Discipline
Creed
I was so pissed I couldn’t see strait. I paced as my brothers stood at attention. “I have four days left to make love to my woman and spend time with my daughter. Guess what I was doing when I got the call?”
Both boys gulped.
“Don’t look at me like you’re innocent. If your old enough to fuck then you’re old enough to hear it. At least one of you has a kid on the way, so don’t look at me like you haven’t fucked!” I raised my voice. “I was balls deep in my old lady! My old lady happens to be the hottest woman alive! How happy do you think I was to get that fucking call?”
“Sir, not happy, sir!” They both stood tall like they were taught.
“I’d fucking kill those boys.” Irons said.
I paced again and continued. “Our mother is a selfish bitch, is she not?” I asked.
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Your father didn’t give a shit, did he?” I continued to pace.
“Sir, no, sir!”
I stopped in front of Weston. “Petty theft, speeding, possession of a controlled substance, minor consumption, indecent exposure, assault on a pansy ass little shit, and flunking out of school.” I moved on to Karter. “Flunking school, fucking a fifteen year old girl, a pregnancy, and no intention of taking care of said girl or daughter. You’re a sixteen year old father and you don’t give a shit, just like your old man. You’re selfish and entitled just like our mother, so you don’t get to whine and cry that you have shitty parents. You’re worse than them and I brought you here to become a man and learn how to face your responsibilities!” I stepped back and looked at both of them then pointed at myself. “National Honors Society, a Hockey Scholarship, a Football Scholarship, enlisted and served my country. Green Beret, Delta Force, held captive, shot, stabbed, abandoned by our President, called back up, deployment twice since I separated, built this community, own a business, served multiple contract missions and saved mother fucking lives.” I raised my voice. “And I’m your goddamn brother!” They both jumped. “You should be ashamed of yourselves. I’m facing a certain death. Trying to spend my last days with the woman I love and the child I only wish I could watch grow up. Despite all of that, I cared enough to develop this program for you, taking time away from my own damn family to help you two pussies. Not only should you feel ashamed, you should feel like shit for ripping me away from her so close to my deployment! But do you know why I’m here instead of there?”
“Sir, no, sir!”
“Because I’m not our mother or your dipshit father! I fucking care and sacrificed precious moments to be here with you. We might not know each other all that well, but as your big brother it’s now my responsibility to teach you the value of your life. When you stepped on that jet, I became your commander. You’re living on my dime now, and you will learn how to be men because from where I’m standing, neither of you have bright futures without my help. You can squander it away or you can become men and make your lives matter. If you take what I’m offering, you’ll have life by the balls.” I stopped in front of Karter. “You will hold that baby girl for the first time and regret everything you ever did to her mother. You’ll look into those tiny little eyes and want to promise her the world. But you fucked up and she’s got a piece of shit dad.” I moved over to Weston. “You’ll be eighteen and daddy’s money won’t buy your way out of prison. While some thug forces his huge as fuck cock up your ass and doesn’t even offer a goddamn reach around, you’ll beg and plead for him to just kill you. At this point, we might as well tattoo a bulls eye on your mother fucking asshole.”
I looked at Irons and he handed me two piles of clothes then I looked at the boys. “As I stand here I have to wonder why the hell I care. You were both born into privilege and have no clue how the world works. I was the one abandoned by your mother. I don’t owe either of you shit, but I couldn’t sit idly by as you both screw up other people’s lives and your own. Someday, you’ll thank me for this, but until then you’ve got lessons to learn. You’ll change into these clothes and wear them all day and night for two days. I’d suggest you tuck those balls securely in those whitey tighty underwear. There’s children around here and those dresses are pretty damn short. Nobody wants or needs to see your tiny little nut sacks hanging down below the hem of your dresses. I’ll see you both at 0430 for our usual fitness training.” I turned and slammed the door shut behind me. My only hope for relief from my bad case of blue balls was to pray Morgan let me finish what we started after a few hours sleep.
That was exactly what happened. I set my alarm a little earlier than normal and pulled her in for a surprise spooning session and a quick orgasm before she fell back asleep. Then I met my dipshit brothers and amped up our twelve mile run to fifteen and kicked their little asses until they were due for PT. I didn’t even let them stop for their morning MRE. Then I ran back home, took a shower and slid back in bed with Morgan. I needed a little more of her attention than the little spooning action I got a few hours prior.
Two hours later, Morgan was off to work, and Addie was dropped off at the daycare. As for myself, I took my coffee into my command room and had a meeting with General Pendleton and the Secretary of Defense. After that meeting, I got on my bike and took a ride with the guys. It was our usual ride for lunch at Mrs. Hoffman’s and a meeting with the liars club.
I caught so much shit from them when I returned from California it was unreal. They had been seeing the headlines about my relationship with Morgan. Hell, I caught shit from everyone after they learned about that stupid petition floating around social media. Hell, no I wasn’t going to pose for shit, especially Playgirl.
