This Time for Keeps

by Rochelle Alers

  She’s in town for her family...

  Could love find her in the most unexpected place?

  Attorney Nicole Campos hasn’t spoken to local mechanic Fletcher Austen since their high school friendship went down in flames over a decade ago. But when her car breaks down during her return to Wickham Falls and Fletcher unexpectedly helps her out with a custody situation in court, they find themselves suddenly wondering if this time is for keeps...or if their past differences are just too much to overcome.

  It had been seventeen years since she had come face-to-face with Fletcher Austen.

  The last time was the day of their high school graduation—what he’d said to her weeks before was imprinted in her memory like a permanent tattoo.

  However, she had to admit time had been extra kind to him, because Fletcher was more handsome than she’d remembered. His large brown eyes with glints of amber appeared to twinkle in amusement in his lean face with its perfectly symmetrical features. His smooth complexion was reminiscent of golden-brown autumn leaves. Their senior class had voted him Best Looking and All-Around Athlete.

  “How have you been, Fletcher?”

  Nicole did not recognize her own voice because it had dropped an octave. It was obvious after so many years that she was still very attracted to him. He crossed muscular arms over his chest and angled his head. “That’s what I should be asking you, Nikki. How are you doing?”

  A slight smile parted her lips. “I’m taking it one day at a time.”

  * * *

  WICKHAM FALLS WEDDINGS:

  Small-town heroes, bighearted love!

  Dear Reader,

  You met Nicole Campos briefly in Claiming the Captain’s Baby and again in Twins for the Soldier. And for those who are wondering who the attorney with the USMC tattoo on her wrist is, I’ve decided to give you a glimpse as to why she returns to Wickham Falls in This Time for Keeps.

  Nicole’s well-ordered life in Florida is turned upside down when she voluntarily gives up her position with a prestigious Miami law firm to return to her hometown. She becomes the temporary guardian for her nephews after her brother is seriously injured in a horrific automobile accident that has claimed the life of his wife and sons’ mother. The Falls is a small town where everyone knows one another, but it isn’t until Nicole encounters the man who had once—unsuccessfully—asked her to prom that her past comes back to haunt her.

  Wounded warrior Special Forces Sergeant Fletcher Austen returned to Wickham Falls to help his father with the family auto repair business and has heard that Nicole is also back. He realizes he has been given a second chance when he offers to stand in as a role model for her nephews during their father’s rehabilitation. Although Nicole accepts his offer, Fletcher wonders if his love for her will be enough to convince her to stay, or will he lose her a second time?

  Come on back to Wickham Falls, where you will reunite with old friends while at the same time meet new ones who will make you want to know more about them.

  Happy reading,

  Rochelle Alers

  This Time for Keeps

  Rochelle Alers

  Since 1988, national bestselling author Rochelle Alers has written more than eighty books and short stories. She has earned numerous honors, including the Zora Neale Hurston Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Iota Theta Zeta Chapter. A full-time writer, she lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island. Rochelle can be contacted through her website, www.rochellealers.org.

  Books by Rochelle Alers

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Wickham Falls Weddings

  Home to Wickham Falls

  Her Wickham Falls SEAL

  The Sheriff of Wickham Falls

  American Heroes

  Claiming the Captain’s Baby

  Twins for the Soldier

  Harlequin Kimani Romance

  The Eatons

  Sweet Silver Bells

  Sweet Southern Nights

  Sweet Destiny

  Sweet Persuasions

  Twice the Temptation

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

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  Contents

  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

  Excerpt from When You Least Expect It by Helen Lacey

  Chapter One

  Nicole Campos paced the length of the front porch as she waited for the arrival of the local mechanic to check out why her SUV would not start. Any other time she would not have been so anxious, but this morning was different. She was scheduled to appear at the Johnson County courthouse for a hearing that concerned her nephews.

  It had been only two months since she’d assumed the role as temporary legal guardian for six-year-old Luke and eight-year-old Daniel Campos after their father had agreed to check into a residential substance abuse treatment facility for his opioid addiction. It had taken several weeks for her brother to agree to sign the documents giving her power of attorney for his finances and custody of his sons until after he’d completed the six-month program.

  The sound of an approaching automobile garnered her attention and she came down off the porch to see a black pickup with Austen Auto & Sons painted on the side door pull up alongside her three-year-old Toyota Pathfinder. Jesse Austen had owned and operated the only auto repair shop in Wickham Falls for decades. There was a running joke throughout the town that every refrigerator door in The Falls had a magnet advertising the business.

  Nicole came off the last step at the same time the driver got out of the pickup. Her breath caught in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe until she was forced to release it. When she’d called and asked for someone to look at her car, the man who’d answered the phone had not told her that one of the owners would come to check it out.

