by Erin Dutton
Table of Contents
Synopsis
Acclaim for Erin Dutton’s Work
By the Author
Acknowledgments
Dedication
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
About the Author
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Synopsis
Jacqueline Knight is driven and ambitious, always focused on getting to the top. But when her father’s failing health demands her attention, she must consider putting her career on hold. Though she struggles with her new responsibilities, she won’t admit she can’t do it alone. And the last person she wants to accept help from is her ex, Casey.
Since their breakup eight years before, Casey Meadows has concentrated on co-parenting their son and making a new life for herself. While she’s happy to offer her help, spending time with Jacqueline threatens to open the box in which she’s locked away their past relationship.
Will the lessons learned in eight years apart be enough to mend the mistakes of the past?
Acclaim for Erin Dutton’s Work
“Designed for Love is…rich in love, romance, and sex. Dutton gives her readers a roller coaster ride filled with sexual thrills and chills. Designed for Love is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter’s day.”—Just About Write
“Sequestered Hearts is packed with raw emotion, but filled with tender moments too. The author writes with sophistication that one would expect from a veteran author. …A romance is about more than just plot and character development. It’s about passion, physical intimacy, and connection between the characters. The reader should have a visceral reaction to what is going on within the pages for the novel to succeed. Dutton’s words match perfectly with the emotion she has created. Sequestered Hearts is one book that cannot be overlooked. It is romance at its finest.”—L-word Literature.com
“Sequestered Hearts by first time novelist, Erin Dutton, is everything a romance should be. It is teeming with longing, heartbreak, and of course, love. …As pure romances go, it is one of the best in print today.”—Just About Write
In Fully Involved “…Dutton’s studied evocation of the macho world of firefighting gives the story extra oomph—and happily ever after is what a good romance is all about, right?”—Q Syndicate
With Point of Ignition… “Erin Dutton has given her fans another fast paced story of fire, with both buildings and emotions burning hotly. …Dutton has done an excellent job of portraying two women who are each fighting for their own dignity and learning to trust again. The delicate tug of war between the characters is well done as is the dichotomy of boredom and drama faced daily by the firefighters. Point of Ignition is a story told well that will touch its readers.”—Just About Write
“In Dutton’s highly entertaining contemporary [For the Love of Cake], well-drawn characters Shannon Hayes and Maya Vaughn discover romance behind reality TV. …Dutton’s love story never loses momentum.”—Publisher’s Weekly
For the Love of Cake is… “An enjoyable romance based in a reality show bake-off. A hot chef, a drooling contestant and a lot of cake…what’s not to love? The main characters are excellent, their development well handled and their attraction and occasional rejection make for good reading. Thoroughly enjoyable reading. If you like a good romance this will hit the buttons, and if you like reality cooking shows you will have a double winner. As many others will probably say—it has hot women and cake, what else could it possibly need?”—Curve Magazine
Capturing Forever
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Capturing Forever
© 2016 By Erin Dutton. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-632-6
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, New York 12185
First Edition: August 2016
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Shelley Thrasher
Production Design: Susan Ramundo
Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])
By the Author
Sequestered Hearts
Fully Involved
A Place to Rest
Designed for Love
Point of Ignition
A Perfect Match
Reluctant Hope
More Than Friends
For the Love of Cake
Officer Down
Capturing Forever
Acknowledgments
As always, thanks to the dedicated people at Bold Strokes Books for helping me put forward a polished, beautifully packaged version of the stories that start as images in my head. Dr. Shelley Thrasher continues to be my editor, my teacher, and my guide on this amazing journey.
Sarah Bridget Kerry, thanks for an insightful beta read just when I needed it. You helped bring another layer to my story and I’m so, so grateful.
Thanks to Kelly for your information about fostering and adopting. I hope I captured the experience accurately. It’s such a generous thing—offering a home, stability, and love to children who desperately need it. Much respect for what you and Becky have done for your family.
To the readers—your support, messages, and feedback are crucial to my process. I will always be a writer, but you help me continue to be an author.
On a personal note, a part of me believed I would never be legally allowed to marry in my state of residence. Now all of that has changed. By the time this book is published I will have promised to honor and obey the love of my life in front of our family and friends. Christina, this is where I would go on and on about how I waited all of my life to meet you and just how much I adore you…but I’m going to save all of that for my vows (not really). I hope you know how much I love you and how I’ve always looked forward to the rest of our lives together. Walking this road with you by my side was already the plan, and being able to call you my wife while we do it just makes it that much sweeter.
Dedication
For the first time, but not the last…to my wife, you are my forever.
