KILTED DESIRE - Sands of Betrayal

All
characters appearing in this book are fictitious.  Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

“I’d
like tae give special thanks tae Kim Haight and Terri Zinchiak fer all their
hard work, time and effort in helping making this book possible.”

"Also,
thanks tae Sue Klepinger and Dana Rodgers fer yer help and suggestions.”

Thank yer tae everyone fer taking the time tae review my book. I truly
appreciate it.

A.B. McKinley

Scott Maclaren had a stubborn streak and when he thought he
was doing something for the right reason, it was very rare for him to change
his mind. Maybe this had something to do with his military background. Scott
was a tall, athletic guy who kept his military buzz-cut since he left his
British Army Special Forces unit four years prior due to a terrible injury he
suffered on active duty in Afghanistan. He was part of an elite team that
completed many secret missions behind enemy lines. They were responsible for
infiltrating and eliminating terrorist strongholds and training camps. The
Taliban were tough fighters, but more often than not, missions were completed
with the team suffering very few or no casualties. They also performed similar
missions in Iraq, tackling many insurgents, particularly Al Qaeda fighters. As
quickly as they removed the extremists, more groups were formed which made the
job very difficult for the soldiers.

Afghanistan proved a very different terrain to Iraq with the
mountainous regions making things more difficult. One day things went
tragically wrong. An RPG (rocket propelled grenade) hit the small plane that
was transferring Scott’s unit. The plane crash landed killing many of his
friends. Scott survived. Luckily, the few survivors were rescued and airlifted
out of the region before the enemy could capture them. The doctors at the military
hospital in Kuwait were not sure if Scott would survive as he had suffered many
injuries and was in a coma. The most serious injury was his broken back. He came
through an operation to fuse the fracture and a metal frame was inserted around
his spine to support it. His spinal cord was badly damaged, but not completely
severed. There was a chance he would walk again, but the general opinion of the
medical staff was that he would not.

Scott awoke from the coma several days later. He learned the
tragic news that many of his friends were killed. The doctors explained to him
why he could not move his legs and the reasons it was unlikely he would ever
walk again. He was devastated by the news, but as he lay there, he put all his
strength into trying to move his legs and wiggle his toes. Though his brain was
telling him he was doing just that, when he looked down towards his feet, there
was no movement. He was completely paralyzed below the waist, something he
would have to deal with for the rest of his life. Within a few days, he was transferred
to a hospital back in the U.K. To be back to the one person he looked forward
to seeing and needed the most - his lovely wife.

Many thoughts raced through Scott’s mind. Some were
comforting, to be home and in the arms of his loving wife. Then there were
thoughts of another nature, not so comforting. What if he could never walk
again? What if he could never hold his wife and dance together or worse.  Oh,
the last thought. He was a strong, athletic man. His thoughts went to, what if
he would be unable to make love with his wife again?

It was the worst time of his life. Scott had always been an
active, athletic person. Growing up in Scotland, he had been involved in sports
and played soccer to a high level. He was also a Black Belt kickboxing champion
and had been a martial arts instructor before joining the Army. As he lay in
his hospital bed, all he could think about were the things he loved that he
would no longer be able to do. He had a hard time coming to terms with what happened,
but he knew the risks of the job. It was hard for him to stay positive, but
most days, he tried to give the nurses a smile. He thought things could not get
any worse. Wrong! Things did get worse, much worse. He had been back in the U.K.
for a few days. He was now anxious and needed to see his wife, but she had not come
by the hospital. There were so many things going through his mind, however, he
briefly thought she may not realize he was home yet and asked the doctors to
contact her. He had been married to Claire for two years at the time. She was a
secretary. He met her in a bar one night when he was on leave in London. She
was pretty, but he always knew she could be a little selfish and snobby
sometimes. They dated for nearly a year and she led him to believe she was fine
with the fact he had to be away at times for his job. He had truly fallen for
her. So much so, he proposed, took her hand and said I do and spoken vows that
he would love honor and cherish her. He couldn’t believe she still hadn’t
visited.

Scott would never forget exactly what happened when she
eventually came to see him, nearly a week after his return. He remembered their
short conversation, word-for-word. When he saw her approaching his bedside, he was
excited, smiled and asked her for a hug. She did not oblige, making an excuse
of not wanting to hurt him in his present condition. Then, she told him how she
had been lonely while he was away and met someone else. As if that wasn’t
devastating enough, she continued, telling him she heard from the doctors that
he was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and that was not
something she wanted to deal with. She wanted a divorce. He felt numb all over
and was unable to talk. What could he have said? Closing his eyes, he tried to breathe
and comprehend what was happening. With his eyes still closed, he listened to
her heels clicking on the floor as she walked away. For days, he’d been in
shock and hardly spoke to anyone, but slowly the shock and disbelief turned to
anger. Angry thoughts towards her, and everyone else, even the doctors. How
dare they tell him he would not walk again. They did not know him. They did not
know what he was capable of. He made himself a promise to walk again, and this
promise he definitely intended to keep.  He would show all of them.

When you tell Scott Maclaren he cannot do something, he will
prove you wrong. After nearly three years in various hospitals, and many
physical therapy sessions later, he managed to get back on his feet and
returned to his hometown of Clydebank, just outside of Glasgow. He would never
be able to physically do what he could before, but he was alive and able to
walk. He was grateful for that and continued getting stronger every day. He had
been given a glimmer of hope about six months after the accident when he saw
the big toe on his right foot move. After so much disappointment, he was not
sure if it had really happened or if his mind was playing tricks on him, so he did
not say anything for a while. A few minutes later, he attempted to wiggle it
again as he looked down nervously to see if the digit had really moved. It
moved! He never thought he could be so excited about wiggling a toe! He had
shouted to the nurses, unable to contain his enthusiasm.

That was just the beginning. Over the next few months, more
muscles had slowly started to work again and as soon as they did, he worked
with the hospital Physical Therapists on strengthening them. It was a long
process, but eventually he was able to prove the doctors wrong. In a way, he
was glad they had told him what they did. It had given him the extra motivation
to get better, not that he needed any. His divorce was taken care of, too. He
had just signed papers sent by her attorney. He wanted it to be over with. She
pretty much took everything in the divorce settlement. He didn’t have the
energy to fight it at the time. He never saw Claire again after that day at the
hospital. Moreover, after what she had done, he did not really care to.

Scott’s heart was pounding as he fastened his seat belt. The
pilot announced the plane was ready for take-off. He believed he was doing the
right thing, but someone else wasn’t quite so sure. His girlfriend text
messaged him calling him all manner of things for leaving like this. She was
not happy and he knew it. “Don’t go, Scott. Please come home,” the last message
read before he turned his phone off for the flight. He was stubborn though, and
when he decided to do something, not even the girl he adored would change his
mind. He knew she would try to talk him out of it. He didn’t say goodbye, but instead
he left an email hoping she would not read it until later in the afternoon when
she finished teaching her kindergarten class. By then, he would be on his way
and doing what he knew was best for both of them. But, things had not gone according
to plan. She checked her email during her lunch break, something she didn’t
normally do, but today for some reason, she felt compelled. He sent one text
message saying he loved her more than anything, not to worry and he would talk
to her as soon as he landed in New York. As he anticipated, the messages
continued to pour in.