WOUNDED
(An Aspen Series Novella)
By Cindy Stark
www.CindyStark.com
Published by C. Nielsen
Wounded © 2012 C. Nielsen
All rights reserved
Chapter One
Jerry Tierno’s new Camaro ate up the distance between Salt Lake and his hometown of Aspen, Utah, like a mid-summer storm rolling over the Rocky Mountains. The miles of pine-laden canyons interspersed with green valleys disappeared faster than he would have liked, even though he was anxious to see his family.
If he could find a way to stop thinking about her, life would be bearable again.
But how could he? The last time he’d deployed, he’d left Aspen believing Kimber Reynolds was his everything, and that when he returned, they’d start their life together.
Believing that had made him the world’s biggest idiot, along with the instant he’d taken his focus off the mission in Afghanistan and had become the target of an attack.
He pretended he didn’t notice the three-bedroom house nestled in a grove of aspen trees just off the highway as he passed it. The for-sale sign was still there, but that no longer mattered.
As he cruised past Aspen’s welcome sign, stating a population of 250, he lowered the window and cranked up his stereo, trying to drown out his cursed memories. The sweet, summer air heavy with the scent of freshly cut alfalfa filled his lungs, a complete contrast to the harsh desert in a part of the world so far from his home.
He slowed as he hit the so-called city limits, grateful to be back where life moved at a slower pace and every person he met wasn’t a potential threat. Hanging baskets of flowers and numerous displays of the Stars and Stripes reminded him the small town’s celebration of America’s independence was only two days away.
The vibrations and sounds of his loud music drew the stares of a couple of his mother’s friends talking outside the market. He waved, knowing they wouldn’t recognize him in his new car, but wanting to be friendly just the same.
Then he choked. His foot slipped off the accelerator as he caught sight of Kimber walking out of the coffee shop that had opened a few weeks before he’d left the last time. Hell, for all he knew, her last name might be Cameron by now.
Wavy brown hair caressed her sun-kissed shoulders, her unforgettable tan legs disappearing under a short, pink skirt. She’d probably been working in the city clerk’s office that day.
He remembered exactly what it felt like to kiss those shoulders, to trail his fingers up the smooth skin of her legs. The way she walked, her scent, everything about her had been seared into his brain, and he would have been able to pick her out of a crowd with a bag over her head.
As he passed, she turned toward him, their gazes connecting for the briefest of seconds. He swallowed past his choke and slammed on the gas pedal. His engine growled with delight as he pushed the boundaries of acceleration, and he could suddenly breathe again.
He was so over her. Over the pain. Over the wrenching heartbreak. Rehabilitating from shrapnel severing his calf muscle had been easier than getting over her, but he’d managed it.
Before he made it to the end of the little town, a piercing wail filled the air. He glanced in the mirror to find flashing red and blue lights hot on his tail.
