Lots of Luck Noblesse Oblige Reinter

Ron Matejka

Description

Two preteens share their first kiss. By high school, their lives go in opposite directions. Theyre now on a roller-coaster ride to reunite. Dan is a man with a complex and covert job. Sophie is a successful woman who is now struggling to start a new life. A small memento lures Dan to find his first love. All of Dan's experiences can't help him make the connection with Sophie. Their reunion is hindered by unexpected events that will have you wondering what else could possibly happen next to keep them apart. Their lives are sealed with an ending like no other love story.Lots of luck figuring it out!

Informations

• Publié par: Inspiring Voices
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781462409440
• Langue: English

Extrait

Lots of Luck Noblesse Oblige Reinter
RON MATEJKA

Copyright © 2014 Ron Matejka.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
Inspiring Voices
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.inspiringvoices.com
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0943-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0944-0 (e)
 
 
Inspiring Voices rev. date: 09/29/2014
Contents
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments & Comments
Prologue
Chapter 1    Dan’s Flight Home
Chapter 2    The Mission
Chapter 3    Remembering School
Chapter 4    Dan Meets The Neighbors
Chapter 5    Oh That First Kiss
Chapter 6    The Key Chain
Chapter 7    High School And College
Chapter 8    Judy Lends An Ear
Chapter 9    Home At Last
Chapter 10    Sandori’s
Chapter 11    Sophie’s Story
Chapter 12    The Near Miss
Chapter 13    Sophie And Dan’s Paths Cross
Chapter 14    A Chance Meeting
Chapter 15    A Second Reunion?
Chapter 16    Tim!
Chapter 17    A Dinner Innovation
Chapter 18    Dinner With Dan
Chapter 19    Tim’s Last Chance
Chapter 20    Dan’s New Plan
Chapter 21    Aloha And Always
Chapter 22    Love Raptured Me
Chapter 23    Letters Of Love In A Time Of Tribulation

 
 
 
 
