Surprisingly, it didn’t. Trask had always loved the big barns out back, sawdust in the air, and the smell of fresh cut lumber.
“But if it doesn’t fit with my schedule,” Trask continued, “I want you to promise me you’ll try hiring someone to help take over. You and Mom need to start having some fun beyond your own front door.”
“I’ll take that into consideration,” his father agreed. “But back to you. If you don’t want to work at the mill but you’re looking to diversify, which might be the best bet for you right now, you might want to talk to Mason,” his father suggested. “He’s been straight out for months what with his OPD job and SWAT. He’d been complaining like hell that he has to hold training sessions for his SWAT team on weekends when all he wants to do is be with his wife and little Reilly.”
Trask brightened.Yeah.Mason had been bitching about not being able to spend time with his family. If Mase agreed, martial arts training was something Trask could easily take over for his brother. He’d spent years putting Marines through their paces, and understood the need for good skills and combat habits.
Trask dried his mouth on a napkin, then stood, coming around the long table to pause next to his father’s chair.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Trask told him, semi-choked up, and uncharacteristically, he bent down and gave Guy a hug. “And you’ve pointed me in several, good directions.” He stood straight, ignoring the moisture that may or may not have infiltrated his eyes. “I’m going to have that chat with Spence and company today, then if things sound good, I’ll start house hunting. Eventually I’ll search out Mason and see if he’d like me to take on that training program. I’ll let you know how it all goes, then we can discuss what you might need here, and how we can make that happen.”
It was a lot to contemplate, but Trask felt like maybe, just maybe, things were moving in the right direction.
CHAPTER 2
Things were coming together,but it was taking longer than Trask had expected. He’d already been in town for three months, throughout the Christmas holidays—which he’d managed to survive despite his mother’s decorating lunacy—and now the first week in January was quickly coming to an end.
Too slow.
As swamped in bureaucracy as the armed services could be, civilian life was proving to be worse; nothing more than a complicated tangle of webs to unravel. The minutia sucked up ridiculous amounts of time.
In the Marines, there was always a readily available—and easily accessible—avenue to learn different skills and earn certifications. In the outside world, it was the wild west. Different rules for different states and municipalities; different permitting and certifications that needed procuring. And the biggest bugaboo? You had to navigate it all on your own. If you missed a step, or a pertinent piece of paperwork, it was one step forward, two steps back.
Spencer, Tabitha, and Buck, for instance, had easily met the initial requirements to run a dive shop/school. They’d paid the town for all kinds of permitting. And on the diving front, they’dlong-since earned their PADI Divemaster certifications, having the Professional Association of Diving Instructors sign off on their plethora of logged dives—which had reached far past the required sixty. They’d updated their CPR/First Aid training, and they’d passed their medical fitness exams. But the next step, which they’d only recently found out about and was now finally underway, required them to go to Bangor for two weeks to take an instructor development course, after which they’d need to pass an exam.
His brothers had taken it all in stride, but Trask was feeling frustrated.
At least they were paving the way so that when it came time for him to navigate through the messy system, he’d know what he needed to do.
Once Spence, Buck, and Tabitha were all certified, they’d guide him through what to expect.
But right now, Trask had other things on the agenda. Notenoughthings, if he were honest with himself, but he was drawing those tasks out.
He was currently sitting in the not-yet-open Diver Downeast office, working on business strategies while everyone was away.
Yeah.After the conversation he’d had back before Christmas with his two brothers and Tabbi, it was determined that his skills would be best utilized, at least for now, with day-to-day logistics. After all, it had been his strong suit in his role with the Marines.
It might have been busy work they’d concocted for him, but Trask was making the most of it while waiting his turn to get his ducks in order and get up to speed in the water.
The company, however, was already making headway.
Thanks to Sheila’s crazy-good marketing skills, and Tabitha’s connections as a submarine operator, they already had jobs waiting for them. It was Trask’s duty to time those contracts for when Spence and company returned, while seeing to it that theequipment they needed was in stock and up to par so that every project was successful.
Trask yawned. It wasn’t rocket-science. The team of three had been gone only two days, and Trask had already done several flow charts mapping out efficient strategies. He’d interfaced with their future clients and promised to keep them in the loop, all while he hoped something else would land in his lap. If it didn’t, he was going to be climbing the newly painted walls.
Mason, thankfully, after a few practice sessions, had given final approval for Trask to train potential new inductees into SWAT, coaching them in hand-to-hand and other combat skills. The following Saturday would be his first day, and Trask was excited to begin.
But Diver Downeast…
He looked around the space that was now nearly ready for business, and felt a sense of pride. He liked what he saw from where he sat behind his computer at the main counter.
The space was clean and bright. The front door opened up onto a busy street; or at least as busy as the small town ever got. Big, plate glass windows on either side had ample display space, not yet utilized, but ready for something eye-catching.
The four of them had brainstormed what to put on display, but nobody had come up with a really great idea yet. For now, there were large signs blanketing the glass, indicating that Diver Downeast would be opening soon.
While his brothers and Tabbi were gone, Trask had also busied himself setting up the room in the back that would be their “school”. He’d purchased desks, chairs, and a computer AV system that would meet all their needs. The rear of the large area was also now stocked with all the diving equipment they’d need to outfit the participants of those classes. Spence, Trask knew, had gotten a lot of it, used, from some older guy in New Hampshire who had closed up shop for health reasons.
Trask had spent the previous few days arranging and rearranging the displays ofnewgoods they’d be selling on their main floor out front, and was finally happy with the way the equipment all looked.
