“Yes, yes and fine.” Dawn came around the desk. “Franklin is fine too.”
Another realization hit her. Her ex didn’t father the teenager’s baby.
Maybe it was Randy’s fault they never had children. Not hers. Maybe she could give Clint the family he deserved.
A big grin spread across her face.
“What?” he sounded confused.
She walked toward him. “Do you remember what you asked me three hours ago?”
His eyes narrowed. He hesitated. “I think I said something about marriage.”
“I accept!”
Dawn sprang into his arms, and he reacted quickly, encircling her in a big, bear-like hug.
“What did you say?”
“I said I will marry you, and I’m staying in Legend with you and Jane and Graham and Franklin. You’re going to coach Franklin in football and our son too.” She couldn’t stop talking. All the hopes and dreams she had never allowed herself to have came tumbling out. “Maybe we’ll have a daughter. Maybe twins! One of each! I can open a local theater in the Old Meeting House and start a group of thespian players.”
“Stop!” Clint laughed aloud. “You talk too much, you silly girl.”
But she couldn’t stop. The ideas were flowing fast, and so was the love she had for this big, loyal man. “This house is perfect and has plenty of space. I won’t even redecorate a bit of it.”
“Hush!”
Clint crushed her mouth with his. Dawn sighed into it, feeling safe and secure.
“I can’t believe this,” he muttered moments later. “But I can get used to the idea. I love you, Dawn Smith.”
“And I love you too,” she whispered. “Merry Christmas, Santa.”
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” Clint chuckled before scooping her into his arms and carrying her back to bed.
Want to know more about Dawn and Jane?
Then read Dawn’s story in:
The Reunion Game
Thirty-three-year-old Jane Smith's biological clock is ticking. But pickings are slim in Legend, Tennessee, until the fifteen year high school reunion gives Jane a second chance. Graham Winchester will be back in town.
In high school, Jane's shyness has stopped her from taking action. Now she's older, wiser and no longer afraid. Graham has moved to the big city and won't stick around after the reunion. He's a confirmed bachelor and happily-ever-after is not in his makeup. Yet, Jane must exorcise the demon Graham has become so she can get on with her life.
Switching places with her glamorous twin sister is just what she needs to get Mr. Most Likely to Succeed into bed and out of her heart.
Here’s an excerpt from Chapter One!
There was no way sex with Graham Winchester was as good as she remembered.
Jane Smith stood alone in the crowded Legend VFW hall where her fifteenth-year high school reunion was in full swing around her. She held a plastic wineglass of California merlot which gave her something to do with her hands, smiled at Betty Jo, the clerk from the Piggly Wiggly who waved from across the dance floor, and thanked her lucky stars for the relative darkness on the periphery of the dance floor.
He’d arrived. Heat surged through Jane’s body. Graham Winchester—senior class president, debate team captain, yearbook staff member, valedictorian and Mr. Most Likely to Succeed—had finally come home to Legend.
For fifteen years, she fantasized about Graham. For fifteen years, she remembered that one night alone with him in the back seat of his family Chevy. Sure, it had been cliché. Graduation night. One thing leading to another. Each going their separate ways the next day.
She’d put him behind her and gotten on with her life. College first and then back to Legend to teach high school English. When her mom was diagnosed with cancer, she cared for her. After years as a volunteer at the county dog pound, she founded Legend’s non-kill Pet Rescue. Last year, she’d quit teaching and opened a book store.
Yet she’d never forgotten Graham.
Cold, hard truth washed over Jane as she watched from the shadows. For all she accomplished, she was still stuck in high school. Her love life sucked. It’d been on hold for much too long.
She must exorcise the demon Graham had become and put him out of her mind and heart for the last time.
****
You can never go home again.
The cliché rang in Graham’s ears along with the sounds of Michael Jackson’s Thriller pulsating from a DVD player set up on a folding table. What in the blazes was he doing here? He didn’t belong in Legend any more.
