The Raptor and the Mourning Dove — Richard Taylor

When Smitty Wesson's mother died, leaving him in the hands of his Vietnam-War scarred father, he rebelled against the world until he enlisted in a unit en route to the battlefield. Smitty became a highly valued and effective military sniper, but is haunted by the realities of his carnage. Abby Arden, a combat medic, is his soul mate in battle. Smitty became Abby's guardian in dangerous situations; she sought to heal his heart. But Smitty was compelled to take drastic measures in the wake of a calamity that devastated Abby on the eve of a precarious mission. Then in an ambush Smitty becomes critically wounded rescuing a friend. Abby steps in as his savior. Their healing processes are separate -- pregnant Abby at home in Georgia, Smitty in Walter Reed and a Veterans hospital. Abby finds support from Smitty's father, the battle-damaged Butch Wesson; Smitty needs help from a nurse, a chaplain, an army psychologist, and a quadruple amputee in grappling with his ghosts. Yet putting their lives back together is a torturous path threatening Smitty's goals of becoming a street-cop and Abby becoming a surgeon. When Smitty's release from the hospital arrives, questions still loom -- will the terrors of his past release him? Will Abby still love him? Can he mend his relationship with his father? Can he become a father himself? Can he accept reliance on others? Is Abby's goal of saving lives still possible? And the eternal question still hangs -- can anyone who has gone to war ever come home again?