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The Soldier's Homecoming
Patricia Potter
He’s looking for roots. She won’t be tied down.Army ranger Travis Hammond needs to heal physical and emotional wounds. A job in Covenant Falls checking out equine therapy programs for veterans is a start, but it’s only temporary. And he doesn’t need a partner, especially some reporter with the persistence of a terrier and irresistible green eyes. Like Travis, Jenny Talbot’s just passing through town. Unlike Travis, Jenny knows exactly where she’s going next—back to the Middle East, as soon as she recovers from her own war injury. But there’s a bend in the road for both of them.
He’s looking for roots. She won’t be tied down.
Army ranger Travis Hammond needs to heal physical and emotional wounds. A job in Covenant Falls checking out equine therapy programs for veterans is a start, but it’s only temporary. And he doesn’t need a partner, especially some reporter with the persistence of a terrier and irresistible green eyes. Like Travis, Jenny Talbot’s just passing through town. Unlike Travis, Jenny knows exactly where she’s going next—back to the Middle East, as soon as she recovers from her own war injury. But there’s a bend in the road for both of them.
USA TODAY bestselling author PATRICIA POTTER has been telling stories since the second grade when she wrote a short story about wild horses, although she knew nothing at all about them. She has since received numerous writing 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, as well as a past president of Romance Writers of America. Character motivation is what intrigues her most in creating a book, and she sits back and allows those characters to write their own stories.
Also By Patricia Potter (#u3f120706-64dc-59f2-88d9-8304b88e84b8)
Home to Covenant Falls
The Soldier’s Promise
Tempted by the Soldier
A Soldier’s Journey
The SEAL’s Return
The Lawman
Swampfire
Between the Thunder
Samara
Seize the Fire
Chase the Thunder
Dragonfire
The Silver Link
The Abduction
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
The Soldier’s Homecoming
Patricia Potter
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08291-4
THE SOLDIER’S HOMECOMING
© 2018 Patricia Potter
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
He clutched the towel closer to his body. “I have to put some clothes on.”
“You’re fine, but if you would be more comfortable...” Mischief danced in her eyes.
He’d thought no woman could stomach what had happened to his body, the scars left by remnants of a rocket. But then Jenny had experienced combat herself even if she’d been an observer rather than participant. Maybe the wound made her a participant.
Still, he couldn’t believe that any woman would actually be comfortable with the scars.
As if reading his thoughts, Jenny touched his chest and ran a finger down it, arousing all sorts of reactions. “You have great muscles and all the important stuff,” she said as she continued to study him. “I like your face a lot, too,” she added with a grin.
Damn, but she knew how to get inside his head. “Are you finished with your survey?”
“I’m getting there,” she said. “I have a few scars of my own, you know.”
Dear Reader (#u3f120706-64dc-59f2-88d9-8304b88e84b8),
I usually start a book by living with the hero and heroine for a month or more before starting a manuscript. After that, the story is up to them, and it rarely turns out the way I first envisioned. Any resemblance to the original idea is purely coincidental.
So it was with this book. The characters just didn’t want to do what I originally thought they would do. Travis, a Special Forces major, objected to being wounded in spirit as well as body. Jenny, a war correspondent who was wounded while covering a story, turned out to be equally stubborn. I never knew what she was going to do or say next.
The book has a special place in my heart. In the past, I’ve tried not to put myself in a book, but I failed this time. Jenny has a lot of me in her. She is a reporter (which was my original career), and I know the type well. Unbridled curiosity is the reporter’s—and writer’s—most valuable asset. Jenny takes this quality to the extreme. She wants to know everything about everyone, which can be quite annoying. And then the story she’s chasing is always more important than anything else, including relationships.
In The Soldier’s Homecoming, I turned her loose on an unsuspecting cast of characters and watched her change others as well as herself. I hope you like her as much as I enjoyed bringing her to life.
And this time I’m also sharing my newly adopted elderly citizen rescue dog, Anna, with you. Like Anna in the book, it was love at first sight.
