Wavering Convictions
Page 1
Maggie Davidson lives in fear after being robbed on the street outside her office. But the trauma has only just begun, and now she must face her attacker in court. A chance encounter with a beautiful woman in the courthouse café is the only bright spot in her day, until she finds out just who the woman is.
Ally Becker has always been her brother’s hero, and she’s at the courthouse to support him as he faces up to his mistakes. When she discovers that the stranger she shared coffee with is actually Maggie, the victim of her brother’s crime, she is torn between family loyalty and an attraction she can’t seem to forget.
Maggie and Ally have absolutely no intention of falling in love, but what they find in each other just might heal them both.
Praise for Erin Dutton
Landing Zone
“Erin Dutton is great at writing relatable characters, and Kim and Lauren are no exception. These are two interesting, strong women who have a lot to figure out if they’re going to be together, and I enjoyed joining them for their journey. The romance is also done well, giving that satisfying push and pull that often comes in enemies-to-lovers pairings.”—The Lesbian Review
Planning for Love
“What a wonderful and fun read. This is the first book I have read by Erin Dutton and it certainly won’t be the last. Great novel with a very intriguing story. The writing was very tight and the pace was perfect.”—Les Reveur
“Planning for Love has an engaging style that kept me hooked from the first page to the last. While I can’t really call it an enemies-to-lovers romance, there’s definitely a hate-to-love aspect that’s so well done that it’s delicious…Erin Dutton knows what’s up when it comes to writing romance, and she did a fabulous job with Planning for Love. It’s sexy, sweet, and well worth checking out. I’ll be reading this one again!”—The Lesbian Review
Capturing Forever
“While there is fire and passion,[Capturing Forever] is a thoughtful romance, well written and well paced, it brings to life the reality of adult experiences and the strength of family despite the mistakes we all make.”—Lesbian Reading Room
“This story had so much depth, and Erin Dutton managed to show how fragile relationships are and how they can be destroyed through careless words and stubbornness. The love scenes in the book were beautiful and emotionally charged. They were about deep love and were so vital to the story. I want to go back and reread this book as I felt so invested in it and didn’t want it to end.”—KittyKat Book Reviews
“The book is written very well and will hold your attention from start to finish…I found myself cheering for their love to get back on track…This is one of those books I will reread someday, and that is how you really know that it is a book worth talking about.”—Amanda’s Reviews
Dutton “takes you deep into the heart of both these women…The story flows like a river, smooth on the surface, beneath, a current pulling you away.”—Lunar Rainbow Reviewz
Officer Down
“This book is a true romance…I liked seeing the characters grow, expand their horizons, and become, in Olivia’s case, the woman she so desperately wants to be.”—Prism Book Alliance
“One of my favorite things about the story was the attention that was put into the details of each woman’s work environment and what their respective tasks entailed…The story was fast-paced and I enjoyed reading about how the relationship between Olivia and Hillary developed from being work acquaintances to much more.”—Bookaholism.com
For the Love of Cake
“Thoroughly enjoyable reading. If you like a good romance this will hit the buttons, and if you like reality cooking shows you will have a double winner. As many others will probably say—it has hot women and cake, what else could it possibly need?”—Curve Magazine
“In Dutton’s highly entertaining contemporary, well-drawn characters Shannon Hayes and Maya Vaughn discover romance behind reality TV…Dutton’s love story never loses momentum.”—Publishers Weekly
Point of Ignition
“Erin Dutton has given her fans another fast-paced story of fire, with both buildings and emotions burning hotly. Point of Ignition is a story told well that will touch its readers.”—Just About Write
“Erin Dutton has written more than seven lesbian romance titles for Bold Strokes Books, and boy can she write.”—The Bright List
Designed for Love
“Designed for Love is…rich in love, romance, and sex. Dutton gives her readers a roller coaster ride filled with sexual thrills and chills. Designed for Love is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter’s day.”—Just About Write
A Place to Rest
“If you like romances with characters who could live next door to you and the element of family interaction and dynamics, A Place to Rest is for you. It’s charming, moving, and emotionally satisfying.”—The Lesbian Review
Fully Involved
“Dutton literally fills the pages with smoke as she vividly describes the scene. She is equally skilled at showing her readers Reid’s feelings of guilt and rage at the loss of her best friend. Fully Involved explores the emotional depths of these two very different women. Each woman struggles with loss, change, and the magnetic attraction they have for each other. Their relationship sizzles, flames, and ignites with a page-turning intensity. This is an exciting read about two very intriguing women.”—Just About Write
“Dutton’s studied evocation of the macho world of firefighting gives the story extra oomph—and happily ever after is what a good romance is all about, right?”—Q Syndicate
Sequestered Hearts
