Page 90 of A Hero Comes Home

“You are so hot. Seriously, dude, you can still make my bones melt when you’re in uniform.”

He grinned.

“And you know it!” She slapped his arm in fake reprimand.

“And when I take it off? What happens to your bones then, baby?”

“Up in flames, baby.” She gave him a quick kiss and darted away before he could grab for her.

She was looking damn good herself. “Thanks for wearing the dress.”

“Pfff. This thing is going to be in shreds pretty soon. I’ve been wearing it so much.” She said it with a smile, though. He could tell that she liked doing things to please him. And that made him want to do twice as many things to please her. If only he could!

It was the peach sundress, of course, the one that reminded him of that time when they’d first met in Central Park. A time when things were so much . . . less complicated.

Just then, the boys barreled in. They never just walked into a room. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw him in full uniform. “Wow!” Matt exclaimed, immediately echoed by his brothers.

“‘Wow!’ back at you, guys,” Jake said. They were wearing their scout uniforms with all their impressive badges, including Luke’s recently earned one for knots, which you would have thought was a Medal of Honor. “I still think all of you should ride in the convertible with me.”

The boys’ faces lit up.

Sally shook her head. “No. The boys should march with their scout troops.”

“And you?”

She shook her head some more. “I want to be on the sidewalk taking pictures of you all. Besides, I told my mother and father I would meet them in front of the bakery. Your dad and Old Mike will be with me, too. Your own personal cheering section.”

Yippee!

Luke tugged on Sally’s hand, and she leaned down to hear him whisper something in her ear. It had something to do with singing, which the little, still front-toothless guy pronounced as “thinging.” When she straightened, she told Jake, “Don’t forget. We’re going to the talent show over at the Conti mansion after the parade.”

Jake groaned. They’d already attended the first of the shows last night, and it had been hokey beyond belief. Well, not all of it. There had been some surprisingly good solo songs, a performance by the St. Andrew’s Bell Choir that brought tears to the eyes, not his, but some other people’s, an acrobatic performance by a troupe of Nags Head teenagers, an amazing salsa by the Swinging Seniors dancers from the Patterson house in colorful, Spanish, very un-senior-like costumes, and a puppeteer who depicted the early history of Bell Cove, but there had also been the ten-year-old violinist who screeched his way through “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the ninety-year-old clog dancer who lost his false teeth on the makeshift stage, and the comedian who was quite funny but borderline X-rated.

The town council, who’d first put out the call for talent for the Lollypalooza had been shocked at the number of entries they received, especially when the prizes were only fifty dollars in a number of categories. Thus, they’d had to put a limit of fifty contestants and break the performances into two parts, Friday and Saturday.

He gave Sally a “Do I have to?” look, and she nodded, emphatically.

The kids gave a visible sigh of relief, which he thought was kind of odd. But then, kids liked hokey crap. Besides, they were still unsure of their newly returned father. Jake supposed it was the least he could do for them.

“Okay. Just so there are no more violins.”

“Jacob!” she chastised, not wanting him to influence the kids in mocking the talent. But then she added, “There is a yodeler, though. Flossie McCormick from the Bayside Retirement Community.”

“And Binky Jones is going to show his dog, Sparkie, doing dog tricks,” Matt said.

All three boys gave Jake their doleful looks then. As in a silent “If only we had a dog!” It was a decision Jake felt unable to make when he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be around to help train and care for the animal, and Sally was too busy at the bakery.

To forestall further questions on that subject, Jake commented, “Isn’t Binky the master farter?”

“Yeah, but his mother says Sparkie can only do the high jumps and walking on his hind legs. No showing his dog’s farting tricks, or he’ll be grounded till Christmas,” Mark told him.

“And that’s too bad ’cause the farting tricks are really cool. Binky feeds Sparkie chili dogs to get him gassy,” Matt explained.

TMI!

Sally put her face in her hands.

“No more talk about farts,” Jake warned the boys.