The Other Side of the World, Book 1 (Rowan's Story)

By Suzanne Whitfield Vince

"One of my top five favorites... ever. This book left me speechless and with my heart in my throat the whole way through..."

Sometimes, love can surprise you...

The Girl:
Rowan McClain has everything a girl could ask for: a handsome, charming husband and a successful career as a romance writer. But when Prince Charming's affections begin to wane and her mother's cancer returns, Rowan's perfect world begins to crumble.

The Guy:
When Army Lieutenant Luke Cartwright arrives in Iraq, the last thing on his mind is falling in love. But when a friend gives him a copy of RJ McClain's book, he writes a letter to the author using his friend's name on the return address. After exchanging several letters and sharing their deepest secrets, the two become unlikely friends.

The Happily Ever After?
After a year with no letter from Iraq, Rowan becomes convinced that the soldier she had befriended has been killed in the line of duty. Now divorced from her husband, she moves on with her life. But when her sister sets her up on a blind date with a soldier named Luke Cartwright, Rowan begins to feel as though she has met him before. Will she give into her feelings for him? Or will thoughts of the man she had come to love through his beautiful letters keep her from giving her heart to Luke?

What Fans are Saying:

"One of my top five favorites... ever. This book left me speechless and with my heart in my throat the whole way through. The emotions were intense, the characters were perfect and it will take me a long time to get it out of my head. I am in love with Luke and Rowan and wish their story had never ended." BookLover70

"It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it will make you believe in true love. 5 Stars!" MelanieB

"Luke and Rowan's story was just so true to life. This was such a well written book; the characters so believable. This one is just emotional from the beginning, from romance to humor to tears. Definitely a read again book." Sherri M

• Language: English
• Publisher: Suzanne Whitfield Vince
• Release date: Oct 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311829832

Suzanne Whitfield Vince

Suzanne grew up in Park Forest, Illinois—twice an All-American City—in a hectic and chaotic but loving family. After graduating from Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (major in Accounting), she said goodbye to snow shovels and ice scrapers and followed her parents out to California. Suzanne currently live in Sacramento with her husband and our four furry children. She still have my day job—for now—but spends most of her free time writing.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

November 27, 2004

San Francisco, California

Rowan McClain leaned against the vinyl-backed booth—arms crossed, lips pressed tightly together—and girded herself for the battle to come. She looked on as Evan''s eyes followed the server's retreating form until it disappeared behind the counter. Then he leaned forward, propped his elbows on the table and leveled her with an expression she'd seen one too many times lately. An expression that could cut her down and shred her to ribbons, even without the words she knew would follow. But she was ready for them. At least, as much as she could be.

You're blowing this out of proportion, Row. I think it's sweet that you sent the care packages to the troops in Iraq. All I''m saying is, real men don't read girly books. And neither do intelligent women.

Rowan could feel the steam rise inside her. She opened her mouth to speak, and then thought better of it. She pulled in a long breath and pushed it out slowly in a useless attempt to calm herself.

I'm not having this argument with you again.

The argument where she told him she wrote women's fiction. That intelligent women do indeed read her books, and so do men. That she'd never heard anyone refer to her books as girly books, except for him. Whatever a girly book was anyway.

It wouldn't matter anyhow. He didn't care that she'd received a six-figure advance and a three-book deal from one of the largest publishing houses in New York. He didn''t care that in the two years since she'd been writing, she'd made almost three times as much as she would've made at the accounting firm. He didn't even care how happy writing made her. All he cared about was that she'd strayed from the plan: they'd work like dogs until they each made partner——she at the CPA firm, he at the law firm—and then they'd start their family. He'd seen her career change as a betrayal. And as payment for her betrayal, he'd recently announced that he no longer wished to have children.

No need to get defensive, sweetie. I'm just stating the facts as I see them.

She wanted to rip the smug look off his face, but instead she forced a smile that was pure fiction. Right. Got it. Anything else?

Evan pushed up from the table. Yeah, I'm going out with the guys tonight. Don't bother with dinner. He reached for his wallet, then slipped it back into his pocket and slid the check across to her. You got this, right? Without waiting for a response, he kissed her on the cheek and left the restaurant.

Rowan paid the bill and left. As she pushed her way past tourists and local residents on her way home, she tried not to think about the excitement she'd felt when they'd first moved into the two-bedroom condominium in San Francisco''s Cow Hollow neighborhood. Just a block from the shops and restaurants on Union Street. A quick jog to the beautiful Presidio. A short bus ride to the downtown offices of the accounting firm she'd worked at when she and Evan had first married. They'd been young, blissfully happy, and ready to take the world by storm. But lately, it felt as though the storm had gotten the better of them.

CHAPTER TWO

December 24, 2004

Baghdad, Iraq

They heard it before they saw it. The muffled explosion. The agonizing screams of their comrades over the radio. The sounds of war. The Humvee skidded to a stop. First Lieutenant Luke Cartwright and three of his men sprinted through the falling debris toward the plumes of smoke that billowed skyward like smokestacks.

