not wasting Carter’s money on those,” Allie said with a frown as Stacy presented the pink sparkly dresses she had selected.
“Just a sweater?” Stacy pleaded. “Look, she’s cold!” Margot shivered and Allie relented.
In the car, Allie logged back into the rideshare app then decided against it and closed it. She still had all that money from Carter. It had been more than enough to cover food, bedding, and the vet bills. The leftover amount was more than what she would earn driving for the rideshare company in a week. She sighed to herself.
“What wrong?” Stacy asked as she dug through the bag of goodies they had bought for Margot.
“Just wish I was born rich is all,” Allie said as she drove them back to their apartment.
“Maybe you can land a nice officer,” Stacy said. “But not Carter. He’s mine so hands off!”
Allie laughed, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
After returning to the small apartment she shared with Stacy, Allie logged onto her computer and started working on that week’s homework for her actuarial science and statistics double major. She tried to concentrate on the complex mathematical formulas, but she kept letting herself be distracted as she perused the internet for photos and information on Carter Holbrook. There were pictures of him in
his cousin’s wedding, and older pictures from his little cousins’ funeral.
Allie read that their mother, Danielle, had died a year ago. She was killed by Carter’s father when trying to kidnap Grant Holbrook, Carter’s long lost cousin.
“Their family sure is complicated,” she muttered to herself. Margot lay at her feet, fed, clean and warm. Allie reached down to pet the dog, who grumbled in her sleep.
“Glad I don’t have a family to deal with.” Allie had run away from home almost eleven years ago when she was still in high school. Her mother’s creepy husband had come into her room one night when he thought she was sleeping. She hit him in the head with a lamp, and he tried to strangle her.
There was a story in the paper the next day about a girl Allie’s age who disappeared and was found dead weeks later. The girl’s step father was arrested. It was a wakeup call as Allie didn’t want that to be her. So she stole money and packed up her things and headed east. She was going to try to go to New York City, but only made it as far as North Carolina.
“It’s nice here though,” she told Margot. “Rent is cheap, the internet is pretty fast, and the Marine Corps base means there’s always people to buy alcohol.”
It was a little lonely though. She didn’t dare date any of the Marines. They were all patrons at her bar and she had a strict rule of not dating customers. Ever. She had tried it once and it had gone horribly, terribly wrong.
She flipped back to the tab of Kate and Grant Holbrook’s elaborate wedding. Wistfully, Allie let herself daydream about becoming rich and marrying a handsome man. She would live in a beautiful house and have a fun and carefree existence and all of her problems would be solved.
Chapter 4
Carter
That weekend, Carter flipped through the photos of Margot that Allie sent him. The little dog looked happy and safe. One of the pictures was a selfie of Allie and the dog. The hard-nosed bartender looked young and pretty in the photo. Carter was so used to seeing her all in black in a dimly lit establishment.
