Inspired by the song by Bob Russell. Got bored while dealing with Covid. Still don't have an editor. Just me and my ipad. Didn't do any research. If you're looking for documentary calibre research, you will be disappointed. Hope you enjoy.
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Lee Cooper was driving home to Pleasant Valley after almost two weeks away from home. He had been in Candletop working on an elevator installation in a new hospital being constructed. At 32 years old he was instrumental to a thriving business and was making very good money. One of the reasons for his success was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to him, and he would gladly turn back the clock and be a poor country boy...with the ability to hug his mom and dad.
Lee had always been a partier. He was smart and got good grades through high school, and even worked some part time jobs, but he never really took things seriously. He knew that his mom and dad would always be there for him, and his baby sister, to fall back on.
Lee had gone to Georgia Tech and earned a masters degree in engineering. Upon graduating, his plan was to get a job near his home and kind of hang out for a while and ultimately move to a place near a beach.
One month after graduation, his mom and dad were killed by a drunk driver in a tractor-trailer. The truck was hauling goods for a certain department store chain that wanted to avoid bad publicity. There was a high seven figure payout to their estate.
Lee was 24, and was left with several million dollars, and a little sister who had been an 'oops' baby and was 14 years old.
Lee paid off his student loans and paid off the mortgage on their house, and for the next six months the two hung out and felt sorry for themselves. Because of the money they received, he didn't have to settle for the first job that came along, so he didn't do anything. Then, six months later, Lee snapped out of his funk. He was able to pull Sammi, his baby sister, back from the brink of letting her life turn to shit, and got her to take school seriously again. From that point forward, he didn't let Sammi dwell on the past. They decided they would never forget their parents, but would honor them by always doing their best, and looking out for each other.
Lee no longer had the ability to fall back on his mom and dad. He was forced to man up and take care of his sister and himself. He had always been looked out for by his parents and life had been easy. He had basically been thrust into the role of 'single dad'. The loss of his parents had forced Lee to become the responsible adult he didn't want to be.
Sammi knew about the money they had received, but didn't complain when Lee made her work for the things she wanted. She worked minimum wage jobs, just like Lee had done when he was her age. She could spend her money on whatever she wanted, as long as it wasn't things like alcohol or pot. Part of the agreement was that they would never take anything for granted, and keep the money they had as secret as possible. They would use what they needed, but never flaunt what they had.
When Lee and Sammi had made the agreement between them on how they would honor their parents, it was like a switch went off in her. She stopped doing anything that would be detrimental to her health, reputation, or education. She tried her best at everything she attempted. She studied hard and maintained an 'A' average in school. The teachers were happy to let her make up the work she missed out on when she was in her depression. She joined the Jr ROTC. She maintained an insane level of physical fitness, so Lee had a home gym installed in their house. He had a full size soccer net set up in the back yard as well as a wall to kick the ball against. He had a gun range set up that was 200 yards deep with targets at various distances.
One thing same Sammi didn't do was date. Lee never questioned her about it, he figured she was keeping herself busy with other stuff and and was just trying to keep focused. Either that, or she was gay and was keeping that to herself.
Meanwhile, Lee took a job with a company that designed and installed elevators. He took the job because he was able to stay local and took to the work easily. The owner of the small company, a man in his sixties, liked Lee and saw in him someone that the childless man could possibly pass his business on to. Lee liked the work and split his time between the work, and his baby sister.
When Sammi graduated high school, she surprised Lee by telling him she was joining the Marine Corps. Since money wasn't a problem for her, she decided to spend the next four years, at least, seeing the world and doing something she liked. She wanted to become a sniper for the USMC. She didn't tell Lee about that part though.
Lee was 28 then, and ready to get back into the dating pool. He had gone on occasional dates, but never took anything seriously as long as he had Sammi to look after. Also at this time, he started going on jobs that required him to travel more. The owner, Harry Dunn, wanted Lee to learn all aspects of the the business and that required Lee to travel, sometimes for weeks at a time.
4 months after Sammi left, Lee met Jolene Baker on one of his business trips. Jolene seemed to be everything Lee wanted in a woman, and it didn't take long for him to fall deeply in love with her. One year later, Sammi came home on leave to attend the wedding of Lee Cooper and Jolene Baker.
