Red: The Adventure Begins Read online

  But Red and Russell agreed on nearly everything.

  And he was just as stubborn as she was.

  When the women reported back to Savage that Red would be going back to work at the hospital when her maternity leave was up, Savage was flustered.

  So much so that he said a few words to them that almost guaranteed he wouldn’t be invited to any church socials either. Then he unceremoniously threw them out of his office.

  He’d pegged Red wrong. He thought she would want to be a part of Riley’s daily life so much that she’d give up her career as a scrub nurse and stay at home with him instead.

  And he was hoping that by doing so, it would be even harder for the couple to make their mortgage payments.

  While Red was in the hospital, he’d stationed a man in the hospital parking lot. The man sat in his car for hours, reading magazines and chatting on the phone with his girlfriend. When Russell came to visit his wife and son, the man put down the phone and paid closer attention.

  And when Butch pulled into the same lot an hour later, he picked it back up again.

  Only this time he didn’t call his girlfriend.

  He called Savage.

  “They’re both in Austin, at Mercy Hospital.”

  Savage, in turn, placed his own phone call.

  “Go now. They’re both in Austin, so you have at least an hour to hit both places. Keep your phone handy, and I’ll call you back if one of them leaves.”

  The men Savage hired were professional burglars. And they didn’t come cheap. But he knew they would be thorough, and would leave no traces behind to show they’d been in Red’s house, and then in Butch’s.

  Their mission was to retrieve Red’s copy of the mortgage paperwork, so that it couldn’t be used to challenge Savage’s bogus documents later in court.

  The break-in at Butch’s was Savage’s effort to cover all the bases, in case Red made her father a backup copy.

  But it was all for naught, and Savage wasted the eight thousand dollars he paid the burglars for the job.

  They found the floor safe in Red’s and Russell’s house easily enough. Savage had bribed the builder to tell him where it was.

  And the burglars were able to crack it with no problem.

  But the only thing in it were Russell’s passport, the jewelry Rita had left for Red, and a little cash.

  Butch’s house had no safe. At least not that they could find. Butch was old school. He hid things around his property in places no one would think to search.

  The burglars would have found the copy of the mortgage documents Red had made for him if they’d looked a bit harder.

  But probably the last place they’d look was in the small fireproof box beneath the floorboards of the old feed house out behind the barn.

  When the pair of burglars returned to Savage’s office, he was waiting in great anticipation.

  Then they reported that they found none of the documents they were looking for.

  The burglaries were a total bust.

  Savage grew angry at the men and demanded his money back.

  They responded by reminding him that there were no guarantees in their business. They’d done what they were paid to do. They couldn’t be faulted that the documents Savage said would be there weren’t.

  An argument ensued, and Savage cursed the men and threatened to ruin them.

  When they walked out of his office he slammed the door behind them.

  A week later Savage’s own home was burglarized in broad daylight, while he sat in his bank on Main Street.

  Over eighty thousand dollars in gold bullion and hundred dollar bills were taken.

  But that was probably just a coincidence.

  Chapter 18

  A few months later Butch was behind the counter of his hardware store.

  Riley was sitting in his carrier atop the counter, cooing at his Grandpa.

  And laughing at Grandpa’s silly faces.

  Red walked in the door and Butch looked at his watch.

  Butch exclaimed, “No!”

  Red gave him a confused look and asked, “No, what?”

  “No, you can’t have him. I get him until five o’clock. That was our agreement.”

  “Yeah, well about that…”

  “About that, nothing. How am I supposed to teach him about the ways of the world if you pick him up before his lesson is finished?”

  “Oh, Dad, he’s not even a year old yet. I’m quite sure he’s got plenty of time to learn the ways of the world.”

  Then out of curiosity she asked, “And just what were you teaching him, by the way?”

  “I was teaching him about women, and how they can’t be trusted.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Butch looked at Riley and said, “Your mama needs to clean her ears. I think potatoes have started to grow in them.”

  Riley didn’t have a clue what he said, but giggled anyway.

  Butch turned back to his daughter.

  “I said women can’t be trusted.”

  “That’s what I thought you said. If you weren’t my daddy, and if I didn’t love you so much, I’d make you eat those words.”

  “I never eat words when I’m telling the truth.”

  Red was partly irritated and partly hurt, but egged him on nonetheless.

  “Dad, what have I ever said to you that was untrue?”

  “You said I could watch the big guy every day while you were at work. From nine a.m. to five p.m.”

  He pointed to the clock on the wall beside him.

  “I present to you Exhibit A, your honor. It is exactly one forty seven p.m. And that clock is accurate. I know because I set it myself, and I am the epitome of perfection.”

  He then finished with a flourish.

  “Your honor, I rest my case.”

  Red eyed her father for a brief moment and said, “My, you’re quite a smartass today, aren’t you?”

  “Where do you think you got it from?”

  “Good point.”

  “Actually, the big guy and I were discussing what his nickname should be.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “We settled on Rusty. You don’t get a vote. And even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. He and I both voted for Rusty, so you’d still be outnumbered.”

