Nashville SEAL: Jameson: Nashville SEALs (13 page)

They visited a children’s clothing store, and she bought Charlotte a cute flowered dress with matching watermelon hat. Both were on sale. Spending money made her feel good, but it was an extravagance they couldn’t do very often. Seeing how much her daughter loved the dress and especially the hat brightened her day.

On the way back, she decided to stop by Kyle and Christy’s house to ask about what to bring for the farewell beach party. As she was turning off the car, she got the text she’d been hoping for. Jameson had touched down in Nashville.

Sounds of kids screaming in the background gave her second thoughts. But she’d already decided she needed the support of the wife of her husband’s platoon leader. In a way, she was following orders that had been handed down. This was what you did when you were missing your man. You found someone else who had been through it before, and you’d talk.

She rang the doorbell and the kid’s voices quieted, but Christy was shouting orders.

When the door opened, Lizzie remarked how put together Christy looked, even watching children. She was dressed in a suit and high heels, her blonde hair done up in a twisted roll fastened with a jewel-studded comb.

“Lizzie! And Charlotte!” She stepped onto the porch and gave her a big hug, then bent down and gave one to Charlotte too. Before following her two guests inside, Christy checked the street. “The damned sitter is late again.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Listen, I won’t be long. Just stopped by to let you know I put Jameson on the plane this morning. He’s already arrived in Nashville.”

Christy stared into her like she could see all the way through. “How you holding up?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a naughty word around here. Fine means you’re lying.” Christy grabbed her in another hug. “Oh sweetie. It gets better. But for your very first deployment, you should be with your man. I didn’t approve of Kyle’s decision.”

The beautiful Realtor had her hands on her hips. A tall light brown-haired boy with a missing front tooth and freckles appeared to her side. “Mom. They want to do the Slip-N-Slide. Can I set it up?”

“No, Brandon, not until Cassie comes.” Christy opened the door and checked again. “She’s usually on time.” Then she focused on the kids. Brandon appeared to be the oldest. The middle child was a girl wearing a cotton skirt over a bathing suit and hot pink dress-up high heels. She looked to be about Charlotte’s age, between three and four. “Brandon, this is Courtney. She’s Jameson’s daughter. You remember? Daddy’s friend who plays the guitar?”

“Yea. He said he’d teach me.”

“That sounds like Jameson.” Lizzie watched as the two girls walked toward each other.

“Isn’t that funny how that happens? It’s like the kids know they’re special.”

The girls introduced themselves without the adults. “I better get her before she doesn’t want to come home.”

“Let her stay and play for awhile. No harm.” She checked slim diamond watch, turning her wrist over to read the dial on the underside, just like some of the guys did when they wore unnecessary timepieces. “Guess I better give her a call.”

Just then they heard a car pull up.

“Oh good. She’s here.” Christy opened the door. “I was beginning to wonder, Cassie.”

“I’m so sorry Mrs. Lansdowne. I got a late start this morning. We just moved into our apartment last month and I still can’t find everything.”

“No worries.” Christy gave the young woman a hug as well. “This is Lizzie, married to one of our Team guys. That little cutie over there is Charlotte, their daughter.”

“Oh she’s an angel.”

“A very precocious angel.”

“I love kids like that. Keeps you on your toes, though. Will she be staying?”

Christy said yes, as Lizzie said no.

Christy added, “I told her to let her stay for awhile. You can see she’s good for Stephie. Look how they’re playing already.”

“I should go. Christy, I think I’m holding you up.”

“Nonsense. Don’t be silly.” Then she addressed Cassie, “Could you watch them for a bit while I have a quick chat with Lizzie?”

“Sure, no problem, Mrs. Lansdowne.” She herded them away from the living room, down the hallway. “Let’s go into Stephie’s room.”

They both heard Brandon say, “I’m
not
playing with dolls. Luke and I—” his stubborn little boy voice was shut behind a closed door.

