Cheryl Wyatt - The Nurse's Secret Suitor

A Strong-Willed Heart

Trauma nurse Kate Dalton can handle any challenge—except love. The combat veteran dreams of settling down, but heartbreak is one risk she won’t take. Then a chance encounter opens her heart to a masked stranger…who might not be a stranger after all! Caleb Landis, the army medic behind the disguise, has always admired Kate, even though she only saw him as her best friend’s brother. What will it take for Kate to discard her fears and discover the man she’s always hoped to unmask?

Eagle Point Emergency: Saving lives—and losing their hearts—in a small Illinois town

“Go home, Landis. That’s an order.”

“We’re not at work, Kate. You can’t boss me around.”

“Watch me.”

A muscle clicked in his jaw. “Don’t shut me out.”

“If you won’t leave, I will.” She pushed past him.

His arm sprang out to stop her. When she tried to go around it, he pulled her in, wrapping his arm around her. Her back rested snugly against his chest and his chin braced the top of her head. “Kate, listen a minute. I can—”

“No, you can’t. You can’t do anything to help me. You can’t fix it. Now let me go!”

With equal reluctance and frustration, he did. She stared him down. “Don’t ever do that again.”

He marched off, leaving her confused and upset. She had wanted him to leave her alone, so why did she ache to rush back into his arms and stay there forever?

She didn’t need this, this growing dependency on people.

Especially not him.

CHERYL WYATT

An R.N. turned stay-at-home mom and wife, Cheryl delights in the stolen moments God gives her to write action- and faith-driven romance. She stays active in her church and in her laundry room. She’s convinced that having been born on a naval base on Valentine’s Day, she was destined to write military romance. A native of San Diego, California, Cheryl currently resides in beautiful, rustic southern Illinois, but she has also enjoyed living in New Mexico and Okla-homa. Cheryl loves hearing from readers. You are invited to contact her at Cheryl@CherylWyatt.com or P.O. Box 2955, Carbondale, IL 62902-2955. Visit her on the web at www.CherylWyatt.comand sign up for her newsletter if you’d like updates on new releases, events and other fun stuff.

The Nurse’s Secret Suitor

Cheryl Wyatt

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

—James 1:17

Dedication:

To Granny Nellie. There is no one else like you and I love you with my whole heart. You are a one-of-a-kind inspiration. It’s easy to see why so many people

look to you, and up to you.

Acknowledgments:

My Facebook Reader Brigade, thank you for input

on this story. You made it an incredible joy to write.

I especially loved your ideas romanticizing

the Golden Terrace. Readers rock!

Cara Putman and Sally Shupe, thank you for beta reading this book. I love and appreciate you and your eagle-eye editing. Your friendship is a blessing.

Elizabeth Mazer, what can I say? You are an editorial whiz and I feel fortunate to work with you and hear your fun ideas. Your revision notes make me cackle, grin and best of all, strive to grow. Thank you for putting up with my mischievous humor, “ly” adverb addiction, my tendency to make up nonexistent words, and for enduring my comma confusion. I would cringe if one of my books ever hit a shelf without first being sifted by editorial brilliance. Thankful for you.

Kristi Alexander, you are my hero(ine) for offering

the idea to use Lois and Clark’s Dean Cain as inspiration for Caleb. I can’t wait to read acknowledgments in your books. Believe.

Andie and Aaron Grube, your beautiful masquerade wedding inspired the theme in this book.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

Decorated military veteran turned civilian trauma nurse Kate Dalton was known for keeping a cool head under fire. But she’d never faced anything like this.

Here she was, back in the United States, biting back bile and terror as strong as any she’d experienced overseas. When she was in a combat situation, she was braced and prepared for things to go wrong. Here at home, her guard was down. Ten minutes earlier, she’d been enjoying the reception at her friends’ masquerade-themed marriage ball. But then the text message arrived.

Phone clutched like a pinless grenade, Kate strode from the wedding reception room to the nearest exit. There. Patio. Best way out. If she could get there before hurling blissfully consumed cake.

Regal-hued LED lights danced over her sapphire costume and skin tanned by a three-year deployment under Middle Eastern sun. She probably looked striking—if you didn’t notice the tension in her shoulders or the frown on her face.

“Breathe, Dalton, that’s an order. You can’t fall apart. Especially not where everyone you know can see you. You don’t break down. You don’t give in to fear. That’s not who you are.”

Despite her drill-sergeant self-talk, Kate’s thumb quivered as it scrolled again over Mom’s frustratingly cryptic text.

I’m afraid I have some upsetting news. Call me when you’ve got time to talk.

Unable to wait, Kate had found a quiet corner of the room and called immediately, but Mom was too distraught to talk. Mom never cried. Something was really wrong. Worse, Dad wasn’t answering his personal or military phones.

Terrible scenarios raced through her head. Had something happened to her father? Or to her grandfather, who was scheduled for surgery? She knew the procedure was risky already—her career-military grandfather had ruined his lungs inhaling so much military jet fuel over the years. Had there been another complication? Or maybe her parents had bad medical news of their own. Cancer, heart disease...the possibilities went on and on.

Kate couldn’t breathe. Her chest tightened, eyes burned. She rushed out a side door hoping no one saw. She couldn’t be around people right now, not until she composed herself. In a secluded corner of a low-lit garden patio, she hid under an ornamental fuchsia tree. Heaving fresh Southern Illinois air, she redialed her mother’s number.

An answering click, then sniffles sounded. Kate’s jaw clenched. “I’m not getting off this phone till you tell me what’s going on. Don’t make me leave my good friends’ wedding to drag it out of you.”

“The wedding! I forgot, Kate. I shouldn’t have texted you.”

“Did something happen to Dad?” He was a deployed war general, sure, but he hadn’t been near danger, had he?

“No. Your dad is safe. It’s...honey, it’s us.”

“What’s ‘us’ mean?” Kate paced. “Me and you? You and Dad?”

“Your dad and I. I didn’t want to tell you by phone, but I fly out in the morning for Grandpa’s hip recovery. That’ll keep me out of touch for days, and I don’t want you hearing secondhand. Kate, I need to tell you, your dad and I are divorcing.”

“Div—” Kate choked on the last word she expected to hear. Surely Mom is kidding. Right? Her mind couldn’t wrap around it.

“Kate, Grandma’s calling in, probably with a surgery update on Grandpa. We’ll talk later, okay? I love you.” Click.

Teeth grinding, Kate redialed Dad, stat.

“Hello?”

Finally! “Dad?” Kate hated that her voice broke in front of her five-star military hero dad. “Please tell me it’s not true.”