Free On Distant Shores (Exiles Triology Book 1) by Mark Harritt Page B

the passenger terminal and Rob and Tom were there to meet them.  Tom’s wife was also there with a fast food bag holding sausage biscuits.
    “Hi, Barbara, how have you been,” Mike asked?
    Tom’s wife was a petite blond with smiling,blue eyes.  She looked tired, “I’m doing okay.  My sister is in town, so it gave me a chance to bring Tom some breakfast before you guys leave.”
    Barbara was a sweet woman, but God help you if she thought you were being disrespectful to her husband or children.  That last bit was of a dig at the fact that Tom had to be out here in the morning for guard duty on the pallet.  Mike took it in stride.  He knew she didn’t mean any harm.
    “When can Jo and I get you and Tom out to the house for dinner?” he asked.
    She brightened at the idea, “Well, I still have two kids down with chicken pox, but I hope that they’re better by the time ya’ll get back.”Her Tennessee twang came out while she was talking.
    “Maybe you can give Jo a call, and you two ladies can figure something out.”
    Barbara agreed, and then turned her attention back to Tom.
    Rob approached them, “Hey stragglers, you need to show your IDs so that they can verify that you’re on the manifest.”
    Mike nodded, and then said, “I’ll be in,in a moment.”
    The guys set off with Barbara in tow to go inside the passenger terminal.
    Mike was lucky that the light rain had stopped and the clouds were clearing in the east.  He loved this one thing about Colorado Springs more than anything else.  In fact, he would often get up early just to see it as it happened.  It was great in the winter time when the sun came up later in the morning.  Slowly the twilight would lighten.  Then, the sun hit the high peaks of the mountains, just west of Colorado Springs.  As the sun illuminated the mountains, they blazed a luminous rosy glow.  Mike watched, sipping coffee as the sun lit up the day.  Finally, Mike could put it off no more.  He slipped inside the passenger terminal.
    He walked over to the counter and showed his orders and ID to the airman behind the counter.  She checked, verified that he was manifested on the flight.  Mike walked to the waiting area, to the seats that the team had appropriated.  Tom gave Barbara a kiss, then she said goodbye to everybody, and then left Tom with the team.  They started pulling out E-readers, E-media players, and personal tablets to keep busy.
    “How was your weekend?” Everett asked.
    “Well, we took the pups to get them spayed.  They were drugged and unhappy all weekend.  But they’re getting better,” he replied.
    “If you cut off my lady bits, I’d be pretty upset,” Mickey chipped in.
    Everett replied, “The last time I saw your lady bits was the twenty mile hike we did in June.”
    “It was just of chafing, not as bad as you guys made it out to be.”
    “Yeah, well you may want to lay off of all the damn squats.  When your thighs start rubbing together, there’s a problem.”
    Mickey decreased the body building supplements after that misadventure.  Now, while he concentrated on strength training, he did a lot of running and hiking to ensure that never happened again.
    “How did your weekend go?” Mike asked Everett.
    “It was good.  I like to spend time with Becky and Sam.  It’s not like I get to spend a whole lot of time with them.”
    Becky and Sam, or Rebecca and Samantha, were Everett’s twin girls.  He had them with his second wife, Vicky.  They were going to be heart breakers.  They were twelve years old heading for thirty-six.
    “We had a good time.  But they’re starting to talk about boys, and that doesn’t sit too well with me.”
    Mike nodded, “Around here, I agree.  If you don’t watch it, they’ll be married to a Private First Class, living in a trailer park.”
    Tom started singing a country music tune about a young married couple, with no money, living on nothing but love.
    “You can stop now, Tom.  You aren’t