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A Soldier's Journey
Patricia Potter
One brave step at a timeLieutenant Andrea Stuart survived the warzone attack that took her fiancé. A therapy dog and a cabin in Covenant Falls are all the risks the former military nurse is willing to take anymore. But as Andy’s drawn into writing the history of the small town, she’s also drawn to Nate Rowland.As rugged as he is jaded, Nate’s committed to helping fellow veterans—and avoiding a new relationship. Keeping her distance might be smart, but it’s hard to stay away when Andy sees that Nate has a few scars of his own. Together they might find a path toward healing…and so much more.
One brave step at a time
Lieutenant Andrea Stuart survived the war-zone attack that took her fiancé. A therapy dog and a cabin in Covenant Falls are all the risks the former military nurse is willing to take anymore. But as Andy’s drawn into writing the history of the small town, she’s also drawn to Nate Rowland.
As rugged as he is jaded, Nate’s committed to helping fellow veterans—and avoiding a new relationship. Keeping her distance might be smart, but it’s hard to stay away when Andy sees that Nate has a few scars of his own. Together they might find a path toward healing...and so much more.
“You’re so pretty.”
“You’re not bad, either,” Andy admitted in a wry voice.
Nate chuckled. “You’re not very good at compliments, are you?”
“I’ve been told that.”
He realized they were standing there, lost in each other’s gazes, and making ridiculous small talk when her eyes were saying something else, and he imagined his were doing the same.
He reached out and took her right hand in his. Her fingers were soft although he felt the strength in them. They would have to be strong and supple and efficient to work in an army hospital, especially a forward base. Casualties often came in multiples, and they were usually critical.
Then he took her left one. The fingers were stiff and barely managed to curl slightly along his. His fingers rubbed the long scar on the back of her hand. She tried to pull away, but he pulled her hand up to his lips.
“It’s ugly,” she said.
“I think it’s beautiful. Just like everything about you.”
Dear Reader (#ulink_6f325c7e-8996-5c8b-bf41-4f2de093783d),
I am so delighted to return to magical Covenant Falls, where wounded veterans find a future again with the help of bighearted townspeople and what must be a cupid flying around a certain cabin. That cupid often comes disguised as a dog, in this story an Australian shepherd named Joseph.
I had not intended a miniseries when I wrote my first Home to Covenant Falls book, but the characters in that book wouldn’t leave me alone. They wanted their own stories and happy-ever-afters.
In this instance, Nate was flagging me down. He wasn’t aware of doing it. After a particularly bad marriage, he has sworn off romance. He doesn’t believe in it, even if his two close friends have fallen off the happy bachelorhood wagon. He does not intend to be the next, even when the incoming vet turns out to be a very pretty army nurse haunted by being the only survivor of a terrorist attack that killed her surgical team, including her fiancé.
As in previous cases, it takes a town to heal wounded hearts, this time with the assistance of two wayward camels.
Enjoy!
Patricia Potter
A Soldier’s Journey
Patricia Potter
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
PATRICIA POTTER is a bestselling and award-winning author of more than sixty books. Her Western romances and romantic suspense novels have received numerous awards, including RT Book Reviews’ Storyteller of the Year, its Career Achievement award for Western Historical Romance and Best Hero of the Year. She is a seven-time RITA® Award finalist for RWA and a three-time MAGGIE® Award winner. She is a past president of Romance Writers of America. Patricia is also a passionate animal lover, which is reflected in many of her books but never more so than in her Home to Covenant Falls miniseries. She believes curiosity is the most important trait of any writer, and she’s often led far astray when researching a subject.
Dedicated to Piya Campana, my editor, who seems to know magical ways of her own to bring out the best of every book.