Flames burst forth from what was left of the Humvee's engine compartment, and quickly spread through the undercarriage. Luke tugged on the door handle but it wouldn't budge. He tried again, but the door would not give. He ran around to the passenger side but it, too, was sealed shut. Inside, three of his men clawed at the windows, coughing and choking on the smoke that filled the interior. Luke knew the flames were not far behind. Screams from inside sent shivers down his spine. Adrenaline surged through him, intensifying his focus.

This is what you were trained for, Cartwright. Get your shit together.

Grab whatever you can find from the rig and let's break these windows, he shouted to one of his men. We have to get them out of here. Now.

Luke took the assault rifle from the driver of the vehicle he'd been riding in, removed the magazine and shoved it into his vest. Cover your eyes, he called to the trapped men before raising the butt of the weapon and bearing down on the driver's side window. The glass cracked but did not break. He tried again and again until the glass finally gave. Reaching his gloved hand into a small hole, he began ripping the glass out. When the hole was big enough, he pulled the semi-conscious driver out and dragged the man to safety.

As Luke returned for the others, another explosion rocked the vehicle. He shielded his eyes from the blast as flames rose and then retreated from the vehicle.

After stripping off his Gore-Tex jacket, Luke hurried back to the vehicle while the other men continued chipping away at the other windows. The passenger on the other side clambered over the driver's seat and propelled himself out the window. He tumbled to the ground and scampered on hands and knees to the deep mud pit in the middle of the road in a desperate attempt to douse the flames making quick work of his pant leg.

With one more man to extract, Luke climbed through the window to help his men with the soldier in the backseat. Specialist Edgar Thompson's boot was trapped under the twisted metal, and flames were moving upward from his leg to his midsection. The man jerked and twisted, trying to get free. Gripping the lapels of Luke's jacket, eyes wide, he cried out, You gotta get me out of here.

Hang in there, Thompson. We're going to get you out. Luke stripped off his torn gloves and swatted at the flames snaking their way up the man''s torso while one of the other men used a crowbar to free Thompson's leg. After carefully lifting the injured man out through the back of the vehicle, they extinguished the flames, just as a convoy of military support vehicles arrived on scene.

While the bomb squad scanned the area for further explosive devices, the medical team carried Thompson away from the smoldering wreckage and placed him in the backseat of one of the arriving Humvees. As the vehicle sped off, Luke could still hear the man's screams.

It was after midnight when Luke left the medical complex at Camp Liberty. Only then did he notice the twinkling lights coiled around the base of the lone palm tree, reminding him it was Christmas.

Feeling anything but festive, he kicked the door to his trailer shut, thankful to have the space to himself while his roommate, Lieutenant Angel Roddy Rodriguez was enjoying the holiday festivities on base. With no family and no friends back home to speak of, the holidays were a painful reminder of his parents' tragic deaths on Christmas Eve six years before. He'd been a senior in college. One semester to go. But after laying his parents to rest, he did not return to the University of California in Davis. Instead, he joined the United States Army and had never looked back.

He had just stripped out of his soot-stained uniform when the door to the trailer sprung open. Attached to the other side was Dr. Talia Fournier. She tossed the bags she was carrying onto his bed and plopped down beside them.

Come in, he said sarcastically.

Rough day?

Luke shot her a cross look as he pulled on a clean pair of workout shorts and reached for an Army-issue green tee.

What happened to the bandages on your hands? she asked.

Luke pulled the shirt over his head and glanced down at his hands. Despite the fact that he'd worn gloves during the rescue, the windshield glass had punctured his hands in several places, and after he'd stripped them off to help to free Thompson, Luke had sustained a few burns.

I was just going to shower.

Talia patted the lumpy mattress. When he sat, she took his hands and turned them palms up. After  donning a pair of latex gloves and probing the injuries, she shook her head reprovingly.

I've seen raw meat in better condition.

Luke yanked his hands from hers and stood up. I'm fine.

Oh, I know you are, tough guy. She tugged his arm and guided him back down, But you need to keep these wounds clean. I''ll leave you some plastic bags and tape to use when you shower.

After extracting a few items from her medical bag, she set to work cleaning and bandaging his hands. He liked watching her work. Liked her intensity, her focus on the task at hand. She was passionate about her job, and it showed. Even with something as simple as bandaging a cut.

Luke could feel her breath on his hands as she worked and he smiled at the irony of it. He was probably the only single man on base who could sit this close to her and not want to kiss her. And who could blame them? With dark hair that hung below her waist and palomino eyes, Talia was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever known. But from the first moment he met her, he saw past her physical beauty. Past the tough exterior. In her eyes, he saw a sadness and pain that mirrored his own, and he instinctively knew that he had found a friend in her. A kindred soul.

I'm sorry about Thompson, she said. He''ll be airlifted to Landstuhl in the morning. We're keeping him comfortable in the meantime.

Tightness constricted his chest. He rose from the bed, opened the screenless window and sucked in a dust-fill breath of air. He took injuries to any of his men personally, saw it as a failure on his part to protect them. Landstuhl Medical Center was the largest military hospital overseas and was the go-to place for severely injured soldiers, but Specialist Edgar Thompson's burns were worse than Luke had initially thought. Not to mention the smoke inhalation. "Will he