Showing posts with label To Serve And Protect series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label To Serve And Protect series. Show all posts
Come Back To Me by Kathryn Shay
Title: Come Back to Me
Series: To Serve and Protect
Author: Kathryn Shay
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 10, 2017
A family of heroes, all in dangerous jobs, all irrevocably tied to those they love. Read about the Marino clan in this fast-paced, emotional new series, To Serve and Protect, by NYT bestselling author Kathryn Shay.
Declan Marino was a lucky to get everything he wanted in life: marriage to his high school sweetheart, Delilah Carrier, and work as an army medic. But his world crashes in when his wife leaves him because she did not get what she wanted. Now, he’s raising his children alone, as he works in the ER and is periodically called up from missions in the Army Medical Reserve. Lila has snagged a promotion in the Pentagon. Life is hard and messy for all of them, especially their three girls. Follow Declan and Lila as they find their way back to each other and create a brand new life from the ashes of the old one.
COME BACK TO ME examines the difficulty of balancing two military parents and maintaining happy family life. The book also asks the question: can long-standing love triumph over the roadblocks of modern life?
“Once again Shay shines in this starkly realistic story.” - Booklist
“Emotionally charged.” - Romance Readers at Heart
“Shay’s writing trademark is taking seemingly impossible relationships and developing them into classic tales of true love.” - Fresh Fiction
“Always a dramatic and engaging storyteller, Shay never disappoints!” - RT Reviews
With a combination of excitement and dread, Declan looked around the empty house in Maryland that he’d rented for himself and the girls for a year.
“It’s big, Daddy.” This from Meli, his impish twin daughter. “Do we have our own rooms?”
“Of course.”
“Want to go see ours, Morgy?” she asked her sister Morgan. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, like him; Meli’s pixie-short, Morgan’s almost to her waist. Maggie, his oldest, was the spitting image of her mother.
Dec held out two hands, which his kids clasped. “I’ll show you.”
They climbed the open oak staircase with skylights shining down on the foyer and made their way around the railings. Declan led them down one hall. At the end were two doors. “Let’s go in here first.”
Once in the room, the girls scanned the wide windows, another skylight above the ceiling fan, and then their gazes landed on a doorway. Morgan rushed over and yanked it open. “It’s a bathroom.”
“With another door on that side.”
The girls burst through both entrances. Screeches. Proclamations like “Oh, this is so cool,” and “Just what we need!” Their rooms were connected by a Jack-and-Jill bath like the Marinos’ third-floor quarters, built for Whitney and Connor.
Declan leaned back against the wall, grateful that he could please these two munchkins after he’d uprooted them. Thankfully, they’d been old enough to go into middle school in Lakeville and would have had to change buildings anyway.
“I’m taking this one,” Meli said coming back in. “Morgan wants the other.”
Her sister hugged him. “We love them, Dad.”
“Uncle Nick scouted this area for us, which is close to our family, and when he saw this part with an adjoining bathroom, he thought the place would be great for you two.”
The house also had a master suite up here, making it four bedrooms, and a den and bath on the first floor. Which could be converted to a fifth area for his parents.
Meli crossed to a window. “Oh, look, a big backyard.” She turned to her father. “For our dogs, right, Dad?”
He’d also bribed them when he told them they were leaving Lakeville: if they cooperated in the move, they could each get a dog. He wanted animals anyway. “Yep, and the yard is fenced in.”
Morgan said, “Does the house have a room for Maggie?”
“You bet. This is her home, too.”
His oldest was at orientation for college right now, only forty minutes away at American University where she’d live on campus, but she also had her own space here. He hoped she’d use it.
“We wanna see yours too, Dad.”
“I’ll take you to the other hallway for mine, but Maggie should show you hers.” They’d been staying with Gabe and Macy, and he’d dropped Mags off at orientation before they came here around noon.
When the girls had their fill of touring, they settled in the kitchen. Declan had ordered a pizza so it was piping hot, the scent of spicy sauce and cheese filling the expansive kitchen/dining area. They sat at the long bar separating the two on the stools left by the previous owners and dug in. They were almost finished when chimes sounded.
“That’s our furniture!” Meli declared, sliding off her seat and racing to the foyer. Morgan followed and Declan took up the rear.
Meli threw open the door. “Oh. I thought you were our delivery.”
Lila, their mother, smiled at the girls. “Aren’t you glad to see me?” Dec recognized uncertainty in her voice.
“Yeah, Mommy, we are.” Morgan wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, then Meli took her turn.
His ex-wife raised her gaze to Declan. “Hi.”
The mere sight of her churned him up inside. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I got excited about the girls being so close, so I came out on my lunch break.”
All Declan said was, “There’s pizza left.”
“Oh, well, can I have a tour of the place first?”
