Bridge to Forever
Page 39
“Hi, Gage.” I knew little more than his name, though we’d talked on numerous occasions. The rumor around town said he was an ex-con, recently released from prison, though no one seemed to know what he might have been in prison for and were either too lazy or unbelieving to research it. My mother had at least checked with the local police to make sure he wasn’t on any child predator list, which he wasn’t, but she still would have taken up a petition to force him from the neighborhood, had it been possible. I was glad she’d deemed it a waste of time. Over the months of talking to him and observing his gentleness with Serenity, I doubted the rumors were true. I suspected only his shaggy appearance kept the gossip alive.
“I saw Serenity, and she was looking kind of nervous. Thought maybe you’d had a fall.”
“Ah, Gage, she’s not even wearing a saddle, and I don’t ride bareback. Not usually.”
He looked at the sorrel. “Oh, right.” He gave me a tentative smile, which didn’t have much effect on his face under all that hair. “Well, as long as you’re okay. But shouldn’t you be shopping or at the hairdresser or something? You’re still getting married Saturday, aren’t you?”
I closed my eyes for a painful moment. I wondered if he’d heard the rumors about Julian, and if he felt sorry for me. “I don’t know.”
An emotion I couldn’t define passed over his face. In a swift movement, he squatted down beside me. “What happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
He gestured to the grass. “Because you’re sitting in a bunch of weeds two days before your wedding, looking like you wished a hole would open up and swallow you.”
A hole would be nice, except then how would I help Lily? My father had hundreds of applications for each job opening in his factory, and other companies were just as flooded. No one would want to pay me what I’d earned with my father, and my degree in liberal arts now seemed rather useless. Of course, I’d never thought I’d actually have to find a job outside the family business.
A burst of anger blotted out the despair. How could I have been so stupid? Lily had at least tried to become independent, while I’d stayed reliant on my family. Now they controlled my life—and they wanted me to marry Julian.
No!
For a moment the hurt and betrayal were too great to endure. Yet I didn’t die, and after a moment the pain receded enough to breathe again, and I knew what I had to do. I arose, brushing my hands on my pants. “I’m getting married,” I said, “but not to my fiancé.”
Gage’s eyes narrowed as he stood. “What are you talking about?” At that moment he looked hard, like a man who actually might have served time.
“He’s a liar and a cheat, and I’m getting out, even if I have to hitchhike my way to Las Vegas and marry the first man I meet.”
“That’s crazy.”
“So is marrying someone who doesn’t love you.”
“At least you know him. Don’t you think marrying some stranger in Las Vegas would be even worse?”
“Not if it’s a business arrangement. Temporary.” Take that, Mother. I was a quick learner. I’d find a way around the trust fund requirements because I knew if my grandfather were alive, he’d be the first one to help Lily, and he certainly wouldn’t see me married to a man who would betray me. He’d been faithful to my grandmother not only for all the time they were married, but for twenty years after she was gone.
I stuck out my hand to Gage. “It’s been nice knowing you, Gage. I hope you have a wonderful life.”
His hand swallowed mine with a strength that made me slightly uneasy. “What about Serenity?”
Serenity had been a constant in my life for seven years, but I couldn’t see walking down the Las Vegas strip with a horse in tow, looking for a likely marriage candidate. If I managed to get the trust fund, I could move Serenity to wherever I ended up. Maybe I could buy the field next to Lily’s house. That is, if my parents didn’t sell the horse first.
I bit my lip, tears smarting in my eyes. “She’ll be okay here for now.”
I turned to go, but Gage’s hand shot out to grab my arm. I felt a momentary shiver of fear, and he must have seen it in my eyes because he dropped his hand instantly. “Sorry. I just—are you in trouble? Is there something I can do to help?” He was uniquely appealing at the moment, a mix of little boy and wild-looking ex-con. I hadn’t noticed how tall he was before or how broad his chest, and I wondered what he looked like under all that facial hair.
I forced a smile. “How about a ride to Las Vegas?” My old car had been sold, and the new one, a wedding gift from Julian’s parents, wasn’t scheduled to arrive until after Julian and I returned from our honeymoon. “I’m kidding. Look, thanks for your concern, but everything is fine. I’m not the first woman to have her heart broken.”
