Chapter Twelve. #2
I was sure they tried to phrase it so I wouldn’t melt down, but I did.
Lars had been in grave danger, and I’d no idea.
The school hadn’t even called to say he’d been absent.
I was beyond furious. Lars had learned a harsh lesson about playing truant, and it hit home that his teacher hadn’t contacted me.
Nobody would have known Lars was missing until half-past five tonight, which was still hours away.
Maybe Lars would stop being so arrogant.
He’d been overly confident despite all the warnings Vulcan and I had driven into him.
We’d taught Lars to stay local and let people know where he was.
Today, Lars forgot every single lesson. I could have lost my son, and Lars would most certainly have suffered.
He was a good kid, but ever since he’d shot up and begun to broaden, he’d been cocky and mouthy.
Lars had learned size didn’t matter, and neither did a bullshit attitude. Clive Salisbury had put the fear of God into him, which might temper Lars’s impulsiveness. Although, on the other hand, I wanted to throttle Salisbury for scaring Lars so badly. That was a mother’s prerogative!
While I screamed, shouted, and sobbed, Magic had stood solidly at my back. He didn’t say a word; I imagined he’d already said his piece. When I finished and had sent Lars to his room, I collapsed into Magic’s arms and let him provide solid, steady comfort.
“Okay?” Magic murmured as I stepped away from his embrace.
“Magic, I could have lost Lars today. Joined those thousands of parents who wondered where their children were. That would have killed me,” I whispered, wiping my eyes.
“Salisbury wouldn’t have harmed him. He won’t touch kids.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” I grumbled and busied myself making coffee.
“Jody, it’s okay. Lars is home safely, and luckily nothing happened.”
“I’m struggling, Magic. I can’t do this without Vulcan, Aster, and Kanon.”
“You’re not failing, Jody. The children are well-adjusted and happy. They’re grieving, and that’s not going to ease overnight.”
“Lars played truant, walked into a junkie, and got kidnapped. Oskar is being surly and stupid about me potentially dating. Jesper is out of control. Look at the flamethrower incident. Henrik’s suddenly started sleeping at the end of my bed, and I don’t know why.
Viggo is quiet, and Jerrik is constantly overlooked.
As for Laila, she’s trying, like me, to hold everything together. ”
Agitated and full of doubts, I began pacing.
“I make sure each kid receives two hours a week of one-on-one time with me. And on Saturday and Sunday, we have family time, but I’m not enough.
It was bad enough with them missing their fathers.
Now they’re dealing with Aster’s loss, and what’s worse, Aster didn’t need to die!
Aster didn’t have cancer or anything; she just wasted away.
Damn it, Magic, Aster had kids; she should have fought,” I yelled.
Magic stood there and took it. He let me shout and rant until I spewed out everything that was bothering me.
“Aster wasn’t as strong as you believed. She was dependent on your friendship and no doubt on Kanon.”
“Aster wasn’t weak!” I exclaimed.
“She was in the way that Aster needed those she loved around her. You put the children first and dealt with them. I bet you also shored up their kids. Aster couldn’t cope with Kanon’s loss, and I guess she tried but didn’t have the strength. That’s nobody’s fault.”
“Aster left me alone to raise seven kids, and I’m so scared I’m going to screw up,” I whispered.
Magic rubbed a hand over my arm and smiled. “You’re a fuckin’ fantastic Mom,” he boomed.
I laughed a little, although there was a tinge of hysteria to it.
“Do you still like country music?” Magic asked.
“Yeah.” That was random.
“There’s a concert on in Rapid City, in Founder’s Park. I’ve got two tickets if you want to attend.”
“I’d love that, but I don’t think I can leave the kids alone right now.”
“How about some adult babysitters?” Magic suggested.
“Who?”
“My girls, Bunny and Alice, and their husbands. Shitheads, both of them, but they’ll do it,” Magic said.
“Your adopted daughters?”
“They’re not legally mine, but they are by this.” Magic thumped his heart. I melted inside at his heartfelt emotion.
“Magic, I desperately need some adult time,” I admitted, and Magic nodded like he understood.
“Then I’ll call Bunny and Alice,” he said. I agreed; a night out sounded good.
