Summary:
Ellery Mountain #9
Harrison is alone and hurting with his memories gone, but Toby shows him that love can heal even the most broken of hearts.
After losing his entire team in a roadside bomb, Harrison is left with a traumatic brain injury, a broken body, and scars on his heart that might never heal. Staying at the Ellery Mountain Veterans Center is the first step in healing, but short-term memories evade him, and the only thing he trusts is the love of Barney, his support dog.
Until he meets Toby.
Toby lands the chance of a lifetime, using his horticultural skills to aid in working with veterans during their physical and mental recovery. Meeting Harrison on his first day goes badly, but there is something between them that could be more than just friendship.
With time, it could even become love.
**Triggers for PTSD and past suicide ideation**
*Can be read as a standalone - some mention of previous characters, but not enough to cause an issue*
**This story was previously available in weekly instalments in my newsletter. The file has been edited and a few scenes added.**
I've loved RJ Scott's Ellery Mountain series ever since I first discovered it 6 years ago, so to find there was going to be new entries, needless to say I was ecstatic. The Gardener and the Marine was first available as weekly installments with the author's newsletter, however I didn't take the opportunity to read it that way. At first, time just got away from me and then I decided that RJ Scott's works are often a can't-put-it-down read for me so I decided to wait until completed.
However you chose to read it, Toby and Harrison's journey is brilliant!
I won't go into many details, not that this is a mystery or anything like that and we all know her stories are HEA but the mens' journey is so heartwarming, there are moments some might call heartbreaking but I would use the term "heart-hurting", I just don't want to spoil even the tiniest moments. Harrison is at the heart of the story with his learning to live life with brain injury and loss, I couldn't help but want to wrap him up in Mama Bear Hugs to protect him but he has Barney for that. I've read stories before with therapy animals but there was just something about the way the author brought Barney's presence to the the table you felt like he was right there next to you, helping you through the story as well.
I grew up a farmer's daughter and when my mother became ill my parents shifted from a grain & feed crops to a vegetable/fruit farm. My mom was to ill to work the farm but she did the business side as we sold fruit and veggies to local stores. I mention this because I could see first hand how farmlife and gardening helped all three of us accept her health situation. So seeing Toby realize how the family business of gardening helps his brother live with autism and turn it into therapy for the Ellery Mountain Veterans Center really spoke to me. The connection the garden creates between Toby and Harrison is beautifully written as well as giving Harrison an opportunity to strengthen his mind and body made this story even stronger.
The Gardener and the Marine, simply put, is a truly wonderful, touching, heartfelt gem from beginning to end.
A last note, if you haven't read Ellery Mountain before, it's not a series you have to read from the beginning as each entry focuses on a different couple. Personally, I can't imagine not reading it in order just because I'm a series-read-in-order kind of gal but it's not necessary, you won't be lost, yes previous characters make appearances but again knowing their story or not doesn't effect the story you choose to read. However you choose to read this series, I highly recommend definitely doing so.
RATING:
Chapter One
Toby
The last time I’d been this nervous, I was five and about to step out as sheep number one in the Ellery Elementary Christmas Nativity play. Of course, it didn’t help that sheep number two, my nemesis Clare, had yanked at my fake ears, and that my new baby sister was out in the audience with Mom and Dad, and I heard her crying.
The one thing I hated as a kid was when Kate cried, but that was because I was the big brother, and it was my job to look after her. So, with her crying, plus Clare, plus the fact I had a very important baaaaah to deliver as we walked on, it was understandable that I lost my breakfast all over Clare.
Me 1, nemesis 0.
But I’d been five, and eighteen years later, I shouldn’t have been nervous about this meeting. I knew my stuff, had prepared folders of information for Daniel Skylar, his husband Luke, and Jason I’m-a-famous-actor McInnery. I’d even practiced my speech on Mom twice this morning. I knew the three men by sight. Luke had been my homeroom teacher in high school, and he was a good guy. I’d met Jason before—it was hard not to when he lived right in Ellery— and despite being Mr. Hollywood, he was kind, and spent time talking to my star-struck mom whenever he came to the garden center we owned.
It was Daniel I was worried about because he was the most mysterious of them all. The former soldier had created a place for veterans right here in town, and he fought a hundred battles every year—singlehandedly combatting local prejudice and fear, raising funds, and being all kinds of badass. Daniel had my life in his hands, and I know that sounded dramatic, but this project was everything I wanted, and getting the nod meant that college, plus years helping at the nursery, would pay off with the best thing that could happen to me.
I could’ve taken the easy way out—worked for my parents, taken over the nursery when they retired—but I wanted something different, and I was willing to fight for it.
“Hi, Toby, you want to come in now?” Luke asked from the doorway.
I stood so fast I got a head rush and nearly dropped all the files. Three months I’d waited for this meeting, and now I was there, the last thing I wanted to do was come off as someone who wasn’t prepared.
