by Morse, K. A.
Copyright © 2019 K.A. Morse
Published by K.A. Morse
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced/transmitted/distributed in any form. No part of this publication shall be shared by any means including photocopying, recording, or any electronic/mechanical method, or the Internet, without prior written consent of the authors. Cases of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law are the exception. The unauthorized reproduction/transmitting of this work is illegal
Published in the United States of America
Edited By: Michelle’s Edits
Cover By: EVE Graphic Design LLC
Formatted By: Kassie Morse
This book is for a friend who never batted an eye when I gave him crap from day one! Who was like family before he left this earth. The only thing he loved more than saying- Fuck off Jim, was his family. Brandon you are truly missed by us all. Not one day goes by we don’t think of you.
Brandon Harris
March 1,1989 - May 13, 2017
Contents
Sassy Girl
Rocco
Mission Time
The Rain
O+ Blood Type
Chow Time
Ghost Town
Cheap Motel
Supercenter
Strip tease
Rockstar
Fuck Boys
Cold Shower
Chips & Dr. Pepper
Old Truck
Weakness
Stupid Map
Hunnenwell, KS
Kyle & Klara Schweitzer
Puff War
Back on the road
Bad Mojo
A Sweet Ass
Fort Schaefer
My Window
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Follow Her Here
Also by K.A. Morse
Sassy Girl
Lacey Carter
My day starts like any other. I'm all ready for my flight today with my regulation BDU’s on and my dirty-blonde hair up in a ponytail. Now time to throw on a bit of eyeliner and mascara, making my blue eyes pop. My damn chapstick is nowhere to be seen. Once found, it gets put on, the cap is replaced, and it goes in my pants pocket for later use. Now I’m ready. Down the stairs I go, as most of my gear is with my baby. I teach flight school classes in the Army because flying is something I love. Today is a classified OP, which is something I only go on when I’m really needed. I won’t know any more until I get briefed once there. The Army is my life, the only thing loved more is my daughter, Ellabee, who is about to make us late.
“Ellabee Jessica Carter, get your booty down here now. We have to leave now!” I yell up the stairs at her a little louder than I mean to.
Like magic, Ella appears at the top of the stairs with a huff, as well as an eye roll. She’s the spitting image of her father in every other way except her beautiful blue eyes, those are all mine. She probably wouldn’t want to hear that at thirteen. Sass and all. Her short, brown hair is tucked behind her ears and the bangs are hanging perfect . The eye roll is something I get almost daily, so nothing new. Her flowery dress raises the suspicion that she might have a crush she’s dressing up for.
“Really, mom, my full name today?” Ella whines as she trudges down the stairs. “I’m ready, so let’s go.”
“Do I spy makeup on you this morning?” I promptly ask her.
Ella zooms past me to the door like I am the one holding us up now, to avoid my question, I’m sure. Now I am rolling my eyes as I follow her. I open the door to the garage to leave because she can’t do it for some reason. I’m close on Ella’s heels as I close the door behind us. With a hop and skip she's in our old blue Toyota Camry before I can stop her from slamming the door.
“Oy,” I yell at her. “You don’t have to slam the door every time you get in and out of the car.”
“Yes, Mother,” she replies, knowing how much I hate when she calls me ‘Mother.’
I shoot her a look as the garage door finally opens enough so we can leave. Putting the car in reverse, I back out. Once we are clear, Ella hits the button to close the door. Then I see her grab my phone and arm the alarm system; our normal routine everyday. A smile spreads across my face. Little moments like this make it worth all her sass.
“You have all your stuff ready to stay with the Freemans? Jenn will be expecting you after school. I don’t know how long I will be gone, so if you need to go home for anything, I have told Jenn it is okay with me. But don’t linger, I know you like to dilly-dally,” I explain to her with a quick smirk as we are almost to the school.
As I pull up, she nods in agreement. She gets out and yells, "I love you" as she slams the door behind her, making me cringe at the sound. I watch her run up to her friends, they start talking right away then walk toward the front doors of the school. This puts a smile on my face. A horn honks behind me and brings me back to the real world. I take my car out of the park position and put it into drive, heading out to HQ to be briefed. The drive is about five minutes from the school, which I find nice. I’ve been a single mother for longer than I care to think about; having the school so close makes life just a little bit easier. Missions for me now are few and far between. They found I was great at ‘giving directions’, as they put it, using these skills most days to boss trainees around. The newbies need to be ready for anything while in the air, and it’s my job to put them through it all. I’ve even gotten a cute nickname from them, Sergeant Die Hard. So, I have to treat them with a ‘yippee ki-yay, motherfucker’ every now and again just to throw them off guard. If anyone I train goes into combat, we want them ready for anything that is thrown at them. So, I would rather them hate me now and thank me later.
