A Soldier's Promise [The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Read online

  The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek 3

  A Soldier’s Promise

  Mason Armstrong wants to be left alone. When the military gives him his walking papers, he heads home to forget. Too bad, he has to deal with family and the nagging town sheriff in the process. It’s a small price to pay for freedom and he deals with it the only way he knows how…he avoids them.

  Annabelle Marcus is a single mother making a fresh start for herself and her young son. When a teaching position opens up in Texas, she jumps at the chance and accepts the job. Controlled and organized, she attempts to integrate herself into the community, only to find out that maybe she’s bitten off more than she can chew.

  Lost and alone and set in their ways, two lives intersect only to discover that just maybe they have something more to give. When duty calls, can the promise of a future be enough to sustain, or will the ultimate diversion end it all?

  Genre: Contemporary, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 70,319 words

  A SOLDIER’S PROMISE

  The Armstrong Brothers

  of Cedar Creek 3

  Rebecca Joyce

  EVERLASTING CLASSIC

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic

  A SOLDIER’S PROMISE

  Copyright © 2014 by Rebecca Joyce

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-255-1

  First E-book Publication: January 2014

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of A Soldier’s Promise by Rebecca Joyce from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

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  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Rebecca Joyce’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Joyce’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  DEDICATION

  For all the men and women who devote their lives to the service of their country, I humbly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Moreover, to their spouses who fight the battle behind the scenes as their loves are in harm’s way…may your loves soon be in your arms, safe and secure. This book is dedicated to all of you.

  To my husband… my soldier, my hero. Without you, this book would never have been written. Thank you for trusting me, loving me, and most importantly, thank you for coming home to me. I love you.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  About the Author

  A SOLDIER’S PROMISE

  The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek 3

  REBECCA JOYCE

  Copyright © 2014

  Prologue

  Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for a friend.

  — John 15:13

  New York City, 2005

  Annabelle stood with her crying two-year-old in her arms, watching her husband of almost two years packing the last of his bags.

  He was leaving her and abandoning their son.

  When she married Sean Hickory, she was head-over-heels in love. High school sweethearts, they were the prize couple of their hometown. Both homecoming and prom king and queen, they were going places. Together they made plans—graduate high school, college, jobs, and then marriage. But because of one night, their plans changed.

  That night everything changed.

  For most teens, prom was a night of celebration and partying, and they, like most teens, did celebrate and party. But one night of sex in the boys’ locker room had dire consequences.

  It wasn’t until two months after graduation that Annabelle Nicole Marcus realized she was pregnant. With one week before she was due for orientation at NYU, she called the only person she knew who would understand. She called Sean.

  Like most boyfriends, he was concerned and worried. Looking back now, she could probably guess correctly that Sean was only concerned and worried about himself and that football scholarship he saw going down the drain. Nevertheless, he was there for her, every step of the way. The only problem was, that way led them straight to a clinic on the other side of town to, as he said, “Fix a mistake.”

  Annabelle shivered as she remembered walking into that cold clinic. She never looked up to see who was there. She was too ashamed.

  Ashamed of what she was about to do.

  Ashamed that she had allowed Sean to talk her into it.

  Ashamed that she had put herself into this position.

  And mainly, she was ashamed that she didn’t have the courage to say no.

  She remembered nothing of the moment she went behind that white door, nor did she remember the ride home, but when her mother woke her the next morning, she did remember her screaming for an ambulance. Annabelle spent the next three days in the hospital where she
later discovered that she was still pregnant.

  With a second chance, and at the insistence of his parents, Annabelle married Sean Hickory at the courthouse in their hometown. After the birth of their son, Andrew, Sean got himself a good job on an oil rig in the gulf of Mexico, and Annabelle soon found herself in the city, in a new home, as a new wife and mother. After a while, she found herself a workable balance, between mom, wife, and part-time college student.

