by Ann Roberts
“Siobhan, wait! I need to talk to you.”
When she opened the tailgate, Lynette gave a shrill whistle and motioned. The five dogs jumped into the bed.
Siobhan pointed. “Get out!” The dogs ignored her and focused their stares on Lynette who was shaking a finger at them.
“I’m going to be late,” she cried. “Lynette?”
“I really need to talk to you.”
“I can’t right now. I have a concert. You need to get these mutts down!” she shouted in her thick brogue.
Lynette wrapped her arms around her and kissed her passionately. As Lynette walked away, she whistled again, and the dogs tumbled out of the bed, nearly knocking a dazed Siobhan to the ground.
Lynette threw up her hands and said, “I think I’m trainable.”
Chapter Nineteen
September, 2010
From my childhood bedroom on the second floor I watched their exchange. They’d been playing this cat and mouse game for over a month but neither could become a cat. Both were just timid mice, afraid of love, too scared to try again. CC sat at the drawing board inside the sun porch perfecting her version of Chloe. She was naturally gifted, and I knew when I could no longer hold my brush, the young readers would be just as pleased with her Chloe. Only a few would catch the subtle differences in our styles.
Penn stood on her porch on the other side of the hedge, her arms folded, leaning against a post. She gazed at CC without being able to see her, picturing her through the thick foliage I’d planted decades ago. My breath caught, and for a moment fifty-five years evaporated and Mac and Mama appeared, he outside the cabin, and she on the sun porch. It disappeared when I heard the annoying ring from CC’s cell phone. She answered, and I knew without looking across the hedge that it was Penn, wooing her to abandon her work and take a break.
Her face broke into a smile, and she quickly set her brush down and bounded outside. By the time she reached the hedge, though, her pace had slowed, she’d straightened her back and adopted a cool, somewhat indifferent expression.
They met at the hammock as they always did each afternoon—the halfway point between Penn’s cottage and the farmhouse. It was what each could give right now. After their embrace and a little kiss, they cuddled on the hammock locked in each other’s arms for an hour of sharing the past, healing the hurts and building the bridge. I stepped away from the window, unwilling to intrude further. They’d figure it out soon enough. The smart ones always did.
About The Author
Ann Roberts lives with her partner of seventeen years in Phoenix, Arizona. Recent empty nesters, their Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Duke and Sadie, keep them busy as do frequent phone calls to their son, the college student who needs money. A life-long educator, Ann is currently collaborating with Medal of Freedom winner, Gerda Weissman Klein, on a play about diversity and bullying. Please visit her website at annroberts.net.
Publications from
Bella Books, Inc.
Women.Books. Even Better Together.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 800-729-4992
www.bellabooks.com
CALM BEFORE THE STORM by Peggy J. Herring. Colonel Marcel Robicheaux doesn’t tell and so far no one official has asked, but the amorous pursuit by Jordan McGowen has her worried for both her career and her honor.
978-0-9677753-1-9
THE WILD ONE by Lyn Denison. Rachel Weston is busy keeping home and head together after the death of her husband. Her kids need her and what she doesn’t need is the confusion that Quinn Farrelly creates in her body and heart.
978-0-9677753-4-0
LESSONS IN MURDER by Claire McNab. There’s a corpse in the school with a neat hole in the head and a Black & Decker drill alongside. Which teacher should Inspector Carol Ashton suspect? Unfortunately, the alluring Sybil Quade is at the top of the list. First in this highly lauded series.
978-1-931513-65-4
WHEN AN ECHO RETURNS by Linda Kay Silva. The bayou where Echo Branson found her sanity has been swept clean by a hurricane—or at least they thought. Then an evil washed up by the storm comes looking for them all, one-by-one. Second in series.
978-1-59493-225-0
DEADLY INTERSECTIONS by Ann Roberts. Everyone is lying, including her own father and her girlfriend. Leaving matters to the professionals is supposed to be easier! Third in series with PAID IN FULL and WHITE OFFERINGS.
