A SOLDIER'S PROMISE is set in the All-American town of refuge. Joel is a grown-up little boy who never got over his parents shenanigans with an uncle or his mother's death. He's sure he'd never make a good dad, as a result. Yet, his dearly held traditional values make him want a family of his own, rather than making do with a little hanky-panky on the side. Likewise, Amber is kind of estranged from her father, which makes her mistrustful of the male population in general. I can sooo identify with that! Believe me, Amber is a lot nicer to the male gender than I was as a single girl..
After receiving a letter from a little boy dying of cancer at Amber's school, Joel visit. Bradley, the little boy, is immediately taken with Joel, as well as already having a close bond with Amber. His parents are long gone and his foster-mom just tolerates him. Now, if you're a single guy and you meet a girl who's a nanny (like I was) or a special needs teacher, like Amber, you're really stupid if you don't understand that our maternal nature is more powerful than the beating sun. It's difficult to predict what kind of mother an attorney or a bus driver might be. Most women go totally ballistic with motherliness once the hormones and instincts kick in, but they usually only have patience for their own children. Professional Childcare Providers are born with an extra dimension of maternal instinct. This doesn't make them any better mothers, of course. For example, I may have that extra dimension, but I can't remember my own telephone number. I'd never make it as an accountant. It means we were born suited to a certain profession, just like everyone else. So, Joel really ought to know better than to fall in love with a special-needs teacher, if he doesn't want to be a dad. Ah, but what we think we want and what we really want and need is frequently not the same.
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Joel gets shipped out when his unit is sent to help some people whose South American community has been devestated by floods. While there, he emails Bradley and, through that, begins a slow, but steady long-distance romance with Amber.
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Amber wants to adopt Bradley and is increasingly disturbed by the foster mother after she fails to take Bradley to his cancer treatments for the third time in a row. But, she doesn't want to marry someone who isn't going to be there for her and her children, like her own father. Soldiers get shipped out and are gone for long periods of time. I know I couldn't handle that. It takes a very strong heart to love a soldier. It takes a very strong soldier to admit he needs the love of a good woman, and their children.
A SOLDIER'S FAMILY is set in the same town and feature the best friends of Joel and Amber. Manny has been a bad, bad boy and he wasn't exactly a gentleman to Celia the first time they met. I won't tell you what happened because it would give away too much about A SOLDIER'S PROMISE which you really should read first, although you don't have to. Suffice it to say, Celia clocked the obnoxious jerk onto his backside. That and hitting the ground a little too hard during a skydiving exhursion has bruised Manny's ego and busted up his backside. He meets Celia again and this time he's all bandaged up in the hospital. She's just there to help her best friend, Amber, and gives no indication she's forgiven him..
Here's a quote to clue you in on Celia's personality: Guilt sucker-punched Celia. She flapped her arms and put resolve in her voice. "Well, fine! Okay. I'm glad he didn't die. Otherwise his dented rear bumper would be on fire right now in the devil's place. Still, what a waste of a perfectly good pine tree." Not that she meant any of the last part, but it amused her to watch Amber's eyes bug out.
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Neither side of this couple have had it easy. Manny's first wife OD'd on narcotics after their son drowned while they were too busy arguing to notice. He's a Big, Fat Failure at the Husband/Father Gig. Amber's father was hypocrital deacond and her first husband was shot in a drug raid. Now, she has a son to raise all by herself. There's no way she wants to marry another man in a high-risk occupation, if at all.
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So, Joel and Amber take Manny in to recover in their home and, of course, Celia visits often. Manny and Celia pretend to tolerate each other while subconsciously falling in love. But, then, Celia finds a drug pipe in her son's bedroom and he suddenly needs some Mega-Parenting. Will Celia find the strength to let Manny step up to the plate with her?
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Both these novels are Sweet with no Violence. They're the kind you want to tuck into your purse before you start a long, hard day. They'll help you remember, through all the dentist's appointments and dinner burning on the stove, that miracles really can happen through the healing power of love.
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Pop over to Cheryl Wyatt's website for more information on her books. http://www.cherylwyatt.com If you like A SOLDIER'S PROMISE & A SOLDIER'S FAMILY, you might also like the novels of Brenda Coulter and Jillian Hart.
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