Chapter 1
It was about sunset. I was typing away on the fourth novel in a series that was boring me to death. I decided to hit the pool for a swim. Just as I headed out to the patio the doorbell rang. Actually, it was the bell at my front gate, about 50 yards from the house. I looked at the video monitor and was amazed to see my sister's face.
I released the gate and went outside to meet the silver Audi roadster. It slid to a halt and Meg piled out. She ran to me full speed and threw her arms around me. I was astonished, since we'd never been that close. Then I realized that she was sobbing hysterically. I waited a couple of minutes until she could talk.
"Meggie, honey, what's wrong?"
(Sob) "Mom told me she's going on a cruise around the world with Al (the stepfather) and they're leaving tomorrow and she says since I'm 18 now I can take care of myself so she's leaving me alone in that big house and I've never been alone like that before and she'll be gone for six MONTHS, Jack, and I don't know what to do!" (More sobs)
We went into the house. I got her a damp washcloth to wipe her face, then I brewed some coffee. I brought her a cup and said, "I don't know what to do either, kid, but we'll figure it out. We've got this."
Meg burst into tears again, and suddenly I had a lap full of tiny, sobbing redhead.
I ended up just sitting there with my sister's head on my chest while she sobbed her heart out for about ten minutes, thinking how life sucks sometimes and how 18 is too fucking young to get tossed out on your own with virtually no warning -- although being "abandoned" in a nice home on the Intracoastal somehow didn't exactly seem to qualify as being tossed out.
I tried not to look down the front of her loose tank top, where her unfettered A-cup breasts were mostly exposed. I was appalled to discover that an anatomical reflex had reacted and was threatening to become obvious to the owner of the firm, but soft, butt resting on top of it.
<
>
After Meggie calmed down and had moved to the other end of the couch, I said, "I'm guessing you don't feel like going home right now, am I right? And I assume that staying with Dad is out?"
"Oh God No, Jack! He looks at me so creepy now that I'm older! I don't want to be anywhere NEAR that fucker! I think I can stay with my friend Beth for a while, but she's on a trip with the 'rents for the next MONTH! Can I stay with you for a few days? Do you have room? I can sleep on the couch! Please Jack?"
"Meg, as far as I'm concerned this is your house too! I have plenty of room, and you're welcome to stay as long as you want."
"I knew I could count on you, Big Brother." Dazzling smile. (My sister is gorgeous!)
"What do you need, Meg?"
"I threw my makeup and a blouse and my Sig and some shoes and slacks into my backpack and just ran out the door -- I was SO angry and upset! I'm good for now. I can sleep in my bra and panties, but they're all sweaty 'cause I was playing tennis before I got home and Mom told me, and I was so pissed off I didn't take time to shower and change. I mean, they didn't even tell me AHEAD of time! You can't plan a cruise that fast - they had to have known for weeks! It's just plain MEAN!"
I hadn't gotten along well with my mom since I hit puberty, and my feelings about our stepdad were mixed, at best. In my opinion, our parents and their spouses pretty-much deserved each other, although I liked my "step-mom" (who wasn't that much older than me) well enough. I decided to remain silent on the subject for the time being.
"I've got a couple of tee shirts you can wear. Hell, as tiny as you are they'll be like nightgowns on you anyway. How tall are you now?"
"I'm five feet - almost five-one! And you can't make fun of me just because you're so huge! No shorty jokes!"
I swore that the forbidden subject was closed between us.
"I feel so icky, Jack! Can I take a shower?"
"Mi casa, su casa, querida. There's a shower off the guest room, or you can have a swim in the pool. If you don't have a suit with you, there's plenty of privacy and I promise not to peek."
"A swim sounds wonderful! I think I have a suit in the car."
"Have at it, then, kiddo. I need to make a couple of calls. After your swim we can go someplace for dinner, or I can fix something here."
"I really don't feel like going anywhere right now. I need to hang up my blouse and slacks and splash them, 'cause they're all wrinkled from my backpack and I'll need them tomorrow to go look for a job so I can maybe get an apartment and not have to stay in that big old house alone. I can throw the clothes I'm wearing in your washer and just wear my suit while they dry."
"Okay. I'm not all that excited about going out myself. I'm happy to see you, but other than that, the day's been pretty much of a bummer so far. You go toss your clothes in the washer and have your swim. I have some calls to make. What time do you want to eat?"
"I don't care. I just want comfort food. Can we order pizza?"
"About an hour okay with you?"
"Perfect, Big Brother."
"That sounds nice, Meggie. Real nice. I haven't been much of a brother to you, but maybe now that can change if we want it to."
Suddenly, I had a lap full of sobbing teen again. She calmed down after a minute.
