No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology by Elizabeth Knox (black authors fiction TXT) 📕

I should do therapy sessions with a licensed doctor and I found one that comes out and does an hour group session two days a week. I even attend one session with Cade.

I never really got to know Cade when we were in, just knew he was a good soldier.

I’ve learned a lot about him now and know I was never his type. He and Chance are an item, been together for a year. They’re our roommates. We all work well together and it’s like our own little family.

I love having someone that understands what I’ve been through. When Bear can’t get to me when I withdraw, Cade can.

Chance and Bear even showed Cade how to be a rodeo cowboy, though he seemed like he held a lasso before. He won his first rodeo the other day for bronc riding and we all were there to cheer him on.

Two years it’s taken for me to feel whole.

I miss Thunder and Bug every day. Yeah, Bug passed away last year. I didn’t eat for a few days and got sick from missing her.

Valentine’s Day this year I was gifted a puppy from the guys, a pug/Boston terrier puppy. Just like Bug. I cried like a baby in misery and happiness all at the same time. Winter is a good dog and Mystic loves him as well.

Thunder and Bug will always be in my heart. I have pictures of them everywhere, all over the house and in several scrapbooks because I want to remember them. I started one for Winter and Mystic has her own, though she runs when she sees me with a camera in my hand. Jerk.

The love of a pet is unconditional, it gave me something to look forward to. To love and cherish.

I always will. They needed me, but I needed them. They were my rocks when I needed them and they led me to my other love.

Bear. Without him, I don’t know where I would be. Probably lost.

He smiles at me as he hangs the picture in the barn. A huge picture of my babies. The three original fur babies. The barn is now called the Thunder Barn in honor of the horse that started all of this.

I look to the rafters and beyond, praying that Thunder is happy with Bug in heaven. Thank you, buddy. I hope you’re happy. This is where you probably wanted me to be.

I’m here and in love, thanks to you.

“How’s it look?” Bear asks as he jumps down the ladder and takes me in his arms so I can gaze at the beautiful picture.

“Perfect.” I turn in his arms and look into his eyes, kissing him lightly.

“Your turn for dinner.” He smirks and I roll my eyes.

“I always cook,” I fake whine.

And this is how my life was meant to turn out, fake whining with the love of my life and helping others find that the love of a horse can help heal all wounds.

Coming Home

TK Lawyer

For my dad, Army Veteran, Sergeant Philip Sterling Lawyer, the inspiration for Sterling. I love you.

Chapter One

Sterling stumbled over his words while attempting to understand the disturbing news his best friend had just relayed to him. He squeezed his knees through his Army fatigues as he spoke. “So, you’re telling me you don’t want me to come home?”

He gritted his teeth, in an attempt to keep from blurting out something hasty or nasty in retort. Taking back his words was impossible and he was too far away to make amends if things turned sour. He stared at her through the camera on his laptop. The Zoom app, once a great idea, helped them to stay connected. Now he considered disconnecting the feed.

He couldn’t believe his ears at his best friend’s advice yet she was the sole person he turned to with decisions like this. The ending of his contract dangled over his head and the sweet temptation of returning home to familiar, comfortable stomping grounds called to his heart. He’d been gone for far too long. The idea of peace, happiness, and freedom to do as he wished beckoned him to say good-bye to military life, board a plane, and return home. He missed his dad and Gunner but mostly he missed her.

Abby’s smiles always brought a sloppy, cheesy grin to his face. Her sunny laughter warmed through him. A caring, smart, spirited woman, Abby was beautiful . . . and . . . she waited. She understood and appreciated the importance he placed on serving his country. Following in his father’s footsteps was a high honor for him, even if it came at an inconvenient time.

Emotions rolled through him like waves, tugging at his heart strings as he recalled his mom’s passing a little more than three years ago. With the exception of a short trip to attend her funeral and a quick check in with his dad, he hadn’t set foot in Gary, Indiana in years.

Today, he faced a life-altering decision. One in which he wanted to shove aside for the opportunity to re-join his best friend and their dog. Gunner was owned by him and Abby, the woman who had claimed his heart more than four years ago but didn’t know it. He swallowed down hard the disappointment of her cautious yet sincere words and tensed his jaw at their unexpected impact. Instead of excitement at the prospect of his return home, she advised him to continue his Army career, maybe to retirement.

Sterling looked forward to their conversations. Sometimes the only thing that kept him sane was the soothing lull of her sweet voice at night. Whether Abby knew it or not, she’d saved him from his rankling thoughts that had nothing to do with reality but everything to do with accumulated fear. In the four years Sterling had given to the Army, he’d seen much—subjects he chose not to discuss or mull over