  “Oh, is that right?”

  “Yep. Isn’t it right, Rusty?”

  Butch turned to Riley, hoping against hope that he’d pick that very moment to grunt out something akin to “yes.”

  But all he got was a smile.

  It was good enough for Butch.

  “See? He said he agreed.”

  “He did, huh? Apparently you have better hearing than I do.”

  “Yeah, we already established that with the potato theory.”

  “Can I at least ask, why Rusty?”

  “Well, you took my childhood nickname because I didn’t use it anymore. And you insisted everyone call you Red. And it fits you because of your red hair and fiery attitude.

  “Russell’s childhood nickname was Rusty, and he hasn’t used it since he grew up. I know because I asked him. I also asked him why they called him that, and he said every year when they cranked up the little league baseball season, it took him half a season to get his mojo back. His teammates always said he was way too rusty to make the starting lineup.”

  “And just what, pray tell, does that have to do with my son?”

  “Absolutely nothing, my dear child. But he does have your red hair, and it is sort of catchy, don’t you think?”

  She thought for a moment and admitted, “Yes. It is. I like it.”

  “Come on, you didn’t have to give in so easily. I was just starting to have fun.”

  “That’s why I gave in. Duh.”

  Butch looked at Riley and said, “Okay. It’s agreed, then. Your new nickname is Rusty.”

  Then he turned back to Red.

  “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. He’s got a poopy diaper. I was getting ready to change it, but n
ow that you’re here…”

  “Dad!”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. After I change him, do you want to go to the drug store for a sundae?”

  “That depends. Are you buying?”

  “No. I can’t change a poopy diaper and buy ice cream all in the same day. It’s against my principles. Of course, if you want to change the diaper…”

  “As I said, my darling daughter, I would love to buy you ice cream. Let me pull Vincent out of the stockroom and tell him to watch the counter.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Butch returned a minute later with a twenty something man in tow.

  Red said, “Hi, Vinny.”

  “Hi, Red. You’re looking right nice today.”

  Red looked down at the green hospital scrubs she was wearing. Her hair was still tied in a bun.

  “Um, thanks.”

  As Red and Butch were walking out the hardware store door, Riley giggled. He enjoyed it when Butch carried him because he exaggerated his arm movements to give the boy a wild swinging ride.

  “You never did tell me how you managed to get off work so early.”

  “I didn’t get off early. I quit my job.”

  Chapter 19

  They sat at the soda counter in the old fashioned drug store a block farther down Main Street. The counter hadn’t been upgraded or remodeled since Red was a young girl.

  Several years-old wads of her chewed bubble gum were still stuck to the underside of each of the stools.

  She used a plastic knife to cut the banana in her banana split into slices.

  “I thought I could handle it. I mean, I’ve gutted fish since I could hold a knife. I shoot and dress my own game, and skin rabbits and squirrels and foxes with the best of them.

  “Blood and guts don’t bother me. Never have.

  “And it’s a very interesting field. It’s one where I did some good. I helped people live. But the one thing I just could not handle… and never will, as long as I live…”

  Butch knew there was no rushing Red when she went the long route in explaining something.

  So he held his tongue and patiently waited.

  Butch noticed that Red had tears in her eyes. She rubbed her right eye with the heel of her hand and glanced furtively around to make sure no one was watching.

  She had an image to maintain, after all. And it just wouldn’t do for someone to see her cry.

  She waited until the soda jerk, a pimple-faced boy just out of high school, was at the far end of the counter and out of earshot.

  Then she continued.

  “Today we had a six year old girl in for heart surgery. A congenital heart defect. She’d been deteriorating for a while now, and the family had been told this was her last hope.

  “Her name was Hannah. She was a sweet little thing, and so cheerful. I made a rookie mistake. I got to know her before the surgery, knowing that there are always risks during even minor procedures.

  “And hers was anything but minor.

  “She coded, right there on the table. Her heart just couldn’t handle it. We tried everything. Nothing… not heart massage, shock, adrenaline… nothing worked.

  “They finally called it forty minutes after she flat-lined. None of us wanted her to die. Even the surgeons were bawling.”

  “Now honey, I know you’ve seen that kind of thing before.”

  “You don’t understand, Dad. We’ve lost other patients on the table, sure. But it’s different when you lose a child. I can’t explain it. A life should be a life should be a life. But a child… it’s just harder.

  “And it was made much harder by the fact that when we prepped her, she asked me to hold her hand until she went to sleep.

  “It seemed like such a small thing to ask, and she was so sweet.

  “I stood over her making faces at her while they placed the mask over her face. It seemed to take away some of her anxiety and she smiled at me.

  “Then, just before she closed her eyes and her hand went limp, she suddenly got a strange look on her face. It was almost a look of horror.

  “This is going to sound insane, Dad. But I think at that moment she knew she was going to die.

  “And I did too.