  It had been seventeen years since she had come face-to-face with Fletcher Austen. The last time was the day of their high school graduation; what he’d said to her weeks before was imprinted in her memory like a permanent tattoo.

  However, she had to admit time had been extra kind to him because Fletcher was more handsome than she’d remembered. His large brown eyes with glints of amber appeared to twinkle in amusement in his lean face with its perfectly symmetrical features. His smooth complexion was reminiscent of golden-brown autumn leaves. Their senior class had voted him Best-Looking and All-Around Athlete.

  “How have you been, Fletcher?”

  Nicole did not recognize her own voice because it had dropped an octave. It was obvious after so many years that she was still very attracted to him.

  He crossed muscular arms over his chest and angled his head. “That’s what I should be asking you, Nikki. How are you doing?”

  A slight smile parted her lips. “I’m taking it one day at a time taking care of my nephews.”

  Day by day meant she no longer had to think of herself. Now she got up earlier than usual to prepare breakfa
st and make certain her nephews were showered and dressed before the school bus arrived. Now she spent early evenings and afternoons checking homework and/or driving them to their counseling sessions. She had also accepted a temporary part-time position to assist local attorney Preston McAvoy in clearing up a pileup of cases that had resulted when his partner left for another position.

  Her annoyance with the vehicle that wouldn’t start was exacerbated by her summons to appear in court for a matter that could have been resolved with an in-person meeting. Her brother’s in-laws wanted visitation privileges and Nicole would have been more than willing to grant their request without going to court. She knew her nephews’ maternal grandparents asking for temporary custodial guardianship was totally monetary based. As a college assistant defensive football coach, her brother, Reggie, earned a mid-six-figure salary. He had complained to her that he’d felt like a personal piggy bank for his wife’s family, which was why Nicole had convinced him to agree to permit her to manage his finances until his return.

  The day she’d received the telephone call that her brother and his wife had been involved in a vehicular accident—after their minivan had skidded out of control during an ice storm—had changed Nicole’s life forever. Her sister-in-law, five months pregnant with her third child, had died at the scene. Reggie had been airlifted to the trauma hospital in the state’s capital with broken legs, head injuries and fractured vertebrae.

  Reggie, released from hospital after several weeks, had been transferred to a rehabilitation center. His chronic pain had led to an addiction to pain meds and, eventually, to heroin. Months later Nicole, realizing his dependence on drugs was out of control, had arranged, with the assistance of her parents, for him to enter a treatment facility. She’d stayed long enough to resign her position with the Miami law firm she’d worked for, close up her town home and return to West Virginia.

  “I’m really sorry to hear about your brother losing Melissa, and his boys their mother.”

  Nicole nodded. She had lost count of the number of times people had offered their condolences and empathy for the horrific event that had changed her family’s dynamics. “Thank you, Fletcher.”

  He lowered his arms. “What’s wrong with your vehicle?”

  Nicole lifted her shoulders under the suit jacket. “It just won’t start,” she said, grateful he had changed the topic.

  Fletcher opened the driver’s-side door and slipped in behind the wheel. He adjusted the seat to accommodate his longer legs. “The radio works, so I know it’s not the battery,” he said.

  She took a backward step when he got out and opened the hood, forcing herself not to stare at the slim-cut jeans hugging his hips as he leaned over. He’d rolled back the cuffs on his work shirt to reveal strong wrists and forearms with several tattoos. When he’d crossed his arms over his chest, the muscles in his biceps strained against the fabric of the chambray shirt. The last time she’d seen Jesse Fletcher Austen, he was tall, gangly and an incredibly fast sprinter.

  As the wide receiver for the school football team, he had broken and set records for two consecutive years. But now, at thirty-five, it was as if he had acquired a monopoly on virility. He had grown a couple of inches; his upper body had filled out and was powerfully muscled. Nicole knew he had been offered athletic scholarships from several colleges but had rejected them all to enlist in the army, which had shocked most folks in The Falls. He had been that good. Two months following their graduation, Fletcher began basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, as she began her freshman year in the NROTC program at the University of Virginia.

  Nicole glanced at her watch. If Fletcher couldn’t start the Pathfinder, she would be forced to call the car service in Mineral Springs. She never understood why Wickham Falls did not have a taxi service.

  Fletcher stood straight and closed the hood. “All the cables and hoses look okay, so I can’t tell what’s wrong until it’s towed to the shop. We’ll have to put it through an electronic diagnostic test.”

  Nicole ran a hand over her short hair at the same time she smothered a curse under her breath. She shook her head and exhaled. “I don’t want to believe this.” She looked at her watch again, realizing she had less than thirty minutes to make it to the courthouse. “Tow it, Fletcher.”

  “Where are you going?” he asked when she turned to go back into the house.

  “I have to call Mineral Springs for a taxi. I need to get to the family court by nine thirty.”

  “Forget the taxi. I’ll take you.”

