More Than a Touch (Snowberry Creek #2) Read Online Free Page A

companionable silence across the yard to the start of the trees. “I had a good time tonight. Maybe we can get together again while I’m still in town.”
    Zoe studied him for a few seconds before slowly nodding. “Callie’s got my number.”
    Then she was gone, but not before she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. It seemed like things were finally starting to look up for him. His good mood didn’t fade until he was stretched out in bed and his pain pills sent him over the edge into a deep sleep.

Chapter 2
    F or a soldier, the mission was everything. Leif knew that and had lived by that creed for his entire army career. At twenty, he’d signed up to serve his country and ended up being deployed three times to fight in a pair of down-and-dirty wars on the other side of the world. Experience was a bitch of a teacher, but he’d learned damn near everything there was to know about combat in the dust, dirt, and bloody sand of Iraq and Afghanistan.
    Which was why his current surroundings had him a bit freaked. He glanced out at the neatly trimmed grass and towering firs scattered around the gently rolling hillside. This wasn’t where he was supposed to be—that was for damn sure. He should be holding a gun, not a cane. At least he felt more at home in his ACUs than he would’ve in jeans and a golf shirt even if his desert camouflage uniform did stand out like crazy in the midst of all this Pacific Northwest greenery.
    By the time Leif reached his friend’s side, he was breathing hard. A pain pill sounded good about now, but they’d become even more of a crutch than his cane. Besides, he needed his wits about him to get through the next few minutes.
    “Well, Wheelman, sorry it took me so long to stop by, but that guy Murphy had it right about everything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
    He smiled and shook his head. If anybody knew about the role Murphy’s Law played in the life of a soldier, it was Spence.
    “Anyway, I brought the beer.” He held up the six-pack in his right hand. “You always did say that conversation was thirsty work, and I’ve got a few things to say. I figure you won’t mind if I do all the talking.”
    He popped the caps off a pair of bottles of the Wheelman’s favorite microbrew, one for himself and one for Spence. Leif took a long swig to let the smooth chill of the beer clear out the last bit of fear.
    As tempting as it was to stare up at the blue sky, Leif forced himself to look at his friend head-on. “I’ve only been back in the States for a few weeks, Spence. That last mission landed my ass in the hospital in Germany. Well, not my ass, exactly.”
    He reached down to knock his beer bottle against the plastic contraption that encased the lower half of his left leg. “My ankle got busted up pretty bad on that last mission. The army surgeons did a bang-up job of screwing the bits and pieces of my bones back together. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they tell me it’s going to be a long haul to get it back to full strength.
    “I haven’t told the sergeant this next part, Spence. He already feels guilty. No use in making it worse for him.” Leif paused for another long drink. “The docs insist on telling me the prognosis is good, but I’m not buying it. Maybe it would be easier to believe them if even one of the bastards could look me in the eye for a second while he said it.”
    But that hadn’t happened yet. Hell, he knew he was damn lucky to have a leg left at all. All things considered, he didn’t have much to complain about.
    “Anyway, they’ve fixed me up with someone at a civilian clinic and a physical therapist right here in Snowberry Creek. I’m supposed to meet up with them this morning.”
    He shook his head. “That’s another thing you should know, Wheels. Nick and I, well, we somehow ended up hanging out here in your hometown, and it looks like we’ll be staying a while. How weird is that?”
    The words kept coming. “You see, Nick drove all