A HERO
TO LOVE
Changing
Tides #2
by
Gail Chianese
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pub
Date: 8/22/2017
A military
police officer on the verge of a new beginning. A beautiful woman
devoted to her career and her dream of putting down roots. The
hardest thing they’ll ever do is to take a chance on love . . .
Navy Chief
Master at Arms Jackson “Jax” Faraday is at a crossroads. He has
to decide whether to reenlist or get out while he’s young enough to
make a difference in the civilian world. Either choice could mean
leaving behind his girl: his K-9 partner, Bella. But when she’s
injured during a training session, Jax’s only concern is making
sure she’s okay.
As the Navy
base veterinarian, town local Risa Reynolds is right where she
belongs: close to her parents in a farmhouse full of animals—with
room to grow. She’s seen enough to put military men are on her “not
happening” list, because they always leave.
But when a
tall, hazel-eyed sailor arrives in her clinic with his dog in his
arms, Risa finds herself falling hard. And all kinds of rules will
get broken when Jax, a man who sticks to the straight and narrow,
learns that there’s no predicting the twists and turns of the heart
. . .
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Chapter 1
Jackson
Faraday was worried about his girl.
He should have been
worried about his future. Time was running out for him to make a decision—stay in the Navy or get out—and the detailer
was breathing down his neck. But the decision to throw away the past twelve
years wasn’t easy.
He
wanted more.
If
NCIS—Naval Criminal Investigative Service—would make a decision on his application, that would be great. But what if they turned him down? Did he stay in for twenty years and
retire? Then what? Start over at the bottom? Go home to a one-stoplight town
with a police force that spent all its time dealing with bored teens wreaking havoc or frustrated couples fighting? Work security for one of the nearby casinos? All viable options, just not what he wanted.
He
wanted to make a difference.
He shoved away the
nagging questions. He had more
pressing concerns. Like what was wrong
with Bella, which
was why he was at the base training
center, even though his shift was officially
over.
“Come on, Bella. Give me
your best for an hour, and then I’ve got a treat for you.” He wagged the
Frisbee to get her attention. Instead, Bella whined and flicked her ear.
“Hey, Jax. Heard we had a
win in the courtroom today.” Chief Casey Thomas drove his Jeep up next to the
chain-link fence.
“Stone? Yeah, he’s going away for a good couple of years for that little video stunt of his. Not that it
makes up for what he put Lieutenant Riley through, but it’s a start.”
“Me and a couple of the guys are going to grab some grub and head out to the beach. Enjoy what’s left of summer. Come join us.” Casey drummed his fingers on the outside
of the driver’s door, giving
away he had more on his mind than a night’s celebration.
“What’s up
with you, man? You seem agitated.” He
and Casey went back a ways;
spent some time in the sandbox together. Normally the guy was as easygoing as cool beer slipping down your throat
on a summer day. “Got my orders in today.” Casey slid out of the vehicle and walked
through the gate. “I’m heading to Pensacola.”
“Isn’t your ex-wife there?”
“Near enough.”
Casey squatted down and scratched
Bella’s ears. “Did you hear back on your application
yet?”
“You know what they say:
No news is good news.” At least he hoped that’s what it meant.
“You know what you need? To
find a nice lady who can take some of your stress away and make you
forget your worries.”
“The only lady I need in my life is Belladonna.” “She’s a
little hairy and full of attitude.”
“Aw, but you forget. She loves me unconditionally and always has my six.” “Not
lately.” Casey stood and looked out at the obstacle course. “The new handler had
her out this
morning, running her
through basic commands, and she ignored
them all. I know you two have a tight
bond, especially after two
tours, but you’re leaving soon. She’s got
to get used to new people.” Bella had been more than his partner while deployed; she’d been his anchor, his pillar of strength, his confidant, and his hope when all seemed lost. She wasn’t just his K-9 partner.
She was his family, and the idea of leaving her was ripping him apart inside. Chances were she could sense his mood and the turmoil going
on inside.
“Which is why I’m passing
on your offer.” Jax released the
German shepherd’s leash. “Thought
I’d do some special one-on-one training with her
and see how it goes. Find out if it’s the
new guy or her.”
“She wouldn’t
be the first dog to burn out.” Casey looked down at the
dog, who hadn’t moved. “Of course, if she’s
declared unfit for duty, you
could adopt her. But then, what
would you do with her while you’re in Glynco for NCIS training?”
