Her Invisible Soldier: A Military Romance with a Twist

by Grace Risata

  Her

  Invisible

  Soldier

  An Interracial Military Romance…

  with a Twist

  By Grace Risata

  Copyright © March 2018 by Grace Risata

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Synopsis

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  In Case You Were Wondering…

  Grace Risata Bio and Author Contact Info….

  Synopsis

  After the death of his best friend in an ambush, Dixon Wade returns from the military a broken man. Bitter, angry at the world, and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he feels invisible and forgotten by everyone around him. Everything changes when he meets her.

  Fiercely stubborn and independent, Alyce is accustomed to doing what she wants, when she wants. Forced to volunteer at a charity in order to keep her job, she burns through every opportunity in town until stumbling upon a place that serves veterans.

  Once these two volatile personalities collide, a battle of wills ensues. Never one to back down when faced with a challenge, Alyce comes up with some very interesting ideas to get her soldier back on the road to recovery.

  Just as things begin to heat up for this unlikely pair, mistakes are made that could derail their entire relationship. Will Alyce be able to put the past aside and find a future with her invisible soldier?

  Author’s Note: This full length, stand alone novel contains passionate encounters between a man and woman with sizzling chemistry, no cheating, no cliffhanger, and a guaranteed Happily Ever After.

  Chapter One

  Alyce

  I stretched my legs under the picnic table and gazed up at the sun, keenly aware that its rays were not as bright as the woman sitting across from me.

  “This new job is totally amazing,” she squeaked, massive grin on her face. “I know I’m extra pumped because I’m also finally meeting people in this new town, but I can’t believe I lucked out in such a major way.”

  In case you’re wondering, it’s not like Nina is working feverishly to discover a cure for the common cold, trying to restore coral reefs in the ocean, or anything worthwhile like that. We work at a dental clinic. Kind of anti-climactic, really.

  “Well, it is a pretty nice paycheck,” my friend Kennedy agreed politely. She sat next to me as we scarfed down sub sandwiches during our half hour lunch break.

  “I wasn’t talking about that,” Nina insisted, as though money meant nothing to her at all. “I mean everyone is just super friendly and the boss even bought us this wonderful meal so we could get to know each other better. I positively love all my job duties and I’m sure the three of us are going to become fast friends. Could life get any better than it is right now?”

  It could definitely improve if she dialed the happiness down a notch. Kennedy smiled at me and held back a laugh. I’m sure she knew that I could only keep up appearances for so long and that my ‘friendly façade’ was sure to crack at any minute.

  Leave it to her to try and assist the process.

  “I know you had a brief orientation on Monday, Nina, but did they tell you about the required charity involvement? I’m sure Alyce would be happy to explain it in further detail.”

  I shot Kennedy a very dirty look that clearly frightened the new girl, because she leaned back from the table and began to stutter.

  “Um…yes…I…I vaguely remember something about the topic of volunteerism being mentioned. Are…are you in charge of that program, Alyce? Should I have come to you right away to learn about it? Please help me! I don’t want to make a bad impression!”

  I took a deep breath and forced myself not to come off as a psychopath.

  “Relax, Nina. Kennedy is just teasing a little bit. She likes to joke around about things that aren’t funny at all,” I remarked casually while trying to hold back the venom. Through no fault of my own, I can come across as snarky, sarcastic, and just plain anti-social. I can’t help it that I’m a bit of a loner and it takes me a while to open up to new people. Therefore, I was trying desperately not to scare off the new girl right away. I guess you could say I was on my best behavior.

  “I can think of a subject that’s very funny,” Kennedy offered, further baiting me. “Perhaps you can give Nina some examples of your recent volunteerism.”

  “Perhaps we can’t all be peppy cheerleaders that get everyone on Earth to instantly fall in love with them,” I snapped back, narrowing my eyes at the perky blonde.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what’s going on here,” Nina said quietly, fear radiating off her in waves.

  I plastered on a huge smile and took pity on my new co-worker.

  “Kennedy is trying to get me to tell an embarrassing story,” I explained. “Or rather, several stories. You see, I don’t seem to have much luck with the charitable projects.”

  Kennedy, Nina, and I are employees of Conway Family Dental Practice. My friend does the teeth cleaning and patient prep, I do the billing and insurance, and Nina is the receptionist who answers the phone and schedules appointments. The business is owned by a husband and wife team: The Conways. In order to make a good impression on the community, and because they’re hell bent on having a great reputation and keeping up appearances, they require all employees to volunteer their time for a certain number of hours per month. While I realize they can’t legally make us do that, who’s going to refuse to help out with a good cause and better the planet? It would be impossible to come up with an excuse not to participate. Believe me, I’ve tried.