Making it to the main gate, I stop at the security checkpoint, give them my work badge, and then wait for it to be returned. Minutes from being late, I try not to tap my fingers against the steering wheel. As if they don’t see me everyday, but better safe than sorry. Finally, they return my stuff and send me on my way, as well as bidding me a good day. With a nod of my head, I drive ahead once the gate comes up. Then turning left, I find my parking spot only to become extremely pissed. Some jack wagon has taken up half my parking space, with my name on it. They have also taken up the other part next to mine. I search for an empty spot, finally finding one at the back of the lot. Beyond angry by this time, I’m seeing red. I’m late for the briefing, something I’ve never done before in my military career. This is unacceptable–for myself or anyone else. The ass that’s parked in my spot will get ripped a new one once I find out who they are. With years of observation, everything about the truck catalogs itself inside my mind. A silver Chevy Silverado that has seen better days with a Red Bull sticker on the tailgate. A ladder would be required for me to even think about getting into it. A laugh escapes my lips as I think he’s probably compensating for something. After I see that, I start to sprint. Once I get to the building, I take a moment to compose myself before heading in. I swipe my badge at the door, it allows me access with a beep and green light next to the handle saying come on in. Letting myself in, I find my way to the briefing room and see I’m the last one there. I try not to let my blood boil as I take the last seat at the table.
“Ah, Sergeant Carter, nice of you to finally join us,” Commander Lockstone informs me with a smirk.
I politely smile back at her and wait for her instruction. Looking around the table, I see only one familiar face other than the Commander, which is my co-pilot and best friend, Sergeant Brandon Harris. I don’t know what I would do without him. Since my husband's untimely death, Brandon has
been Ella’s and my rock, as well as the Freemans’. But he still gets pissed at me that I can outfly him any day. A laugh escapes my lips, and I immediately regret it. Everyone’s eyes automatically shoot to me.
“Something funny about this mission, Carter?” the Commander questions me.
“No, Commander Lockstone, sorry, Ma’am,” I reply, turning my attention to her and the mission at hand.
Lockstone explains we won’t be leaving until dusk to deliver some kind of scientist to a top secret base. Only Brandon and I will know where it is. Our passengers include the extra special scientist named Dr. Gertrud Dumalski and two Army Rangers to protect her, Ranger Trevor Metzger and Ranger Marni Harmon. I was pretty impressed with Harmon, you don’t see many women rangers. For some reason, the scientist wasn’t at the briefing.
“Carter, make sure you’re locked and loaded by nineteen hundred. Everyone will report to you at eighteen-thirty,” Commander Lockstone informs us all then promptly hands me what I need to get us there. She takes her leave, and I get up from my seat as I let out a sigh.
“Alright, Carter, spit it out,” I hear Harris’s voice next to me, making me jump a little bit.
“For the love of all that is Harris, I swear if you want children you will not sneak up on me,” I tell him as I turn around to see him right behind me.
“Yeah, yeah, how often do you threaten me with that bullshit, Carter?” he returns with a smirk on his face.
I always wondered why he was single and then he opened his mouth, and I now remember why. “What do you want me to do, spit on you?” I say dryly, trying to get around him, knowing he wants to know why I’m late.
“Sergeant Carter,” now I hear a different man's voice. Before I can say anything, Harris does.
“Fuck off, Jim,” flies out of Harris’s mouth, hatred on his face. “Can’t you see we are having a conversation, you douche canoe?”
Now Harris is in Ranger Trevor Metzger’s face. Sergeant Brandon Harris is only 5’6”, but he’s not afraid of anything or anyone. Boy, oh boy, he is always ready to throw down. Metzger was caught off guard by him, and I almost feel sorry for him. I look at him and change my mind. I put my hand on Harris’s shoulder and pull him away.
“We don't have time for a cock fight right now. Sergeant Harris, we need to make sure Rocco is ready for his flight.” I now have a hold of his arm, so I know he’s coming with me to the hanger.
We don’t have a ton to do to get ready for the mission, but the tension was pretty thick in the room. I’m not sure why, maybe I missed something because of being late to the meeting. I’ll have to ask once we get to the hanger.
Out of the room, I yell at him for acting like that with someone we have to go on a mission with. Harris just shrugs his shoulders and keeps walking with me. When he doesn’t answer me, it’s normally because he knows I’m right. He’s stewing now, this puts a smile on my face.
Rocco
Lacey Carter
We get to the hangar and there sits Rocco. He’s a thing of beauty, a Sikorsky Blackhawk. He’s the only man I will probably ever love again. Yes, my Black Hawk is a man. What I love about Rocco is I’m always in control, and I tell him what to do and where to go. Also he doesn’t ever really talk back, either.
“Yeah, yeah, get your love affair over with, so we can get him ready to fly please,” Harris says, giving me a look.
“Don’t give me that crap, you love Rocco as much as I do!” I squeal a little louder than I mean to, bringing my hand to my mouth. “We don’t have much to do since he was out yesterday. Mainly make sure he’s got plenty of fuel and do our normal checklists.”
“Do you think we’ll need our special ops gear tonight, too?” Harris questions me as I get the fuel reading in the cockpit.
