I just didn’t know which one to listen to.
***
Age 21
And on Christmas morning, two years later, while I was home from college... a gift bag arrived.
It held the following:
A T-shirt that read,‘My boyfriend can kick your ass.’
A jeweler’s box that held a necklace with two bullet casings hanging on it. One was with my birthstone in the center, and the other with his.
Softly, my dad asked, “Okay?”
“I will be. I just want to find a quiet corner and read everything.” I placed the necklace around my neck and then held the letter that was also in the bag close to my heart.
Maybe, just maybe, he had dealt with whatever was eating him up inside, and he was ready to come back to me.
Chapter 14
Ripper
Age 24
0430 Hours that Christmas Morning
Storm slapped me on the back, “We’ll keep eyes on your girl.”
I shook my head, “Thanks, but got that covered.”
He jerked up his chin.
Red slapped me on the back, “Proud of you, boy.”
Clip, being Clip, punched me in the stomach, “Oof.”
He smirked, “That was for not telling me about this shit sooner, fucker.”
Cason jerked up his chin.
Hippie nodded.
Tank slapped me on the back.
Ten Minutes Later
“Man, it’s colder than a witch’s tit out here. What the fuck is going on?” my brother from another mother, Connor, asked.
“Need a favor,” I told him.
He nodded, “Yeah, brother. What?”
I told him what I wanted.
“And where the fuck will you be?” he asked.
“I joined the Navy. The flight takes off in two hours.”
