Page 20 of Words from the Heart
Chapter 17
Parker slept restless, his dreams filled with the woman who kept him at a distance. The sound of knocking pulled him from his semi-sleeping state. He pulled his jeans on before heading towards the front door. Confusion riddle him as he pulled the door open. Standing on the other side was a man he didn’t think he’d ever see again.
“Hank?” It came out more like a question.
“Parker, you going to let me in?”
“Holy shit…yeah – get in here!”
Parker couldn’t believe that Hank Peterson was standing in his house. They’d been close when he was in the Marines, but after his parents died and he left the service, they lost touch. And now, he stood in his kitchen.
“Hank, I am surprised you’re here. Don’t get me wrong I am glad to see you – but how the hell did you end up at my front door?”
Hank slumped into a kitchen chair, rubbing his face with the palm of his hand, “It took some digging to see where you landed after everything that happened. Once I found out, I figured I’d come here. I’m out.”
“What do you mean you’re out?”
“The Marines. I’m done and need somewhere to land like you. Thought maybe till I figure it out, you’d let me stay here.”
“Of course, you can stay here. But I thought you were going to retire from the core. What changed?”
“I fucked up.”
Parker sat across from Hank, finally seeing the worn, tired look in his eyes. His friend looked like hell. “What do you mean you fucked up? Come on dude, you were the best Marine I ever worked with – hell, you were the best of the best.”
Hank sighed, “I fell in love with the wrong woman.”
“A woman? I don’t understand.”
“Turns out the woman I thought was the ‘one’”, Hank emphasized one with finger quotes, “was married to a two-star general who was deployed in Afghanistan. When he came back and found out, she tried to say I’d forced her into the relationship. Fortunately, there were plenty of people who knew I hadn’t. But you know how it works. I was the low man on the totem pole – so I was offered an honorable discharge, which I took. My almost 20-year career flushed in a twelve-hour span. Now – here I am.”
“Damn – and the woman?”
“Still married to the general. Is it too early to drink?”
“Nah – it’s never too early for a beer under these circumstances. Besides,” he stood and looked at the clock, “it’s almost eleven. Close enough to lunch.” Parker pulled two beers from the fridge and handed one to Hank. “So, what do you think you’ll do now?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I can get on with the fire department. All those years as an Air Rescue and Fire Fighter should lend me to getting on easy. Know anyone at the fire department, put in a word for me?”
“Yeah, I can ask my Chief. You’ll like it here if you really decide to stay.”
“What about you?”
“I work for Lauderdale County Sheriff’s office and some odd jobs on the side.”
“Like building shit?”
“Yeah,” Parker chuckled, “You’re welcome to come help and I’ll split the money until you get on your feet. Honestly though, I’ve only been working on one house – forever. Isabelle Greyson paid me a pretty nice sum to get her house in shape.”
“I’d like to meet a woman willing to pay you a hefty sum to do anything.” Hank laughed.
“I wish you could have met her. She helped me acclimate here after everything that happened.” Parker zoned out, memories of the woman he’d grown to think of as family.
“Damn – sorry brother. You still working on her house?”
“Yeah – she left it to her granddaughter.”
“Oh, I see.”
