“He never told me where it came from. But it makes sense. He loved seeing other people smile and always hated seeing people uptight or tense, so yes, he would do anything he could to ease them. He often did that for me as a little boy when I was stressed.
“He’d run up to me, cling to my leg, and never let go, so that I would be forced to walk around with this growth on my leg. Finally, I just laughed, and so would he.”
She grinned at the memory, and I could feel something in my heart melt just a little.
In the last year and a half, there hadn’t been a time when I was able to think of Johnnie and smile. Every memory was clouded with sadness.
And here was his mother, who was able to look at a picture of her son smiling, and then bring up something so sweet, something that sounded just like Johnnie, and laugh about it.
“Did he get into a lot of trouble?” I found myself asking, surprised by it. I never fully engaged people in conversation, but hearing her talk about him was something I didn’t want to lose yet.
“Not for being a bully, but for disrupting class. In fact, it’s how he ended up going to the air force academy. His junior English teacher had called a parent meeting with the principal and me, saying she was concerned about his childish antics in class and that he could either be expelled or could enter the military. That’s how far it had gotten.
“Sadly, the joke was on her because he had plans of joining the air force long before she made the comment. The day he left though, she took it as an open threat, not something to be serious about, so she was a little shocked.
“I’m going to assume, though, that his ways did change. At least a little bit.”
I felt my lips lift as she looked at me, shaking my head. “Not really,” I informed her.
Chapter 2
***** Johanna *****
My breath caught at the look on his face.
There was no surprise to me that he was a loner way up here. Or that he was a grump.
Which was sad given that he was so young. And damn good looking.
It was a shame to the female world to have this one tucked away, licking old wounds, and curling against battle scars. And it was evident he had his fair share. Not just from what he saw from Johnnie’s accident.
I knew he was with him the day his plane went down, and though I have tons of questions about it, especially given the little information I received, I knew Chance would not open up. Honestly, I’m not sure he ever would.
I was a horrible person not to check on him after everything, but like him, I was licking my own wounds. Johnnie was all I had left in this world, growing up as an only child and losing my mother shortly after my son enlisted. But I had friends that cared about me enough to push me to go out, to take one step after another when he died.
I don’t know if Chance had that, but I should have done more than checked in here and there.
“Why is your call sign Trouble?” I asked him, needing to redirect my thoughts. Otherwise, I’d become as sour as he is, and we didn’t need that.
His lips lifted again, and I was starting to think that he didn’t smile much. Which was another sad thought because from that first picture, he had a smile that could knock the wind right out of anyone. Alas, if I was about twenty years younger, I’d make a play for him.
But hell, I was an older woman with a dead kid and hadn’t dated in over fifteen years. No one was looking twice at me anymore.
“Because I like trouble.”
I lifted a brow at that, knowing there was far more to that story. He sighed and then limped over to the box on the counter.I had noticed it earlier when he walked up the stairs, and of course, as the day wore on, it became more pronounced.
“Give me something real, Chance.”
“Johnnie wasn’t the only one who liked pranks. My teachers didn’t know what to do with me. I aced all my tests, my flights, my logs, everything was always on the up and up. However, I loved to annoy the shit out of people, mostly by pranking them.
“It wasn’t even me who came up with the callsign. Or my buddies. It was a commanding officer when I was graduating from the academy. He gave me wings and called me, Trouble. When I asked what he meant, he had a special patch in his hand that he had made up for me and told me that day forward, I was to be Trouble.
“It fit me so well, so I stuck with it. I’m a good guy, with a bad mind, and I like that juxtaposition a lot. Most people really don’t know what to make of me. Most either hate me or love me. Or depending on the time of day, both.”
“Now I can see how you and Johnnie fit so well together. I’m so glad neither of you were in school at the same time. I really can’t even begin to imagine the shit you two would have been up to you.”
I could only shake my head at him, but I could honestly picture how life on base would have been for them, or around them. There would have been nonstop laughs and jokes, annoying just about everyone else too.
