Saved by the Marine

Chapter 6

Al and Burt walk out of the kitchen and wave Austin goodbye. I snapped my head in their direction, giving them daggers.

"Well, that was nice, wasn't it? So what do you think?" Burt says with a smile.

"I think that this might be one of the most awkward experiences of my life. You two dropped me in it big time. You could have given me more of a heads up so I don't look so disheveled" I said to them with clear annoyance in my voice.

"Don't be ridiculous, you are always the prettiest woman in the room. So, do you like him?" Al asks, leaning in with anticipation.

"Yes, he seems like a very nice man." I played down what I actually thought, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of being right. In actual fact, I thought that Austin was charming and has definitely piqued my interest. Not to mention mouth watering. I'm definitely not going to tell Austin's Grandpa that part. I may not want a relationship, but I have eyes in my head. Anyone with a pulse would find Austin attractive.

"Fantastic!" Burt shouts, giving Al a high five. Are these two serious right now? I can't help but smile at their dorky behavior. I carried on with the rest of my day, distracted by my conflicted thoughts of Austin. I don't want a relationship, that I am sure of, but he is so fine. He is covered in thick muscle and I'd love to run my fingertips over every inch of him. It's like he's awoken something in me. Who knew that Bert and Al could be such good matchmakers? Not that I'd ever tell them that.

*Austin's POV*

Coming back to Driftwood Springs is very nostalgic. Not much has changed. Most of the stores are still here with most having been modernized. The school looks just like it did when I went there and my Pop's house hasn't changed a bit. I stayed at his place last night as the keys for my house weren't ready for me until today. I will probably stay at my new place tonight. I don't have any furniture to speak of yet, but I do have a mattress I can put on the floor to sleep on. I've slept in worse conditions.

If being in the marines has taught me anything, it's to make do with what you have, and I've mastered the skill of being able to sleep anywhere.

I'll miss that life, but I just can't do it anymore. That last mission broke me. I was a captain and it was my responsibility to lead my team. Using my tactical mind to plan the operation to reach the goal that had been set for us whilst trying to keep everyone as safe as possible.

I was good at my job and I loved it. We'd be given the most dangerous and near impossible tasks to achieve but me and my team were some of the best out there. We worked in the most hostile environments and no job was easy. Yes, it's dangerous and yes, sometimes lives were lost, but that is the nature of the beast.

But that last job was a complete disaster. Our intel ended up being completely wrong, leaving us unprepared for what we faced. This was meant to be one of the more straight forward tasks. Go into the enemy camp unseen, get the hostages and get out, hopefully undetected. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the camp and who was there had gone stale. When we arrived at the location, we monitored the camp for 48 hours and it didn't seem achievable with the number of men I had with me. I wanted more men and I wanted to form a new plan. The enemy's numbers had grown by nearly double and they had changed their security regime. We needed a little more time to come up with a new strategy.

I called headquarters and updated reported to my senior officer. I informed them of my concerns and what I felt was best to do in the situation, which was to abort, restructure and come back. I was ordered to carry on as planned and work with what we had. So we did as instructed and it went worse than I could have imagined.

I had led 10 men in and only 3 made it out. The hostages were killed as soon as the enemy became aware of our arrival.

It was a m******e. Leaving my men's bodies there broke me and the fact that we couldn't save the hostages felt that it was all for nothing. I just couldn't move on from it. I couldn't carry on in a line of work seeing my brothers die. Knowing they all had families at home whose lives were now destroyed. I was their captain and I can't help but feel that I should have been among the men that didn't make it. I'd guess you'd call it survivors guilt.

So, here I am. Hoping for a more peaceful life. I joined the services as soon as I was 18 and it made me a man, but I can't do it forever. I was always good at carpentry. I can create most things out of wood. It was always my plan. If I got injured and couldn't serve anymore, carpentry was going to be my new career.

Thankfully, working for as long as I did in the Navy and always being away meant that I didn't spend much of my salary, so I have very healthy looking savings. I've bought a cabin in the woods just outside of town. A bit of a fixer upper that I can sink my teeth into. I can't wait to get started. It has its own dock on a river and a generous space surrounding it.

Before I get my new keys to my humble abode, I promised Pops that I'd swing by the diner. I haven't seen Bert since I last visited and there is this girl that Pops wants me to meet.

I hadn't thought much about dating, and I don't love the idea of being set up with someone I've never met, but Pops won't let it go.

I figured I'd humor the old man and meet her. He told me that she's a "real looker and has a great personality". He also said that she had a little girl.

A woman having kids doesn't put me off. I like kids. I hope to have some of my own one day. Apparently, the girl's father wasn't around due to not wanting to be a parent. I can't understand that myself, but at least if it worked out between me and, I think he said her name was Rose, I wouldn't have to deal with some crazy ex-boyfriend.

I jumped in my truck and drove to the diner. Driving through town and being in such a familiar setting is comforting. I missed it.

I pulled up outside the diner. This hasn't changed much at all. Could do with being repainted. Pops said he had some jobs for me to do around the diner and I'm guessing this is one of them.

Stepping through the door, I saw that the breakfast rush was over. Before the door had even shut behind me, Pops and Burt came out of the kitchen. They walked towards me wearing big smiles on their faces. Burt comes in for a hug. He's quite a small old man. With his cap covering his white hair and his thick white mustache. He looks bit like d**k Van Dyke.

I pat my Pops on the shoulder greeting him. He turns to call Rose and when I look in the direction he is looking in and I saw a head trying to quickly disappear from around the corner.

When she finally steps out of her hiding place, I can't help but be in awe of her. She was a 10/10. I can feel my c**k twitch in my jeans. Well, this was definitely unexpected.

Sure, Pops says she was pretty but f**k me, she was s*x on legs.

Today is going to be more interesting than I thought. I should listen to Pops more often.