Contents
Cover (#u5344a234-6643-543a-b4d7-261fb0e07c3d)
Back Cover Text (#u222ac76d-34a7-5e21-9a24-d0b40d202b04)
Introduction (#u6f01452e-9b1c-537b-921e-1bc9ee1550f9)
Dear Reader (#u42b9a7f5-14cf-5fe4-a5f3-8cdddc64e375)
Title Page (#u1fa416bf-1e50-5697-83e9-acf501922d2b)
About the Author (#u6a1d359a-8628-5fdf-9977-f8dacdc0bff9)
Dedication (#u22759334-bf50-52cd-b324-77dcf095f3e0)
CHAPTER ONE (#uaed06a66-1d4f-5b13-8064-34ae70ad867f)
CHAPTER TWO (#uc601ab03-b9de-5124-9b04-51b2b52cbfc0)
CHAPTER THREE (#u8b0efccc-5497-5015-9ee1-86167bd994ea)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ue861a520-5a53-504d-aedf-f7371348f4d9)
CHAPTER FIVE (#ud4cfa6c2-6708-54fa-96f2-792ebadcd496)
CHAPTER SIX (#u67cae67b-6b3d-5c71-a16e-c14e3c2d21b1)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#ub1743cb2-08b5-5d5d-9845-d223b59b8f8c)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_e57a2b14-cf03-5194-9fbc-104ee8ce4737)
HER HEART POUNDED so fast Lieutenant Andy Stuart thought it would burst from her body as she stopped suddenly in the hall of the military hospital.
It couldn’t be, but still, she stared at a doctor and nurse whispering to each other in a corner.
Jared. It was Jared. Jared and herself. Joy surged through her. Jared wasn’t dead. He wasn’t dead! His face. Her face. Together.
She was transfixed. Then the couple moved and Jared’s face dissolved into an older, wider face. The woman...
No. Come back.
Confusion filled her and she started to shake.
A nurse approached. “Is anything wrong?”
Yes. Everything. She shook her head.
“Can I help you find someone?”
“No... I know where...” Andy stopped. How could she explain seeing her dead fiancé? How could she explain the joy, then the anger replacing it? It should have been Jared and me.
Trembling, she watched as the couple disappeared down the hall. Anger swept through her. Anger at Jared. Anger at the world in which two people whispered together and lived.
“Let me help you,” the nurse tried again. “Where are you going?”
Andy directed that fury at the nurse. “It’s none of your business,” she said and was immediately appalled at herself. She was never rude, particularly to someone who was trying to help. Never until the past seven months.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” she said, then took off for Dr. Payne’s office. How could she have thought she saw Jared?
She burst into the reception area, past the receptionist and into his private office. He looked up from his desk, a question in his eyes. She placed herself directly in front of him. “I saw him. I saw Jared. And myself. But it wasn’t us. It was strangers, but they had our faces. How could that be?” She was shaking.
Andy hadn’t bothered closing the door as she stormed inside. Anger and confusion were too strong.
Dr. Robert Payne calmly got up and closed the door, then sat back down in his chair. “About time,” he said.
She stared at him as if he were the crazy one. “A couple,” she said. “A nurse and doctor. Whispering to each other in a corner. For a second I thought it was Jared...and me. And then I looked again, and they were strangers. I was so angry. I am angry. So damned angry.” She wasn’t making sense. She knew she wasn’t making sense, but she couldn’t stop.
Dr. Payne leaned forward. “What you saw isn’t that unusual with people who have lost someone they love. Especially given the circumstances.”
He paused, then added, “I’ve been waiting for that anger,” he said gently.
Andy paced the floor. “I don’t understand.”
“You’ve bottled it all up. You haven’t let yourself feel anything. You’ve just been drifting, indifferent to everything.”
“So wanting to hit two innocent people is healthy?”
“You didn’t do it, did you?”
“No, but I wanted to.”
“It’s normal, Andy. It’s normal getting angry when you see a happy couple. It’s something you expected to be. And it was torn away from you in the worst possible way. It’s okay to be angry. It’s good, even. Better than stifling those feelings to the point of not being able to function.”
“I’ve been functioning,” Andy said defensively.
He just looked at her.
“Have you found a job yet?”
“Cash register and waitress at a coffee shop. Just two days a week, but it helps pay for my part of an apartment.”
“What about nursing?”
She shrugged. “Who wants to hire someone who hears a noise and drops to the ground screaming? Wouldn’t instill much confidence in patients. Not to mention a bum hand. I can operate the cash machine and take orders, but I can’t carry heavy trays.”
“There’s a lot of fields in nursing where you can work.”
She looked at him with hostile eyes. “Doc, I really don’t think I can do that.” Dammit, he knew why. He knew all the reasons. He knew everything about her. Well, practically everything, after two visits a week for the past six months, including two months while having surgeries and later as an outpatient for PTSD.
