BACK TO YOU by Jessica Scott (July 29, 2014; Forever Mass Market; $6.00)
He's in for the fight of his life . . .
Army captain Trent Davila loved his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children. But when he almost lost his life in combat, something inside him died. He couldn't explain the emptiness he felt or bridge the growing distance between him and his family-so he deployed again. And again. And again...until his marriage reached its breaking point. Now, with everything on the line, Trent has one last chance to prove to his wife that he can be the man she needs ...if she'll have him
. . . to win back his only love.
Laura is blindsided when Trent returns home. Time and again, he chose his men over his family, and she's just beginning to put the pieces of her shattered heart back together. But when Trent faces a court martial on false charges, only Laura can save him. What begins as an act of kindness to protect his career inflames a desire she thought long buried-and a love that won't be denied. But can she trust that this time he's back to stay?
Army captain Trent Davila loved his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children. But when he almost lost his life in combat, something inside him died. He couldn't explain the emptiness he felt or bridge the growing distance between him and his family-so he deployed again. And again. And again...until his marriage reached its breaking point. Now, with everything on the line, Trent has one last chance to prove to his wife that he can be the man she needs ...if she'll have him
. . . to win back his only love.
Laura is blindsided when Trent returns home. Time and again, he chose his men over his family, and she's just beginning to put the pieces of her shattered heart back together. But when Trent faces a court martial on false charges, only Laura can save him. What begins as an act of kindness to protect his career inflames a desire she thought long buried-and a love that won't be denied. But can she trust that this time he's back to stay?
Excerpt:
“So, to what do
I owe the honor of this visit?” she asked, minimizing her e-mail to
be able to focus.
“Don’t throw
me out of the office,” he said, trying to keep his voice light.
“But I need to talk to you about Trent’s case.”
Laura leaned back
in her chair, folding her arms over her chest, and started counting
to ten.
“I know you’re
having a hard time with him.”
Laura sucked on
her top lip for a moment before answering. “I wouldn’t
necessarily call filing for divorce a hard time.”
“And that’s
what I need to talk to you about.”
“Patrick…”
“Just hear me
out, okay?”
She ground her
teeth but after a moment nodded.
“Listen, there’s
no case against Trent. It’s weak at best. With the Article 32 about
to start, we have a good chance of getting it stopped here before it
goes to court-martial. But I need to plant doubt that the allegations
against him are true.” He met her gaze. “I need you to do that.”
Laura chewed on
her bottom lip, playing his words over and over in her head, not
understanding what he was asking of her. “What do you mean, you
need to plant doubt?”
“The primary
witness against your husband, PFC Adorno—”
“Oh, we’ve
met,” Laura said dryly.
Patrick’s smile
was humorless. “Yes, well, that’s part of the prosecution’s
problem. She’s alleging that Trent was inappropriate but the
problem is that she and Lieutenant Randall were caught in their
shenanigans downrange.”
Laura frowned. “So
you think this is a ploy to get herself out of trouble?
“Her and her
husband. If they were working together to steal the missing weapons
systems, then what better way to get out of trouble than to make this
stuff up against Trent? Takes the focus off her and her husband
completely.” Patrick leaned forward, tapping his index finger on
the desk. “If I can cast Trent as a sympathetic family man who
would never do anything like what she’s alleging, this case is all
but dismissed. I’m not attacking her. All I have to do is make
Trent look better than the story she’s telling and we’ve got a
win.”
“And you need me
to paint on a happy face and be the loving wife.”
Patrick shook his
head. “No, I need you to be one half of a loving couple. And I need
you to do it publicly where everyone can see it—in the PX, in the
chow hall, everywhere. I need the officers on this board to believe
exactly what I’ll be telling them on the day of the hearing.”
She looked down at
her empty ring finger, absently rubbing the bare skin beneath the
bandage. “Everyone knows that we’re having problems, Patrick.”
“Then make sure
everyone knows you’ve fixed it.” He leaned back. “I wouldn’t
ask you to do this if I didn’t think it was our best shot at
getting this whole thing thrown out.”
She looked up at
him. “Why didn’t Trent ask me to do this?”
Patrick swallowed
and looked away. “He refused to drag you into this,” he said
quietly. “For what it’s worth, I don’t in a million years
believe the allegations against Trent. I don’t think he would ever,
ever be unfaithful to you.”
Laura pressed her
lips together in a flat line. “You’re wrong, Patrick. He’s been
cheating on me for years. It was just with the army instead of
another woman.”
“Laura—”
“Let me think
about it,” she said quickly. “I won’t say no out of hand but I
can’t make this decision on a whim.”
Patrick leaned
across the desk, gripping her hand. “I know this is hard for you,
Laura. I know what I’m asking you to do.”
She said nothing
for a long moment and he gave her a sympathetic but firm smile. “Give
it some thought, okay?”
When she was
alone, she sat there, staring at the picture of her family. Wondering
how she was going to bring him back into the kids’ lives and then
rip him out again. What he was asking wasn’t fair. He had no idea
what this was going to do to her family.
She glanced at the
photo on her desk as she typed furiously, trying to get ahead of the
flood of e-mails in her inbox.
There was a quiet
rap on her office door. “I’m not here,” she said quickly,
looking up.
Her fingers froze
on the keyboard. Her heart stopped in her chest.
Trent stood in the
doorway. He had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. His glasses hid
the darkness of his eyes. There was a streak of dirt on his cheek. An
assault pack hung limply from his left hand.
A thousand
emotions ripped through her all at once, rioting for supremacy as she
drank in the sight of her husband.
Ex-husband, she
reminded herself. Or at least he was supposed to be.
She wished that
this were a normal homecoming. One where she would rush across the
small space and crash into him. His arms would come around her and
she would inhale the strong spicy scent of his skin. Feel the heat of
his touch. Savor that first, wild kiss.
Instead she had
this. This empty chasm between them, echoing with loneliness.
And she had no idea how to cross it.
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About the author:
USA Today bestselling author Jessica Scott is a career army officer; mother of two daughters, She's written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View: Regarding War Blog, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn and has served as a company commander at Fort Hood, Texas. She's pursuing a PhD in Sociology in her spare time and most recently, she's been featured as one of Esquire Magazine's Americans of the Year for 2012.
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