 
To Mom and Marilynne
With all my love now and always
Author’s Note
The words have come from God; I simply put them on p aper.
Three Bible verses from the New American Standard Bible have shown me how valuable we are to him:
“Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb” (Isaiah 44:2).
“Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap: and they have no storeroom nor barn: and yet God feeds them: how much more valuable you are than the birds!” (Luke 1 2:24).
Your homework assignment is to read: Romans 12:2 and 3
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin: but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these!” (Luke 1 2:27).
Acknowledgments & Comments
I would like to thank all those who contributed to editing and constructive criticism of my book: Bonnie McDonald, Marilynne, Pat, Bill, Sue, Jim, Kim, Sharon and everyone at Inspiring Vo ices.
Jillian, keep your imagination open and keep writing. Soon your book will be next to mine in the Library of Cong ress.
To Madison, soon all of your dreams will come true! All A’s!
Brody, Brittany and Ashely: The world is your oy ster.
Jaden, never forget that your Nana prays for you every day and loves you!
To Darren, Courtney, Dane, Natalie, Erica, Michael, Jojo, Jeff and Anna – Consider the Ra vens!
In Memory of Tony Delfino
Prologue
There is an appointed time for everyt hing.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Summer 2003
T he war against terrorism has not ended. The huge gray McDonnell Douglas C-17 was cruising at an altitude of twenty-eight thousand feet. Below was the cold and dark Atlantic O cean.
The moon was full, and its light cast a faint silver shimmer across the water below. The moon was low in the western sky, just above the semi-dark horizon. Its beam stretched from the far horizon directly to the approaching aircraft, leaving its path on the ocean. It was as if God had provided the pilots a roadmap to get home.
It was a relatively calm night for the Atlantic Ocean for that time of year. The ocean’s swell was gentle, and the ever-present whitecaps looked like buttercream frosting on an angel food cake. There were no clouds to hinder visibility for the pilots. A feeling of peace and serenity settled in the cockpit as both pilots gazed at the surreal sight ahead of them.
The flight was on its way from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to the United States. Four powerful jet engines pushed the huge aircraft, slicing through the skies at four hundred and fifty knots. Each massive jet left a vapor trail behind the aircraft like four white ruffled ribbons in the clear night sky.
A full moon reflected off each ribbon before slowly dissipating in the cold air. This flight and the next ten hours would have one homesick marine, Staff Sergeant Dan Mastik, wrestling with his thoughts and sentimental memories on his return home. One memory in particular was nestled in his pocket, something he had treasured since he was a teenager. That treasure and the memories it represented had journeyed with him on two deployments to the Middle East.
Dan’s love, trust, and faith in God—along with that very special memory in his pocket—had propelled him through some tough times and back to safety more than once. In those lonely and often terrifying moments, he would tightly clutch and hold that treasure in his hand and pray to God.
He didn’t realize it yet, but God’s plan for him was just beginning to unfold. There is a time for every event in one’s life, and Dan was about to find out what God’s plan was for him.
CHAPTER 1 Dan’s Flight Home
T he C-17 was an aircraft designed for heavy-lifting missions in times of war. It was capable of transporting many different types of payloads specifically meant for war. Its cargo might consist of hundreds of combat-ready troops, an M1A1 army battle tank, two Apache helicopters, multiple artillery pieces, or three Bradley armored vehicles. If not carrying troops or vehicles, it could also carry tons of war supplies on pallets that could be deployed to troops on the ground with a special low-altitude parachute drop system. It was also capable of landing or taking off on dirt landing strips of thirty five hundred feet or less. However, when the engineers designed this aircraft, they probably had no idea that someday one of its missions would be to save lives—not just to carry the tools of war to take l ives.
Several C-17s had been modified and reconfigured from heavy-lifting vehicles and cargo transports to flying hospitals with onboard intensive care units. The modifications and additions of the medical equipment and medical staff created a new mission and role for the huge aircraft. The wounded could now be treated while being airlifted from any combat zone. While in flight, the flying trauma center provided all the lifesaving capabilities that typically took place on the ground in a hot zone in Harm’s way.
From the danger of being in a field medical unit close to danger, the injured, like Staff Sergeant Dan Mastik, were now flown directly to Balad, Iraq, Landstuhl, Ramstein Air Base, or the States. With the lifesaving equipment—along with doctors and nurses who often had pistols strapped to their bodies while they were saving lives—these giant aircraft changed the way the military treated and saved the wounded in war and other confl icts.
Dan’s flight was not an ordinary combat heavy-lifting mission. The flight was not loaded with the tools of war; it held examples of what the tools of war could do to the flesh and bones of fighting men and w omen.
The flight Dan was on had a different kind of heavy-lifting mission. His flight home was not about how many tons of metal that could be lifted. This kind of heaviness couldn’t be weighed on a scale. This heaviness was the kind that affects the heart, mind, and soul. It would soon have a profound effect on a family, a loved one, a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, or a lover. It was a stark contrast to what the aircraft had originally been intended for.
For Dan, the flight was bittersweet. He was the lucky one. Aboard this flight, four flag-draped shipping cases held the remains of fallen warriors who had given their lives for their country. He was returning home alive, and they were not. It was an honor for him to share this flight with them.
On this particular flight, Dan would drift in and out of a restless sleep because of the pain medication he was taking to ease the ongoing deep pain in his right leg and thigh from the wounds he had received a few months earlier. The meds were somehow causing him to have vivid, amplified dreams and visions of events from his past, present, and fu ture.
As he slept, many of the events from the past flooded his mind. At times his face was serene, and a smile would appear on his face while he slept. He was dreaming about some of his best memories, especially 1969 through 1978 in Banner, Colorado. He had spent his pre-teen and teenage years in the small town with his mom, dad, and brother. He went to Sunday school, church, junior high, and high school with the same gang of kids. As a teenager, his first real kiss had been with his first love, So phie.
Some of the events of the past were not as spectacular and his smile would turn to a face of sadness. At the age of nineteen, he had packed his few belongings and left Banner, a small town in Colorado, with a bro