Prologue
Twenty-one Years Earlier
“What are we waiting for? Let’s get started.” Jacqueline Knight split the deck of cards into two stacks. Then, bracing them against the table, she shuffled them back together. After a full week of exams, she’d jumped on board when her roommate, Kendra, suggested this gathering. She needed a night of stress relief before she headed home for the holidays.
>
“I have one more coming.” Kendra took a bowl of onion dip from the fridge and set it out next to the bag of chips on the counter. None of their guests cared about the sparse snack offerings, since they had plenty of beer, and everyone had already put a big chunk of their allowance for the week into the pot for tonight’s poker game.
“I can see that.” Jacqueline glanced pointedly at the empty chair directly across from her. “How long are we planning to wait?”
“Chill, Knight. You’re stressing me out.” Kendra dismissed Jacqueline’s irritation in her typical laid-back manner. Kendra had become the one exception to Jacqueline’s desire to keep her life organized and orderly. Jacqueline liked schedules and clear expectations, but Kendra, a music major, abhorred those restrictions.
“She’s one of your free-spirit friends, isn’t she?” Jacqueline ignored several offended looks from around the table. The rest of their guests, mostly Kendra’s friends, fit in the same category.
“She’s great. I only met her a couple of weeks ago, but I think you’ll like her.”
“That’s not an answer to my question.”
“She’s an art major.”
“I knew it.”
“She’s a photographer and actually quite brilliant with a camera.”
“But not with a watch, huh?”
Before Kendra had a chance to answer, another voice answered from the doorway behind Jacqueline. “I can handle the digital ones easily enough. It’s the ones with the little symbols where the numbers should be that really confuse me.”
Jacqueline closed her eyes, embarrassed at having been caught dogging a girl she hadn’t even met yet. Suddenly, she wished they hadn’t left the door open to the hallway. But crowding eight people into the living area of their dorm suite tended to make the place feel stuffy.
“Hey, Casey.” Kendra laughed and tossed Jacqueline a smug look.
“Sorry I’m late.” Casey rounded the table. When she smiled, something clutched in Jacqueline’s chest. The expression transformed Casey’s face, bringing light and warmth into features that just a moment ago had appeared almost haughty.
“No worries.” Kendra pulled her into a one-armed hug. “You look amazing. Girl, you didn’t have to dress up for us.”
Casey swept her hand down the front of her light-gray blouse and black slacks. A maroon paisley scarf added a pop of color around her neck. Her golden hair had been pulled back from her face, but several wavy tendrils fell free and brushed the sides of her neck. “I promised a friend I’d hit up her student exhibit tonight and didn’t have time to go back to my room and change.”
As Kendra reeled off the introductions, Casey made eye contact around the table until she reached Jacqueline. Good God, this girl had the bluest eyes Jacqueline had ever seen, and now that smile was focused on her. Jacqueline would have to be made of stone not to melt a little. “Casey Meadows. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Now sit. We’re ready to start.” Caught off guard by the way her heartbeat accelerated under Casey’s gaze, Jacqueline’s words came out gruffer than she intended. Casey’s smile faded as she dropped into the chair, but, to her credit, she didn’t take her eyes off Jacqueline.
“You could have started without me.”
“Yeah, I wanted to. But Kendra’s too nice.” Jacqueline dealt cards to each of the eight players at the table.
“If you’re really as good at poker as you’re trying to make me think, then you should thank her for inviting me.” Casey slapped several bills down on the table in front of her. “Here’s more money for you to win. And since you’re so warm and welcoming, I’m more likely to come back and play next time, too.”
Two hours later, Jacqueline was certain she’d been hustled. Everyone but her, Kendra, and Casey had busted out, leaving all of the chips stacked neatly in front of them. She’d expected competition from Kendra but now suspected Casey could outplay both of them. Yet Casey had stayed conservative, betting small even when she clearly had the upper hand. Was she strategizing? Or did she think it might be rude to clear out the hostesses quite so handily? Jacqueline’s curiosity regarding Casey’s style of play nearly outweighed her frustration at getting beat.
Jacqueline picked up the cards she’d just been dealt, careful not to give anything away in her expression. She glanced down at a pair of queens, then flicked her eyes across the table. She hadn’t had much success reading Casey during previous hands but found that she enjoyed just looking at her.
