A Fall from Yesterday: A Hearts of Harkness Romance (The Standish Clan Book 1)

by Norah Wilson

  “Titus, what’s going on?”

  He lifted her off the ground and kissed her, pouring all of his emotion into it. All of his gratitude that he’d come to his senses in time. She held herself stiff for a moment, but then she seemed to melt, her body molding itself around him. She twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as fiercely.

  God, yes, this was right. This was it. Ocean. His tomorrow, today, and yesterday. His forever.

  When they were both breathless, he let her slide down his body until she stood on her own feet.

  “Titus?”

  He cupped her face in his hands and stared down at her. Her lower lip was swollen from the ferocity of their kisses, and he ran his thumb over that damp, tender flesh to soothe it.

  “I…don’t understand.”

  Her beautiful eyes look tortured.

  “I can’t believe I almost made the biggest mistake of my life.” He pulled her close, tucking her head into his shoulder and crushing her solid warmth against him. A tremble went through him, but he wasn’t sure if it was him or her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  She pushed against his chest to buy room to look up at him. “Wait…what? You’re due in Regina in a matter of days. If you don’t leave today, you’ll have to fly.”

  He released her so he could capture her face with his hands again. “I’m not going today or tomorrow or ever.” He looked directly into her eyes as he said the words. “I’m not going to do the training. Not going into the RCMP. I’m staying right here in Harkness.”

  She backed away from him, eyes filled with alarm now. “Oh, no you don’t, mister! That’s not how this is going to play out. Get yourself back in that truck and hit the road. You’ve earned this. This is what you’ve wanted all your life.”

  She was more beautiful in that moment than he’d ever thought possible. “Not anymore. I want to be here, with you.”

  “I can’t let you do this.” Tears brimmed in her eyes, clung to her lashes. “Emotions are high right now, but afterward… I’m afraid you’ll regret it. I couldn’t bear that. Don’t throw this chance—this life—away for me.”

  “Yes, it’s what I’ve always wanted. And I wanted it so badly for so long, it became second nature. I always knew that when I got my chance, I was going to take it. I knew it so deeply and so completely, I never stopped to do a gut-check to see if I still wanted it. Not until I got to the end of that driveway and looked in my rearview. Looked at what I was leaving behind.”

  “Oh, Titus.” The tears spilled. “Do you really mean that?”

  “Yeah, I do. Like I told you once, I wanted to be a cop so I could help people. I was so married to that idea, I kinda forgot that I can help folks right here in Harkness in lots of other ways.”

  “Titus, you’ve been doing so much already, for your family and for the community.”

  “Yeah, but it wasn’t enough. Something was missing. I thought the problem was that I needed to get away. That I’d find it out there. But now I know what was missing. It was you, Ocean. And you’re here, in Harkness. We’re here, where we’re supposed to be.”

  “But the farm…it’s sold. What will you do if you stay here?”

  Good question. One he hadn’t pondered in that moment of decision at the end of the driveway. But he didn’t need to ponder long. Or at all.

  “I’ll set up my bike shop in town. There are always people looking to restore classic bikes. I’ve turned away more commissions than I’ve accepted over the years for lack of time. Now that I’ve got the time, I can build it into a real business, rather than a hobby.”

  “Now that sounds like a very good plan.”

  Looking down at her upturned, smiling face, his chest constricted with love for her. The sweet girl with her nose in a book. The quiet one who missed nothing. The smart one. The beautiful writer. Miss New York. And more recently, his friend, his lover. His conscience.

  In that moment, he knew he was going to make her his for a lifetime. But he’d save that for a while. Knowing Ocean, she was going to need convincing that he really wasn’t sacrificing his dream. The dream itself truly had changed, but it would take time to prove that to her. Thankfully, he had all the time in the world now.

  Except he couldn’t let another second go by without telling her how he felt. He took her upper arms in his hands and looked down at her beautiful, tear-streaked face. “I love you, Ocean Siliker.”

  There. He’d said it.

  Her eyes, bright as blue crystals in the sunlight, flooded with tears again. “Really?”

  “Really. In retrospect, I think I was a goner from the first moment I set eyes on you on Harkness Mountain. But being a Standish man, it took a while to sink in.”

  She laughed and wiped her cheek. “Can I get that on the record? Titus Standish admitting he’s stubborn?”

  His eyes were serious as he looked down at her. “I’ll cop to that, and a bunch of other things, if you want. But that list of admissions will always end with I love you.”

  “Oh, Titus, I love you so much!” Her face was still wet, but her smile was dazzling. She took his face between her hands, drew his head down and kissed him.

  He crushed her to him and kissed her back exultantly.

  When he finally lifted his head, her eyes smoldered with a yearning as powerful as his own. But then a shadow crept into them, like a cloud passing over the sun. She pulled back, not completely out of the circle of his arms, but far enough so she could study his face. And he hers.

  She had reservations.

  His gut tightened.

