Morgan's Wife Read Online Free Page A

Ranger training—but they wouldn't let her graduate because she was a woman."
    Jake twisted to look in Wolf's direction. "What'd she do then?"
    "She quit the army. She was an officer, and she resigned her commission in protest over their decision. Pepper went into the smoke jumpers because it was the most dangerous career she could find where nobody cared about her gender. She's got six years of military service behind her, and she was in Panama and Grenada , too, so she knows jungles. I think she's around thirty years old, and she's got a good head on her shoulders. Pepper doesn't go off half-cocked on anything." Wolf studied Woodward. "And in this case, that might be important, because, Colonel, I think you're in this way over your head emotionally. You're carrying a torch for Laura, whether she's married or not, and that's going to get you into trouble on this mission."
    Jim opened his mouth to protest, but Harding went on.
    "I know the question you're all wanting to ask. Would Pepper volunteer for something like this? I don't know, but I can sure call and ask. She's good friends with Sarah and me, and I think she'd be interested."
    "She'll get good pay for it," Jake said hopefully, liking the suggestion.
    Wolf's smile broadened a bit. "Pepper isn't turned on by money. She's a competitive person and she likes challenges."
    "This is hardly a game!" Jim protested vehemently.
    "Pepper doesn't play games, Colonel. What I'm saying is that she's as solid and trustworthy as they come. Hell, she leads a Hotshot team. You probably don't know a thing about smoke jumpers, but I can fill you in. You're a Recon, the best warrior the Marine Corps produces. Well, in the smoke-jumping world, Hotshots are the equivalent. We had a forest fire north of Phillipsburg , where we live, and I got to see Pepper and her crew up front. That fire was bearing down on our small mountain town, with seventy-mile-an-hour winds pushing the blaze.
    "Of all the teams that could have been put on the line between that fire and our town, Pepper and her staff were chosen. She served as commander over ten Hotshot teams. I worked with her on tactics and strategies for the fire and I saw her parachute in with a team that I thought for sure would be burned alive. She went in there with her walkie-talkie—and with her people, who would go to hell and back for her—and she did the impossible. She got the fire to move, and Phillipsburg is still standing, thanks to her guts, intelligence and experience."
    Jim sat down. "I'll be damned if I'm going in with a woman," he said harshly. "They aren't qualified for this kind of a drop."
    "She's ex-army, ex-Ranger. Ranger training is similar to Recon," Wolf droned. "And you know that."
    Jake nodded. "It's an excellent idea, Wolf. Can you call Pepper now and fill her in?"
    "You bet." Wolf excused himself to make the call.
    Woodward stood up. "You can't be serious about this, Randolph ."
    "I'm dead serious. You don't know Wolf, nor do you know his background and experience. If he says Pepper Sinclair can do it, I believe him." Jake held the officer's shocked stare. "I do know one thing for sure, however. If you take this mission, you're doing it the Perseus way, not the Marine Corps, John Wayne style. I've got three people I love very much on the line right now, and I'm not going to blow it by putting anything but two first-rate people on this mission. Do you understand that, Colonel? Because if you don't, or if you give me grief about it, I'll make a call to the JCS and tell them we don't want you. Do I make myself clear?"
    Angrily, Jim moved around the table. "Don't threaten me, Randolph. I'm damn well capable of pulling off this mission alone. "
    "It's not a threat, Colonel. It's a promise."
    Was Randolph bluffing? Jim wasn't sure. As a matter of fact, he didn't like the loose way Perseus worked at all. This decision by committee wasn't in the least like the military. He rubbed his jaw as he assessed Randolph, who sat like a