Don't Leave Me
Page 1
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Don’t Leave Me COPYRIGHT © Lorhainne Ekelund, 2017, All Rights Reserved
Contact Information: Lorhainne@LorhainneEckhart.com
ISBN: 978-1928085492
Don’t Leave Me
The McCabe Brothers
Lorhainne Eckhart
Contents
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Don’t Leave Me
The McCabe Brothers
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
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Chapter 1
About the Author
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— “After witnessing murder in which an innocent homeless woman is wrongly charged Claudia is determined to see justice prevail. Add in a good looking cop and you have a marvelous story which I really enjoyed.”
Samanthagirl
—“Another hit from the ‘Grande Dame” Ms. Eckhart, the lady with the eloquent vocabulary.”
Jubare
—“Social issues brought to light in this well crafted story”
Aherman, Reviewer
—“While running from dirty cops who have threatened her, Claudia finds love.”
Sherri Jones-Teachout
Don’t Leave Me
* * *
One moment in time could change her future forever.
* * *
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart comes a riveting and edgy romance about a young love driven to the breaking point.
* * *
Even though Claudia is part of the McCabe family, with four older brothers she barely knows, she has a dark side no one in their right mind would mess with, and she still sees herself as alone. That is until one night, when she witnesses an unspeakable crime that blurs the lines of morality. Her first instinct is to run, but when a mysterious handsome man enters her life, promising to keep her safe, she’s caught up in a web of secrets, not knowing who to trust. When her brothers unite, will they expose the truth or destroy any hope Claudia has of finding love?
* * *
The McCabe Brothers, a spinoff of the big family romance series The Friessens from a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman)
* * *
Didn’t get a chance to read the other books in the McCabe Brothers?
* * *
The McCabe Brothers
Don’t Stop Me (Vic): Fifteen years ago, Vic McCabe was headed down a one-way road to destruction with the love of his life. But then the unthinkable happened, a mistake that changed their lives forever.
* * *
Don’t Catch Me (Chase): He stopped a robbery. Now he has to do the right thing.
* * *
Don’t Run From Me (Aaron): A compelling emotional tale about the undeniable power of second chances.
* * *
Don’t Hide From Me (Luc): Sometimes what we can’t see is standing right in front of us all along.
* * *
Don’t Leave Me - Claudia: One moment in time could change her future forever.
The McCabe Brothers
The McCabe Brothers, a spinoff of the big family romance series The Friessens from a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman)
— “Eckhart has a new series that is definitely worth the read. The queen of the family saga started this series with a spin off of her wildly successful Friessen series.”From a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman)
The McCabe Brothers
Don’t Stop Me (Vic)
Don’t Catch Me (Chase)
Don’t Run From Me (Aaron)
Don’t Hide From Me (Luc)
Don’t Leave Me (Claudia)
Don’t Stop Me
Fifteen years ago, Vic McCabe was headed down a one-way road to destruction with the love of his life. But then the unthinkable happened, a mistake that changed their lives forever.
Successful billionaire contractor Vic McCabe is a man every woman wants, but he gives his heart to no one. However, one day a reporter shows up, asking questions about a past he’s buried, a mistake he made fifteen years ago that could destroy his future and that of the woman he’s tried to forget.
After evidence surfaces, dredging up details of the night that changed his life forever, Vic is forced to seek out the only woman he’s ever loved—the woman who has sworn to hate him forever.
Don’t Catch Me (Chase)
He stopped a robbery. Now he has to do the right thing.
* * *
Having left his life in politics, lawyer Chase McCabe is on his way to meet his brothers and sort out family matters when he stops for gas and walks in on a robbery in progress. However, he discovers the culprit is just a kid, and her situation may not be as clear as he thought. Authorities have written the girl off, and his need to fix everyone’s problems sets in, putting him on a collision course with a mysterious woman with secrets of her own and entangling him in a precarious relationship that ties him to a place he was just passing through.
Don’t Run From Me (Aaron)
A compelling emotional tale about the undeniable power of second chances.
