Saving Simone (Florida Veterans Book 3) Read online

  From the back seat of the truck Gavin says his first words since we left his dad’s house. “Wow! What’s going on here?”

  “Shit,” Simone mumbles. “Please tell me this is about someone else.”

  The reporters all watch as we drive in and park, but they don’t get close until Simone gets out and comes around the truck into view. Then they all rush toward her in a herd like cattle at feeding time. I quicken my pace. “Gavin, come over here with us, and stay close. Just say, ‘No comment.’”

  Simone grabs hold of Gavin’s shoulders and pulls him in tight against her as I do my best to shield them both from the herd of pushy reporters. “No comment,” I yell at the growing crowd. “Please, she needs to get to her apartment and rest. No comment today.” I repeat the same thing over and over until we finally make it inside. Simone scrambles around the room to pull curtains and blinds closed and then collapses on the couch, clearly agitated.

  “Mom, why are all those people out there?” Gavin asks as he slouches on the couch next to her.

  She runs her hand over his hair. “Probably because they heard about what happened in Miami. I hate that they’re all over the place, but at least this time I’m not covered in blood and in a torn dress,” she grumbles. The phone rings and we all turn to look at it sitting on the end table next to the couch. Gavin races over to pick it up and answers, “Hello.” He listens for a second and his eyebrows shoot up. “Mom, it’s for you.”

  Simone’s body doesn’t move, except for her to raise her arm with her hand out toward Gavin. He places the phone in her hand and sits down next to her, waiting.

  “Hello?”

  She pauses before saying, “No comment,” and hangs up the phone. It rings again, but this time she turns it on and right back off again. A second goes by and it rings again. This time she jumps up from her spot on the couch, stomps over to the wall and pulls out the cord attached to the cordless-phone base. “I knew I should have gotten rid of that landline a long time ago.” Gavin sits close to her, almost as if he’s afraid to see what’s next. Her hands cover her face for a second like she’s frustrated and trying to calm down.

  “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you and Gavin go with me to Crystal River for a few days? Let this die down. Another news story will come along before we come back, and all of those people will move on. We can fish and swim and maybe we will get lucky enough to see a manatee or a dolphin. It’ll be fun.” I wait, hoping she’s going to take me up on the offer, but not sure she will. Her unpredictability is frustrating at times.

  “I don’t know,” she says. “You’ve already been dealing with my issues for a few days. You have to be tired of it by now. We can take care of ourselves.”

  “Come on, you don’t want to try to go out and get groceries like this and I bet you need a few. Summer will be happy to see you. I bet she’s going crazy on bed rest. You can take your computer to write if you want.” Her eyes close as she ponders my offer. After a minute or two she finally looks to Gavin. “Alright, let’s get your bathing suit and some clean clothes. I should probably grab a few things too. If we get to be too much for you up there, I’ll rent a car and come back here. I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

  “If you were a burden I wouldn’t have asked. Now, you two go get your stuff together and bring it out. I’ll take it to the truck and then come back and get you. I don’t want to have to fight through the mob with my hands full.”

  Gavin gives me a long hard look and slinks off to his room with Simone following close behind. While she’s getting ready, I text Mike and let him know what’s going on.

  An hour and a half later we come to a stop along the grass in front of my brother’s house on Crystal River. It’s evening but it’s still daylight and the grass is glistening from one of the usual afternoon rain storms that we must have just missed. We all climb out of the truck and as I’m coming around the front to meet up with Simone, the front door opens and my brother’s roly-poly basset hound trots out the door barking repeatedly.

  “Scooter boy, it’s Uncle Thomas. Get over here and quit making all that racket,” I command as I squat down, waiting for him to drag his belly through the wet grass to me. As soon as he reaches me, his long tongue sneaks out and swipes me across the cheek, and I scratch behind his ears.