◆◆◆
“What’s this place?” Jesper demanded as we drove into a parking lot.
“Don’t know. Magic just told me to bring you,” I replied.
“Why?” Oskar asked, getting out of the minivan.
“I’m not repeating myself.” I saw a square, flat-roofed building and headed over. The children trailed behind me, none too happy. On entering, a man turned to face us, and I instantly recognised his stance as military.
“Jody?”
“Yes, I was told to come here?”
“I’m retired Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob Reeves, and this is my facility. Magic called and stated you’ve some teens and pre-teens who need to burn off energy.” Jacob eyed Jesper, who was bouncing on his feet. “Guess you’re one of them.”
“What is this place?” Lars asked suspiciously.
“Follow me,” Lieutenant-Colonel Reeves ordered. “Jody, call me Jacob. Kids, address me by title; I earned that respect.”
I hid a smile at the look on their faces, which erupted into a full-blown grin. “Oh, wow.”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Jacob said, as I gazed at the vista before me. “We’ll start with easy.”
“That’s easy?” I gasped, and Jacob grinned.
In front of me were several assault courses, each with different equipment and varying levels of difficulty.
“There’s more than this. We have a ground assault course, a firing range, a fully equipped gym, and combat training.
A lot of armed forces personnel come and train here,” Jacob explained.
“Good, you’re already all in gym gear. See that red line?
I want you all to start jogging and follow that route.
Stick together, no man gets left behind. ”
“Or woman,” Laila quipped. She didn’t look thrilled at the idea of a workout, but I knew she’d try it.
“Go. Today I won’t time you; I’m going to get a feel for your level of fitness,” Jacob said and blew a whistle. The kids stared, unsure if he was joking. “Run!” Jacob bellowed, and they began jogging.
“I’m trying so hard not to laugh,” I admitted. As expected, Lars and Oskar raced ahead, leaving the others behind. I knew Laila could catch them, but she held back.
“The girl listened; those two will regret that,” Jacob promised.
“Can you explain what this is?” I asked as Jacob motioned to a table with benches.
“I’m ex-Delta Force. When I retired, my team and I became a private SAR team.
Search and rescue. We take on rescue missions and save hostages.
I built this to keep our fitness up. You could walk into a Delta Force training ground and find exactly the same equipment.
Now we don’t take on missions unless they need our skills, but we manage this.
Men and women come here to train, and we run a cadet programme.
“That’s what Magic recommended your gang for.
He noted some of the kids needed a release and thought we could help.
I heard about your youngest and the flamethrower.
Here, we will let Jesper play with weapons in a safe environment.
But they have to earn the right. First task is fitness, then we move on to other things, like covertly entering a building, ground fighting, and parachute jumps.
We even have an air machine to simulate jumping from a plane.
Nobody moves up unless I’m convinced they’ve mastered the previous level. ”
“This sounds amazing. It would certainly help Jesper,” I stated.
“Yes, Magic thought it might. Said he recognised a lot of himself in the boy. At first glance, I can see that kid is coming out of his skin. The course will dissipate much of that energy.”
We chatted for five more minutes, and then Lars and Oskar came around a corner. They were clearly racing each other, and there was no sign of the others. Jacob pursed his lips, and I remembered what he’d said.
Oskar pipped Lars, and they stood panting and grinning in front of us. Their grins slowly faded when they saw the expression on Jacob’s face.
“What?” Lars asked, perplexed.
“What did I tell you?” Jacob asked.
“Follow the red line,” Oskar replied.
“What else?” Jacob inquired mildly.
“Start jogging and follow that route,” Lars answered Jacob.
“I didn’t say anything else?”
“No?” Lars was definitely confused.
“Stick together, no man gets left behind. Remember that?”
“Oh.” Lars shrugged.
Jacob grinned. “Both of you drop and start push-ups. You’ll continue until the others catch up.”
“What? They were miles behind!” Oskar exclaimed.
“Tough luck. Maybe you’ll listen next time,” Jacob replied and stared them down. Both teens tried to figure out if pushing back would succeed. Then they dropped and followed Jacob’s orders.
Oh my, I loved this place!