Page 13 of Kent's Watch
“Do you need an escort to your vehicle. The sheriff didn’t say anything, but I think we should be diligent in our surroundings.”
“Do you think he’ll come after me?”
Kent shrugged and sighed heavily. “No clue, but you can never be too careful.”
It took several minutes before Rita answered him. “Thanks, but no thanks. I have Zeke and some pepper spray on my key chain.”
“Okay, but if you need anything, let me know.” He gave her his phone number, and waited until she programed it in her phone. “Call me,” he said gruffly, and waited until she did. Whenhis phone rang, he looked at it and turned it to her. “Yours?” At her nod, he programmed her name associated with the number. “I’ll see you Monday then.”
Kent turned on his heel and headed toward his truck. After getting Tate settled into his seat in the back passenger side, he got in, started it up, and pulled out. On a whim, he headed to The Centre, he knew the others might be there and wanted to give them a heads up on what might be a potential mission for him. He knew that he would be keeping a close eye on Rita. He needed to find out where she lived without coming across as a stalker. As he drove through town, he had a thought and made several stops. Once his mission was complete, he couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face. Because of his secret mission, he decided to wait to go to The Centre the next day when he was off instead.
He looked in the rearview mirror at Tate as he lay in the back seat and laughed. “I might get my ass kicked for what I just did, but it might help in the long run.”
Hours later,still unsure of Kent after all she heard him say, Rita let herself out of her office, and gave a start when Zeke gave the alert that someone was nearby. She whipped around and saw a young man standing there with a package.
“May I help you?”
“Package for Rita Chambers.”
“I didn’t order anything.”
“Sorry, I was told to deliver this package to you.”
“Do you know who it is from?”
“No, all I know is that a gentleman came in and asked that this be delivered to you as soon as we could put it together.”
Rita scowled as she pulled out her phone and accessed a photo of Tim Vickers. She had no clue as to why she had downloaded it to her phone, but it came in handy now. “Is this the gentleman who gave the request?” If it had been Vickers she wouldn’t accept the package and call Jim immediately.
The deliveryman leaned in and shook his head as he looked at the photo. “No. The man who made the purchase looked military to me.”
She accessed her photos again, and turned the phone to show her a photo of Kent that she had secretly taken on his first day of training. She held in her snort of laughter when she realized that had only been the day before. “Is this the man?”
“Yes,” the delivery man agreed, and Rita took the package from him. If it had been confirmed that Vickers had sent her something, she would have called the sheriff right away. She took the package with her to her vehicle. After getting Zeke settled, she got behind the wheel and headed for her home. On the way, she stopped for groceries again, she needed to pick up the coffee she’d forgotten the day before. She was settled in for the night by six. As she settled in her favorite chair to read a book, she picked up the package Kent had sent her and slowly opened it. It surprised her by how heavy it was.
With it on her lap, she took the metal nail file beside her chair and slit open the tape. The first thing she saw as she opened it was a single folded piece of paper. She withdrew it and frowned at the message.
“Please use.”
That was it, just two simple words that were written in strong handwriting. Curious, she removed the paper beneath the letter and stared in shock at the contents of the package. It took at least a minute before she threw her head back and laughed. She laughed so hard, she had tears running down her cheeks and she had to tell Zeke that she was okay.
After wiping her tears, she began pulling out several packages of batteries. There was AA, AAA, 9-volt, D-cell, and C-cell. By the time they were all removed from the box and laid out on the coffee table before her, there were six packages of each. She shook her head as she laughed.
When a thought struck her, she picked up her phone and sent a quick text. “Why so many?”
She didn’t have long to wait for a response. It was returned in seconds.“Didn’t know what size you needed, so I covered all the bases. Hope you put them to good use.”
Kent’s response embarrassed her, so she didn’t respond to his answer. Instead, she sat there and stared at all the batteries. She wondered if Julie had said something to Kent about Rita needing to get laid. If so, this was doubly embarrassing. Though she had a toy or two in her nightstand, she didn’t like to use them unless it was absolutely necessary. She much preferred the personal touch of a man, but she had broken up with her last boyfriend over two years prior. On a sigh, she put the batteries back in their box and removed it from her sight. When she settled back in her chair and picked up her book, she found it was hard to concentrate. The only thing she could think of was those damn batteries.
On a sigh, she closed her book, tossed it on the couch, rose to her feet, grabbed the damn box and went upstairs to her room.
CHAPTER 6
Kent grinnedas he studied his phone after receiving a text from Rita. He knew it was bad of him for what he did, but he figured if Julie was correct in the assumption that Rita needed to get laid, and as much as he liked the idea of maybe doing it himself, he didn’t know her enough to offer his services. Instead, he’d stopped at a local pharmacy and purchased several packages of batteries to have delivered to her. He hoped she took the hint to use them, maybe she’d have a better disposition when it came to him and how he trained his dog. When there was no further response, he sighed, knowing it wouldn’t come. He had parked in his spot at the apartment complex and got out. Before going inside, he walked Tate. Once in, he quickly got his food and water dishes filled and decided what he wanted for his dinner.
He knew he didn’t have to, but he started a log for his activities in case the sheriff needed to question his whereabouts again. After seeing to Tate’s needs, he quickly fired up the grill on his stove and cleaned up a potato. Bypassing the salad and veggies, he made quick work of cooking a steak and baked potato. As he ate, he had a sudden thought. With a grin, he picked up his phone and after he made sure his face was clean, he removed his shirt and began snapping selfies. The more hesnapped, the wider his grin became. After several minutes, he set his phone aside and continued eating. He didn’t want to do the next step impulsively. As he ate, he talked to the dog about his plans and when Tator realized he wasn’t getting a treat, or was given any commands to follow, he eventually went over to the bed set up near the couch and settled down for a nap. Laughing, Kent finished eating, sent a few text messages to his buddies to make plans for the next day, cleaned up after himself, and settled in the living room to read. He wasn’t a very big television watcher, but he loved to read books. He was currently on the second book of what he considered to be a fabulous sci-fi thriller. Currently, there were six books available, and he was on book two. He figured if he paced it right, he’d have entertainment for the coming cold months. He had learned while in the service to take his time reading. If he read as fast as he normally did, he would run out of books and be bored until the next one of whatever series he was reading became available.
Hours later, he took Tator out for his bathroom ritual before going to bed. Once in the bedroom, Tator settled in the bed in the crate he had purchased for the little guy. He would probably have to purchase a bigger one later, once Tator became full grown, but for now, the one he purchased would work for several months. Since he was now home twenty-four seven, Kent had all the time in the world to train Tator. Besides, if he was called out on any missions for either search and rescue or the Brotherhood Protection, Tator would be with him. Might as well train him properly from the beginning.
