The Admiral's Daughter

Chapter 1: Take My Breath Away

Magnolia sat in the front seat of her old red truck, windows down and her bright red hair blowing everywhere. She seemed to have forgotten a hairtie after her time training at the gym and nearly forgetting about the dinner her father had asked her to attend. 

Still trying to navigate her way around her new home of Miramar, California; a place Magnolia never could have never imagined herself visiting, let alone calling home. She rolled up the windows and turned down the music.

"Damn thing, c'mon" she said trying to adjust her cell phone in the cupholder to make her way to her father's new house. Her father's new home sat a little off the beaten path with a stellar view on the back porch that took you right to the beach. It was simple and homey, perfect for her father. Even after a month of being here, California still didn't feel like home to her, not like the way her home state of Texas had. It's where she'd gone to get her undergraduate degree, where she'd grown up, where she was born, and most importantly where her parents had met. 

After graduating from Top Gun and receiving his assignment to be stationed at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, that's where her father, Admiral David Moran met her mother, Texas Ranger Dahlia Moran. Her parents were every cliche love story rolled into one, he was a military man from the sunny beaches of California plunked into a state full of belt buckles and cowboy boots. 

They'd met one night when a bunch of the avaitors decided to teach David what being in Texas was all about. Beer and line dancing, somehow Dahlia and he ended up being dance partners and the rest was history. 

It wasn't until recently, when her mother passed after a long battle with cancer that David was conveniently called back to California to help run Top Gun as an admiral now instead of just a graduate and one of his classmates from back in the '80's was actually an instructor now. Magnolia had met him a handful of times being a friend of her father's and all, but not enough to know the in's and out's of his life. 

This classmate, Captain Pete Mitchell, whom her dad called Maverick, was actually the one they'd be having over for supper this evening, along with his new wife. 

Magnolia's reminiscing over Texas had caused her to miss a turn and run a stop sign. 

"Shit!" she said scolding herself for not obeying the simplest traffic laws and growing frustrated with the robot voice on her phone continuously saying "proceed to route." 

At another stop sign, Magnolia took a few deep breaths and did as the robot said, slightly calmed down and trying to drown out her remaining frustration she turned up the music once more and made her way to her fathers home. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Magnolia's old truck could be heard rattling down the street and to the driveway before David could see it coming. His daughter hopped out, smiling happily at the sight of her dad on the front porch with a glass of iced tea in his hand, just like him and her mom used to do. 

"Hey daddy, how was your day?" she asked kissing him on the cheek and sitting down in her mother's empty rocker beside him. 

"If you love what you do , you never work a day in your life" he said with a smile gently rocking and enjoying the early fall breeze with the light remnants of summer still evident in the air. 

They began to catch up together about their days and he thanked Magnolia for taking the time to come over. He knows she could be at the office going over case files and the like now that she was Supervisory Special Agent for the San Diego FBI field office, she always was kept plenty busy.

"It's alright daddy, really, I've got plenty of time this weekend to stay on top of the case files." she said placing her hand gently on her father's.

"I meant to ask, are you feelin' more settled into Miramar now?" David asked hoping for a positive answer and Magnolia hesitated, she didn't dare lie and say she loved it because she didn't and her father had the best lie detector of any dad out there.