Late one night a few months back I was chatting it up with a few writer friends, Chris Craven, BethAnn Buehler, and JL Oiler to be exact. We were tossing around ideas and someone tossed out the idea to do an anthology together. Sounded good. I quite enjoy working with other writers from time to time. Working with others tends to stretch your creative canvas and takes you places you never thought possible. Once it was unanimous we did want to tackle this project the next step was to decide a theme. Someone tossed out the idea of a black ops team. That morphed into a Marine Force Recon four man team and Force Recon: Beacon Bayou was conceived. And much like A Slower Lower Love, the staff at Rebel Ink Press liked the idea so much, it grew into a series idea that would encompass three installments of four stories each. This anthology is unlike any I’ve read anywhere. Our characters stories are very intricately woven and I think it will be an experience unlike any our readers have had before. Force Recon: Beacon Bayou will be available February 22 on at www.allromanceebooks.com , www.amazon.com , and of course it will be listed by our hosts today at www.coffeetimeromance.com . To find out more about the terrific team of writers I worked with on this project please go over to our presses website at www.rebelinkpress.com . All their writers’ pages are listed there as well as release information. Now without further ado, here’s a summary of the entire work as well as my individual story that is written about Navy Corpsman, Chief Gabriel Sanchez:
Looking for a splendid place to visit? Welcome to Beacon Bayou! Come wander Big Thicket National Preserve… For one four man Marine Force Recon team, a vacation was just what the doctor ordered. Or in their case, the team corpsman.
Fresh off a mission in the jungle of South America, rest and relaxation are Recon’s number one priorities. But for Gunnery Sergeant Brogan Baker, Sergeant Aaron Wolf, Corporal Regan Maxwell, and Chief Gabriel Sanchez, this vacation will test their strength unlike any mission ever has.
After a string of failed relationships, Brogan Baker is questioning his sexuality. Surely Regan Maxwell can’t be the answer to Brogan’s problems, can he? Besides, Regan’s a former Hollywood pretty boy just trying to prove he has what it takes while keeping one foot firmly planted in the closet. Then Lily comes along. Can the two men foster their growing relationship and survive the presence of one tiny female?
Aaron Wolf, the unit lost sheep, agreed to the Texas get away thinking he could finally overcome the short comings his father points out every chance he gets. Meeting Scarlet might be the way out Aaron’s been looking for, but it’s the beauty Gabe’s got his eye on that shows Aaron there’s hope where he thought none existed. After losing his first wife over fifteen years ago, Gabriel Sanchez has sworn off women. But somehow Roslyn Romero manages to capture his heart. The only problem is she’s got a host of her own issues that will push Gabe to the brink.
If that which doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, then the Force Recon team will either leave Texas in body bags or they’ll have a new found resolve to live life to the fullest. Beacon Bayou beware. Recon never backs down.
Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation does it? My character is swamped with issues. Here’s a blurb about his story:
A navy corpsman for twenty years, Gabe Sanchez has led a life of celibacy for the past fifteen. After losing his first wife to a dreadful disease, Gabe swore off women and devotes his life to his surrogate family, his teammates. After several tours in the Middle East and South America, Gabe takes a much needed vacation with the Recon brothers he keeps healthy on and off duty. Only wanting a little peace and quiet, Gabe’s world is turned upside down by the first woman he’s found attractive since his wife’s death.
Roslyn Romero is a beauty and it’s only after Gabe finds himself head over heels for her that he learns that Ros is sick and a terminal disease threatens to take her from him before he even has a chance to get to know her. With memories of Christine haunting him, the decision of whether to retire or stay in the military hanging over his head, and a team that’s so far off the track a GPS couldn’t help them, Gabe’s faced with some tough choices. Will his fortitude be enough to carry him through? Better yet, will he find the strength to let go and risk his heart, knowing he might lose it all again?
