Full Contact
From good to great…to foreverEllen Moore has a good life. But she wants a great one. One that's full, not just safe. That means stepping outside her comfort zone to take a risk.And it doesn't get much riskier than Jay Billingsley. He has all the trappings of a rebel–the leather, the motorcycle, the restlessness. Every instinct tells her to run in the opposite direction–fast. Yet when she's with him, she feels something very different. Emotions this intense have to be right. She senses he could hold the key to helping her put that last piece of her great life into place. But first, she has to change his mind about leaving Shelter Valley.
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âYouâre going to have to come closer.â
Jay continued, âOtherwise, you canât ride on the same bike Iâm on.â
It took almost a full minute, but Ellen managed to mount without coming into contact with his body. He gave her some brief instructions about moving with him, leaning and not leaning, general principles of keeping the bike balanced.
âWhere do I put my hands?â
âOn me,â he said, staring straight ahead. âThatâs the point of this exercise.â
âI know that. Where on you?â It sounded as though she was gritting her teeth.
âYour choice. Youâre the boss. For this exercise, my body represents your safety. It is fully at your disposalâlike a tornado shelter in a storm, or a fort during battle. Trust it.â
Her touch wasnât much, a light resting of her fingers on the top of his shoulders, but as soon as he felt it, he started the bike and put it in gear.
âHold on.â With a twist of his wrist he upped the throttle a notch. And received slightly more pressure on his shoulders.
âFaster,â she said, five more minutes down the road.
He increased the speed once more and she laughed out loud.
And thatâs when the whole damn thing went bad. The laugh, the touch of her handsâ¦whateverâ¦generated heat in Jay that he had no right to feel.
Dear Reader,
Ever wonder why true love lands on some people but not on others? Or how you can come across real and lasting happiness?
Ellen Moore might have wondered those things. She certainly had reason to wonder. But Ellen doesnât allow herself to ask why. She presses forward. Makes things happen. And sheâs so busy raising her five-year-old son and working and helping other people that she doesnât have time to wonder about much of anything.
Jay Billingsley is a black-leather-vested biker dude on a mission. Heâs also a renowned medical massage therapist, able to help victims of violence overcome aversion to physical touch.
Ellen and Jay seemed like a perfect fit to me when I first sat down to write this book. But, not surprisingly, the two of them had different ideas. This is their story. Told by them. And itâs a much better version than mineâ¦.
Welcome to Shelter Valley! I hope you enjoy the visit enough to want to come back and stay a while.
I love to hear from readers. You can reach me at [email protected]. Or visit me at www.tarataylorquinn.com. Iâm also on Facebook and Twitter.
Tara Taylor Quinn
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author of more than fifty-four original novels in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA TODAY bestseller with over six million copies sold. She is known for delivering deeply emotional and psychologically astute novels of suspense and romance. Tara won the 2008 Readerâs Choice Award, is a four-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA>® Award, a multiple finalist for the Reviewerâs Choice Award, the Booksellersâ Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. Tara is the author of the successful Chapman Files series and, with her husband, recently wrote and saw the release of her own true love story, It Happened on Maple Street, from HCI books. When sheâs not writing, fulfilling speaking engagements or tending to the needs of her two very spoiled and adored four-legged family members, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. Theyâve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small-town antiques shops all across the country.
For Courtney VanGarderen.
May you always have the strength to reach for your happiness and never, ever settle for less than that.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE
âYOU SURE YOU DONâT want me to come in with you?â Shelley asked.
âIâm sure.â Ellen Mooreâs voice, infused with confidence and cheer for the sake of five-year-old Josh climbing out of the backseat of her sisterâs car, sounded strong and healthy to her.
Because she was strong and healthy. She could do this. No big deal. Thousands of women all over the country shared parenting with divorced spouses.
Though maybe not all of them had their younger sisters driving them to the airport for the month-long parental switch.
Martha Moore Marks, the girlsâ mother, had been adamant about Ellen not making the trip alone. That was fine with Ellen. Her sister Shelley wanted Ellenâs opinion on an outfit she was considering for an upcoming vocal performance with the Phoenix Symphony, so they could take care of that while they were in the city. Then the sisters were treating themselves to lunch at their favorite Mexican restaurant in Fountain Hillsâa quaint Phoenix suburbâbefore heading home to Shelter Valley.
