“They were just yobs, bullies. Anyone trained could have dealt with them easily.”
“I am just pleased you were there.”
“I was going to ask you out again. Persistence is one of my faults I am afraid. If I like something, I go for it.”
Perhaps he wasn’t such a bad bargain after all. Her ex wouldn’t have shown such commitment or effort to try to catch a girl. She could give him a chance.
“Well, this supper is in place of a meal out.”
“So, it is a first date?” he inquired, putting his hand round her waist.
“Yes, you aren’t so bad for an army man.”
“Not so bad? I’ll have to convince you I am better than that.” He pulled her to him in a suffocating kiss against a hard chest. When they came up for air, she turned her head and considered for a moment.
“Not bad. I need more convincing.” He responded accordingly until the timer on the cooker blared.
“The bread needs putting in.” She pulled away reluctantly. “Can you refill the glasses at the table please and I will start serving the starter.”
Filled with lasagne, he sat back replete and content. “That tastes like real Italian cooking. I’d like to kidnap you and take you home. What else do you cook?”
“I’ll have a bash at most things but casseroles usually. I haven’t the patience to learn pastry dishes or things that are very sophisticated, just plain casseroles and roast dinners.”
“That’s my sort of cooking. Mess food was good but the meals we had on ops were from sachets and made me appreciate home cooking. I must learn to cook more basics. Perhaps you could teach me.”
“I would love to. I like a man who appreciates his food.”
“I think I appreciate it more when I like the cook. Come here?” he ordered. “Forget the washing up.” He lifted her
on his lap. “God, I have been wanting to get close to you for weeks. I don’t want to let you go. I liked your calmness and your kindness when I first met you. I didn’t notice how pretty you were until I met you again at the pub. You are also brave and intelligent and independent. So many of the girls I meet at base are looking for a meal ticket, a way out of their life.”
“Perhaps they have few choices.”
“Agreed. They often have little education and the camp is the main employer. Their parents often moved around and their education was disrupted. Men are lonely and think they want a permanent relationship but it falls apart when the men are away for long periods. I have tried to avoid long-term relationships because they so often don’t last.”
“As long as the girls know your intention is just to have fun that is okay, I suppose.” At least he is honest. Perhaps I should just be looking for fun.
Who are you kidding? You wear your heart on your sleeve and get hurt too easily. It is best to let this go no further.
She couldn’t resist giving him one last kiss and wriggled off his lap. “You must be tired. I am and my arm is aching. I have a dishwasher and can clear this lot in minutes.” Josh got up.
Her smile is too bright. False. What did I say to upset her? He helped her clear the table. “I look forward to that cookery lesson. When can you make it for a lesson at my house?”
“I am busy for the next few weeks. I’ll ring you when I have some time.” She opened the door smiling and placed a plastic box in his hand. “The leftovers you can heat up for tomorrow.”
“Thanks love. See you.” He left sadly. He had opened his big mouth again and put her off.
Chapter Thirteen.
“What did you do to put her in such a bad mood?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Pat. She has been mooning about the practice, looking as if she has lost a shilling and gained sixpence. Wednesday, you were her hero, you had saved her from a nasty beating but Friday, she barely spoke your name. You are her bête noire. What did you say to her?” Sue poked him in the chest. “Don’t clam up.”
“What I said is between her and me.”
“Not if you made her unhappy, Pal. The whole village will know you upset her and you will be ostracised. Spill.”
Oh, what the hell? Women talk. She would probably open up to Sue soon. Perhaps she can find out why I was given the brush off.
“She made me dinner. I told her it was like a real Italian meal and asked her for a cookery lesson for just the basics.”
“Is that all?” asked Sue puzzled.
“I complimented her. The usual, how pretty, brave, and intelligent she was, so resourceful and independent, unlike other women I had met. “
“What else?” Sue looked like thunder expecting the worst. How did intelligent men say the wrong things to girls?”
“I told her she was unlike many of the women who I met at base. They were clingy and dependent. They had little opportunity and few qualifications and were looking for a meal ticket. The men were lonely and rushed into relationships and the marriages often ended unhappily. I said I had avoided permanent relationships because I had seen too many marriages breaking up.”
“She then got rid of you?”
“Made an excuse she was tired and rejected my request for a cookery lesson. What’s wrong?”
“For an intelligent man, you can be a dope. You virtually told her you didn’t want a serious relationship. Wham bang thank you Ma’am. She was there just for a bit of fun. I am not surprised she booted you out.”
“I didn’t say it like that.”