Here’s a sneak peek into the story of Gabe and Ros:
Slowly, the woman unfurled her legs and opened her eyes. She looked skyward and took a deep breath. She alit from the rock and tucked her rosary in the front pocket of her pants, then turned toward Gabe. Her smile hit him square in the chest and he took pause as she headed his way. His eavesdropping had gained her attention and he wasn’t sure he was prepared to pay for his indescretion.
“Good morning,” she said as she approached.
“Good morning,” Gabe answered and rose from his perch on the old log. “I didn’t mean to invade your space. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
“I don’t feel violated. No apology necessary.” She extended her right hand. “I just thought it was about time we meet. I’m Roslyn. Roslyn Romero.”
Gabe took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was fragile, almost weak. He worried he might hurt her if he put too much into the gesture. “I’m Gabriel Sanchez. Most people call me Gabe. It’s a pleasure.”
“Likewise.” Roslyn looked up with her dark eyes and scanned his face and head. “I’ve seen a few of you around here the past few days, but you’re not completely one of them are you?”
“What are you talking about?” Gabe knew she talked about the throng of marines that had all but overtaken the lake side, but wasn’t sure what she alluded to when she said he wasn’t completely one of them.
“You’re not one of them. You’re with the marines, but you’re not a marine. Are you a priest?” Roslyn asked and smiled. “My father was a marine. I know they borrow priests from the Navy.”
Gabe looked down at his attire. Washed out blue jeans and a navy blue polo shirt hardly screamed priest. But, then again, when priests were off duty, so to speak, they walked around like regular people. Most wouldn’t recognize them as men of the cloth by their appearance.
“No, I’m not a priest.”
“But you are Catholic?”
“Let’s just say I’ve strayed away from the flock.”
“Not far enough that you forgot your prayers though.”
“No, apparently not.” Gabe smiled at her astute observations. He thought he’d been the only one paying attention. Before he could ask Roslyn what she was doing at Beacon Bayou, her tawny complexion turned ashen and she wavered. “Whoa, you okay there?” He took her forearm and eased her onto the log.
“Yes, I’ll be fine,” she answered as she bent over and tucked her head between her legs.
“Do you have a medical condition?” Gabe squatted before her and held her upright as she took deep cleansing breaths.
Roslyn didn’t answer, just nodded her head and continued with her controlled breathing. Gabe respected her apparent knowledge of her own condition and stayed squatted, quietly holding her arms until she seemed to regain some degree of control. After a few minutes, she raised her head, placed her hands on the log and leaned back.
“Thank you,” she said, taking one last deep breath and blowing it out. “I hate when that happens.”
“Does it happen often?”
“More than I’d like, yes. But, I’ve no control over it at present, so I’ve learned to live with it.” Roslyn stood slowly. “I should get back to my cabin. I didn’t eat this morning and I’m sure that didn’t help matters.”
“Are you diabetic?” Gabe asked, his corpsman’s instincts kicking in high gear. He wrapped an arm around her waist, held her forearm and started to lead her down the shore to her cabin.
“No, I’m not. And you don’t have to help me. I’ll be okay. I just need to eat and take my medication,” she said and tried to pull away.
“Are you pregnant?” He tried again to glean some information from her. “Do you have high blood pressure?”
“No and no,” Roslyn answered and smiled up at him. “So, you’re a corpsman. You don’t heal spirits, you heal bodies.”
“Well, my secret’s out. Now let’s get you to your cabin and get some food in you and those meds you mentioned.”
Gabe kept his arm around her all the way to her cabin, helped her up the steps, and waited for her to unlock the door. She turned and hesitated, then stepped backward into the doorway.
“I’ll be fine now,” she said, leaning on the door frame. “You don’t have to stay.”
“I want to. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t make sure you were okay.” He gently turned her and helped her into the small front room of the cabin.
Looking around, he could see hers was much the same as his. The room contained a kitchenette, a small wooden table with four chairs, and a loveseat was placed under the front window that overlooked the lake.
