In Wilde Country by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sandra Marton
Published: 2014-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Could you fall in love with a country?

Yes, Johnny decided, yes, you could.

Italy was spectacular. He loved everything about it. The cities, the towns, the ruins, the food, the wine, the people.

The women.

Man, the women! Bellissima!

Johnny’s boss, Brigadier General Pete Halvorson, thought so, too.

Halvorson had translators on his staff, but he made it clear that he saw himself as part of the “new” army. That turned out to mean that Halvorson, a short, overweight bachelor, saw the benefits of having a tall, good-looking, charming military aide beside him, rather than a run-of-the-mill translator, at the endless cocktail parties he attended as part of his job

Simply put, General Halvorson liked the ladies. The ladies liked catching the attention of a general, but they adored catching the interest of Second Lieutenant John Hamilton Wilde.

Not a problem.

There were more than enough beautiful women to go around.

Not that it was all fun and games.

Halvorson had a job to do, and he was good at it.

Days were filled with meetings; John was responsible for making sure his boss had whatever facts he needed at his fingertips.

To that end, he read the seemingly endless reports and documents that came in over Halvorson’s fax machine and by diplomatic pouch, researched whatever had to be researched, and turned it all into comprehensive and comprehensible notes.

He studied Halvorson closely, absorbed the intricacies of behavior that went with being part soldier and part diplomat.

Best of all, he made contacts that would prove to be invaluable.

By the end of his first year as Halvorson’s side, John was a first lieutenant.

By the end of his second, he was a captain.

He could count several high-ranking officers as friends. He had excellent relationships with various embassy policy wonks, diplomats, even with secretaries and clerks.

You never knew who would be useful and when.

He knew that sounded cynical, but he also knew that the world wasn’t run by do-gooders and optimists.

If it were, why was he alive and Alden dead?

He tried not to think about Alden too much, but what was “too much?” Once a month? Once a week? Once a day? Truth was, his brother popped into his head at the damnedest times. John could be laughing at a joke, and Alden was there. Working at his desk and bam, Alden was with him.

The worst times were when he was with a woman and all at once, he’d realized that Alden would never experience her whispers, her sighs.

Talk about quick turnoffs.

The more fulfilling his own life became, the more he realized what Alden would never have.

Sometimes, in the dark of the darkest nights, he also faced the realization that this existence, full as it was, was not truly what he would have chosen as his own.

But if a man didn’t choose the life he led, he could surely live it the best he could. Get the things he wanted, and he knew what those things were.

Success. Power. He wanted what Halvorson had, and more. And he knew that he could get it. After a few years of being more and more valuable to the general, doors were opening to him.

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