Page 1 of The Gunnery Sergeant's Ready-Made Family

Chapter One

Stevie stifled a sigh as she bent to look her four-year-old nephew in the eyes. “Ranger, I know you were trying to help me, but you must never, ever play with the stove, do you understand? It is dangerous, you could have been hurt.” Stevie hugged Ranger close, silently thanking God that no harm had come to him.

Stevie surveyed the kitchen with dismay. While she had been busy bathing Finn, Ranger had left the safety of the lounge room, and his favourite cartoons, to try and make breakfast. Stevie’s heart constricted at the thought. The table had been laid with an assortment of plastic dishes, an old saucepan sat askew on the stove, hanging over the edge in a precarious fashion. The eggs that hadn’t made it into the saucepan decorated the stovetop, mixed in with speckled shells, a bag of flour lay ruptured in the middle of the floor.

Stevie ruffled Ranger’s hair as she straightened up. “How about we clean this mess up, okay, and then we’ll go into town and have breakfast at Annette’s Diner.” Her suggestion was met with a loud whoop from Ranger, she knew how much he loved going to the diner. It didn’t take Stevie long to clean up the kitchen and she was soon unbuckling Finn from his car seat and carrying him into the diner, Ranger holding tight to her other hand.

Annette’s Diner looked like it had been pulled straight out of a history book. The deep red and chrome booths were homely and welcoming, and there was a family vibe to the place, everyone belonged here. As Stevie helped Ranger slide into a booth, a waitress appeared at her side, setting up a highchair and passing Ranger a box of crayons for his colouring-in placemat. Stevie smiled her gratitude, securing Finn in the highchair and sliding into the seat opposite Ranger.

Breakfast passed in a symphony of baby coos and children giggling, Ranger devouring his child-sized stack of berry pancakes with gusto, opting for a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Stevie wouldn’t usually agree to breakfast dessert, but Ranger was so excited with the prospect, Stevie didn’t have the heart to say no to him. With breakfast finished, Stevie hurried to clean the table, not wanting to leave the mess for their server to have to deal with and drove the boys home. The drive home was silent, punctuated only by Finn’s yawns, his eyes drooping.

Once inside, Stevie scooped Finn up and carried him through to the second bedroom, changing his diaper and dressing him in a wondersuit. There was something so soothing about holding a baby, about breathing in the scent of baby talcum powder that soothed Stevie’s soul, and she took a moment to hold Finn close, rocking him gently, before finally laying him in his cot and tucking him in.

Turning her attention towards Ranger, Stevie helped him to wash his face and snuggled him up in his bed. Stevie knew Ranger would soon outgrow a morning nap, or rest time as they called it, but she was happy to encourage it for as long as possible. As was their routine, she told him funny stories about his mummy and daddy until he drifted off to sleep. As she pulled his bedroom door closed, a smile formed on her face at his softly spoken words.

“Love you, Aunt Stevie.”

Despite the fact that it wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet, Stevie was exhausted! It had been a long morning for her, as much as she adored her nephews, caring for them while their dad was away was not all sunshine and roses. At ten months old, Finn was too young to understand the comings and goings of adults, as long as he was snuggled and fed, he was generally content.

Ranger, however, was different. At four years old, he was old enough to miss his dad, yet still young enough to not quite understand what it meant to have a commitment to community service. He knew that his dad was a Staff Sergeant, a highly decorated and respected marine, serving his country, but he was still his dad. A dad who he missed. Stevie did everything that she could to help Ranger with the transition, but there were some things that even Stevie was unable to help him with. It wasn’t always Stevie who looked after the boys while their dad was deployed, it used to be Amanda, the boys’ mother, before everything went wrong.

Stevie pressed her lips together to stop the sob that suddenly rose up in her throat. She had loved Amanda; she was the sister that Stevie had never had. It had been a whirlwind romance, and when God had blessed them with Ranger, Kyle and Amanda had been overjoyed. They had made a beautiful family, right up until the end.

Kyle had been on an overseas deployment when Amanda had fallen in the rain, her stomach turning purple with bruises. Although she thought it was an overreaction, she had taken her doctor’s advice and received an ultrasound. Stevie had been there with her when the doctor came back into the room, one look at his face had told her it was not good news. Ovarian cancer. Amanda was lucky that it had been detected at all, most of the symptoms go unnoticed until it is too late. Amanda and Stevie had never been more thankful for rainy days and slippery sidewalks.

Kyle had been granted leave and returned home to help Amanda through her treatments. It was at her monthly check-up that her prognosis went awry. While the tumour had been shrinking, a blood test indicated that Amanda was pregnant, and she was forced to make a choice no mother ever wants to have to make. After a week in prayer, Amanda had her answer. She would not gamble with her child’s life, the pregnancy would continue, and she would cease all treatments immediately.

Stevie had given up her apartment and moved in with Kyle and Amanda, working remotely, to be on hand should they need help with anything. As her pregnancy neared an end, it became clear that Amanda would not see her baby grow up. When Finn was born via caesarean, the doctor’s allowed Amanda time to hold him close, before transferring him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Kyle refused to leave Amanda’s side, and with Stevie keeping a prayerful vigil beside Finn’s humidicrib, their church family had rallied, caring for Ranger, and bringing him to the hospital to see Amanda. Five days after Finn was born, Amanda slipped away, Kyle comforted by the fact that they would be together again one day.

Stevie shook her head with a sigh, dislodging her painful memories and wiping a stray tear from her eye. This was Kyle’s first deployment since Amanda had died, it was bound to stir up painful memories for everyone. Stevie was just glad that it was only a short tour, eight weeks in total, and that Kyle would be home in time to celebrate Finn’s first birthday.

Rest time for the boys was Stevie’s busiest part of the day. She still found it hard to believe just how much laundry two small children could create. She seemed to exist in a never-ending cycle of washing, drying, folding and ironing. She wondered if that changed as they grew older?

Stevie was on her third load of laundry when she heard knocking at the door. She hurried to the door, not wanting the noise to wake the children. Opening the door, her throat constricted at the sight of three officers, wearing the Service Alpha uniform.

“May I help you?” her voice was barely a whisper, but the men had obviously heard her.

“Ma’am, are you Stephanie Elizabeth Delaney?”

“Yes.” Stevie’s fingers dug into the edge of the heavy wooden door. She was vaguely aware of neighbours ushering children inside their houses, of furtive glances in her direction.

“I’m Master Sergeant Thomas Richards, this is Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Sykes, and Chaplain Barnes. May we come in please?”

“No.” Surprise coloured their faces at Stevie’s answer.

“Ma’am, please, it would be best to go inside.” Urged Chaplain Barnes.

“No,” Stevie reiterated. “Tell me here, tell me now.”

“Ma’am, please come inside.”

“No.” Stevie’s voice shook. “Tell me now, please, just say it, just say it, please.” Master Sergeant Thomas Richards, Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Sykes, and Chaplain Barnes shared a look, before Chaplain Barnes gave a slight nod.

“The commandant of the Marine Corps has entrusted me to express his deep regret that your brother Kyle was killed in action in Afghanistan by enemy fire while on patrol with his unit.” Master Sergeant Thomas Richards spoke softly, Stevie barely registering his words, her entire body shaking. “The commandant extends his deepest sympathy to you and your family in your loss.”

“No, no, no!” Sobs tore through Stevie’s body as she sunk onto the porch, shaking with grief.

---