Chapter 1

It was almost 7pm when Chad pulled into his driveway completing the long trip from the oil fields in just under 7 hours. He could’ve made it sooner in the wife’s Rogue (which was made for highway cruising), but he was stuck with the old RAM 2500 (which wasn’t). 7 hours of boredom, broken by intermittent runs of good music and monotonous commercial interjections and bland PSAs, “Lottery officials remain baffled by the single remaining winning ticket that has gone unclaimed since last month’s record drawing.” Yeah, if only, right? As far as jobs went it wasn’t a bad gig. 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. Plenty of OT for the taking. In fact, he had stayed 5 days over into his off time to add a nice bonus to his next check. So, he only had 8 more days off to enjoy with the family, before making the long drive back.

It was mid-July so there was still plenty of daylight left. He sat behind the wheel for a few more minutes absorbing the quiet. Why was it so quiet? By now Bobby should’ve been out the front door racing over to the truck to greet him, followed eagerly by Gunner, his ever faithful and loving rottweiler. Opening the truck door his ears picked out the urgent barking from the latter—still inside. With a weary grunt he pulled his tired body from the rig and grabbed his duffle before heading in. He didn’t bother to open the garage to see if Molly’s Nissan were there. His truck wouldn’t fit beside it anyways.

The front door was locked suggesting that the rest of the family was out. Keying the bolt, he braced himself and pushed open the door. As expected, Gunner about took him out in his eagerness to greet him. “Hey bud! Damn! Oof! It’s good to see you too old boy!” He staggered into the entry way and set down his duffle so he could use both hands to hug, pet, and wrestle with the hyper animal. “Where’s everyone at, eh?” He looked around the great room for any clues. Seeing none he wandered into the kitchen and dining area. Grabbing a beer from the fridge he popped it and drank half in three swallows.

Curiously, he wandered about the level and even called upstairs. It was odd that nobody was home. No messages were flashing on the land line. He had turned on his cell once he got back into a coverage area and only had two messages from the previous week. One was from Molly reminding him of Billy’s 18^th birthday this week. And Otis had called to ask him to swing by the garage when he was back in town. Looking around as he polished off the beer, he saw no notes or indications of where his family might have gone off too. He could’ve called her cell phone, but his fatigue overrode his curiosity. So he dumped his duffle in the laundry room, removed the small box from inside and kicked off his work boots before climbing the stairs to the master bedroom.

He found the bed neatly made and everything as it should be, reassuring him that all would be sorted eventually. He sat on the bed, tugged off his dirty t shirt and placed the small box atop the nightstand before he lay back for a brief siesta.

Chadwick Hartley was 37 years old, exactly 6 months older than his wife of 18 years. He was an only child who grew up on a farm learning at an early age, the value of long days and hard work. School seemed like a vacation that broke up the early hours and late evenings. By age twelve he stood 6 feet and weighed 200 pounds, not an ounce of loose skin on his body. By his senior year he added 5 more inches and 45 pounds. Wrestling was a sport he excelled in though he gave it little effort. His dad was a hard sell for the Coaches and counselors, who saw state titles and scholarships (and prestige of course) in young Chad’s future. Pop saw harvests and chores that needed done, rarely looking beyond the next season, much less the distant future. Chad’s mother, however did consider her son’s potential and often swayed her husband to ease up and ‘let the boy shine’ occasionally. So, the coaches compromised with the parents and Chad competed. He took Varsity and made State three years in a row. While not as popular as many of the football athletes, wrestling did command a strong following in his small Iowa town, and he found himself greeted and praised often.

