by Terry Odell
“That’s great. How’s his wife doing? And Torrie?”
“Stacey’s fine and the munchkin is excited about the new baby. I’ve been working on an addition for their house—a studio for Stacey, once she has time to get back to her painting. I was starting some storage cabinets when you showed up.” He stopped. God, he was talking about everything except what was important. Enough. She’d left him once and there was no way it was going to happen again. He’d dreamed of her coming back and had sworn to get it right if he ever had another chance. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her gaze.
“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, but you’ll have to change your identity one more time.”
A flash of uncertainty crossed her face. “Is there something I missed? I mean, Robert wasn’t really Robert and—”
“It’ll have to be done legally, though. No hacking. But when it’s done, you’re going to be Kelli Windsor.” He held his breath.
She gave him The Shake and his hands itched with the need to embrace her.
“Not sure I like the sound of that,” she said. He could barely hear her over the blood rushing in his ears.
“What? But—”
“You can do better. Legally? No hacking? Not exactly a romantic marriage proposal, Mr. Windsor.”
His throat tightened. “Damn it, Kelli—I was stupid enough to let you walk away once. Not again. I love you. I need you. I want you. When you’re with me, I’m not empty inside. Marry me. Please.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “That’s more like it. Now kiss me and let’s see about filling those empty places.”
A Note From the Author
I hope you enjoyed reading this book. One thing readers can do to let an author know they've enjoyed a book is to pass the word along. If you're willing to let your friends know you think they might like the book, or tweet about it, or post it to your social media sites, that would be wonderful. Also, the best way to help readers find authors is to post a brief review. If you have a minute, I'd appreciate it if you'd go to the site where you bought this book, or any review site such as Goodreads, and let others know you liked it.
Thanks!
Terry
Acknowledgements
Although writing is solitary work, there are a lot of folk involved in getting the words down right. Thanks go to all my Yahoos for crits and feedback. To Wally Lind and the gang at crimescenewriter and to Chief Investigator Tom Bennett, Boulder, CO District Attorney's Office. To Amy Daraghy for the Washington settings, and Jude Chapman for the Chicago advice. To all the wonderful people at the Central Florida Romance Writers, with special thanks to Catherine Kean, Katherine Garbera, Dara Edmondson and Roxanne St. Claire for taking time to tell me what I was doing wrong. I hope I didn't miss anyone—ladies, you're all great! To The Pregnant Pigs—you're the reason I keep doing this! Thanks to Jessica for her fight choreography. And, it's not only the words. Many, many thanks to Jason, for his patience with me as we created the new cover.
About the Author
Terry Odell began writing by mistake, when her son mentioned a television show and she thought she’d be a good mom and watch it so they’d have common ground for discussions.
Little did she know she would enter the world of writing, first via fanfiction, then through Internet groups, and finally with groups with real, live partners. Her first publications were short stories, but she found more freedom in longer works and began what she thought was a mystery. Her daughters told her it was a romance so she began learning more about the genre and craft. She belongs to both the Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.
Now a multi-published, award winning author, Terry resides with her husband in the mountains of Colorado. You can find her online at:
Her website - http://terryodell.com
Her blog - http://terryodell.com/terrysplace
Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTerryOdell
Twitter - http://twitter.com/authorterryo
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Find more by Terry Odell at the Smashwords Store
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Hidden Fire (Pine Hills Police 2)
Saving Scott (Pine Hills Police 3)
Nowhere to Hide (A Pine Hills Police spinoff)
Finding Fire (Pine Hills Police—short story anthology)
When Danger Calls (Blackthorne, Inc. 1)
Where Danger Hides (Blackthorne, Inc. 2)
Rooted in Danger (Blackthorne, Inc. 3)
Danger in Deer Ridge (Blackthorne, Inc. 4)
Dangerous Connections (Blackthorne, Inc. 5)
What's in a Name?
Deadly Secrets: A Mapleton Mystery, #1
Deadly Bones: A Mapleton Mystery #2