My Little Rock Airman

by Brittany Fichter

  Ten minutes later, Jade was in her gear and on the horse, and Derrick and I were watching from the sidelines. Derrick kept his eyes on his sister’s lesson, and I tried to think of something to say that might erase our recent conversation. He had a girlfriend. Maybe I could get him talking about her.

  “So,” I shoved my hands into my jean pockets, “you have a girlfriend?”

  He grinned. “What, we make peace and now you’re hitting on me?”

  I gaped at him. “I…No! I don’t…I’m making basic conversation!”

  “Relax. I’m riling you up on purpose.” He stretched and linked his hands behind his head, a cocky grin on his face. “You’re just so tightly wound that it’s kind of hard not to.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Are you going to be this way all summer?”

  “I am not tightly wound!” I sputtered. “I’m…I’m professional!” Did the man’s ability to annoy know no bounds?

  “You’re too worried about what the Allen clan is going to think and say.” He shook his head. “You’re nannying my sister, not applying to be my family’s personal nun.”

  I crossed my arms and pursed my lips. “As far as I can see, there’s no pleasing you no matter what I do.”

  “My fiancée’s name is Amy,” he said, watching Jade as one of the instructors stopped the horse to adjust her posture. “We met in Colorado, where I was stationed last. She works at a law firm there.” He held out his phone, and the lock screen lit up with a picture of a woman with lips so red and skin so white and hair so dark she might as well have been Snow White. She was drop-dead gorgeous. And from the look of her fitted sweater and perfectly pleated mini skirt, she seemed to have the inherent sense of style that I had somehow missed out on.

  So he was engaged. Not that it mattered. In fact, I pitied the girl. “Do you get to see her often?” I asked, hoping to keep his attention on Amy and away from me.

  He kept his eyes on his sister. “She’s pretty busy, but I’m going to try to drive out there when I can. I’ve got a buddy still at Peterson that I stay with when I go to see her.”

  “Is Peterson an Air Force base?” I asked.

  “It is. It’s one of the few bases with C-130’s. I worked there as a hydraulics maintainer, same as I do here.”

  I watched Jade giggle as the horse began to move faster. “What does a hydraulics maintainer do?”

  “Brakes. Things that open and close. I make sure the wheels of the plane do what they’re supposed to.”

  “That sounds…hard,” was all I could come up with.

  He shrugged. “It’s not that bad. But it does mean dealing with a lot of hydraulic fluid that doesn’t wash out of your uniform.” He turned back to me and opened his mouth as if to speak. Then he looked down and promptly shut it.

  “What’s that?” He nodded down at my feet.

  I followed his gaze to my yellow rose backpack. “What? My bag?”

  “That book, the one sticking out of the bag. You keep touching it.” He reached down into my bag and pulled it out. I thought about yanking it away, then thought better of it. He may be about five-years-old, but I was an adult. “Beauty and the Beast?” He turned the book around in his hand, running his fingers along the gold filigree sprawling across the binding against the dark blue background. “It is Beauty and the Beast.”

  I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Fine. You caught me. I like fairy tales.”

  “Actually, I’m impressed.” He grinned as he flipped through the blue leather-bound book. “What else?”

  “What else what?”

  “What about you?” He said. “You can’t spend every hour of your day with five-year-olds.” He waved the book in the air. “And I can’t believe you spend every minute of your day reading this when you’re not with my sister or the rest of your students.”

  I laughed in spite of myself. “No, I don’t spend my entire life with five-year-olds or reading Beauty and the Beast.”

  “So?” He wagged his head back and forth impatiently. “What do you do with your time?”

  I played with the sphinx cat keychain on my backpack zipper. “I spend time with my parents. And I study.”

  “You study. That’s seriously what you like to do when you’re not teaching or nannying?”

  I raised my chin slightly. “I’m applying to get my master’s degree at the University of Arkansas. So I use my time to study. What’s wrong with that?”

