Manny’s Mission (Broken Wheel Ranch #7)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Manny sighed in relief when Denver pulled up to a stop outside his cabin, and without saying anything other than a quick goodbye, he grabbed his bag and hopped out. As he walked up the porch steps, he saw that the truck stopped at a couple other cabins and the others got out as well. It was almost two in the morning, and they had driven straight through from Wyoming, only stopping for gas or to take a piss. Most of the time, they only stopped alongside the road to do that deed.

Starving, but too exhausted to do anything about it, Manny walked inside the cabin, and paused when he saw a light on above the stove. He could have sworn that he’d turned it off when he’d left. He walked over to turn it off, but paused when he saw a note propped up against it. He took the note, read it, opened the microwave, and grinned. He pressed a button for two minutes, went to his bedroom to drop off his bag, came back out to remove his shoes, and went back just in time for the microwave to stop. He removed the covered plate, took it to the table, and took off the cover.

“Holy shit,” he sighed in relief as his stomach growled, and he lowered his head to inhale the scents of the lasagna sitting there. He took his first mouthful and didn’t come up for air until the entire plate was empty. Only then did he get up and go to the refrigerator to get something to drink. He grinned when he saw a beer that Perry had left a few days ago, and downed half of it. On a heavy sigh, he looked around and washed the plate, then took the half empty bottle of beer with him to the room he’d chosen. For the next twenty minutes, he showered, then finished the beer and climbed into bed. He was sound asleep before his head hit the pillow. He did note it was almost three, and he prayed he could sleep until at least four before the nightmares woke him. One hour of sleep would be better than none.

Manny jerked awake and sat up in bed looking around wildly, unable to comprehend where he was. He saw light coming in around the blinds and curtains in the window. With a scowl he reached over and grabbed his phone.

“No fucking way,” he mumbled as he tossed the blankets back, rose from the bed, and stumbled out to the kitchen. He had just entered the room when the door opened and Ann walked in.

“You’re up,” she said as a gasp, startled by seeing him standing there and she couldn’t take her eyes off his body. She didn’t see his scars, though later she would see them behind closed lids, but for now, all she saw was his physique. The fact that he was only wearing boxer briefs might have had something to do with her continuing to stare at him.

“What are you doing here?” Manny asked as he willed his erection to go down, and to distract himself, he went over to make a pot of coffee. Over his shoulder he nodded to her. “Thanks for the plate of food yesterday.”

Ann stared at him with a slack jaw, and went to the table to sit down. “I need to talk to you, but first, can you go put some clothes on?”

Manny gritted his teeth as he turned to glare at her. “Are my scars that offensive?”

He was taken aback by her immediate response, and the way she didn’t hesitate, he knew she was telling the truth.

“What scars? I’m asking you to put clothes on because your eight-pack abs, the hair on your chest, your happy trail, and your overall physique is very distracting.”

“Oh,” Manny said dumbfounded, then felt his face split into a gigantic grin. “You like my body.”

Ann laughed at his boyish expression. “Go.” Her laughter followed him down the hall and he returned five minutes later dressed in jeans and a tee. He carried a pair of socks with him and laid them on the edge of the table. After he poured himself a cup of coffee he asked if she wanted any, and settled down at the table after she declined. He put his socks on, then turned toward her, cradling the hot coffee in his hands.

“What’s up?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“How did you sleep?”

“Actually, that was the best night’s sleep I’ve had since I was captured and tortured months ago. Why?”

“Don’t be offended, but I need to know.”

“What?” Manny cocked his head to the side and scowled at her. “What do you need to know?”

He watched her draw in a deep breath, but the way it pushed her breasts out distracted him, then she let it out in a rush as she asked him something, and he shook his head and demanded, “What did you say?”

“Are you taking drugs?”

“No, I don’t believe in that shit. Why would you even ask me something like that?”

“Because I was awake when you guys got home, I knew you were headed back, that’s why I left that plate of food in the microwave for you.” She held up her hand and shook her head. “Like I said, I heard you come home, because I couldn’t sleep. I also knew when you roughly went to bed because I saw the lights go off.”

“Yeah, okay, but why in hell would you ask me if I’m taking drugs. That was very offensive, Ann.”

Ann nodded, drew in another deep breath and let it out in a rush. “I asked because you returned from Wyoming with the others thirty-four hours ago. I’m on my lunch break now and since you didn’t show yesterday, and the guys that came to check on you said you were sleeping, I decided to see for myself.”

“You’re lying,” Manny shouted as he jumped to his feet and backed away from her. “There’s no way in fucking hell I slept for thirty-four hours straight. The fucking nightmares would have woken me up.”

“Maybe you’re beginning to heal,” a voice said from the doorway. Ann and Manny whipped their heads to the side and saw Lloyd Berry standing there. Without saying a word, he shut the door behind him, made himself comfortable by getting his own cup of coffee and settled at the table. “Sit down, Sanchez,” Lloyd said sternly and nodded when the other man did as he was told. Once they were all settled, Lloyd looked between the two of them, then concentrated his attention on Ann.

