Summerâs laughter was refreshing andâ¦beautiful
But then, Mack realized, she was beautiful. Her eyes were big and beguiling. Her hair shone like golden wheat at sunset. Mack groaned inwardly, thinking heâd gone all soft and poetic, just watching the woman. But he couldnât stop watching her.
Until a big goose flapped his wings and started seriously chasing Summer. Suddenly she was surrounded by quacking, hungry geese, ducks and ducklings.
âHey, do something. Iâm being attacked,â Summer said to him as she rushed by.
Mack shook his head, his own laughter relieving some of the tension. âIâm enjoying this too much.â
He grabbed her hand and urged her toward the building. They stopped at the veranda, laughing as they tried to catch their breaths.
Summer gazed at Mack, her eyes shining with mirth. âIâve never been rescued from ducks and geese before.â
Mack realized heâd made a fatal mistake. He shouldnât have taken her by the hand, because now he didnât want to let go. Ever.
grew up in a small Georgia town and decided in the fourth grade that she wanted to be a writer. But first she married her high school sweetheart, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Taking care of their baby daughter at home while her husband worked at night, Lenora discovered the world of romance novels and knew thatâs what she wanted to write. And so she began.
In 1993, Lenoraâs hard work and determination finally paid off with that first sale. âI never gave up, and I believe my faith in God helped get me through the rough times when I doubted myself,â Lenora says. âEach time I start a new book, I say a prayer, asking God to give me the strength and direction to put the words to paper. Thatâs why Iâm so thrilled to be a part of Steeple Hillâs Love Inspired line, where I can combine my faith in God with my love of romance. Itâs the best combination.â
This wasnât the best place in the world to have a breakdown, either in oneâs car or oneâs life.
Summer Maxwell was having both, however.
Wanting to say words her grandmother wouldnât appreciate, Summer kicked the front right tire of her late-model sportscar, then let out a frustrated groan as she looked up and down the lonely Texas back road. A sign a few feet from her car stated Athens, 9 Miles.
So close, yet still so far away.
âI just had to drive all the way home from New York, didnât I?â she shouted to the hot, humid wind. âAnd I just had to do it in this pitiful excuse for an automobile.â
Summer eyed the faded red of the twenty-year-old Jaguar, wondering why sheâd never bothered to buy a new car. Maybe because this one had belonged to her father at one time, and maybe because that was a connection she wasnât ready to give up, even if it wasnât always pleasant.
James Maxwell had given his only daughter the car when sheâd graduated from high school, his silky, charming words making the deal all the more sweet since heâd missed the graduation ceremony. âDaddy wants you to have this one, honey. Iâm getting me a brand-new Porsche. And your mama, she doesnât want this one. Guess that means Iâll be buying her a Cadillac soon.â
âYeah, you sure did buy Mama a new set of wheels,â Summer muttered as the gloaming of another hot Texas day brought a cool wisp of breeze floating over her. And James Maxwell hadnât even bothered to wish his daughter well as she headed off to college with her cousins, April and Autumn. No, her father hadnât bothered with much at all regarding his daughter. Maybe because heâd wanted a son so badly, to carry on the glory days of his rodeo career.
âSorry, Daddy,â Summer said now and wondered why she always felt it necessary to apologize for everything.
Her parents were globe-trotters, too tied up in each other and her fatherâs rodeo and oil-industry endorsements to worry about their rebellious daughter. So theyâd dumped her on her motherâs parents for most of her life, while they enjoyed the good life that came with being oil-and cattle-rich Maxwells.
âIâm almost there, Memaw,â Summer said as she lifted the hot hood of the car, then backed away as a damp mist of smoke poured over her. âMust be the radiator again.â
Wishing she hadnât been so stubborn about not flying, or about not taking her cousin Autumnâs sensible sedan, Summer looked up and down the long road. She could call her grandfather on her cell, get him to come and pick her up. That is, if her cell would even work in these isolated piney woods.
âOr I could walk,â she reasoned. âMaybe physical activity would keep me from having that breakdown I so richly deserve.â