Maddie was flummoxed. She had verbally attacked the girl and insulted her eye to eye. She expected yelling, cursing, maybe even a catfight, but not laughter and compliments. Suddenly Hailey was at Maddie's side."Mitchell said I was drop dead gorgeous. Did he really say that? I'm Hailey, Christine's other beautiful sister. Did Mitchell tell you about us the night Christine saw you having dinner with him at Buddy's? I knew he wasn't running around on Christine. Are you Mitchell's cousin or something?" finished an exuberant Hailey.By the time Hailey finished her rant, all the women, including Maddie, were laughing. "Everyone, I want you to meet my friend, Nell O'Leary. This is my sister Maddie, my sister Hailey, my mother Melissa, my teacher Ms. Metzger, and Maddie's friends, Donna and Susan. Nell is our future governor's daughter and, as it turns out, a friend of Mitchell's, but not that kind of friend.""Why are there tears on your face?" asked Maddie. "I thought that Nell had pulled
Mitchell had begun to stand up when Maddie had hurried up to him and dropped into his lap. He saw the concern mixed with sadness in Maddie's eyes as she leaned in to kiss him. He knew that if he hadn't fallen so fast and so hard for Christine, Maddie would occupy all of his thoughts. She was sexy, smart, fit and amazingly beautiful. With the exception of Christine, Mitchell had never seen Maddie's equal, although Hailey was rapidly getting there.As Laura and Christine worked on getting Mitchell bandaged, Hailey decided to quiz him. "Did you tell the governor's daughter that I was drop dead gorgeous? Did you mean it? Do you really think that, or did she make it up?"Mitchell blushed a little, then smiled. "I did mention that Christine had some attractive sisters. I don't know if I used the term 'drop dead gorgeous' or 'supermodel looks and figures'. I know it was one or the other, or maybe even both. Are you upset at me for talking about you, Hailey?""Yeah, I'm pissed." responded Hai
"Mitchell was a big kid, even a year ago. He was well over six feet tall and well-muscled, as I'm sure you ladies have noticed. His dad was an older version of Mitchell. One had only to look at Nate once, to know that he was a very capable man. We shared stories over dinner, including the fact that we were going north the next day and leaving our families in the capable hands of the Afghan military, along with four American Marines."Christine had been holding Mitchell's hand under the table and she felt it tense up as Patrick O'Leary got deeper into his story. Mitchell was very still, and a fine bead of sweat appeared on his brow."As I now recall the situation, Nate's jaw seemed to tighten up when I explained the security plans. I later learned that he was very concerned about the lure of American VIP's to terrorists. He didn't want to alarm us, nor did he want to cause an incident between governments by making statements that insulted or demeaned the Afghan government," concluded t
"By the Time our junket had returned, the dead Marines, Mitchell's father, along with Mitchell and the wounded Marine, had been evacuated from the premises. The blood on Nell and Janice was Mitchell's, since they had hugged him dearly before he was taken away. To avoid embarrassing the new government, the whole incident was downplayed. We were told that it would serve American interests better to not go public with the events of the day. Reluctantly, everyone agreed to go along with the story. What difference would the truth make? It wouldn't bring back those Marines, or Nate Kays. So, the public never heard of that battle in Kabul, or the bravery of those Marines and Nate Kays. And that's why I feel you need to know Mitchell's history and why he's so reluctant to talk about the incident."We never saw Mitchell again. At least not until Nell saw a sports report one night a month or two ago describing the record setting efforts of the quarterback, Mitchell Kays. Then she searched on Yo
"Sir, we'll hold you to that," asserted Laura. "Our hospital is small, but we service a lot of people over a wide area. We're way too light on supplies like blood and plasma, as well as staff and equipment. We're fine for the occasional car accident, but a major incident, like a bus crash, would probably overtax our resources. Christine's class has hit on a very real need in our area. I'll be coming up with Christine and Mitchell to shake the trees for funds for the hospital every chance I get."As dinner was winding down, Nell broached a new subject. "I haven't mentioned it, but after getting my undergraduate degree in Marketing, I studied at a fashion institute in New York. Watching Christine and Mitchell on video and in person makes me believe that I could design a line of clothes featuring you two. I would call the label 'Lady in Red', and it would feature mostly clothes for young women, but have some clothes for men, more or less intended to match with the outfits of the lady. I'
"You're my boyfriend and I don't know anything about you. I just learned that you were in Afghanistan, and in a shootout with Taliban. I never dreamed you could've been in anything like that. I need you to tell me everything about your life. Will you be totally honest with me from now on?" asked Christine quietly."Yes, I will. I realize that I've kept things to myself. It's a habit I've gotten into the past year or so. I've been alone a lot. I didn't know how you'd feel about that war story and kept putting off telling you, replied to Mitchell. "I don't think this is a good time, or place to go into my life story. Your dad has some strong feelings about my behavior toward you. Having you alone in a bedroom with me, in the dark, at midnight sure doesn't fit with what he expects.""You're not really afraid of my dad. You're way bigger and stronger than he is. That night he shocked you, it looked like you hardly felt it. Why do you pretend to worry so about my father?""I don't pretend
"Thank you everyone for coming out to show your support for the State Champions. The first order of business; however, is to give the microphone to Edward and Holly Tucker. They have something they'd like to tell us,” Stated Coach Anderson as Ed and Holly Tucker worked their way to the stage."Everyone here knows what happened the other day," began an emotional Ed Tucker. "Our two kids were in a car submerged in the icy waters of Snake River. They could have died. They would have died if not for the heroic efforts of Mitchell Kays and Christine Leonard. What they did was incredible. We have no wish to embarrass them with all kinds of praise and promises, but we, my wife and I, are indebted to them. We Will never forgets that. If our kids grow up to be like them, we'll be the happiest couple on the planet. Thanks, guys."The couple then walked over to Mitchell and Christine and embraced them as the crowd cheered and whistled. Christine and both Tuckers frequently wiped tears from their
"Thanks, Mitchell." was all a stunned Coach Anderson was able to manage as Mitchell hurried away. Mitchell had seen his Uncle Joe in the last row of bleachers. He had never been able to get him to leave his apartment for more than a few minutes and was shocked to see him sitting in the gym."Uncle Joe." called Mitchell as he hurried up to join his uncle. "I didn't think you'd come, but I'm so glad you did. What did you think? Did you see my girl? She's a beauty, isn't she?""Yeah, she sure is, Mitchell, and she's standing right behind you," chuckled Mitchell's uncle. "I kept seeing all this hullabaloo on TV. She's saved your ass a Time or two and I wanted to meet her, so here I am. If you aren't too ashamed of me, would you introduce us?"Before Uncle Joe could complete his sentence, Christine had flung herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Joe was taken by surprise, but soon found himself smiling as he patted Christine's back."Girl, you sure make an old man feel good. I'm Mi