Lone Star Secret

Steve burst out laughing. “You don’t mince words, do you?”

Embarrassed, David shook his head. “I guess I don’t. I believe in being up front and honest. But I can be too blunt at times, or so I’ve been told.”

Anna looked down at her plate, thinking she believed in honesty herself. They had that in common at least. She didn’t even know David Ryland…but she sure knew of him. He was considered one of the finest medevac chopper pilots at Camp Die-Hard. Or so she’d heard. Dr. Mike couldn’t say enough nice things about him. The devoted doctor had called in several markers just so David could be the one to get Ali safely home. And yet, he’d asked Anna to watch over his friend David, too.

“Take care of him for me, Anna. He’s a good man. But he’s not so forthcoming about himself. Maybe you can draw him out, make him feel welcome.”

Dr. Mike’s words came back to her now as she glanced up at David. “Are you glad to be home?”

He nodded, his dark eyes washing over her intensely. “I guess I am. Time will tell.”

Curious about that remark, Anna was about to ask him why he wasn’t more excited, but the jingling bells on the café door caused her to stop and look up. “Uh-oh.”

David turned to stare at the attractive older woman entering the café, then glanced back at Anna. “Is something wrong?”

Anna lowered her head, her hand going to her necklace. “No, nothing I can’t handle. My mother just walked in.”

Max waved a beefy hand from behind the counter. “As I live and breathe, if it ain’t one of my favorite people. How ya doin’, Olga?”

Olga waved back to Max, her smile somewhere between shy and coy. “I’m just fine, thank you.”

“That’s your mother?”

Hearing the surprise in David’s words, Anna could only nod. “Yes. Olga Terenkov in the flesh. Get ready.”

“Okay,” David said, noticing the amused expressions on Caitlyn’s and Steve’s faces. “Should I be worried? I mean, she looks harmless.”

That brought a grunt from Steve and a snicker from Caitlyn. But the twins seemed happy to see Anna’s mother. They squealed and waved, calling out, “Miss Olga, Miss Olga!”

The woman waved back, clearly glad to see the cute little girls. “Hello, my darlings!”

“Harmless is not a word I’d associate with my mother,” Anna said under her breath. “She’s been doing things to embarrass me for most of my life and I have a feeling that’s not going to change anytime soon.”

Steve leaned close, his eyes on David. “Be forewarned, David. You’re about to enter the hug zone.”

David did look worried now. “But I—”

“Anna!”

Anna cringed. “We’re in for it.” She sent her beaming mother a feeble wave. “Hello, Mother.”

Olga, still young looking at fifty-four, was dressed in her usual get-up—brown cowboy boots and a denim prairie skirt with a crisp flower-sprinkled cotton blouse. Her golden-blond hair was pulled up in a haphazard coil.

“Anna-bug,” Olga called out, the click of her boots hitting the hardwood floor as she sashayed up the aisle, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Isn’t little Ali just adorable? Can you believe he’s finally here? Did you get to give him a hug? Is he terribly afraid? Oh, I can’t wait to see him again.”

By this time, Olga was standing at the table, her mouth poised for yet another rapid-fire question when she stopped in midbreath to pin David with a wide-eyed appraisal. “Oh, my. And who are you?”

David stood, out of respect, but hesitated, caught in midair as if he wasn’t sure what to do next. “Hello, ma’am.”

Olga held a hand to her face, then giggled. “So polite.”

“Mother, this is Chief David Ryland,” Anna said, hoping the telltale hives she usually got along her jawline and neck whenever she was embarrassed wouldn’t show up today. “He’s the helicopter pilot who flew Ali to meet the C-17 to Germany. He escorted Ali home.”

Olga put a hand to her heart, then touched it to David’s sleeve. “Oh, oh, my goodness, we are so very thankful for you. So very thankful.”

Anna noted her mother’s Russian accent thickening. Olga’s accent always came out whenever she was excited, and that was just about every day. Her mother was such an optimist, always looking on the bright side of things. And right now she had her sights set on David Ryland, which meant she was looking at the bright side of her daughter having breakfast with a returning soldier. When Olga glanced from David to Anna, her big blue eyes full of that hopeful glimmer Anna both admired and dreaded, Anna knew that two things were about to happen.

Olga put a hand on her hip, then looked up at David again. “Did you have anyone waiting at the airfield for you, son?”

David shook his head. “Well, no, ma’am—”

David didn’t get to finish. He was immediately engulfed in a feminine hug and a whole lot of patting on the back. “Bless your heart. Bless you,” Olga said over and over, her smile turned toward Anna as she looked over David’s broad shoulder. “We’re so glad you made it home safely with our little Ali!”

Caitlyn and Steve sat back, observing, grins covering their faces. Even the twins stopped eating to stare up at Olga.

Anna saw her mother’s mirthful wink. Notorious for her outlandish matchmaking schemes, Olga would try to fix up David Ryland with her daughter. And that meant Anna’s already chaotic life had just become even more complicated.

Chapter Three

Two days later, David sat in Chaplain Steve’s office. After having gone through hours of being poked and prodded, questioned and tested, he was now waiting for the required assessment by the chaplain, just to make sure his spiritual health and well-being was intact.

“And I guess that’s where the chaplain comes in mighty handy,” David said out loud.

The door opened and Steve walked in with a smile on his face. “If you’re talking to yourself, you might not pass all those tests you’ve been going through, my friend.”

David laughed, then shook Steve’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not having a post-traumatic-stress moment.”

“That’s good,” Steve said as he sank down in the squeaky chair behind his desk. “But you know whatever you say to me is strictly between us. So you don’t have to pretend. How are you, really?”

David shrugged. “I’ve caught up on my sleep and I’ve settled into my lovely post apartment. Well, I’ve got a wide-screen television and a big recliner and a bed at least.”

Steve laughed at that. “What are your plans for the future?”

“For the immediate future? Getting accustomed to being reassigned to Fort Bonnell, for starters. Being a warrant officer on post is not nearly as demanding and exciting as being up in my chopper on the front. I’ll be pushing papers for the next two years. Life here is sure a lot slower. I still can’t get the sound of choppers and gunfire out of my mind, but it’s good to be home.”

“So what are your plans for…after?”

David leaned back, comfortable to be talking about anything but his spiritual well-being. “You know, I haven’t mapped that out. But I wouldn’t mind working as an EMS pilot for one of the nearby medical centers. I’d still pilot a chopper and I’d be able to help save people, but I won’t get shot at—a definite plus for that kind of work.”

“Always a good and noble career choice, too,” Steve said. “They’d be blessed to have you.”

“We’ll see when the time comes,” David replied.

Steve kept tapping his pen against his notepad. “What about right now?”

David glanced around. “You mean, what am I doing with myself these days? Everyone keeps asking me that and I’m not sure. I’ve been away for a long time now. For some reason, it just seemed important to come here before I take an official leave.” Maybe because he had something to prove, even now. Or maybe because he was determined to find out who his father was.

They talked a few more minutes then Steve said, “You know, Children of the Day can always use good volunteers. There’s a need for carpentry, painting, putting things together, taking things apart. Or just doing paperwork, making phone calls and packing care boxes for the troops. You might ask Anna and her mother about the possibilities.”