A life built on lies?
How do you work for a guy who took the job you wanted? Every time Captain Layne Sullivan runs into Chief Ross Taylor, she struggles with that issue. It doesnât help that heâs a by-the-book cop who expects everything done his way. It also doesnât help that heâs hot. Ignoring that little fact is impossibleâsheâs tried!
Then Layneâs world is turned upside down when human remains are discoveredâ¦and the case has a personal connection. Suddenly sheâs glad Ross is so thorough, because heâll get to the truth. And his search brings them closer, fueling the attraction thatâs out of control. As secrets and lies from the past surface, Layneâs biggest challenge is fighting for a futureâwith Ross in it.
She resented his control even as she envied it
âI take it you and your mother arenât close?â Ross asked.
âIf you were from here, you wouldnât even have to ask that.â And Layne wasnât about to fill him in.
âYou havenât spoken to your mother in almost a year?â
âSeptember twentieth. Nineteen ninety-three.â
If he was surprised, she couldnât tell. Couldnât read him in the best of times, let alone when her emotions were jumbled, her thoughts confused.
She prided herself on her ability to see situationsâ¦peopleâ¦clearly. Being unable to do so with him only served to infuriate and, yes, intrigue her. Damn him.
What if her mother had changed her mind and hadnât wanted to leave her family? What if Layne hadnât said those things to her that night? What if sheâd tried to stop her mother from leaving instead of telling her to go and not come back?
Dear God, what if her mother was dead? And it was all her fault?
Dear Reader,
Writers are often asked where we get our ideas. The truth is, I have no clue how I come up with my stories. Sometimes itâs from something I see on TV, others itâs a line or two from a newspaper article or even lyrics from a song. All I know is that my books usually start with a character, one who grabs my attention, who has some fatal flaw to get past or an emotional wound that needs healing. Once I have that character in mind, I focus on writing a story that pushes them to grow and change and earn their Happily Ever After.
It wasnât that way with The Truth about the Sullivans trilogy. As a matter of fact, the premise for all three stories came from one simple quote: The truth will set you free.
Itâs a simple concept, but also one that can be very powerful. At least, thatâs what I found out when I wrote these stories. I had to know what would happen if three sisters discovered that their mother, the woman theyâd thought had abandoned them, had actually been murdered.
The answers surprised me. For Layne Sullivan, the eldest daughter and heroine of Unraveling the Past, discovering what had really happened to her mother meant a complete reevaluation of everything sheâd always believed. It also meant facing some hard truths about herself, the resentments sheâd held on to all these years and her ability to forgiveâothers and herself.
I had a great time writing Layne and Rossâs story and I hope you enjoy it, as well! I love to hear from my readers. Please visit my website, www.bethandrews.net, or drop me a line at [email protected] or P.O. Box 714, Bradford, PA 16701.
Happy reading!
Beth Andrews
P.S. Look for book two of The Truth about the Sullivans series, On Her Side, available in August 2012.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Romance Writers of America RITA® Award winner Beth Andrews lives with her husband and three children in northwestern Pennsylvania far from the ocean, Boston accents and New England Patriots fans. The middle of three daughters, she knows a thing or two about the
dynamics between sistersâa skill that came in handy while writing The Truth about the Sullivans. When not writing, Beth spends too much time in the kitchen and too little time on the treadmill. Learn more about Beth and her books by visiting her website, www.BethAndrews.net.
For Montgomry
Acknowledgment
Special thanks to Assistant Chief Mike Ward of the Bradford, PA, Police Department.
CHAPTER ONE
WHEN JESSICA TAYLOR lost her virginity three months and six guys agoâafter fiercely guarding it for fifteen yearsâsheâd been stone-cold sober.
She hadnât made that mistake again.
Her stomach rolled. From the Jack Danielâs, she assured herself. She shouldâve stuck with beer. It always gave her a nice, mellow buzz without making her want to puke. Mostly because she knew her limit. Whiskey was a new beast, one she hadnât figured out her tolerance to yet.
But Nate had been so sweet when sheâd arrived at the party a few hours ago, teasing her into trying J.D. and Diet Coke, making sure her glass was always full, adding more soda when she choked, her eyes watering at the first taste.