Thirty-four year old Vicki Laramie must learn to trust before she can love, but she might die trying.While Vicki’s children grapple with the death of their father -- a man whom she’s successfully fabricated as loving, a lie her rebellious teenager recognizes -- she must find a way to support her family and find a role model for her boys. She never intends to fall for Staff Sergeant Chase, her best friend’s son, who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She’d much rather choose a safer man to love, but her children have a voice in the decision she makes. With two deaths to deal with, a suitor after her money, a rebellious son, and Sergeant Chase’s repeated attacks, she can only hope to survive the danger she faces. If she doesn’t, her children will be left without either parent.
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| Cover art provided by Shaunna Gonzales |
*****
My senses
distilled, the clean lemon scent of Janine's home intensified. This specter
existed as no spirit at all... but a soldier in army fatigues wearing the
ranking emblem of an officer on his chest. His frame seemed to fill the whole
corridor. Intimidated by his size, if not his rank, I gave him my immediate and
full attention.
"Can I help
you?" His voice rumbled with authority. He positioned himself, taking the
defensive, his booted feet shoulder width apart, his elbows inches from both
walls, blocking the space.
I managed to
regain a smidgeon of composure. "I should ask you the same." My voice
sounded self-assured. I wondered where it came from while feeling so inferior
to him.
"Why? This
is my home."
I lost my
balance, stumbling back a couple of feet, my surprise giving way to
embarrassment. My hand went to my hair to comb it before I remembered it stayed
in place as a messy bun. I dropped my hand wishing I knew what to do with it.
"Oh...
you're Kelly." I stammered, unsure of myself, my jaw going slack. I
struggled in desperation to right it.
Now I see the
resemblance to his pictures. Janine needs newer ones and dang, he doesn't quite
look the same as the picture I have. He's... wow. Take a picture Vick.
"You
are?" he asked, still very much in charge.
"Huh?"
I couldn't think of anything else to say. His charismatic presence stupefied
me. I hadn't blinked, lost in the depths of his eyes.
He folded his
arms making his biceps bulge under his fatigues. I dared to raise my chin in
defiance. I'd give him no more, at least not until he retreated an inch. He
didn't give it to me. I retreated, feeling foolish in comparison to his
alpha-male claim of the hallway.
"Interesting
name." His timbre reflected a pleasant nature. Of course standing toe to
toe with him in Janine's hallway of small-antiquated proportions disintegrated
my defense.
"It's nice to meet you, Kelly." Smooth
girl. You are so dead.
"I'd like to say the same." His
cautious mantle of soldiering remained on guard.
"Then why don't you?"
"Because I
don't know your real name." His
eyes betrayed his annoyance for a split second before a shield of secure
soldier mastery descended.
"Vicki." I lowered my chin
waiting for him, my body poised, expecting his response.
He failed to give me one while his eyes
bored holes through me.
"Kelly, meet Vicki, our
neighbor." Janine called from her room, her voice reflecting her
personable nature. Did she really need to make introductions this way? Did
she peek around the corner to watch this? I couldn't be sure with the wall
of solid muscle between her doorway and myself. I imagined Janine's face as she
overheard our stilted conversation. The humor of the situation flooded over me,
bringing a smile to my lips.
Kelly's
answering smile altered his expression, and his body language. Almost
duplicating his masculine smirk in the photo I possessed, softening the solid
mass of muscle without diminishing his potent dynamics.
"Excuse me.
I came to see Janine." I didn't dare push past him.
"Mother?" He called over his
shoulder, still guarding the hallway. "Do you feel up to having a
visitor?"
"I always feel like visiting with
Vicki," Janine answered from her room.
Kelly stepped aside, placing himself
against the aging wallpaper as though afraid I might give him some dreaded disease
if I happened to brush against him. I did brush against him as I passed. Dang
he's big. I entered Janine's bedroom to find her reclining on several
pillows. She appeared tired, her skin lacking its usual healthy glow.
"Janine, are you feeling all right?"
I asked in concern.
"Better now. I called you this
morning when I fell. As luck would have it, I fell against the telephone table,
knocking it to the floor with me. Kelly came home quite unexpectedly and helped
me to bed."
"I'm sorry," I apologized, feeling
guilty for going to lunch. "It took longer at the bank than I thought.
After, Farley insisted on taking me to lunch. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Would that be Farley
Wilson?"
"Yes, you know him right?"
"Early forties, nice dresser and a
smooth talker. He missed his calling as an insurance salesman," Janine
answered appearing a shade worse.
"You look tired. I shouldn't bother
you with my issues. Will Kelly be here long?" She seemed more fragile than
usual.
"Actually, he's been busy seeing to
my needs and hasn't said yet."
"I'll let you two get to catching
up." I patted her hand and retreated the way I'd come. So much for
asking her for her opinion of Farley.
Kelly stood at the kitchen counter,
draining a jug of milk. He must have heard me approaching. He lowered the jug,
wiping his lips with his sleeve. For a brief instant he wasn't a soldier, but a
young boy caught in the act. A sheepish grin filled his features. Then his
expression changed, his eyes capturing me as if holding me in animated
suspension.
Yum. Delicious tingling filled me. Wow,
what has he done to me? I thought I'd outgrown this silly attraction to
a man in uniform. Not. I focused on my feet, willing them to keep moving
toward the door. The traitors stopped and turned toward him. My mouth joined
the mutiny.
"Nice to meet you, Kelly. Your
mother's mentioned you often." I sensed a smile curl my lips hearing my
way too formal effort at breaking the ice. Can't you do any better, girl?
"You, too."
Is it animalistic charisma emanating
from him or danger? It didn't matter which. I'd always proved a sucker for
both. Vick, you need to remove the sign on your forehead beckoning these
guys. That's two in one day. He said no more, and I hurried out the door,
my knees masquerading as jelly.
*****
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