“Come on. Sit.” Christy took her hand and sat next to her on the sofa. “So let’s talk about this
fine
thing.”

“It’s okay, Christy. I’m still learning the ropes though I’ve been down here a few months.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Takes awhile. But then you’ll be good to go, and you’ll be helping some of the newer wives cope with their new lives. It isn’t for everyone.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining. Really. We’ve been separated before, but it’s just—” Despite her efforts, tears started trickling down her cheeks.

“That damned husband of mine doesn’t have a clue sometimes when he’s dealing with men and their wives. I give him a hard time all the time. He’s like a kid. He never should have allowed Jameson to go out there without you.”

“Well, that’s part of the thing, we really can’t afford it. If Thomas—that’s Jameson’s best friend—if Thomas hadn’t sent him the ticket, we wouldn’t have been able to do it. I think that’s the main reason he said no.”

“Hmmm. Would you go if I could get you a ticket?”

“No, Christy, you don’t have to do that.”

Christy’s smile was broad and patient. “I know I don’t have to do that, but that’s not the question I asked you. If I got you a free ticket, would you take it?”

“You mean join him in Nashville?”

“Yes, silly. What did you think I meant?”

“Well, I really don’t want to take Charlotte, and—”

“You can leave her here with me. First, let me see if I can get a ticket. That’s the first thing.”

Christy hit a button on her cell phone and spoke with someone who gave her another number to call. “Hi Rogena. I’m Kyle Lansdowne’s wife, Christy.” She nodded to the room. “Yes, I enjoyed that too. Thank you so much. Listen, I know that in some cases you can get discounted tickets for emergency leave for our boys—” She listened again and looked down at Lizzie seated on the couch. “Well it is. You see, one of our new guys has to fly back to Nashville—it’s a family thing.” Christy scrunched up her nose at the lie she’d just told. “And these guys are due to deploy next Wednesday. They’re newly married, and this is their last weekend together. She didn’t go with him because his ticket was provided, but hers was not, and, well you know how they are, just starting out.”

She held her fingers crossed, pursed her lips and closed her eyes. When her eyes flew open and Christy broke into a big smile, Lizzie knew she had scored the tickets.

“Oh my god! Are you sure? What luck. They’re leaving today? Oh,
thank you
! Do I call them? How do I get these to her?”

Christy nodded her head, her right hand flying through the air. At last she started dancing, her gold Trident bouncing on her chest.

“Good. I’ll check my email in five minutes then. You sure there’s space?” After confirmation, she hung up. Lizzie stood up and the two women embraced again. “There’s some kind of a celebration in Nashville and we had six guys going from Coronado to speak to the crowd. One of them has a wife in labor and can’t go. You’re in, Lizzie!”

“So when is it?”

She checked her cell phone. “Oh my God. You’ll have to hurry. The flight leaves in three hours.”

Lizzie did the math. If she got back on the freeway, she could just make it, and the early afternoon commuter traffic wouldn’t start for another two hours. “Okay. If I leave Charlotte here—”

“Done! I’ll just put her in Stephie’s clothes. Anything at your house you need me to handle for you while you’re gone?”

“Well, I am coming right back, right?”

“I didn’t even ask. Don’t worry about that. I’m sure you could take an earlier flight on Sunday, maybe try to get the same one he’s on.”

“You sure they’ll accept a name change?”

“We do it all the time, switch guys around. They’re used to us here. Southwest is very military friendly.”

“Okay, then. Should I call Jameson?” Lizzie’s nerves were frazzled. She was picking herself emotionally off the floor, coming from a slightly depressed state to now avid anticipation. She couldn’t believe her good luck.

“No. Don’t tell him. Surprise him, sweetie. It will be great. You’ll see.”

“Thank you, Christy. I just don’t know what to say.”

“Get your fanny over to that house and get your ass to the airport.”

Lizzie ran down the hall, knocked at the door and got the unison, “Come In.”

