Chapter 1

He woke up with that feeling, the feeling that someone was staring at him. His little sisters did it all the time. He’d wake up to see their little faces four inches away from his, and he’d wonder how long they’d been there. In general, they weren’t really the pains in the butt most little sisters were because his mom would tell them that boys had to have their space. In the mornings, it seemed that space was four inches.

He snapped his eyes open to shrieks and giggles as the thundering herd ran for it. The littlest one, Rose, was the slowest this morning, so he scooped her up, flipped her upside down, and gave her a raspberry on her tummy.

“Tristan! No!” she screamed.

How could little girls ages 6, 8, and 9 be so loud?

His twin sister, Barb, came out of her room, looking pissed.

“Do you have to rile them up first thing in the morning? It’s summer break, and I planned to get some much-needed beauty sleep.”

“Does Barb look like she needs beauty sleep?” Tristan asked Rose.

His twin had been among the most popular kids at their high school without being a cheerleader or rich. She just had this personality that drew people to her. This morning, her hair looked like a robin had nested in it, and her t-shirt hung off one shoulder. Apparently, she’d stayed out at one of the graduation parties a bit too long the previous night.

“You’re the one that needs beauty sleep,” Rose said to Tristan with a big grin.

That earned her another raspberry, which all but caused him to go deaf before he set the little giggle box down and let her run to find her older sisters, Lilly and Penny.

Tristan and Barb’s father had been deployed to Somalia and lost his life when they were infants. The three flowers, as they called the younger ones, were the product of their mother’s second marriage to First Sergeant Brad Wilcox when they were eight.

At first, the marriage had caused an absolute shitstorm. Military communities are close-knit. Brad had been their father’s platoon sergeant and was the one who got him killed, or so some of the men in his father’s platoon claimed.

Brad had ordered their father to check for mines and booby traps in a building that was supposed to be the headquarters of a high-value target, instead of waiting for trained personnel. It didn’t end well. Brad’s wife had money so they had a pool house, which most military families couldn’t afford. To make matters worse in the platoon’s eyes, Brad swooped in to save the day and moved the dead man’s family into said pool house.

His wife understood at first, but after seven years, she clued in to the fact that Brad had been spending quality time with the twins’ mother. The dumbass apparently forgot that his now ex-wife was the daughter of a general who took exception and transferred his sorry ass to Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert region of California.

The travel brochure said it was located in a desert oasis, which they soon found was a complete lie. The desert climate meant extreme temperatures with dry heat, where almost nothing would grow. Which made the name funny because they’d never seen a palm tree, let alone twenty-nine of them.

The base’s one saving grace—or so they thought—was that it was home to Lake Bandini. The first weekend they were there, Daddy Brad suggested they take advantage and maybe cool off swimming. Imagine their excitement when they found it wasn’t actually a body of water but an open pond of sewage

from the Combat Center’s wastewater treatment center. They still laughed about that outing years later. At the time ... not so funny.

All that made Tristan and Barb eager to move out at the end of the summer and go to college. Barb planned to go to UNLV, while Tristan had been accepted at Washington State.

Rose ran back up the stairs.

“Mama said she has to go to work, so you have to make us breakfast.”

“Not it,” Barb said as she turned to return to her room.

“Come on, munchkin. Maybe you and your sisters can help me make pancakes.”

He chuckled when Rose began yelling “pancakes” over and over. His twin might as well get up because once they were full of syrup, the three flowers would bounce off the walls.

Military bases might not have luxury entertainment options, but they did have activities for children of all ages. This day, the three flowers were taking a youth Taekwondo class while Tristan took his military martial arts class. This style was designed specifically for the military, as they did not teach it as a sport but rather as a fighting style to maximize injury.

A year and a half ago, Tristen’s arm had been shattered by his best friend, James Eddleston. Since then, Tristan had grown six inches and put on ninety pounds. James had always been a big kid and hadn’t known his strength when he snapped Tristan’s arm. Now, Tristan could go head-to-head and not worry about being hurt.

Captain Eddleston volunteered his time to teach the class of six boys.

“Line up! Jimmy, lead them in stretching!”

“You heard the man! Line up!” James barked.

After their class, they went to look for Tristan’s little sisters. They would volunteer to let the kids practice on the older boys. James didn’t know that Tristan had taught the three flowers a new move.

“Jimmy, I need you to lie down on your stomach,” Penny said.

James did as instructed.

“Now wh ... FUCK!” James cried out.

Penny had grabbed his thumb and wrenched his arm until his thumb was nearly touching the back of his head. Tristan had taught the girls they should plant their feet in the older kid’s side to prevent their victim from wiggling away. He’d also told them not to let go until an adult was there to protect them.

James was pounding his hand on the mat when one of the junior instructors ran over.

“That means he gives up.”

“Jimmy’s a big faker. He brags he’s the toughest guy at Twentynine Palms,” Penny said.

“I’ve heard him say it a number of times,” Tristan said to help his sister out. He then leaned down and whispered in James’s ear. “Tell Penny she’s tougher than you are, and I’ll have her let you up.”

It must have hurt because the big baby crowned Penny the toughest kid on the base.

“Is that a tear I see?” Tristan teased.

“If I could use my arm, I’d kick your butt,” James threatened.

“Since Penny is now top dawg, how about we sneak into the mess hall and have them make us some cheeseburgers to celebrate?” Tristan suggested.

That put a smile on his friend’s face.

The base kids knew that when the troops weren’t eating, they could come and eat at the mess hall. For many military families, money was tight; at least this way, any hungry kid could get a decent meal. The only rules were that you had to clean up after yourself and eat all the food you took.