“A thing?”
“Yeah, a thing.” He rubbed a hand tiredly along his chin.
“What’s that supposed to mean? A thing.”
“It means that we had sex, it was a relationship of sorts, but I never wanted it to be more than that. I didn’t think Marla wanted anything more, either. When I realized she was using me and some things about her started to feel wrong, I broke it off. That’s when I started my investigation.”
“Marla is not a very nice person. I’m surprised.” Emma didn’t like the anxious feeling in her stomach. She told herself she didn’t need to be jealous of a woman who would be spending a good long time in prison. She sighed. “You don’t have to explain. It’s really not my business.”
“Of course it’s your business. Since you and I are together you have a right to know.” He shifted in his seat and Emma knew his shoulder had to be painful. “I’ve known Marla all of my life. She came from a poor family and all through school she always seemed to need to prove herself. She might have appeared mean to some people, but I think she felt she had to be hard to get ahead.”
Emma looked at him, considering. “She came to your house Sunday night, after you’d left to deal with Rodrigo. I’m not so sure she thought it was over between you. She wanted to hook up.”
Brad kept his gaze steady. “If I had been home, even if you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have let her in.” Brad reached across the table to lay a hand on hers. “Emma, we stopped seeing each other months ago. My guess is that Marla came by to try and derail my relationship with you and to sidetrack me from my investigation.”
Emma tried to study him dispassionately. He was telling the truth. The integrity that was such an intrinsic part of Brad’s character couldn’t be denied. “Okay.”
“Okay?” He gave her a half grin. “That’s it? I’m forgiven for having a relationship with Marla?”
Emma nodded solemnly. “We’ll chalk it up to very poor judgment on your part. Who knew she’d shoot you?” She thought for a minute. “Is Marla’s behind Van Horn hiring Jackson to set fire to my garage? Did she break into my cabin?”
“Yeah. She had Van Horn acting as a go-between. Burning the garage was an effort to scare you away. She broke in to hassle you and to try to find papers Walt had signed agreeing to sell the property to her.”
“Why was she so desperate to build the resort? I wouldn’t think it would be worth the risk of getting caught.”
“That’s just it. She never thought she would get caught.” Brad pushed back his chair to stretch his legs. “Marla had aspirations to higher political office. She wanted to run for Congress and figured if she could make Hangman’s Loss into an upscale, luxury ski resort it would give her the clout and connections to make that wish a reality.”
“And I got in her way.”
He squeezed her hand. “We both got in her way. She knew I was looking at some of her business deals and was close to tying her to the arson and break-in. She panicked.”
When he released her hand to adjust the sling, Emma saw him wince. She rose to get a bottle from the cabinet. “Here. At least take some ibuprofen for the pain.” She shook out three tablets and handed them to him before filling a glass with water. He swallowed the pills, eyes focused on her with such intensity it cut off Emma’s train of thought.
“You know you never answered my question.”
She knew she must look like a deer in the headlights. “Question?” She busied herself putting away dishes she had washed and set to drain. She turned when she heard the scrape of the chair.
Brad rose and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of her. She thought he looked predatory. Despite his pain, his expression was focused and direct. Her pulse scrambled when, in a deliberate move, he took the dish towel from her hand. Emma backed up a step, bumping against the counter. He stepped closer, crowding her, and then used his free hand to reach out and grasp hers. Bringing her knuckles to his lips, he nibbled them lightly, eyes gleaming with intent. “The question, Emma. The question I asked you after I was shot. Before I blacked out.”
Emma felt her heart begin thumping in double time. “You were suffering from blood loss. I didn’t think you remembered.” She tried to pull her hand away but he simply turned it to press a kiss into her palm. “Frank Singleton was here earlier,” she blurted out.
He paused in his attention to her hand. “So?”
“He said you’d moved on me so fast because you wanted my property.” She said it rapidly, to get it all out before she lost her nerve. “He said you bought the land between my place and yours and that your family owns a lot of land around the lake. That you all would make a fortune if the resort development that Great Mountain wants to build gets done.”
At the flash in his eyes Emma took a deep breath, determined to finish what she had started. “He said the reason you put the moves on me so quickly was because you wanted possession of my cabins before he or Marla could work out a deal with me.” There, she’d said it.
She had definitely gotten his attention. “And you believed him?” His tone was incredulous.
“Not entirely.” At his arched brows, she blundered on. “Maybe I did believe him, at least some of it.”
“Jesus Christ, Emmaline.” He looked away from her for a moment, then back, and she could see the banked-down hurt.
Her stomach clenched in knots, she tried to explain. “Brad, no one has ever fallen for me like you seemed to. It happened so fast it doesn’t seem real.”
“Emmaline, it wasn’t all that fast. Walt used to talk about you. And then there was that picture of the two of you together. I got hung up on you before I’d even met you.”
“But don’t you see? Nobody has ever gotten hung up on me. I look in the mirror so I know I’m no supermodel, but you acted like somehow I was irresistible.”
He cupped a warm hand at the back of her neck, fingers threading through her hair. “Supermodels are a fantasy. I want something real.”
“Why did you buy the land between our properties?” She was trying hard to keep her emotions in check but his constant attentiveness brought a response from her she had trouble fighting.
“I bought that property three months ago. Think about it. I didn’t know if you’d ever show up or that you wouldn’t sell the property once you’d inherited it. I wanted a buffer between my land and this place if it was going to get turned into a five-star hotel.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He tipped her chin up so he could kiss her, his lips seductive. “Emmaline?” he eased back and Emma looked into eyes of fathomless green.
