) She would have lots of time even though the race rules had them shedding their footwear at the beginning and not picking their shoes up until close ...o the end of the race. That was okay, Harriet had scouted out the mostly residential area and there were plenty of grassy lawns with soft turf to protect her tender tootsies.She had memorized the street route which get her to point B the fastest, although the inclusion of those gated streets was problematic taking her well out of her way and. "And Dean sent you for me." It wasn't a question."She didn't tell Kat a thing." Dean's voice came from the top of the stairs. "Kat I'm staying the night. Cleo is asleep. If she wakes, afraid or..."I merely nodded.Dean walked over to the fireplace and leaned on the mantle. He stared into the unlit space. I watched him. Puzzled and amazed. It was like watching Dean's twin brother, not the Dean I knew. It looked like Dean. But even the stance, the way he held himself, it was all very far from the. ”Other guys started coming into the room. I glanced at Rick. “Am I allowed to socialize.”“Hell, yes,” he said. “You’re the guest of honor. You can do whatever the hell you want.” I grinned and began to mingle. I had flirted with half the men in the room and felt more than a couple bulges before Rick motioned for me to join him back by the pool table.“All right, guys! Welcome back. Let’s hear it for our guest of honor here, Craig.” The room erupted into cheers, shouts, and more than a few. I looked over at her, “I thought you weren’t deployable because of Stacy?”“She’s 18 now, so that’s null and void.”“This is a hot zone, pretty dangerous over there.”“I know, comes with the territory when you sign up.”“What are you going to do?”“I have no idea! Stacy still has half a year of school to finish.”“That is a problem.”"Fuck, I only have two years to retirement, and now this shit! They're going to get me killed before I can retire."“Don’t say that,” I told her, “You’ll make it.”Linda.