Author's Note: This will be my final post until after vacation. I'm not done with the Merry Men, obviously because I'm still missing Bobby and possibly others that will pop into my head, But I'm leaving for an extended visit to Europe tomorrow am...early. My internet access will be spotty, but I will at least try to keep up with answering reviews. I've loaded my kindle so that Plum withdrawal symptoms (cravings for cake, attacking unsuspecting Latino men...Grandma Mazur style, and responding to obvious questions from my family with a typical Lula shout) are kept to a minimum.

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Merry Men Bios

by Latetolove

Woodward Sanderson: aka Woody

Woody is the living, breathing example of why they say; "Everything's bigger in Texas!" He's 6'5" and wears a size 15 shoe. His mother has always insisted that she had pulled the name Woodward from a remote branch of her family tree. However, several years ago at a Ladies Auxilliary luncheon, in a slightly drunken confession to her best friend Maisey Sweetwater, Trisha Sanderson admitted it was actually an inadvertent naming. As she was slowly reviving from her drug induced haze following the birth of her eleven pound, seven ounce son, Trisha heard the nurses admiring and cooing over her beautiful boy. Amongst the chatter, her still foggy mind registered the comment; "That is one very fine Woody." Trisha assumed that, at some point during her difficult delivery, she must have given the nurses that name for her son and just didn't remember. It wasn't until the following day, when she changed his diaper for the first time, that she realized the true object of their admiration. The paper work had already been completed for the birth certificate, so she felt obligated to stick with it to avoid social embarrassment. At the time, Maisey had sworn to take the secret to her grave, but following the unfortunate disclosure, Trisha noticed a definite change in the way all of her girlfriends appraised and eyed her teenage son.

Woody is the youngest, and only, son in a family of four children. Having been raised in the 'upper crust' of Houston society and amid the household of three beautiful sisters, Woody has learned all the skills and nuances required to charm and beguile a woman. His smooth Texas drawl and fresh-faced smile have served him well. Woody learned to handle more than horses in the stables at his family's ranch. He lost his virginity at the age of 16 to Mandy Goodspeed, the much older and very willing daughter of the hired foreman.

Woody's best and closest friend was Hank Marshall. They grew up together, got into trouble together, spent every free moment joined at the hip learning to rope, ride and rustle and, in high school, double dated more times than they could count. After graduating, they even left for college together, both studying business at the prestigious Baylor University in Waco. Their pie-in-the-sky plan was to, one day, become business partners in a working ranch.

Two years into their studies, the events of 911 inspired them to answer the call to serve. Together, Hank and Woody enlisted in the Marines and left almost immediately for boot camp in San Diego. It was rigorous training, but both men succeeded and surpassed their peers in their completion of The Crucible, a strenuous 54-hour physical and mental final challenge to test the skills and readiness of the recruit to continue service after fourteen weeks of intense training. Hank was an excellent marksman and Woody excelled at martial arts. Upon completion of their School of Infantry training, both were assigned to the same unit and were deployed to Afghanistan.

After serving two tours of duty, Woody returned home alone. Hank had been severely wounded in a road side bombing and three weeks later, had died of his injuries. Unable to stay in Texas with the constant reminder of the loss of his best friend, Woody took a job, as far from home as possible. He landed in Trenton, New Jersey with a company called RangeMan Security. Woody is somewhat of a novelty to the women of Trenton. When his drop-dead gorgeous face and concupiscent body don't catch the attention of every woman in the room, his effortless and polished Texas accent does.

Woody loves steak, sleeping out in the open, and horses, but hasn't ridden one since the day he and Hank rode together before shipping out for their second tour.

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A/N: Remember, I'm not done with these yet. I'll be back after vacation.

PS, Ever the teacher...How many of you looked up the word concupiscent? That was a new one for me as well. I just had to try it out in a sentence! I know...that makes me such a word nerd.