Prologue
Cassie
Somewhere in the Syrian dessert
“Hey Jacks, you need to tell this fool to stop cheating,” Carr yelled out as he discarded his losing hand of cards.
“Boy, ain’t nobody cheating. You just suck at cards,” Cassie Jacks called back.
This happened every time the squad played cards to blow off steam. Tyler, Dodson and Brooks always beat the brakes of Carr. And Carr always whined like a baby to their Gunny. Cassie found the whole thing hilarious. It was the only reason she allowed the games to continue.
The troops needed something to take their minds off combat. There was a lot of time spent strategizing the missions. Their group was a specialized squad with specific missions that no one was supposed to know about. They tended to land somewhere, sitting stagnant for an unspecified amount of time waiting for their orders. But once they received the word, they were in action, getting shit done and then moving on to the next target. So, while they awaited orders, they busied themselves playing cards, drinking and fucking.
It was during one of many whining sessions from Carr that her life would change. In walked a tall, slim man wearing a Stetson and a smile. It was obvious he was a part of the civilian contractor team that arrived earlier in the day. As the Master Gunnery Seargeant, she was in charge of the squad while the officers were away. They followed her command without question.
Her rank also meant she wasn’t permitted to fraternize with her subordinates, making for a very lonely life. They could hang out in the same space, but there was to be no sex with the troops. She couldn’t date the officers either. So that left her with her hand. However, the civilians were not technically under her command. She could skate around the rules with one of them, as long as she didn’t advertise the relationship.
When old ‘Yee Haw’ walked into the tent, her body instantly reacted. Cassie grew up around cowboys and this one was oozing pheromones. It was all she could do to keep from jumping up and staking her claim on him. Instead, she played it cool. It wouldn’t do for her troops to see her unhinged.
He sauntered his jean clad thighs over to the table and looked her dead in the eyes.
“So, how can a man join this game?”
“It takes money, stamina and power to sit at this table,” she quipped.
“Well, then darlin’ I’m just the man you need.”
Shit, he was a live wire. The country accent did something to her. Lawdamercy. If she wasn’t careful, the cowboy would have her naked and in his bed in under sixty seconds. Cassie needed to get her control back.
“Look at you. You old Clint Eastwood, ‘make my day’ looking ass coming in here thinking you’re the shit,” Cassie retorted.
The entire squad burst into laughter. It was well known that Gunny was sharped tonged. This newcomer was in for a battle he didn’t want. Everyone looked up at him waiting for his reply. He pushed his hat back a bit on his head and smiled down at her.
“Oh, baby. I’ll do more than make your day. I’ll make your night, weekend and life,” the cowboy smirked.
If he hadn’t been so damn handsome, Cassie might have ripped him a new asshole for addressing her like that, but instead she decided to play with him. She looked into those ocean eyes, that had her in a chokehold and smiled back.
“You’d better be glad you’re sexy because that line was corny as fuck.”
The room erupted in laughter as the stranger was welcomed into the fold. He took a seat next to Cassie, introduced himself as Joaquin Tanner and spent the next six weeks making her fall in love with him.
One
Cassie
Two years later
Cassidy Jacks wiped the sweat from her brow and took a long sip of cool water from her canteen. Despite the weather in Sioux Falls being in the 60s, she had worked up quite a lather in the orchard. After letting out a loud belch, she returned to harvesting her apples.
“Damn, Cassie, is that what they taught you in the military?” her brother, James asked.
“Oops, sorry. I forgot you were there,” she replied with a sheepish grin on her face.
“Not sure how that happened since I’ve been working by your side all morning. Ever since you came back from the Marines, you have been so unladylike. Just damn rude!”
“Hello, do you even know me? I ain’t no fucking lady. I was rude long before enlisting.”
The siblings chuckled at their antics. Since they were little, the two joked and laughed at the other’s expense. In fact, James had been the one to teach Cassidy her tomboy ways. Never wanting a little sister, he made sure to force any girly habits she may have had out of her personality.