He was 17 when he met Molly. She was hardly the girl next door and her parents’ home schooled her and her younger sister Flo, so she didn’t get out much. It was during the County Fair, and he was standing in line for the Tractor pull with his best friend Oty (Otis Strickland). Aside from the light banter he couldn’t stop gazing at the striking raven-haired beauty in front of him. She stood 5’9” and from behind he thought she was ravishing. Her hair was done up in a simple ponytail that fell between her shoulder blades, swinging about as if it had a life of its own. A thin white tank top clung tightly to her torso and didn’t quite cover her midriff before the tightest pair of daisy dukes took over. Her legs seemed to go on forever before reaching her adorable feet and flip flops. Her skin was darker, olive toned.

His sudden grunt from the sharp jab to his left kidney, made her glance back startled. His own eyes widened and then blinked back tears as Otis made another jab. “Hey Tree! I said—where your mind at? Boy, you still workin that Combine or something?” Otis snickered and then winked at the shy beauty in front of them. “Or something I reckon...” He laughed.

Her crystal blue eyes glanced back at them switching from one to the other. With nervous uncertainty she began turning back to the line in front of her. Chad’s elder sidekick was having no of that and smacked his giant friend again. “C’mon Tree! Wake up! Say hi to the lady fer cryin out loud.”

Chad grunted irritably and shrugged off the persistent shoves of his buddy. “You’ll be lucky to wake up if ya don’t knock it off dude.” He growled. This prompted the beauty to look back again and up into his startled face. She smiled weakly before looking back down and their feet.

“I’m real sorry about him Ma’am.” Otis grinned at her. His white teeth contrasted sharply with his black skin, but his eyes glinted with raw humor. “Y’see? Tree here ... he got the social graces of an Ox and when it come to the fairer sex well ... he be a work in progress.” Caught up in his own wit he laughed gayly and shook his head knowingly. With a giggle she glanced up again at his stricken face.

Chad envisioned a stunning yet mysterious gypsy fortune teller when he gazed down at her in wonder. His face flushed and she looked away nervously. “Wh—why do you call him Tree?” She asked his skinny black friend sheepishly.

Otis cackled. “Hah! That’s just one of old Chad-boys nicknames. Just look at him. On the wrestling mat Tree is known and feared across State lines. We also refer to him as ‘blackout’ cause that’s the last thing most see whenever they go up against him.”

After an awkward pause Otis once again jabbed his friend painfully in the back, prompting another curse. “Tree! Say ‘Hi’ to the lady!” he urged patiently.

“Um. Hi” Chad stammered nervously, looking anywhere but her eyes.

“Hi...” She mumbled back nervously. She glanced back up at his face and was disappointed that he wouldn’t look at her.

“This is Chad.” Otis introduced as he placed a disproportionately large hand upon his friend’s shoulder. “Chadwick Presley Hartley.” He grinned at her mischievously. “And you, sweetness must go by something other than Ms. Gypsy Goddess...”

She blushed brightly at his remark. Chad glared at him like he was ready to defend her honor with bodily harm.

“Uh ... Molly.” She stammered. “My name is Molly ... Molly Ruston.”

“Whew!!!” Otis wiped his forehead with exasperation. “That was dang painful.” He skipped away from Chad’s swiping hand and shoved him forward in line. “Well then. Ms. Molly meet Chad.” He stepped back with a grin as his giant friend poised to swing at him. “Y’all hold my spot and save me a seat. I need a smoke.” And with a laugh he disappeared.

If his first impression suggested a quietly reserved and soft-spoken beauty who made his heart flutter with a touch, he learned very soon how wrong he was. The beauty remained (and even grew over time) as did her effect on him. But her true personality quickly became apparent after she became comfortable with their budding relationship. To say she was a firecracker was to compare a light bulb to the sun. Their attraction was immediate and intense. Her parents seemed more conservative and weren’t at all keen with their daughter’s absolute infatuation with a boy whose only prospects were farming and wrestling. The latter became less likely as Chad found himself more concerned about their budding romance than his practice sessions.

By graduation he had decided that neither farming nor wrestling appealed to him. He wanted a family with Molly and the means to sustain it. So, he turned to the only other counselor in high school he respected—the Navy Recruiter.