  Life was good, and like most young mothers, Annabelle did everything by the book when it came to the health and welfare of her son. She read every book she could find on what to expect, joined a young mothers group, and relied on parental advice and support. But when a routine doctor’s visit turned into more tests, specialists, and a surprise diagnosis, her nice little world turned upside down.

  Overnight, gone were the play dates and Saturday morning coffee retreats with the neighborhood moms, and in were the round-the-clock speech therapists, occupational therapists, and sensory therapists.

  Her nice, controlled life was now chaos, and through it all, she did it alone.

  She stood watching as he grabbed his bags and walked out the front door.

  “Well, Andy, looks like it’s just you and me, buddy.”

  Chapter One

  Cedar Creek, Texas, present day

  The sounds of crickets singing filled the dense forest as he walked slowly through the open field. The flashlight in his hand moved from left to right through the trees as he quietly made his way deeper into the darkness.

  Silently, like a slithering snake in the grass, he made his way near the house. When he was within a thousand yards and found a good spot behind a tall oak tree. He removed his rifle from his back. It only took him a couple of seconds to set the sight and get into position and for the signal.

  This was going to be a long night and he knew it.

  Bored already with the situation, he turned off the walkie-talkie, ignoring the negotiator as he tried to calm the situation that was already out of control.

  The call had come into the station over five hours ago.

  A small child, crying, stated that a bad man had shot his dad and was holding a gun on his mom.

  That had the whole police department of Cedar Creek on full alert.

  The whole department. He chuckled at that.

  The Cedar Creek police consisted of two deputies and the sheriff, who had all converged on the scene within minutes. They soon found the father was indeed dead, and the mother was shot in the arm. The kid, however, was apparently still hiding out somewhere in the house because he was still feeding information to the sheriff when he asked for it.

  The sheriff of the Cedar Creek police force, Jimmy Wilson, was young, impressionable, and a jerk at times, but he was an honest man who did his job to the best of his abilities. At every opportunity, the sheriff would try to talk him into joining the force. He knew Jimmy Wilson was hoping to resolve the situation within minutes, rather than hours. He was probably right in knowing that Jimmy Wilson, was at his whit’s end. He could hear even from his distance as the sheriff cursed openly, kicked cars, and found a nearby tree to punch.

  The sheriff did not like him and he didn’t like the sheriff, and that was the only thing they agreed on.

  The two men had butted heads ever since he decided to make Cedar Creek, Texas his permanent home. According to the local sheriff, it was bad enough that he had to deal with the rest of the Armstrong Clan—young Henry with his youthful antics, Michael with his overbearing ways, and recently, Mark and the flurry of reporters that followed, trying to get information on the hottest football player in Texas.—But to have another one now permanently living in the small town was just plain aggravating.

  Every time the two men would see each other, it took all of about two point two seconds for the arguing to occur. Of course, the small town enjoyed the fights and welcomed the new blood to town, but he knew the sheriff wished he would just move somewhere else.

  So when he received the call earlier, he knew the sheriff had to be in over his head and desperate.

  “I need your help,” the sheriff had said, gritting his teeth.

  A small grin had spread across his face as he’d leaned back in his recliner and hit the mute button on his television. What on earth would little Opie want tonight? he thought to himself before answering.

  “I’m busy. Call back next week.”

  “Damn it! I am serious. There’s a kid involved,” Jimmy had shouted through the phone.

  Fuck!

  The sheriff knew just what to say to him to get his ass motivated. As the oldest of the Armstrong brothers, he had always taken care of the younger ones. Even today, he looked out for them and his new nieces and nephews that seemed to be popping up every year or so. He never complained. He liked kids. Hell, he liked them more than adults.

  Sighing, he pushed his TV dinner away. “Where are you?”

  “Out at Zeek’s place, just past the old lumber mill. And bring your rifle.”

  “Give me about ten minutes,” he said, grabbing for his boots.

  “Make it five, and as of right now you’re deputized. And hurry.” Then the phone had gone dead.

