Sapphire shoals redeemed.., p.1
Sapphire Shoals (Redeemed Soldiers Book 6),
p.1
Sapphire Shoals
Redeemed Soldiers
Book Six
By
Felicia Rogers
Sapphire Shoals
Redeemed Soldiers
Book Six
Copyright ©2023 by Felicia Rogers
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Contact Information:
Website: http://feliciarogersauthor.weebly.com
Email: feliciarogersauthor@yahoo.com
Published by:
Felicia Rogers
Cover Design by For the Muse Designs
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 events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Dedication…
To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
And to all the men and women who have given their lives in service.
Table of Contents
Other works by Felicia Rogers
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
Excerpt from Opal Obsession
Other works by Felicia Rogers
Stand alone works:
All I Have
The Holiday Truce
A Month in Cologne
Andrews Brothers
The Ruse
The Rescue
Southern Hearts Series:
Millicent
Amelia
Cora
“Justice” and Miss Quinn Mysteries
The Case of the Missing Cross
The Case of the Puppet Constable
The Case of the Secret Love
The Case of the Chinese Boxes
The Case of the Hidden Treasure
The Case of the Lost Island
The Kenelm Chronicles:
The Golden Goose
The Silver Moon
The Bronze Heart
Hudson Hunts: The First and Last
Secret Defenders (paranormal romance)
Cian and Arin: Beginning (prequel)
The Key
Mara’s Secret
Iceas’ Victory
Meaningful Numbers Series:
One of Forty
One of Twelve
One of Three
The Haywood Brothers Series:
Love of a Businessman
Love of a Detective
Love of a Rancher
Redeemed Soldiers:
Diamond Mine
Pearl Valley
Emerald Street
Ruby’s Way
Amethyst Cove
Sapphire Shoals
Opal Obsession (coming Aug. 15, 2023)
The Board Series by F. A. Rogers
(novellas are listed in order)
Maralie
Reuben
Vanessa
Simon
Darla
Daniel
Irving
Levi
Francesca
Benjamin
James
The Return to Eden’s Hollow
Chapter One
Leah peered through the hospital window at Logan, Aubrey, and the baby. Jackson had gone home with her mother to her new condo. Only Tom and she remained at the hospital.
“I think visiting hours have ended.” Tom’s voice came from the dark visiting room.
“I know.”
“I can take you home.”
Tom was offering to take her back to that tomb of a house. A dark, quiet place that as of late had been full of life. She didn’t really want to go there. Not without everyone else.
“Or we could go to dinner. Watching someone else have a child is exhausting.”
She laughed under her breath. “Dinner sounds great.”
They stood together and walked to the parking garage. He stayed close to her side as they traversed the concrete structure and approached his car. He opened the passenger door. It seemed he was scanning the lot. Protective… that was a great way to describe him.
Moments passed before they exited the garage and found the road. He chose the restaurant. It wasn’t a dive, but it wasn’t fancy either. It suited their clothes, which were little more than loungewear.
He ordered a burger and fries, and she ordered a large chicken salad. While they waited, she played with the napkin and the fork, setting them on one side of the plate then on the other.
“Are you sure you want to come with me?”
“What?” Did he want to leave her there?
“Well, you seem kind of sad that you’re leaving your family. I understand. Or I would understand if I was close to my family.”
“Oh, it’s not that. I’m ready to go.” That was the truth, she’d been ready to go for a while.
“Then, what is it?”
“The unknown, I guess. I haven’t ever been out of Amethyst Cove. I grew up here. We didn’t even go on vacation out of the state.”
“Really?”
Of course, Tom was shocked. Who wouldn’t be shocked by that news?
“Really. Logan traveled with the military, but I’ve been here the whole time.” The whole time waiting to start her own life.
“Then I think you’re going to love Sapphire Shoals.”
“You think so, huh?”
“I do.”
“Why?” She leaned forward, placing her elbow on the table and cradling her chin.
“First of all, you’ll be doing what you’ve wanted to do since community college. Second of all, the town is booming. It has a little bit of everything. Shops, nightlife, plays, restaurants. And um, me.” He looked down when he said the last part.