* * *
Fresh out of the fighting circuit and to those that didn't know him, Bad Boy Aaron McCabe seemed as if he had it all. Except what everyone doesn't know is the nightmares that haunt him about a tragedy he's never recovered from losing the only woman he ever loved.
* * *
But soon Aaron is caught up in a complex web of secrets, second chances and a gripping twist with two mysterious women that entangles him in a relationship he never believed he was ready for.
Don’t Hide From Me (Luc)
Sometimes what we can’t see is standing right in front of us all along.
* * *
Luc McCabe is a man on the edge. Not only has he given up on his ideal happily ever after, which includes a man who’ll love him and children of his own. He’s leaving behind his old life that has been only about endings.
* * *
What Luc doesn’t realize is sometimes love happens unexpectedly.
One moment in time could change her future forever.
From New York T
imes and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart comes a riveting and edgy romance about a young love driven to the breaking point.
* * *
Even though Claudia is part of the McCabe family, with four older brothers she barely knows, she has a dark side no one in their right mind would mess with, and she still sees herself as alone. That is until one night, when she witnesses an unspeakable crime that blurs the lines of morality. Her first instinct is to run, but when a mysterious handsome man enters her life, promising to keep her safe, she’s caught up in a web of secrets, not knowing who to trust. When her brothers unite, will they expose the truth or destroy any hope Claudia has of finding love?
Chapter 1
Claudia McCabe was anything but easy. In fact, those who didn’t know her often labelled her difficult, hard to get along with, stubborn, and somewhat of a snob—but the people who stuck each and every one of those labels to her had completely misread who she was. Claudia didn’t share what she was thinking or feeling, which often led to misunderstandings and judgements about the type of person she really was. It hurt at times to be so misread, and even though she could easily argue to clear her name and cut through the confusion, she wasn’t interested, instead thinking people should know better.
But they didn’t. Humans weren’t made that way because everyone was flawed, never taking that moment to even apologize when they realized how wrong they were about her. Everyone, that is, except her mother, who seemed to know her darkest thoughts, reading her like an open book. She was the only person who understood some of what made Claudia tick.
Claudia now had four older brothers and a father whom she barely knew, a family her mother had walked out on when she was a few months pregnant with her. Claudia’s existence had been kept secret until a few years ago. She had been shocked to learn that her mother had another life, another family. Maybe that was the reason she was the way she was.
She took in her bedroom, with its yellow walls, single bed, and white dresser with a matching mirror. Her father’s house was small, with a white picket fence. She’d lived there only since meeting her father, and she’d recently learned that her brothers Chase, Aaron, and Luc had bought it for him. She wasn’t really sure about Vic, the eldest, considering she still hadn’t figured out where she fit in this family. She was still coming to grips with the fact that her parents had remarried and dragged her into the mix of something that was anything but normal.
She tapped her keyboard and stared at the blank screen as she listened to the voices outside her room, most likely from the kitchen. She sniffed the garlicky aroma of dinner and didn’t bother hitting save, considering her homework from the business finance course she was taking in her first semester of community college amounted to exactly zip. There was a knock on the door as she stood and stretched.
“Claudia, honey, dinner’s ready,” her dad called out, sounding cheery, though he always sounded that way, which made her question why her mother had left.
She pulled open her door and took in his gentle smile, his neat and freshly cut white hair, his tanned arms, and his yellow golf shirt and khaki shorts. His glance was awkward still.
“So how goes the battle?” he said, going up on his toes, his hands now in his pockets as he slipped a glance past her into her room.
“Great.” She shrugged. It sucked, really, considering she hated everything about the business courses she’d selected—correction, the ones Vic had selected when she didn’t come up with a viable plan of what would come next after high school. It was one of only a few conversations she’d had with him. Odd, his controlling streak. He was a difficult man: wealthy, established, and still very much a stranger. Her dad didn’t move, so she cleared her throat, feeling the chill from the blast of air conditioning in the hall, considering all she had on in the hundred-degree heat was a tank top and shorts. Her feet were bare, and her long red hair was pulled high in a ponytail.