“Charlotte, honey?” She scrambled to knee next to her daughter. I’m going to leave you here for a little while. Overnight. Maybe two nights. Would you like that?”

“Where will you be, Mommy?”

“I’m going to go see your daddy. He’s in Nashville, sweetheart, and I’m going to go see him. Won’t that be great? You can stay here and play with Stephie. Is that okay?”

At first Charlotte was passive, calculating what had just been told her.

Brandon piped up. “Tell him to bring me a guitar.”

“Me too!” shouted Charlotte. Soon all five children were asking for one.

“I’m not quite sure about all that, guys. If we can’t do it this trip, we’ll see what we can do later, Okay?”

She hugged Charlotte good-bye, gave another quick hug to Christy and was nearly out the door. She turned back.

“Don’t you think I should warn him?”

“You know where he’s staying? You know where he’s performing?”

“Yes, I got all that.”

“Make sure you bring it.”

“I know Nashville. That’s not the issue. Shouldn’t I tell him? What if he has plans?”

“Plans? I can’t believe you’re saying this, Lizzie. You two are married. What plans could he possibly have that didn’t include you?”

‡

J
ameson’s suite was
outfitted with a bottle of chilled champagne and a huge basket of fruit. He knew he wasn’t the star, but he didn’t mind getting the star treatment. He was going to jump in the shower, get clean and get himself ready. He wanted time to play a little bit to loosen the cobwebs and warm up his voice. Thomas said he’d stop in soon to make some important introductions.

A gentle knock on the door stopped him from stripping for the shower. Thomas’ arm was around a pockmarked guy with slick down hair wearing a cowboy hat too big for his head. The guy quickly removed it and when he smiled, Jameson saw his front gold tooth glint. He didn’t like the man immediately.

“Jameson, this is Butch Snyder from Sony Records. My newest best friend.”

Snyder looked like a Butch
. One eye was slightly off, making it hard to know exactly who or what he was looking at.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Jameson said, extending his hand.

“Likewise. I’m keen on hearing your work, Jameson. Didn’t you almost sign a deal with that guy from MCA?”

“Yes. Close. No cigar.”

“So where’d you disappear to? I tried to find you, and it wasn’t until I ran into Thomas here, that I was able to track you down.”

“Thank you, sir. That’s very flattering. Or, at least I think it is.” He hesitated and then remembered his manners. “Come on in, gents.”

“Nice room, huh?” Thomas fell back on Jameson’s bed. Mr. Snyder examined the fruit basket, opened up the cellophane and, without asking permission, drew out an apple, taking a bite out of it. He hesitated before taking the next bite, holding the fruit at his mouth.

“You don’t mind if I sample my own gift basket?”

“Not at all. I don’t eat much before performances, so help yourself.”

“Yea, that’s what I told them. Some Jack Daniels or something would have been better, I think.”

“I’d have to agree with you there, sir. But not before the performance.” Jameson noticed Thomas had righted himself and was straightening his clothes. His friend walked through the enormous suite, checking out the room’s appointments. Jameson didn’t like the casual change in his friend’s behavior, and his antennae was on full alert.

His door remained open to the hallway and several long legged ladies in short skirts and halter-tops sauntered buy. Jameson had snagged their interest. He turned his back on them, frowned and tried to non-verbally show Thomas he wasn’t pleased with the attention.

The action wasn’t lost on Snyder. “We call them the Andrews sisters. They give the best head this side of the Mississippi.”

That was the line Jameson wouldn’t cross. “Look, fellas, I’m giving up a last weekend with my wife to be here. I agreed to come because Thomas here is my friend, has always been my friend and been there for me, both in good times and bad. But I’ve made it very clear to him, I’m a happily married man, and I have no desire to go back to some of the ways I behaved when I didn’t know better. You understand?”

Snyder raised his eyebrows and put his hat back on. Jameson wanted to say something about the fit, but held his tongue. Rule #1 was always if a man was going to wear a hat, he’d better goddamned know how to get one that fits. It sort of pissed him off.