Casey rested her elbows on the table in front of her and leaned forward as she organized her cards. The motion caused her shirt to gap against her chest, but that damn scarf blocked Jacqueline’s chance to glimpse a sliver of cleavage. When Jacqueline forced her attention back to Casey’s face, Casey narrowed her eyes. Caught, and seeing no reason to deny her interest, Jacqueline put on her most flirtatious smile. Casey lifted her chin and gave a sexy little wink, and judging by the jolt of arousal that had Jacqueline squeezing her knees together in response, she’d been outplayed again.
“Do you want to make this interesting?” Casey’s grin hinted that she understood exactly what she’d just done to Jacqueline.
“What did you have in mind?”
Casey gestured to her chips, then to Jacqueline’s smaller pile. “I’ve got you covered. I’ll put my entire stack against yours, even up, but if I win, you also have to give me your phone number.”
Several dramatic gasps sounded around the table, and Jacqueline rolled her eyes. Damn art majors.
Kendra shrugged and threw her cards into the center of the table. “Well, I don’t have shit, and I already have your phone number. So, I’m out.”
Jacqueline didn’t hesitate. “I call.”
Casey laid two kings on the table in front of her and threw three cards facedown on the table in front of Kendra. “I’ll take three.”
Since they’d both committed their entire stacks, they had no reason to hide the cards pre-draw. Jacqueline followed suit, showing the two queens she’d felt confident in until just a moment ago. “Help me out, Kendra.”
“Are you that afraid to give me your number?” Casey spoke as if they were the only two women in the room, and for a moment Jacqueline was jealous of her confidence. She’d never been very good at flirting, typically either awkward or chickening out altogether.
She smothered her insecurity. “You won’t be getting anything but the losing hand.”
Kendra flipped over three cards in front of Casey, none of which improved her hand. But her kings were still ahead. Jacqueline didn’t realize how hard she was biting her lower lip until she saw Casey’s eyes flick down to her mouth, then back up. She relaxed her jaw and ran her tongue across her lip to ease the indentations from her teeth. Casey’s composure seemed to slip as she followed the motion, but then she turned her attention back to Kendra.
Kendra showed Jacqueline’s first card—a five of diamonds, no help, and then came the seven of hearts.
“Don’t celebrate yet,” Jacqueline said as Casey’s smile widened. “Kendra loves to be dramatic. She’ll save the best card for last. Now, give me the queen.”
Kendra lifted the card so only she could see it and shook her head. “Not a queen.”
Casey turned her triumphant gaze to Jacqueline, and for a moment, Jacqueline didn’t care if she won. Casey’s eyes glittered like the afternoon sun dancing on the surface of a lake, and Jacqueline would tank every hand she’d ever played to see that expression again. But something in Kendra’s eyes had given the hand away. Jacqueline would win it—the card had to be a five or a seven, giving her two pairs and besting Casey’s kings. Kendra laid down the seven of diamonds with a flourish.
“Damn,” Casey muttered.
“Told you. She can’t resist the chance to perform.” Jacqueline swept Casey’s chips back next to hers.
Later, as the group started shuffling toward the door, Jacqueline began to gather up red plastic cups from around the table and let Kendra deal with t
he good-byes. They were Kendra’s friends, after all. She certainly wasn’t avoiding Casey, which was a good thing, because she’d have failed miserably. She spun around with her collection of cups and beer bottles and almost crashed into her.
“Whoa. Sorry about that.” Casey grabbed Jacqueline’s upper arms to steady her.
“S’okay.” Jacqueline’s still-full hands twitched. She should try to extricate herself from this accidental embrace. As she moved, the backs of her fingers brushed the front of Casey’s blouse. The fabric was incredibly soft, and suddenly she couldn’t stop wondering if her skin was softer. She stared at Casey’s scarf and wished she had her hands free. She’d grab the ends of that scarf and pull Casey closer. She wanted her fingers spanning Casey’s slim waist, squeezing her—
“Jacqueline.” Casey’s voice carried a trace of laughter, and a sly smile stretched across her beautiful mouth.
“I’m—uh, let me just put these—” She backed up and cringed when her butt hit the table behind her. Her face flushed with embarrassment and she sidestepped toward the trash can. After she emptied her hands, she turned around. Casey rested against the counter, one hip cocked higher than the other and her arms folded across her chest, blatantly surveying Jacqueline.
Jacqueline glanced down at her flannel shirt and blue jeans and wished she hadn’t opted for comfort over fashion just this once. She’d had a long week and didn’t feel like dressing up, so she’d freshened her makeup and decided the swirling winds she’d faced while walking between classes that day had left her hair unsalvageable for anything but a messy ponytail. Now she couldn’t stop thinking about what Casey saw when she looked at her. Maybe she was wondering just how a woman could care so little about her appearance.