  ~*~

  Ocean looked up at him. As full as her heart was in this moment, there were still words that had to be spoken.

  “Come on, Ocean, what is it?” he repeated, apprehension darkening his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  Her hands rested against his chest, and she could feel the heavy thudding of his heart. She sucked in a deep breath. “You know I love you, right?”

  His hands tightened on her upper arms. “Just tell me.”

  “It’s about the writing. It isn’t a phase I’m going to grow out of. It isn’t a hobby. It’s what I am. I’m always going to do it,” she said. “And it’ll take time. Lots of it.”

  “Is that all?” Relief eased the tightness from his expression. “Ocean, honey, I would expect no less.”

  Was that all? Did he have any idea what that meant? How intense it could get?

  “Titus, I’m not just talking about ruining supper because I got lost in the story and didn’t hear the oven timer or smell a pot that boiled dry until the fire alarm went off. Not just slipping out of bed in the middle of the night because the muse struck and I have to get the ideas down before they leave me. Although those things are pretty much guaranteed to happen too. But I’m talking about disappearing for days on end—or a lot longer—when a writing project really gets going.”

  “Disappearing how?” His brows came together in a frown. “Mentally? Physically?”

  She bit her lip. “Either. Both. I might shut myself away with my laptop and work day and night, then sleep the whole next day. Or I might hermit myself away in the cottage Mom is giving me, staying for weeks at a time.”

  “Okay.”

  Okay? Her writing had spelled the end for the two relationships she’d had to date. The first time, she hadn’t even noticed the relationship slipping away until she lifted her head after typing The End. Granted, it was never going to go anywhere with her and Cooper, but it had still been an unpleasant surprise. An eye-opening one. With Jarrod, she’d seen it coming. Truthfully, maybe she’d even disappeared into her writing cave to facilitate the breakup. But if Titus were to walk away, or try to make her choose between him and the writing… She couldn’t bear it.

  “That’s all you have to say?” She searched his face. “Okay?”

  His frown deepened. “What else is there to say? Did you really think that would put me off?”

  “In my experience, it usually does.” She pus
hed against his chest and he released her. “When I stop being the convenient, attentive, accessible companion, the romance tends to fall apart.”

  “Not this time. Not with me.” His eyes bored into hers, as though they could drive home his message, make her believe. “Those other guys were fools, Ocean. Spoiled boys. I don’t need you to hold my hand or wait on me or pander to my ego. If you need to disappear, literally or figuratively, for your art, I can wait for you. I’ll be here when you resurface.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Your writing is part of you, part of what makes you who you are. An intrinsic, amazing part of the woman I love. I wouldn’t change anything about you.”

  She smiled tremulously and went back into his arms. “That was so the right answer.”

  “Of course, it’s just one of the parts of you that I love.” He pulled her against him, his hands sliding over her back.

  Her eyes heated again. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. Like this part.” He ran his hands down her sides, letting his thumbs trail over the sides of her breasts. Even through her bra, his touch sent a thrill tingling through her. “And this part.” His hands circled her, then slid down the small of her back to the top of her buttocks and that tingle turned to an ache.

  She went up on tiptoe to press her mouth to his, and he kissed her hungrily.

  Tears slid down her face. Happy tears. She couldn’t seem to stop them. Maybe because she was full to bursting with so much emotion. Joy. Euphoria so powerful she was dizzy with it. Desire. She dropped her hands to his hips and urged him closer.

  Behind them, someone cleared their throat. Breaking the kiss, she twisted in Titus’s arms to see both Arden and Scott standing on the porch. Yikes! How long had they been there? She ducked her head against Titus’s chest and felt the vibration of his laughter.

  “Anything we should know, Son?”

  “Yeah, apparently I’m an idiot. I almost drove away from the woman I love.”

  He gave her a quick hug, then released her. She stepped back to let him face his family.

  “Well, I could have told you that. The idiot part anyway.” Scott bounded down the steps and across the grass in no time and gave his brother a serious bear hug. “’Bout time you figured it out,” he said, then turned to Ocean and gave her a hug too. “He can be a little thick, sometimes.”

  She laughed and hugged Scott back.

  “I’m so happy for you.” Arden, who’d descended the steps at a more sedate pace, enfolded Titus in a back-clapping embrace. “For both of you.”

  Titus stepped back, and Ocean could read the trepidation on his face. “So it looks like I’m staying after all, Dad. I’m going to call the recruiter and tell them I’m not coming.”

  Arden, God bless him, didn’t bat an eyelash. “Good for you, Son. You know your own heart. I can see that. So it can’t help but be the right decision.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t figure this all out sooner, before—”

  “Nothing to be sorry for,” Arden said gruffly. “You’ve given enough to the farm and to this family over the years. Whether you go off to Regina or stay here and do something else, it’s all right by me. I couldn’t have asked any more of you.”

  And there went the tears again. She dabbed at them and looked at Titus. He seemed to be battling emotion too, the way his throat worked.

