“Realistically, how often do they come back without any brain damage?” Bill asked.
“I don’t know the stats, but I’ve seen it happen. When I was a kid, my dad took our dog hunting for rabbits one winter and accidentally shot her.”
“Geez,” Bill said.
“Dad didn’t know that he shot her. He thought she ran off after something, then he found her in the snow after a couple of hours. I don’t know how long she was dead, but we all got the shock of our lives when she woke up after my dad brought her home and laid her down by the woodstove.”
“Are you sure she was really dead?”
“Yeah, a hundred percent sure. My head was resting on her chest. Maybe it was my body heat that brought her back.”
“Sounds like a miracle to me.”
I used my stethoscope to listen for a heartbeat again, but still, there was nothing.
“I don’t believe in miracles,” I said. “It’s just science. No different from a frozen dinner that sits in the freezer for six months, then tastes great after five minutes in the microwave.”
It was getting warm in the ambulance. I had to unbutton my jacket and shrug out of it. “How much further?” I asked Bill.
“We’re five minutes away.” He slammed on the brakes and laid on the horn. “Pull over you idiot!” Then he swerved and hit the gas.
I checked the woman’s temperature again. It was eighty-six degrees, so I began CPR.
Chapter Three
The ambulance doors flew open. I was dripping with sweat. Doctors and nurses surrounded us. Within moments, the woman was wheeled into the trauma room and the doctor yelled, “Clear!”
Bill and I backed out at that point, and I exhaled sharply, knowing it would take some time for my adrenaline to slow down. I was wired.
While I went to the tech room to type up my report, Bill offered to fetch me a cup of coffee, but I asked for a cold bottle of Gatorade instead because I felt like I’d just pumped iron in a sauna.
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By the time I finished my report, our shift was at an end, but I made sure to check on the woman before I left. “Did they get her back?” I asked the clerk at the nurse’s station.
“Yeah, they did. I was surprised because she was down for so long, but Dr. Newman just wouldn’t give up. He kept checking her temperature and shocking her, then lo and behold, the heart monitor started beeping. You didn’t hear everybody cheering?”
“No.”
“Well, there were a few whoops and hollers. It really makes you think. Good job, by the way.”
I moved behind the desk to toss my empty Gatorade bottle into the recycling bin, then went to the trauma room. It was empty. They must have taken the woman upstairs.
“Did she say anything when she came to?” I asked, because I couldn’t seem to forget the blue pallor of her skin in my ambulance. It was like undressing a corpse. Which I suppose…she was at the time.
“No,” the clerk replied, “’cause she didn’t actually wake up. She’s in a coma. They took her to ICU about ten minutes ago.”
The hope and satisfaction I felt was immediately curtailed.
Maybe there was nothing to celebrate after all. Maybe it was just a matter of time before someone would have to pull a plug.
I wondered about her family. Did she have a husband? Children?
As I walked out of the hospital, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me. It’s not easy to do chest compressions for extended periods of time, and I’d really wanted to bring this woman back. There were moments in the ambulance when I could almost hear her pleading with me to stay hopeful. Don’t…give…up.
I unlocked my car and climbed into the driver’s seat, then sat for a moment with my hands on the steering wheel. Staring straight ahead, I wondered if that voice in my head had less to do with saving that woman’s life, and more to do with saving my own.
Purchase The Color of Destiny
The Color of Hope
Book Three
by Julianne MacLean
Available Now
Diana Moore has led a charmed life. She’s the daughter of a wealthy senator and living a glamorous city life, and is confident her handsome live-in boyfriend is about to propose. But everything is turned upside down when she learns of a mysterious woman who works nearby—a woman who is her identical mirror image.
Diana is compelled to discover the truth about this woman’s identity, but the truth leads her down a path of secrets, betrayals, and shocking discoveries about her past. These discoveries follow her like a shadow.
Then she meets Dr. Jacob Peterson—a brilliant cardiac surgeon with an uncanny ability to heal those who are broken. With his help, Diana embarks upon a journey to restore her belief in the human spirit, and recover a sense of hope—that happiness, and love, may still be within reach for those willing to believe in second chances.
Includes Bonus Content: A Bookclub Discussion Guide
Purchase The Color of Hope
The Color of a Dream
Book Four
by Julianne MacLean
Available Now
Nadia Carmichael has had a lifelong run of bad luck. It begins on the day she is born, when she is separated from her identical twin sister and put up for adoption. Twenty-seven years later, not long after she is finally reunited with her twin and is expecting her first child, Nadia falls victim to a mysterious virus and requires a heart transplant.
Now recovering from the surgery with a new heart, Nadia is haunted by a recurring dream that sets her on a path to discover the identity of her donor. Her efforts are thwarted, however, when the father of her baby returns to sue for custody of their child. It’s not until Nadia learns of his estranged brother Jesse that she begins to explore the true nature of her dreams, and discover what her new heart truly needs and desires…
Includes Bonus Content: A Bookclub Discussion Guide
Purchase The Color of a Dream
The Color of a Memory
Book Five
by Julianne MacLean
Available Now
ER nurse Audrey Fitzgerald believed she was married to the perfect man—a heroic firefighter who saved lives, even beyond his own death. But a year after losing him she meets a mysterious woman who has some unexplained connection to her husband…
Soon Audrey discovers that in the weeks leading up to her husband’s death, he was keeping secrets, and she wonders if she ever really knew him at all. Compelled to dig into his past and explore memories that define the essence of their relationship, Audrey embarks upon a journey of discovery that will lead her down a new path to the future—a future she never dared to imagine.
