Page 57 of Stone

“Bandit’s sending a few boys over to Mapletree to recon. The minute he gets proof, the Demons will ride in and move ‘em out. We don’t want that kinda stuff in or near our town. I know the Demons aren’t choirboys, but they don’t shit on their own doorstep either. A big chunk of what they make goes toward improving the town and helping the people of Hambleton. They all judge my man, but Bandit’s money paid for that big extensionfor the high school and the new church roof. The new hospital between here and Mapletree should be called Bandit Stone Memorial instead of Baines County Memorial. I’m not saying he’s Robin Hood, but he cares about people. He certainly doesn’t condone abusing women and children.”

Connie grabbed her wine and rose from the table. She headed to the open back door and looked out at the guys, who were axe-throwing at makeshift targets in the backyard. “I hate the way Bandit gets treated by the very people he helps. Even my son gets tarred with the same brush, and it makes me so mad. There are evil, wicked people out there who deserve to be subjected to snide comments and holier-than-thou attitudes, but not Bandit, and definitely not my John.”

Standing, I joined Connie at the door and slid my arm across her shoulders. The hurt in her voice made me realize how judgments from people like my dad could wound. She was right. Bandit did terrible things, but he also tried to do some good. She said he was no Robin Hood, but in that instant, I believed he was. Okay, so his gains were ill-gotten, but he used them to help the people around him, and the way they repaid him was by talking shit.

“I’m so sorry, Connie,” I told her softly.

She patted my hand. “Hush now. You shouldn’t be apologizing. You’re the one who saw who John is underneath all his swagger. You stood up to your daddy so you could date him. I love that he’s got a girl who’ll fight for him. It shows me you’ll be a wonderful mother and fight for yours and Johnny’s kids, too.”

I turned her toward me and gazed deep into her pretty eyes. “I swear on everything I love; I’ll always fight for John, but I’ll fight extra hard for our children.”

She reached up and touched my face, the same way I’d seen her do to John hundreds of times before. “You’re a good girl, Elise.” She smiled.

A shout from outside caught my attention. I turned my head to see John throwing three small axes in succession. They flew through the ether, landing perfectly in the center of all three targets the men had set up.

Cheers and whoops file the yard as Abe punched the air with delight.

I laughed as I watched Bandit run over to John, get John’s head in a chokehold, and rub his knuckles hard across the top of his skull.

“Pa!” John protested, pushing his dad off. “That fuckin’ hurt.”

“Stop ya whining’, ya little bitch.” Bandit sniffed. “Anyone would think I took a whip to your ass the way you’re bleating. What’s the matter, boy? Get your fuckin’ period? Are you on the rag? Ya need a hot water bottle for that PMS?”

John jabbed his fists to his hips, looked to the heavens, and heaved out a sigh. “Jesus. You’re such an asshole.”

“I’ll give you, asshole, ya little bastard.” Bandit sprinted for John, and with a loud war cry, he leaped five feet into the air.

John turned and started to run, but it was too late. His dad landed on his back, and they crashed to the ground.

“Don!” Connie yelled. “Get off him. Someone will get hurt.” Her gaze slashed toward Abe. “Do something.”

But Abe was laughing so hard he bent double, holding his stomach. “G—Gonna p—piss my shorts.”

“Useless men,” Connie muttered angrily. Pulling her sleeves up, she stomped outside, shouting at Bandit and John—who, by then, were rolling around on the ground—to stop fighting.

Iris appeared at my side, laughing. “They’re all crazy. Poor Connie, imagine having to put up with those two for the next thirty years.”

To this day, I remember smiling and agreeing with her, because, when I thought back, I realized it was the last time I was truly happy.

John and I had our silly problems, but I never thought anything or anyone could come between us. We had so much love for each other, and we’d planned our future down to the finest detail.

The world was our oyster, except I should’ve remembered one thing.

Robert Burns once wrote that the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. In my case, this saying had never been more accurate because, within a year, everything had gone awry, including John and me.

Within twelve short months, everything burned to ash.

Chapter Fourteen

Stone

The months seemed to fly by. My life became a whirl of days spent training on the shooting range and hours in the gym practicing martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. We weren’t authorized to leave the base at Camp Pendleton—even though we weren’t recruits anymore—so I spent a lot of time in the gym. Muscle had started to build in my arms and chest, and I’d put on around fifteen pounds in weight even though I still didn’t possess an ounce of fat.

Isaiah was here too, though he’d been placed into a different group from me, so we could only really talk when we hit the mess hall together. I shared a room with three other guys, and it turned out that one of them, Billy Nash, was going to the same MOS as me, so it made sense that we became buds.

The School of Infantry turned out to be a special place for me. I’d been shooting since I was five years old, and my dad had me hitting bullseyes from the get-go, so it wasn’t a surprise when I qualified in the top one percent of the class.

I got a thrill out of seeing admiration light up the eyes of the instructors and their secret smiles when I broke a record for the most bullets hitting a bullseye in succession. A rumor began to circulate that my superiors were placing bets on me, which I thought was a crock of shit until I spotted one of them deftly handing over a bill to my commanding officer after I’d shot at ten moving cutouts and hit every single one directly in the heart.

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