“Yes?” Her mind swirled with the sensations he evoked.
“I love you.”
Emma felt the knots in her stomach ease. Emotion bloomed, the lightness and beauty of sheer delight. She felt a smile spread across her face and he trailed his hand along her jaw, thumb stroking gently. When he moved to dip his head again she put a restraining hand against his chest. “Wait!”
“Why?”
“Because I want to tell you.” Emma sucked in a deep breath and then released it in a whoosh. Looking him in the eye, she said, “Bradley Gallagher, I love you. You make me happier than I have ever been in my life.”
A flash of intense emotion crossed his face and he lowered his head to kiss her. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue over hers, warm and sensuous. She wrapped her arms around his waist, mindful of the sling, and worked a hand under his shirt to feel the warm skin of his back.
After several long minutes he shifted to bury his face into her neck, holding her close despite the awkwardness of his immobilized arm. “I need you.”
His voice was muffled, but Emma could hear the intensity in his voice. When she pulled back to look at his face his expression was serious. “I’ve always been the one people needed, I’ve always been there for my family, my friends. But I need you.”
Feelings exploded. Emma didn’t know how she could contain the sensations and felt they must
be radiating out from her, like the warmth of the sun. She poured herself into another kiss as his mouth devoured hers.
Pulling back, Brad ran his hand down her arm to lace his fingers through hers. “Answer my question, Emmaline. Say yes. Say you’ll marry me.” She lost herself in the intensity of his gaze. “Say you’ll be my wife, that we’ll have children together. I want you to make a life with me here in Hangman’s Loss.”
She felt the glorious feelings growing and swelling inside her, like he had given her the sun and the moon and the stars in one beautiful, glowing bouquet. Gripping his hand tightly, she looked up at him, love tingling like an electric charge through her body. Rejecting all the doubts and reservations, she said, “Yes, Brad, I’ll marry you. I’ll be your wife and have our children and make a life with you. As long as you’re with me, I feel like I can do anything.”
He enveloped her in his one-armed embrace and sighed deeply. Emma rested her head on his shoulder, knowing that finally, at last, she was where she belonged. She had family and friends, a community, and a man who needed and loved her.
He raised his head suddenly with a gleam in his eye. “We could get married this weekend in Reno.”
Despite his expectant expression, Emma shook her head. “Brad, if I’m to be a member of your family and part of this community, I won’t start our life together without them. We will have a proper wedding right here in town. Your mother and sisters will help us set it up, and we’ll do it right.”
“Heaven help us. You’re sure?”
She knew he was asking about more than the wedding itself. He was asking if she would take the life they would build in Hangman’s Loss, a life that would include all the good and the bad, the highs and lows, of being husband and wife, family and community. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Good.” He grinned, then leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss that sealed the promise.
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
An avid reader for as long as she can remember, Diane has always favored stories with strong female characters who went on adventures and could think themselves out of the most dangerous situations. It’s no surprise that those are the kinds of books she enjoys writing.
Diane loves the outdoors and reflects this passion in her books. Born and raised in southern California, family vacations invariably meant camping in locations ranging from Big Sur to Death Valley. Her debut novel is a fictional town set in one of her favorite areas, the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her love of travel took her to Sweden as an exchange student when she was sixteen and backpacking around Great Britain (after a week in Paris) while in college. Taking the kids on a cross country road trip would have turned out better if the last Harry Potter novel hadn’t just been released. They remember Harry searching for Horcruxes more than camping in a cornfield in Illinois.
When not writing exciting tales of women in danger, Diane spends her time at her day job (teaching US History), gardening, and bugging her husband to finish the house remodel. She is a member of two chapters of the Romance Writers of America, the East Valley Authors and the Orange County Chapter.
You can visit Diane at:
www.dianebenefiel.com
Sins of the Mind by L.J. Garland and Debbie Gould
Seven years ago, Abby Montgomery survived a brutal attack. Now she is ready to put her pain in the past and move on with her life. The problem is, one by one the men in her life are being viciously murdered.
The detective assigned to the case, Ethan Parker, has demons of his own to hide. As the danger gets closer to Abby, so does Ethan. But can they get past his secrets before the killer gets to them? Sometimes the sins of the mind are more depraved than the sins of the heart.
Cupid’s Promise by Kimberly Quinton
Shot through the heart...
Cupid's Secret promises to set Laurel Cove on its ear with a sexy new boutique that answers what a woman desires. When the owner ends up in the hospital it's up to Lena Ridgeway to make sure this heart-stopping opening goes off without a hitch, but she finds her every idea challenged by a no-nonsense businessman.
Capitalizing on a feeling...
Marcus Blackwell is a bottom-line kind of guy and he knows that sex and hearts sell. When he arrives to find his latest venture in chaos, his partner injured, and a model-turned-manager in charge, he rolls up his sleeves and dives in. If only he could keep his mind-and hands - off the sultry model with her whimsical faith in a fake holiday.
Can't fight this fortune...
Lena can't help teasing the straight-laced, business-only boss who keeps sneaking into her dreams. One passionate kiss has her believing he may be the one she's waited for all her life, but she'll need every arrow in Cupid's arsenal to prove she is his true Valentine....
Contents
Title page
~Dedication~
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
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
A Need to Protect Page 19