Uncle Sarge

by Bonnie Gardner

  Chapter Six

  Rich wondered what kind of favor could possibly be bigger than the one he’d just done. Hell, dropping two little kids he didn’t even know on him with no notice was pretty damned huge. “Sure. What?” Maybe she needed him to help with Sherry. He could do that.

  “I spent all night on the phone and half the morning trying to get someone to take Mrs. Dahlstrom’s place, but…” Her voice trailed off, and wearing a sheepish look on her face, she shrugged.

  The impact of what Rebecca was leading up to hit him with the force of a mortar round at close range, and Rich stopped dancing and stood motionless in the middle of the dance floor. Still, he waited, holding his breath. He had a rapidly sinking feeling he knew what was coming next, and he fervently hoped he was wrong.

  “It’s a holiday weekend. Most of the people who know the kids have already made plans. Even the employment agencies had closed by the time I realized I couldn’t find anyone.” She took a quick breath, then charged on. “I don’t have any family in Pensacola, so you’re the only person left I can call on.” She glanced toward the table where Sherry sat with Carter on her lap and Caitlyn leaned over the arm of the wheelchair. “I hate going on my honeymoon now, but all along, Sherry has insisted that I not change my plans on her account.”

  Rich exhaled slowly, then drew in a deep, long breath while he tried to formulate his answer. He didn’t know whether he was stalling till he could come up with a good excuse or just postponing the inevitable.

  What did he know about kids? He was a busy man. He was trained to kill, he wanted to protest. He really did want to say no, but the truth was, in the short time he’d spent with Caitlyn and Carter, he’d come to like the kids. Maybe even love them. They had given him a taste of the family life he hadn’t realized he’d missed growing up in foster care.

  Sure, there had been problems last night, but they’d been nothing he couldn’t handle. At least, with Jennifer’s help, he’d done fine. He looked around for Jennifer who was still dancing with Tom Williams, and experienced a twinge of unfounded jealousy. With the responsibility of the kids there, maybe he’d still have a reason to keep Jennifer coming around.

  Why he wanted to keep her coming around, he still didn’t know. Or maybe he did know, but he couldn’t admit it. He knew there was no point in pursuing a relationship with any woman. Marriage was just not for him. Not after the royal mess his own parents had made of theirs. He might be able to handle these kids for a few days, but he had no confidence at all that he could manage it for the long haul. No, he wasn’t going to take any chances with anybody else’s future.

  “Rich?” Rebecca’s voice trembled, the tone uncertain.

  Still, he couldn’t force himself to answer. Not until he’d weighed all the options, examined every side of the issue. He had just come in from a weeklong exercise, so he wouldn’t be going out again soon, he reminded himself. He had leave coming if he needed to take it. Yeah, he guessed he could do it. He drew in a deep breath, and started to answer, but Rebecca spoke first.

  “Tom and I have already agreed that we’ll take the kids when we get back from the honeymoon. And we’ll work something out for Sherry after she’s out of rehab and keep things going until she’s back on her feet.” She looked at him, her big green eyes wide and pleading. “We are newlyweds, Rich. Let us have our honeymoon.”

  How could he deny that request? Rebecca had done so much for Sherry already, and he had done so little. Hell, she wasn’t even family. Sure, he would have taken Sherry and the kids in if it had come to that, but she needed to be close to her doctors, and it would be far easier on everyone involved if she didn’t have to move from Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach.

  The music stopped and the pregnant silence seemed to demand an answer even more than Rebecca’s questioning green eyes. “If we don’t do something, the kids might end up with Child Protective Services.”

  She had to hit him with the big gun. Rebecca surely had to know how he and Sherry felt about that. They’d do anything and everything to keep those kids out of the system. It might have served them well enough, but it wasn’t a choice he’d willingly make for any child. Especially, not his own niece and nephew. He’d have to tell Rebecca yes.

  He knew he wouldn’t regret it, but he wasn’t sure how he was going to do it. Rich closed his eyes, issued a silent prayer to whatever deities might be listening and answered. “Yes,” he told her. “I’ll do my best.”

