Page 1 of Her Righteous Protector

1

Max Hogan smiled as he pulled his black Silverado truck into his driveway. His lawn had been mowed, which meant he owed Mikey some money. Getting a chance to see his neighbor always put a smile on his face; he never knew where their conversations would end up going and he loved that. He hit the garage door opener to get into his house, and satisfaction flowed through his veins as he saw his baby. He really wasn’t that surprised to see that the cloth cover on his 1969 Mercury Cougar was out of place. Mikey was as much of a car guy as he was, and when he’d put back Max’s lawnmower he could never resist looking at or sitting behind the wheel of Max’s restored car.

When he got into his house, he turned on the air conditioning then peeled out of his fatigues, and hit the shower. He and his team had done a lot of physical training today, and even though he’d showered at the base, he still wanted another one. When he bought the nineteen-fifties house seven years ago he’d planned to fix it up, but the only thing he’d ever worked on was the bathroom. He’d taken out the bedroom closet so that he could enlarge the bathroom, which allowed for a spa-sized shower and bathtub. It was his oasis. Other than that, the small three-bedroom, two-bathroom house was just a place to lay his head down between missions. Oh yeah, he’d added air conditioning—living in Virginia, that was a necessity.

When he got done with his shower and put on a T-shirt and cargo shorts, he called Lester Sinclair, Mikey’s father. Lester answered on the first ring.

“Hi, Max. Feel like some home cooking?”

Max winced as he remembered the last meal that Lester had made. It had been damn near impossible to chew the rump roast that he’d cooked into shoe leather. “You don’t have to go to any trouble. I was planning on Pollard’s for some chicken. How does that sound?” Max asked.

“Sounds great, but only if you let me pay,” the older man said.

“Normally that would be great, but I won a bet with Cullen today. He thought he could beat me on the obstacle course. He lost. I’ve got cash burning a hole in my pocket.”

Lester let out a hearty laugh. “Well, if we’re eating on Cullen’s dime, let’s go for it. You know what Mikey and I like. Come on over.”

“I should be there in about a half-hour.”

“Sounds good.”

Max picked up the keys on his counter, plus the Hot Wheels model that he’d bought last weekend, and left his house. He moved his truck to the street, then locked it. It was a perfect night for a drive in the convertible; what’s more, Mikey would love a ride. He drove over to Pollard’s and put in an order for twenty pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, hush puppies, coleslaw, corn on the cob, fried okra, cinnamon apples, green beans, and homemade corn muffins. He knew that Lester was on a tight budget so this should last a while. Max made a mental note to give Cullen a heads up before he saw Lester again, to let him know about all the bets he’d supposedly lost.

When he parked the Cougar on the street in front of the Sinclairs’ house he wasn’t surprised in the least to see Mikey out front waiting for him. The big man’s grin was a sight for sore eyes.

“Max! Max! Max! I mowed your grass! Did you see? Did you?”

He was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

He ran down the walkway and gripped the side of Max’s car.

“I can help carry in dinner? Did you get hush puppies? Them’s my favorite.”

“I did,” Max assured Mikey. He handed him one of the bags, then hit the button to bring the top up so he could lock the car while he was inside with Mikey and Lester. By the time he walked up to the door, Mikey had the screen door open, waiting for him.

“I got your mail today, too!”

Max grinned at Mikey’s exuberance. Everything the man said was an exclamation. How could anyone be unhappy when they were around someone so filled with joy?

“Mikey, don’t block the door and let Max in, the food is getting cold.”

“I’m not, Dad, I’m helping.” Max handed Mikey another sack of food and followed him to the kitchen table. Lester had already started to unload the containers of food.

“What did you do, buy out the entire restaurant?” Lester asked.

“I was hungry and everything looked good,” Max explained. He dumped the last bag onto the table and went to the cupboard to get the plates, then grabbed the silverware they were going to need. When he was done he reached into the fridge and found the ever-present pitcher of sweet iced tea. He might spend a lot of time over at his friends’ and teammates’ homes, but if he had to say where he felt most comfortable, it was with Lester and Mikey.

When they got settled down at the table, Mikey grabbed their hands. “Can I say Grace?” he asked.

“Of course,” Lester answered.

“Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy guests for the bounty for which we are about to receive, thank you, Amen. And thanks for a whole bunch of food from Max, especially the hush puppies.”

Lester and Max laughed, then they all started to fill their plates.

“Mikey, you need to eat some of those green beans before you have another hush puppy,” his father said kindly. Mikey rolled his eyes but did as he said.

“Can I go for a ride in your car tonight?” Mikey asked Max, even though his mouth was full. This time Lester rolled his eyes. Despite the fact that Mikey was almost fifty years old, he had the mental capacity of a seven-year-old. Lester had explained to Max that his umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck and deprived him of oxygen, so he hadn’t developed like other children. Lester was now seventy-nine years old and living on social security and what the VA paid him due to a back injury he suffered during his service in his twenties. Lester had been talking to Max about options for Mikey when Lester passed on, and he had some ideas, but Max hoped that would be a long way off.