“Thank you.” I kept in mind my dad’s warning that I tended to run my mouth at the drop of a hat, and aimed for polite and concise, following Luke in and shaking everyone’s hands. Then I took the seat opposite them, and my chest tightened as they all stared at me. Jason was smiling, Luke seemed encouraging, and Daniel thoughtful. They’ll laugh me out of here. I have no money for this, it’s just a—stop it!
“So, we have your proposal letter.” Daniel indicated a file in front of him and I nodded, then pulled myself together and handed over the three information packs.
Jason immediately opened it and nodded as he glanced at the summary. That was a good thing. Nodding meant he liked what he saw. Or is he just being polite?” Could you tell us a bit more about your proposal?”
I cleared my throat. “My name is Toby Geffner, and my parents run the Geffner Nursery out on Ridge Road, you already all know that, but I want you to understand that I’ve worked around gardens since I was old enough to hold a shovel.” They all blinked at me. “I started with a very small shovel.” I added the joke to lighten the tension, and Luke and Jason both smiled. Daniel remained stoic, but the Veteran Center was his baby, and it was him I needed to convince.
“My brother has autism. He’s an exceptional person, and growing up he found a sense of great peace in the garden. Maybe it’s the family genes or his need for routine and freedom, but he’s happiest when he’s pottering around the yard.”
“I remember seeing him any time I went to the nursery,” Luke encouraged me, and I genuinely felt as if I had someone in my corner.
“You would have. It became vital for him to connect to nature, and to learn that he had a choice between active and passive involvement, depending on his moods or medical demands. So, when it came to college, it was a slam dunk that I study at Walters State and get my degree in horticulture to work for the family business. But I took extra courses in therapy and specialized in supporting clinical care workers. They routinely offered horticulture-based therapy to anyone with anxiety or depression, young adults with special needs, and—even more interesting to me—veterans, as a potential part of a care plan on admission. When I came home, I just thought, why not do that here at the Center?”
I waited for a response, or at least for questions that I could answer to guide me to what they wanted to hear next. Instead, Daniel leaned forward in his chair and tapped the file I’d handed to him.
“Yes,” he said.
“Yes?” I repeated.
“I researched after receiving your letter. I think it would be of benefit to the veterans we have here. You have the two years’ initial funding you asked for. We need a formal plan in place, and you’ll be working with me on that. So, when can you start?”
I know my mouth must have fallen open, and the words to say anything at all escaped me. He’d just said “yes?” I hadn’t expected that at all, and I had a hundred other arguments in line that I clearly didn’t need to use.
“Today, tomorrow, when do you want me to start?”
“How about you stay for lunch now? Check out the land. Then start on Monday. Come in with plans and concepts and we’ll dive into it.”
By the time I left the office, I’d received carte blanche to begin creating a garden, with half an acre of land butting up against the park and the assurance of Daniel’s complete support. I think I was in shock as I left the building and headed down to the tree at the bottom of the hill, where the land I was now responsible for started. I could already envision pathways and herbs, vegetables and flowers, and the peace that I could create. I turned to face the tree and stared back at the Center, which had grown in the past six years.
And that was when I spotted him.
He was staring right at me. Dark hair, brown eyes, and a scar that ran from his forehead down the left-hand side of his face. His hands were in fists in his lap, and there was tension in every line of him. A black Labrador sat across his feet.
“Hi,” I said.
His stare didn’t falter, and I could see his scars, some of them running down and under his thin jacket.
“I’m Toby, and I’m here to work with you,” I blurted out and took a step closer, but I wish I hadn’t moved. He flinched, then stood shakily, whistled for the dog, and pulled himself tall an inch at a time. Then, shoulders back as much as he could, he stumbled up to the main building.
Despite all my training and the fancy words I’d used in my proposal about how I knew what I was doing, I’d failed my first test.
*****
Harrison
If I could’ve walked any faster, I would’ve. Barney slowed down to stay with me and kept his nose forward, determination in every paw-step. He wouldn’t leave my side; he would go as fast or slow as I needed.
He was my everything, and one battered human with their assistance dog barreled into the reception area with a clatter of paws and limping steps. If there was a god and he was kind, then the reception would be empty. But any god had deserted me a long time ago because whomever was up there in charge of my life had decided that there would be three men right behind the door. One of them I knew was the man in charge, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember his damn name. Something beginning with a D. Dan… Daniel.
I think.
I didn’t look at them, let alone talk to them, and even though I sensed Daniel wanted to ask me if I was okay, I ignored him and was quickly halfway up the stairs, my hand on Barney’s collar, hoping like hell for my leg not to buckle. He didn’t call up after me. No one shouted in this place, because it was an oasis of peace and a secure shelter for all those damaged vets who’d been chewed up and spit out by war.