Meli grabbed her arm. “Wait till you see our rooms. There’s lots of windows, a bathroom that connects us, and skylights.”
Lila’s mouth thinned. “How nice.” She looked at Dec. “I always wanted skylights.”
They’d lived in apartments in D.C., then bought a home in Lakeville, which was old, like most of the houses in town. “You should put a couple in your new place.” Declan almost cringed at the bitterness in his voice.
“It’s a colonial. Skylights don’t belong in that era’s dwellings.”
Ignoring her comment, he said, “Take Mommy on a tour, you guys.”
When they left, he returned to the kitchen and sat back down. He took a bite of a half-eaten slice of pizza, but now it tasted like cardboard. So he scanned the room. High ceilings with more skylights, now open to warm mid-August air, granite countertops, big enough for a table by the fireplace at the far end. Lila would probably love this room. But he hadn’t rented the place with her in mind. No, she had a new guy, a new house, a new life now.
Ten minutes later, the girls raced into the kitchen to the backyard through French doors. Their mother went outside with them, then came back in alone.
“This is lovely, Dec.”
He turned. Speaking of lovely, she looked pretty in a yellow summer sundress and strappy sandals. Her hair was up in a knot befitting the hot day.
“Thanks. We have an option to buy it, but I’m not sure we can.”
“Why?”
“The house in Lakeville would have to sell first.” Though trauma surgeons—he’d been one for years—were paid top dollar, areas around D.C. and Maryland were expensive.
Taking a seat another stool down, she ignored the food. “So you came down here.” There was a cutting undertone in her voice, but he knew why. And she was entitled.
“My parents said moving was a deal breaker.” Like it had been in the end for him and Lila, though he didn’t know that at the time.
Her mouth got tight. “Did they buy something?”
“No. They’re staying with Nick now. They’ve had offers to stay in four different places. We don’t know if they’ll want their own.”
“Four?”
“Sure, here. There’s a first floor den for them. Nick and Gabe each have a suite set up and you should see the house Connor and Calla bought. It’s got a guest house behind the main one.”
“Befitting a princess.”
“And the heir to the throne.”
“Seriously? She’s pregnant?”
“Before the wedding.” He lasered her with a look. “Like us.”
“Are they happy about having a baby so soon?”
“Yes.”
“Unlike us.”
“I know we were wary at first, and especially when I was away those six months, but when Mags came we were happy, Lila.”
“I know. I guess what followed, what brought us to where we are today, is still in the forefront for me.” She shook her head, releasing a few more tendrils. “I thought we were invincible back then.”
“I did, too. What happened to those kids?”
“They grew up. And modern life was too much for them to withstand, I guess.”
“How sad.”
“Are Connor and Calla settling here permanently?”
“They’re splitting their time between Maryland and Casarina. They’re both working part-time at the D.C. clinic, but exploring options here for one of their own.”
The children burst back through the door at the end of the kitchen. “Daddy, they left their jungle gym. It’s got a fort, and a slide and swings.”
He frowned. “I was thinking about tearing those things down. That you’re too old for them.”
Their faces fell. Until Lila laughed. “Daddy’s kidding.”
“Oh.”
“Oh, good.”
Chimes again.
Declan stood. “That has to be our furniture.”
Meli tugged on her hand. “Yay! Mommy, can you stay and help us set up our rooms?”
She looked to Dec. He said, “Sure, I’ve got my hands full with the rest of the stuff. Will you be able to get out of work?”
“I make my own hours. I have to call in, though.” She looked down. “And I keep workout clothes in the car.”
“Then it’s settled.”
The delivery was the new furniture. And right behind the store guys was the moving van from Lakeville. Declan signed papers and Lila headed to her car. Halfway down the sidewalk, she looked over her shoulder and said, “I can’t believe you’re here.”
He didn’t know what to say. Or if he could even speak around the sock stuck in his throat. Had he made different decisions, if circumstances had gone their way, they could be buying this house together, settling in together, building on a life they made through the years.
But that was a fairytale, and he wasn’t a doctor marrying a princess, like Connor. He and Lila were two soldiers who just couldn’t merge their lives together.
Again, he thought, How sad.
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No Other Love by Kathryn Shay
Title: No Other Love
Series: To Serve and Protect
Author: Kathryn Shay
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 12, 2017
A family of heroes, all in dangerous jobs, all irrevocably tied to those they love. Read about the Marino clan in this fast-paced, emotional new series, To Serve and Protect, by NYT bestselling author Kathryn Shay.
