Can you ever escape your past?
Jon Swartz is an adult recipientâthe second oneâof a scholarship awarded by an anonymous donor. A single father, he comes to Shelter Valley, Arizona, to begin his life anew. Heâs a man with a secret past, a past he has to hide to protect both himself and his two-year-old son, Abe.
Lillie Henderson, a child life specialist, has her own history of loss and betrayal. She and Jon are brought together by Abeâand by an attraction they canât deny. They have to decide not to let the emotionsâ¦and mistakesâ¦of the past sabotage their hopes for the future. Abeâs happiness depends on it. And so does theirs!
âAre you coming on to me?â
Jonâs question was soft, intimate.
There was a two-year-old sleeping a couple of feet away. A child Lillie couldnât take any further into her heart.
âNo.â Was she? âAt least, I donât think I am. Iâm justâ¦the other night you saidâ¦we both acknowledgedâ¦â For someone whose entire life was dedicated to finding the right words to help people, to soothe them, Lillie was failing miserably. âBut I really donât want anything more than friendshipâ¦.â
She couldnât take on Jonâs son. Not as her own. Sheâd smother him with her love and constant concern. Worry herself sick over every little hiccup.
She honestly did not want to marry again. Ever.
Dear Reader,
We get to spend more time together in Shelter Valley! I love it here and love that so many of you do, too. I hope weâll be able to keep meeting like this!
Jonâs new to Shelter Valley this semester. Heâs a man who was on the periphery of my mind after his appearance in Itâs Never Too Late; the real story in Second Timeâs the Charm was going to be Lillieâs.
Lillie first came here to attend college. And then, when tragedy took away everything that was dear to her, she came back to Shelter Valley to live. Sheâs a child life specialist whoâs had a very successful private practice here for the past five years. She knows what sheâs doing, what life is about and she believes she has all the answersâor knows how to find them.
Then Jon shows up. He has answers, too. But he raises questions. Jon needs Shelter Valley as much as anyone whoâs ever been there. He doesnât know that yet, but itâs as if Shelter Valley was made for Jon. He has secrets, though. And because of that, our town might not be safe with him in it....
It seemed to me, while I was writing this book, that I was going to have to chooseâbetween a town thatâs come to mean so much to me and to many of us, and a man whoâd sacrifice everything for his two-year-old son. And I learned, right along with Lillie, that I donât have all the answers.
I hope you enjoy this visit! And remember to plan time in your schedule for another Shelter Valley vacation. Weâll be here again later this fall in The Moment of Truth.
I love to connect with my readers. Please like Tara Taylor Quinn on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter so we can get better acquainted! You can also reach me at tarataylorquinn.com.
Tara Taylor Quinn
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With fifty-nine original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She is the winner of a 2008 National Readerâs Choice Award, four-time finalist for an RWA RITA®Award, finalist for a Reviewerâs Choice Award, a Booksellerâs Best Award and a Holt Medallion, and she appears regularly on Amazon bestseller lists. Tara Taylor Quinn is a past president of the 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 inline 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 inline skating.
For Mindy
Thank you for all the parts of your life that you share with me. And for having the strength and endurance to do what you do every day for those children. You are not only my inspiration, but my heroine.
CHAPTER ONE
Five years ago
HOT AND HEAVY with baby, Lillie Henderson knew the pains would pass. She wasnât going to deliver for another month, at least. False labor was common. Birthing class said so. The pains werenât acute enough to be labor. They were symptoms of dread. Alone in the elevator, she held the basketball-like protrusion that used to be a flat tummy and pushed the button for the eighteenth floor.