“Sequestered Hearts is packed with raw emotion, but filled with tender moments too. The author writes with sophistication that one would expect from a veteran author…A romance is about more than just plot and character development. It’s about passion, physical intimacy, and connection between the characters. The reader should have a visceral reaction to what is going on within the pages for the novel to succeed. Dutton’s words match perfectly with the emotion she has created. Sequestered Hearts is one book that cannot be overlooked. It is romance at its finest.”—L-word Literature.com
“Sequestered Hearts by first time novelist Erin Dutton is everything a romance should be. It is teeming with longing, heartbreak, and of course, love…as pure romances go, it is one of the best in print today.”—Just About Write
Wavering Convictions
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Wavering Convictions
© 2019 By Erin Dutton. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-404-5
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, New York 12185
First Edition: June 2019
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Shelley Thrasher
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design By Jeanine Henning
By the Author
Sequestered Hearts
Fully Involved
A Place to Rest
Designed for Love
Poin
t of Ignition
A Perfect Match
Reluctant Hope
More than Friends
For the Love of Cake
Officer Down
Capturing Forever
Planning for Love
Landing Zone
Wavering Convictions
Acknowledgments
Once more I have to thank Radclyffe and Sandy and all of the staff at BSB that get it done every time. Over twelve years of events, workshops, conferences, and working with my editor, Shelley Thrasher, my craft has grown and changed. Here’s hoping for twelve more years.
Special thanks to the readers with whom I am delighted to share each book. Many of you have reached out on Facebook, personally and in various groups, and have, in turn, shared your lives with me. And I thank you. It’s awesome to get feedback on my books. But I especially enjoy finding people that I share common interests with, as well as those who introduce me to new ideas.
Thank you to the readers who spend their valuable free time from the real world to travel and visit with us at the various events, whether just for a day for a Pride festival or taking a longer trip to Women’s Week, GCLS, and other gatherings. I hope these events are just as fun for you as they are for me.
And finally, to my wife, who is always willing to talk story or read pages and offer feedback. And who takes care of everything around the house during that last month before my deadline, while I’m catching up from my procrastination and grinding out the final chapters. I love you, Christina.
For my family—who have never wavered in their love and support of me.
Prologue
“How late do you plan to stay?”
Maggie Davidson glanced up from her desk. Her boss and close friend, Inga, leaned against the edge of her cubicle divider. She already wore her jacket and carried her large leather shoulder bag. Before she left each evening, she often took a lap around the main section of the office, where her four records clerks labored in a quad of cubicles. Often, Maggie was the last one left working.
“I want to finish this request and email it before I go.” She hated leaving in the middle of a project. Then, the next day, she would spend the first fifteen minutes reviewing everything to remind herself where she’d left off. If she took that extra time today, she could complete her work and start fresh on a new request tomorrow.
“You work too hard. And you make the rest of us look bad.” Inga grinned and winked. “Luckily, I mitigate that fact by taking credit when our department exceeds our productivity goal.”
“Have a good night.” Maggie turned back to her computer screen as Inga continued down the hall.
The automatic lock clicked behind Inga, and the office fell quiet. Maggie picked up her phone and set it to stream through the Bluetooth speaker on her desk. Easy-listening music drowned out the clicking of her keyboard. A phone rang somewhere else in the office, then stopped.
Ten minutes later, having reached a satisfactory stopping point, Maggie packed her leather tote and slung it over her shoulder. After a short elevator ride, she said good-bye to the night security guard on her way out of the building. He grumbled his response. She’d thought he was crotchety because he was stuck working overnights. But Inga said he had enough seniority to work the day shift if he chose to. So maybe grouchy was just his natural state.
Since she’d barely glanced at the window all day, the smattering of rain as she stepped outside caught her off guard. She dug in her bag, then popped open her umbrella. Now, in addition to rush-hour traffic and the usual Friday-evening influx of people headed into downtown for dinner and night life, she’d have to deal with slick roads and bad drivers.
As she walked two blocks to the parking garage where she paid a monthly fee, she passed only a couple of people. She leaned her umbrella to one side, and they tilted theirs to the other to make room on the sidewalk as they met. Before she entered the darkened structure, she fished her keys out of her bag. She lowered her umbrella and tucked her key ring in her closed fist, leaving one key sticking out between her fingers. Her father had given her those instructions when she’d moved to the “big city” over a decade ago. For a man who’d never left the rural north-Georgia town where he grew up, Nashville was very metropolitan.
