Chapter 3 is alive and well. I hope you guys are ready for more.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 3:
2200 NW Green Oaks Blvd
Arlington, Texas
0815 Hours
Previously on Spring Love
Nate moved cautiously through the house. He had just walked through the right side of the house as he heard gun cock, he turned to see a brunette-haired woman standing in front of him, she held a Glock 19 in her hands as she said, "Picked the wrong house to walk into, fella."
"Want me to shoot him?" an unfamiliar voice said. Nate turned to see a teenaged girl in front of him carrying a crossbow, there was an arrow pointed straight at him.
The girl didn't look like she was in no mood to negotiate. She then fired the crossbow.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The crossbow fired and the arrow shot towards the gap between Nate's legs. It was some inches above Nate's manhood. Nate looked down between his legs and back up at the young teenage girl.
The teenage girl stood with a smirk on her face, her light brown hair was wavy and bouncy with curls. Her light blue eyes twinkled with such intensity that even Nate had feared for his life.
Soon the war veteran walked in, his gun trained on Nate as the man said, "Weapon on the ground and we won't shoot."
Nate shook his head, "Lower your weapons, we'll do it on the count of three. Sound fair?"
The war veteran, the brunette woman and the teenage girl nodded, "Sounds reasonable. On the count of three."
Nate began the countdown, "1… 2… 3…"
The four gently lowered their weapons to the ground wary of each other's movements.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nate lowered his gun, but he still had a backup in his ankle holster, he then looked to the war veteran as he said, "We've met before, haven't we?"
"What makes you say that?" the veteran asked. Nate rolled his eyes, "Military, military style boots, haircut and the Glock 19 you put on the ground just now."
"Yeah, I was. I served." The veteran replied. Nate nodded, "Takur Ghar?" "Yeah, I even served pretty much everywhere in Iraq and Afghanistan they sent me." The veteran said.
"187th?" Nate asked questioningly. The veteran shook his head, "1st Ranger Battalion, served throughout since '98, left June '10, Sergeant First Class now."
Nate nodded as he held his hand out, "Nathaniel Dempsey." "Matthew Lafayette. Hello." Matt introduced himself.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nate nodded as he said, "Where you from?" "New Orleans, I was born in 1981." Matt replied. Nate nodded, he thought to himself, "Lafayette sounds familiar, could it be her brother? No, that wouldn't be right, there are many Lafayette's around the United States."
"I wondered that same thing too, when I heard you had survived and joined the SEALs, I found out you had been adopted by a Manhattan ADA. I kept tabs on you whilst looking after your sister." Matt explained.
Nate nodded, "How do you know Kim? Is she here with you?"
Matt smiled as he said, "You're lookin' at her, Nate." Nate turned to see the brunette woman that once held him at gunpoint, her deep brown eyes resembled both Nate and Matt's.
Nate smiled as he said, "At least I found you, thank God. But I'm glad you kept each other alive."
Both Kim and Matt nodded as the younger girl walked forward before saying, "If you're my Uncle, then I'm your niece. I'm Hope."
Nate smiled as he said, "Hello Hope, I'm Nate." Hope smiled as she embraced Nate before saying, "Sorry for shooting an arrow at you."
"I'll give you marks for marksmanship and for taking years of my life expectancy." Nate said. Hope laughed, "Mom told me to do that. Said it'd be fun."
"Remind me not to upset you in the future." Nate added. Hope nodded, "Agreed. I better keep an eye on the place. Just to be sure nobody's showed up yet."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hope left the room as Kim then said, "Don't worry, she's trustworthy."
"How old is she?" Nate asked.
Kim and Matt both shared a look as Kim confessed, "She's 17 in August." "How did it happen?" Nate asked.
Kim gulped as Matt said, "I can say if you need me to." "Could you?" Kim asked.
Getting up to leave, Kim left the room and went to be with Hope. Matt then said, "She was 11 when she got pregnant with Hope."
Nate looked at his sister's friend in shock before saying, "How in the hell did that happen?" "When your Dad dumped Kim in Ithaca, she was in a kid home for some time. She got fostered when she was 10. She thought it was a fresh start. But all we knew it turned from hell into a hacksaw. Her foster mother and father they got greedy; they became corrupt. Her father would beat her with anythin' he could use…" Matt explained.
Nate was still registering the shock from this as he asked, "What did he do?" "Whenever he went near Kim, I tried fightin' him off. Make him regret it. Only this time, that bastard brought 2 of his friends to keep me occupied. He got Kim alone and did some things to her." Matt continued.
Nate's blood boiled with rage, undeterred he wanted to kill the bastard for assaulting his sister. He then said, "What happened next?" "After everything that happened, Kim gave birth to a little girl. She made certain that he wouldn't get his hands on her. We left after she recovered from leukaemia, I made sure she headed to Staten Island, I got her enrolled into a high school, she began to live normally. She never dated but she had a friend who looked after Hope, they fell in love together and raised her, you can guess what happened after that." Matt finished his explanation.
