Summer of Love by Marie Ferrarella (easy to read books for adults list .TXT) 📕

could have been describing exactly what had happened years ago, only with different players. And Chelsea was right about one thing. Larry had found out and the consequences had been disastrous. And so very permanent.

Her stomach clenched and clenched.

And unlike Chelsea, she hadn’t learned from that mistake all those years ago. She’d gone right back and done it again.

Jessi hadn’t been able to resist Clint.

She never had. He’d been just as taboo as that officer Chelsea had spoken of.

Chelsea glanced at Clint. “You told me during our first meeting that you were here to help me get through this. So I’m ready to try. I promise to work really hard.”

Clint stiffened visibly in his seat.

Chelsea, totally unaware of the strained dynamics in the room, kept on talking. “Did you go through boot camp, Dr. Marks?”

“I did.” Nothing in his voice betrayed his feelings, but Jessi knew. She knew exactly the struggle going on inside him right now.

“Then you know a soldier agrees never to leave a wounded comrade behind.”

He gave a quick nod.

“I may not be missing a limb or have any visible external injuries except these …” she held out her wrists, showing the scars “… but I am wounded. So please, please don’t leave me behind.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THEY WERE MAKING PROGRESS.

It came in fits and starts, but the past week had seen Chelsea come further than she had since she’d been at the hospital.

And Clint was still on her case, even though in his heart of hearts he knew he shouldn’t be. But Chelsea’s words had reached to the heart of who he was as a soldier, and he knew that he would have wished more than anything that someone had been there for his father. But they hadn’t. He’d dealt with his demons alone. That’s not what he wanted for Chelsea.

Besides, since that session, Jessi had been careful to keep her distance, speaking to him only when he asked her something during joint sessions or when he saw her in the halls at the VA hospital. It was like she was walking on eggshells around him.

Well, so was he, around her. And the edges of those shells were beginning to feel damn uncomfortable beneath his feet.

But as long as he could maintain things for another few weeks, they should be fine. Chelsea had gotten her wish not to be abandoned “like her baby.” And she was gradually starting to believe that none of what had happened had been her fault. She’d soon be discharged and start doing her sessions on a weekly outpatient basis—which meant he’d be seeing even less of Jessi.

And that made his chest tighten in ways he’d never thought possible. In fact, he hadn’t felt this way since …

Since the day he’d left her twenty-two years ago.

Just like he’d leave her again once his transfer papers went through.

And, yes, he was prepared to put in for one, even though a little voice inside of him whispered that when this was all over—when Chelsea was no longer his patient—he could ask Jessi out on a real date and woo her the way he’d once dreamed about.

Except nothing had changed. Not really.

He was still not the right man for her. He was still too cautious—too afraid to let himself be with any one woman.

Besides, Jessi had already experienced the worst parts of coming from a military family, having a daughter who’d served and come back with serious issues. Did she really need to be involved with a man who dealt with wounded soldiers day after day? Wouldn’t it just remind her of all she’d gone through with Chelsea?

Never had he felt the weight of responsibility more than he did right now.

“Dr. Marks?” One of the nurses popped her head into the room. “Peter Summers just called. He’s asking for a refill of his methadone prescription.”

Another complicated case.

He sighed. Peter’s maintenance dosage of the drug was dependent on his showing up for his sessions, the last two of which he’d missed. A longtime addict, methadone was meant to replace cravings. The treatment regimen was highly regulated and required sticking to a precise schedule. That meant outpatient sessions and progress reports. Clint would have followed those guidelines even without the corresponding laws, just because it was the right thing to do.

Hell, it didn’t seem like he’d been too worried about doing the right thing when he’d been rolling around on Jessi’s couch.

And thoughts like that would get him nowhere.

“Would you mind calling him and setting up a new appointment? Tell him he can’t have a refill without coming in.”

Consequences. Larry’s tragic death came to mind. The consequences of his fling with Jessi.

Well, someone else besides him might as well learn the meaning of the word.

“Will do.” The nurse jotted something down onto the paper in her hand. “Oh, and I didn’t know if you knew, but there’s someone waiting to see you. At least, I think she is. She’s come down the hallway and almost knocked on your door twice before going back to the waiting room and just sitting there.”

He glanced at his planner. He wasn’t scheduled to see anyone for another couple of hours. “Any idea who it is?”

“It’s Chelsea Riley’s mother.”

His throat tightened. Jessi was here to see him? Had almost knocked on his door twice?

“Is she still here?”

The nurse nodded. “She’s in the main waiting area.”

He pushed his chair back and climbed to his feet. “Has she been to see Chelsea yet?”

“No, that was the strange thing. She came straight here without asking anyone anything.” She shrugged. “I thought you might like to know.”

“Thank you.” He shoved his arms into his sports jacket. “If I’m not in my office when you get hold of Peter Summers, could you leave me note with his next session date? Or let me know what he said?”

“Sure thing.”

With that, the nurse popped back out of the room, leaving him to struggle with whether to go down to the waiting area and talk to Jessi or to