  Gavin and Simone come up next to me and Simone greets Scooter by scratching behind one of his ears too. “Gavin, why don’t you come pet Scooter. He loves meeting new people,” I encourage. He just looks at me like I have two heads and doesn’t move. Everyone kept saying I was going to love her son, but so far it’s not going so well. As Mike approaches us, Simone stands and gives him a hug. When he releases her, Mike sticks his hand up for a high five from Gavin and he smacks it with a smile. Well, that’s interesting. Gavin seems okay with Mike.

  Mike turns to me and clasps me on the back of the neck, looks me in the eyes and inquires, “You okay, little brother?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” He keeps his stare locked to mine, probably looking for a chink in the armor, but there is none. What happened in Miami was nowhere near as bad as most of the stuff I dealt with over my many deployments. There was the added fear of Simone getting hurt, but overall it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Mike pulls me in for a tight hug and then releases me.

  “Why don’t y’all come inside and see Summer. She’s on bed rest so she was moving to the recliner, but she’s excited to see you guys. I’m going to order us dinner from BubbaQue’s and go pick it up if you’re hungry.”

  “We’re hungry,” I confirm.

  After dinner and catching up with Summer, it’s dark outside and it’s obvious Gavin is bored. I get it. He’s eight years old and he’s been hanging out listening to the adult talk for the last hour.

  “How about if we play some UNO,” I suggest. When Summer, Mike and I were kids we would battle it out in UNO several times a week. Our sister, Valerie, was usually the champ, but it was still fun. Gavin rolls his eyes at me and says, “UNO is for babies.”

  “Gavin,” Simone gasps. “That’s not true and that was rude. Apologize to Mr. Thomas.”

  He sighs heavily and mutters, “Sorry.”

  He’s going to be difficult, it seems. I glance at Mike for help. “Well, I think it’s cool. I’m ready to kick everybody’s butt at UNO! I’m the household champ!” He stands up and heads for the kitchen, digging in one of the drawers. “Summer, do you want to play out there or at the table? I would say you probably shouldn’t play, but I know you won’t listen.”

  Summer cackles. “There’s no way I’m missing a chance to kick your butt and prove you lied just now. I’m the household champ.”

  I laugh at both of them because I can picture them here alone playing UNO and talking trash the whole time.

  “I’m in,” Simone calls. “Come on, Gavin, don’t be a lump on a log. It will be fun.”

  “Fine.” He gives in quicker than I thought he would but I have a feeling it’s because everyone else wants to play and he doesn’t want to be left out.

  We decide on sitting at the kitchen table and proceed to play. We are dropping cards and telling stories about when we were kids and all is going great until I play a Skip card on Gavin, who is immediately to my left. “What’d you do that for?” he whines as he slams his cards down on the table.

  All of us swing our attention his way. Where did that come from?

  “Gav, it’s part of the game. Pick up your cards; it will be your turn in a second,” Simone instructs him. Their staredown lasts what feels like forever, but is only about 30 seconds until he finally picks up his cards with a sour look on his face. Summer looks across the table at me with wide eyes. I shake my head slightly and shrug. I’ve never been around a kid who acted like this. They usually love me and have a good time. He’s clearly having issues or he’s just a brat. I’m hoping it’s just issues.

  We go around two more times and I’m down to a Wild Draw 4 Card and a plain Wild card, so in the interest of not
causing another problem, I opt to use my plain Wild card. I pick green as the color and call, “Uno.” Gavin stands abruptly, sending his chair tumbling over, slams his cards on the table and growls before he stomps out of the room and slams the bathroom door. We all sit looking at each other, likely wondering what just happened.

  Summer is the first one to say anything. “What’s going on with him? I’ve never seen him act this way.”

  Simone glances over at me. “I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed. As far as I know he’s never done this before.” Then she gets up and heads toward the bathroom.

  Mike and I turn to each other and make eye contact. We don’t need to say anything to know we agree that Gavin is being a brat and the night just ended for all of us.

  “Guess it’s time to pack this up and head to bed. Summer needs some rest anyway,” Mike says out loud, probably for Simone’s benefit. Then he leans in and whispers, “How do you want to work the sleeping arrangements?”

