Page 1 of Dusty

Chapter 1

Shipley wasn’t sure what to expect when she got off the big-bellied plane she’d been on. Telling her sister that she wasn’t coming in commercial but on one of the planes that the army used had gotten her all mixed up. But she understood now. She’d been stressed for the last several months over things with her family. Not that it mattered too much how stressed she was. Shipley was going to make sure that no one took advantage of her baby sister—she was eighteen minutes younger than her.

Shipley was thrilled to be home. Even if it was for the funeral of her brother-in-law, Fred Landry. She had four weeks off, thanks to saving up her vacation time and all her paid time off. Her plan was to make every minute count, too.

While she hadn’t particularly cared for Fred, his mom was a nightmare. She knew that her sister was happy, and that was all she could have hoped for. Alma Landry was pushy and seemed to be pushing Fred into doing things that she was sure her sister would not approve of. Even during their wedding, the first time she’d been home to meet the family, Shipley decided that she was going to leave Amanda alone for the trouble that she might well have gotten into by stepping in where it was really none of her business.

“Candace?” She nearly didn’t look in the direction that her name was called from. No one had called her by her first name in years. At least to anyone that she would answer to anyway. “There you are. I’ve missed you so much.” The hugs were a welcome change from the salutes that she had been getting most of her adult life.

Mandy, Amanda’s oldest little girl, was with her mom, and Shipley couldn’t have been more happy. The kid was the spitting image of them when she and her sister had been little, and she had her no-bullshit kind of style about her. Shipley got hugs from them both and let out a long breath when she finally was with her sister.

“I’ve had to borrow a car. I didn’t think you’d have too much luggage—do you?” She told her that she only had her duffle, and it was in luggage claims. “You’re armed too, I’m assuming?”

“Yes. Forever. You know that.” She didn’t point out that she was still a serviceman even though she was on a little break. “How about some lunch? My treat. I’m starving. And I want a meatball sub so bad that I’m nearly salivating for it.”

She picked up her duffle, used to carrying it around when she moved. Shipley was a doctor for a M.A.S.H. unit, meaning mobile Army surgical hospital, unit that she’d been with since she’d gotten out of boot camp. Now, it was all she knew. Patching up men and women to get them either home or back on the front line. Usually not too far from where she was when working. But it was a good job and one that she dearly loved. Most of the time.

The place that they’d gone to eat when they were out of the large military airport wasn’t too busy. Mandy, forever her buddy, said that she wanted to try a bite of her sub because she’d never had meatballs on anything but noodles. Grinning at her, she told the little girl that she’d have to fight her for it. Knowing full well that she’d give it all to her if she liked it.

After eating, stuffed too, the three of them sat in the booth and talked about all the things that had been going on since the last time she’d been home. Mostly, it was her talking, Amanda seemed to be wanting to vent, and she let her. It worried her that she was so freely speaking in front of Mandy but she’d bet the kid knew more than her mom was telling her about.

“Alma is out of our hair for now. I have a feeling, however, that she is going to bully someone into trying to hurt us some other way. I did tell you that she tried to kidnap the kids right out from under my nose, didn’t I?” She looked so sad then that she reached out and took her hand into hers. “I had no idea the lengths that she’d go about to take the kids from me. To think that she…Alma actuallycame into my home and tried to take them without permission, Candace. Who does that sort of thing? That is going to get her in the most trouble. Attempted kidnapping is what I think that they’re calling it. But she won’t be out of jail for a long time, I’m hoping.”

“If not, then I’ll take care that you’re safe.” She eyed her hard and Shipley didn’t say a word. She was used to being second-guessed, as she assumed her sister was doing right now. “How about we get going? I could use a long shower and nap. I’ve been traveling since yesterday, and my underwear is sticking to all the wrong places.”

“Gross, Aunt Candace.” Mandy cocked her head and stared at her. “Does anyone call you Candy while you’re at work? I’m betting that no one does.”

“And you’d be correct. I’ve been known as Shipley for so long that I sometimes forget that I have a first name.” She asked her why they called her that. “Because my dear niece, they don’t call anyone by their first name because that would mean that you’re close to them. And where I work, it’s not something you want to do in the event that they’re killed.”

“Oh.” She looked at her sister when she tsked at her. “It’s all right, momma. I know that she is in the line of fire. I think that we’re all lucky that she’s able to come home to us. I saw that on a movie that I watched. They all were killed because some jerk called in an airstrike or something like that. It’s sad, really.”