  He made himself comfortable for the long night ahead of him. Grabbing the can of Mountain Dew he had stuck in his coat pocket before he left, he leaned against the tree and popped the top. He sighed as the cold, fizzy brew trickled down his throat, wishing he was anywhere but here right now.

  Turning the walkie-talkie back up, he listened to the negotiator as he tried to get the intruder to surrender. He just shook his head. He could tell by the tone of the intruder that the man was not going to give up that easily. Thinking it would be a while before his services were needed, he finished his drink and relaxed.

  Looking out into the forest, trying to clear his head, he entered that familiar quiet place where he was accustomed to being. Zoning out all distractions, he closed his eyes and focused.

  What was it about this damn place that always had him coming back for more? He still couldn’t understand what had made him move here. It was just a small Podunk town, spread out over several miles. Hell, they didn’t even have a Pizza Hut here. It was a far cry from moving around all his life from one duty station to the next. At least he had to admit that.

  Cedar Creek did have its benefits though. His brothers, Michael and young Henry, were here, and of course Michael’s beautiful wife Rachael and their daughters Abby and little Savannah. Just thinking of that little Savy brought a smile to his face. She was something else and he lit up whenever she was around.

  Of course, then there was Mark and Sarah. Boy, this town hadn’t been prepared for when they moved here. The aftermath had sent the town’s old biddies into fits. Jimmy was constantly bitching about chasing too many reporters and not having enough manpower to patrol the town as he should be doing. And then there was Mark himself.

  At first, the town had been pleased when he and Sarah had decided to make Cedar Creek their permanent home, and they were welcomed with open arms. Having the quarterback of the National Champions, the Texas Rebels, living in their little hometown was a boost to the local economy, not to mention the bragging rights. What none of them counted on was Mark, especially shortly after, retiring from professional football to become a stay-at-home dad.

  Oh yeah, that did not go over well in football country!

  Looking back at all the drama that had unfolded, he knew he should have stayed in the army. Too bad he was not allowed to. He missed it.

  He had joined the Army right out of high school and had traveled the world, moving from one place to another. Joining as a private, he had quickly made rank and moved his way up the chain. During his time as an enlisted soldier, he’d found the time and graduated from a small college with a degree in nutrition and fitness. Soon after that, his commanding officer had recommended him for the Army’s Green to Gold program. It had taken him a while to decide to become an officer, since he’d always seemed destine
d to butt heads with them. So he figured, if he couldn’t beat the living shit out of them, join them, and he had. But as usual it hadn’t taken long for him before he even screwed that up.

  It was supposed to have been a simple snatch-and-grab mission south of Panama, but what had transpired was anything but simple. It had been another dark night like this one. Tensions were running high as his unit scoured the forest looking for the house. They had gotten the go-ahead to capture and acquire Julio Montequilla, one head of a very prominent Colombian cartel.

  His mission had been to apprehend him alive and destroy all contraband. Once in hand, he was to hand over Montequilla to the men in suits and return to base, but like most things in his life, that particular event had not gone according to plan.

  He’d spent the next three months in the hospital recovering from a bullet wound to the chest and another two months in rehab. Soon after he’d been brought up on charges for disobeying a direct order, dereliction of duty, endangering the lives of his team, and a slew of other charges the military could think of. He spent six months in the brig and was discharged from the Army. He returned home to Silver Springs, Montana, to have his father look down upon him as scum, calling him a traitor to every American in the world.

  What else was new?

  So once again, he’d found himself moving from place to place. A man he’d once served with back in Iraq soon contacted him and offered him a security job. He took the job with the small private company and was back to doing what he did best, but after last year’s fiasco that had almost cost him his sister-in-law’s life, he quit. He just couldn’t do it anymore. He had buried too many friends in his career, and the thought of putting one of his own family members in the ground was too much. So he moved for the last time, and tried to enjoy his retirement.