Stranded With The Sergeant. Cathie Linz

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Chapter Three

      “I can’t believe you’re actually calling me for help,” Curt Blackwell noted, his amusement apparent over the phone line.

      A year ago Joe had stood up at Curt’s wedding as his best man. Funny how things changed. In the past, Curt had always been the loner and Joe the life of the party. Now Curt was happily married and had a young daughter named Blue. And it was Joe who was struggling.

      “This has got to be a first,” Curt was saying. “Usually it’s the other way around, me calling you.”

      “Yeah, well, enjoy it while you can, buddy, because it’s not going to happen very often. Not if you gloat like this every time I call you looking for some help.”

      “I won’t gloat every time,” Curt replied. “Just this time.”

      “There’s no time for gloating. Just think of some way I can get out of this stupid mess.”

      “A Marine never avoids an assignment.”

      “He does if it involves escorting his commanding officer’s daughter into the mountains of North Carolina for the weekend.”

      “How old is she?” Curt asked.

      “I don’t know. Late twenties, I’d guess.”

      “Sounds like a plum assignment for a ladies’ man like you. What’s the problem?”

      “She’s bringing some of her sixth-grade class with her. She’s a teacher. And we didn’t exactly hit it off.”

      “What?” Curt sounded mockingly incredulous. “Another first! A woman who doesn’t fall at your feet? Wait till I tell Jessie.”

      “This is privileged material,” Joe said emphatically. “So don’t go blabbing anything to that cute wife of yours.”

      “Since when are the details of your sex life a matter of national security?” Curt retorted.

      “Since they involved the daughter of my C.O.” Joe used the abbreviation for commanding officer.

      “I guess you do have a point there. Okay, this will remain between the two of us.”

      “Fine. Now give me an idea of how to get out of this.”

      “If the order is an illegal one…”

      “Don’t I wish,” Joe muttered. “But last time I checked there was no law against getting stuck with a spoiled, sexy teacher who has it in for me. Nor is it illegal to be called on to fill-in for a public affairs officer who needed emergency surgery and couldn’t lead this weekend excursion himself. The order isn’t illegal, just a pain in the butt.”

      “Did you mention that you haven’t been posted down there in North Carolina very long—”

      “Affirmative,” Joe interrupted him to confirm. “Tried that approach. Unsuccessful.”

      “You said the daughter wasn’t fond of you. Did you—?”

      “Point that out? Affirmative,” Joe again interrupted. “Deemed irrelevant by the C.O.”

      “Then I guess you’re stuck.”

      “Gee, thanks, that was real helpful, Blackwell,” Joe said sarcastically. “I’m so glad I called you.”

      Curt laughed. “Hey, anytime I can help, I’m just a phone call away.”

      Joe’s growl didn’t need translating.

      “You’re stuck, Wilder,” Curt said. “Make the most of it is my advice to you. Semper Gumby, buddy. Be flexible.”

      “Yeah, right.” Frustrated, Joe flipped the cover on his cellular phone and stared at the bag he had packed while talking to Curt. A Marine was always ready to leave, never knowing when some situation might require him to defend his country.

      What about defending his sanity? Joe wondered caustically, furious with himself for feeling the way he did. What was the procedure for that?

      He was a Marine, by God. There were no foxholes in the Marines. Foxholes are for those who want to hide. In the Marines they had fighting holes. There was no hiding in the Marines. He’d been trained to fight.

      His father and his grandfather had been Marines. He was part of a proud tradition—the few, the proud, the Marines.

      Joe glanced down at his watch. His allotted hour was almost up. Falling back on years of conditioning and training, СКАЧАТЬ