“But you didn’t say anything different. To her, you just want a fling, short-lived. Then you go back to the army and she doesn’t see you again. Or you might just pop in in six months’ time and expect to start up again until you go on an op once more. What an insensitive moron.”
He sighed, realising what his words had sounded like and the message he had conveyed.
“I am not a moron.”
“She was bitterly hurt when a guy two-timed her. He had a girl at base. She found out in public when his mate let the cat out of the bag. He had also stopped her from going out with her friends when he was on ops. She wants none of that again.”
“I have never two-timed a girl.”
“How is she to know that. Why should she trust you? She doesn’t know you well or know what goes on at base when you return.”
“I am not returning to the army except to follow the discharging procedure. I tended my resignation. I am going to work around here. Once I am working, I will sell my rental house and buy something bigger and rural and get a dog. I want to settle down.”
“You should have told her.”
“I am still coming to terms with it. Four months ago, I was a serving officer. Then my life was turned upside down by the bomb. I had counselling to deal with PTSD.”
“Well if you want a relationship with her you had better tell her your intentions and good luck. She is a hard nut to crack if you have hurt her.”
“I will tell her tomorrow.”
“You had better grovel and make her feel better or I will be after you,” warned Sue fiercely.
“Yes, Ma’am” said Josh saluting her. He went home to plan his campaign. This was too important to lose. He had realised during the burglary he had fallen for her hard. His heart had sunk when he had heard her scream for help.
Chapter Fourteen.
Pat received a big box of chocolates with a note.
Thank you for the lovely dinner. I would love to learn some cookery with you. I have to go to back to base tomorrow but should be back Monday. I will contact you then.
After that you will soon go back for a long tour I suppose. Forget it Pal. I’ll stick with the cat.
The cat stared at her. He hated anyone calling her. In spite of his pretended indifference, he pined if she went away and followed her, guarding her when she came back. Morosely she went to work. Several dangerous operations would keep her mind occupied and she might forget him.
It wa
s difficult. She had seen a different side to him over dinner. He was a natural mimic and had her roaring with laughter with his jokes. He was fun. Only occasionally had she seen his face change and a sad look in his eyes.
Sue came in. “You okay.”
“Yes.”
“Who sent the chocs.” She took one. “Good chocs too. A big spender. Josh?”
“Yes.” Her friend’s brows rose. “Has he asked you out again?”
“He wants a cookery lesson but is at base and is coming back Monday.”
“I would give him that cookery lesson. You might be missing out on something good.”
“There is no future for us.”
“Stuck on him are you. You must be or you wouldn’t be talking about a future.”
“I like him okay. Now leave it, will you.”
“He told me some things you need to know. Give him a chance to tell you himself.” Sue left the room before Pat swore at her. She’d inserted the seed in her mate’s brain and it would irritate Pat to hell until she knew what he had told her friend.
Pat mulled her friend’s words over the weekend.
“All right. What did he tell you?”
“Ask the man himself. I am not telling.”
Pat swore something rotten but realised her friend would not budge. He was back from base. She had a rare free morning tomorrow; she would not teach him cooking but would meet him for coffee. She would just find out what he had told Sue and that would be it.
“Liar” said the little voice in her head. “You want to meet him again. Face up to it.”
Forget it. I will have a coffee and that is that. She ignored the voice and texted him back.
No time for a lesson, but I have an hour free tomorrow if you want a coffee at the Blue Boar at ten-thirty am.
A text came back almost immediately.
I’ll be there.
She finished some paperwork and left for the pub. She was wearing work clothes. An emergency could happen any moment with animals and she needed to be ready.
Anyway, this wasn’t a date, was it?
“Hi.” He kissed her on the cheek. “What can I get you?”
“A latte please.” He came back with the same.
“I am pleased you have given me the chance to explain a few things.
“There is nothing to explain.”
“ I went back for my final debrief. Soon I am in civvy street and will be looking for a job.” Her mouth gaped open.
“I did not enjoy my last tour and I no longer have the commitment to be a good officer. I will be in the reserves for a while but I suffered from PTSD so they are unlikely to call me up for active duty although I could train soldiers.”
“So, I am unemployed. If you hear of anyone offering interesting work for an IT expert please tell me. I am signing on with agencies for temporary work but hope to get permanent work soon.”
“Is that what you want to do? Will you regret leaving the army?”
“Obviously, I will miss my fellow officers but I no longer find the operations stimulating or exciting. The buzz has gone. I want out of active service but I don’t want a job in the army. I want to settle down and buy a bigger house, a dog and perhaps have a family if I find the right girl.” He took her hand in his and stroked it gently. It was the most erotic sensation she had experienced. He looked at her with those blue eyes which seemed to pierce her soul.
