” Suddenly, Lauren looked over at her. Everything about Tara that had been awkward or gawky when they were younger had vanished over the last 4 or 5...years. Her hair, which had changed colors many times as they were growing up, finally settled on a dark reddish brown that you always had to look twice at to see what color it really was. Her celery green eyes, always a shock at first, were the most intriguing thing about her. Tara was thin and beautiful and the fact that she didn’t know she was. When I saw Franklin in his office I knew it was big. I peeked my head in to say hello. Franklin and I had become rather good friends at work, though never outside the building and while he was a great employee, mornings were never his thing and he was usually late, while I was always early. “Early morning” I asked him.He just looked at me for a moment and finally said, “You have got to start reading your emails at home.”I had stopped taking my work home with me when Jodi and I first started. Within an hour I was on my way. They got it out without a problem but they decided I had a concussion and wanted to keep me for a couple of days for observation. By the time I got back to Ripcord, anyone who showed their faces topside had a better than even chance of getting peppered with shrapnel.The days wore on and the bombardment got heavier and heavier. Not only mortars but direct fire rocket propelled grenades and recoilless rifles. Before the end we were taking seventy, eighty rounds a. ’ ‘Huh? Why did she live with you then?’ ‘Well by the time you were born she was my dog, but your dad gave her to your mom when she was having a hard time dealing with a miscarriage.’ ‘Really?’ ‘Yeah, it was back when we were all in college. Your mom was seriously depressed and your dad picked Cassie up from an animal shelter on a whim. She helped your mom to get back to normal.’ ‘So you want to give me a dog because I’m depressed? It’s not the same Tyler, I’m not in college any more. I.