To say that Sammi didn't like Jolene would be an understatement. Sammi saw her as a gold digger and a cheater. Sammi was right.
"Lee, you haven't told her about your money, have you?"
"No, Sam. She doesn't know yet," he sighed.
"Lee, please. Have her sign a pre-nup. If she really loves you, she'll do it. You make plenty of money with the elevator company, don''t even tell her about the trust. Give it a five year plan. If I'm wrong, no harm done. If I'm right..."
"Sammi, Jolene isn't like that. Please try to get along with her. You are my two favorite people, I need you two to get along."
Sammi let out a big sigh. "I'll try, Lee, I'll try. Five year plan, though, If she hurts you, all bets are off."
"She's not gonna hurt me! Stop it already."
"Five year plan."
"OK, I'll think about it."
"Trust me, it's the best thing to do.. OK, I'm leaving tomorrow, hope to be back for Christmas."
"Great. Sammi, umm...what exactly do you do?"
"I could tell you," laughed Sammi, "but I'd have to kill you."
"Very funny. Whatever you're doing that you can't tell me about, please be careful." Lee had never been the confrontational type, he'd always been the easy-going guy that tried to let things slide. He wasn't afraid of confrontation, and had had his share of schoolyard scrapes, but had mellowed over time. He didn't know she was a sniper, but figured she didn't work behind a desk. Had he known, he would have constantly worried. Sammi knew that, so she didn't tell him.
Sammi enjoyed the military. She had recently finished the Marine Corps Scout Sniper school, and was looking forward to her first deployment. They had recognized her skill with rifles and had bent a few rules to admit her earlier than normal. She had posted perfect scores throughout the training, and was anxious to put her training and skills to good use.. She enjoyed being in the corps, but didn't anticipate doing more than her initial enlistment. Perhaps one more, but that would be it. She figured that would satisfy her itch and she would be ready to move on.
Her plan, at this point, was to move back home and buy a small restaurant-slash-bar, maybe Web's. John 'Web' Weber was getting older and hinting that he may sell his bar and grill and move to Florida to be with his kids and grandkids. She would move back home, get married and raise some kids of her own.
The next two years went pretty quickly for both Lee and Sammi. Lee learned the company inside and out and the owner spent less and less time actually involved with the company. He was grooming Lee to take over within the next couple years. Lee and Jolene couldn't have been happier. It would mean almost no travel for Lee, and they would start filling the house with kids.
Sammi was six weeks from the end of a deployment in Afghanistan when things went bad for her. Bad intel left her and her spotter on the wrong mountain waiting for a target that never showed up. What did show up was a sniper from the opposition who put a round into her left thigh. Her spotter, an Alabama boy named Eric, saw the flash and located him. Sammi took him out with a head shot a few minutes later at a distance of about 800 meters.
Unable to walk herself, Eric carried her down the mountain to a spot where they could be picked up by a Huey. By the time the Huey picked them up she was unconscious from blood loss. She woke up in Germany and promised herself to repay Eric for saving her life. Eric was thinking the same thing. If she hadn't calmly reacted after having taken a round to the leg, the other sniper would have killed them both.
Fortunately for Sammi, the round had only hit muscle and not bone. She was told she would recover completely, but she would be out of service for four to six months minimum. She was up in the air about re-enlistment and she was told to think about it and come to a decision when she was healed.
Under the circumstances, they allowed her to convalesce at home after she was able to get around.
"Lee? Sammi. Umm...got a little hurt, and I'm gonna be out of commission for a while. Is it OK to stay with you guys for a bit? Maybe a week or so? I'm gonna rent something close to you and probably be there for a month and a half or so. Call me back when you get a chance. Thanks. See ya soon."
"Sammi!?! What happened? You OK? How bad are you hurt? What happened? Are you in a hospital?..."
"MOM!! Relax," Sammi laughed, "I'm ok. I just hurt my leg a little. I'm walking pretty good now, but the doctors say I have to go for a couple more months before they will consider me 100%."
"OK, OK. Look, you don't have to rent a place. You can stay with Jolene and I."
"For a week or so, we'll see how it works out."
"Sammi, you have to stop this. Jolene is not the bad person you think she is. You need to give her a chance."
"OK, OK, " Sammi sighed, "Just remember, it hasn't been five years yet."