  “Thanks, Dad,” he said. “You have no idea how much that means to me. But I am so sorry I didn’t press Jace Picard about what the land would be used for. I was just so damned fixated—”

  Arden waved a hand. “We’ve got nothing but rumor yet. No point fretting about it until we know for sure.”

  “Well, if the Picards think they’re turning this place into a toxic waste dump, they’d better be ready for a fight. I’ll be on the front lines at every meeting, every demonstration, every hearing.”

  “I know you will.”

  Ocean swallowed past the lump in her throat and took Titus’s hand. “And I’ll be there with you too, every step of the way.”

  Titus lifted her hand to kiss it. Just the graze of his lips across her knuckles made her stomach flutter. Their eyes locked.

  Arden mumbled something about putting on the tea and he and Scott beat a retreat to the house.

  Laughing, she went back into Titus’s arms. She couldn’t hear her sweet friend’s voice. Not at all. But she knew with all her heart that Lacey’s laughter rang with her own.

  She was home.

  ~~~~~*~~~~~

  Scroll down to read an excerpt from Ember’s Fire, Book 2 in The Standish Clan series.

  Message from the Author

  Thank you for investing that most precious of commodities—your time—in my book! If you enjoyed A Fall from Yesterday, please consider helping me buzz it. You can do this by:

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  Again, thank you for choosing to read my book!

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  Please scroll down to read about other books by me.

  Other Books

  Subscribe to Norah Wilson’s romance newsletter so you never miss a new release.

  She frequently does giveaways for newsletter subscribers only.

  Also in this Hearts of Harkness

  Contemporary Romance series:

  Ember’s Fire, The Standish Clan #2

  Promise Me the Stars, The Standish Clan #3

  Romantic Suspense

  Fatal Hearts, Montlake Romance

  Every Breath She Takes, Montlake Romance

  Guarding Suzannah, Serve and Protect #1

  Saving Grace, Serve and Protect #2

  Protecting Paige, Serve and Protect #3

  Serve and Protect Box Set

  Paranormal Romance

  The Merzetti Effect—A Vampire Romance, #1

  Nightfall—A Vampire Romance, #2

  Dystopian Romance w/ Heather Doherty

  The Eleventh Commandment

  Dix Dodd Cozy Mysteries by N.L. Wilson

  The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen (#1)

  Family Jewels (#2)

  Death by Cuddle Club (#3)

  A Moment on the Lips (a Dix Dodd short story)

  Covering Her Assets (#4)

  Dix Dodd Mysteries Box Set 1 (#1-3)

  Check out Dix Dodd’s website: http://www.dixdodd.com

  Books by the writing team of Wilson/Doherty

  Young Adult

  Comes the Night (Casters, #1)

  Enter the Night (Casters, #2)

  Embrace the Night (Casters, #3)

  Forever the Night (Casters, #4)

  Casters Series Box Set (#1-3)

  Read about the Casters series at http://castersthebooks.com

  Ashlyn’s Radio

  The Summoning (Gatekeepers, #1)

  About the Author

  NORAH WILSON is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and paranormal romance. Together with the very talented Heather Doherty, she also writes the hilarious Dix Dodd cozy mysteries, exciting YA paranormal, and even dystopian romance.

  The tenth child in a family of eleven children, Norah knew she had to do something to distinguish herself. That something turned out to be writing. She finaled three times in the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart ® contest, and went on to win Dorchester Publishing’s New Voice in Romance contest in 2004. A hybrid author, she now writes romantic suspense for Montlake Romance and also self-publishes.

  She lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, with her husband, two adult children, two dogs (Neva and Ruby) and two cats (Ruckus and Milo).

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  Excerpt from Ember’s Fire

  The Standish Clan, #2

  A Hearts of Harkness Romance

  Description:

  Ember Standish and Jace Picard had their lives together planned before they graduated high school. But that was before he cheated on her. Ember went on with her life, and their paths never crossed again…until now.

  Home for the Thanksgiving weekend, she’s dispatched to carry meds out to an injured hiker holed up in a hunting camp on the Prince River. Newly certified as a doctor, she plans to put her skills to work on that sprained ankle. Yet when she finds out who’s at the end of that long hike, it’s her heart that may be in need of repair…all over again.

  When a storm blows in, she’s forced to stay the night. Jace, who has habitually hermited himself away during her holiday homecomings, can no longer dodge her. It soon becomes obvious that what happened that long-ago night is shrouded in more mystery than either of them knew.

  Ember’s mission of mercy to a faceless hiker turns into a quest for answers with the one man she could never forget. The only thing they know for certain is that the long-buried passion between them is still there, just waiting for a spark.

  EMBER STANDISH tap-tapped the trunk of a leaning birch at that one particular bend where a tiny, unnamed spring fed into the Prince River, for no other reason than she’d double-tapped that tree dozens of times before. Though not in a very long while. Nearly ten years.