  “So…no travel?” He tilted his head toward me and wriggled his eyebrows. “No boyfriends?”

  “I don’t need a boyfriend right now. I’m busy.”

  He paused and studied me for a moment. “So tell me, what is it in that book that you like so much? Because based on the movie Jade makes me watch ad nauseam, there is very little in that story about staying at home and studying all the time.”

  “Belle loves books.” I pursed my lips. “And she loves her father.”

  “But those can’t be the only reasons you love it.”

  “Of course not. I love it for the adventure. The nerd gets her books and goes on a journey while finding true love. It’s every bookworm’s dream come true.”

  “Let me get this straight.” He picked up my book and held it in the air. “You like to read about adventure. But you don’t actually like to have any?”

  “I…” I frowned. “I never said that.” Why was he muddling everything I said? Taking it and twisting it like a piece of licorice.

  “Oh please.” He snorted. “You don’t like to travel. You don’t have time for a boyfriend. Your idea of a good time is studying and working with children who still struggle to take themselves to the bathroom.” He gave me a funny look. “And you say you like adventures?”

  “Grad school is an adventure!”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Well, what do you do that’s so adventurous?” I asked defiantly.

  He laughed. “Aside from joining the military?” Then his eyes grew brighter, and he leaned slightly toward me, looking very much like an excited little boy. “I mean, why not? You get to travel! Every few years, you go somewhere new.” He swept his arm around him, as though all the world were before us, rather than the arena. “Germany. Japan. California. Texas. Colorado. And every time you move, you get a whole new world to explore!” He clasped his hands again and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I’m saving everything I can right now to make sure Amy and I can travel whenever we want wherever we get stationed. It’s part of why I joined the Air Force.”

  “Part of?”

  “Well,” he gave a half-laugh before tugging his uniform jacket down. “The uniform makes me look tough, you know. I thought that would be a good bullet point on my resume.”

  I snorted and tried to cover it by taking a sip from my travel mug. “And what does your fiancée think of all that traveling?”

  The light in his eyes dimmed a little, and his smile fell. “She’s pretty busy. But she says she’ll make time after the wedding when things settle down a little.”

  “What about coming here?” I asked. “Can she visit much?”

  He laughed a little and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, let’s just say there’s a reason everyone’s teasing me about my imaginary girlfriend.”

  As annoying as Derrick was, I felt a little guilty. Apparently, his fiancée wasn’t as thrilled with travel as he was. Or with him, it might seem. I tried to give him an encouraging smile. “At least you can do video chats with her.”

  He gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah. We can.”

  Did they, though? “How—”

  “But I’m not worried about me.” He sniffed and sat up. “I’m worried that you won’t be able to loosen up. Because if you don’t, you won’t have much fun this summer. And my sister and I will be stuck trying to drag you behind us like a stick in the mud.”

  I stared at him. For just a moment, I’d come close to seeing something deeper. But now he was back to being everything I’d come to expect of military men. Cocky. Sarcastic. Funny,
as much as I hated to admit it. Impudent. The sharp angles of his posture said it all. But he’d thrown up his shields. And because he knew how to take charge, he’d done a fantastic job of directing the conversation as it suited him. But I wasn’t about to bow. I knew better than to let him run the game. Because I could play, too.

  11

  Hope

  Derrick

  When Jade had about fifteen minutes left in her session, I excused myself and stepped into the hall. It was nearly seven Amy’s time, and she would be done with the gym by now and on her way to work. I called her, fully expecting to be sent to voicemail. But to my surprise, she picked up.

  “You’re quite the early bird lately. Shouldn’t you be asleep by now?”

  “It’s a long story.” I scratched my head and peeked through the window in the door at Jessie. “Hey, I was thinking. I know you’re busy, but do you think you could make it out here for like a weekend? I could pay for the flight, and my parents have a spare room you could use in the main house.”

  “Hold on.” She paused. “Okay, I’m at a stoplight. What weekend were you thinking?”