Purchase The Color of a Memory
The Color of Love
Book Six
by Julianne MacLean
Available August 2014
Carla Matthews is a single mother struggling to make ends meet and give her daughter Kaleigh a decent upbringing. When Kaleigh’s absent father Seth—a famous alpine climber who never wanted to be tied down—begs for a second chance at fatherhood, Carla is hesitant because she doesn’t want to pin her hopes on a man who is always seeking another mountain to scale. A man who was never willing to stay put in one place and raise a family.
But when Seth’s plane goes missing after a crash landing in the harsh Canadian wilderness, Carla must wait for news… Is he dead or alive? Will the wreckage ever be found?
One year later, after having given up all hope, Carla receives a phone call that shocks her to her core. A man has been found, half-dead, floating on an iceberg in the North Atlantic, uttering her name. Is this Seth? And is it possible that he will come home to her and Kaleigh at last, and be the man she always dreamed he would be?
Purchase The Color of Love
The Color of the Season
Book Seven
by Julianne MacLean
Available November 2014
Purchase The Color of the Season
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T
he Color of Joy
Book Eight
by Julianne MacLean
Available February 2015
Praise for Julianne MacLean’s bestselling romances…
“You can always count on Julianne MacLean to deliver ravishing romance that will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning.”
– Teresa Medeiros
She is just an all-around, wonderful writer and I look forward to reading everything she writes.”
– Romance Junkies
“Julianne MacLean knows what her audience likes…compelling characters and a soul-baring journey of love.”
– ReadertoReader.com
“MacLean’s compelling writing turns this simple, classic love story into a richly emotional romance, and by combining engaging characters with a unique, vividly detailed setting, she has created an exceptional tale for readers who hunger for something a bit different in their historical romances.
– Booklist
“It takes a talented author to segue from a lighthearted tale of seduction to an emotionally powerful romance that plays on your heartstrings…a very special, powerful read.”
– Romantic Times Book Reviews
Julianne has the ability to transport the reader.”
– Once Upon a Romance
“Five hearts…a special kind of love story…truly compelling.”
– Romance Reader
”A box of tissues should be included in the purchase price of this book… I finished The Color of Heaven in a matter of hours, but I’ve no doubt the read and the lessons imparted through Sophie’s story will stay with me…probably forever. The Color of Heaven is an incredibly poignant and unbelievably gripping novel, deserving Romance Junkies’ highest rating.”
– Romance Junkies
“A gripping, emotional tale you’ll want to read in one sitting.”
– New York Times bestselling author, Julia London
“Brilliantly poignant mainstream tale.”
– Romantic Times
About the Author
Julianne MacLean is a USA Today bestselling author of many historical romances, including The Highlander Series with St. Martin’s Press and her popular American Heiress Series with Avon/Harper Collins. She also writes contemporary mainstream fiction, and The Color of Heaven was a USA Today bestseller. She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers’ Best Award, the Book Buyer’s Best Award, and a Reviewers’ Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter, and is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada. Please visit Julianne’s website for more information about her books and writing life, and while you’re there, be sure to sign up for her reader newsletter to stay informed about upcoming books and special events.
Other Books by Julianne MacLean
The American Heiress Series:
To Marry the Duke
An Affair Most Wicked
My Own Private Hero
Love According to Lily
Portrait of a Lover
Surrender to a Scoundrel
The Pembroke Palace Series:
In My Wildest Fantasies
The Mistress Diaries
When a Stranger Loves Me
Married By Midnight
A Kiss Before the Wedding – A Pembroke Palace Short Story
Seduced at Sunset
The Highlander Trilogy:
Captured by the Highlander
Claimed by the Highlander
Seduced by the Highlander
The Rebel – A Highland Short Story
The Royal Trilogy:
Be My Prince
Princess in Love
The Prince’s Bride
Harlequin Historical Romances:
Prairie Bride
The Marshal and Mrs. O’Malley
Adam’s Promise
Time Travel Romance
Taken by the Cowboy
The Color of Heaven Series
The Color of Heaven
The Color of Destiny
The Color of Hope
The Color of a Dream
The Color of a Memory
The Color of Love
The Color of the Season
The Color of Joy
Please visit the author’s website for information about other new releases in this series as they become available.
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The Color of Heaven series books are also available as audiobooks.
Table of Contents
Preface
Sunshine and Rain
Going Home
Cora’s Story
Flowers
The Deep Blue Sea
Sophie
Mountains
Life
Epilogue
Questions for Discussions
Excerpt—The Color of Destiny
The Color of Hope
The Color of a Dream
The Color of a Memory
The Color of Love
Upcoming Books in the Series
Praise for Julianne MacLean’s bestselling romances…
About the Author
Other Books by Julianne MacLean
The Color of Heaven (The Color of Heaven Series) Page 20