Karen Whiddon – The Texas Soldier's Son (страница 1)
“Jacob is your son.”
A thrilling new Top Secret Deliveries story
Army ranger Kyle Benning never expected to live again...or have a family. When he was believed dead in an explosion, Nicole Shelton gave birth to Kyle’s baby. Now she’s a widow and a prime suspect in a murder case! Everything Kyle once knew is as dangerous as a war zone, but he battles trauma and a killer to rescue the woman he still loves.
KAREN WHIDDON started weaving fanciful tales for her younger brothers at the age of eleven. Amid the gorgeous Catskill Mountains, then the majestic Rocky Mountains, she fueled her imagination with the natural beauty surrounding her. Karen now lives in north Texas, writes full-time and volunteers for a boxer dog rescue. She shares her life with her hero of a husband and four to five dogs, depending on if she is fostering. You can email Karen at kwhiddon1@aol.com. Fans can also check out her website, www.karenwhiddon.com.
Also by Karen Whiddon
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
The Texas Soldier’s Son
Karen Whiddon
ISBN: 978-1-474-07891-7
THE TEXAS SOLDIER’S SON
© 2018 Karen Whiddon
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Dedicated to my daughter, Stephanie Waters.
One of the strongest women I know. I love you, Steph.
Contents
“He’s dead?” Nicole Shelton-Mabry gripped the phone so hard she thought it might break. “What do you mean, he’s dead? He was fine when he left for work this morning.” If by fine, one meant
The pain had blossomed like an explosion. Since she had experience covering bruises, and luckily this time he hadn’t got her face, she knew she needed to put ice on it. Wincing as she explored her arm and shoulder with tentative fingers, she supposed she ought to be glad he hadn’t broken anything this time.
Prone on the couch, he’d let out a snore. She’d stood staring at him for a moment, hatred mingling with her pain, and wished she’d had enough guts to grab her cast-iron skillet and slam it into his skull until he’d never be able to hurt her again. Instead, she’d gone to the freezer and wrapped ice in a dishtowel, glad baby Jacob still slept in his crib upstairs.
She’d taken a deep breath, crossed the room and carefully removed Bill’s wallet from his back pocket. He loved to carry wads of cash and his drinking made him careless with his money, so she’d been removing as much as she safely could each time he passed out.
This time she took an extra twenty in addition to the hundred and five. He’d never asked her about his money and she figured he probably thought he’d spent it at whatever hellhole he frequented the next town over. Topless bars were his favorite and he didn’t dare go anywhere around here where someone he knew might see him. After all, he had his position as church deacon to consider.
Replacing his wallet, she’d hurried to the laundry room and shoved the bills in her hiding place, a brown envelope tucked in the pocket on the back of the washer behind the laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets. The one place Bill never went was the laundry room. Instead, he’d shove his smoke-scented, bourbon-stained clothes at her with an order to get them clean.
She’d been taking money from him for several months. Soon, she hoped to have enough to get her and Jacob on a bus that would carry them to a new life somewhere far, far away.
“Nicole? Are you there?” Yates, an older man who worked for Bill, sounded tired. “I know this is a shock, but Dan and Theresa are too upset and I figured someone needed to let you know.”
Dan and Theresa were Bill’s parents. They all worked together at the trucking company Dan had started years ago.
Mabry Trucking. If they knew what kind of man their son had become, they never let on to Nicole.
“I’m here,” Nicole replied, her voice shaky and her mouth dry. She knew she needed to pretend the same way she pretended in church that she, Bill and Jacob were one big, happy family, but she couldn’t. Not yet, not now, with a bruise the size of a robin’s egg on her cheekbone underneath her swollen black eye. “What happened, Yates? Was he in an accident?”
“Nope.” Despite the somber tone, Yates didn’t sound like he was grieving too much either. She imagined Bill had made his life hell as well.
“He just keeled over at his desk,” Yate continued. “Cup of coffee in his hand. I called 911 and they tried to revive him, but he was already gone. I think maybe he had a massive heart attack.”
After thanking him for calling, Nicole hung up. She knew she should have felt something, anything instead of this awful numbness, but digging deep, the only emotion she felt was relief.