Kathy Altman - The Other Soldier

A hero in need of forgiveness

Corporal Reid Macfarland has one mission: to make amends for the mistake he lives with every day. That friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan that killed a fellow soldier haunts him. Maybe if he can help the widow, he’ll find some peace.

Amends are easier said than done. Just one meeting with the independent and engaging Parker Dean makes it clear that forgiveness is a little more complicated than money or “I’m sorry.” If he really wants to help, Reid will need to stick around for a while. The more their daily lives intertwine, the more he realizes her forgiveness isn’t the only thing he needs—he needs her.

Did he miss having someone to be close to?

Or did Reid wish he could be close to her?

“You’re not sleeping,” he said, studying her face a little too closely for comfort.

“Few of us are these days.” Parker breathed in, and regretted it when the smell of male sweat lured her eyes down the length of his body.

“Remember when I said our arrangement made me feel as if I’m betraying Tim?” She pushed back her shoulders and looked up. “It’s more than the arrangement that’s making me feel that way.”

Reid moved forward again and this time she did back up, but only because she needed the support of the wall behind her. He was breathing fast again, his heavy-lidded gaze riveted on her mouth. Then he tugged on the drawstring to pull her toward him, and at the same time dipped his head. She watched his handsome face come closer and her stomach went into free fall.

He. Was about to kiss. Her.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for being here! I’m so glad you’re able to help me celebrate my debut with Harlequin Superromance! This series has long been one of my favorite lines, and having the opportunity to contribute a story is a dream come true. Pardon the cliché.

Let me get you a cup of punch and a slice of cake and I’ll explain how The Other Soldier is the book that almost wasn’t. All set? Here goes. I sold the story as a result of Harlequin’s online Memorial Day Challenge, a contest I very nearly didn’t enter. I was in the midst of revising a romantic suspense I’d already used way too many excuses to avoid editing, and I’d never written a military hero before (a tad ironic, considering I’m a civilian working for the air force on a navy base). Eventually I realized that getting feedback from the editors managing the very same line I wanted to write for was too good an opportunity to pass up. So I did a lot of research—what better pretext for watching four seasons of Army Wives?—drafted my 1,000-word entry and sent it in. Two months later, on Halloween, I received a voice mail from Superromance editor Megan Long—Harlequin wanted to buy my book!

(Cue Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”)

I shared all of the above for a reason. Yep, I actually do have a point. The main theme of The Other Soldier is forgiveness, but there’s an underlying theme as well—hope. Reid hopes Parker will forgive him, Parker hopes she can keep her business afloat and Nat hopes Reid will become a permanent part of her life. Of course, this is fiction and none of those hopes are real, but I’m certain you have hopes and dreams of your own, and my wish for you is that they’re realized. The combination of dreaming and effort is a powerful one—heck, it brought us together for the next few hours!

May this story inspire you to have hope.

All my best,

Kathy Altman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy Altman writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and the occasional ode to chocolate. Her work has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award. She’s also a regular contributor to USA TODAY’s Happy Ever After blog. When Kathy’s not writing, reading or putting in her forty hours a week as a computer programmer for the air force, she enjoys baking, watching the Ciarán Hinds version of Persuasion and making other people feel superior by letting them win at Scrabble.

She lives in rural Virginia with a crowd of cats and her sweetie, who’s a fellow book addict and an avid fly fisherman. Kathy lives in hope that one day he’ll actually agree to use their passports (before they expire again). Kathy is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Washington Romance Writers (WRW), and is active in Harlequin’s online community. You can find her online at www.kathyaltman.com, or email her at kathy@kathyaltman.com—she’d enjoy hearing from you!

To my family, with love, especially Mom, for fostering my affection for books; Mary, for helping me convince my heroine to forgive my hero; Bill, for providing suggestions for pen names; Jerry, for the insight that improved the opening scene; Stephen, for always asking about my writing (you’re too young to read the book, but the Taylor Swift and M110 sniper rifle references are for you); and Dan, for the plot discussions and stellar steak dinners. And, Dad, I’m no Louis L’Amour, but I know you’d have been happy for me, anyway.

Acknowledgments

It’s a humbling exercise listing the names of the people who’ve helped you realize your dream. I mean, how can you ever hope to repay them? (A side note for those of you receiving a nod below—you do realize I’m talking figuratively here, right?!) :-) My deepest appreciation to my family, for their unqualified love and support over the years I worked to become a published author. Thank you, Dan, and thank you, Mom, Mary, Greg, Stephen, Jerry, Bill, Denise, Devon and Joshua. My most sincere gratitude also to the talented and oh-so-patient ladies who made this book all that it could be: Carina Press author and better-than-brilliant critique partner Toni Anderson, fellow Washington Romance Writers (WRW) member and on-the-ball beta reader Robin Allen, and the fabulous editorial pair who provided the opportunity that led me here, Harlequin’s Victoria Curran and Megan Long.

There are so many other readers and writers who helped me get here and continue to urge me onward—and I bet most of them have no idea how much their advice and encouragement have meant to me. Big, huge, mammoth thanks to Laura Baker, Nancy Bartholomew, Mary Buckham, C.J. Carmichael, Lisa Chaplin, Julie Cohen, Kate Duffy, Susan Gable, Margie Lawson, Jennifer Lewis, Jeannie Lin, Susan Litman, Kathy Love, Jennifer Massey, Patricia McLaughlin, Nam Nguyen, Robin Perini, Lani Diane Rich, Christine Rimmer, Roxanne Rustand, Cyndi Slevin, Linda Style, Jeannie Watt, Leslie Wainger and especially WRW members Judy Eary, Sally Eggert, Gail Barrett and Joyce Lamb. Hugs to all. And if you’re reading this, then you deserve a big, squeezy hug yourself! :-)

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

Epilogue

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

PARKER PATTED THE SUN-warmed dirt she’d scooped around the young plant, singing along with John Travolta as he bragged about making out under a dock. When Olivia Newton John started trilling her side of the story, the MP3 player cut off.

Darn, darn, darn, darn, darn. And how typical. The man gets to finish while the woman barely gets started.

Parker fished the device out of the bib pocket of her overalls and sat back on her boot heels. The screen had gone dark. She’d forgotten to charge the dumb thing. Again.