Connor Marino has always been an upstanding guy. Even in his youth, he was good-natured and upbeat. So it’s no surprise that when becomes an adult, he joins Doctors Without Borders to help those in dire circumstances. There he meets Calla Gentileschi, also a doctor, but also a…real princess. And because she comes from a royal family, whose customs and ways are old-fashioned, her life is not her own. Calla loves Connor but she loves her family and country more. Will the decisions Calla has made destroy their love for each other?
In NO OTHER LOVE, get a glimpse at the difficult work of doctors overseas, travel with Connor and Calla to her exotic foreign home country, and experience their undying love for each other.
“Shay’s writing trademark is taking seemingly impossible relationships and developing them into classic tales of true love.” Fresh Fiction
“Emotionally charged.” Romance Readers at Heart
“Always a dramatic and engaging storyteller, Shay never disappoints!” RT Reviews
Heat consumed him as he walked into the hut. Connor had been sweating all day from the relentless sun beating down on the unsubstantial roof. As it was only June, the worst was yet to come. In December, the opposite happened, and it was cold here. The conditions in medical outposts kept getting worse with the constant bombings. And even though he’d been in Syria six months, he still wasn’t used to how the weather drained him or chilled him depending on the season. Five boys sat on a cot next to each other in the exam room to greet him in this tiny village on the outskirts of Aleppo. “As-salāmu ʿalaykum.” The children responded in kind.
He picked up one boy’s arm and winced. The angry sores oozed with pus. He pointed to the boy’s wound area and the other four boys lifted arms affected by the same rash. He could tell this wasn’t poison ivy, impetigo, fungus or shingles. What the hell was it?
“Bug bites.” The words came from behind him. He turned to see a vision amidst all the squalor and sickness. Black as night hair, pulled back in thick knots. Raven brows arching over huge nearly black eyes. “I said those are bug bites. I had a rash of them, pardon the pun, on the Eastern side of the city.”
“Ah. Thanks.”
“A salve of...” She went on to give him the ingredients but he was distracted by her husky voice. “Doctor, are you listening to me?”
“Um, no. Who are you?”
“Calla Gentileschi. Dr. Calla Gentileschi. I’ve been transferred to your area.”
“How do you pronounce your last name again?”
“In Italian, it’s Gen-tee-less-ski. But most Americans use till for the second syllable.” She smiled. “We’re from a sovereign state off the coast of Italy.”
“You don’t have an accent.”
“Our schools teach English in addition to Italian.”
“And you came to this village to help out?”
“Yes. You lost some personnel this week, I understand.”
“We did.” They’d put in their time for the grueling work. Connor himself had signed on for a year.
She said, “I brought my translator, too.”
“Oh, thank God. I’m drowning here. And not being able to communicate is part of the reason.”
“His name is Razim. He’ll be right in...oh, here he is.”
A tall, skinny Arab man walked up to her. Razim had dark hair like the beautiful doctor and sported even darker eyes. He said to her, “I cannot find the supervisor.” His English was accented but perfect.
She smiled at the young man and he smiled back. “Razim, this is Doctor...what’s your name?”
“Marino.” Connor held out his hand. “Connor Marino.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Supervisor’s here,” someone called from outside.
“I will be right back.” This from Razim before he left them.
“Where are your supplies?” Dr. Gentileschi asked. “I’ll make the salve for you. I’m assuming you’re equipped like we were and have the materials on hand.”
“We got restocked yesterday. We were lucky the planes got in.” He couldn’t help but grin at her. “But I should learn, so come on, I’ll show you where the room is.”
He yelled to a nurse across the way. “Could you keep an eye on these guys while I make a lotion?”
The nurse stepped to the tables.
He led Dr. Gentileschi to the back and unlocked the storage room, which was the size of his walk-in closet back home. It held medical devices, drugs, vaccines, and even condoms to distribute to the men here.
The door slammed behind them.
Connor grabbed onto the woman.
The room shook!
Again. And again.
She clutched at him.
Silence.
A cacophony of noise exploded.
They both startled.
It lasted only about a minute. Dirt and concrete rained down on them. She sneezed and Connor coughed.
She looked at him. “An attack, right?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, no. Razim is out there.”
Connor whipped open the door and they both raced through it. Shambles. Noise from around them: some shouts, some crying, some low and mournful moans spreading over the whole compound. The concrete and dirt had formed a small hill separating them from the treatment area. Connor leaned down. “The debris is hot. Be careful.” He took her hand as they climbed over it, only to find nails and glass and other rubble.
“Those were barrel bombs,” she said as she went with him.
They finally got back to the examining area.
Callandra Gentileschi gasped.
He murmured, “Dear Lord in heaven.”
She grabbed onto his shoulder and buried her face in his back. He couldn’t witness the ravaged bodies of five boys and the nurse for long, either. Turning, he took her into his arms, felt her grasp his shirt and bury herself in his chest. Connor shut his eyes, closing out the misery.
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