When my recollection of why I was here hit me front and center, I counted myself as one of the lucky ones to find a place to hide. I wasn’t a danger to anyone else, but I was a danger to myself. The night terrors, the panic attacks, the stupid fucking inability to be a goddamned man—that was why I was here. The hospital staff healed my body to the best of their ability, the shrinks attempted to fix my head, but I didn’t have peace, and Barney was the only thing I cared about.
Caring got you hurt, and I was too raw to extend any affection or understanding to anyone but Barney.
I slumped onto my bed, then flopped backward, hands extended to each edge, Barney jumping up and curling himself right into my side. My heart raced, my head hurt, but once I matched my breathing to Barney’s and allowed his presence to soothe me, I began to calm.
“Danno, Brat, Diaz, Spook, and me,” I whispered into the room. “Danno, Brat, Diaz, Spook, and me.” The names of the fallen were a reminder of what I’d seen and lost, and were a way to connect with the world around me. Other people grieved Danno’s and Brat’s loss—they’d only been kids, both of them with big families. Diaz had a girlfriend who blamed me for her beloved dying on my watch. Spook had been married no more than a month and had left a pregnant wife behind.
I had my mom, but I’d pushed her away when I was in the hospital. I know that because it’s written in my book.
Why didn’t the explosion take me?
The ceiling fan above me was slow on the warm, fall day, and I focused on the rotations until they blurred. Only then did I close my eyes and reason out what had happened.
Someone had said hello to me—a man.
I didn’t even remember who he was, I couldn’t have picked him out of a lineup because my head was too full of noise, and my eyesight was for shit, but I’d stared at him. And then I’d run.
Or stumbled.
I was hot with embarrassment and shame, and tears forced themselves out and down my cheeks. I turned my face into Barney’s fur and cried until I was a snotty mess.
I’m a fucking marine, what the hell am I doing? What is happening to me?
There was a knock. “Food’s up, Harrison,” Daniel called, and I acknowledged him with my best and clearest okay that didn’t give away that I’d lost my shit.
It was a good thirty minutes before I made my way down the stairs, Barney a step or two behind so I could use him to steady myself. When we reached the bottom, I took a few moments to settle and swallowed the rising fear of what I’d have to face—sincere questions about my health, mental or otherwise—and lots of staring.
What I didn’t expect was a stranger in the vast room where the dining table sat. No one had said we had a new guest, but he didn’t seem military. His hair was long and brushed his collar, and he had this air of complete innocence. Like knew like, and this man hadn’t seen action. He was deep in conversation with a woman.
She had short blonde hair and a world of pain in her expression that I recognized at twenty paces. I probably knew her name, only I didn’t recall it then.
The stranger talking to her also seemed familiar, and I blinked to make sense of what I saw.
“Hey,” I said loud enough so that everyone could stare at me, and I’d get the concerned glances out of the way. The man with the familiar face leaned around the woman and immediately flushed scarlet. I could see the color rise in his cheeks, and he wouldn’t quite meet my gaze.
“Hi Harrison, I’m Lissy,” the woman said, and her name came back to me in a flash. Lissy. Army.
The man next to her extended a hand to me, and after a short delay, I shook firmly, then nodded.
“I’m Toby,” he said.
I stared into bright blue eyes. His hair was dark and threaded with red, and he had freckles across his nose. He was cute and sexy all rolled into one, and when his glance slipped to the left of my face, I had this irrational stab of need for him to check me out and not my scars.
“Corp—Harrison Miller.” I needed to stop using my freaking rank when I was a civilian now. Once a marine, always a marine meant little when I was so destroyed.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” Toby released my hand. He was staring at his feet, and I could have said I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I’d gotten used to hiding my issues.
He carried on talking as if I needed to know what he wanted to say.
“When I saw you under the tree and talked to you, I thought…” The rest was lost in the noise. No wonder he was recognizable if he was the man who spoke to me.
I remember a man talking to me. I was scared.
“Okay,” I said abruptly, not caring if I was interrupting him, just desperate to leave. I grabbed a sandwich and some chips, and then headed back to my room.
I was safe there from men with pretty eyes, a sexy smile, and an adorable splash of freckles.
Safe with Barney.
Ellery Mountain—a series of books set in the town of Ellery in the Smoky Mountains focusing on heroes as they navigate the barren landscape of being gay in a small town. Read stories of men like Finn the cop, Daniel the ex-marine, Kieran the carpenter, Marines, SEALs, teachers, soldiers, and a town that embraces them with love.
Saturday's Series Spotlight
Writing love stories with a happy ever after – cowboys, heroes, family, hockey, single dads, bodyguards
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.
She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.
BOOKBUB / KOBO / SMASHWORDS
EMAIL: rj@rjscott.co.uk
The Gardener and the Marine #9
