Rob almost wished he’d given in to Tick’s suggestion that the older man handle the Jenkins’s case briefing, except that was the easy way out. And his dad had raised him to meet the hard stuff head-on. Even so, he had to suck in a couple of deep brea...
Eyes closed against the bright sunlight spilling into the room, he snatched the phone from the nightstand after the first ring. “Hello?”“Good morning, big brother.” Tori’s cheerful voice vibrated along the line. “Did I wake you?”“Do you care?” He kept his tone low, aware of Caitlin sleeping besid...
Six twenty-three. His mother not answering the phone didn’t necessarily mean something was wrong. She could be in the yard with Lee, as she was wont to do even with the shorter days. She could be on the porch, visiting with his aunt or another visitor, where she couldn’t hear the phone inside. Sh...
Autry Holton, her chestnut hair swinging about her jaw, leaned against the wall outside Blake’s room. Barbara had checked in on him when they’d arrived. He slept under the watchful eyes of his grandmother. For Barbara, putting on a cheerful face for Lenora Calvert after the morning’s events went ...
Her pulse thudded a sick tattoo in her ears and she fumbled for the business card atop the desk with numb fingers. The ivory rectangle tumbled to the floor, fluttered under the desk. A curse on her lips, she slid from the chair, her distended belly an awkward hindrance as she reached for the card...
A car engine sounded outside, followed by a more recognizable pickup. Doors slammed, and low voices carried from the walkway outside. She blinked, her awareness fuzzy and disconnected. Emmett’s familiar murmur caught her attention, and she sat up, pushing tangled hair away from her face.His door ...
Half-asleep, she inhaled the well-loved scent. Her stomach rebelled, nausea wrapping rough fingers around her throat. With a groan, she rolled from the bed and dashed for the small bath off Stanton’s guest room.“Baby,” she mumbled around her toothbrush after retching her lungs out again, “you’d b...
Overflowing cupboards at home, and she was in the grocery store, filling a cart. Perusing the bakery selections, Kathleen sighed and tossed a bag of Altee’s favorite double-chocolate biscotti in the buggy. She even tried going through the store backward, avoiding the carefully designed flow, but ...
Mark gripped the armrest on the Miata’s door. Tori hadn’t spoken since lunch in Lake City, more than two hours ago, and the silence made his nerves crawl. As if that wasn’t enough, she was the worst driver he’d ever seen. Every trucker between here and Tallahassee had to be cussing her for all he...
A tension knot at the base of Madeline’s neck pulsed. She should apologize, she really should, and take Tick up on his suggestion from yesterday that they just deal with the past.She should. But she couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come and Tick’s brooding presence did nothing to coax them forward.As...
When her seeking hand encountered only cool linen, she opened her eyes, tempted to laugh at her disappointment.Her cell phone, charging upon her nightstand, sang out the beginning notes of “Your Man” and she grabbed it. “Hello?”“I miss you.” Troy Lee’s rich voice greeted her. “I’m spoiled and I d...
Lanie lay in bed, watching the early morning sunlight play off the waves. None of them had slept much the night before. Although exhausted from wrestling with her emotions, Lanie found sleep elusive, and she heard John every time he got up with a fussy Sonny Buck. An hour before, she’d heard the ...