He wasn’t pulling any punches. Leah wasn’t sure if she should be bold right back or not. The pact she’d made with herself to never date a non-Christian was becoming an issue. Tom had never said one word about Christ or church. He’d never indicated any kind of faith. She hoped she was wrong about him. Otherwise, why would God want her to go with him?
“Is that a hint?” She took a drink of water and looked over the rim of her glass.
“I certainly hope so.”
She almost choked on her water, but she reined it in. “This Shoals place does sound interesting now that you mention it. When do we leave?”
“As soon as you’re ready.”
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She was ready now. She would marry him, move in together, and have a plethora of babies. But maybe she should wait on those thoughts until they had at least made it to Sapphire Shoals and perhaps dated for a while.
One thing was for sure. The place was definitely going to be different from home. And with Tom there anything was possible.
****
Leah stared at the house one last time. Logan had tried to change her mind, but Aubrey had convinced him that he needed to let his sister live her own life, that it was time.
Leah wasn’t sure. Was it time? Maybe she needed to just stay home. What did a bunch of injured soldiers need her for anyway?
“You ready?” Leaning against the car, Tom looked more handsome than ever in his gray sport coat and his black dress pants. His straight black hair was swooped to one side. It had grown since they’d met. She liked it this way.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She relaxed her face and let the smile take over as she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
“Relax, you’re going to be fine.”
“Yup.”
“We’ll go to the house and get you settled then we’ll go out to dinner. We can go light your first night or we can go fancy. Your choice.”
She didn’t reply. Her phone vibrated in her hands, and she looked down to see a video of Jackson waving goodbye and Aubrey holding Arianna in the background.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good time to leave. They might need help with the baby and—”
Tom eased his car onto the neighborhood road before shooting her a quick sideways glance. “Sapphire Shoals is only two hours away. Anytime you need to come back, I’ll drive you home.”
She nodded and settled into the seat.
That was going to be her first order of business, a car. She didn’t want him to have to take her everywhere.
The road widened into two lanes as they left Amethyst Cove. Farms fell away to be replaced by tall trees, then barren flat land. As the sun began to descend lights started to
He pulled over on what seemed like the top of a mountain and climbed from the parked car. “Come see.”
She exited the car and followed him to a guardrail. Her breath caught.
“The city.” He swooped his arm wide.
“It’s beautiful.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet. Let’s get to the house and then I’ll show you around town. I can’t wait.”
He seemed so excited to share a part of himself with her. Since she’d agreed to take the job at the hospital, he’d been different. She wasn’t sure about his reasons other than making it clear that he was interested in her.
Despite her gung-ho attitude about their future just days before, now the idea was making her a little nervous. Actually, more than a little nervous. She would have to take it one day at a time. She knew this was where she was supposed to be, even if she wasn’t sure why yet.
****
Tom would have loved to wrap his arms around Leah’s middle and draw her back against him as they stared at the city skyline, but he refrained. His forwardness about liking her had seemed to calm her enthusiasm. She’d not been as excited about leaving her home or about the new job since their conversation.
No doubt he’d come on too strong. He was prone to doing that. It was why he’d quit dating. Once the women found out he was half Korean or that he only had one leg, or that he was wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, their feelings seemed to change.
He tried to keep the wealth thing under wraps until he really knew how they felt about him. That helped to keep the piranhas at bay. But often he had thought that their feelings were genuine, and he would slip up and reveal too much. After that they became only interested in his money.
But he was certain Leah wasn’t like that. She was leaving everything to be with him, just for him. It meant a lot. She would never understand how much.
He pulled into the house’s driveway. He’d called ahead and had one of his temporary maids clean a room for her on the opposite side of the house. He didn’t want her to feel like they were living together.
He stopped the car out front, and she climbed out and craned her neck upward. “It’s bigger than I expected. You said you live here alone, right?”
“The house belonged to my father’s family. And yes, I live here alone.”
He grabbed his bag and hers and rolled them to the front porch. He dug the key free from his pocket, unlocked the front door, and flipped on a light switch.
She followed but stopped just inside the door, blinking. “It’s very, um, white.”
“I’m not a very good decorator, I fear.”
“Are you going to have a panic if I spill something?”
Her fear seemed genuine. He wasn’t sure if he should act like he would be devastated, as if he couldn’t replace the item, or say it was fine so she could feel at home. He wanted her to feel at home.