  “Put Simone and Gavin in your guest room. I’ll take the blow-up mattress in the nursery.”

  “Are you sure?” Mike looks confused.

  “Yeah, he was pretty tweaked about the stuff in Miami and we’re in a strange place.”

  He nods and Summer gives me an understanding smile and touches my shoulder lightly as she passes.

  Once the cards are cleaned up, I get a glass of water and walk through the living room toward the bedroom. Simone’s in the bathroom and although I can’t hear what she’s saying, the tone of her voice suggests it isn’t good. I knock on the door lightly and her voice stops.

  “Goodnight, guys. Mike will show you to your room when you come out. See you in the morning.”

  “Night, Thomas!” Simone calls, but Gavin doesn’t say anything.

  I make my way into the nursery and stretch out on the mattress, listening to the sounds of everyone else getting settled for the night. The last few days have been tiring so it doesn’t take me long to fall asleep.

  I’m awakened by a dip in the mattress and a warm body pressing up to mine. The scent of Simone’s shampoo fills my nose and I wrap my arms around her. “Hey, what are you doing here?” I query.

  “I didn’t get a chance to really say goodnight or thank you for bringing us here, and I didn’t get to apologize for my son being a brat. I don’t know what’s going on with him and I’m so embarrassed.”

  “I’m glad you came to say goodnight, but you didn’t need to say thank you and you didn’t need to apologize. I get it, he’s a kid and sometimes kids can be a handful. I’m a grown man, I can handle it.”

  “Thank you,” she whispers and rests her head on my chest. Her fingers draw little circles on my abs and I continue to hold her. I’m almost asleep again when she lifts her head. “I better get back in there in case he wakes up. Who knows what kind of ruckus he would cause if he were alone in a strange house.”

  “Okay, Pumpkin. I get it. I’ll see you in the morning.” She brushes her lips against mine softly and then leaves the room as quietly as she came in. This time I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

  13

  Simone

  I hope today goes better than yesterday. Between my ex-husband and my son, I was worn out and embarrassed. Thomas has been so kind and thoughtful, even while putting up with attitude from Gavin. I give him credit: he never lost his cool.

  The smell of bacon cooking woke me up a few minutes ago so I wrestle on a bra and throw on an outfit for the day, and then I slip into the bathroom and brush my teeth before joining the adults. Gavin is still asleep so I left him there with the door open, hoping the sounds of the house will wake him up.

  Mike and Thomas are at the countertop and stove respectively, working on breakfast. Thomas is alternating between scrambling eggs and turning bacon while Mike flips pancakes on the plug-in griddle they have out. Summer is sitting at the table drinking orange juice and giggling at something Mike said as I was entering the room.

  “Morning,” I murmur and take a seat next to Summer.

  “Morning,” she chirps back at me.

  “Morning,” both men reply in unison.

  “Coffee?” Thomas offers as he reaches over and pulls the half-full pot out.

  I nod, not feeling very chatty yet. Without wasting any time, he slides the cup in front of me and fills it up. Then he places a sweet kiss on top of my head and flashes his most laid-back smile at me. I grin at him.

  About that time Gavin comes into the kitchen and glares at Thomas, but Thomas doesn’t take the bait. He turns around and resumes cooking.

  “Good morning, Gav, the guys are making us breakfast. Isn’t that nice?”

  “I don’t like eggs and bacon,” he mutters grumpily.

  “Since when?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like them.” His eyes never come away from the table as he glares at it, avoiding contact with all of us.

  “Well, lucky for you Mike is fixing pancakes so you’ll still get breakfast. It looks like Summer has orange juice. Want some?”

  “Yeah.”

  I put my hand on his forehead and push back until he finally looks at me. “The answer is ‘yes, ma’am’ or ‘yes, please.’ Lose the attitude, Buddy, or it won’t be the fun day we have planned for you.” He glares at me and again I’m shocked at his bratty attitude.

