Cinderella Wore Combat Boots by D.L. Jackson

Author:D.L. Jackson [Jackson, D.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Published: 2011-08-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Gunny should own a matchmaker’s service. How he’d found Sol and knew he would flip every switch in her body was outstanding. Who’d have thought Gunny was such a romantic? Who’d have thought he’d find her the one date who would make this night something more than an evening of heartbreak? “So, how do you know Gunny?”

“I don’t. Ever heard of a service called 1NightStand? Your Gunny contacted them, saying he needed someone for a military woman about to take a step into the civilian world. Since I’ve been there, done that, I was a logical choice.” He grabbed her hand. “I’m glad I said yes.”

“So what do you do out there?”

“I own a company that makes protective equipment and bionic prostheses for the military.” He handed her a card. Plain white cardstock, nothing fancy, it seemed to suit him.

Protect and Serve. She lifted her gaze and met his. “Bionic prosthesis. I didn’t think that technology was real.” It all sounded like science fiction, something out of a movie.

“It’s very real. Think about Phantom Limb Syndrome, where people who’ve lost a limb can still feel the missing appendage. Well, those phantom limbs are actually nerves that are disconnected from the missing limb. They’re still sending and receiving messages from the brain. Someone figured out that those nerve endings can be reconnected to artificial limbs by sensors that read the electrical impulses that move through muscle. So, when your brain tells your hand to open and close, the sensors read the impulses and translate the action to the prosthesis.”

“Sounds complicated,” she said.

“Not really. The technology just expands the job nature already does. It’s changing so many lives. Blind people can see again, the deaf can hear, and those who’ve lost arms and legs now have working limbs that respond with thought like their original arms and legs had. My company continues to study spinal cord injuries and we have high hopes this technology can be used to help the paralyzed someday.”

“Wow.” He was even more amazing than she’d originally thought. “You must get a lot of satisfaction from your work.”

“More than you could possibly know.” He let go of her hand and leaned back. “What are you planning to do when you’re a free woman? Have you given it any thought?”

She gave him a weak smile. “I haven’t. To be truthful, I’m just trying to get through now. I don’t know anything else. The Marines have been my life. I’ve been an MP for twenty-two years and don’t know anything else. My injury prevents me from getting a job in law enforcement or security, and I’m not a desk girl. I haven’t got a clue what I’m going to do.”

“You could come to work for me—in New Orleans. I need someone familiar with military equipment to head up my Protective Equipment Division. You don’t have to be active duty to be a hero. I just need someone who thinks that way. You can continue to be a part of something big.

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