The life he had now was not at all one he had ever envisioned. Not in a million years. He was supposed to have it all once he got out of the Army. Harmon Wheeler had done two tours of duty, and the plan was to go to college and build a better life, one with a real future. That had been the plan since he enlisted at eighteen. Not that he’d had many options. His parents had died in a plane crash when Harm was ten, and that was his entry into the foster care system. His father had been an only child and his mother a late-in-life baby. He’d had an aunt, but she died not long after his parents.
So after years of being the center of attention and knowing he was deeply loved, going into the foster care system had been a complete shock to him. He had been lucky with his third placement, when an older couple had taken him in. They were two men who adored each other, and Harm had grown to love them and they him. He always knew his time with them could be limited because they were both nearing retirement when they took him in, but luck had been on his side for once, and they were able care for him until he graduated high school. The three of them never had very much, so after high school, Harm enlisted and offered to send home part of his pay to help them. His foster fathers declined, telling him to save his money for his future. So while the other men went out carousing and bought expensive cars and stuff, Harm was always careful with his money and managed to save a nice amount to help with college.
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then, he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew Grey