A few days later, Sammi showed up with a small bag. She entered the house through the front door with an exaggerated limp and went silently into the living room. She knew that Lee was at work and that Jolene was somewhere in the house since her car was in the driveway. As she got closer to the kitchen, she heard Jolene talking to someone on the phone.
"Yeah, she's supposed to show up here sometime later today...No, I'm not sure how long she's gonna be here, she told...Yeah, she told Lee at least a week...We'll just have to be careful...I know she hurt her leg or something...Yeah, whatever, maybe it'll keep her from getting around...I'm pretty sure the old man is about ready to turn over the company, like, any day...Once the company is in Lee's name, it's a go...Yep, me and you...You sure you can do this?...OK, if you say so...I can't wait...I love you too...look, let me call you later, we'll talk about our future together...Yes...Yes...I'll call you later...I love you too, Seth...Bye...Yes, I'll call you later on...OK...Bye." She took a deep breath and let it out then said to herself, "fuckin' hillbilly. He's so fucking needy."
Sammi slowly went back to the front door and opened it, then closed it hard. "Hello? Anyone here?"
"Yeah, in the kitchen."
Sammi walked with an exaggerated limp into the kitchen. "Hey, Jolene, how ya doing?"
"Hi, Sammi. Good to see you. Umm...you OK? Lee said you'd be here and would be staying for a while?"
After the conversation she just heard, she wanted to be very non-committal about her plans. "Yeah, hurt my leg in a training accident and I'm gonna be down for a couple months. Figured I'd hang out here and hang with you guys."
"No problem, you're always welcome here. Why don't you take the guest room by the front door so you won't have to use stairs?"
"Sounds great, Jo. I appreciate it. Hurts like a bitch, but I can't stay off it. I hate sitting around. Hey, I gotta run out and pick up a few things, need anything?"
"Nope, but thanks anyway."
Sammi took her bag into the guest room, then drove into town looking for a place that sold voice recording equipment. She found an electronics store and bought ten voice activated, battery powered recording devices. She didn't know if she would need them all, but figured it would be better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them. She set them up in the car, then drove back to her brother's home.
Once there, she took the recorders into her room. She took one and went into the garage and placed it on a shelf along the wall. She went back and got another and walked into the kitchen and saw Jolene on the deck with her back to her. She put a recorder on top of the refrigerator. She went back and grabbed five more and took them up to the master bedroom. She put one under the bed and stuck it to the frame with the attached magnets, then put another in the master bathroom, under the sink, and taped it to the plumbing, hoping it wouldn't be affected by steam from the shower. She put one each in the other two upstairs bedrooms, and one in the main bathroom in the hall.
She still had three more and figured she would get one into Jolene's car, one under the deck, and one outside the front door. If she needed more, she would buy them. She had to know what the bitch was planning.
Sammi took one of the recorders and went out the front door and placed it close by, behind a bush. The recorders claimed to have 60' range, but Sammi figured that was exaggerated. She walked to the driveway and tried the passenger side door handle to Jolene's Beemer. Surprisingly, it opened. Sammi wasn't concerned about someone going into her car around here, but she thought Jolene would be. She hurried back into the house to get another recorder and placed it under the passenger seat of the Beemer. The only one left was the one for the backyard deck.
Sammi went and got the last one and took it into the kitchen. She hid it under a bunch of dish towels in a drawer near the French doors to the deck and left it there. She would place it later when she had a chance.
She went to the french doors and cracked it open. She could hear Jolene talking on her phone again. "Look, the old man is about to turn over the company to Lee. As soon as that happens, I can make a move. He's supposed to go to Candletop in a week, and I'm pretty sure that's when the transfer of the company is supposed to take place. Look, I gotta go. Sammi is lurking around here somewhere."
Sammi quietly closed the door and retreated to her room. She didn't know who Jolene was talking to, but was pretty sure it wasn't Seth again. It was obvious that Jolene was cheating on Lee with Seth, but who was this other guy? Hopefully, Jolene would be corralled near one of the recorders when she called these assholes back.
Lee got home at 5pm and they decided to order food and have it delivered, and eat out on the deck. By 6pm there were two steak dinners for Sammi and Lee, and some kind of vegetarian meal for Jolene, delivered to the house. While Lee and Jolene were getting the food from the delivery person, Sammi placed the last recorder she had underneath the deck.