The dimly lit VFW Hall was very different from the trendy, super chic Times Square dance clubs he usually frequented. Decked out with feathery table decorations, sprinkles of glitter and mirror balls throwing colored lights on the dance floor, the rented hall looked outdated and shabby like his memories of middle school sock hops.
“Graham Winchester?”
He hardly recognized Legend High’s former All-State defensive back. Clint Roberts had put on a few pounds. When Dawn Smith dumped him to go out with Clint, he shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, football was a big thing in Tennessee.
Bracing for a rush of old resentment, Graham extended his hand. “Clint, how are you?”
“Fine.” Always a big guy, Clint towered over him. He transferred the bottle of beer he carried to his left hand and grasped Graham’s. “Man, you don’t look a day older. Can you believe it’s been this long? That big city life must agree with you.”
The bitterness Graham expected to feel failed to materialize. “Thanks, but I feel older.”
“Know what you mean.” Clint nodded. “So how’s it goin’?”
“Can’t complain.”
“Yeah, same here. Hey, I heard you wrote a book. Claudia was telling me.”
“Claudia?”
“Yeah, you remember, Claudia Ridgeway, now Claudia Jones.”
Oh, his senior class secretary. A real one-person pep squad. How quickly he’d forgotten.
“You’re the biggest thing that’s happened to Legend since the Dragons won the National Finals last fall,” Clint said. “You and Dawn comin’ home, the two of you voted most likely to succeed. It’s the talk of the town.”
Most likely to succeed? What a joke. His law career was at a standstill. Sure, he’d written one novel, but as his agent pointed out more than once, he was deep in the throes of writer’s block with the deadline looming.
Graham shifted his stance. He was a fake, but he’d be damned if he’d let his classmates in on the horrible truth.
“What are you doing now?” Graham asked politely.
“Sellin’ cars.”
“Cars?”
“Yep, own the Ford dealership in town.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Make a damn good living too. Certainly can’t complain.”
“I see.” Graham shifted again and glanced around the darkened hall. “Are you married?”
“Hell, no. What about you?”
“No.
“Smart man,” Clint shot back.
Graham didn’t know how smart he was, but he nodded in response.
“So why haven’t you gotten married?”
Clint’s question caught Graham off guard. He took a deep breath, considering his answer. “Guess I never found the right woman,” he said.
Clint nodded. “I found the right woman, but she up and left town fifteen years ago.”
“For another man?”
“Nope. Hollywood.”
“You mean you wanted to marry Dawn Smith?”
“We talked about it,” Clint admitted, “but one day she took off to California and I went on to play ball for Tennessee.”
“You must be bitter.” The thought came out of his mouth before he realized it.
Clint shrugged. “Hell, no. Dawn had a lot of ambition. Look at what she’s done.”
Graham knew all about what small-town girl, Dawn Smith, had done with her ambition. He followed her career off and on, and
in the last few weeks he looked up her name on the Internet. Dawn’s official web site said she worked in a soap opera for five years and then graduated to sitcoms. She was nominated for an Emmy, and had recently starred in her first motion picture. The girl from Legend, Tennessee, had become a movie star.
“You’re a good man,” Graham said, looking at Clint in a new way. “Did Dawn come tonight?”
“Sure thing. Haven’t you noticed the crowd over by the bar?”
The group near the bar parted, and Graham caught a glimpse of his one-time steady. “I can’t tell much about her from here.”
“She’s prettier than ever,” Clint said with a touch of pride. Then in a confidential tone, he offered, “Divorced too.”
Graham arched an eyebrow. “Love ‘em and leave ‘em?”
“Yep.” Clint cleared his throat and lifted the bottle to his lips.
Because the ex-football player was strangely talkative, Graham pumped him again, “Whatever happened to her twin sister Jane?”
Clint tilted his head. “You didn’t keep up with her?”
“No, we never had any contact after Dawn and I…well…you know.”
