Emory Maxwell has come home to the small town of Sweetness, Georgia, with one goal in mindâto get his childhood sweetheart Shelby Moon to marry him. Theyâve been in love with the second grade, but Shelbyâs father is determined to keep his daughter in Sweetness, not moving around the country as a soldierâs wife. No matter what she chooses, Shelby knows sheâll hurt one of the men she loves.
But when a tornado rips through town, will she and Emory lose their chance to be together forever?
Get ready to fall in love with the town of Sweetness, Georgia, in this prequel to Stephanie Bondâs Southern Roads trilogy.
Stephanie Bond grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern Kentucky, where books were her main form of entertainment. âThere were no book stores in my small hometown, and no public library. My school had a small library, which I exhausted fairly quickly. But I was lucky to have an aunt who lived out of state and who shared my love for books. When she visited every year, she would bring me bags full of Harlequin romance novels and gothic romances by Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. I was in heaven.â
Years later, Stephanie was seven years deep into a systems engineering career and pursuing an MBA at night when an instructor remarked she had a flair for writing and suggested that she submit to academic journals. But Stephanie was interested only in writing fictionâmore specifically, romantic fiction. Upon completing her masterâs degree and with no formal training in writing, she wrote a romance novel in her spare time. Two years later, in 1995, she sold her first manuscript, a romantic comedy, to Harlequin Books. In 1997, with ten sales under her belt, Stephanie left her corporate job to write fiction full-time. âIn hindsight,â reflects Stephanie, âthose early years of devouring a book a day instilled in me the rhythm of storytelling.â
Today, Stephanie has more than fifty published romance and mystery novels to her name, including the Body Movers humorous mystery series, which was recently optioned by Sony Pictures Television for TV series development, and the Southern Roads romance trilogy. Read more about Stephanie Bond and her books at her website, www.stephaniebond.com.
Ten years ago
Emory Maxwell tightened his grip on the steering wheel of his SUV, looked over at his longtime friend and fellow soldier, Porter Armstrong, and took a deep breath. âWill you marry me?â
Porter considered his words, then scoffed, âMan, you canât just blurt it out like that.â
âWhy not?â
âBecause itâs not romantic, thatâs why. You have to say âI love youâ and âI canât live without youâ and âI want to spend the rest of my life with youâ,â crap like that. Try it again.â
Emory frowned. âWell, you donât have to be such a jackass about it.â
Porter sighed and pushed back the U.S. Army cap that matched his fatigues. âYou want Shelby to say yes, donât you?â
âOf course I do, you idget. Thatâs why weâre going to Sweetness.â
âThatâs why youâre going to Sweetness,â Porter corrected. âYouâre the one whoâs jonesing to get married. Me, Iâm never settling down. I just want as much home cooking as my mother can make in the few days Iâm home on leave.â Then Porter looked apologetic. âSorry, man, I know you miss your mom. You and Dr. Maxwell can come over and eat with us any time.â
Emory felt a pang for his motherâs absence, something he knew Porter could understand. âAnd I know you miss your dad. Thanks for the invitation. Will Marcus and Kendall be there?â
âNo. Marcus is in Pakistan, something about a terrorist group the U.S. is worried about. And Kendall is in El Salvador overseeing reconstruction after the earthquake earlier this year. I donât know when Iâll see them again.â Then he frowned. âHey, donât change the subject. Youâre going to have to say something good to convince Shelby to wake up to your ugly mug for the rest of her life.â
Emory puffed out his cheeks in an exhale. âIâm more worried about what her pop is going to say.â
Porter made a rueful noise. âYou should be. I heard Mr. Moon is a pretty good shot.â
âThat man has never liked me.â
âWhat do you expect? He wants to keep Shelby in her calico bedroom for the rest of her life, and youâve got other bedroom plans for his little girl. Sheâs all heâs gotâof course he hates you. I feel sorry for Shelby being in the middle of you two mules.â
Emory hardened his jaw. Sooner or later, Shelby was going to have to choose between him and her daddy.
Porter glanced at his watch. âWhat time is she expecting you?â
âI didnât tell her I was coming.â
Porter guffawed. âYouâve been arguing on the phone for months. Now youâre going to just show up with a ring and propose?â
âThatâs the plan,â Emory muttered.