“How old are you? Fifty? Sixty? You’re the oldest kid I know, and that’s saying a great deal. Christ kid, what am I going to do with you?” She told her that she had to love her. “I do at that. Every moment of every day. I think about all of you and love you to pieces.”

The drive home was sprinkled with odd bits and pieces of conversation about what they’d been doing since Fred had died. Shipley hadn’t realized that Amanda had sold her home and was living in something smaller. It suited her, the domestic part of her life. Not that she thought that she could stand idle but it seemed to be just fine for her sister.

They were about forty miles from home when they came up on a bad accident. It happened right in front of them, and Shipley was happy that they’d stopped for a break. They might well have been in the middle of it if not. Getting out of the car, she was racing towards the middle of things before she thought that she wasn’t on duty right now with this sort of accident. By then, she came up on three cars that were smashed up under the back end of a semi. Barking orders, something that she thought she did a great deal, she was able to get several of the people standing around to get their asses in gear and help the wounded.

The man driving the last car was dead. She didn’t even bother to check his pulse. She knew that when someone had their head removed, there was no coming back from that. The woman in the front seat was gone as well. The two kids in the back, one of them an infant was screaming their heads off. Getting them out of the car, it was her sister that took control of the little ones.

The second car had no survivors either. The two people in the front seat had both been killed when their car’s airbags hadn’t gone off. It was an older car, one of the show-off older kinds, so she doubted that they even had airbags like newer cars did. While she didn’t know cars all that well, she knew that it had to have been before nineteen ninety-eight when they were mandatory in all cars built after that.

She didn’t want to look in the first car. Shipley knew that no one could have survived the impact that took them at least five feet up and under the bed. Making her way to the car, careful of where she stepped, she was surprised as fuck when a little boy asked her if she was going to get him out of there.

“I know my grandma and grandpa are dead. I checked on them like I had seen them do on those doctor shows. Why do people check necks to see if they’re alive or not?” She asked him his name and if he was hurt while she tried her best to pull the glass off the rear window where the kid was. Then she explained to him about the pulse. Mostly just talking while she took a good look at where the kid was. “Seth Morgan. I’m eleven. I saw that the truck had stopped and got myself on the floor. My grandma yelled at Grandpa to pay attention but it was too late by then. When he slammed on the brakes, I hit my head and woke up down here on the floor.”

“How badly are you hurt?” He told her that his back was hurting. “Can you wiggle your toes? How about your head? Do you hurt there? I’m trying to get you out of here, but you’re not in a good place right now.”

“I can wiggle my body. I was trying my best to get myself off the floor when everything got quiet. And yeah, my head hurts. I got some blood on my face, but…well, I don’t know if it’s mine or my grandparents. They both are dead, right?” She told him that they were and had been nearly cut in half. “You didn’t have to tell me that, you know.”

“Sorry, Seth. I’m used to saying what needs to be said.” She was able to get the glass out of the back window. She could see then that he was rammed between the seat he’d been in and the back of the seat from the front of the car. “I don’t know that I can get you out without hurting you more. How about you and me just keep talking so that I can make sure that you’re not too badly hurt?”

“I’m hurting now that I’m lying here.” She told him that she didn’t have anything to give him as she didn’t have a medical bag. “I thought doctors were supposed to have them in their car at all times or something.”

“I’m army, with a MASH unit.” She then had to explain to him what that meant. Reaching into the car, she could just touch her hand to his head. Searching for any gapping wounds, she was satisfied that he didn’t seem to have any large gashes nor much in the way of too much head trauma. “You’ve probably seen that show on television. If not, I’d highly recommend it as it’s a funny show.”

“You’re talking to me on account of you not thinking that I’m going to make it, aren’t you?” She said that she wouldn’t do that to him, that she’d tell him straight up if she thought he was a goner. “Good. You’re calming me down now, and that’s good. But I’m feeling everything hurting, too. I surely wished that I could hold your hand. I’d feel a lot better if I could.” He sobbed a little, and her heart went out for him.

“I’m going to hold onto your hand for as long as I can. I’ve only just noticed that I’m cut up badly on my arms, too. Not like you are hurt, but the pain is making itself known to me now. I’m sure that you know that feeling.” He said that he knew. “All right, Seth, I can hear sirens now. Maybe it won’t be too much longer.”

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