  My heart leaped as I put the phone on speaker and scrolled through my calendar. “What about two weeks from now?”

  “Actually…” She sounded surprised. “I think I’m free that weekend. What did you have in mind?”

  I grinned. “Well, Jade has a piano performance that Saturday. My parents are going to be working, so I thought that it might be fun if you could come with the two of us. Then we could take her out for ice cream after and spend a little time together. And I’d like to try a new church out, but I get the feeling that dragging my parents around to shop for one is going to take an act of God.”

  “Oh.” There was a pause on the other end. “And will we have any time for us?”

  “Well, I’ll obviously take you out after Jade’s gone to bed, if that’s what you mean.” I wanted to kick myself for leaving that part out. Of course, she would want to go out. “There’s this great little restaurant in the—”

  “Oh, um. My boss is calling me.” Amy’s voice was oddly tinny. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll…I’ll get back to you when I get things more hammered out here schedule-wise.”

  “But I thought you said that weekend was free.” I frowned. “Amy, what’s wrong?”

  “Look.” She sighed. “I’m too tired to talk about this right now. But I’ll get back to you, okay?”

  I swallowed and forced my voice to sound normal. “Sure. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

  “Bye.” And with that, she was gone.

  Gathering my dignity, I did my best to appear unruffled as I went out to face Jessie. She was standing up with one shoe resting on the bottom plank of the ring’s fence, and she was clapping.

  “That was fantastic, Jade!” she called. “I’m so proud of you!” When she noticed me, she turned, and for once, she didn’t look at me like she might a sour lemon. Instead, her green eyes were bright. “Jade just tossed a ring on the stick all by herself while the horse was moving.”

  I went to stand beside her, and this time, my smile didn’t feel so forced. “Great job, baby girl!” I called out, clapping along with Jessie.

  Jessie was a hard nut to crack, but the way her eyes lit up when she praised my sister gave me hope. Maybe, just maybe, this summer wouldn’t be quite so bad after all.

  12

  Buy the Book

  Jessie

  “Oh, I meant to ask,” Madison said as she turned into the warehouse parking lot, “how did your mom’s appointment go? It was last Friday, right?”

  “It went okay, I guess.” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. “He called today, though, and wants her back tomorrow to repeat a test.”

  “Well,” she said as she pulled into a parking space, “I guess it’s not bad to be careful. Less than a week later, though…that’s pretty fast.”

  “No.” I groaned. “But I hate going through this stress every time someone loses a sticky note in the office somewhere, and they have to call her in again.”

  “Got your coupon?” Madison asked as we got out of the car.

  “Yep.” I shut the door and waved my green coupon in the air. It was like Christmas all bundled up in one little green rectangle of paper. And it was all mine.

  “So how much money did you bring?” Madison asked as we made our way toward the warehouse, eyeing the empty canvas bags I’d slung over my arm.

  “My credit card.”

  Her eyes nearly popped. “I can’t remember the last time you didn’t bring one of those little envelopes with cash in it. You must really need some shopping therapy.”

  “Books are therapy.”

  She shrugged. “This is true.”

  As we neared the door, though, she paused and pulled out her phone. “Sam wants to know if we’re still coming to the Back to the BASICS Summit. And if we are, he wants to know if he can just book all our seats together.”

  I laughed. “How’d he know I was with you?”

  “He said he texted you but you weren’t answering.”

  “Oh.” I reached into my purse but found only my wallet, makeup, and a granola bar that was Jade’s. “I must have forgotten my phone. Tell him sure and sure.”

  “You know,” Madison said, giving me a sideways glance as she texted back, “it’s definitely not me he’s interested in getting a seat next to.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Can you please just answer so we can go buy books?”

  “Are you telling me you didn’t feel something when he stole you away from Tanner the other day?”

  My stomach did a stupid little somersault, but I wasn’t quite ready to talk about that. At least, not in earnest. “I will be forever grateful for his daring rescue. But he still hasn’t actually asked me out yet. So nothing is official as…why are you giving me that look?”

