The Marine's New Family. Roz Dunbar

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       Chapter One

      Luke took the last nail out of his mouth and placed it precisely on the wooden beam. One strong whack of the hammer and the nail was halfway in the wood. Two more lighter thumps and it was all the way in. Job finished. One screened porch added to a beautiful old cottage on Bogue Sound. He felt an incredible sense of satisfaction and inner peace as he looked out at the sea from his vantage point on the roof. As if on cue, several dolphins surfaced, jumping playfully, breaking through the glassy face of the calm water.

      Luke was pretty certain that there was no more beautiful place in the world than this lovely little town on the North Carolina coast. And since he’d seen a fair bit of the world in his service as a marine, that was saying something. He stood up and stretched, deeply inhaling the tangy salt air laced with the softer scent of honeysuckle. The warm summer breeze caressed his body lightly.

      Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful day, he prayed silently, and the strength to help others in need.

      “Hey, Dad, look.”

      Luke snapped out of his reverie when he heard the young boy’s voice. Dad. He was still getting used to the title, and to the ten-year-old standing at the foot of the ladder. If only Luke had known he was a father. So much time wasted.

      Coming to terms with the fact that he had a son had been difficult for him, but he suspected that Caleb was having a more difficult time. First the boy had had to deal with losing his mother to cancer. Only then, as per the conditions of her will, had Luke and Caleb learned about each other. Now Caleb was coming to terms with a new parent and a new home—a new life, all things considered, although he really never talked about the huge turns his young life had taken in the past six months.

      “What is it, son?”

      “It’s those ladies.”

      “Luke! Yoo-hoo, Luke!”

      Luke smiled at the term “those ladies” as he turned his eyes from the tranquil scene in front of him to the hot-pink golf cart bouncing down the dirt lane. Nimbly, he climbed down the ladder, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel he picked up off a table. Casually, he ruffled the hair on Caleb’s head as he watched the vehicle approach them. The boy didn’t smile, but he didn’t pull away as he had a habit of doing when Luke touched him. They were still getting used to each other, and signs of physical affection from a father he had just met were new to him. Luke understood the boy’s caution and felt no irritation. He knew his son would come around, with God’s help. Luke prayed for it daily.

      “Hello, ladies,” he called. “Say hello, Caleb,” he instructed the boy.

      “Hi.” Caleb inched closer to his father and Luke draped an arm around his thin shoulders, feeling a burst of happiness when the boy let it rest there.

      “Hi there, Caleb!” Both ladies smiled broadly at the youngster.

      “Oh, it looks just fantastic!” Katie Salter declared as she pulled the cart close to the brick terrace adjoining the new screened porch.

      “Just perfect!” Annie Salter concurred as she sprang from the golf cart with the agility of a woman half her age, a wicker hamper in her grasp.

      “What have you got there?” Luke reached a hand to help the elderly lady, but she waved it off, carrying the basket with ease to the table.

      “Brought you and Caleb lunch. You both must be starved what with all of the work you’ve been doing for us this morning,” Katie chirped as she began pulling wrapped sandwiches and containers of what appeared to be various salads from the white basket. Luke’s stomach rumbled audibly at the sight. The women laughed, Annie reaching out to slap the source of the rumble lightly.

      “Guess I am pretty hungry. How about you, Caleb?” Luke’s face reddened slightly with embarrassment as another loud growl emanated from his midsection. This time Caleb laughed with everyone else.

      In no time the sisters had the small table on the terrace set with paper plates, napkins, forks and plastic cups. Katie deftly poured frosty sweet tea into four of the cups, while her sister made short work of setting out fresh shrimp salad, coleslaw and several kinds of sandwiches. Luke got Caleb to help him pull four chairs up to the table while the women worked on the food. Honestly, he could not think of a better place for lunch or better company.

      Once they were all seated Annie reached for his callused hand and the smaller, slightly wrinkled hand of her sister, while Katie reached for Caleb’s. The boy hesitated before placing his smaller hand in hers, a questioning look on his freckled face. She winked at him, giving him a reassuring smile.

      “Will you bless the meal, Luke?” she asked in her soft Southern drawl.

      “I would be honored.” He nodded. Reaching for his son’s other hand, he began.

      “Bless this food to our use, and us to Thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others, Lord.” He paused and continued with a twinkle in his eyes. “And thanks for the company of two such beautiful women and my son. I am truly blessed three times over, Lord. Amen.”

      The two elderly women giggled like young girls and Annie squeezed his hand in response.

      “Ah, Luke Barrett, if I were twenty years younger you’d be in trouble!” Annie proclaimed, her sparkling brown eyes taking him in appreciatively.

      Her sister snorted. “More like forty years younger. And even then you’d be a...what do they call it nowadays?”

      “Cougar. I’d be a cougar, which I don’t mind being at all!” Annie declared with a spirited nod, almost dislodging the wide-brimmed straw hat that covered her blue-gray hair.

      Luke choked on the bite of the ham-and-cheese sandwich he was eating. Katie absentmindedly began pounding on his back, her attention still focused on Annie. Caleb was following the conversation with a great deal of interest, his blue eyes moving from one adult to another as he dug into the food as though he was starving.

      “Annie May Salter!”

      “Oh, like you never thought of it.” Annie laughed at her sister’s scandalized expression.

      “Well, yes, but good manners dictate that you do not voice such thoughts aloud. And there are young ears present.” Katie tried to be prim, but Luke noticed she was close to laughter, as well. He also noticed she was still thumping on his back.

      “I’m fine, Miss Katie,” he assured her.

      “Sure?” she asked kindly, giving his back a couple more wallops for good measure.

      Luke nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” Gently, he led the topic in another direction by asking, “When do the new tenants arrive?” Luke knew the cottage was rented out to vacationers each summer season.

      Miss Katie frowned slightly, her eyes focused on a hummingbird that was flitting gracefully among the flowers of a nearby scarlet hibiscus bush. “Tenant,” she corrected. “That poor girl,” she added softly. “She should be here sometime today or this evening. She’s driving down from Raleigh.”

      “She just needs a little СКАЧАТЬ