Honor by Cait Forester, Brian C. Palmer

“I should hate him, after everything he put me through. What’s wrong with me?”

Martin Warner is barely holding his life together. His older brother Keith, who was always Martin’s rock, died two years ago in Iraq. His Aunt Janey, who raised Martin and Keith when their mother died of a heroin overdose, is slowly slipping into dementia. Martin’s father, Hal, is a junkie who will take any opportunity to get his fix. So when Martin is accepted as a physical therapy intern at the VA hospital, he isn’t sure he can handle one of his first patients: Taggart Coulson, the bully who made Martin’s life hell throughout high school. Now, Taggart is an ex-marine who lost a leg and suffers from PTSD. But does his sacrifice erase the damage he did to Martin’s life? And why is Martin so drawn to a man who has caused him nothing but pain?

“I’m not even a whole person anymore; what could he possibly want with me?”
Taggart Coulson wanted nothing more than to follow his father’s footsteps and join the US Marine Corps–and he did, for almost a full four-year tour. That was, until an IED took his left leg, his mental health, and his sense of purpose. The VA has offered to give him a new leg made of fiberglass and aluminum, and his therapist offers him a chance to try and reclaim his life through unconventional means–but could Martin Warner, who represents the worst part of Taggart’s past, be the one to offer him a new sense of purpose in life? Taggart never imagined that he’d be forced to confront his sexuality; he was more than happy to be married to the USMC.

Now that the corps has abandoned him, is it finally time to admit the feelings he’s struggled to keep stuffed in the closet all these years?

Two men driven by a sense of duty and Honor, two hearts cracked and scarred, and one rambunctious puppy may make for a complicated little family–but perhaps love can heal the wounds that truly matter in this sixth entry into the Men of Virtue series.