That was a small evasion of truth. The fact was he had a whole lot of contact with Jane on graduation night after the ceremony. In the back seat of his dad’s Chevy. It was their first time together. Their first and last.
Graham’s pulse revved up at the surprisingly vivid memory. After that night, schoolwork and college frat life absorbed him. He moved to New York and joined a law firm, putting Dawn, Jane and the folks in Legend behind him.
“She’s here,” Clint said. “See her standing over there?”
Graham sought Jane out in the dim light, remembering how she’d reluctantly shared the job of yearbook editor with him. They fought like two boxers over every caption and picture. Graham smiled at the memory. It’d been amusing to bait her. She’d taken everything so seriously. Not like her twin sister. No, Jane wasn’t anything like Dawn.
Jane stood beside a man, but her posture was stiff and aloof, as if she didn’t want to be with him. She wore a simple, but elegant blue dress with a high collar and short sleeves. Typical Jane. The smart twin. The one with as much natural reserve as beauty. There was something charming about the way she wore her blond hair in short, flirty curls.
“Who’s she talking to?” Graham asked.
“Claudia’s brother, Steven. See how he’s putting the moves on her? Ever since his divorce, he’s trying to get her to marry him.”
So Jane wasn’t married either.
“Hey, watch out. Here comes Claudia!” Following his warning, the big jock turned on his heels and departed.
Graham had time for one quick breath before Claudia Ridgeway, now Jones, descended on him like an avenging angel.
ABOUT JAN SCARBROUGH
I’ve dreamed of being a writer since I reported on freelance writing for a career project in the ninth grade. After majoring in English at Western Kentucky University, I taught high school English for five years. Since 1982 I’ve made my living as a writer—a technical writer—but I didn’t have the nerve to make my dream come true until after a life-threatening illness in 1988.
I’ve enjoyed my process of becoming a published author. A member of the Romance Writers of America, I’ve been active in my local Kentucky RWA chapter and am a member of Novelist, Inc . My best friends are fellow writers. Who else will check a point plot for me or understand GMC and POV?
I live in Louisville, Kentucky, along with two dogs and four cats. I enjoy taking riding lessons on the American Saddlebred Horse and I’m a member of the American Saddlebred Horse Association. I also volunteer at The Luci Center, a non-profit 501c3 organization located in Shelbyville, Kentucky, providing therapeutic riding and hippotherapy for individuals with disabilities.
Believe me. Dreams do come true! On January 2, 2000, I married Bill, my soul mate.
Thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed my books and a special thanks to my many writing buddies who have made the last years the best years of my life.
Please visit me at www.janscarbrough.com
Books by Jan Scarbrough
Secrets
Tangled Memories
The Reunion Game
My Lord Raven
A Man Of Her Own
The Bluegrass Reunion Series
Kentucky Heat, Kentucky Cowboy, Kentucky Flame
Kentucky Bride, Kentucky Groom Kentucky Woman
Christmas Collision
by
Magdalena Scott
Rebecca Mayfield is a terrific attorney, successful and respected. Her personal life, however, is currently a mess. Her most recent romance ended badly, her only son is out of the country, and it’s almost Christmas. Why not accept her friend Midnight’s invitation for a small-town Christmas in Legend, Tennessee?
David McClain’s Christmas tradition is to observe a solitary vigil in his remote cabin, in the mountains above Legend. It’s his special time to remember his beloved wife, Holly, whose life ended so suddenly just this time of year.
A freak blizzard intervenes, sliding Rebecca’s rental car into a snow-filled ditch near David’s cabin. Two unhappy people, lonely and frustrated with life, learn about each other, and themselves in the process. And the mountain magic of Legend, Tennessee weaves yet another love story.
Dedication
To all my attorney and judge friends. I appreciate you!
Prologue
Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” began to play. By the second bar, Rebecca Mayfield had snapped open her cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Rebecca? Hey! Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Oh, Midnight! No, it’s not a bad time.” Rebecca tried to calm her voice so Midnight wouldn’t detect her stressed-out state.