  Rebecca threw her arms around him and squeezed him in a hug so tight, he wondered how long it would take to fill his lungs again. “Yess,” she breathed. “Yess. Oh, thank you, Rich. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  Maybe it was damned stupid of him to feel so good about his decision, but Rich did. Maybe he didn’t know squat about taking care of kids, but he hadn’t harmed them so far. Maybe they’d all survive the next week. And, considering his crash course in child care—mostly on-the-job training—it could only get easier.

  Rich nodded toward where Jennifer stood with Tom. “Was Tom supposed to work on Jennifer while you were sweet-talking me?”

  Rebecca looked puzzled for a minute. “What? Oh, you mean try to convince your girlfriend? No. It just seemed polite to exchange partners.”

  He should have corrected her about the girlfriend thing, but Rich didn’t. After all, though it wasn’t exactly true, he’d like it to be if things were different and he were the right kind of man. “Well, let me be the one to tell her.”

  The music began again, and Rebecca stepped out of Rich’s arms. “Sure.” She started to leave, then stopped and looked back. “Thanks again, Rich.”

  Rich sighed. Come Tuesday morning he was going to have to go into the section and convince Captain Thibodeaux that he was going to need some time off. He hadn’t been assigned to this unit for very long, and he didn’t know Thibodeaux that well, but he’d seemed like a fair man. And, if he remembered correctly, he had a kid of his own.

  Maybe he’d understand.

  And Thibodeaux would probably be easier to convince than Jennifer. Rich looked around for her. He was going to have to break the news to her somehow, and considering his own reaction to Rebecca’s desperate request, he figured he had his work cut out for him.

  He looked around for Jennifer, but didn’t see her in the crowd. Tom had already reclaimed his bride, and Jennifer wasn’t dancing with anyone else. Nor was she sitting with Sherry at their table.

  For that matter, he didn’t see Sherry or the kids.

  Where had they gone?

  JENNIFER FINISHED changing Carter’s diaper, expertly fastening it around his chubby middle and pulling his navy shorts back up over his well-padded behind. She hadn’t thought much about the problems associated with Sherry’s condition, but seeing the way the woman watched so longingly as Jennifer took care of Sherry’s child, she began to understand. Confined to the chair, Sherry hadn’t been able to reach the changing table in the ladies’ room, and Jennifer could see that it hurt her not to be able to give her child even that most basic care.

  It was going to be a long time before Sherry would be able to cope with the children on her own. Jennifer wondered what kind of arrangements Rebecca had worked out, and she wondered what Sherry thought about strangers taking care of her kids.

  “You do that like a pro,” Sherry commented as Jennifer stashed the baby wipes back in the bag and tossed the soiled diaper in the can. “Rich is so lucky to have your help.”

  Jennifer picked Carter up and placed him back in Sherry’s arms. She could see that the excitement of the day had begun to catch up with Sherry. Her face was pale and gray shadows surrounded her blue eyes. She smiled and took a seat on the couch in the ladies’ lounge across from Sherry’s wheelchair. “It was just a case of the blind leading the blind, I suppose,” she said, smiling as Caitlyn came out of a stall and washed her hands like a big girl.

  “Rich seems to think that knowing what to do is part of the standard female package. Prior to yesterday, I mig
ht have argued with him.” She bent down to tweak Carter’s chubby cheek. “But maybe he was closer to the mark than I thought.”

  Sherry smiled, her wan face seeming to brighten with it. “My big brother might not be as dumb as he looks.” She drew in a deep breath and smiled again, this one softer. “Seriously, I think more people are born with the right instincts than not. The bad behavior is learned, not inborn.”

  Jennifer wondered why she had said that, but didn’t get a chance to question it.

  “You know, Rich and I didn’t have the best childhood. We were raised in foster care after our mother died. Our foster parents were nice people, and life was pretty comfortable with them, but Rich wasn’t with them long enough to really know a normal family life.” Sherry paused a moment, a faraway look in her eyes. “Daddy abused alcohol, he abused our mother and he abused us. He was a pretty good guy when he was dry and sober, but when…” She swallowed and looked off into the distance. Then she cleared her throat. “Life was pretty bad around our house until he went into a veterans’ hospital.” She paused again and blinked at brightness in her eyes. “He died there,” she finished, her voice thick with emotion.

