Love runs free
Meredith Bennet lives for two peopleâher husband, Max, and their young son, Caleb. She also lives in fear of her abusive ex-husband, Steve, a man sheâs been running from for years. She thought sheâd finally eluded him. But when it becomes apparent that heâs found her, she makes a drastic decision. She goes on the run againâby herselfâto protect the two people she loves most.
Meredith finds solace and safety in a new identity at The Lemonade Stand, a unique womenâs shelter. With Steve on the hunt for her and Max desperate to get his wife back, she will discover if love really is stronger than evil.
âMeredithâs ex-husband was a fiend,â Max said softly.
He spoke as though two-year-old Caleb might hear and understand what Max was saying.
âHe brutalized her,â Max went on. âAnd got away with it because of the power his position gave him. I gather he had a pretty impressive record with the Las Vegas police. I know he was older than her. Her familyâboth parents and a brotherâwere killed in a car accident when Meri was a kid. She was alone in the world. She married him at eighteen, and the first time he hit her was less than a year later. She stayed with him nine years.â
He wouldâve felt disloyal telling Meriâs secrets if Chantel had been just a friend. But she was a cop. And would help him find Meri.
âIt took Steve less than three months to track her down the first time she left. He was still a Las Vegas detective back then. She got away almost immediately and managed to elude him for about a year that second time.â
âThis guyâs determined.â Chantel sounded serious. All cop. And Max took his first easy breath in more than twenty-four hours.
Hold on, Meri.
Help is on the way.
Dear Reader,
Sometimes circumstances trap us in situations that defy logical solutions. The ârightâ things have all been tried. Theyâve all failed. And the human spiritâhopeâsuffers.
But, always, there is a force thatâs stronger than logic. Stronger than anything the human mind can conjure up. That force resides in the human spirit; itâs there, waiting to spring into action. All it needs is for us to let it goâto set it free to work.
And, always, one of the hardest things to do is give in to the intangible, the often illogical something inside usâto trust it and follow its dictates. Sometimes we lose hope and settle for a situation that isnât ideal.
Sometimes, though, trusting that far-too-quiet inner voice is the only way weâll survive.
Husband by Choice is the story of one such situation. And the woman who thought herself weak, but whoâs actually strong enough to listen to her heart, to act on the instinct inside her even though it drives her straight into danger. This story is fiction. I donât recommend that any woman face violence on her own. I do, however, fully embrace every womanâs right to live by her heart. To fight for that right. And to know ultimate joy.
May we all be a part of the sisterhood shared by the special women who come and go at The Lemonade Stand!
I love to hear from my readers. Please connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, visit me at www.tarataylorquinn.com or write to [email protected].
Tara Taylor Quinn
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With sixty-eight original novels, published in more than twenty languages, TARA TAYLOR QUINN is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She is a winner of the 2008 National Readerâs Choice Award, four-time finalist for an RWA RITA® Award, a finalist for the Reviewerâs Choice Award, the Booksellerâs Best Award and the Holt Medallion, and appears regularly on Amazon bestseller lists. Tara Taylor Quinn is a past president of Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on its board of directors. She is in demand as a public speaker and has appeared on television and radio shows across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. Tara is a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and she and her husband, Tim, sponsor an annual in-line skating race in Phoenix to benefit the fight against domestic violence.
When sheâs not at home in Arizona with Tim and their canine owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara spends her time traveling and in-line skating.
For Adam. I pray that you are, now and forever, my daughterâs âMax.â
CHAPTER ONE
âSHA SHA, MAMA. Sha sha! Geen, Go! Geen, Go!â