“How much do you know about Manny’s military career?” Before she could answer, he turned to Manny. “I’m not going to reveal any dark secrets.”

“Okay,” Manny said as he scowled at the man that he had the utmost respect for.

“Not much about his career, but he did tell me about his torture,” Ann answered honestly, and Lloyd’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“Oh, okay, then this should be easier. Back in the day, I was number four on Delta team. I was able to get a promotion, but if I wanted to be number two on a team, I had to be transferred to Echo team.”

“Who was number two on Delta?”

“Reid.”

“Got it.”

“Okay, I transferred to Echo. Sanchez and Gould were already on the team, along with their LT. Again, I won’t get into specifics, but Echo team had lost three members on a previous mission. That’s why I was able to transfer into the number two position. On my first day with Echo, two other newbies joined. The LT at the time dubbed them New Guy, and Kid, their monikers stuck. I know this isn’t relevant, but my former teammate from Delta always called me a different name of a fruit, because my last name is Berry, spelt like the fruit. The guys on Echo started calling me Jammer from day one, and it stuck. Anyway, things were good for the next couple of years, I got to be really good friends with the two new guys that joined Echo the same day I transferred over. I like to think I got along well with Sanchez and Gould.”

“You did,” Manny said as he rose and got them both a refill on their coffee, then grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator for Ann. As he settled back down, he looked directly at her. “The LT of Echo was a prick on his best day, and again, without getting into a lot of details, and I’m only speak for myself, I believe we lost those three team members because of him.” At her scowl, he shook his head sadly. “It was later disclosed he had undiagnosed TBI during that mission.”

“It only got worse,” Lloyd admitted. “As I said, a couple of years passed, and during that time, if we happened to be on a mission and it was tense, or the tension escalated, I took over command. Our LT didn’t seem to notice. Before you ask, no, that’s not usual, but the lieutenant seemed to be stressed more when it wasn’t a smooth in and out mission. Anyway, on the mission where I was injured,” he said as he reached up and ran his hand over his burn scars on his lower jaw and neck with a faraway look on his face. Without looking at either of them, he continued, “It was hell, we were doing good, then I don’t know if you could say we were ambushed, but there were only like four or five people shooting back at us. When we thought we had them all, all of a sudden it seemed like there were twenty bad guys shooting back at us. I saw Kid go down and was able to get over to him. I held him in my arms as he bled out. I saw a shadow on a building across the street and before I knew what was happening, that shadow grew and threw a Molotov cocktail down on us. I tried to shield Kid, and I heard the rest of my team scream at me, but it exploded and that’s how I was injured.” He shook his head, then looked at Ann. It took several seconds for his eyes to clear to let her know he was back with them.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I understand why Manny slept for thirty-four hours. I know after my trauma I couldn’t sleep. When I did, I’d wake up screaming because of the nightmares.” He looked between the two of them on a heavy sigh.

“Ann, I don’t know what your story is, and I’m not being rude, but it’s really no one’s business until you tell them. I didn’t tell anyone that wasn’t associated with that mission what happened to me. It wasn’t until I came here to Broken that I was able to heal. My relationship with Marcia has helped also. I guess what I’m saying is that, yes, Manny has physical scars, so do you. This is just my opinion and I am far from any shrink, but I think being here at Broken has finally allowed his mind to clear enough to get some sleep. I believe his brain and body shut down like it did because it knew he was safe so it allowed him to rest and regenerate.” He began to chuckle and it took several minutes for him to calm down enough to continue. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and looked at them with a gigantic grin. “I know this isn’t a laughing matter, but ask Ryan what happened when he did the same thing.” At their dual looks of confusion, he grinned. “Sleep for over twenty-four hours straight.”

“Can you give us a heads up?” Ann asked.

“How well do you know Pru?”

“Just in passing,” Ann said. “I’m busy getting The New Double set up, and they’re filling in for Naomi. We, as in all the women, said that we’ll have a ladies’ night soon.”

“Good, that would be good for everyone. Anyway, I’m only going to say a little here, because it’s not my story to tell. Pru has TBI from her experience in the military. Some days she’s perfectly fine, others she talks a mile a minute, and yet others she forgets where she is. That’s what happened when Ryan was able to sleep that one day. She got up for the day, went about her business, went home, made supper, and everything was fine. Later that night she started screaming at the top of her lungs, loud enough for all of us to hear her and go running, weapons drawn.” He looked at her with a cocked brow.

“Oh my.”

“Yes, it turned out that Pru was having one of her forgetful moments and when Ryan came out of the bedroom from sleeping all day, she thought he was an intruder. It all calmed down after about ten minutes, but it scared the shit out of all of us.” Lloyd turned to look sternly at Manny. “That’s why Erin wants you to take over overseeing the construction here, while Ryan goes over to take over for Clark until he gets back. Erin wants a therapist here so they can work with Pru.”

“Got it, I have absolutely no idea why I slept as long as I did.”

