Page 31 of Defending Casey

Hale let out a breath when he realized he’d lifted his hand and touched that same spot. It was like he was back there in the open, feeling something coming up behind him.

“We took cover in the wreck. Not a moment too soon. Bullets rained down on us. We could see where they were coming from. The heat from the wreckage was all-consuming and before we could make a plan to make a run for our vehicle, it too went up in a ball of flames.

“We were under fire for what seemed like forever, but later, looking back at that day it was just a few minutes. It only seemed like an eternity.

“I’ll never know why they stopped shooting at us, but I can only be thankful they did. But my buddy Issac, he was hit. I did my best to bandage him up, but he was gone in minutes.”

Mister Sumner let out a sigh with all of the gravitas a man of his years could muster. “Sorry to hear that, son.”

Casey’s father murmured his sympathies.

“I still talk to his mom on his birthday every year. There’s always another story I seem to remember about him.”

“That’s a good thing you’re doing for her.”

“Isaac was a good man. The best friend a guy could ask for. It’s an honor to share those memories with his family.”

Setting his coffee cup down on the counter, Mister Sumner rubbed his hands together as if he needed to warm them. “How did you get back to base?”

Maybe it was just instinct, but Hale saw Casey’s dad lift his head and drop it down in a repetitive nod.

“Well, without a radio, there really wasn’t much hope for a rescue anytime soon. And if I stayed there, whoever they sent out was likely to end up ambushed like we were. I took a chance and put Isaac on my shoulders and started walking back. When I got back it was like a hornet’s nest. Coordinated ambushes had happened all over at just about the same time. We hadn’t heard about them because our radio was gone in a big ball of flames.”

Hale let out a breath and finished his story.

“My captain said that he was the first one to see us. And like dominoes, everyone stopped running around, putting out fires, for just one moment. Long enough to get us back inside. Captain Reynolds said it was just like that movie with-”

“John Wayne.” Casey’s father nodded. “Hondo. Ambushed by enemies, Hondo walked out of the desert carrying his saddle. You carried something more precious with you. Your friend.”

Hale swallowed the lump in his throat. “It wasn’t until they got Isaac off me that they realized that I’d been hit too.”

Unconsciously, Hale had lifted his arm to reach across his body and around to his back, just under his shoulder blade. He could still feel the ridge of the scar. “The surgeon said that if I had tried to walk out on my own, I would have bled to death. But with Isaac’s weight on my back, he put enough pressure on the wound to keep me alive.”

A soft sound from the doorway turned Hale’s head.

“Hey, Brian.”

His cousin didn’t look happy to see him. Brian pointedly ignored his greeting and turned to David.

“If you don’t have anything that needs doing, Mister Jones, I’ll go in the back and see if Casey needs anything.”

Without waiting for an answer, Brian started to move through the shop and turned his upper body sharply to avoid touching Hale as he went by.

He only made a few steps before David spoke up. “Brian? Casey’s busy with the accounting. Why don’t you go to the store room and see what we can get ready for tomorrow’s orders.”

Brian balked at the idea. He didn’t say anything, but the look on his face was easy to read. Almost mutinous in a slightly childish way that gave Hale a strange feeling in his gut.

With one last look toward the office door, Brian walked off into the storeroom.

Hale could feel the change in the room. Where it had once been inviting and full of warmth it held a chill that was seeping into his bones.

He knew something was going on with Brian, but he didn’t want to address it where Casey worked. He’d find a way to talk to Brian later. Whatever it was, they’d work it out.

Looking at the two men beside him, Hale gestured to the door. “I should probably go.”

He held out his hand to Mister Sumner and the two shook like old friends, which they were. “Good to see you, sir.”

“Son,” the older man chuckled, “you should just call me Francis. We’ve known each other for the better part of your lifetime.”

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