âIf Anything Happens To Me...â
When he returns to Texas from overseas, U.S. Marine Carter Wallace makes good on a promise. To tell a fallen soldierâs wife that her husband loved her. But widowed Savannah Blackmore, pregnant and alone, shares a different story with Carterâone that tests everything he believes. He brings Savannah back to the Triple C ranch, where family secretsâand siblings he hadnât known aboutâawait him. Now the marine who never needed anyone suddenly needs Savannah. Will opening his heart be the bravest thing heâll ever do?
âItâs very nice of you to offer me a place to stay.â Savannah regarded him warily.
âBut,â she continued, âIâm sure that when your sister offered you a place to stay, she wasnât expecting you to pass it on to a random stranger.â
Savannah wasnât a stranger. Carter had carried her photograph around in his pocket for two months.
For a moment it looked as if Savannah was wavering. But then her chin came up.
âYou donât have to worry about me. I know you were Robâs friend, but Iâm not your responsibility.â
âWhen I make a promise, I keep it.â
âAnd you did. You delivered Robâs messageââ
âNot that promise,â Carter interrupted. âIâm a marine, maâam. And we never leave a manâor a womanâbehind.â
About the Author
KATHRYN SPRINGER is a lifelong Wisconsin resident. Growing up in a ânewspaperâ family, she spent long hours as a child plunking out stories on her motherâs typewriter and hasnât stopped writing since! She loves to write inspirational romance because it allows her to combine her faith in God with her love of a happy ending.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Kathryn Springer for her contribution to the Texas Twins miniseries.
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers,
and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
â2 Thessalonians 1:3
This book is warmly dedicated to my continuity cohortsâMarty, Barbara, Arlene, Glynna and Jill.
For wisdom, grace, patience and a sense of humor while we linked the Texas Twins books together.
It was a blessing working with you!
Chapter One
âAnd this oneâs Asteroid Man...â
Another plastic action figure landed on Sergeant Carter Wallaceâs lap tray, adding to the growing number of soldiers that had formed a perimeter around the coffee cup the flight attendant had set down in front of him.
âI got him for my birthday.â A pair of eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets regarded Carter solemnly, waiting for his opinion.
âCool.â Just like the coffee he hadnât taken a sip of yet.
A wide, gap-toothed grin rearranged the pattern of butterscotch freckles on the preschool boyâs cheeks. âHe can fly, too. And the bad guys canât see him coming because heâs inbisible when he lands.â
Across the narrow aisle, the boyâs harassed grandmother caught Carterâs eye and mouthed the words Iâm sorry as she tried to calm the fussy toddler in her lap.
The frustrated looks the woman had been receiving from their fellow passengers had only compounded her stress. Which explained why she hadnât noticed her grandson unbuckle his seat belt and commandeer the empty seat beside Carter after the beverage cart rattled past.
Without an invitation, the kid had settled in next to him and announced that his name was Josh and that he was four years old.
âAre you a real soldier?â heâd whispered, staring at the patches on Carterâs camo jacket in open fascination.
Carter wrestled back a smile. âYes, I am.â
âI like soldiers.â
Those three simple words had derailed Carterâs plan to get some shut-eye. Josh had plunged both hands into a backpack and proceeded to pull out his action figures, an eclectic blend of superheroes and guys in camouflage, all working together to save the world.
The kid might have prevented Carter from the luxury of a long-overdue nap, but heâd also kept the nightmares at bay.
At least for a few hours.
âThis is Mike.â Josh carefully placed another action figure behind a Lego bunker. âWhen heâs in trouble, Asteroid Man does thisââ The action figure came down right in front of Soldier Mike with a thump that rocked the lap tray and sent coffee sloshing over the side of the cup. âSee? He saves him âcause theyâre friends.â
Carter felt beads of sweat pop out on his forehead as a memory slammed against the barricade heâd built around it. Joshâs chatter was muffled by the deafening blast that sucked Carter back in time. He felt the sun-baked ground shudder beneath his feet. Saw a fireball bloom in the distance, reaching so high the flames licked the clouds. By the time heâd reached the scene, two trucks in the convoy had been reduced to smoking metal skeletons.