  We make it through breakfast and then Mike, Thomas, Gavin and I get our bathing suits and sunblock on and head for the boat. Summer has to stay home and rest. Although I’m sad that she can’t go out with us, I’m still thrilled to be out in the sun on the water for a few hours. I’m not a woman who likes fishing but I can read a book on my phone while the guys do all of that.

  We pull away from the dock and the familiar earthy scent of Florida surrounds us. Gavin is sitting next to me as we make our way into Kings Bay toward an old, small houseboat anchored in the middle with a sign on the side in hand-painted letters that reads LIVE BAIT. Mike pulls up and Thomas ties up to the houseboat. An old, weathered woman with fuzzy white hair pulled tight into a ponytail at the nape of her neck greets us. “Hey, ya’ll! What can I get ya?”

  Mike takes his wallet out of his pocket and plucks some bills out and hands them to her. “Can we get 30 shrimp?”

  “Sure can,” she says as she smiles a crooked but kind smile at him. Thomas takes the shrimp and we untie and head down the river, adjusting speed depending on the signs warning of idle speed due to the presence of manatee. Finally there is a sign that indicates that we are out of the idle zone so Mike opens up the motor and we turn toward billowing smoke stacks from the power plant that’s on the north end of Crystal River.

  Once we’ve arrived where Mike thinks we need to be, the two men get the fishing poles ready, starting with Gavin’s. His attitude seems to be gone and the excitement of doing something new has taken over. He moves back toward the men to get involved and I stretch my legs out on the seat, lean my head back and bask in the sun for a little bit before I start reading. The water is calm so the boat is still, and although it’s warm, it’s not too hot yet.

  I can hear Mike coaching Gavin on what to do and how to do it. Once he’s settled in, I hear the others cast their lines. It doesn’t take long until Gavin shouts, “I’ve got something! I’ve got something!” I look back to see that he’s pulling hard and trying his damnedest to reel it in. “This fish must be huge!” he yells.

  “I’ve got something too!” I hear Mike exclaim at almost the same time.

  I sit up and turn around enough to watch what’s going on back there and see Thomas pull his line out of the water and help Gavin reel his fish in. He’s letting Gavin do as much as possible and Gavin’s so excited he’s practically crawling out of his own skin with glee. They bring the fish into the boat and it’s probably about 20 inches long. Definitely long enough to keep so I stand up and get the camera ready on my phone. I snap a picture as Thomas is showing him how to hold it and then one of him alone. The next two hours go much the same. Gavin’s catching so many
that Thomas takes his pole out of the water and spends the whole time helping Gavin and giving him pointers. They throw a few back because they are too small and they keep some. This goes on long enough that I stop taking pictures and start reading. Everything seems to be going great until I take a break and wander to the back of the boat and ask, “How are my two favorite guys doing? Y’all make a great team!”

  Gavin’s head jerks back and he stares at me for a minute before he turns his head to Thomas and then back to me. “We aren’t a team. Mike showed me this. Not him,” my son so rudely lies.

  Thomas stands up straight and steps back like someone took a swing at him.

  “Gavin Jessie Tremont! Take that back!” I snap, absolutely furious with him.

  He drops the pole right where it’s at and tries to stomp past me. I snatch him by the arm and pull him in close. I’m seconds away from breaking out the crazy on him. “I told you last night to lose the attitude and you obviously didn’t listen. Go sit your butt down on that seat and don’t move until I tell you it’s okay.” I release him and he does as he’s told but instead of looking sad like he usually does when he gets in trouble, he looks madder than before.

  What am I going to do with him? Why is he being like this? I head back to help clean up Gavin’s mess and apologize to the men but they already have it cleaned up. Thomas leans over and kisses the top of my head. “I think fishing is over. We’ll head back in and have lunch.”

  I nod, knowing our good day has been ruined and I can’t help but feel more sad than usual.

  Later that afternoon, when things have settled down and I’m no longer angry, Gavin is on the floor petting Scooter’s belly while I read on the couch. Mike and Thomas are on the back porch talking about work-related things and Summer is napping. Mike comes inside after a bit and looks to me. “Y’all want to go kayaking over to Three Sisters Springs?”