  “What happened?” Nina asked. “Could you not find a charity? I’ve recently moved here to nurse my sick aunt back to health, but I loved it so much that I decided to stay and make a life for myself. There must be several opportunities to help out around the community. Or are they all full and not in need of volunteers?”

  “They need help,” Kennedy replied. “Just not
from Alyce.”

  I maturely refrained from kicking her under the table and then patted myself on the back for my restraint.

  “This town is full of people who don’t appreciate my willingness to contribute to the cause,” I casually remarked before Kennedy took it upon herself to explain.

  “Alyce goes through charities like a gold digger goes through men, like a person with a cold goes through a box of tissues, like a gambler goes through scratch off lottery tickets, like a—“

  “I think she gets the point!”

  “Oh, no,” Nina cried out in horror. “Did they turn you away because…you’re a minority?”

  I looked at Kennedy in annoyance and saw the amusement on her face. Nina must have come to the conclusion that the whole town was made up of racists.

  “No, Nina,” Kennedy slowly explained as though speaking to a child. “They don’t give two shits that Alyce is Asian. The problem is that she’s a magnet for trouble.”

  I rolled my eyes at her statement for a number of reasons. Yes, my mother is Japanese, but my dad is American and I was born in Detroit. If you asked me where I’m from, I would tell you ‘Michigan’ without hesitation. I know literally nothing about my heritage, but that’s another story for a different time. Right now the issue is my lack of success with the charities in town.

  “I give it my best effort with every new place I try, Nina,” I explained with a sad puppy dog frown and a hand on my heart as if to show sincerity. “It’s honestly not my fault that all the attempts are less than successful.”

  “What she means, is that they go down in flames in spectacular fashion,” Kennedy stated on my behalf. “If you ask politely, maybe she’ll give you an example.”

  My shoulders slumped and I took an unhappy stroll down memory lane.

  “I’ll make it short and sweet, okay? Just so you understand that I shouldn’t be held accountable.”

  Nina nodded her head eagerly, clearly interested in what I was about to say. Maybe she doubted that anyone could be given the boot from a place that accepts the downtrodden? I was about to blow her mind.

  “Let’s see,” I began, ticking off encounters on my fingers like I was naming food items on my grocery list. “There was the animal shelter that wouldn’t let me come back after I had a near death allergic reaction to the cats. It’s not my fault I didn’t know I had an allergy and they had to call the paramedics after my face puffed up to twice the normal size. I was banned for life for ‘liability reasons’ whatever that means.”

  Kennedy snickered and mumbled something about posters with my picture and a big red ‘X’ on top. She ended up volunteering there and gets to walk dogs and kiss puppies all day long.

  “Next up,” I continued, “we have the senior center where the elderly people congregate for companionship and assistance. There was a lively bingo game the first day, I got asked to call numbers, I read one backwards or upside down or something…and it didn’t end well. We can just leave it at that.”

  “No, we can’t just leave it at that! You’re missing the best part,” Kennedy insisted. “She got physically attacked by an old lady that kept swinging her massive purse at Alyce’s head and screaming that she lost ten dollars. After a couple other people pulled the old goat away, she went down with a massive heart attack. It kind of put a damper on things and Alyce was asked never to return again.”

  “They didn’t ‘ask’ me so much as threaten a restraining order,” I admitted. Not one of my proudest moments, to say the least.

  “But…while those are certainly horrible stories…surely you could have tried somewhere else?” Nina suggested. “Something less…dangerous?”

  “I did go to the park on a day when a large group of people volunteered to clean up all the trash and plant new flowers. That didn’t really go as planned either.”

  Nina raised an eyebrow as if pondering how that could possibly go astray.

  “I saw someone litter, made a snide remark, and got into a bit of an altercation. Even though the charges were dropped, they still asked me not to help anymore.”

  “Charges? As in criminal charges?” my new co-worker sputtered in shock.

  “Yes. Don’t let Alyce’s sweet exterior fool you, she can be quite the ass kicker when she wants. It’s actually how we met,” Kennedy remarked fondly.

  “See? There actually is a good story about me,” I insisted. “Why don’t you tell her that one?”

  So she did.

  “Well, Nina. Once upon a time I was a scared freshman in a new high school. My sister and I moved over the summer and, due to the lines dividing the districts, we were forced to go to a different school. My sister Kassie was the more popular one, so it wasn’t as hard for her.”

