People only reveal what they want you to
see…
Chad Kirkwood has a secret. One he’s determined to keep buried until
he’s ready to divulge it. So when he shows up on Katie’s doorstep in answer to a job
posting, he stretches the truth and tells her only what she needs to know.
Katie Wicken is broken. Left to pick up the pieces of a called-off engagement and a
failing farm after the death of her father, she’s determined not to let anyone else into her heart.
Then she hires Chad, and Katie finds herself glancing in his direction, watching him work, and thinking
about him after the sun goes down.
Something begins to awaken within Chad, too. It’s been forever since
he’s felt such a genuine connection and been able to fully enjoy his life. Hell, live his life. But
when Chad’s lie catches up with him, he’s forced to come
clean.
And the truth could break Katie’s heart once
again.
Grief and pain can make people do crazy things… but so can
love.
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“Don’t speak about something you don’t understand, all
right? Whatever Katie has told you, that’s all it is...a piece of a much bigger pie. You don’t
know me, and no matter what you think, you don’t know her
either.”
Chad crossed his arms in front of his chest, not sure what to say next. From the
corner of his eye, he could see Katie stomping through the tall grass towards them. The dust from
Jay’s car had finally billowed into the garden where she’d been
working.
“Are you warning me about her...Jay?” Chad locked eyes with him,
his gaze never wavering even though Katie was getting closer with each
step.
Jay slammed the car door, wearing a muted grin as he matched Chad’s
pose, crossing his own arms and pulling himself up to his full height, at least three inches taller than
Chad’s five feet and eleven inches. “She used to be different, that’s all. Calm
yourself, will you? I’m just telling you, you don’t know the real Katie. To be honest, you
probably never will. The real Katie we all knew and loved died along with her father. My Katie is gone, so
like I said, don’t talk about things you only think you
understand.”
Thankfully, Chad didn’t have to form a response, not that he knew what he
would say to that, anyway. Katie’s feet hit the gravel just as Chad had opened his mouth to
speak; however, the look on her face evoked enough uncertainty in him that he swiftly closed it
again.
“You said you were picking Mason up at five thirty. It’s only a few
minutes past five.” Katie consulted her watch as though to confirm it, lifting her head to glare at
Jay again.
“I’m a few minutes early. I wanted to see how everything was
going.”
“Everything is just fine, Jay. You can come back in twenty seven
minutes.” Katie didn’t look at Chad as she brushed past the two men and headed for the
house, where Chad knew Mason was currently packing up his clothes and Nintendo DS to take with
him.
“Katie, wait...” Jay’s pleas went unanswered, the screen
door banging closed abruptly behind her. Only a defeated sigh sounded in the thick silence between
them, and Chad uneasily turned away from the other man, intent on cleaning up his mess near the barn
wall and getting the hell out of dodge before this situation got any more heated. Jay, on the other hand,
didn’t have the same intentions.
“See? What’d I tell you? She’s
impossible.”
“No. She’s hurt. There’s a difference.” Chad
didn’t look at him. Instead, he plucked the hammer and tin can full of nails from the ground and
pretended to admire his handiwork on the barn wall.
“You seem to know a lot about my girlfriend and
her—“
“Ex.”
“What?”
“She’s your ex-girlfriend.”
Jay stared at him, seeming to mull over how to react. Chad couldn’t be
sure whether it was humiliation or anger that clouded the man’s clean shaven face, maybe a bit
of both. Either way, Chad didn’t fear him, and he stared back,
unblinking.
“Good to meet you, Chad.” Jay’s tone was condescending
and gruff.
“See you in twenty four minutes,” Chad replied, and the hint of a
smirk crossed his face the moment he broke eye contact and turned
away.
M. Lynne Cunning has always wanted to be an author, but it
wasn’t until she discovered National Novel Writing Month and all the insanity that goes along
with it that she began to truly realize her love for writing stories. While she doesn’t limit herself
to writing only specific genres, her first two published novels, Until I'm Found and Blurred Lines,
are considered Romantic Suspense. Her new book, Who I Am With You (to be released February 2016),
will be the first in a contemporary romance series. She also doesn’t believe that the traditional
typical “happily ever after” is always the way to go. You’ve been forewarned.
She is almost always reading or writing, but also enjoys spending time and traveling with her husband/best friend, Dennis, and is the proud dog-mom of two brindle boxers. She’s also a too- far-gone coffee addict and a lifelong country music fan.
She is almost always reading or writing, but also enjoys spending time and traveling with her husband/best friend, Dennis, and is the proud dog-mom of two brindle boxers. She’s also a too- far-gone coffee addict and a lifelong country music fan.
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