Kathryn Springer - The Soldier's Newfound Family

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“If Anything Happens To Me...”

When he returns to Texas from overseas, U.S. Marine Carter Wallace makes good on a promise. To tell a fallen soldier’s wife that her husband loved her. But widowed Savannah Blackmore, pregnant and alone, shares a different story with Carter—one that tests everything he believes. He brings Savannah back to the Triple C ranch, where family secrets—and siblings he hadn’t known about—await him. Now the marine who never needed anyone suddenly needs Savannah. Will opening his heart be the bravest thing he’ll ever do?

“It’s very nice of you to offer me a place to stay.” Savannah regarded him warily.

“But,” she continued, “I’m sure that when your sister offered you a place to stay, she wasn’t expecting you to pass it on to a random stranger.”

Savannah wasn’t a stranger. Carter had carried her photograph around in his pocket for two months.

For a moment it looked as if Savannah was wavering. But then her chin came up.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I know you were Rob’s friend, but I’m not your responsibility.”

“When I make a promise, I keep it.”

“And you did. You delivered Rob’s message—”

“Not that promise,” Carter interrupted. “I’m a marine, ma’am. And we never leave a man—or a woman—behind.”

About the Author

KATHRYN SPRINGERis a lifelong Wisconsin resident. Growing up in a “newspaper” family, she spent long hours as a child plunking out stories on her mother’s typewriter and hasn’t stopped writing since! She loves to write inspirational romance because it allows her to combine her faith in God with her love of a happy ending.

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Kathryn Springer for her contribution to the Texas Twins miniseries.

The Soldier’s Newfound Family

Kathryn Springer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers,

and rightly so, because your faith is

growing more and more, and the love

every one of you has for each other is increasing.

—2 Thessalonians 1:3

This book is warmly dedicated to my continuity cohorts—Marty, Barbara, Arlene, Glynna and Jill.

For wisdom, grace, patience and a sense of humor while we linked the Texas Twins books together.

It was a blessing working with you!

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Teaser Chapter

Chapter One

“And this one’s Asteroid Man...”

Another plastic action figure landed on Sergeant Carter Wallace’s lap tray, adding to the growing number of soldiers that had formed a perimeter around the coffee cup the flight attendant had set down in front of him.

“I got him for my birthday.” A pair of eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets regarded Carter solemnly, waiting for his opinion.

“Cool.” Just like the coffee he hadn’t taken a sip of yet.

A wide, gap-toothed grin rearranged the pattern of butterscotch freckles on the preschool boy’s cheeks. “He can fly, too. And the bad guys can’t see him coming because he’s inbisible when he lands.”

Across the narrow aisle, the boy’s harassed grandmother caught Carter’s eye and mouthed the words I’m sorry as she tried to calm the fussy toddler in her lap.

The frustrated looks the woman had been receiving from their fellow passengers had only compounded her stress. Which explained why she hadn’t noticed her grandson unbuckle his seat belt and commandeer the empty seat beside Carter after the beverage cart rattled past.

Without an invitation, the kid had settled in next to him and announced that his name was Josh and that he was four years old.

“Are you a real soldier?” he’d whispered, staring at the patches on Carter’s camo jacket in open fascination.

Carter wrestled back a smile. “Yes, I am.”

“I like soldiers.”

Those three simple words had derailed Carter’s plan to get some shut-eye. Josh had plunged both hands into a backpack and proceeded to pull out his action figures, an eclectic blend of superheroes and guys in camouflage, all working together to save the world.

The kid might have prevented Carter from the luxury of a long-overdue nap, but he’d also kept the nightmares at bay.

At least for a few hours.

“This is Mike.” Josh carefully placed another action figure behind a Lego bunker. “When he’s in trouble, Asteroid Man does this—” The action figure came down right in front of Soldier Mike with a thump that rocked the lap tray and sent coffee sloshing over the side of the cup. “See? He saves him ’cause they’re friends.”

Carter felt beads of sweat pop out on his forehead as a memory slammed against the barricade he’d built around it. Josh’s chatter was muffled by the deafening blast that sucked Carter back in time. He felt the sun-baked ground shudder beneath his feet. Saw a fireball bloom in the distance, reaching so high the flames licked the clouds. By the time he’d reached the scene, two trucks in the convoy had been reduced to smoking metal skeletons.

Along with the buzzing in his ears, Carter had heard shouts and the pop of gunfire from a sniper who’d moved in to finish what the roadside bomb had started.

You’ll be nominated for a Silver Star, Wallace.

Carter didn’t know why. Sure, he’d saved three men that day. But he’d lost Rob.

His closest friend.

He hadn’t reached him in time. And God hadn’t bothered to intervene....

Carter was almost relieved when the seat belt sign blinked on a few minutes later and the flight attendant told the passengers the plane would be landing soon. Josh’s soldiers retreated to the backpack once again, and he scrambled back to his grandmother’s side.

Carter stared out the window as the wheels came down and the plane began its descent. Sheets of gunmetal gray clouds began to unravel, offering a teasing glimpse of the city below. It had been over a year since he’d stepped on Texas soil.

A lifetime ago.

The plane rolled to a stop by the gate, and the child’s grandmother smiled at Carter across the aisle. “I can’t thank you enough for keeping Josh occupied.”

A smile hooked the corner of Carter’s lips. “Not a problem, ma’am. Marines are trained to handle all kinds of situations.”

“Are you home for good?”

Carter hesitated, not knowing quite how to answer the question. He chose the safest response.

“For a little while.”

The woman frowned. “But someone will be here to meet you?”

Carter nodded, touched by her concern. “My sister.” In her last email, Maddie had promised to pick him up at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, but that had been several weeks ago and he hadn’t been in touch with her since then.

She’d hinted that she had something important to tell him, but insisted the news be shared in person. Carter couldn’t imagine what it would be, but there were times he’d been grateful for the distance that separated him from family drama. Besides that, she had Grayson, their older brother, to confide in. The two had always been close, bound together by some invisible thread that Carter had never been able to grab hold of.