Soldier Protector by Debby Giusti

Author:Debby Giusti
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-03-22T13:49:17+00:00

Chapter Three

On her way to the Fort Rickman Club later that afternoon, Stephanie drove past the large brick quarters that surrounded the main parade field. So many families had lived in the homes since they had been built in the 1930s. Growing up, she’d known a few “Post Toastees,” as the locals called the army brats, but she’d always associated with kids from Freemont. Now she regretted her own attempt to isolate herself from the military. She’d been young and too focused on herself.

Her mother’s illness and Ted’s troubles during high school had changed her outlook on life. Not that her family hadn’t had their share of problems before her mom had gotten sick. After her death, everything had been exacerbated by a workaholic father who preferred to stay at the office rather than deal with the situation at home.

Evidently, her father still hadn’t changed. Case in point, his current trip to Europe, supposedly to oversee the start-up of a satellite company. To his credit, he had visited Ted often at Fort Sam and had provided for additional specialists to consult with the military docs, yet he handled Ted as if he was a business venture instead of his needy son.

Over the past few years, Ted had rejected Stephanie’s outreach so many times that she had finally decided their relationship could never be reconciled. Then the job had opened at Fort Rickman, and she’d transferred home.

If she believed in God’s intervention, she would be convinced He had stepped in. As it was, she had severed her relationship with the Lord three years ago.

Refusing to spend any more time focused on the past, she turned into the lot for the Fort Rickman Club and found one of the few remaining parking spots in the last row, farthest from the brick facility. Hot air wrapped around her as she climbed from the car. Beads of sweat had dampened her brow by the time she entered the club, causing her to shiver in the cool, air-conditioned interior.

She rubbed her arms in an attempt to stave off the chill, as well as her own nervousness at having to make small talk with people she didn’t know. Hopefully, as soon as the introductions were over, she could slip out unnoticed.

First thing tomorrow morning, she planned to see Joshua, if he was allowed visitors by then. The last word from the hospital was that his condition remained critical.

A swarm of military and civilian personnel filled the club’s main ballroom. Threading her way into their midst, she stretched on tiptoe and searched for Major Jenkins and any of the other people with whom she now worked.

“Stephanie?”

She turned to find Special Agent Goodman standing behind her. His dark eyes, which had been elusive earlier, now flashed with warmth.

“I didn’t think I’d ever find you in this crowd.”

He’d been looking for her?

To cover her surprise, she glanced quickly around the ballroom. “Everyone on post must be here.”

He pointed to a table set up in the corner and raised his voice to be heard over a group of young officers clustered nearby.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.