Patricia Potter
This book is dedicated to the men and women who better the lives of veterans through many Horses for Heroes programs throughout the country.
Contents
Cover (#u2925b4ca-3d53-5680-8c02-2539b99e1c8b)
Back Cover Text (#ub9e0d4dd-e520-58e9-a495-f6ab48f00f64)
About the Author (#u7579b608-49e1-558a-860d-1ef0434eb007)
Booklist (#u539e5ece-01fd-5339-9f18-c039d3cc21fc)
Title Page (#ub58c4b71-14e0-5926-9cb7-8c3f37de1fd6)
Copyright (#uc198be21-e235-58ca-a0d1-47b84ce44c5b)
Introduction (#ueecde79e-4d89-5ea4-b17d-dbbc2ed851cb)
Dear Reader (#ucdcfa98e-4044-547f-a119-24a0b5db7b1a)
Dedication (#ub74dbfd0-a014-550c-91b1-99c49ea5e46c)
PROLOGUE (#u1ee8b0e8-e5a2-5afd-b4b7-693bf54dd64c)
CHAPTER ONE (#u6c82b692-83b0-5f02-90ba-40507a291079)
CHAPTER TWO (#udceaa77a-e2a4-529a-8ab3-0319000a30a7)
CHAPTER THREE (#u3c2d1907-73c8-5ca6-a986-4a15c9252a9e)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u785a6f3f-5583-5f28-bca4-0409328a2b31)
CHAPTER FIVE (#u75dcd5f0-fd55-5aff-b49a-d72b8a581649)
CHAPTER SIX (#u2e3c23e6-8855-5480-90b6-edff2f11f399)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
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)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#u3f120706-64dc-59f2-88d9-8304b88e84b8)
Aleppo, Syria
JENNY TALBOT KNEW she was in trouble the moment she heard the sound of approaching aircraft.
The sound grew thunderous as four planes appeared in the sky over Aleppo, leaving a trail of explosions in their wake. They were heading straight at her.
A cease-fire was supposed to have been declared while volunteer medical personnel tended the wounded in one of the few remaining makeshift hospitals in the doomed Syrian city.
The volunteer doctors and nurses, who had just arrived in a marked medical convoy, scattered, seeking cover. She and Rick Cowan, also a freelance journalist, were accompanying them. Although they worked for different news services, they had been together when they heard about the medical mission to Aleppo. It hadn’t been easy to get permission from the supporting agency, but the promise of alerting the world to conditions in a city caught in the cross fire of three ruthless armies finally won them approval. It was emphasized that it was at their own risk.
So much for cease-fires.
As explosions grew louder, Jenny and Rick ran for cover with Ali, their driver and translator. All three ducked behind a pile of rubble that had once been a house.
Jenny instinctively grabbed the camera that hung around her neck and under the hijab she wore to cover her flaming red hair. Out of habit, she took several rapid shots of people fleeing among burning buildings and vehicles. She wanted proof of the violation of the cease fire.
Ali turned to them. “I go get jeep,” he shouted over the noise, then sprinted around the rubble. Jenny regretted now that he’d hid the jeep several blocks down to avoid thieves.
A little girl suddenly ran into the road, screaming as another explosion threw rocks and flaming shrapnel in every direction. The girl fell, her arms reaching out as if for help. Jenny saw bright red blood flow from the child’s leg.
A doctor turned back toward her but he was too far away. Jenny instinctively rose from her position and started to climb over the rubble to go after the child. Rick pulled her down. “Stay here, dammit,” he said. “I’ll go.”
As he started to scramble over the rubble, she followed. Another group of planes roared over them, raining more fire on the street. Explosions deafened her. Chunks of flaming metal flew through the air. Two cars and an ambulance used by the doctors burst into flames. She struggled to the top of the debris. Dust and smoke was everywhere. She couldn’t see the child.
“We’ve got to find her,” she said to Rick. A trailing plane came in low and dropped its munitions. The building across the street sustained a direct hit and started to crumple.
“I have to find the girl,” she shouted to Rick.
