This was such an amazing story of strength and redemption. It begins with Timber and Katherine in high school, where Timber is part of the in-crowd that constantly picks on Katherine. It was a great example of bullying at it's worst because Timber did not necessarily feel that Katherine deserved to be picked on, but he would not really do anything about - he was a bystander. One day, after a particularly bad occurrence, Timber tries to apologize to Katherine. She didn't tearfully take his apology, as I feel many heroines sometimes do. No, she went off on him and challenged him to do something different; to change. Timber makes a vow to himself that day that he will change.From there, we come to the present, where Timber has just left the Army, after being enlisted for six years and two tours in Afghanistan. At that point, we don't really know all of the details, but we know that his most recent tour was bad. Really bad. He has many scars, both inside and out, from this tour. He comes home to stay with his dad, briefly, before hearing about some jobs on an oilfield in Nowhere, Texas. (It's not really Nowhere, but it basically sounds like it.) Timber has developed a little bit of a drinking pattern at this point. He goes to work, goes back to his basically empty apartment, and drinks to try to escape his nightmares.A few weeks in, his boss makes him come to his niece's birthday party at the local bar that she works in in town. Timber sees a girl that catches his attention, and he is introduced to Kat. It is not until later that night, when he wakes up from a nightmare, that he remembers that Kat is actually Katherine. He confronts her, and they begin to slowly get to know one another again, though it is not without reservations from Kat. You see, back in high school, the bullying that Katherine had experienced had gone much further than Timber realized - and by one of his best friends. Katherine has lived in fear since that time, and she had not trusted men around her in a long time. Katherine begins to slowly trust Timber, though, and they begin to get steamy. Very steamy.Not everything from their past will stay in the past, however. Someone else has been watching Katherine, and he is much closer than she realizes. Katherine and Timber must battle his PTSD from his time in Afghanistan, as well as her overcoming what happened to her in her past. When that past tries to destroy her present, however, will she and Timber be able to make it through? Again, such an amazing story of strength on Kat's part, as she did not wilt away and let her past define her as a victim. She was very strong, and she was a survivor. Timber was almost more fragile, at times, than she was, which was a nice role reversal to see, in many ways. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to read other Stacy Borel books.Jess Timber, I absolutely love this name, is suffering from PTL after serving in Iraq. Kat is also struggling to get over being sexually assulted in high school. They both help each other work through their problems. And fall in love. I really liked the idea of this book. It isn't a typical NA book, they had very serious issues to overcome. I enjoyed reading how they move on. Their sarcastic banter was fun too. I highly recommend it.
What do You think about Touching Scars (2000)?
Action, mystery, romance and a hot army guy. What more could you want?
—Lisa
