Thom Grande is a Navy SEAL. He, along with other members of
his SEAL team are on a mission to capture "Jihadi John", the
executioner of many British and American prisoners. As they land and begin to
disembark from the Blackhawk helicopter, there is a loud explosion. Thom blacks
out. He wakes up in the hospital and finds out from his friend Brody that the
helio was hit with an RPG and the hatch door hit Thom. As a result, Thom has a
brief case of amnesia. After speaking with Brody for a while, his memory
returns, including the memory of his kids and nasty divorce. As he recuperates,
Thom decides to surprise his family by arriving Christmas morning for breakfast
in Massachusetts. There is a snowstorm and traffic is slow. Knowing the area,
he takes a side road. All of a sudden a deer is in the road, he swerves and
ends up hitting a tree.
Virginia Starr, or Ginny as she likes to be called, is a
freelance editor and an aspiring author, with a habit of dating losers. While
looking for a new apartment, Ginny comes upon an ad for a house sitting
position in Massachusetts. She calls, and gets it, after all, "she can
write anywhere". As Christmas draws near, Ginny is feeling a little sorry
for herself because she doesn't have a boyfriend and she is experiencing
writer's block. She watches a show that gives her advice on how she can make
changes so that she can begin to meet new people. She decides to begin after
New Year's.
Because of a storm, the lights go out in the house. She
realizes that she forgot to bring in some firewood. While she is out there, she
goes to shut the barn door that keeps banging and grab the snow shovel. Out of
nowhere a hand grabs her around the mouth. She hears a male voice telling her
to "shhhh, they will hear you." "Who " Ginny asks?
"The insurgents" is the reply. After a little more conversation,
Ginny tells the person that they are in Massachusetts. She realizes that the
man is cold and wet and invites into the house to get warm. Ginny does this
even though she thinks that she is one of those girls that are "too stupid
to live" from horror flicks. They spend the night talking. Thom wakes the
next day a little disoriented and snuggling Ginny. One thing leads to another
and they end up making love. Thom goes down to check on his car leaving a note
where he is and will be right back. His friend Chris is waiting for him by the
totaled car. Chris tells him that they have to leave now because they have
intel where Jihadi John is located. Thom doesn't have time to go back and tell
Ginny that he has to leave. Weeks go by and she hasn't heard from Thom. Ginny
decides to write a different kind of book than the one she already started, one
dealing with finding a SEAL with amnesia. Eventually after the mission, Thom
returns. He explains to her where he was and they tell each other how they feel
and decide to begin a long distance relationship. After all, "she can
write anywhere".
As
always, I love Cat Johnson's stories. Poor Thom, amnesia twice. I thought
Ginny's character was funny, especially when she found Thom in the barn and
kept telling herself that she was like one of those "too stupid to live
girls" from the movies because she takes Thom into the house and for all
she knows, he is a lunatic. This story was also very timely as Ms Johnson
discusses ISIS and the military's efforts to capture the Jihadist who executed
American civilians. Ginny and Thom take a risk in
~JANET RODMAN~
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Excellent story. Loved it.
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