"Mom's the only person I have, except for Beth. Al treats me okay, but he looks at me funny too! He can't take his eyes off my ass, and it pisses Mom off - not at me, but I think maybe she wouldn't mind if I wasn't around all the time. Thank you, Jack! Having a big brother to take care of me is just what I need right now!" (Sniffle)
"Go get your suit and have your swim. Throw your stuff in the guest room, down the hall on the right. You can get to the pool from my bedroom at the end of the hall or through the rec room. I can't believe you've never been to my house before! There will be pizza in one hour!"
"Perfect!"
Chapter 2
I joined the Marines the day I turned eighteen. I had no particular desire to serve my country, but I did have a burning desire to fuck with my old man's head. The S.O.B. was and is an autocrat: a peacenik in public but a terror at home, an emotional -- and, in my case, occasionally physical -- abuser. He's also a doctor, and gets terrific mileage out of his "respect for human life" while seeming to try his worst to ruin those of the people close to him.
In short, it was a perfect setup to create a candidate for the USMC (known only half-jokingly as Uncle Sam's Mistreated Children). We won't get into the psychology of all that. I'm not sure I understand it myself, but the prospect of coming back to Florida and maybe kicking the cocksucker's ass was part of it too.
My 21 years in the Corps left me with a good education, a decent retirement as a Master Sergeant, and nothing really pressing to do with the rest of my life. I'd saved up enough to get a decent little house in northern Palm Beach County, situated on twelve acres of former ranch land along State Road 706. I had a 5-lane, 25-meter pool installed for swimming laps. Marine Raiders, like those pussy SEALs, live in the water. (Hey -- my SEAL friends would be insulted if I were nice about it.)
Spending nearly half of your life sneaking, peeking and ducking gives you a (perhaps exaggerated) interest in keeping your business to yourself. I had a privacy fence installed around the house and yard and -- partially to help me stay in shape -- planted 450 bougainvillea shrubs myself to form a dense hedge outside the fence. After a couple of years it was so thick even my old team couldn't have wiggled through. With some carefully-sited video cameras, motion detecting LED floods and a good alarm system, my castle was as secure as I could make it without a moat and a pet dragon. I'd briefly considered dogs instead of the dragon, but I'm not really a dog person. They're too noisy.
All of that pretty much wiped my savings, so I had to find work. I picked up a job as an instructor at a firearms and self-defense academy in a town about a hour's drive away. That was okay for a while, but I got tired of dealing with wannabee tough guy students who think they know more than the pros. So I started looking for something else to do. About then, a retired Colonel for whom I'd worked asked if I'd like to be a reader/editor for a book he was writing. That went well, and gave me the idea of doing something similar on my own. I wrote a book about Marine snipers that sold reasonably well, then decided to try some fiction. In a year or so I had sold a couple of adventure novels aimed at the armchair wannabees, and suddenly I was my own boss for the first time in my life.
My life doesn't suck. I write in the morning, swim a mile in my pool or a couple in the ocean at Juno Beach, run my habitual five miles with eight gallons of water in a backpack. Old habits die hard, and gaining weight wasn't an option as the Good Doctor had turned into a fat slob. No way!
And then my life changed, although I wouldn't know it for quite a while.
My mother, showing more gumption than I had ever imagined she would, dumped my father when she found out he was having an affair with a 25-year-old redheaded nurse at the hospital. She got the Lexus, the house, some stocks the old bastard hadn't bothered to hide away, and a fat alimony check. Pops got the nurse, and a few months later I got a baby sister, a redhead like her mother.
I didn't see much of Meg over the years. We'd never really bonded, and visiting meant being around my old man, who -- humanitarian that he wasn't -- delighted in insulting my chosen profession. I retaliated by fucking Heather, his wife, whenever I was home on leave. The Good Doctor found out and she wisely chose to file for HER divorce, since she was sick of his bullshit anyway.
Her brother's firm were the leading family law practitioners in West Palm Beach, so she got little Meghan, the Cayenne, and another chunk of the doctor's income. By then he had so much money I doubt that he missed it, and I'm sure he didn't miss Heather and the kid. She continued her country club lifestyle, Meg went to the best school in Palm Beach, and I went to Afghanistan, feeling pretty pleased with myself for having messed with the old man. Time passed, as it does.
Chapter 3
I made some phone calls and answered some emails. I heard splashing from the pool area, but I figured Meggie needed some privacy so I just kept working. I hadn't seen her head out, so I figured she'd gone through the sliding doors in my room. I was thankful that the Marines had forced me to become a neatnik. I wouldn't have wanted my little sis to think I was a slob.
In about half an hour Meg came into my office wrapped in a bath towel.
"Did you order the pizza yet?"
"Just about to. You want to do it? The menu is on the fridge."
"Oh, I know what I want -- everything but anchovies!"
"Sounds good to me. Leave off the broccoli and pineapple though."
"Ick! Pineapple on pizza is a crime against nature!"
<
>
Meg padded barefoot into the kitchen, made the call, and then came back into the office.
"Do you have a hair dryer, Jack?"
"In the drawer next to the sink in your bathroom."