A Soldier's Journey. Patricia Potter

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       CHAPTER TWO

      NATE ROWLAND WIPED the sweat from his forehead and looked at his watch. Time to leave and meet the incoming vet.

      He took one last glance at the interior of the reception area of the inn he and Josh were transforming from an old by-the-hour motel, then locked the door and headed for his pickup truck.

      He was the designated welcoming committee. Josh, who owned the cabin, was in Denver, and Clint, the second vet who had been in residence at the cabin, was completing a law enforcement training program in Colorado Springs.

      Nate had volunteered before he learned the new occupant was a woman, and an officer at that. Officers didn’t bother him much. The woman part did. He’d made an art of avoiding them for the past four years. Burned once, her fault. Burned twice, his fault.

      Josh’s cabin seemed to have come under a spell. First Josh. Then Clint. After moving in, Josh had gotten married, and now Clint, the second occupant, was more or less engaged. Hopefully. Nate had never been superstitious, but damn, there was something about that cabin that brought even the most marriage-averse people to the altar.

      He looked around the freshly painted lobby—warm sand tones with a huge oak beam reaching across the arched ceiling and a stack-stone fireplace. He was more proud of the inn than anything he’d previously built. Josh had provided his own money and a bank loan and turned Nate loose on design. They’d stretched every penny a yard long. The furniture was coming from a firm going out of business, and it was quality at a low price.

      All they needed was guests.

      The preview opening was scheduled in seven weeks, which was why Josh was in Denver. He was making the rounds of the state tourist association, tourist publications and newspapers. They were offering complimentary three-night stays to anyone who could help them promote Covenant Falls.

      He glanced at his watch again. He wanted to be at the cabin at 8:00 a.m. The newest vet was expected between nine and ten. He’d stacked wood for the fireplace yesterday, and he knew that Josh’s wife had stocked the kitchen.

      He locked the front door of the Covenant Falls Inn and drove to the cabin. The mayor, Josh’s wife, called it the Rainbow Cabin. She’d fallen in love with Josh there, almost, she said, from the moment she had seen him. The same thing had happened to Clint when he’d met the town veterinarian.

      Josh had said the new resident was a military nurse, a lieutenant. All he knew was that she had been injured and had PTSD. She would be the first female veteran in town, and he wondered how she would fit in, particularly at the Monday-night poker games. But he would do his part in making her welcome. He fervently hoped she was plain and obnoxious.

      The cabin was spotless. Someone, probably Eve, had placed flowers in vases on the dining table and on the table next to the sofa. There was a platter of Maude’s sweet rolls in the kitchen.

      He made a pot of coffee and walked outside to the porch swing. It was a fine April day with a cool breeze and bright sun. He thought about the day he’d met Josh, when he’d hired him to replace the floor on the cabin. His life had changed dramatically. Even the town had a new vitality since Josh’s arrival. Clint added his own impact.

      Nate wondered if this military nurse would also rock the Covenant Falls boat.

      He was looking at the lake when an old Volkswagen turned into the driveway. Yellow. And not old, but ancient. A relic, really. His gaze followed its path until it stopped. He stood, opened the porch door and went out to meet the new resident.

      She didn’t move. She just sat in the car looking at the cabin. A dog sat protectively next to her. Then, as he reached the car, the driver opened the door and СКАЧАТЬ