  “Everything was routine after that. I was shaken, but put my game face on and did everything by the book. I said a silent prayer and asked God to prove me wrong. That she was going to come through everything just fine, and I’d soon be playing Old Maid again with her in the recovery room.

  “Then the heart monitor went flat and all hell broke loose.

  “I walked out of there, knowing in my mind that I did everything just the way I was trained. Exactly the way I was supposed to.

  “But she trusted me to get her through it. And she saw or sensed something at the last second that made her realize I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop whatever was going to happen. And I’m convinced she foresaw her own death.

  “My face was the last face on earth she saw. It wasn’t her mother’s face, or her father’s. It was mine. And I let her down.

  “I turned in my badge and told them I was sorry, but I just can’t do this anymore.”

  Chapter 20

  "Well, your timing couldn't have been better,"

  Red and Russell looked up at Butch from the dining room table.

  Butch was standing at the stove, flipping pancakes.

  "What do you mean, Dad?"

  "Vincent's been talking to a Marine recruiter about joining the Marines. He told me the other day he decided to go for it and he'll be leaving for boot camp in a couple of weeks. I was getting ready to put a "help wanted" sign in the store window.

  "Now it looks like you've saved me the trouble."

  "Vinny's going to join the Marines? He doesn't weigh more than ninety pounds And he's the most timid guy I've ever met. He jumps if he turns too quickly and sees his shadow behind him. Those drill instructors will chew him up and spit him back out."

  "I don't know about that. Vincent is a lot tougher than he looks. He's not afraid of hard work or long hours, and he can lift his own weight. I've seen him do it many times when he unloads trucks or loads heavy items for customers."

  "Yeah, Dad. But didn't you tell me once that drill instructors seek out the timid and pick on them?"

  "It's part of the process, honey. They yell at everybody to find the weak links in the chain, yes. They try to find out who is going to break down, and who is going to cry, and who is going to quit. And yes, they ride those people extra hard, trying to find their breaking point.

  "Because if a man is going to break or freeze up it's a lot better to find them and weed them out in boot camp, than to find them in combat. On a battlefield, when someone breaks under the pressure or freezes up, good men get killed."

  "And you don't think a frail guy like Vinny would break?"

  "He might. You never can tell. Sometimes even the strongest men do. But I've talked to him a few times about it, and I told him that I'd work with him until he left. I think if he goes in with the proper mindset he'll do just fine."

  "Work with him how, exactly?"

  "Well, the first time he told me he talked to the recruiter, I assessed his physical abilities. As I said, he's stronger than he looks, when it comes to lifting things. But he was deficient in other areas. So we've been working to build his stamina and upper body strength."

  "How so?"

  "Every morning when he comes in, I make him do twenty pushups and twenty chin-ups. He has to do twenty more of each before he goes home. And I told him to keep a log at home, and to do a hundred pushups and a hundred pull-ups at home each day.

  "Every afternoon I call him up front at four o'clock. I tell him if he can do one hundred sit-ups without stopping, he can go home an hour early with pay. So far he's made it up to seventy one, but that's not bad for a guy who started at eighteen only five weeks ago.

  "And, oh yeah, I give him an extended lunch break so he can go run two miles every day.

 
Russell was impressed.

  "Wow, Butch, it sounds like you're really getting into this project."

  "Oh, the physical stuff is the easy part. He'll be in good enough shape to handle whatever they throw at him. It's the mental aspect that's the tough part.

  "I've been telling him that the drill instructors will yell at him the first few days pretty much non-stop. Even if he does everything perfectly. That's one of their tactics to identify the weak links. Once they identify the weak links, they'll focus mostly on them and leave everyone else pretty much alone. It's important that they determine if the weaker guys have a breaking point. And if they do, the DIs try to push them past it. Then they can be assessed to see if they can be saved.

  "Sometimes the instructors can toughen them up and save them. Unfortunately, sometimes they can't, and they wash those recruits out. But like I said, if a man can't handle the stresses of boot camp, he won't be able to handle the stresses of combat. And a battlefield is a bad place to find out the guy next to you can't carry his share of the load."

  Red said, "This is all well and good, but how did we get on the subject of Vinny joining the Marines again?"

  Butch realized he'd gotten distracted, wanting to brag a bit about his pet project.

  "I'm sorry. The point is, once Vincent leaves for basic training, I'll need some help around the store. You can come back to work for your old man again, just like you did before you went off to nurse’s training.

  "I can't pay you as much as the hospital did. But business has been pretty good lately. So I can give you back your old wages plus a cost of living raise."

  He turned to his son in law.

  "Russell, you’ve never told me exactly how much you got paid as a law clerk, but you guys were able to stay ahead of your bills before. Can you still do it if Red comes back to the store?"

  Red interrupted.

  "Dad, are you sure you can afford this?"

  "Yes. And if business gets bad, I can even dip into Rusty's college fund. We'll have plenty of time to replenish that later, and when your husband is a highbrow injury lawyer, y'all will be able to throw some big bucks into his fund."