Back From Hell (Marine For You Book 2) (Contemporary Military Veteran Romance) Read Free

again. That very idea sent a twinge of sadness through him. “Get a hold of yourself. What would she want with you? She was only here to show sympathy and support, not because she actually cared.”
    Why would anyone care when his girlfriend hadn’t even bothered to come see him in person to break things off? After a little more than a year dating, he’d learned her true nature. One he should have seen before but chose to remain in denial of his suspicions. He’d cared for her and hadn’t wanted to see that side of her. She was a flag chaser—a woman only with a service member because of the uniform—and now he had nothing to offer her. She’d gone on to her next target and he was alone.
    While he should have been grateful that she had just left him be instead of stringing him along even further, he couldn’t help but see her betrayal as yet another loss. Another thing this war has taken from me . He’d joined the Marines to make a better life for himself. It wasn’t like he had anything else. As a ward of the state, he had been tossed to the curb at eighteen with little money in his pocket and nowhere to go. The Marines were his way out. A way to make a life for himself. Even now, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He had lived in the barracks on base so he had no apartment to go to when he was discharged the following day. Instead, he would be transported to a hotel, where he’d stay for a few days. Then, he’d either transfer into the wounded warrior housing facility when a space freed up or he could find something on his own and put a request in for off base housing. For now, anything would be better than looking at these pale gray walls and the awful stench of illness and bleach that seemed to cling to the place.
    They had pushed for a medical halfway home to help him, but he had refused. He had been fitted for his prosthesis, and physical therapy to learn to walk on it would begin soon. In the meantime, he was stuck in the wheelchair.
    Nothing screams cripple like a fucking wheelchair.
    At least, he’d be out of this place and he could get some whiskey. His mouth watered at the very thought of that earthy flavor, so full bodied that it burned its way to the gut.
    “Knock, knock.” The woman from the other day stood in the doorframe. Her blonde hair, full of golden highlights, looked windblown while at the same time making her more attractive. The jeans and light brown sweater gave her an innocent look. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-one.
    “You again?” The emotions that swirled within him were too numerous to count. He didn’t want to see her but a small part of him was intrigued by her. What brought her to this hospital? She didn’t work on base, wasn’t military; she was just a volunteer. What did she know about the struggles the patients here were dealing with? Sure, she was nearly finished with her degree in physical therapy, but she could work with anyone. Why amputees?
    “Mind if I come in?”
    “Suit yourself.” He fiddled with the edge of the sheet as she strolled toward him. She grabbed the only chair in the room and came to sit next to him.
    “I hear you’re being discharged tomorrow. I’ll bet you’re glad to leave this place.” She crossed a leg over the others and he couldn’t tear his gaze from it as she did.
    “I’m going from one prison to another. I’ll spend the next several days at a hotel until I find somewhere else and get my request for off base housing approved. Somewhere wheelchair accessible until I’ve learned to walk with my prosthesis. At least I’ll be able to have some privacy instead of staff popping in every two minutes.”
    “There are always benefits to every situation if you only look.” She tipped her head to the card that still sat on the bedside table. “I see you still have that. Please, take it with you and call me if you want to talk.”
    “There are others here that need your help. Why take pity on a lost