“Why don’t you rest and I’ll fix you something.” Gabe pulled out a chair, helped Roslyn sit, then turned to the refrigerator. “Even if you’re not diabetic, some juice will probably help perk you up until we get some real food in you. Have any of that”¦.” Gabe stopped when he saw the prescription bottle on the top shelf. Peering over the edge of the door, he noticed the additional two bottles on the counter. He took the bottle from the shelf, shut the door, and started to read the labels. Levaquin, Percodan, Tegretal”¦He knew now why he’d shut God out. He didn’t play fair. “How advanced is it?”
“Well, now my secret is out,” Rolsyn confessed.
“Have you had your Levaquin yet this morning?” Gabe asked, searching the cabinets for anything he might feed her so she could get her meds down as soon as possible. He knew the importance of taking them on time.
“No, I always wait until the two hours after I eat. If not it makes me sick.”
“What about the others?” He found a box of whole grain cereal and quickly fixed her a bowl with the last bit of soy milk he found in the refrigerator.
“I wait for those as well. I don’t want to become dependent on the Percodan again,” Roslyn said and took a bite of Gabe’s offering.
“Again?” he asked while he cut an apple in sections.
“Yes, again. It was in remission after the mast”¦after the last time.”
“Breast cancer?” Gabe set the apple down in front of her and went throught the cabinets, finding a can of Café Bustello. He readied the coffee maker and set it to brewing.
“Yes. That’s where it started.”
“You had a mastectomy?” Roslyn remained silent. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. I don’t even know you and even if I did that’s something very personal.”
“It’s okay,” she answered and picked at a rough spot on the table top. “You’re a corpsman. It’s only natural you’d ask questions.”
“I made you uncomfortable though. I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” Gabe opened the Tegretal and shook out the prescribed dose, then repeated the process with the Percodan. After getting a glass of water, he handed her the pills. “Why isn’t anyone with you? Being out here alone, I mean”¦I’m sorry that’s really none of my business either.”
Roslyn took the pills from his hand, swallowed them and sighed. After a moment, she took a bite of apple and chewed like it was the first apple she’d ever tasted. Gabe moved back to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. Cup in hand, he turned, not knowing whether he should stay or run like hell. He’d watched his fragile wife waste away waiting for a lung only to have her die, and now God had so thoughtfully thrown the first woman he’d found attractive in fifteen years under the bus for him as well.
“Sit down, Gabriel Sanchez,” she said and motioned toward the chair across from her. “I’ll tell you my story, if you tell me yours.”
“I don’t have a story.”
“Yes, you do, and if you want to know about me, you have to agree to tell me about you.”
Gabe didn’t think he could submit to her little game of tell and be told. How did he admit to her he didn’t know if he’d be back her way after he left today because he couldn’t sit idly by and watch another woman wilt away before his eyes? Even though he’d only be here a few days, it was more days than he thought he was willing to spend seeing a beautiful woman that was slowly dying.
“Well?” Roslyn pressed. “Do you want to know bad enough or not?”
“My wife died of a cystic fibrosis,” he blurted out before he could stop.
“And even though you’re a corpsman, it bothers you to be around the dying.”
“She suffered needlessly. She needed a transplant. They couldn’t find a good match in time. So many people don’t check the donor box at the license bureau””you know, a lot of them believe it will desecrate the body.”
“If they only understood that God doesn’t care what the body’s condition is when we’re through with it, it’s the health of the spirit he’s worried with. What was her name?”
“Christine,” Gabe answered around a lump in his throat. “After she died, I joined recon and I’ve been traveling ever since.”
“You mean running,” she told him.
“Call it what you will, all I know for sure is that no merciful God would allow what happened.” Roslyn’s accusation stung. Probably because deep down Gabe knew it was true. He had been running, from life.
“God doesn’t make mistakes, Gabe. All things happen for a reason.”
As you can see, I wasn’t kidding when I said I tackle tough issues head on. Gabe and Ros face some very hard circumstances. I hope you enjoy this multi-faceted anthology as much as we enjoyed writing it. Force Recon: Beacon Bayou is sure to please. Be sure to check back later when I’ll finally talk about my life as a military wife and how it plays into my more often than not uniformed characters’ lives.
Leave a Comment