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No parade, not like the one that saw the warriors off on a plane that would take them into the heart of a war. No banners. No welcome home, soldier, job well done. Just a long, painful journey home to a small, shabby farmhouse out in the middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma. Not that Cameron Brooks had anyone waiting anxiously at home. Life had always been an easy ride for Cam, at least until his wife, Julie, drops their kids off at the Dozing Deer trailer park with his chain-smoking, man-eating mother. The only thing Julie leaves behind is a Dear Cam e-mail just a month before an IED exploded under his Humvee, taking his leg and two of his buddies. His mother hadn’t appreciated raising her own kids, much less his, which leaves him no options. The Marines had been his calling, his children were his duty. How is he supposed to care for two kids who look at him as if he’s a stranger, when he can’t take care of himself. The biggest challenge he has to face is the beautiful blonde therapist who is determined to torture him for something stupid he did in high school.
Melanie Parker recognizes her next physical therapist patient before he can struggle his way to the receptionist desk. Cam single-handedly worked his way through the entire dance squad, and most of the girls in their Senior class during high school. Except her. His group of jock friends had a nickname for her, Pudge Parker. Or Miss Piggy Parker was pretty popular during the prom when she’d dared to show up without a date, wearing a hot pink thrift store gown. The one man who destroyed her so long ago, was the reason she thrived to build a foundation of independence and success. Can she find a way to make peace with the past to help Cam? Her ethics and hard fought sterling reputation is challenged when she begins to fall for her patient and his kids. But can she trust her heart to someone who had so ruthlessly abused it before?
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