He arched a brow, and I noticed he had nice ones. Expressive. “You look more mad than heartbroken.”
He was wrong. My heart did hurt. I hated knowing that I wasn’t enough for Julian, that he didn’t love me the way I loved him. Yes, I was also furious at him, and at my parents, but most of all at myself. I was the reason I was in this mess, the reason Lily was in danger. I’d trusted the wrong man.
“Then you don’t know me very well,” I told Gage. “Good-bye. It really has been nice knowing you.”
I could feel his eyes on me as I left. Grabbing Serenity’s mane, I pulled myself up on her bare back and let her take me to the other side of the pasture.
“I’ll miss you more than anyone here,” I whispered, giving her the last cube of sugar in my pocket. “But I’ll be back some day. I promise.”
END OF PREVIEW. If you would like to purchase Tell Me No Lies, please visit your ebookstore. Or turn to the next page to learn more about Rachel Ann Nunes including her pen name novels.
About the Author
Rachel Ann Nunes (pronounced noon-esh) learned to read when she was four, beginning a lifetime fascination with the written word. She still reads everything she can lay hands on, from children’s stories to science articles.
She began writing in the seventh grade and is now the author of over thirty published books, including the popular Ariana series, The Huntington Family series, Eyes of a Stranger, and Saving Madeline. Her novel Before I Say Goodbye won the 2011 Whitney Award in the general fiction category. Imprints, An Autumn Rain Novel (2010), Fields of Home (2008), and The Independence Club (2007) were all Whitney Award Finalists. Her picture book Daughter of a King was also voted best children’s book of the year in 2003 by the Association of Independent LDS Booksellers.
Rachel and her husband, TJ, live in Utah Valley and are the parents of seven awesome children—three boys and four girls. Rachel writes Monday through Friday in a home office, but she takes frequent breaks from writing to read or swim with her kids.
Rachel also writes mainstream romance under the name Rachel Branton and urban fantasy under the name Teyla Branton. To learn more about these titles, please see the list of books below or visit TeylaRachelBranton.com. You can join her pen name mailing list here. To read about upcoming Rachel Ann Nunes titles, visit http://www.RachelAnnNunes.com or join her emailing list here. Member of Tip My Author, where readers can connect with and encourage their favorite authors.
BOOKS BY RACHEL ANN NUNES
Autumn Rain Novels (Paranormal Romance)
Imprints
Shades of Gray
Final Call
Line of Fire
Blinded
Romantic Suspense
Eyes of a Stranger (Autumn Rain series prequel)
Women’s Fiction
Flying Home
Fields of Home
Saving Madeline
Before I Say Goodbye
The Gift of Angels (novella)
A Greater Love
A Heartbeat Away
Huntington Family
Winter Fire
No Longer Strangers
Chasing Yesterday
By Morning Light
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br /> The Independence Club
Ariana Series (and Spin-off)
Ariana: The Making of a Queen
Ariana: A Gift Most Precious
Ariana: A New Beginning
A Glimpse of Eternity: The Story of Ariana’s Daughters
Rebekka Series
This Time Forever (also Mickelle #1)
Ties that Bind
Twice in a Lifetime
Mickelle Series
This Time Forever (also Rebekka #1)
Bridge to Forever
Deal for Love Series (Romantic Suspense)
A Bid For Love
Framed For Love
Love On The Run
Deal For Love: 3 Book Set
Romance
To Love and to Promise
Tomorrow and Always
Where I Belong
A Greater Love
This Very Moment
In Your Place
For Children
The Problem With Spaceships: Zero G
Daughter of a King
The Secret of the King
UNDER THE NAME RACHEL BRANTON
Romantic Suspense
Tell Me No Lies
Your Eyes Don’t Lie
UNDER THE NAME TEYLA BRANTON
Unbounded Series (urban fantasy)
The Change
The Cure
The Escape
The Reckoning
The Directive (coming July or August 2015)
Unbounded Series Novellas (urban fantasy)
Ava’s Revenge
Mortal Brother
Lethal Engagement
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Book Description
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
Sneak Peek! Where I Belong
Bonus! Preview of Tell Me No Lies
About the Author
Books by Rachel Ann Nunes
Under the name Rachel Branton
Under the name Teyla Branton