Heart of a Marine (The Wounded Warrior Series Book 1) by Patty Campbell Page A

case you haven’t been paying attention, I’m not your brother.”
    “Shut up. I couldn’t care less about how you look in your underpants. I want to make sure I don’t need to get you medical help.”
    “Your call.”
    Leaning his crutches against the bed, his back to her, Dwayne unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them below his briefs.
    Marla swallowed, Oh, my. Then she brushed off her reaction to step in for a closer look. Right the first time, he isn’t my brother.
    He twisted around, sat on the bedspread, and pushed his jeans below his knees.
    Sharp shock took her breath away when she gaped at the prosthesis attached to his left leg. “Dwayne…what hap—?”
    “Daddy?”
    Marla spun around to see Amber standing in the doorway, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Skipper’s toenails tapped on the floor as he trailed behind.
    “I’m here, squirt. Come on in.” He pointed to his pants. “Help me pull these pants off, OK?”
    “Are your toes itching again?” Amber knelt on the floor in front of him and scratched the toe of his empty boot. “I’ll scratch ’em for you.”
    Marla’s head swam, her breathing rapid and shallow. Dwayne had part of his leg missing! When had that happened? How had she not known it before now?
    “They don’t itch tonight, sweet pea. I just need you to help me get this contraption off.”
    “What happened, Daddy?”
    “I took a spill and it’s sore. I gotta get the pressure off, that’s all.”
    Without realizing she’d moved, Marla knelt beside Amber and untied the leather thongs on his right work boot. “Do you have something to put on that?”
    Amber jumped to her feet. “I know where Daddy’s feel-good goop is. I’ll get it.” She ran to the bathroom. Marla heard the opening and closing of cupboard doors. She returned holding a large jar. “Here it is.”
    “Thanks, honey. I’ll unhitch my gear and you can help Marla pull Daddy’s jeans off.” He undid the fasteners on the prosthesis, then leaned back on his elbows and held out his leg so Marla could haul his right boot off.
    Amber tugged the prosthesis free from his left pant leg, and then together they pulled on the hem of his jeans.
    Dwayne exhaled. “Jeez, what a relief. This thing hurts like a son-of-a-gun.” He sat straight, hooked his hand under his right knee, twisted sideways, and lifted it so both of his legs rested on the bed. He tugged off the gel-sock covering the stump. It flamed red with an angry bruise slashed across the area above and below his knee where the brace had been attached.
    He reached for the jar, but Amber held out of his reach. “I can do it.”
    Marla’s heart banged against her ribs. She stared at this little girl who had taken over the care of her father. Her little fingers dipped in the jar and plucked out a blob of clear gel. She massaged it on Dempsey’s damaged limb.
    The medication was odorless, but Marla got a whiff of Dwayne. Even though sweaty and disheveled, his seductive male scent got her heart tripping.
    He sighed and fell back against the pillows. “Thank you, squirt. You’re the best nurse I ever had.”
    Marla blinked when Dwayne pointed to the chair next to the bed. “Sit down before you fall down, Red.”
    Desperately working to organize her thoughts before she spoke, Marla sat and stared. Skip hopped onto the bed to investigate Amber’s progress. He sniffed around then walked up Dempsey’s body to his chest where he flopped on his belly as if to hold Dwayne prisoner while Amber worked.
    “Skipper! Get down from there.”
    Before she could move, he placed his hand on the dog’s back and grinned at the mutt’s bulgy-eyed stare. “He’s OK. You’re fine, aren’t you, soldier?”
    Skipper’s tail thumped a steady rhythm against the man’s flat belly.
    Dwayne faced Marla. “You better start breathing soon, Red, or my nurse will have two patients on her hands.”
    Marla closed her mouth and wondered how long it had been hanging open. A hot flush burned