Rhonda+Nelson+-+The+Soldier Read Online Free PDF

lot like Adam. She set a goal and saw it
    through. Sports, marathons, college and her shop were all prime examples of her tenacity. She
    prided herself on those successes. But when it came to Adam…
    For whatever reason, all of that
    courage and determination simply fell by the wayside. It melted under the heat of that clear bluegreen
    stare, was swept away by the mere upswing of his smile. He was her one failure, her one
    weakness.
    Her Achilles’ heel.
    Winnie glanced at the clock. Three twenty-five. It was almost time to meet him, she thought.
    And she was going to need every ounce of strength she had.
    4
    HE SHOULD HAVE WORNsweats, Adam thought, feeling the heat as every pair of eyes in the
    park lingered on him while he worked with the girls. But it was ninety freakin’ degrees and the
    humidity made it feel like one-hundred. He had no intention of frying out here just to make
    everyone else feel more comfortable. Honestly, didn’t they know it was rude to stare?
    Manners, people. Here’s a thought. Why don’t you get some?
    He gritted his teeth, and continued with batting practice, instructing one of the girls to stand
    closer to the plate and choke up on the bat. Who would have guessed that it would be easier for
    him to adjust to the prosthetic than it was for him to get used to the blatant staring. Most people
    were merely curious, others pitying. He was an anomaly to them, he knew, but it still didn’t
    make it any less unnerving.
    “They can’t help it, you know,” the tween on the plate said in a low, matter-of-fact voice.
    Mallory, if memory served. “You’re different. They have to look.”
    Startled at her candor, Adam blinked and then grunted because he didn’t know what to say.
    “I get it all the time, too. Because of my eyes,” she explained.
    “You won’t get used to it, but
    you’ll stop caring.” She said it with such authority he was irrationally inclined to believe her.
    Her eyes? Ah, Adam thought, noticing the difference between the two for the first time. One
    blue, one green. There was a medical term for that, but he couldn’t remember it.
    “I used to wear colored contacts, but they irritated my eyes,” she said. “Besides, I was only
    doing it to fit in and I’m not meant to fit in.” She winked. “I’m meant to stand out. You are, too,
    now, so you might as well accept it.”
    Her blasé wisdom jolted a laugh from his throat. “How do you know I haven’t?”
    She rolled her beautiful, unique mismatched eyes as though it were completely obvious. “I can
    hear you grinding your teeth. You’re going to give yourself a headache.” She dropped an
    appraising look at his prosthetic. “How does that thing work? You don’t even limp.”
    Adam noticed the pack of girls move in closer, evidently curious as to his reply.
    “Beyond the fact that it’s got hundreds of little sensors which adjust and react according to my
    weight and movement, I’m not sure.”
    He’d gone to half a dozen fittings to get it just right. He’d even been trained to cover minor
    repairs, and actually kept parts with him. But really, he was just extremely grateful to be vertical
    again. He felt completely helpless when he wasn’t wearing it and, for a guy who’d never known
    an instant of insecurity, that had been a damned difficult adjustment. The evenings were still the
    toughest, when he took it off to go to bed. He was at his most vulnerable then and he knew it. It
    was…unsettling.
    “You mean like nerves?” Mallory asked.
    “Simulated nerves, I suppose,” he said, nodding. These kids were smarter than he anticipated.
    Not that he had a terrible amount of experience with kids at all.
    They were an alien species, one
    he’d never given much thought to, if he were perfectly honest.
    Though he knew it pained his
    mother, he’d always been so focused on his career he’d never stopped to think about adding a
    wife and family to his life.
    A sudden image of Winnie holding a