The Legend of Safehaven by R. A. Comunale

it.
    What am I doing here? Why should I bother these three with this?
    Clenching his jaw, he turned into the long lane and followed it to the house on the summit. He noticed something that hadn’t been there the last time. It was a wooden sign of large, carved letters standing not far from the house: SAFEHAVEN.
    Maybe it is a sign , he thought.
     
    “Bob, Sergeant Castle is here. He wants to talk to the three of us. Is Galen around?”
    Startled, Edison jumped up from his recliner.
    “Has anything happened to the kids?”
    They were in school this time of day.
    “No, but he said it was important,” she replied.
    “Okay, I’ll see if Old Grumpy is in his room.”
    He was halfway down the hall, when he nearly collided with Galen emerging from his room. Edison could tell he was in one of his moods.
    “I was just coming to get you.”
    “I’m not deaf and blind. I saw the car pull up. What the hell’s going on?”
    The two men joined Nancy and Castle, who were now standing in the living room.
    “Sit down, please, Sergeant,” Nancy said, nervously. “Do you like tea? I’ve just made some butterscotch walnut cookies.”
    They waited for Castle’s cue. When the sergeant understood nodded that he understood, the trio breathed a collective sigh of relief. The three men sat down, and Nancy went to the kitchen and soon returned with a tray and tea caddy.
    Castle didn’t know where to begin.
    “Do you remember Lachlan Douglass, the young officer who was with me when you had that trouble with Caddler?”
    They all nodded, remembering the drunken old farmer who had threatened the children and the wolf pack.
    “Well, Lachlan’s reserve unit got called up to serve in the Middle East. Sonofagun if that boy isn’t a captain in his own right. Anyway, a truck bomb killed a bunch of people in the neighborhood he was monitoring. Somehow a little boy survived the blast, but he was severely mutilated. He’s blind now, and his face is distorted. Lachlan wants to bring him to the States for treatment, but you know how it is—regulations, rules…”
    Nancy and Edison immediately looked at Galen, who turned to Castle.
    “Do you know the unit numbers for Officer Douglass?”
    Castle pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the bear-like man. Galen stood up.
    “Excuse me.”
    As he headed to his room, the officer shot a puzzled look at the Edisons.
    “Don’t mind him. He’s in one of his grumpy moods. But if anything can be done, he’ll do it.”
    Nancy smiled and offered the man more tea and cookies. He relaxed a little and savored the midday treat.
     
    Galen dialed a number from memory.
    ”Plastic surgery. This is Dr. Connors.”
    Galen grinned to himself.
    “Connors, have you finally learned how to treat hyperosmolar coma?”
    Silence on the other end, then the man laughed.
    “Dr. Galen, what a surprise! Are you still torturing poor medical students with that question?”
    Jim Connors was one of the best students Galen had ever seen, and now he was tops in his field of plastic reconstructive surgery of the face.
    “I got one for you, Jim.”
    The old doctor relayed the basics of the case, and the young surgeon asked a few questions and promised to do whatever he could to help.
    Galen dialed another number, one that stirred mixed feelings. But this person owed him, so he was calling in the marker.
    He impatiently endured the Pentagon’s computerized menu voice.
    What was so wrong with switchboards?
     
    The others watched silently, as he re-entered the living room and stood in front of the picture window for a few seconds before turning to face them.
    “Sergeant, tell Officer Douglass’s wife that the Air Force will fly the boy to Andrews and transport him from there to the military hospital at Bethesda...”
    He paused briefly.
    “And let her know her husband will be accompanying the boy.”
    Castle sat silent, stunned by what he had just heard. Nancy exhaled and smiled. Edison just shook