To Be Read Catalog
She left for the military thinking she would have it all.
The career, the man she loved, a family of her own. Then her fiancé issued an ultimatum: come home and marry him, or lose him forever.
Eight years later, Lieutenant Lynn Johnston returns to her small Kentucky hometown with a secret to keep and a desire to find peace. Her planned lifelong career had been cut short by events beyond her control. Now, she hoped that she could forge a new path, one that would heal her heart and help to put her past behind her. Those hopes are dashed when she discovers Carter Mathis, her former fiancé, has also returned and is raising his two young sons. Lynn must decide if she can deal with not only the old hurt feelings from the past-- and Carter’ s soon-to-be ex who has a vendetta against Lynn-- to give Carter a second chance. A deadly collapse at the coal mines where Carter works, an accident that rocks the town, could possibly take the choice out of her hands. Does she confront her feelings and move forward, or leave the life she ' s always wanted behind?
Excerpt
ROMANCE
How would she react to seeing him again? Would she react with genuine pleasure or with cool politeness? Would she hug him or slam the door in his face? His stomach churned, making him wish he’ d been less liberal with the morning coffee.
Unlike the night before, time passed swiftly on the drive. Before he knew it, he was pulling into driveway behind a smart little compact car. Lynn’ s rental, if he read the tags right. For a quick moment, he wondered if he’ d lost his mind, just showing up this way. Wondered if it was too late to just put the truck in reverse and go back down the road the way he’ d come.
He gave himself a mental shake, took another deep breath and told himself that this needed to be done. Perhaps they’ d find the closure they’ d never had the chance to get after they had broken their engagement, with each of them thousands of miles away from the other. He hoped he’ d be able to put her out of his mind, once and for all. He doubted it, but it was worth a shot.
Maybe he should get out of the truck before the people inside became curious as to who the weirdo was lurking in their driveway.
Breathing deep, Carter stepped from the vehicle, gravel crunching under his feet. He heard the dog barking inside as he made his way up the wooden steps. There was no doorbell – there never had been, not for as long as he could remember – so, hands shaking, he knocked. And waited there on the doorstep, counting the beats of the heart now in his throat, and taking shallow breaths. The sounds of footsteps grew louder as they approached the door, which soon swung open to reveal the woman who plagued last night’ s dreams.
She was barefoot, dressed in jeans and an old, faded blue long sleeved tee shirt, her long wavy hair pulled back away from her face. Lynn looked just as shocked to see Carter at her front door as he had been at seeing her the previous night. This more than anything helped Carter relax, and he even worked up a smile.“ Hello, Lynn. Welcome home.”
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