“Exhaustion, mentally and physically,” Lloyd said. “Trust me,” he said as he slowly stood from the table and took his cup to the sink. At the door, he nodded to Ann. “I’m going over to Double A to help out there, as are the other men. According to Erin, you are to take the rest of the afternoon off and see if Manny needs anything. Not that he’s helpless, but it’s nice to have someone with you after sleeping for that long.” Before either of them could say a word, he opened the door as wide as it would go and Manny looked out in shock when he saw all the men standing there.

“He’s fine,” Lloyd said, and Manny saw the relief on their faces. He rose and went to the door.

“Yeah, I’m fine, no drugs, probably just exhaustion like Jammer said.” He went out onto the porch in his socked feet and shook each of their hands as they came forward to tell him that if he needed anything, then to reach out to one of them. They also said the same thing to Ann as she came out to stand beside him. They watched as everyone got into two trucks and pulled away from the cabin. Neither Manny nor Ann said a word until they were back inside with the door shut.

“Wow,” Manny said as he refilled his coffee cup. “I never knew they cared that much.”

“It’s nice to see that they do,” Ann agreed, and settled back at the table. “I’m sorry I accused you of taking drugs.”

“I won’t say that it didn’t shock me, and I don’t know if I agree entirely with Jammer’s reasoning, but what I can tell you is that I feel great. If you have time, will you have lunch with me?” He didn’t wait for her reply as he stood and started pulling things from the refrigerator. Thirty minutes later they sat down to the meal he prepared, and when he looked at her, he scowled. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, but I do have a few questions for you.”

“Shoot, I’ll answer as much as I can.”

“Okay, I’m a little confused. I understand that you and Lloyd were Echo team, but how do you know the other guys?”

“Oh, okay, that’s an easy question. Like Jammer said…” He paused when she immediately held up her hand to stop him.

“Why Jammer?” Then sucked in her breath at his grin.

“He mentioned it before and I don’t know if you caught onto what he said, but Lloyd’s last name is Berry. It’s spelled like the fruit. While he was on Echo team, we all tried to call him a different berry’s name, but he said the guys from Delta already called him those names, so Scott and I came up with Jammer. You know, like fruit jam.”

Ann giggled and shook her head with a grin. “Got it.”

“Okay, the day Jammer came to Echo, two new guys joined up. I mean they were twenty-one and twenty-two. The older of the two, Broome, our lieutenant named him New Guy, and the younger of the two, who happened to be fresh off the beach, was given the moniker of Kid.”

“What do you mean by fresh off the beach?”

“He received his trident the week before.”

“Ah, fresh meat.”

“Yes. Kid was the one that died in Jammer’s arms on that mission. When we returned and the dust settled, with the deaths, and Jammer out of commission for who knew how long, upper brass broke up Echo and sent us to other teams. Gould, Broome, and I were sent to Delta.”

“The same team Lloyd came from and that the guys working on this ranch were members of?”

“Yes. I know you didn’t ask, but our lieutenant from Echo team ended up in a psych ward for his combination of TBI and PTSD. The three of us went to Delta team because we were the only ones left to still do our job. Once Jammer was cleared by medical, he got out. That’s not right. He was cleared to be considered the best he could be, but he wasn’t cleared to return to active duty.”

“So they gave him a medical discharge?”

“Correct. Clark was the lieutenant of Delta, Reid had already been out and was here on Broken already. After we transferred to Delta, one by one we slowly retired and made our way here. By the time we were on that mission where we were taken captive, the only original members left were Ryan, Broome, Gould, and myself.”

“Why did the others get out? Why did Reid get out?”

“He lost a leg on a mission. Jammer was burned, Perry was too close to an area where the enemy bomb went off and it rang his bell, he had tinnitus so badly that he would shout, loudly, everything he said.”

“Medical discharge?”

“Yes, Denver got out because he was available for re-enlistment and he didn’t want to do another six years. That’s the only reason he got out. Same with Clark, didn’t want to be in any longer. As for Ryan, Scott, and myself, we were all medically discharged because of the torture we endured at the hands of our enemy.” He watched her for a few seconds, then resumed eating when she didn’t say anything. He could tell by her expression that she was mulling over what he’d said, and decided to let her go to her own thoughts as he continued to eat. Once they were done, he quickly cleaned up after them, and when everything was done, he sat back down and studied her.

“What?” Ann asked unconsciously as she fiddled with the bandana around her neck.

“I know this might be coming out of left field for you, but may I ask you a personal question?”

“I guess,” she hesitated in her answer and gave him a wary look.

“May I see your scar? I mean up close and personal?” He didn’t wait for her reply, instead he stood, walked over to her, reached out his hand to take hers, and when she placed hers inside his, he pulled her to her feet, gave her a gentle hug, then turned and walked into the living room. He settled them on the couch and sighed when she didn’t try to run away. “No rush, take your time, I thought we could sit here and relax as you think about what I asked.” He saw her confused expression and nodded. “No pressure. It doesn’t have to be now, or even today, just whenever you’re ready, I’d like to see it.”

Ann stared into the cold ashes of the fireplace lost in her own thoughts as she contemplated what he had asked.