  Sherry shook her head and forced a brittle smile. “Mama tried, but she was sick herself.” She sighed and looked away.

  “Sherry, you don’t have to—”

  But Sherry cut her off with a wave of her hand. “Yes, I do. I think Rich’s way of seeing life and the world has been colored by it. He looks a lot like Daddy…before he got so out of control. I think Rich is afraid that he’s going to turn out like him.”

  Jennifer’s breath caught.

  Sherry continued. “But Rich has been so good with the kids. So patient. I don’t think he has anything to worry about,” she said.

  Jennifer wondered why Sherry felt she had to tell her that. Was she trying to convince her to hang in there? Or was she warning her away?

  She’d already had a taste of life with a man who couldn’t control his baser instincts. Did she want to risk a repeat of the same thing with Rich?

  “Come on,” said Sherry. “We’ve been hiding in here long enough. Surely, somebody’s been wondering where we are.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Jennifer answered absently, her mind churning with troubled thoughts. For a few brief hours she’d hoped that maybe something was starting to develop between her and Rich Larsen. Now, maybe it wasn’t such a good thing. Jennifer pushed the door to the rest room open, then wheeled Sherry through.

  Maybe it was good that somebody else was going to be taking care of the kids. Maybe it was a good thing that she and Rich wouldn’t have an excuse to see each other after today.

  RICH COULDN’T HELP thinking that Rebecca had put her honeymoon on the line by trusting that he’d make the right decision. What if he had said no? Would she have had to cancel her wedding trip? He knew she wouldn’t have let the kids become wards of the state.

  Maybe it was cynical, but he’d bet Rebecca had counted on him not being able to turn her down, not after she’d thrown in the bit about putting the kids in foster care. He smiled wryly as he helped himself to a plate of hors d’oeuvres and scanned the room again for Jennifer and his family.

  He took a bite from a mini-egg roll and thought while he chewed.

  Okay, maybe Rebecca had banked a lot on him not being able to turn down her request at the wedding reception, but she hadn’t been devious. He didn’t know Rebecca well, but he was pretty sure that she’d exhausted every possibility before she’d come to him again. She might have been able to find somebody to stay with the kids if she paid them enough, but just thinking about it bothered Rich. He didn’t like the idea of his niece and nephew—his family—being taken care of by strangers.

  His family. He liked the sound of that. It had been a very long time since he’d thought of himself in the context of a familial group. It felt good to know that he belonged to people who were bound to him by blood. He had formed some strong ties while in the air force, especially among the combat control operators he worked with, but it wasn’t the same. Those guys could walk out of his life at any time and never look back.

  It pleased him to know that Sherry had been thinking about him all that time. Even if it had taken her too long to get over her hurt feelings about being left behind and start to look for him.

  “Uncle Witch, Uncle Witch.” Caitlyn’s clear, treble voice brought him out of his thoughts.

  “Yeah, short stuff?” He turned, to see the entire gang returning to the table they’d deserted earlier. Where had they been?

  “Mommy says that Aunt Webecca is gonna frow her bokay, and whoever gets it is gonna get married next. Did you know about that?”

  Jennifer’s mouth twitched at Caitlyn’s simplistic assessment of the tradition, and Rich arched an eyebrow. It almost sounded as if his niece thought that the next wedding would occur immediately. Rich chuckled and placed his plate on the table. “It doesn’t quite happen that quick,” he explained to the child as he swung her up into his arms. “Do you need to be first in line?”

  Caitlyn’s little face puckered up with a confused look. “Huh?”

  Rich grinned. “Just thought maybe you had a guy all picked out and you were just waiting for a chance to snag him.”

  “Oh, Uncle Witch. You are so silly. I’m only four. I have to go to high school first.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I think Jen’fer needsa get it. She doesn’t have a daddy she’s married wif.”