  Nicole stopped and turned to face Fletcher. “You don’t have to do that.”

  He smiled, bringing her gaze to linger on the elusive dimple in his right cheek. “Yes, I do. After all, it’s the least I can do to offer an apology for what I said to you when we were back in school.”

  She wanted to tell Fletcher there was little he could do to erase the acerbic words. Words that, at seventeen, had made her question her appearance and femininity when she compared herself to some of the more glamorous girls who wore the latest designer fashions and had standing appointments for their hair and nails. It had taken years before Nicole realized her self-worth wasn’t about how she looked or what she wore, but her achievements.

  “You really don’t have to do that, Fletcher,” she repeated.

  He removed a handkerchief from a pocket of his jeans and wiped his hands. “Yes, I do, Nicole. If we continue to stand here debating how you can get to the courthouse, you’ll definitely be late.”

  She knew he was right and serious when he’d called her Nicole rather than Nikki. Even if she did call for a taxi, she didn’t know how long it would take for the dispatcher to send a car to pick her up. “Okay. I need to get my tote from behind the front seat.”

  Fletcher nodded. “I’ll call the shop and have one of the guys tow it.”

  Nicole retrieved her tote as Fletcher opened the passenger-side door to the pickup. She’d just hiked up the pencil skirt to allow her easier access into the truck when Fletcher’s hands circled her waist and lifted her effortlessly until she was settled on the seat.

  Her eyes met his. “Thank you.” She’d felt the power in his hands as he’d lifted her as easily as he would a child.

  Nicole placed the tote on the floor between her feet and then fastened the seat belt. She turned to see Fletcher talking on his cell phone before he got in beside her in the pickup.

  * * *

  Fletcher started up the pickup, put it in Reverse and backed out of the driveway. “I left the doors unlocked and told Billy he’d find the key under the driver’s mat.” He chanced a quick glance at Nicole as he headed for the county seat.

  When the call had come in from Nicole, he’d told his father he would go check on her car. Normally that task would be assigned to one of the two other mechanics, but he knew it would provide him the perfect opportunity to approach Nicole and attempt to make amends for something he’d said more than seventeen years ago.

  He’d thought her very cute with her delicate features and her tawny-brown complexion. There were times when she would stare at him with large round brown eyes that seemed much too wise for someone so young. She had always worn her chemically straightened long hair in a ponytail or single braid and the only allowance she made for makeup was lip gloss. However, the woman sitting only inches away had matured appreciably. Subtly applied makeup served to enhance her best features: her eyes and lush lips. The short pixie haircut was the perfect style for her small face.

  Fletcher forced himself to keep his eyes on the road rather than take furtive glances at Nicole’s legs in the body-hugging black skirt she had paired with a white man-tailored blouse under the matching jacket. He’d caught glimpses of her in town with her nephews since her return to The Falls, but had decided not to approach her because the timing had not been right.

  News had traveled quickly throughout Wickham Falls when Reggie Campos had
been seriously injured in an accident that had claimed the life of his young wife a week before Christmas. Residents from The Falls and Mineral Springs had come together to support Melissa Clarke-Campos’s family for their loss during what should have been one of the most joyous seasons of the year.

  “How long do you plan to stay in The Falls?” Fletcher asked Nicole after a comfortable silence when he stopped at a four-way intersection.

  Nicole turned to meet his eyes. “I’ll be here until late January or early February. Hopefully by that time Reggie will have successfully completed his rehab.”

  Fletcher nodded. It was late August, and that meant she would remain in West Virginia for at least the next six months. “Then you’re going back to Florida.”

  “Yes,” Nicole said. “Miami is now my home.”

  He stepped on the gas and executed a smooth left turn onto the two-lane road. “So, do you like living in Miami?”

  “Yes,” she replied, smiling. “I’ve gotten used to the summer heat and humidity, and I love the food and the energy of the city.”

  Fletcher reached for a pair of sunglasses on the console and put them on to shield his eyes against the rays of the sun. “I suppose that’s reason enough for not coming back here to live. What about your job?”

  “I’ll have to look for a new position once I get back. I’ve exhausted my family-leave privileges and, as a new hire, the senior partners at the firm decided not to authorize a subsequent leave of absence. I don’t know if you know, but I’m working for Preston McAvoy while I’m here. It gives me something to do during the day while my nephews are in school.”

  “I was really surprised when I read in our quarterly graduating class newsletter that you’d left the corps to go to law school.”

  “I’d promised myself that if I survived my last deployment, I would leave the military. Why did you come back?” Nicole asked.

  “I’d planned to become a lifer and then come back to help my brother run the shop once Pop retired. But I was wounded during my third tour and I had to put in for a medical discharge. Even before that my brother decided he preferred working on an oil rig to repairing cars, which meant my plan to serve thirty years was changed to twenty.”