978-1-59493-224-3
SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE by Karin Kallmaker. No substitutes, ever again! But then Holly’s heart, body and soul are captured by Reyna... Reyna with no last name and a secret life that hides a terrible bargain, one written in family blood.
978-1-931513-62-3
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME by Karin Kallmaker. Take one Next Home Network Star and add one Little White Lie to equal mayhem in little Mendocino and a recipe for sizzling romance. This lighthearted, steamy story is a feast for the senses in a kitchen that is way too hot.
978-1-931513-61-6
2ND FIDDLE by Kate Calloway. Cassidy James’s first case left her with a broken heart. At least this new case is fighting the good fight, and she can throw all her passion and energy into it.
978-1-59493-200-7
HUNTING THE WITCH by Ellen Hart. The woman she loves — used to love — offers her help, and Jane Lawless finds it hard to say no. She needs TLC for recent injuries and who better than a doctor? But Julia’s jittery demeanor awakens Jane’s curiosity. And Jane has never been able to resist a mystery. #9 in series and Lammy-winner.
978-1-59493-206-9
FAÇADES by Alex Marcoux. Everything Anastasia ever wanted — she has it. Sidney is the woman who helped her get it. But keeping it will require a price — the unnamed passion that simmers between them.
978-1-59493-239-7
ELENA UNDONE by Nicole Conn.The risks. The passion. The devastating choices. The ultimate rewards. Nicole Conn rocked the lesbian cinema world with Claire of the Moon and has rocked it again with Elena Undone. This is the book that tells it all…
978-1-59493-254-0
WHISPERS IN THE WIND by Frankie J. Jones. It began as a camping trip, then a simple hike. Dixon Hayes and Elizabeth Colter uncover an intriguing cave on their hike, changing their world, perhaps irrevocably.
978-1-59493-037-9
WEDDING BELL BLUES by Julia Watts. She’ll do anything to save what’s left of her family. Anything. It didn’t seem like a bad plan...at first. Hailed by readers as Lammy-winner Julia Watts’ funniest novel.
978-1-59493-199-4
WILDFIRE by Lynn James. From the moment botanist Devon McKinney meets ranger Elaine Thomas the chemistry is undeniable. Sharing—and protecting—a mountain for the length of their short assignments leads to unexpected passion in this sizzling romance by newcomer Lynn James.
978-1-59493-191-8
LEAVING L.A. by Kate Christie. Eleanor Chapin is on the way to the rest of her life when Tessa Flanagan offers her a lucrative summer job caring for Tessa’s daughter Laya. It’s only temporary and everyone expects Eleanor to be leaving L.A...
978-1-59493-221-2
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE by Robbi McCoy. When Lauren and Cassie meet on a once-in-a-lifetime river journey through China their feelings are innocent…at first. Ten years later, nothing—and everything—has changed. From Golden Crown winner Robbi McCoy.
978-1-59493-214-4
DEVIL’S ROCK by Gerri Hill. Deputy Andrea Sullivan and Agent Cameron Ross vow to bring a killer to justice. The killer has other plans. Gerri Hill pens another intriguing blend of mystery and romance in this page-turning thriller.
978-1-59493-218-2
SHADOW POINT by Amy Briant. Madison McPeake has just been not-quite fired, told her brother is dead and discovered she has to pick up a five-year old niece she’s never met. After she makes it to Shadow Point it seems like someone—or something —doesn’t want her to leave. Romance sizzles in this ghost story from Amy Briant.
978-1-59493-216-8
JUKEBOX by Gina Daggett.Debutantes in love. With each other. Two young women chafe at the constraints of parents and society with a friendship that could be more, if they can break free. Gina Daggett is best known as “Lipstick” of the columnist duo Lipstick & Dipstick.
978-1-59493-212-0
BLIND BET by Tracey Richardson. The stakes are high when Ellen Turcotte and Courtney Langford meet at the blackjack tables. Lady Luck has been smiling on Courtney but Ellen is a wild card she may not be able to handle.
978-1-59493-211-3
Table of Contents
Other Bella Books by Ann Roberts
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
About The Author