Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) by Deanndra Hall Read Free Book Online

extensive. We’re taking you to a field hospital, then stateside, and I don’t think you’ll be seeing any more active duty.”
    “When are you sending me?” Laura asked. Oh, please, let it be soon! , she thought. Getting out of here is the only thing that will save me.
    “You’ll go to the field hospital today and be shipped out tomorrow. In the meantime, try to rest. The trip will be rigorous enough, and pretty painful for you. But you’ll be back in the states – we’re sending you to the naval hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. They’ll take good care of you. Best of luck, Billings.” With that, the medic went back to monitoring her vitals, leaving her with more questions than answers, and no energy to ask.
    Laura tried to get her wits together and look herself over, but the only thing she could see was a huge bandage all over the front of her torso. It looked almost like a sheet of bandaging, cut to fit her shape. She didn’t know what was under that bandage, but she was sure she’d find out eventually.

    March 2010
    “Laura Butler?” Laura rose from her seat and strode across the room toward the man, then followed him to an office down the hall. He pointed to a chair and said, “Have a seat, please.”
    “Thank you for calling me for this interview, Mr. Ludlow.” Laura straightened her skirt. “I’ve been wanting to get into the field for awhile. I did very well in the training program and I’ve been hoping you’d find an opening for me somewhere, something that’s a good fit.” She’d passed all of the courses with flying colors and gotten all of her arms certifications. Security work was something she thought she’d like. She’d been looking for a position for too long and was getting really tired of working in the bar at a restaurant. It had been years since she’d had a job where she carried a gun, and she was ready.
    “I have to say, Miss Butler, your CV is very impressive,” the placement counselor told her. “I think we’ve found a place for you. We got a call from someone who’s looking to put together a team of security specialists, and he called us looking for candidates. How do you feel about relocating?”
    “That would be no problem, sir. I’ve got no real ties to this area.” After she’d recovered, or at least recovered physically, she’d lived in a half-dozen places, with the most recent being St. Louis. She just kept moving around, and she’d taken her mother’s family name, Butler, so it would be harder for Wagner to track her down. “So where would this move be?”
    “To Louisville, Kentucky.” Laura almost gasped – her hometown was less than thirty minutes away. “Oddly, one of the reasons the gentleman pulled your information and called us was because he’s originally from southeastern Missouri, and with you being in St. Louis, he felt you might be a good fit, might be more on the same page with him. Are you interested?”
    If Wagner knew she’d grown up in the Louisville area, he might look for her there. Or maybe he’d think that was the last place she’d go because it would be too obvious. She felt like she was pondering iocaine powder in the movie The Princess Bride . This move would put her closer to her family; that would be nice. Maybe she could pull herself together enough that they’d want to be around her. “Does he want to interview me too? Because I could go there.”
    “No. Oddly enough, he said if I found someone suitable that I was to just send you there and he’d hire you on the spot. I’ll give you his contact information if you want the job.”
    “Yes sir!” Laura almost shouted. Mr. Ludlow handed her a sheet with the information. On it was the name Steve McCoy  – her new boss. “Thank you. I’ll call him as soon as I get home.”

STEVE
    April 1975
    I n the waiting room of a community hospital in Sikeston, Missouri, the tall, lanky teenage boy sat alone, his hands shaking. “Steve?” When the nurse called his name,