New Horizons

By Ian MacDonald

A brilliant but broken military surgeon, never thought he would find the love he had shared with his former fiancee who was killed by the Taliban on the battle fields of Afghanistan, but he was wrong. When Claire, his High School crush re-entered his life it had a dramatic effect on Grant. His spirits soared and love just seemed to blossom around the couple. Their romance became electrifying right from the start and the heat it generated was nothing less than volcanic and it was apparently contagious too. Many of their friends were inspired to follow their example it seemed. Grant was now returning back to normal and becoming the great orthopedic surgeon he used to be. He was inspired now, his confidence was restored and he decided to do the same for others. He had been broken, by the ravages of war, and so had many other Vets. Too many of them fell between the cracks of the system and Grant was now determined to do something about it. He then set out to start a Medical Clinic exclusively for broken and damaged Vets and help them when nobody else was. He knew it would not be easy to do, but he did it. The clinic would be free, but the rewards were immense. The looks on the faces of the restored vets and their families were simply priceless. No amount of money could replace that. Grant was home again and being the doctor he should always have been – and that was truly awesome indeed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ian MacDonald
• Release date: Sep 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463639740

Ian MacDonald

The author was born and educated in England and served in the British armed forces and briefly as an officer in the British Prison Service. He subsequently became a financial adviser and retired as an executive in a financial planning firm. He took up writing as a hobby upon retirement and he now lives in Ontario with his wife. His writing has a military or law enforcement theme to it as his interests lie in that field.

Book preview

New Horizons

By

Ian Macdonald

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Copyright 2019 Smashwords Edition

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Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this e-Book. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be copied, reproduced and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

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All characters and events in this book are fictional and products of the author’s imagination. Should there be any similarity to persons living or deceased they are purely coincidental and unintentional.

Acknowledgements

Cover Page Designer:

Rita Toews

photo credit: Pinterest.ca pin/427490189622671674

Courtesy of powers studios.com

In addition I would like to acknowledge the love and support from my Wife Sharon and my daughter-in-law Crystal for their ongoing encouragement. Without this my books would never have been written. Thank you ladies for everything you have done and the ideas you have given to me.

Introduction

Two High School students who were always vying for the top academic honors finally managed to come together. It took some time, but they found their way back to each other in the end. Meanwhile they had led very different lives. Claire had become an architect - Grant a military surgeon. When out in Afghanistan, Grant’s then fiancée was killed by Taliban rocket fire. He was in the middle of an operation when she was brought in and his colleague was performing CPR on her - but he gave Grant the thumbs up sign. Sadly she didn’t make it and Grant then fell apart, totally heartbroken.

When he returned back home to civilian life years later he reunited with Claire, his high School Crush and rival. Subsequently, as a result, he decided to open a Medical Clinic for wounded and disabled veterans whom the system had forgotten. Having been broken himself, he fully understood the plight of these poor men and women and vowed to do something about it.

The love and compassion that this clinic unearthed was awesome. Romance blossomed too in the most unlikely places and the stories that came out over time in other combat related cases reduced many tears. This new Veterans Clinic was a place filled with joy and hope and many hitherto broken men and women were restored to something close to normal. Seeing the transition from hopelessness to joyful and confident men and women who were now productive members of society was inspirational. This traumatized battlefield surgeon was now giving back the lives of those who felt they no longer had one. He had been one of them and so he knew first-hand how they felt. Claire had revived his zest for life and he now was hell bent on doing the same for others – and he was succeeding. They may have been broken before, but they certainly weren’t now. Their lives had been restored and by a man who was once broken himself, but still had compassion for others; his own life having been restored by the love of a woman.

