âIt could get worse.â
Grant felt guilty immediately, seeing the way Kat flinched at his words. A part of him wanted to step closer and pull her into a comforting embrace. But he didnât dare until he could be sure she didnât have anything to do with her husbandâs disappearance.
His mouth twisted in something like amusement. Yeah, imagine how sheâd react if he tried to take her into his arms. It would probably be like trying to cuddle a feral cat. Teeth and claws would fly, and heâd bleed.
âYes,â she said, so quietly he scarcely heard her. âThe way people looked at me back then, I knew what they were thinking.â Her eyes met his. âWhat you were thinking.â
Grant shook his head. âI was doing my job, staying open-minded. No more, no less.â That was a lie, of course, but she wouldnât welcome the truth.
âAnd is that what youâre doing now, too?â
His jaw tightened. âYes.â
âBut youâll let it go if I ask you to?â
âYes.â After a pause, he added, âFor now.â
Dear Reader,
Iâve realized recently how many of my books are really about finding someone who has been missing from our lives. Never knowing whatâs become of a loved one would be worse, I think, than losing him or her to a tragic accident. You might be haunted even more if you hadnât said goodbye on good terms; if youâre gripped by guilt as well as grief.
Bone Deep started from a newspaper article about a woman who has spent years checking with police departments every time human remains were found in hopes theyâd be her brotherâs. But then I got to thinking⦠What if your loved one didnât stay missing? What if he was returned to you after a long timeâpiece by piece? I donât know about you, but Iâm pretty sure I wouldnât be as gutsy as Kat, the heroine in Bone Deep. Of course, it would help if I had a man as sexy and determined and loving as Grant Haller backing me up.
But back to that theme⦠Funny thing, but my upcoming book is turning out to be about finding that missing person, too. And, hey! Iâve never lost anyone in my own life. Really.
Happy reading,
Janice Kay Johnson
Bone Deep
Janice Kay Johnson
The author of more than sixty books for children and adults, Janice Kay Johnson writes Harlequin Superromance novels about love and familyâabout the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her 2007 novel Snowbound won a RITA® Award from Romance Writers of America for Best Contemporary Series Romance. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She loves to read and is an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter.
For Mom, who reads every word before anyone else does.
Thank you, Mom, for loving me, inspiring meâ¦and helping make my writing better.
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
âTHIS YEARâS SNOHOMISH County Business Owner of the Year isâ¦â Behind the podium at the front of the ballroom, Judith Everest paused long enough to search out the five nominees in the crowd, her gaze pausing at each until she reached Kat. Smiling, she concluded, âKathryn Riley of Sauk River Plant Nursery!â
The room erupted in applause. Dazed, Kat stumbled to her feet.
Four days later, she still glowed at the memory. To think that, four years ago, the business had been close to going under.
Too bad she couldnât actually slow down to savor the honor the way sheâd like. This was spring, for a plant nursery the equivalent of the pre-Christmas rush for most retailers. She was going nonstop.
In as close to a break as she could afford, sheâd escaped to one of the greenhouses to pot seedlings. Now she gently sifted a little potting mix around a sturdy petunia, then scooped up some compost from a separate wheelbarrow with her trowel. Even though she worked without pause, with hundreds of seedlings waiting to be potted, she reveled in both the silence and the humid warmth. This was as peaceful as it would get for her until July.
And all that publicity about her being honored by the business community, reported in both the Seattle Times and the Herald, wouldnât hurt business.
She patted the new soil into place, then set the seedling onto a flat and grabbed an empty pot from a stack of them. She dumped two inches of potting mix into the pot, tucked the next seedling in, then scooped up compost to add richness for the roots.
Snohomish County Business Owner of the Year.
Unbelievable. Four years ago, left alone and facing bankruptcy, sheâd clung fiercely to dreams. The nursery had been her salvation, and look what sheâd done with it even though she knew no one had believed she could handle the business at all.
Smiling, she carefully tilted the trowel to pour the dark compost into the four-inch plastic pot.