The Colonel's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page A

whispered for a drink.
    Picking up a large cup of ice water in one hand and the straw with the other, Jasmine leaned over the hospital bed and helped him sip. Jasmine Johnston, a civilian working for the United States Army Human Resources Command, had been born and raised in Florida and married right out of high school. The memory of her husband, Cpl. Donald Simcox, who had been killed in Afghanistan, motivated her to continue working as she visited many wounded soldiers throughout her three years at the US Army Hospital in Tampa, Florida.
    She continued her questioning. “Is there an emergency phone number I can write on the forms? If it’s not the number to a family member, then maybe you have a friend we can contact. It seems the information on your profile has been kept confidential by your unit for quite some time and…well it’s…outdated.” She put the cup down and sifted through a stack of papers bound together inside a legal size file folder. “After going through all of this, I don’t see a next of kin or any emergency contact for you, Captain.”
    Dazed, Javi recounted a lucid dream. “My mother called out a direct order. Javier, you need to take care of that cat! She picked up her keys and left for work. I was only ten years old and she left me there alone…except for the dying cat. I could hear the wailing from behind the gas stove in the kitchen.”
    “Captain Santos,” Jasmine cleared her throat. “I really need to focus on getting your paperwork filled out.”
    “Please, call me Javi.” He signaled for more ice water. “Tell me Ms. Uh—” he paused and waited for Jasmine to fill in the blank.
    “JJ,” Jasmine fidgeted with her pen. “It stands for Jasmine Johnston.”
    “Tell me JJ, would you leave your ten year old son home alone to get rid of a dying cat, then have him walk a mile in the snow to get to school on time?”
    Jasmine thought about her own little girl. She hesitated and wondered what she could say to this patient to get him to cooperate.
    “Are you talking about your mother? Is she still alive?”
    “I don’t know if she is still alive or not. I don’t remember.”
    Jasmine tucked a fallen strand of her blond hair behind her ear and continued to shuffle through the papers.
    “It says here you were born in Long Island, New York. Is that right?”
    “It must be right if it is written there on your paperwork. I don’t remember Long Island. The dream I had was definitely Brooklyn.” He exhaled slowly. “I remember hanging out on a sixth floor fire escape. The apartment building was…in Brooklyn...but I don’t think any of this is going to help you.”
    “I understand, Javi. Trying to remember details can be very frustrating.”
    “No offense but JJ sounds a little masculine for such nice girl. I just had a flashback of a soldier named JJ in my battalion.” Javi squinted. “He was so ugly he could make an onion cry. How about I call you Jasmine?”
    “You can call me Jasmine if you prefer. But listen, Javi please, I really need you to cooperate.”
    A dark skinned, full figured female nurse named Dorothea walked into the hospital room and opened the privacy curtain. “Good morning! How are you doin’ today, papi? I know you remember your favorite nurse.”
    “Yes I do, Dorothea. I can’t forget the woman with the meds.” Javi revealed his heart-splitting crooked smile.
    “Let’s take a look at this side wound. I’m going to have to clean it up and change that bandage. I’ll be done in no time...not so sure I’ll still be your favorite nurse after this.” Dorothea said snapping on a rubber glove.
    Javi groaned at the piercing pain.
    Jasmine clenched the file folder to her chest and watched in horror as, what looked like blood and water, oozed down the side of his rib cage.
    “I can come back tomorrow and get this information, Captain Santos.”
    Javi buried his face in the pillow unable to hold back the groans.
    “Why don’t you tell Jasmine that funny