“Okay. Well, I tried your apartment and no answer, so I thought maybe you were out.”
“Hoped. You hoped I was out. On a date. With some tall, dark, handsome, eligible bachelor-type guy destined to be the next Mr. Rebecca Mayfield. Well, no way. I’ve told you that.” She began twisting the back of her diamond stud earring.
“Ugh. You’re at work, aren’t you? You need to cut your hours, my dear.”
“Midnight, I’m the boss. I set an example by working hard.”
“Right. We’ve had this conversation. You’re extremely good at what you do. I can attest to that. Without you on my side, Jeffrey and his attorney would have ruined me. But Rebecca, you need to give yourself a rest once in a while.”
“Okay. Fine. I will.” She leaned her head back, tried to relax, but the movement strained her tense shoulder muscles. “It’s the holidays, after all. I’ll be taking some time off.”
“Great! Exactly what I’m calling about. Martin and Daniel and I want you to come down to Legend and spend Christmas with us. The entire town is decorated for the holiday. There’s even a little bit of snow on the ground, which is unusual for around here. Seriously, it’s prettier than a greeting card. This is the perfect time to make your first visit. So just grab a flight and head down. The apartment over The Emporium is available, and it’s partly furnished, so you can even have your own space if you’d rather not stay with us. How does it sound?”
“Oh, Midnight, it’s sweet of you guys. Martin hasn’t even met me in person, so I can’t imagine he’d want me there. Let alone Daniel. He’s fifteen now, right? I remember Blaine at his age. An extra adult around isn’t what he wants for Christmas. And I wouldn’t want to horn in on your holiday.”
“You’re not horning in. We’re inviting you, stupid. We want you here. So, it’s all set, okay?”
“Well…”
“Why not? What could be better than a small town Christmas?”
It did sound interesting, but at the moment Rebecca felt old and tired. Not at all merry. Her doctor had recently told her she was pushing her luck on her health with the schedule she kept and the constant stress—especially since she’d turned forty this
year. He’d given her a prescription for anti-depressants, told her to take some high-powered vitamins, eat healthier, exercise daily, and get more sleep. The man obviously had no clue what it took to be the divorce attorney in New York City.
Her staff and associate attorneys respected her, and wisely kept their distance. Occasionally she heard herself referred to as The Dragon-Lady, but that was part of being at the top. The firm was her livelihood, her career, and since Stephen had died and Blaine had gone to college, it had become her life. Rebecca Mayfield was respected and successful—at times, even feared. Her suite of offices was beautiful with expensive, tasteful décor. Mayfield & Associates had become the embodiment of Rebecca Mayfield.
“Midnight, you’re railroading me. This is not like you. I have work.” But work was all she had, for the first time in what seemed like forever. There was no one in the entire city she really wanted to spend Christmas with. “Um, let me think about it, okay? It sounds great, of course. Just let me think about whether or not I can manage it.”
“Well. Okay, Rebecca. The invitation is open. You come on down to Legend. We hope you want to. I’ll e-mail you the directions. And hey—I don’t mean to be pushy.”
“You’re an organizer. It’s just your way. Mine, too. That’s not a bad thing.” Rebecca absently straightened the items on her desk. Stapler here, paper clip dispenser here, two-hole punch here. “I appreciate the thought, and the fact that you really do want me there. Just let me think it through. Don’t expect me. But on the other hand, I might show up. Can we leave it at that?”
“Sure, Rebecca. No pressure. Um. One tiny thing. There’s someone we’d like you to meet.”
Rebecca’s eyes rolled. Oh no!
“It’s not a big deal, really. We haven’t said anything to him. Just a casual meeting here with lots of other people around. You like him, maybe it’ll go somewhere, you don’t, nothing’s lost. But I thought I’d mention it, because once you got here you’d figure it out, and then you’d probably rip my head off. Tactfully, of course.”
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