by C. A. Harms
He cleared his throat and I waited, continuing to wash my hair. When he finally spoke, I could tell he was tense.
“Hey, um, you, uh… you almost done in there?”
I stepped to the edge of the shower and peeked out at him. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just meet me out in the bedroom, okay?” He left the room before I could ask anything more. I hurried to finish and wrapped the towel around my body, with a second one covering my hair.
I found Zander sitting on the end of the bed looking down at my phone. Stepping into the room, I stopped right in front of him. “What’s wrong?”
He looked up, and I knew it was something bad. My heart sank with all the possibilities. Was it my dad? Mom? Did something happen to Carson? My entire family continued to flash through my mind, and I felt my throat tighten. “Tell me Zander. Please.”
Reaching out, he took my hand and pulled me into his lap. After a deep breath, he looked up at me, and with each word he spoke my heart ached a little more.
“Baby, there was a bad fire last night. Both Carson and Max were on scene. Max was inside clearing the rooms and…”
“Is he dead?” My lip trembled, and I felt sick. “Please just tell me. Is Max okay?”
Zander held me tighter and continued. “He’s hurt, Ry, but he saved a little boy. He used himself to shield a little boy he found hiding in a closet on the second floor. The floor collapsed, and he broke his leg. He has burns and is in the hospital.”
“And the little boy?”
Zander shrugged. “Not sure, babe. But he’s in the hospital too.”
“I need to get home, Zander. We could have lost him. Max could have died last night.” I caved and gave in to the strong urge to cry. Max could have lost his life last night. The thought crippled me.
But he was a hero. He was always saving everyone. Our entire lives growing up, that was Max. He protected and took care of everyone. He was always the big brother everyone feared. Even though Tanner was older, Max was the one he ran to when shit got deep and he needed backup. He put everyone ahead of himself and made sure we were all happy.
That needed to change, because Max’s happiness should mean something too, and it was time he was forced to realize that.
Look for Max’s Story in the future…
Acknowledgements
My husband and Children, you three are my world. Thank you for being the most amazing people in my life. I love you with all my heart and thank you for making it possible for me to accomplish my goals.
Limitless Publishing and everyone behind that name. You are all wonderful. Thank you for all your help and hard work. You all make this process painless and worth all the energy I put behind my books.
Can’t forget my pal Maria. Girl you know what you do and for those of you who don’t let me just say she gives me some of the greatest writing material to use. The best part about it is she does not even realize it because the crazy things she tells me about are seriously just part of her life. Some of our conversations are so out there…but for us they are normal. One of these days someone is going to get ahold of our phones and ransack Voxer on our phones. You can always make me laugh and most of the time without even trying too.
The Lovely Jillian my PA. You are without a doubt and angel. You have helped so much in the short time I have known you. You’re a godsend and I adore you my New York Gal.
Beta Readers…Barbara Martoncik, Kelly Fallon Sloane, Myra Espino and Amber Sessions…Thank you all for what you do. Thank you for taking the time to read my rough drafts and give me your honest feedback. You are all amazing.
Lisa Watmough (RockWat Designs) Girl you make Swag like no other. I love your ideas and creativity. You are always so helpful and on top of things. Thank you so much for being you. Thank you for your friendship and kindness…you truly are SO DAMN AWSOME!
Thank you to Lydia from HEAbook ShelfBlogger. You are my Go to girl for Tours and promo. You have yet to disappoint me. You always go above and beyond to make each tour its best and that is so important. As a writer when we set up tours we look for the one person we can trust to give us what we pay for and girl you do. In all reality you honestly do so much more. You will forever be the one I turn to for my Book Tours. I love what you do. You two ROCK MY WORLD!
Debra from Book Enthusiast thank you as well for promoting me and giving me someone I can trust. You are one of the good ones and I will continue to hand out your name to those in need.
All my fans and followers…Thank you all for your dedication and kind words. You all make me want to lock myself up in a room and pump out another book just for you.
About the Author
C.A. Harms is like any other addicted reader. She enjoys happy endings and HEA love stories. She hasn't always been a lover of Romance and had once been addicted to a good Mystery. Just recently she has taken on a new liking and now is a full blown Romance novel addict.
She lives in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her husband of 14 years and two children. You will always find her with her kindle or paperback in hand as it is her favorite pass time.
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www.goodreads.com/author/show/6895633.C_A_Harms
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Epilogue