Her dad stepped back so she could slip out of her room as she heard the clatter from the kitchen. Rounding the corner, she took in her mom putting a steaming bowl of spaghetti noodles on the small round table set for three. Shelley McCabe glanced up and smiled. Her eyes were the same light honey brown as Claudia’s. At times, it was as if she was looking in a mirror, except Shelley was now in her fifties, with lines around her eyes, freckles that had faded, and deep auburn hair that came from a Clairol bottle as of late. Her figure was trim, though, and it wasn’t lost on her that her mom wore the same golfing attire as her dad.
“Golfing with Dad again?” she asked, but it really was a no brainer, considering that was their latest passion. Last month it had been a book club, and next week it could be fly fishing.
“Right after dinner. We have a seven thirty tee time. Should be cooler. You should join us,” her mom said as she carried a salad topped with tomatoes from the pots outside and a steaming bowl of meat sauce to the table.
Golfing? Not a chance. “Ah, no, sorry. Have plans with Tina. Meeting up at the coffee house by campus.”
“Tina?” her dad said as he took her in. “Heard lots about her. Wouldn’t mind meeting her sometime. You should bring her by.”
“Sure” was all she could say, knowing that would never happen. She couldn’t imagine bringing anyone by to meet her parents and explaining the gory details of why the only family photos on the wall were of her brothers and dad. That was a tainted history she wasn’t about to share with anyone.
“Claudia, grab the salad dressing, would you?” Her mom gestured to the oversized white fridge. Claudia pulled it open just as she caught the exchange between her parents, the kiss, the smile. She was glad she had something else to look at. Which dressing? Ranch, feta, thousand island, or…
“You’re letting all the cold air out, Claudia. Make a choice and close it,” her mom called out, so she grabbed all three and closed the door, taking in the knowing look her mom tossed her way. What was to come later, she was sure, would be another talk about letting her dad be a part of her life. The man was now taking garlic bread from the oven, and the smell had her mouth watering. Jerry McCabe… She still couldn’t understand how she was related to him, considering there was nothing they remotely had in common.
Claudia’s mind blanked as she took in his smile for her again—awkward, nice. She said nothing as she walked to the table, taking in the concrete driveway and the small red Escort with the rusted-over dent, her gift to her mom her first time behind the wheel, when she’d taken a corner too sharp and dinged a fire hydrant.
Her dad had a small Chevy pickup that had seen better days, and then there was her car, the new grey Toyota Camry, a gift from Aaron, also a man she barely knew. Why he’d given it to her, she still didn’t have a clue, considering he was about as open and easy to read as she was. But at least it was a nice car, and hers.
“Hey, where’s your head today? You’ve barely said two words,” her mom said.
A chair scraped, and she didn’t have to look up to know her mom was watching her closely. Her dad was already sitting, dishing up. There was that touch again. Her parents were so close they couldn’t keep from touching each other. It was sweet in a gross sort of way as she did her best to ignore them, forking up a mound of spaghetti and shoving it into her mouth.
“Just spent hours doing homework. What can I say?” Did her nose grow, she wondered, considering she’d done nothing but stare at a blank screen, daydreaming of sailing, traveling, anything other than getting a business degree she didn’t have a clue what she’d do with?
“Hmm” was all her mom said, and this time, thankfully, she dug into her food and started chatting with her dad about their upcoming golf game and some friends to meet. That left Claudia to her dinner, her thoughts, and, most importantly, who would be at the coffee house.
* * *
She’d changed three times, settling on her slim-cut jeans and a gray tank with silver hoop earrings. She added shadow, mascara, and liner to really bring out the golden honey in her eyes, and
from the image reflected back in the mirror, she knew she looked especially hot, good enough to be seen by the who’s who of the college campus who frequented the coffee house. It was where some of the hottest girls competed for all the jocks’ attention. Add in the geeks, the nerds, and everyone else who didn’t quite fit in, and it was the place to go. That, of course, was before any of the popular guys and girls headed out to one of the many parties or one of the many bars with their fake IDs—but that little bit she’d keep to herself. Not that her parents asked much, but sharing everything wasn’t something she was too willing to do.