She took the stairs down one level, then found her car, two rows over, halfway across the cavernous garage. She’d taken a long lunch for a dentist appointment, and when she returned, she’d had to park farther away than usual. Luckily, Inga was flexible regarding their schedule. Tomorrow, Maggie would work through her lunch to make up the work she’d missed. She began making a mental to-do list for the next day.
She heard several heavy footfalls behind her, and then a deep voice said, “Give me your bag.”
Maggie turned, certain she’d misheard. “What?”
A man stood a couple of feet from her. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt and a menacing snarl, but she couldn’t stop staring at the gun he held. Her stomach swirled with nausea, her arms felt weak, and she couldn’t catch her breath.
“Just hand it over, lady. I don’t want to hurt you.” He took several steps closer, thrusting the gun in her direction, and Maggie shrank back against her car.
She fumbled behind her for the door handle. If she could just get inside, she’d have a chance to get away. Her keys. The angled edge of the one key dug into her fingers as she’d clutched it tightly. Her father had told her to grasp it this way—to punch with it. She lashed out, simultaneously trying to connect with some part of his body while also bracing for the gunshot. He yelped as her fist glanced off his shoulder. Before she could act on his distraction, he swung his free hand out and caught her wrist.
“I said, I don’t want to hurt you. But I will.” He squeezed her wrist, hard, then twisted it away from her, forcing her to contort to ease the pain. He pushed her back against the car, using his body to pin her there. When he shoved the barrel of the gun under her chin, she froze. His eyes shifted over her face erratically for a second, and she thought she felt a tremor in his hand where it held hers.
She’d barely registered that he’d released her wrist before he grasped the strap of her purse where it lay against her shoulder. As he wrenched it from her, he staggered back several steps. She jerked forward, stumbling to her hands and knees. Her keys clattered across the concrete and under a nearby car. He mumbled something, but she couldn’t make it out over the pounding of her own heart.
By the time she raised her head, he was running away. She leaned back on her heels, still too shocked to try to stand. The sound of footsteps sent a renewed wave of panic through her. Was he coming back? What would he want from her now? As a figure rounded the corner, Maggie’s fear eased. The sensible shoes of an older woman clacked against the concrete as she hurried over to Maggie. When she drew close, she slowed and hesitantly reached out as if to touch Maggie’s shoulder.
“Honey? Are you okay? Did you take a fall?”
“No. I—I need to call the police.” She braced a hand against her car and forced herself to her feet. “But he—my purse. My phone.”
“Okay. Where’s your purse?” The woman looked around for it.
“He took it.”
The woman nodded and fished in her own shoulder bag for her phone. While the woman recited the address and a confused account about finding Maggie on the floor of the garage to the 9-1-1 operator, Maggie stared into her car, wishing she could sit down. But she’d have to crawl under that other car for her keys to unlock it.
“Well, I don’t know. She’s kind of out of it, but she doesn’t have her purse or anything,” the woman said into the phone. “No. I don’t see any injuries.” Then to Maggie, she said, “They want to know were you robbed or attacked or something?”
“Robbed. A man. Black sweatshirt.” She frantically searched her mind for some other piece of his description but couldn’t see anything except the gun. The police would come, but they would never find him. How many men were running around in a black sweat
shirt?
Chapter One
Less than a week later, Maggie’s stomach wavered as she guided her car down the ramp leading to the underground parking garage. The shadow from the concrete roof overhead ominously crawled across her windshield toward her. She glanced in her rearview mirror. The driver in the car behind her appeared impatient to get inside, and suddenly, she didn’t want to enter at all. But she couldn’t very well throw her car into reverse, and she was even less likely to get out and ask him to move so she could escape. So she forged ahead, trying to ignore the darkness traveling over her steering wheel and up her arms and the dread that seeped in with every fading inch of sunlight.
Inside, she rolled her window down only long enough to grab the ticket stub that would both activate the mechanical arm allowing her entrance and later calculate her charges as she exited. She found a spot as close to the elevators as she could, circling down several ramps into the abyss as she passed open spots at the far end of each level. She backed into the space. When she shifted into Park, the automatic unlock of the doors startled her. She jammed her finger down on the button, relocking them, then cursed under her breath as she startled herself.