Sammi didn't say anything to Lee about Jolene yet, she would wait till she had more proof of Jo's intentions. Sammi wasn't even back a day, and she figured Lee wouldn't believe her about Jolene. Jolene went inside to clean up, Sammi and Lee caught up.
"OK big brother. How's the job working out?"
Couldn't be better, Sammi. Harry, the guy that owns the company, wants to retire. His plan is to retire within the next few months and turn the company over to me. He'll keep ownership and make me a partner, but the decisions on how to run it will be mine. He's been showing me what to do, and there's no doubt in my mind I can make some changes that'll make us more money and save us in expenses at the same time. I'm pretty psyched."
"That's awesome. I'm really happy for you. How soon are we talking?"
"Within a few months or so. I gotta go to Candletop in a little over a week, and I'll be there for two weeks. He may do it while we're out there, but he'll probably wait till we get home."
That made sense to Sammi, that's what Jolene and her boyfriends had been talking about. "What about Jo?"
"What about her?"
"Will she be a part owner?"
"She's my wife, Sam. Everything we have is ours. You know that."
"Remember, Lee, you promised me five years."
Lee chuckled a little. "OK, yes I did. But on our 5th anniversary I'm gonna lay all the cards on the table. No more secrets."
"Fair enough." Since Jolene wasn't around, Sammi figured she was somewhere calling her boyfriends back. Sammi looked through the French doors and could see Jolene coming through the front door. She knew she only had to check the recorder by the front door, possibly the one in the car, but she doubted that she was sitting in her car in the driveway.
Jolene joined them on the deck and had a couple beers for Sammi and Lee and a wine cooler for herself.
"Thanks, beautiful."
"Anything for you, sweetheart. So, what are you two talkin' about?"
"Just catchin' up," said Sammi.
Lee finally asked, "so what did you do to your leg?"
"Well...umm...actually... I got shot."
"WHAT?!? Did you say you got fuckin' SHOT?!? What the fuck, Samantha, what the fuck happened?!?"
"Lee, it's OK, calm down. It was a training accident. It's all good. The guy that did it got disciplined. He'll never do that again, and I'm gonna be ok." There was certainly a couple lies in there, but she figured she would tell him someday when her enlistment was up. Until then, it wouldn't help to have him worried sick about her.
"Sam, this is fuckin crazy! You're telling me somebody accidentally fuckin shot you!?"
"Lee, believe it or not, accidental shootings DO happen. Not often, but they do. Like I said, the guy that did it was taken out of his sniper squad, he'll never be able do it again. Coupl'a months and I'll be good as new."
"How much longer?"
"I don't know, eight weeks or so."
"No, Samantha, how much longer in the Marine Corps."
"Well, that's a debate I'm having with myself right now. I could get out after I heal, or I could re-up. There's a guy I'm interested in..."
"A guy? Really?"
"Umm...yeah...a guy. His name's Eric. He's helped me out a little..."
"Wait...you're not gay?"
"Lee, what the fuck made you think I'm gay!?"
"Well...you haven't had a boyfriend in ever. I mean, like, EVER."
"Wait, Lee. You thought your sister was gay and, first, you never talked to her about it, and second, you never mentioned it to me?," asked Jolene.
"Well...I figured she was embarrassed or something. I figured it was her decision to bring it up or not. Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Sammi was laughing at this point. "OK, I'm not gay. There's a guy named Eric that I'm interested in. He still has a year or so before he gets out, so it's a dilemma for me. If I re-up, he'll get out and I'll be stuck in. If I don't, I still have to wait a year for him to get out. Of course, all that is irrelevant if he doesn't feel the same way."
"Have you talked to him lately?" Asked Jolene.
"Every day. He's trying to get some leave and head down here for a few days."
"He feels the same way," said Lee. "He wouldn't be trying to get leave and come all the way down here if there wasn't something there."
"I hope you're right, Lee. I really do," said Sam. "If you guys don't mind, I think I gonna crash early. I'm still taking pain meds and they take a lot out of me. If you hear me up in the middle of the night, don't sweat it. Sometimes I need to get up and stretch out the leg a little."r"
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Pub: 28 Mar 2021 14:45 UTC
Views: 90