A second chance to choose love
Returning to Taylorâs Grove is bittersweet for Audrey Merrill. Sheâs come home to take care of her ailing mother and finally face her painful past. She just never expected her daughterâs new teacher would be Mark Dublin. As childhood sweethearts, she and Mark were inseparable. Until her sisterâs tragic deathâan accident Audrey blames on him.
Mark is back to make amends. And, surrounded by memories of happier times, it doesnât take Audrey long to remember the love they once shared. Now sheâs faced with the same dilemma as years ago: hold on to the sorrow or forgive and embrace happiness.
âAudrey.â The last syllable compressed as his air ran out.
âHello, Mark.â Her blue-gray eyes held none of the warmth that suddenly engulfed him.
He thought he was prepared for this moment...had known it was coming for two weeks now. It was the reason heâd moved back to Taylorâs Grove, the reason heâd taken this job.
Heâd prepared for the icy glare and the bitter tone and the eleven years of aging since his last glimpse of her. But he hadnât prepared for the richness age had added to Audreyâs voice or the deeper beauty that had emerged like a stone from a grit tumbler, polished to perfection by the sands of time.
He wasnât prepared for the way his heart swelled or how the sight of her made him feel like a thirsty man struggling to reach the far oasis.
Heâd prepared for the hatred...not the love.
Dear Reader,
If youâve ever had a dog as a pet, you know what itâs like to be loved unconditionally. You can scold them, but at the first kind look or gesture, theyâre immediately back at your side, looking at you with adoration shining in their eyes.
We could learn a lot from dogs. Even without the sophistication of human intelligence and logic, theyâve figured out that forgiveness is a powerful forceâone that can reshape the spirit and breathe into it new life.
Right Where We Started, Book 4 in my Taylorâs Grove, Kentucky, series, is built around the theme of forgiveness. Unlike the other books in the series, both the hero and heroine of this story grew up in Taylorâs Grove. They were lifelong best friends and childhood sweethearts until tragedy pushed them in different directions.
Audrey Merrill and Mark Dublin might have a second chance at love if only they can learn to forgive. So, of course, there is a dog (well, actually several) to teach them that just because a relationship started as puppy love doesnât mean it canât last forever.
Until next time,
Pamela
PAMELA HEARON grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, a place that infuses its inhabitants with Southern values and hospitality. Here she finds inspiration for her quirky characters, her storiesâ backdrops and her narrative voice. Pamela was a 2013 RITA® Award finalist and a Maggie Award finalist for her first Harlequin Superromance story, Out of the Depths. The Summer Place was a 2014 National Readersâ Choice Award finalist. Visit Pamela at pamelahearon.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.
To my GNOsâJackie, Mindy, Cathy, Rita, Debbie, Sharon, Debby, Kathy and Dishonaâwho bring that kind of love and acceptance to my life that only girlfriends understand...even when my accent scrapes across their eardrums like pieces of Styrofoam rubbed together.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my fabulous agent, Jennifer Weltz (Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency), for all the hard work and time she puts in on my behalf.
Thank you to my wonderful editor, Karen Reid, for not being afraid to pull the reins in on me when the journeys in my mind veer too far from the map.
Thanks to my critique groupâAngela Campbell, Sandra Jones and Maggie Van Wellâwho dedicate so many hours to helping me put the perfect word in the perfect place.
Thank you to Cynthia DâAlba who is always ready to talk me through those plot problems and make time for ice cream.
And forever love and thanks to my precious husband, Dick, who makes every day of my life a thing to celebrate.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
Acknowledgments
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
Extract
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
Late August
AN ODD MIXTURE of emotion swept through Audrey Merrill as she opened the wide front door of the iconic redbrick building and led her daughter, Tess, inside. A deep breath filled her head with the unique smellâa combination of the fresh scent of pine cleaner mingling with, though not quite disguising, the odor of musty books, crayons, school glue and seventy-two years of sweaty children returning from recess. The familiar scent, which hadnât perceptively changed in the twenty-four years since sheâd entered these halls as a kindergartner, welcomed her home even while it pinged her heart with memories of the things that