Table of Contents

Chapter One – Claire’s return

Chapter Two – Claire’s Schooldays

Chapter Three –The Dinner Party

Chapter Four – Grant Markham

Chapter Five – Visit to Kelly’s

Chapter Six – Myrtle Beach

Chapter Seven- Getting acquainted

Chapter Eight –The Third Date

Chapter Nine-The Contract

Chapter Ten-Prelude to Christmas

Chapter Eleven- Christmas Dinner

Chapter Twelve-Claire’s Engagement

Chapter Thirteen- Grant’s Presentation

Chapter Fourteen-Ann Emmerson

Chapter Fifteen-Veterans Clinic Gets Underway

Chapter Sixteen-Claire & Grants Wedding

Chapter Seventeen-The Honeymoon

Chapter Eighteen-Erica Beaumont

Chapter Nineteen-The Grand Opening

Chapter Twenty-Wade & Pam’s Wedding

Chapter Twenty One- Billy Wilson’s Bear

Chapter Twenty Two- Dr. Carolyn Banks

Chapter Twenty Three- Heather Winters

Chapter Twenty Four-Claire’s Epiphany

Chapter Twenty Five-Wade’s Visitor

Chapter Twenty Six-Malcolm’s Engagement

Chapter Twenty Seven-Erica’s Honeymoon

Chapter twenty Eight-Claire’s Baby

New Horizons

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Chapter One

It was June now and the trees and their blossoms were in full bloom. Claire Martin was on her way home to Conway in South Carolina and this time she was driving down from Newark, New Jersey where she had her office. Claire was now a very successful architect having paid her dues along the way in order to get there. In her High School days she had been rather shy initially, but then blossomed as her physical beauty began to emerge. She became very popular as a result and was valedictorian of her graduating class. She was like the queen bee in that hive and the boys all swarmed around her. This new found celebrity then went to her head and she acted accordingly. Her initial diffidence was now replaced with a dismissive attitude to those she considered to be lesser mortals. When she went away to college things changed again. She was still a raven haired beauty, but she now found she had intense competition from the sophomores and seniors. They too were attractive and brainy and she found herself as an also ran in many cases whereas before she was the undisputed winner as a rule. She had dated many different boys, both in High School and College, but never formed a deep attachment to any of them. There was one geeky kid in High School she sort of took a shine too, Grant Markham, but he was a social outcast and shunned by the others. He was a geek, he was shy, and he was anything but a masculine jock and sports fiend. He was rather nice and he had that certain something about him that she found alluring, but she never did get close to him. The college crowd were all about parties and getting laid and the superficiality of it all held no appeal whatsoever for Claire. Once or twice she had succumbed to the atmosphere at a kegger and let herself be seduced by a frat boy or two when in a stupor. She was not proud of her behaviour, but she allowed herself the luxury of considering herself to be human and having sex was normal –even if she was barely conscious at the time. When she graduated from Columbia she secured a position as a junior in a Manhattan Architectural firm. She learned a great deal in that firm and it was certainly an eye opener – in a variety of ways - but this was the real world now and not academia. She learned very quickly what it took to survive and get ahead and she played the game with the best of them. It sure was a long way from her days in Conway and the carefree happiness she had enjoyed way back when. However, she was now on her way back home, but what awaited her there?

As she drove down the winding lane to her home, the trees had formed a canopy above her making it seem like a tunnel. The cherry blossom petals just added that special touch and made the whole scene so much more picturesque and peaceful. It was a lovely warm day and there was barely a breeze, not even enough to make the petals sway to and fro. She was aware of the fragrance hanging in the air and the sweetness of it was very comforting and welcoming to Claire. Her mind then drifted wistfully back to her childhood and the swing on the big old oak tree. How her Dad would push her on that swing and how she’d always yell at him to push her harder. Her mother would then come out and scold him for pushing her too high. She could get seriously hurt if she falls off Tom, you should know better. Her Dad would then ease up a little, at least until her Mom went inside and then he’d resume – that was their secret. Their house was at the end of the lane and the road wound around in a circle to allow traffic to go back the way that they came. As she approached the end the trees thinned out a little and she could now see her house, the gable ends, the porch and its loungers and then she saw the swing. It looked just as good as ever, her Dad always kept it painted, not that anyone used it anymore. Claire used it when she came home for a visit, but she hadn’t been home for a while. When her mother phoned her to come home for a visit, there was just something in here voice that made Claire a little anxious. What’s wrong Mom? she asked. Why do think something is wrong dear? We’d just like to see you, that’s all. Claire picked up on the fact that her Mom hadn’t answered her question and had simply deflected it – but she didn’t pursue it. However, as her house came into clear view her anxiety returned. Something was up, but what? Was one of her parents ill, were they broke and being forced to sell? Claire’s anxiety was now intensifying and beginning to boil like a pan on the stove. This level of anxiety Claire had not felt since her grade eight days. The timorous little girl of those days had morphed into a very confident and assertive woman and a respected and admired New Jersey architect. Or was that just a façade? Claire now began to wonder, just who she really was. Was it all veneer? Or was she just a little unnerved by the current unknown circumstances. Claire dealt with facts and figures daily, design concepts and even abstract ideas, but she was always in control. Right now as she drove up her parent’s driveway the last thing she felt was control. Her mother never mentioned anything about Clair’s older brother or younger sister when she phoned, but were they going to be here too? If so, that would add to the anxiety. Claire was scanning the driveway to see if any other cars were there, but it was clear. She then gave an audible sigh of relief, but it was short lived – maybe they haven’t arrived yet she told herself. It was right then that Claire realised that the self-confident architect of New Jersey and the Claire Martin of Conway were two very different women.