Jax dropped the leash and
Frisbee on top of his backpack and looked into the brilliant blue sky. He’d
been playing the “what if” game for two months now with no answers in sight.
“Let’s
deal with one problem at a time.”
“If you change your mind
about tonight, you know where to find us.” Casey waved as he hopped back into
his Jeep and drove off.
Jax
squatted down and ran his hand down Bella’s back. “Okay girl, let’s get the work over so we can play.” Truthfully, everything they did was work. The game of Frisbee honed the dog’s speed, agility, and tracking ability
just as much as anything else they did. She simply liked it better than the
obstacle course. Not that Jax blamed her.
Jax
stood up and gave the hand signal for sit.
The dog looked at him, then closed her eyes with a deep
sigh. “Bella, sit,” he commanded.
She rolled over onto her
side and laid her paw across her nose. Casey really nailed it with his
description. The dog was full of attitude—bad attitude—and a military working
dog that didn’t follow orders was of no use to the service.
Jax went through the commands again
and again, getting
no response. The two of them
had worked together for almost six years, since Bella’s first assignment, and
she’d transferred with him from the Middle East to the Sub base. In all that
time, she’d never ignored an order from him. He bent back down and gave her a
cursory inspection, but he didn’t find any
obvious reason for the dog to balk.
Concerned, Jax sat down on the ground next to his partner.
“Bella girl,
talk to me. What’s going
on in that brain of yours? Is it the heat? Don’t you like the new guy? Tired of the same old routine?
Trust me, I’d understand if that was the problem. Maybe we should call
it a night, and tomorrow go see Doc and make sure you’re okay.”
Bella scooted closer and
laid her head on Jax’s lap, her tail thumping in the grass.
“You gotta be okay, girl.” Absently, he scratched behind her ears as he thought of the past six years. “I don’t think I could handle it if we’d come this far and something happened to you.”
Jax leaned forward and picked up the Frisbee.
As he talked about nothing to the dog, he tossed the toy up and caught
it, making no demands on Bella.
Pretty soon she was sitting, her gaze following the disc.
“Ah ha. Okay, I get it. There are times when I
don’t feel like working either. I’ll make a deal with you. Five minutes of play and then a lap around the course. Deal?”
Bella
barked in response.
Jax laughed and jumped
to his feet, relieved to see her respond like her
old self. He threw the Frisbee, and Bella took off at the speed of light. She
caught the disc and returned it.
They
repeated it again and again.
“Okay, last one and then we work.” Jax threw it with all
his strength. The disc flew up. Bella chased, but instead of running straight
across the lawn, she ran up the stairs of the dog walk. When she got to the top, she jumped and caught
the disc in her mouth.
But as she came down,
she twisted. The scene before him unfolded in slow motion. He ran, reaching for Bella. Almost
there. He dove to catch
her but it was too late. Bella
crashed to the ground a couple of feet in front of him, letting out a yelp that made
Jax’s
stomach cramp. He crawled to her side.
Thank God she was breathing. He ran his hands over her body. Nothing protruded and there was no blood,
but she was crying.
Carefully, Jax scooped her up and ran for his truck.
“Hang on, baby.
Everything’s
going to be okay.”
And he prayed like he
hadn’t done since his last night in the desert. Just like now, Bella had been at his side and they’d
been pinned down by enemy fire. He’d
prayed that night that they’d make it home alive and in one piece. He prayed
now that his dog would live, because even though she technically belonged to the
U.S. Navy, she was the love of his life.
Gail Chianese's love of reading began at
the tender age of three, when she'd make her grandpa read Fourteen
Country Rabbits over and over and over again (and correct him when he
skipped parts). While she's branched out over the years by reading
mystery, women’s fiction, and urban fantasy, she always circles
back to romance in the end. That's probably because she's married to
her real life hero. Her wonderful hubby has served in the US Navy for
the past twenty two years and he’s done things he can’t tell her
about. But it doesn’t stop her from being extremely proud of him
and the sacrifices he makes for her, his family, and his country.
He’s also uber-supportive of her dreams and of their three
children. Living in Mystic, CT and a member of Connecticut Romance
Writers of America, Gail loves to hear from readers.
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1 comments:
Thank you, Nancy & Avid Reader for sharing! ~ Gail
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