âMaybe you ought to go over there and ask her if sheâs Caitlin Kramer.â
But Alex knew it wasnât a good idea. The woman in the wheelchair at the other table seemed uncomfortable in her surroundingsâ¦any fool could see that.
âNah.â Hallie kept her full attention to her meal, munching fries, wolfing down her huge cheeseburger.
Where did she put it all?
âYou want to hit a movie after this?â
The girl shook her head.
Alex hated that his little girlâs innocence had been tainted by a senseless act of violence.
âGotta pee.â Hallie jumped up and headed for the bathroom.
Inside, she closed herself into one of the two stalls. She waited impatiently for the woman in the next one to hurry up. A few moments later she heard water running as the lady washed her hands for what seemed an eternity.
Come on, come on! Hallie stood quietly, listening for the sound of the door. At last the dryer shut off, the door snicked open, then shut with a soft click.
Hallie closed her eyes and focused. She could do this. It was easy, once you learned how. She raised her fingers to her mouth and felt her stomach begin to heave in a familiar wave of motion. Then she leaned over the toilet, purging herself of everything sheâd just eaten.
But not just the food.
Of everything bad that lay like a thick, black poison inside her.
Dear Reader,
Do you ever stop and think about how the course of our lives can change in an instant? I often think about that and wonder âWhat if?â What if a person made a different choice at one single moment along his or her lifeâs journey? It fascinates me that one small action can drastically alter everything.
But sometimes the path we take is not by choice. Sometimes itâs by accident, or a seemingly cruel twist of fate. Yet Iâve found that good can come from the proverbial dark cloud. When Caitlin Kramer suffers a severe accident, sheâs forced to take a long, hard look at her goals and dreams. At exactly what sort of person she is.
Alex Hunter has traveled a similar path. His main concern is protecting his daughter, and heâll go to any length to do it, including moving to the small Colorado mountain town of Deer Creek. Little does he know that fate has plans for him. And for Caitlin.
I hope youâll enjoy the twists and turns of Alex and Caitlinâs journey to true love. Donât you just love a happy ending?
I enjoy hearing from my readers. You can e-mail me at [email protected] (please reference the book title on the subject line). Or stop by my authorâs page at the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers Web site at smrw.org or SuperAuthors.com. Happy reading!
Brenda Mott
This book is dedicated to the wonderful women
who made my lifelong dream come true: my editors, past and presentâPaula Eykelhof, Beverley Sotolov, Kathleen Scheibling, Victoria Curran, Laura Shinâand my agent, Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency. My thanks go deeper than words can say.
PROLOGUE
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
EPILOGUE
âBE CAREFUL DRIVING HOME, Caitlin. Itâs starting to snow.â Shauna pulled her head back inside, then partially closed the front door behind the other woman.
âI will. Donât forgetâthe indoor arena, six sharp.â Caitlin pointed an accusing finger at her longtime friend. âNo hitting the snooze button. We need to get in one last practice session before I head back to school.â
âIâll be there,â Shauna promised with a laugh.
Caitlin waved and hurried toward her Pacific-blue Jaguar, parked near the barn a short distance from Shauna Meyersâs front yard. As she headed down the dirt-and-gravel road, she flipped the heater on full blast. February in Colorado could be brutal, and it looked like tonight would be no exception. She regretted that she hadnât worn a coat this afternoon when sheâd left for Shaunaâs house. She shouldâve known the fickle mountain sunshine and mid-fifties temperature made no promises. But it didnât matter. The Jaguar X had heated seats, and her long-sleeved sweater was warm enough.
She slid a CD into the stereo, then turned her wipers on as the overture to the Marriage of Figaro filled the car. The snowflakes were getting bolder, bigger, and she flicked her headlights to low beam. By the time she reached the two-lane highway, the snow was coming down in earnest. Sheâd hoped to get home before the roads got bad, but the ranch was a good seven miles from the Meyersâs place, and the snow was starting to stick to the pavement. Suddenly her car shimmied. She looked in her mirrors but couldnât see anything. Yet the car handled in a way that told her something was wrong, so Caitlin pulled over to the shoulder.
Nuts! A flat tire. Left rear side. If only sheâd taken Dillon up on his offer to teach her basic vehicle maintenance, including how to change a tire. At the time, his big-brother concerns seemed unnecessary. After all, she had her auto club membership. But as she stood in the falling snow, the thought of waiting for the auto club to send someone from town didnât seem like such a good idea after all. At the pace people moved in Deer Creek, it might take a while, and she didnât relish the thought of sitting in her car at the side of the dark mountain highway.