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Prologue
Ashley
8 years ago
“Yo, Dunklin! You got mail.”
My head flew up at the announcement. I didn’t get mail. There wasn’t anyone to write to me. Not anymore.
Polk flicked the envelope my way. I caught it with ease, then observed it like I’d discovered some precious artifact.
That’s a bit what it felt like. This moment would be one I’d etch in my mind for the rest of my days.
Sweat dripped down my cheek. It splashed against the black ink detailing my mailing address. It wasn’t as if Polk couldn’t read. The information was correct. Whoever sent this meant for it to come to me.
I checked the return section to see initials instead of a full name.
C. M.
The rest of the information held no appeal to me. I didn’t know anyone in that area, and my family was long gone.
It’s the unfortunate side effect of being adopted by an older set of parents. They were closing in on forty when they got me. Now that I was approaching that age myself, I appreciated their desire to take me in their care when I didn’t have anyone else.
As they were both only children and had no other family, I was the end of the line. The last Dunklin in a line of amazing people who deserved to have someone carry on their genetics.
“You gonna open it, D, or did the desert give you x-ray vision too?” Polk teased.
I rolled my eyes at his teasing. He was a young kid who’d signed up because he had no other options after turning eighteen. He’d be a lifer like me. It’s why he stayed under my ass for the last six months since he joined our squadron. He made it his mission to learn as much from me as possible.
“I’m getting to it. Just appreciating the beauty of getting something. Not all of us are as spoiled with loads of family, you little shit.”
He grinned at my taunt. Kid ate it up as the baby of twelve.
Hence why college wasn’t on his radar. He refused to have his family go into more debt just for him to go to college.
Plus, he loved the thrill. He was at his best when we were on a mission or scoping out targets.
“Don’t be jealous, Dunklin. I told my mama to bake you something next time she sends a care package.”
I wanted to warn him the cookies wouldn’t taste the same with how long shipping took, but I didn’t want to ruin his good mood. A bunch of the guys had shared stuff over the years, and we’d found there was an art to preserving freshness. I’d eaten dried out cookies more times than not thanks to poor packaging.
Maybe his mama would do better. She sounded like the type to try.
“Sure thing, Polk. I look forward to it.”
He grinned before jogging off to talk to someone else. Kid must have picked up on my desire for some privacy. It was hard to come by when you were living in a tent on a makeshift military installation.
I opened the letter after taking one last deep breath. Time to face the music. Or to face whatever this was.
The first few lines of the page had me coughing to cover my laughter. I had to start from the top to try to make sense of it. There was no way this was real.
Tilting my head up discreetly, I looked around the room to see if anyone was watching me. Not a single eye was turned my way. It wasn’t a prank.
That made the letter all that much more hilarious.
Dear soldier person,
I’m calling you that in my head because I was only given your last name and that feels weird. I’m a first name always kind of dude. It’s just how I live my life, you know?
