A Very Lusty Christmas [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Cara Covington

Author:Cara Covington
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
Published: 2012-12-03T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

“Captain Somerville, I know this is hard.” Kate sat on the bottom step of the staircase and met the gaze of the wounded man sitting, stone-faced, in the wheelchair.

Craig Somerville had arrived at the Home earlier that day, in the wheelchair, which she found astounding. Yes, he was missing a leg, but the man didn’t appear to have any other physical injuries. No, his wounds went deeper. She’d been told he didn’t even want to try to adapt to his new reality.

His attitude surprised her, because he’d been wounded in a training accident by a mortar, while saving the life of one of his comrades. The man was a hero. And she was going to do everything she knew how to do to help him.

“I don’t see you missing a leg,Major. So I don’t see how you could possibly know how hard it is. Ma’am.”

“No, I’m not missing a leg, and I’m sorry, very sorry, that you are.”

“I’m only half a man now. How am I supposed to live my life like this? How am I supposed to take care of my wife and boy, run my ranch?”

Kate spread her hands. “You live your life, and you take care of your family. You live it because others—many others—won’t have that chance.” She sat back and recalled the information she’d read in his file. He’d left Philadelphia, and acquired homestead acreage on the heels of the stock market crash of 1929. When war had been declared, he’d enlisted.

According to what she’d read, his wife and son had wanted to visit him while he was in the hospital in Washington, but he’d told them to stay home. She knew that the cost of the trip was only part of the reason for his refusal to see them.

“I understand you got yourself a homestead grant in Colorado about ten years back. You were in Pennsylvania before that, weren’t you? Captain?”

The man didn’t seem inclined to chat, but the use of his rank reminded him that whether he liked it or not, she was a major, and a superior officer.

“Yes, ma’am. I expect you know all sorts of stuff about me.”

Kate shrugged. “Not really. I guess it was pretty easy, waltzing out West and taking free land for nothing.”

“Wasn’t nothing about that was easy. Debra and me only had our backs and our hands and a few dollars besides. We had to build the house ourselves, put in a bit of a crop—feed crop, to care for the few head of cattle we bought at auction. Damn near went broke more than once. Damn near fuckingdiedwhen we got stranded between the barn and the house in a blizzard.”

Kate had riled him up, and that was what she’d intended to do. She nodded. “I stand corrected, Captain. That sounds a hell of a lot harder than learning how to manage with one leg less than you started out with.”

He didn’t say anything, but she pressed on. “I don’t know what it’s like to lose a leg, but I do know this.

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