Here & Now
American Valor #2
By: Cheryl Etchison
Released: July 26th, 2016
Avon Romance
The Rangers of the 1st/75th fight hard,
train hard and play hard. They are physically strong and mentally tough,
disciplined and courageous. But all their military training hasn't prepared
them for falling in love.
Former Ranger Medic Lucky
James feels right at home working long night shifts in the ER, but less so
during the day, when his college classes are filled with flirtatious co-eds.
When his 19-year-old chem lab partner shows up at his work with dinner for “her
Lucky,” he quickly enlists the help of Rachel Dellinger, a nurse and fellow
third shift vampire.
Rachel is a people pleaser
at heart, but she’s finally decided enough is enough when it comes to her
on-again, off-again boyfriend. When Lucky begs Rachel to help him ward off the
advances of his teenager pursuer, she blackmails him into helping move her
things out of the apartment she shared with her ex into a place all her own.
From there a friendship is
born between two people just trying to make it through the night. Neither are
living in the past or planning for the future. Until one day changes
everything.
Lucky James is not your average college students; for 1, he is 29 years
old and an Army Ranger veteran, but when he left the 7th Ranger Regiment, he
didn't think about the years of schooling ahead of him or the age difference
between him and the other students; but also going from the adrenaline rush of
protecting his brothers at arms from life or death situations to being a almost
30 year old college student and a ER tech! But the one person he crashed into
(literally) was more than likely the one person who never wanted to see him
again…Rachel Dellinger
Rachel Dellinger needed a change! She has finally decided to leave her
no good boyfriend Curtis; now she just had to get through her first shift as an
ER nurse and then she can put her plans into action. But when she crashed into Lucky, the person she
lashed out at at her brother Ethan's funeral.
Now Lucky and Rachel are back in each other's lives, they cannot deny
the huge spark that is between them! And just as things start going well for
them, fate steps in and makes it difficult! With ex-boyfriend and a one off
jealous date (and ER doctor) making life almost impossible, Lucky is missing
his life in the Rangers. And when things become explosive at work, Lucky leaves
and re-enlists.
But can Lucky have the job and the women he loves? And how will he
react when he finds out Rachel is pregnant!
This is the first book I have read in the An American Valorous Novel
and boy! Am I now addicted! I love the story of Lucky and Rachel and I
absolutely LOVED their characters. Lucky is a strong and loving and just wants
to fix everything for everyone. Rachel is a giver, but with the the loss of her
brother and her freeloader ex Curtis took its toll on It it was truly her
relationship with Lucky that made her stronger.
The author has written an amazing love story and has written it so
beautifully! The writing was without fluff and the plot was fresh, clean and
was not your average miltary romance, but more like a true story!
I give Here and Now 4 stars.
Avon | Amazon | B&N | Google Play | iBooks
June 2006
Even though he knew it was coming, Lucky James flinched
at the first volley of gunfire. He remained steady for the next two volleys,
the loud crack giving way to the mournful sound of the bugle.
During his five years with the 75th Ranger Regiment,
he’d never attended a stateside service for a fallen soldier. He’d stood at
attention on a tarmac halfway around the world as the American flag was lowered
to half-staff and “Taps” blared from loudspeakers. He’d carried flag-draped
metal coffins holding the remains of his brothers-in-arms up the ramp of the
C-130 that would deliver them home. He’d knelt beside many of those coffins,
placed his hand atop them, silently begging forgiveness for failing them. After
all, as a Ranger medic, his number one priority was to return his fellow
soldiers home to their loved ones safe and sound. Not in a box. Never in a box.
When the bugler finished, the honor guard lifted the
American flag from Ethan Dellinger’s casket and began the ceremonial folding.
Everyone watched in silence as the soldiers worked in tandem, pulling the
fabric taught, smoothing each crease, making each fold with precision. It had
been years since he’d last seen Ethan; his last memories of him were as a
chatty middle schooler who invited himself to shoot hoops with Lucky at a
nearby playground one day. Over the course of the next few years, Ethan would
show up out of the blue and follow Lucky around as he worked on his car, mowed
the yard, whatever he was doing. Right up until the day Lucky left for basic
training.
To be completely honest, Lucky hadn’t given much
thought to Ethan during the past five years. After all, he was just a kid he
once knew. He hadn’t even known Ethan had joined the army immediately following
his high school graduation. Only after arriving home on leave the day before
had Lucky learned from his father that “the youngest Dellinger boy” had been
killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Barely three weeks into his very first deployment, Army
Pfc. Ethan Dellinger died two months shy of his nineteenth birthday.
His immediate family assembled only feet away from his
casket with the remaining friends and family forming a semicircle around the
grave site. From where Lucky stood at the back, he could see each of their
faces. Ethan’s mother and father sat side by side on small folding chairs with
elderly relatives, grandparents perhaps, seated next to them. The youngest of
four children, Ethan’s immediate family was large to begin with, and when
in-laws, nieces, and nephews were thrown into the mix, it grew to massive
proportions.
Despite the large gathering, his eyes were drawn to
Ethan’s sister, Rachel. She stood out even among her own siblings with her
fiery red hair and bright blue eyes.
She and Lucky were of the same age, had attended the
same schools from the time Lucky and his father moved to Durant, Oklahoma, in
the middle of seventh grade. In all that time, he’d never spoken more to her
than the occasional hello, goodbye, or single-word answer. And for as long as
he could remember, while she’d never paid any mind to him, she’d always had his
attention, despite the fact they traveled in different social circles.
But what stood out about her today he found upsetting.
There she was, surrounded by all these people, all family or friends of her
brother, and she stood completely alone. With her arms wrapped tight around her
middle, Rachel comforted herself at a time when no one else seemed to notice or
care.
It took every bit of self-restraint for him to not make
a scene, march over to where she stood, and pull her into his arms. He was on
the verge of saying to hell with being polite when the service ended and the
crowd began to disperse. Everyone except him. He remained right where he stood,
watching Rachel as she walked over to Ethan’s casket, pressed a kiss to her
fingertips, and laid her hand upon the polished wood.
He had only taken a few steps in her direction when her
head lifted and she caught sight of him. Much to his surprise, she stepped away
from Ethan’s casket and walked toward him. Her blue eyes were red and swollen,
her face tearstained.
“Rachel,” he began the moment she was in earshot. “I’m
very sorry about Ethan. He was a great—”
Before he could finish his condolences, her palm met
his cheek with a resounding crack.
“How dare you come here,” she said bitterly.
The tears fell freely down her face now. Her hands
shook and her body vibrated with restrained fury.
He apologized a second time for reasons unknown even to
him. But judging from the expression on her face and the hurt in her eyes, the
words needed to be said.
“This is your fault,” she said, pointing to the hole
where her brother’s casket would be lowered and the adjacent pile of red dirt
that would bury him deep beneath the earth’s surface. “Ethan idolized you.
Wanted to be you. He joined the army in hopes of following in your footsteps.
Except he didn’t score high enough to be a medic. Wasn’t fit enough to be a
Ranger. I hope you’re happy.”
Stunned into silence, he could do little more than
watch as Rachel Dellinger turned her back on him and walked away.
Cheryl Etchison graduated
from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in journalism and news
communications and has worked as a newspaper reporter, marketing coordinator
and in public relations for a MLB and NHL team. Currently, she lives in Austin,
Texas and is a stay at home mom to three girls. ONCE AND FOR ALL is her first
novel.
