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

cause?”
    “You’re not a lost cause. Actually I think you have a lot of potential if you can get through this, and if you let me and the others help, you will.” They sat there in silence for a long moment before she leaned forward. “So, Private First Class Phillips, tell me about yourself.”
    Private First Class. Would there ever come a time those words wouldn’t send shooting pains through his chest and ice his veins? One damn moment changed everything.
    “Private…”
    “Kyle!” His voice rose but he couldn’t help it. “Please, Kyle, just Kyle.” He said it over and over again as if he could forget his title as a Marine and just be Kyle. To rewind to a few years earlier when he was but a kid, living life to the fullest—to just before he’d gone to the recruiter. Then, none of this would have happened.
    “Okay, Kyle.” She placed a hand on the bed, but didn’t touch him. “Are you okay?”
    “Fine.” He took a deep breath and forced the memories away. “What do you want to know?”
    “One of the nurses said you haven’t had any visitors since you’ve been here, except your Gunnery Sergeant. Where’s your family?”
    “You go for the heart of things, don’t you?” Not that he had any doubt about that. She had already proved she was feisty. “If we’re going to do this, then we play by my rules. For every question you ask, you have to answer one about yourself. Deal?”
    She paused and seemed to be considering it for a moment before she finally nodded. “This isn’t how it normally works, but okay. My question still stands.”
    “I was a ward of the state until I turned eighteen. No parents or siblings. Even my best friend is…dead.” He swallowed the lump in his throat at the very thought of Weber. “What about your family?”
    “My mother’s still in Kentucky where she’s a veterinarian. She’s unhappy that I’m not following in her footsteps. No siblings.”
    “What about your father?”
    She raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought this was one question each. I’ll answer it but it will cost you two. My father died years ago. Now, your turn. Why did you join the Marines?”
    He pressed the button to raise the bed a little. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get away from that topic. Just as the foster care was a part of his life, so were the Marines, and neither topic was one he wanted to discuss. “I aged out of the system and needed something. Joining the military seemed to be the best idea because it gave me everything I needed. As for the Marines, that just kind of happened. I went to the recruiting office and a Marine spoke to me. I signed up and shipped off to boot camp a week later.”
    “Since you just fell into the military, what did you grow up wanting to do?”
    “Crazy as it sounds, I wanted to be an accountant. Something about numbers always drew me in. Math was the one class in school I excelled at. Everything else I goofed off and hated every moment of it.” He thought back to his high school math teacher, who’d inspired him to do better. She told him he could do whatever he wanted if he only applied himself. “Why physical therapy?”
    “It’s a means to an end.”
    “Huh?” He wasn’t sure what she meant.
    “It’s kind of a long story.” She adjusted and scooted her chair closer to the bed. “When I was young I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to help people, but I was raised on a horse ranch and I’ve always wanted to own one. There’s a certain one I’ve had my eye on for years. When I sat down and really thought about it, I realized that dream was more important to me than being a doctor. This will get me there.”
    “A ranch—interesting. What made it more important?” He realized he’d asked a second question before she got to slip in hers.
    “My father was a horse trainer and always wanted to own one but life had other plans. So I’m going to do it in his memory. But now, I get two questions. Why have you turned away those