âCome on, Grady. The statute of limitations has long expired on breakup hard feelings.â
âSays who?â He shoved an extra pillow behind his head. âFrom where Iâm sitting, Iâm still mad as hell.â He downed his second longneck and went in for a third.
Jessie had the gall to cross her arms and roll her eyes.
âYou think I still shouldnât be pissed? I asked you to marry me. You accepted.â
âAlmost a decade ago!â She smacked the dresser top. âGet over it. Thatâs ancient history.â
âThe hell it is.â He sprang from the bed, planting his hands on either side of her, pinning her in but not giving her the satisfaction of touching her. âGive me an honest reason and Iâll let it go. More than anything, I want to let thisâyouâgo, but youâre stuck in my head.â
âSorry.â
âI need a reason, Jess.â
She raised her chin. âYou know the reason.â
âOh, rightâyou donât love me.â
âYou know how much I care for you. You were my best friend. Why canât we just go back to that?â
âNo, thanks.â The friend card had long been off the table.
LAURA MARIE ALTOM is a bestselling and award-winning author who has penned nearly fifty books. After college (Go, Hogs!), Laura Marie did a brief stint as an interior designer before becoming a stay-at-home mum to boy-girl twins and a bonus son. Always an avid romance reader, she knew it was time to try her hand at writing when she found herself replotting the afternoon soaps. When not immersed in her next story, Laura plays video games, tackles Mount Laundry and, of course, reads romance!
Laura loves hearing from readers at either PO Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101, USA, or by e-mail, [email protected]. Love winning fun stuff? Check out www.lauramariealtom.com.
Chapter One
For all practical purposes, Rock Bluff, Oklahoma, was gone.
Navy SEAL Grady Matthews pulled his rental sedan onto the highwayâs shoulder, being careful not to hit a pink bathtub that rested on its side in a nest of debris. He lowered his window, bracing his forearm on the vehicleâs frame to take in the tragic view. The early-May tornado had been damn near a mile wide, and it had razed everything in its seventeen-mile path.
When his dad called, asking him to help rebuild their ranch, Grady thought heâd exaggerated the degree of the stormâs damage, but if anything, Benâs description had been inadequate. Gradyâs brain knew that a hundred yards down the road was where the historic Flamingo Motel should be, along with a McDonaldâs, an Arbyâs, the First Baptist Church and the Dairy Barn, but all of it was just gone, as if God had swept His hand over it, wiping the slate clean. Only the resulting mess wasnât clean. It was an unfathomable pile of concrete blocks and upended church pews andâ Tears stung his eyes.
He wanted to blame those tears on dust from a passing National Guard convoy, but the truth was that all he seemed capable of focusing on was the fact that the last place heâd seen Jessie, held her hand, begged her to give him another chance, had been at the Dairy Barn. Theyâd sat in the back booth that always caught the afternoon sun. Her honey-gold hair had come alive in the glow, and heâd reverently skimmed the crown of her head, kissing the soft waves of her hair, inhaling the simple strawberry sweetness of her shampoo, because it hadnât been enough to just touch herâheâd needed to breathe her in.
I donât love you, sheâd said. This...us... Weâre just not going to happen.
An hour later, Grady had signed his recruitment papers down at the strip mall that was now also gone.
He couldnât quite wrap his head around the fact that physical proof of his memoriesâthe only thing left of him and Jessieâhad been erased.
His cell rang. The caller ID read Rose Matthews.
âHey, Mom.â
âHey, yourself, sweetie. Where are you? Almost to town?â
âYeah, Iâm just sort of taking it in.â
âItâs a shock. Your dad and I have had a few days to get used to...well, everything.â
âSure...â
âI do have some good news, which is why Iâm calling. You remember Jessieâs parents, donât you? Roger and Billy Sue?â
âYes, maâam...â He released a long, slow exhale.
âWell, they heard weâve been staying at the shelter, and since they have that cute little guesthouse out by their pool, they asked if your dad and I would like to stay with them until our house is done.â
Grady leaned his head back and groaned. Seriously?
âSince the guesthouse is just the one room and the bathroom, Billy Sue said sheâll put you in one of their spare bedrooms.â