Dear Reader,
Is lying ever justified?
Kelly Carmichael thinks so, especially upon her arrival in Indigo Springs when the truth could land her back in jail. Then she meets and starts to fall for Chase Bradford, who holds the opposite viewâand a badge.
Thatâs the setup of A Strangerâs Sin, the second book in my Return to Indigo Springs trilogy. I thought it would be interesting to pair a woman, who lies when she has to, with a do-the-right-thing kind of guy and see what happened.
Hint: thereâs a scene in the book during a Fourth of July fireworks show.
All my best,
Darlene Gardner
P.S. Visit me on the Web at www.darlenegardner.com.
T HE SWEET PROMISE OF FREEDOM lay just beyond the courthouse doors, a nearly irresistible proposition for a woman whoâd spent the night in jail.
Kelly Carmichael longed to rush outside and turn her face to the late-June sun. The Wenona County courthouse was three or four miles from the cozy, one-bedroom town house in upstate New York where she lived alone. She planned to walk the entire way home, no matter how high the temperature climbed.
Then sheâd take a long, cool shower. She yearned to wash away the horror of the eighteen hours since uniformed police officers had pounded on her door, shown her a warrant and taken her away in handcuffs.
But first she needed to hear what the attorney whoâd represented her at the arraignment advised her to do about the colossal misunderstanding that had gotten her arrested.
The attorney stumbled out of the hall restroom, wiping the brow of his thin, pale face. Sheâd seen that same look of misery on one of her first-grade students last week. Spencer Yates, she guessed, had a stomach virus.
She rose from the wooden bench outside the court clerkâs window where her ex-boyfriend had posted her bail before leaving as quickly as he could. Spencer Yates was moving very slowly.
âAre you all right?â she asked.
âNo, I am not all right,â the lawyer snapped. His wisp of a moustache underscored how young he was, as though he couldnât yet grow decent facial hair. He put up a hand. âSorry. Itâs just that this stomach thing has hit me pretty hard. So letâs get down to it.â
He indicated that she should precede him into a meeting room not much larger than the jail cell where sheâd spent a sleepless Sunday night on a hard cot, counting down the hours until Mondayâs arraignment. He moved to pull the heavy door shut and last nightâs claustrophobia came rushing back.
âPlease, can we leave the door open?â she asked, her voice cracking.
His hand dropped to his side. âMakes no difference to me.â
He sat down heavily on one of the upholstered chairs alongside a meeting table with a laminate wood top and swiped a hand over his damp brow.
âAre you sure youâre all right?â she asked.
âIâm fine,â he said unconvincingly. âEven if I wasnât, we need to go over a few things.â
He opened her file and removed some sheets of paper heâd had time only to glance at before the hearing. Kelly sat silently, trying to be patient. Yates had explained the district judge was interested in getting through his heavy load of arraignments rather than correcting mistakes. But once the young lawyer looked over the specifics of her case, surely heâd see to it that justice was served.
In short order he put aside the papers, his head lolling slightly as though he had to put forth an effort to keep it up. âMy suggestion is to see if the district attorney will go for a plea bargain. Iâll try to get you a deal where you wonât have to serve more than one year.â
âOne year! No!â She shook her head vigorously. Like mother, like daughter, she thought before her mind rebelled. âI canât go to prison. I wonât.â
He looked at her through tired eyes shadowed with heavy, dark circles. âYou should have thought of that before the police found that baby at your place.â