As she pulled up in front of her house and turned off her engine she pulled down the vanity mirror and took a good look at herself. This isn’t me she thought, I don’t do this, why am I doing it now? The sanguine and self- confident Claire Martin now felt vulnerable, but why she asked herself? This was all in her imagination, her mother had not suggested that anything was amiss; she just wanted to see her daughter. That was quite normal, nothing unusual about that, right? and yet, something felt off, and her radar was seldom wrong. She found herself re-applying her lipstick and checking her eyelashes and immediately snapped up the visor. Get a grip, Claire, you’re losing it, and imagining all kinds of potential drama with no foundation whatsoever she scolded herself. With that admonition she got out of her car and rang the doorbell on the porch. As she stood there waiting for someone to open the front door her eyes focused on the stained glass side windows. They had been there forever, but until now she had had paid little if any attention to them. Her Dad had made them years ago in his workshop out back, but Claire had paid no attention whatsoever to the detail they contained and the art designs within them. She could see now the real beauty contained in the windows and the gaily coloured butterflies and birds contrasted against the landscape and the sky. This is truly beautiful she whispered out loud, but only she could hear it. How could I not have seen this before today she mused? I guess Dad was just Dad she thought to herself, I never thought of him being so gifted and creative. It was then that she heard the footsteps approaching and the door swung open. It was her Dad who now stood there shocked. Her mother had not told him she was coming home, it was a sort of Father’s Day surprise – and it most certainly was for her Dad. He launched himself at his daughter and gave her a huge bear hug kissing her as he did so. Claire returned both with equal fervor. This is a wonderful surprise, Claire, I had no idea you were coming, does Mom know? Yes Daddy she does, it was her idea. Well, this is the best Father’s Day gift I could ever receive, I knew that David and Kelly were dropping by tomorrow, but I didn’t know you’d be able to make it. David and Kelly were Claire’s siblings and they lived relatively close by. David ran his own lumber business in nearby Aynor and Kelly was a nurse and lived in Myrtle Beach with her husband John a physiotherapist at the same hospital. David was going through the pangs of divorce right now and although he was seeing someone, how intense that was remained to be seen.

Elaine come and see who’s here yelled Tom to his wife. Although she knew who it was based on her husbands excited call, she still flew down the hallway and threw her arms around her daughter with tears in her eyes.

Let me get you suitcases from the car, Claire, you two go into the kitchen and catch up. With that the two women went into the kitchen and tea and coffee were soon brewing. Tom meanwhile was unloading Claire’s luggage and taking it up into her room for her. When she came up later, she saw that her room had not changed one iota since the day she left for college. Everything was in the same place she had left it, but her mother had obviously been cleaning the room regularly as there was no evidence of dust or cobwebs anywhere. This time when she entered her room, she paid more attention to it than ever before. It was as if she was entering it for the first time. Everything was the same, and yet she could now see little details that she had overlooked before, just taken it for granted along with everything else.

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So Mom, what’s new, bring me up to date on all the latest goings on here in Conway

Now Claire, why don’t you bring me up to date first, it’s been a long time since you were here and lots must have happened to you in that time up there in New York.

"It’s not New York Mom I’m in Newark, New Jersey.

Same thing as far as I’m concerned, too much crime and way too busy, nobody has the time of day for anyone up there.

Claire thought about that for a moment and came to the conclusion that her Mom was quite right. Conway was much more laid back and neighbours actually spoke to each other and would always acknowledge your existence with a nod or a wave. In New York or Newark very few people knew you existed, or cared for that matter. Everyone was so consumed with their own lives that they had no time for anyone else’s unless they were a part of their inner circle of friends. Claire learned that the hard way when she secured her first job in New York. It was a large architectural firm in Manhattan and she was the newbie. In other words she was the gopher, coffee and lunch getter and everyone’s whipping boy/girl (political correctness being what it is). Her immediate boss was another female architect and she was very supportive of Claire, but she lacked any degree of intestinal fortitude and always went along to get along so to speak. No boats would be rocked in her harbour. Her boss however, was just the opposite and was full of himself, in addition to being God’s gift to women as he saw it. John Smart was a very well respected architect and he was very good too – but he most certainly was aware of it also. In his eyes, acknowledging your existence was a rare privilege and therefore you must pay homage to him for bestowing such favour upon you. In his eyes he considered himself to be a great seducer of women, along the lines of Cyrano de-Bergerac and Casanova, whom he felt were somewhat inferior by comparison.

