Teresa Southwick - Unmasking The Maverick

She held out her hand. “Edna Halstead.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Same here. Luke Stockton says you can fix anything.”

“I wouldn’t say that, but I’m pretty good at repairs.” He nodded at the small appliance she was holding. “Having trouble with that?”

“Blasted thing just quit. They don’t make things like they used to. It’s practically new.”

“That’s always the way. I’ll see what I can do.”

She handed it over. “Just when I got my husband to drink protein shakes, too.”

“I’m guessing he’d be just as happy if I couldn’t fix this.” He put the base and pitcher on the workbench then looked back at her still staring at him. “Was there something else?”

“Mind looking at it now? I’d rather not make another trip out here. Unless you’re too busy...”

“No, ma’am.”

“Good. I wouldn’t expect it would take long. It isn’t the space station. If it’s a goner, I expect you’ll know that right away.”

“Yeah.” He picked up a small screwdriver to take apart the base.

“I don’t expect a lifetime warranty,” she said. “Still, you should get a little more time out of something.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“It’s not expensive to get another one, but just on general principle I don’t want to do that.”

“No, ma’am.” He checked out all the connections and the cord, then cleaned and tightened anything that looked to be loose while the woman chattered away.

“The thing is, my husband, J.T., and I are retired and on a fixed income, so we have a budget.”

“Understood.”

“Are you military, Mr. Tanner?”

“Was.” And he missed it, even more after losing his dad. He missed his brothers. Missed doing work that was important. Now he had no mission, no focus except to be in the best possible physical shape for reenlisting.

“What branch of the service?” Her eyes glittered with interest.

“Marine Corps.”

“ Semper fi. Your service is much appreciated and welcome home.”

“Thank you.” He stopped working and met her gaze. “Were you in the military?”

She shook her head. “Only by marriage. J.T. was a marine.”

“Vietnam?”

“Did my age give it away?” she teased.

“No, ma’am. What is it they say? Fifty is the new forty?”

She laughed. “I’m a little north of that. Almost seventy. And you know it.”

“Doesn’t show. And what I know is a lot of service members who served their country during that conflict were never properly welcomed home. That wasn’t right.”

“No.” Her mouth pulled tight for a moment. “Since then folks have learned to separate service to country from politics. Hopefully that will never happen again. Some make the ultimate sacrifice. Others live with physical disabilities.”

Something in her expression said she knew about that. “Your husband?”

“He lost a leg—above the knee.”

“Sorry to hear that, ma’am.”

“Stop calling me that. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel like I lived through the Revolutionary War. Edna, Ed or Eddie will do.”

“Yes, ma—” He saw her glare and stopped. “Eddie.”

“Good choice.” She grinned. “And don’t be feeling sorry for J.T. He’s taken it in stride, if you’ll pardon the pun. He’s one tough marine. The few—”

“The proud. The Marines,” he finished.

“Oorah.”

He closed up the blender base. “There’s no real obvious sign of trouble. I tightened a few loose wires and made sure the rest was shipshape. Let’s plug it in and see.”

“Sure do hope you’re as good as Luke claims.”

“Here goes.” He saw her cross her fingers.

He plugged in the blender and with one last look at her he pushed a button. The thing came to life and the woman smiled her appreciation.

“Looks like you’re back in the protein shake business,” he told her. “Hope your husband is happy, too.”

“He’d rather have his bacon, eggs and fried potatoes. But we have a deal. A healthy breakfast earns a scoop of ice cream after dinner.”

“Seems fair.”

“He doesn’t think so but we both know who the commanding officer is.”

“Skipper.” Brendan saluted. “Only an idiot would mix it up in a skirmish like that.”

“Speaking of idiots...” There was a gleam in her eyes. “What woman did you ask to dinner?”

He froze. “What?”

“You were mumbling to yourself about it when I came in.”

“You heard that?” he asked.

“It’s a popular misconception that all old people are hard of hearing. For the record, there’s nothing wrong with my ears. You apparently are having second thoughts about asking a woman to dinner. So I’d like to know what woman we’re talking about and I can tell you whether or not you’re right about being an idiot.”

He already knew he was. He momentarily toyed with the idea of saying we weren’t talking about anything, but something told him Eddie Halstead would have a big problem with that response.

“I fixed a tractor at the Rusty Bucket Ranch earlier today and—”

“Fiona O’Reilly.” It took her all of a second and a half to put it together.

“How did you know?”

“You don’t seem the type to hit on a married woman. Her sisters, Fallon and Brenna, are. To Jamie Stockton and Travis Dalton respectively.” She nodded firmly. “Since Fiona is the last single O’Reilly daughter and lives on the Rusty Bucket Ranch, she must be the woman in question.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“And you’re not an idiot,” she said. “Why would you think so? She’s beautiful, smart and dependable.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Bravo Sierra,” she snapped, using marine slang for BS. “That just means you don’t want to talk about it.”

She was dead-on about that. “Look, if it’s all the same to you—”

“Eddie Halstead.” Luke walked in and gave the older woman a big hug. “I saw your car outside and had to come and say hello.”

“Good to see you, Luke.” She glanced at Brendan. “You were right about him. He fixed my blender.”

“So, J.T. will be back in the business of drinking his breakfast,” the rancher guessed.

“A shake is healthier than bacon and eggs,” she said stubbornly. “Especially if he’s going to keep up with his chores.”

“Eva would agree with that.”

“And my stubborn man isn’t getting any younger. He’s got arthritis in his hands and one good leg. These days, climbing on a ladder is like a combat mission.” She looked from Brendan to Luke. “He’s pretty handy but I don’t like him on a ladder. Ladder fall figures increase with age and physical condition. The man is sixty-eight years old, although you wouldn’t know it to look at him. Don’t tell him I said that. The point is, he’s too old to be on a ladder even if he had two good legs. Gonna make putting up Halloween decorations a challenge this year.”

“I’d be happy to help out.” Brendan looked at her. “Say the word and I’ll swing by.”

“Come to think of it,” she said as she tapped her lip. “The refrigerator is making a funny noise.”

“Make a list,” he said.

“I would sure appreciate it. The thing is, J.T.’s proud, if you get my drift.”

“Sure do,” Brendan said. “But if he gives you any trouble, just tell him it’s one marine helping out a brother.”

“I don’t want to take up your time,” she said.

“He’s got plenty to spare,” Luke interjected.

“Seems so,” Eddie said. “He just fixed the O’Reilly’s tractor and instead of taking money he’s taking Fiona out to dinner.”

“Well, well.” Luke grinned. “All because of a house call.”