“I wouldn’t think so, all we are doing is flying a scientist and two Army Rangers to a top-secret military base, at night. So, I don’t find anything weird about this at all. Of all the pilots to do this mission, they picked us.” I laugh nervously, as I start flipping switches, making sure everything is working. “Why in the hell would they want two flight instructors to do this mission in the first place?”
“Because we are fuckin’ awesome,” he replies with a nervous laugh as he comes around to where I’m at. He looks me dead in the eyes. “I’ll get all our gear ready. Something seems off.” He gives me a wink and starts to walk away.
“Don’t forget the night vision, since we are flying at dusk!” I yell to him as he’s walking to where we store our gear.
I hear Harris mumble something under his breath as he reaches the door. I finish the last checks on my lists. Rocco is ready for his trip tonight. Of course, he’s in tip-top shape, we always make sure Rocco’s ready for a flight. Even when we are teaching on the other types of helicopters and planes. We want our students ready to jump into anything on the battlefield. I hop out of Rocco and make my way over to where Harris is. He is definitely making sure that we are ready for a battle of some sort.
“What the hell do you think we are going to be doing? Going into a war zone or something? Do we really need a grenade launcher?” I can’t even finish my sentence without starting to laugh.
“What?” he asks with a straight face. “You said be prepared, so I was making sure we were.”
“Remember we do have a weight limit and your fat ass does take up half of it.” I smirk and grab my gear that he’s set out for me. I start to lug it to Rocco.
“But what a fine ass it is,” he remarks back, and he slaps his butt as he follows my lead.
We loop our M4 rifles around our flight chairs and keep our M9s strapped to us. We have a box to store some extra ammo, so we won’t have to carry it on us. Once everything is ready, we decide to go get lunch. Before we go on missions, we always go to the same place to eat. It’s a little mom and pop restaurant right off base called Tori’s. We make sure everything is secure before we lock the hanger up. Only Harris and I can get in there when it’s locked. As we walk to the parking lot, I let out a low growl under my breath when I remember my car is not parked in my spot.
“What’s up, buttercup?” Harris inquires as we hit the parking lot.
“Some asshat took my parking spot, and that’s why I was late getting into the meeting,” I finally tell him with a huff as we reach where my car sits. “The jerk wad better not be in my spot when we fuckin’ get back, or you’d best believe there will be some hell to pay!”
Harris is laughing at me now. I decide to only unlock my door and make him wait in the Kentucky summer heat, we have in Fort Schaefer. I open my door and get in. As I start the car, he starts banging on the passenger side window and yelling at me to let him in. I can’t help but burst out laughing. I don’t know what I would do if I lost him. Finally, I unlock the door for him to get in.
“Thank you, I was sweating my balls off out there,” he tells me as he reaches for the AC controls and cranks it up.
“Well, keep your sweaty balls away from me, and all female kind for that matter.” I can’t even say it with a straight face, and we both start laughing.
I put the car in reverse, and we head off base to grab our lunch. My stomach always gets nervous before a mission, especially after my husband died, and I was left to raise our daughter alone. I know we aren’t going into a combat zone, but the Rangers coming with us really makes me question what is going on. Of course, having Harris with me always helps calm me some. The diner is only about five minutes from base, so we get there pretty quickly. It’s like auto pilot for me to drive there since we eat there at least three times a week. We just love the place. We don’t say a whole hell of a lot on the drive.
“Son of a bitch,” I grumble as I see the truck with the Red Bull sticker sitting in front of our favorite hangout.
“Oh, do tell, Carter.” A huge smirk spreads across his face.
I pull my car into one of the last spots, then put it into park. “The asshat who took my spot on base is here,” I growl now as I open my door and ge
t out, then slam it closed.
“Calm down, we have a mission tonight, and I need you on your A game, Carter,” he reminds me as he closes his door and starts walking towards the entrance.
I follow quickly behind him, and when the smell of the food hits my nose, I realize how hungry I am. As soon as we walk in, I see them; Metzger and Harmon are already chowing down. I just know it’s his truck. If we weren’t going on this mission with him, I would probably give him a throat punch right where he sits. I can feel my blood starting to boil just as Harmon sees us and waves us over.
Can I pretend I didn’t see her?
I nudge Harris to see what he thinks.
“Hell to the no,” is what comes right out of his mouth, and he finds us a table as far away from them as possible.
I shrug and follow Harris to the booth he’s selected.As I sit across from Harris, he lifts the menu, looking it over. Like he doesn’t already know what he’ll be getting. I don’t even pick mine up, already knowing what I’m going to have. Our waitress, Stasia, comes over with drinks in hand. Harris puts on his biggest smile. He has been crushing on her hard since she started here. She’s a smart girl and hasn’t given into Harris’s charm.
A “thank you, sweetheart,” comes out of his lips as Stasia puts our drinks in front of us. He takes a big drink from his cup and almost spits it out on me. “Stasia, I think you brought me the wrong drink.”
“Oh, did I, sweetheart? Let's fix that for you,” Stasia says smugly as she grabs his cup and walks away.