  “Your rules are going to get you in trouble one day.”

  “Books, lady.” I clapped impatiently. “I’m here for books.”

  We approached the door with the green piece of paper that said, Educators’ Summer Warehouse Book Sale. A woman with snow-white hair and a t-shirt with a cartoon hog on it greeted us as we walked in.

  “Educator passes?”

  We both handed her our coupons, and she pointed us at a folding table covered in stacks of thin green canvas bags filled with catalogs. Another woman sat behind it.

  “Go over there to Autumn, and she’ll get you your warehouse maps and the other goodies that come in the bag.”

  We thanked her and made our way over to Autumn, where we were each gifted with a green bag and a stack of loose-leaf papers, each promising exciting books for children of all ages.

  “Where should we begin?” I gaped up at the warehouse, unable to hide my awe. Ceiling high shelves housed countless stacks of books. Twelve, each double-sided, unless you counted the tables at the front that were also covered in books. Some even had boxes of books. Giant fans blew in air from the entrance, but I started to sweat the moment I stepped inside. But it didn’t matter. Because here were thousands of books.

  I could die here and be satisfied.

  “Let’s start with the chapter books since you probably won’t need as many of them.” Madison laughed as she dragged me down to the shelf farthest away. “Then you won’t have to carry so many at first.”

  Even the novel section was magical. Not that my kindergarteners needed My Side of the Mountain, but it was only four dollars. How could I not get it?

  “So have you heard from Adam?” I asked. Two weeks had passed since the fateful double date, and I wondered if their cuddly vibe had lasted beyond the restaurant booth.

  “He texts sometimes,” Madison smiled to herself a little too widely. “Nothing serious, but we have fun. He took me bowling on base the other day.” She glanced at me. “Oh, and he apologizes for Tanner. He says the poor guy is desperate to get married and takes it out on every girl he meets, unfortunately.”

  “You don’t s
ay.”

  Madison shook her head. “Anyhow, I don’t care about rehashing Tanner. I want to know about Big Brother.” She lifted a heavy book in the air. “Do I need to go down there and thrash someone for you?”

  I laughed and picked up a shiny copy of Caddie Woodlawn. “We’ve declared a truce.”

  “Oh?”

  “Well, it was kind of my fault. I was still upset the day after the staff party, and when he started poking at me, I started to cry.” Even now, I felt my cheeks flush. Of all the stupid things to cry over.

  “Well,” Madison twisted her mouth up at the offending Lord of the Rings anthology I was holding. “As long as he’s leaving you alone.”

  “I don’t know. I used to think it was me, but I’m realizing now that it’s someone…or something else he mistrusts. Something happened last spring that has him all in a tizzy. He won’t tell me what it is, but it’s the reason he doesn’t want to ever leave Jade alone.”

  “Last spring.” Madison frowned. “Didn’t something happen last spring with Jade? She was all scratched up or something.”

  I nearly dropped the book I was holding. “That’s right! She came in just after Easter Break, covered in scratches! But when I asked her mom, she just handed me a doctor’s note and said Jade had fallen in a rosebush.” I nearly collided with a pallet full of books. But I couldn’t have cared less. “Whatever it was, it shook Jade up pretty badly. She didn’t do much work for weeks.” Now that I thought about it…she must have started functioning again around the time Derrick came back to live with them.

  “The guy sure seems attached to his sister,” Madison said. “If he hadn’t been such a jerk to you, I’d think it was super attractive.” She fixed me with a speculative eye. “You sure talk about him a lot, though.”

  “I do not.”

  “You’ve texted me what he’s done five out of the last five days you’ve worked there.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I just…I guess he’s a conundrum. One day, he’ll be just awful and poke fun at everything I say. Then the next day, he takes us out for ice cream and makes sure I have a coffee to go with it. I just can’t figure him out.”