After lunch, I went down to the command center and got some work done, then my favorite part of the day came when Addie flew into my arms and couldn’t wait to show me the sticker she got again for not making any nasty boys cry.
The next day I met with Jake, and decided to let him sign a non-disclosure. His eyes grew like saucers as I told him the least amount as possible about Creed’s Lake. Then I took him to the security gates, got him a badge and surprised Morgan when he came home with me. I also invited him to stay in one of our apartments.
I wanted to make sure Morgan and Addie had everything they needed before I left. If Morgan needed Jake, then I’d make sure she had Jake. Magnus came and settled into one of the spare rooms, and I met with Axton one last time to look over all the contracts and his strategy plans. Then I took Melissa into Indianapolis and met with the contractor and architect I used to help build Creed’s Lake. The contractor was an old buddy Magnus had as a kid and he was a pretty good man.
Melissa chose a one story ranch style log home with a custom kitchen and bathroom. There would be an elevator to get her to the basement and bunker, plus an attached garage. The good thing was if she ever left, the home would be useful to someone in a wheelchair. Even the light switches were lower in the house and the ceiling fans she chose would hang a little lower. She would have a screened in back porch that faced the lake and a dock. I may have spoiled her a little, but it was worth it. My Addie loved Melissa and she and Morgan were growing closer. The architect already had a few designs ready, and Melissa made her choices, then with some adjustments the plans would be taken for a permit and construction would start. I did not use Creed’s Lake fund’s to build the home. I invested my own money and would earn it back in rent from Melissa.
I tried to think of everything. My biggest priority was making sure my girls had everything they needed. I had a come to Jesus talk with Magnus, warning him not to even consider moving in on my girls. Addie was to be my daughter, and Morgan was to be my wife. If he tried one damn thing, I’d kill him when I got back. If I didn’t make it back, I’d haunt him and make his life a living nightmare.
Then it was time to pull out my fatigues and boots. I had to wash and iron them then shine my boots. I hated every fucking minute of preparation. Every minute that went by felt like someone was ripping my heart out. Two days before I was to be deployed, I left my girls at home and took a quick flight down to Louisiana. There was one last person I needed to see before I left and that was Alexis. She was in college by that time, studying pre-law and trying to live her best life.
After finding Alexis in Afghanistan, all of us kept in touch with her. She even visited Creed’s Lake a few times during her school breaks. I spent some time with her and her parents, then took her out to lunch where I told her about my deployment. She cried, of course, then promised me she would finish her education and visit Creed’s Lake when she had a break. She saw the headlines about Morgan and Addie and had a lot of questions.
When our visit was over, I hopped right back on a flight and made it home before dinner. I believed I had everything about wrapped up. Axton had access to enough money to sustain the community if something off the wall happened, the accounting department had the ability to charge a specific checking account if Morgan and Addie needed it, and I had everything legally wrapped up with my attorneys. Morgan didn’t know, but I did not respect her wishes. In the event of my death, she was to inherit the bulk of my vast estate. Some would go to Alexis, and some would go to Creed’s Lake and the Originals. I set up a trust fund for Addie and a spare unnamed one in case Morgan was pregnant. I kept Axton as my power of attorney and executor. The only reason I didn’t name Morgan was in case some hard decisions had to be made. If critically wounded, I didn’t want to waste away as a vegetable and I didn’t think Morgan would let go of me quick enough. Axton knew all of my wishes, and that also meant he knew what sacrifice I was willing to give when I made the decision to protect my country.
The day before I left, I turned off my phone, loaded the boat, then took my girls out for a quiet day together. Morgan was having a terrible time with her emotions. She tried to act like she was fine in front of Addie, but she broke down several times over the course of the day. She was emotional about me leaving and she began spotting. She felt cramping and knew she was starting her period. She said it felt like we were living in some fantasy all this time and all our happiness was being pulled away from her. I held Addie a little tighter, told her I loved her for the first time, and then it happened.
I was holding Addie as the boat sat still in the middle of the lake. It was a calm day, the sun was out, and there was barely a breeze. Morgan just had a breakdown for the tenth time and was looking in a different direction so Addie wouldn’t see her. Suddenly, Addie rested her head on my chest. “Why doesn’t Dillon’s daddy have to go?” She then lowered her little whisper. “I just got you.”
I took a sharp breath and tried to push down my own emotions. She never used the word daddy before, not since she referred to Shane when she first came home to us. “Dillon’s daddy is needed here, so he can make sure everyone gets to stay happy.”
“All my daddies go away, like Caweb.”
I kissed the top of her head. “I want to be your daddy, and I don’t want to go away. I never want to leave you or Auntie Morgan. But some daddies are needed far away so we can make the world safe for our baby girls and baby boys. Sometimes it’s the mommies that have to go and the daddies stay home. I can promise you one thing, when I come home I’ll make sure to never have to leave you this way again. I will do everything I can to make us a family forever.”
I looked up at Morgan as she stepped toward us and wiped a tear away. I pulled her into us and for a few moments I held both my girls safely in my arms.