He shrugged. “A spill isn’t a big deal. Who doesn’t spill stuff?”
“Okay, then.”
He walked to the refrigerator. Empty. Just as he’d hoped.
She looked over his shoulder. “Looks like we need to get some food after we eat.”
“Yes, it does. Do you like to cook?”
“I would if I could.”
“No worries, I love to cook.”
“You do?” She looked surprised.
“I do.” He’d taken several cooking classes before joining the military.
“I guess I’m eating with you, then.”
He clapped his hands. “Excellent. Follow me and I’ll show you your room and then I’ll run my stuff to my room and put it up and we’ll grab dinner.”
“All right.”
He dropped her in front of the door and left. She had seemed confused. He should have given her a tour or something, but he didn’t want to seem too bossy or forward.
He returned to the living room and grabbed his suitcase then rolled it to his room on the opposite of the house. The maids had cleaned, he could tell. There wasn’t a speck of dust on any surface, including his dresser. He liked things clean and in certain places.
Once he had everything returned to its spot, he changed into a black polo shirt and a pair of jeans. Taking her to a normal restaurant seemed like the best idea to make her comfortable. Tomorrow she would start her internship and his work at the hospital.
She could never know that he’d created the internship and offered payment to the recipient. If she knew then she would be upset that he hadn’t told her the truth and that he created it just so he could get to know her better.
There was something special about this girl, and he wanted to know more about what it was.
Chapter Two
Leah placed her suitcase against the bedroom wall and slipped off her shoes. If one piece of mud got on the carpet she would have a cow, whether Tom did or not. The place was too sterile, too white.
Quickly, she changed her shirt into something like a blouse. She drew on a pair of slacks and a pair of sandals. Summer was in full bloom and the city was hot if she’d noticed correctly from the brief walk from the car to the house.
Out the window, she saw an oval-shaped pool. Beside the pool was a built-in grill and beside that a bar. Several tables with umbrellas stood next to the pool. For some reason, Tom didn’t seem like a guy who entertained. Although he did say that the house had belonged to his father’s family, so maybe those items were his?
Leah checked herself in the mirror one last time and stepped into the hallway. She chewed on her bottom lip; a bad habit she’d recently adopted when nerves got the better of her, and turned left then right. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember which side they had come in on. One of the pictures on the wall seemed familiar, but she wasn’t sure.
She lifted her phone ready to call Tom but paused. He was going to think she was useless if she said she was lost in his house. She put her phone back in her pocket and began walking along the hallway the way she believed she had arrived.
Row after row of portraits covered the shiny white wallpaper. Her sandals clicked against the white tile, or maybe white marble floor.
She’d never been inside a house so fancy. She wasn’t sure if she liked it.
At the end of the hallway was a wall. She had two options, left or right. This part she definitely didn’t remember. Where was the fancy spiral staircase? Or the large entrance windows?
“Think, Leah.” Her voice echoed off the walls.
Irritation was building inside her. Who builds a house that ensures their guests get lost anyway?
“Make a decision, girl.”
She took the left and immediately realized it couldn’t be correct. The hallway ended at a sunroom. Light was streaming in and casting shadows on the patio type furniture. A book lay upside on one of the tables as if someone had used the room recently.
She turned to head back the way she’d come. A few more minutes and she would just call Tom and tell him the truth. If she was lost forever, rambling around his house, she wouldn’t look any less stupid than if she admitted she couldn’t find her way out.
****
Tom kept looking up at the top railing. Leah hadn’t appeared, and at least thirty minutes had passed.
The main house was a big square, but an extension had been built later that led to several long narrow hallways splitting out in multiple directions. The designer had been eclectic and had convinced Tom’s poor gullible mother that it would be a great idea. After everything was built, she hated it. So had his father.
It hadn’t made for marriage-binding conversation.
He looked at his phone. Forty minutes had passed.
Too long.
He punched in Leah’s number and tapped his foot as he waited.
“Hello?” she whispered.
“Leah. It’s Tom. I get the sense that you’ve gotten lost. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come find you.”
She paused. He could hear her breathing, so he knew she was still there.
“There’s a portrait of a man staring at me. He, well, he looks Asian but has a shock of white hair. He appears to be wearing traditional garb and holding a sword. Does that help?”
