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quite demanding he let
her know as soon as he got his orders.
    Heart pounding, she thought of Mitch
meeting one of her relatives. Ben was the perfect Morrison
candidate for Mitch to meet. A military man to his very toes, he
was also a Morrison through and through. He had a zany sense of
humor, was almost as good at electronics as she, and loved his
family. Once meeting their saner relative, the others should prove
to be not quite so overwhelming. She hoped.
    *****
    “ Okay, guys, let's head
back to base,” Mitch yelled to his men as they watched the first of
the convoy roll away. His men piled into the humvees and, after
counting heads, he climbed into the driver’s seat of one of them.
Everyone was present and accounted for, this time.
    Running a weary hand down the back of
his sweaty neck, Mitch was happy to be headed back to the base.
This job had gone well, but he was ready to return to civilization.
Even a tepid shower beat what they had.
    He was certain he had sand in every
pore and probably some areas he'd rather not think about. At least
at the beach, you could run into the water and rinse. Not here.
Thinking of the beach made him think of the lake where Lainy
vacationed with her family and Bentley, which then made him think
of Lainy again.
    Staring through the windshield, Mitch
struggled to keep his mind on the rolling sand, rather than the
enticing vision of Lainy Morrison that hovered just out of view. In
a little while, he'd be able to read e-mail from her and he wanted
to focus on that. He'd missed those daily e-mails and couldn't wait
to reach his quarters and turn on his computer. If he allowed
himself to be distracted now though, it'd only prolong the
time.
    “ Moose, where do I turn?”
he asked his navigator. Magic with instruments and maps, Moose
could direct anyone out of the worst situations without even using
his treasured compass and GPS system. He could navigate solely on
the sun and stars if need be.
    Pondering whether to shower or read
e-mail first, Mitch settled on booting up his computer while he
showered just as the dune he needed to turn at arose out of the
vast nothingness. Mitch cranked the wheel and with some major shock
usage and a few knocks, turned the humvee onto the path Moose
directed.
    The guys riding along in back held on
without comment as they bumped along the path to the base. While
they had flown out on this assignment, they'd ended close to the
base. Hoping they'd have a little down time, Mitch's heart swelled
as he saw the lights from the base at a distance.
    The men riding with him were too well
trained to cheer, but Mitch heard their excited murmurs and joined
them in their glee for a semi-decent meal, a bed, and a shower. How
easily they were appeased. Once they drove through the gates of the
base, Mitch parked and with ease the men spilled out and collected
various items.
    “ Mitch, you got a few
packages waiting,” a fellow officer informed him. With a nod of
appreciation to the messenger, Mitch turned and headed off in the
direction of the base post office.
    Carrying the packages across base,
Mitch’s heart beat unsteadily the entire distance. To not ever have
received packages to then receiving them regularly was still
astonishing to him. He managed to contain his excitement, since the
guys would harass him otherwise.
    There’d been a librarian at his school
who’d taken a grandmotherly interest in him, offering him cookies,
not fining him for overdue books, checking his homework, little
things like that. She’d always made time for him.
    But he’d never had an
entire family doing things like this, who seemed to want to
incorporate him into their fold. He was enticed by such an
incredible network. Did he want Lainy or her family? Her image
filled his mind. Her . But did he have what it took to be a part of a family? His
past said no. Still...
    He put off the shower a bit longer as
he checked the dates on each carton. Opening the older of the two
he savored the