Claire, being the raven haired beauty that she was, very quickly showed up on his radar. He could not permit such a beauty to work in his office and not be aware of the awesome sexual prowess he possessed and the glorious sensations that he alone could bestow upon her. It would be ungracious of him not to make her aware of said delights and give her the opportunity to savor them to their fullest. He had seen Claire’s work and had been duly impressed by it, but he realised that seducing her would be a delicate operation. She was not some cheap floosy who’d jump at the chance to get her boss into bed. No Sir! he thought, she has too much class for that. This one I’ll have to take very slowly – but she certainly ain’t gonna get away and that’s for sure. Slowly but surely he baited her, praising her work, her appearance and her beauty. Then one night after a cocktail party, where he saw to it that Claire had more to drink than usual, he made his move. He had seen to it that they had adjoining rooms and when he dropped her off in her room he opened the lock on her side door. A few minutes later he entered her room from his, undressed her with little if any resistance, and took her right there on her bed. Claire was fully aware of what was happening, despite her being tipsy. The booze had merely lowered her inhibitions, but not her sexual drive. The boss knew exactly how to play her, he’d done this many times before. The way he undressed her and the subtle stoking of her neck as he nuzzled her were all proven techniques in his arsenal. Get her aroused slowly so as not to spook her and before she realised it she’d be almost begging him to give her the release she now craved. This he firmly believed and he had numerous notches on his bedpost to back it up so far as he was concerned.

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Claire had not had sex in a while and was more than ready for this unexpected seduction even if she had not instigated it. She just lay there on the bed letting it unfold with little or no real though about it. She knew she was feeling horny and could use a good roll in the hay so to speak, but she didn’t really care whether he would be any good or not.

Smart caressed her naked body from head to toe with his customary expertise, spending sufficient time on all her erogenous zones and thus making her crave for satisfaction. He then brought her to a frenzy of lust and desire with his oral magic and at the last second he entered her and performed with stallion like gusto. She couldn’t help herself; she responded like a bunny rabbit on crack and then erupted like a volcano amidst squeals of pure ecstasy. She then fell back on the bed totally exhausted. He now stood up and felt very proud of himself. He didn’t actually thump his chest with both fists and give out a Tarzan like yell – but he certainly felt like doing so. This was a major conquest, he had bedded the office beauty and nobody else had come close. He then wiped her clean with a soapy face cloth and then went into the bathroom to clean himself up. Claire just lay there quite contented without a care in the world courtesy of the booze. He’s pretty good after all she told herself, I’ve had less capable lovers. Maybe I’m just too drunk to be objective, she thought to herself, but it sure felt good and then she giggled. You are a naughty girl, Claire Martin; fancy sleeping with your boss she mused. She fell asleep at that point.

Smart thought about going back to his room, and then he decided against it. This woman was way too hot, he told himself, she’ll be even hotter when she’s sober in the morning and besides, I enjoy sex first thing in the morning to start the day off right. That was apparently the case the next morning, even though Claire was barely awake. Half asleep she may have been, but she certainly responded and made John Smart feel great by doing so. He prided himself on being able to sexually please women and Claire had certainly rewarded him this time. The boss had accomplished his goal and then some. He was like a peacock with two tails the following day. However, he had laid it out in no uncertain terms that nothing had happened the night before and certainly not the following morning. Claire got the message. His subtle suggestion regarding her promotional prospects and progression up the ranks was not lost on Claire. On several subsequent excursions out of town, similar sexual romps took place. While Claire despised the man and what he was forcing her to do in order for her to get ahead in the firm, he was good in bed. She had dated several men over the previous months, but this bastard was the only one who got her going. She absolutely hated him and yet craved for him to satisfy her desires at the same time. Nobody came close when it came to the oral magic he could dispense. It carried her to fantasyland each and every time and Glorious was an understatement when it came to describing the resulting orgasms. All of that stopped when she managed to secure a better position in a Newark firm and moved there. It had however opened her eyes to the corporate world and how to survive it. It was a tough lesson to learn, but it was a necessary part of growing up and coping with life in a large city. In her new position she would no longer be the newbie and would in fact be highly regarded by the partners. In her interview it had been suggested that she would be on the fast track to partner if she was a good as they thought she now was.