  Caitlyn’s remark hit too close to home, and Rich didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t sure how he felt about marriage, but he was definitely interested in Jennifer. On the other hand, he didn’t know how she felt about him.

  Rich glanced over at Jennifer and Sherry and shot them a “can-you-help-me-out-here?” look, but Jennifer just produced a weak smile and shrugged. Sherry’s reaction was much the same. He wouldn’t be getting any help from that quarter.

  His best defense was a good offense. “How about another piece of cake?” he suggested, hoping the diversion would get Caitlyn’s—and his—mind off that subject.

  “’Kay,” Caitlyn answered happily. “Can we get some for Mommy, too?”

  “Of course, we can,” he said. After all, getting cake was a lot easier than having to answer all the questions that Caitlyn kept coming up with.

  Sherry leaned over to Jennifer and whispered softly, “You’d better watch out. It looks like Caitlyn is horning in on your territory.”

  Jennifer could see that Caitlyn was clearly besotted with her newfound uncle—“weddy dress” episode notwithstanding—but she wasn’t sure what Sherry meant by her statement. Rich wasn’t her possession. She had no claim on Rich. After the wedding, she’d go back to doing computer research with Checkmate, and he’d be flying off to exotic places at a moment’s notice and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

  She’d been there with a man who’d done that. Had nothing but divorce papers and a wounded heart to show for it. She didn’t need it again.

  She wanted stability. A nice, steady guy who made a comfortable living and came home at five-thirty every night and loved only her. Somebody like an accountant. Yeah, an accountant. Maybe, he’d be busy during tax season, but there were still nine or ten other months of the year when she could depend on him. Yeah, that was it.

  Then she looked at Rich and wondered how many accountants could fill a mess dress uniform or a tux—and a room, she couldn’t help thinking—like Rich did. She shrugged mentally. It was a trade-off she’d just have to live with.

  Of course, she’d have to meet an accountant first.

  “Okay, everybody. It’s time for Rebecca to throw the bouquet,” Mrs. Benton announced, clapping her hands to gain attention. “Single girls need to line up over here.”

  Jennifer watched with amused interest as an elderly lady, a couple of teenage girls and the maid of honor gathered near the side door of the banquet hall. She hoped the maid of honor got it, and she hoped the woman knew what she was get
ting into. Jennifer wasn’t interested in a husband, nor was she interested in some silly ritual that didn’t mean anything in the scheme of things.

  Rich returned with Caitlyn, and a stack of paper plates with a jumble of cake slices on the top plate. He dealt them out like a Las Vegas card dealer and distributed cake all around. After he had doled it all out, he leaned toward Jennifer. “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  “Sure.” Jennifer arched a brow. She supposed it had something to do with the plans for getting the kids to the sitter Rebecca had arranged. “Go ahead.”

  “Not here.” Rich jerked his head toward an empty corner of the room. “Over there.”

  She couldn’t help wondering why, but Jennifer followed Rich away from the table. “What’s up?”

  “There’s been a slight change of plans,” he said, sucking in a deep breath.

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “What kind of change?”

  The drummer from the five-piece combo that had provided the music for the party executed a drumroll, and Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. At least, she’d be safe from that spectacle over here in the corner.

  “No, wait!” Mrs. Benton held up her hand like a cop stopping traffic, causing Jennifer and Rich to turn. “We don’t have all the single girls over here yet.” She came barreling across the room toward them, and Jennifer had a sinking feeling she was going to have to participate whether she wanted to or not.

  “Rich Larsen. Go wheel your sister over to where she can see what’s going on.” She turned to Jennifer and leveled a pointed glare at her. “The rest of the single ladies are waiting for you, missy,” Mrs. Benton said to Jennifer, her hands planted authoritatively on her hips. When Jennifer didn’t move, she motioned with her hands. “Shoo. Go on. Rebecca and Tom have a plane to catch. They’re going to be late.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Rich said, saluting.

  Jennifer blew out an exasperated breath and followed Rich over to his sister. “What were you going to tell me about?” she asked as Rich unlatched the wheel locks on Sherry’s chair and pushed her toward the rest of the gathered wedding guests.