  “Oh, please! You two are twins!” I swear she makes everything sound so dramatic. Kennedy and Kassie are two of the prettiest, most charming people that you’d ever want to meet. While they are virtually identical in appearance aside from their hairstyles, they do have distinct personalities. Kennedy has an amazing sense of humor and she loves giving me grief about anything and everything in order to get a rise of out me.

  However, Kassie is entirely the opposite. She struggled very hard with homework and anything related to studying. That girl thrived on climbing the social ladder, hosting the best parties, and attracting members of the opposite sex. ‘Man Magnet’ is the most accurate way to describe her.

  “We could have been quadruplets and it wouldn’t have mattered on that fateful first day of class. Not once Candy McDermott got a bug up her ass and decided that we threatened her status as ‘most likely to screw the entire football team and get a sexually transmitted disease.’ I wonder what ever happened to her. I should stalk her on social media and find out.”

  “Um…weren’t you supposed to be telling me about how you two met?” Nina asked while looking at her watch. I knew she was concerned that she’d be late in getting back to work. Perhaps I should help move this along.

  “To make a long story short,” I explained, “Some skank named Candy was the bully of the school. She decided to target Kennedy and her twin sister by calling them the ‘Teeny Titty Twins.’ It’s ironic because their last name is Titman and they actually have large breasts. Candy wasn’t the brightest bulb in the world, if you know what I mean.”

  Nina gazed down at Kennedy’s giant rack and then quickly averted her eyes when it became obvious she was ogling her co-worker’s assets.

  “Alyce saw the whole drama when Candy was pulling rank as the top dog at school,” Kennedy continued, eyes widening at the memory. “She marched right up to the bitch and slugged her in the face. It was epic. We had some pretty good adventures back in the day.”

  Geez. We’re twenty-eight years old. The way she tells the story, you’d think it happened last week or something. I didn’t bother to enlighten Nina on the real reason I punched Candy. The tramp’s locker was right next to mine and she wrote something very hateful and nasty in permanent black marker. After I colored over it, I decided I wasn’t taking her shit anymore. You get to a point when you just snap and become fed up. I reached my breaking point, so I took action. I have no regrets about that. The fact that it resulted in a friendship with Kennedy and Kassie just added icing on the cake.

  “That’s so sweet!” Nina squealed. “I wish I had friends who were that loyal to me!”

  I got up and threw my sandwich wrapper in the trash before the new girl got any ideas about inviting me to a slumber party so we could braid each other’s hair and watch romantic comedies while swooning over the leading men.

  “But wait,” she asked in concern. “What will you do for your volunteering now? If there’s no place left that will accept you, won’t you get in trouble with the Conways?”

  “There is one last resort…” Kennedy suggested, as though I weren’t already keenly aware I was running out of time and options.

  “What’s that? Why hasn’t she done it yet?” Nina questioned.

  I sighed, knowing
I would have to say the words out loud.

  “Kassie works at a non-profit that helps veterans get back on their feet. She’s offered to let me volunteer there, but I don’t really want to…”

  “Alyce knows she’s cursed and she doesn’t want to fail in epic fashion right in front of Kassie. I think she’s worried that there’s some slight possibility she’ll get my sister fired if things go horribly wrong. Kassie has a hard time keeping jobs and Alyce doesn’t want the blame for messing up her life.”

  Just as we were about to walk back inside, Mrs. Conway swung open the door and burst onto the scene.

  “You’re all taking a rather long lunch, don’t you think? It’s one thing to provide lunch in honor of the newest employee, but it’s an altogether different story to take advantage of my kind gesture and spend extra time chatting.”

  “We were actually discussing work, Mrs. Conway,” Kennedy smoothly replied with a nonchalance I wished I possessed. “Alyce and I were giving Nina all the details about your wonderful program regarding volunteerism and giving back to the community.”

  I smiled broadly, appreciating her ass-kissing answer. That is…until Mrs. Conway’s attention turned to me.

  “Speaking of that, did you find another place to try out? I’m afraid you’re plowing through the charities so fast that there won’t be any left, dear. I have no idea what we’ll do with you then. We all have to be team players and pull our weight equally. We want you to fit in and be a part of the group, Alyce.”

  Why didn’t she just pass me a cup of pink liquid and tell me to ‘drink the kool-aid’ and prove I was one of them? If Mrs. Conway didn’t offer great benefits and allow me to have flexible hours, I would seriously consider telling her to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

  Alas, that is not an option. The bills don’t pay themselves.

  “Actually, ma’am, I do have a new volunteering opportunity. I think you’ll love it. I’m going to help with a veteran’s charity.”