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As she reflected on her time in New York she realised her mother’s assessment was quite accurate. Claire had absolutely no intention of telling her mother all the gory details of her life in New York and her somewhat mandatory sexual dalliances in order to gain acceptance and subsequent advancement. So when she began to inform her mother about her time in New York and Newark, her mother got the expurgated version, duly sanitized for her mother’s ears.

Well, Mom. New York is a long way from Conway as you know very well. It is indeed a busy and bustling place and you are expected to work long hours if you wish to advance. This I did, along with everyone else and in the end it paid off and I advanced up the food chain so to speak. It did take a toll on my social life, but I figured I’d have plenty of time for that later. I did date a couple of guys here and there, but they too were dedicated to their careers more than anything else. I did manage to do some sightseeing and stroll through Central Park occasionally; I even went inside the Statue of Liberty too. Other than that it was mostly work. It’s not as bad now that I’m in Newark; I have some seniority now and more autonomy so I can basically set my own hours. As long as I complete my projects on time and to the clients satisfaction I’m pretty much golden, Mom.

That’s excellent, Claire, I’m so glad all that hard work has paid off for you. Thanks Mom Claire responded, thinking to herself (if only she knew the real story behind my success.) My life up there was pretty boring all things considered, Mom, what has been going on here, and who has been doing what?"

Her mother then began to relate all the goings on in Conway that she thought her daughter might be interested in, her old school friends, who was married to whom, and how many children they had or were expecting. The local church that Claire had attended was a veritable gold mine of information and gossip and Elaine was very much tuned in to that grapevine. David’s matrimonial difficulties were glossed over somewhat, Elaine didn’t want to cross any lines there. Likewise, Kelly and John’s affairs were touched on only briefly. She did however mention the fact that the school bully, Wade Emmerson was a patient at John’s hospital in Myrtle Beach. He had done several tours in Afghanistan with the MARSOC marines she said and he had come home damaged. He had apparently been the victim of an IED and had been seriously injured. Shrapnel had entered his back and his legs and he was in bad shape for a while. She then added that John had told her that Grant Markham was now working at his hospital. The military had put him through medical school and he had served overseas in a combat zone as a military doctor. John didn’t know him personally, he just knew about him. He too apparently had come home, broken and suffering from some sort of combat trauma. John didn’t know the actual details, but he seemed to be on the road to recovery now having received additional therapy right there in the hospital in Myrtle Beach.

"Oh! Tony Gilmore is now a police officer. I bet you never imagined him being a cop when you two were dating..

No Mom I most certainly did not. I liked Tony very much in those days and he was a real hunk and fancied by just about all the girls. In fact he was my first lover and one never forgets that so I’m told.

Oh Claire, I didn’t need to know all of that, I’m your mother not your best friend, although on second thoughts I really am, aren’t I?

You always were, Mom, I told you just about everything. She then added with a grin, well almost everything."

Claire Martin, you behave yourself, you’ll have me blushing and don’t you dare let your father hear you talking like that. He still thinks you are a virgin I’m sure.

Oh come on Mom, you can’t honestly believe that, Dad’s not a fool, he knows what’s what in life – even if he doesn’t broadcast it.

Chapter Two

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In her last year of High School Claire had been very popular with both the boys and the girls. It was a toss-up who would give the valedictory address between her and Grant Markham. However, it hadn’t started out that way for both her and Grant. In their first year in High School they were both timid creatures, almost afraid of their own shadows. When it came to schoolyard picks for teams etc. they would feature near the bottom rather than the top. It wasn’t that they were bullied much, they were just ignored. Many other kids were indeed bullied and made fun of for a variety of reasons, but Claire and Grant were basically non-existent. They had the brains and were good in class, but outside they appeared to be totally inept.

The school catchment area covered quite a wide swath of the local countryside and kids from all social classes attended. As a result, when this happens a certain amount of friction is inevitable as you have the Have’s and the Have not’s. Intelligence doesn’t figure prominently in the equation in reality. Opportunity, on the other hand, plays a large role in determining who fits in and who doesn’t. Class prejudice, racialism and religion all play a part, despite those in office denying it exists in today’s society. In her early High School days Claire had a variety of friends, black, white, affluent and impoverished, boys and girls alike. They were simply classmates and they were friends. There was no other consideration as far as they were concerned. Some of the parents may have seen things differently, but most had no feelings on the subject. If their child was happy, that was good enough for them.