“I think I have found that girl if she wants me,” he explained. “She has to want a dog and family. Of course, the bad side is she will have to put up with my old cars and I sing badly in the shower. I can be obsessive and spend time at the gym and like watching sport.”
“I have bad habits as well. I foster cats who don’t like people. I work well into the night. I like cooking but hate cleaning the house. I want a dog and a family too but not until I can establish my practice and get another vet to take some of the load off me. I am not a wonderful catch either.”
“ I think you are fantastic. If you can put up with me and the moods I suffer when I remember my mate, I would like to date you properly and see if we suit. I can see a life with you Pat.”
“I would love to date you and teach you to cook. I misunderstood what you were telling me the other evening.”
He took her into his arms. “In that case, you can start by giving me that lesson tomorrow night, but tonight, I want you for myself. No excuses. Yes or no.” She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him to her and kissed him.
“Yes, Yes and Yes.
The End.
Authors
Sienna Grant
Sienna Grant is a 39-year-old married mother of three children from the UK. She loves reading, but her secret passion was to one day write her own book, so when she had to give up work, she decided to put pen to paper and jot down some ideas. After friends had pushed her to go for it, she took their advice and opened her up to a whole new world.
Picking up the Pieces was her debut novel and is book 1 of the Broken Series.
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13594.Sienna-Grant
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorsgrant1
Manda Mellett
Manda’s life's always seemed a bit weird, starting with a childhood that even today she’s still trying to make sense of, then losing her parents in the late teens. Going from the tragic to the bizarre, who else could be unlucky enough to have had two car accidents, neither her fault, one involving a nun, and another involving a police woman?
There isn’t enough space to list everything that’s happened to Manda, or what she’s learned from it. But by using the rich fabric of her personal life, psychology degree, varied work experiences, and amazing characters she’s met, Manda is able to populate her books with believable in-depth characters and enjoys pitting them against situations which challenge them. Her books are full of suspense, twists and turns and the unexpected.
Manda lives in the beautiful countryside of Essex in UK, the area’s claim to fame being the Wilkin’s Jam Factory at nearby Tiptree. She can usually find jars of jam which remind her of home wherever she goes. As well as writing books and reading, Manda loves walking her dogs and keeping fit. She lives with her husband of over 30 years, who, along with her son, is her greatest fan and supporter.
Manda is thankful that one of the more unusual, and at the time unpleasant, turns her life took, now enables her to spend her time writing. Confirming, in her view, every cloud has a silver lining.
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Martin Tracey
Martin Tracey is inspired primarily by three things - music, football(soccer) and the supernatural. All three elements feature in his writing, although he does not necessarily consider that his writing is genre specific.
"I'm wired with a very vivid imagination and therefore my novels have many layers to them. I approach my writing with a skeleton of a plan but my writing takes me on various journeys and the story grows organically which makes for a more interesting read I feel. However, if I were to have a gun pointing at my head demanding that I commit to a genre I guess I would have to state horror or supernatural."
A proud native of Birmingham UK, Martin tends to set his books in and around his home city or other English settings. His working-class upbringing is reflected in the edginess and honesty of his writing and his novels have a sense of realism. He is also a big admirer of Quentin Tarantino so coupled with his realistic approac
h Martin's novels probably shouldn't be read by those who are easily shocked or offended.
Before producing novels Martin's literary output was writing songs. "Raging Bull" a song penned and co-performed by Martin can be found on "Old Gold Anthems - the Songs of Wolverhampton Wanderers".
Another highlight of Martin's musical career was supporting Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals at Birmingham's Alexander Theatre.
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Facebook:
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Website:
http://www.martintracey.co.uk/
Jennah Thornhill
Jennah Thornhill is a wife and mother, who lives in Staffordshire in a town called Stoke-On-Trent with her husband Nathan and two kids Mollie Moo-Moo who’s eleven and her little ginger critter Noah who’s six.
She’s had a lot of ups and downs in the past three years, going from a full-time mother and hard worker to just fainting at work one day and ending up in hospital. Later finding out she needed to have a lot of tests done.
Turns out she needed a lumbar puncture in her back in which they drain the fluid from your brain.
When she had the results back, she wasn’t happy to say the least.
When they did it the first time, she got really ill from it. She soon found out why when a doctor told her they think they took too much fluid.
Escaping The Shadows Anthology: Shenanigans'19 @ The West Midlands Book Signing. Page 25