"Your foster father?" Nate asked. Matt ran a hand through his hair before saying, "I didn't have one, but I helped Kim to get away and I made sure her didn't darken her world because of that bastard, did some stuff I'm not proud of."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nate felt guilt slide through him, he failed his sibling, he failed to watch over them and keep them safe. Nate pinched the bridge of his nose as he said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I failed you Kim. As older brother, it's my responsibility to keep you safe, not to let you fall into the hands of some hateful people."
Matt nodded, "She doesn't hold any regrets against you. You didn't know what happened to her at all, the person at fault was your father, he spilt you from her and the pair of you paid the price. No matter what happens, you're her brother, her hero. When we heard about you in Iraq and Afghanistan. We heard of your crazy streak in Afghanistan. Surprised, you could be that reckless."
Nate chortled, "Surprised?" "Well, to tell ya the truth. You were reckless, playing fast and loose, when the complaints of your craziness hit my ears, I had to bail your ass out in a private review." Matt explained.
"They ruled it on the grounds of me being too valuable an asset to the Navy and the whole Armed Forces, they coulda kicked me out, but the nobody wanted that to happen." Nate said. Matt nodded, "Yea', everybody asked why stand up for an friend's brother I had never met in my life. I told 'em, would you do the same for your friends?"
"Let me guess, nobody gave you an answer for your question?" Nate asked. Matt nodded, "Nobody knew how to answer it." "They know nothin' about loyalty." Nate said.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kim and Hope walked back into the house as Kim said, "Did you explain to him?" "I did, he blames himself but we forgive him for what happened."
"I'm sorry, baby sister. I didn't mean for this to happen to you." Nate said. Kim smiled as she said, "Don't worry big brother. We're family. No one gets left behind."
"Whatever it takes, we're together in strength. I assume the paperwork for the ranch is here?" Nate asked. Kim nodded, "We've already signed. Now we need you to sign."
Nate takes over the paperwork as he reads through the arrangements, he wastes no time in signing the paperwork to sell the ranch as he says, "This place was nothin' more than a distant memory. I'm not gonna shed tears over it."
"Good riddance." Hope replied with a smile.
Matt nodded, "Let's clear whatever is left behind, put it in the trucks."
"Let's do that. Nate, why don't you walk around with Hope for a bit." Kim said. Nate nodded, "I believe that's a good idea, I'm gonna need to know more about my niece more, if I'm gonna be in her life."
Hope and Nate walked out of the kitchen as Matt said, "Are you sure, that was the best idea you had?"
"You feel like there's somethin' I shouldn't have done. What is it?" Kim asked. Matt shook his head, "Nothin' wrong, but I think Nate's goin' to be a little overwhelmed with everythin' in our lives."
"We'll integrate him, trust me. I'm happy Nate's with us, Hope can finally can get to know him. I can get to know him." Kim said. Matt nodded, "I'm just worried that Bobby Thompson's gonna get furious with us for taking away his adoptive brother."
"He won't, Bobby won't get like that. We owe them a lot for keepin' an eye on Nate for us." Kim said.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Meanwhile, outside on the ranch, Nate and Hope were walking together. Hope had said, "How long were you a soldier in the military?"
"I'm in the Navy going on 17-years, Part of the SEAL Team." Nate said. Hope nodded, "You knew Uncle Matt was a Ranger?" "You were there, when I asked. How 'bout your Mom?" Nate asked.
"Mom was a soldier when she graduated at 18, served 4 years, told me she joined to protect me, but she joined to follow her brother, after she got home, she joined the Academy." Hope said. Nate laughed, "I joined out of my love for this country. I wanted to fight with the best there was, I never made a choice whether to join the academy yet."
Hope nodded, "I want to follow you guys, I want to be a soldier like all of you." "Not gonna be an easy ride, all depends which branch you wish to choose." Nate said. Hope looked at him to say, "I know, I'm just afraid everyone's gonna look at me for who I am."
"Who you are?" Nate asked confused. Hope then said, "I was born whilst my mother was a child, I grew up with a man who treats me like a daughter and a mother. Plus, everyone at school calls me all sorts of names to do with me being gay."
Nate rolled his eyes; he hated those kinds of people that insulted people who were LGBT. He had known people in his old high school who had to transfer because of abuse they suffered.
But to hear his own niece going through it, it just upset the hell out of him. He came up with an idea to which he'd put into motion when they got back to New York.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The pair walked back up to the house as they saw Matt and Kim waiting who had said, "You ready to go?"
"I'm ready. How 'bout you guys?" Nate asked.
"All good. We got the house all packed up, can't wait to get the hell outta here." Kim said.
Matt then laughed as Hope said, "Can we go now?" "Come on, then. Let's go home." Kim said.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
What a little bit of family bonding. Hope you guys are enjoying this story… please like and review down below. Love you all.