Kyle's Modern Montana Bride (The New Montana Brides Book 6) Read Online Free Page A

Mom’s heart problems.”
    “What a waste.” he said. “I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had stayed.”
    “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Frankly, I don’t think it would have made any difference. She was always looking for the next bigger high.
    “Now that you know our dirty little secret, what are your plans now?” she asked.
    “I’m going to find my son and bring him home,” he said. “I’d like for you to help,’ he said.
    Tears welled up in her eyes. “I was hoping you would say that,” she said. “Where do we start?”
    “Why don’t I order in some pizza? I do my best work on a full stomach,” he said.
    “I have a better idea,” she said. “I’ll fix dinner, and we can talk while we eat.”
    “Okay,” he said. “Sounds like a plan to me. Before you start, could you get out the telephone bills that show the long distance calls. And a map, if you have it.”
    She brought a map that showed Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California, along with a set of Sharpie pens.  “Do you have a pencil, and some Saran wrap.”
    “Yes, I do, but why Saran wrap?” she asked.
    “I’m going to make an overlay. That way, I can mark it up without messing up the map.” He said.
    “That’s a good idea,” she said.
    “He laughed, and said, “I’d like to claim it as mine, but we used overlays every day. We’d mark it up to show the coordinates, and landmarks we would be using for that day. Everything went on it from freqs to call signs. It was strapped to your knee so you didn’t have to fumble around for it while some gomer was shooting at you.”
    “To show my ignorance, what’s a freak?,” she asked.
    “Oh, that’s slang for radio frequency,” he said. “We had our own language.”
    “That must have been frightening. How in the world do you function in that kind of environment?”
    “You train for it hours on end. When something happens, your reaction is automatic. Anybody that tells you they’re not frightened is either a fool or a liar. I was neither. I was scared every day of my tour,” he said.
    “And yet you went back, day in and day out,” she said in wonderment.
    “It broke some men. When that happened, they were evacuated along with the wounded,” he said.
    “Were you wounded?” she asked.
    “Not a scratch. I messed up a flight suit or two, though,” he said,
    “I didn’t mean to bring that up,” she said, and placed a chef salad in front of him. “What kind of dressing would you like?”
    “Ranch if you have it, if you don’t, anything will do,” he responded.
    “I have ranch. What do you have so far?” she asked and leaned over his shoulder to look at the map.
    There had been seven calls. He placed a small dot on the overlay for each call. “I only put one dot if there were multiple calls from the same place,” he said. “He’s headed west, as you can see. The dotted line is his route.”
    He sniffed. “That’s something I never came across, while I was in-country.”
    “What?” she asked in a puzzled voice”
    “Your perfume. You smell good, The locals didn’t have it. They mostly smelled like goats,” he said with a laugh.
    “Were there women where you were?” she asked.
    “We had hooch girls to do the cleaning. We didn’t have to do the cleaning,” he said.
    “Hooch girl?” she questioned.
    “We called our quarters hooches, so a hooch girl cleaned your space. Some of the men paid for other services. It was something else for me to be afraid of,” he said.
    “I’d probably smell like a goat if I didn’t wear it,” she said.
    “Somehow, I doubt that,” he said. He thought the conversation was becoming a little personal, and he looked at his watch. “It’s getting late. I need to get out of here and find a hotel.”
    “Stay here,” she said. “There’s plenty of room.”
    “I’d better find a hotel. I don’t want to put you out,” he replied.
    “Am I something else you are afraid of,” she asked in a