“Where are you going to live?” Hunter asked.
Quint gave Jamie a squeeze. “Jamie is moving to New York. We’re looking at houses.”
Stephen walked into the room carrying a tray of eggnog mugs. “You aren’t going to give up racing, are you?”
Jamie sighed. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I have some time to think about it.”
* * * *
One week after Christmas, while on her way to meet Quint for lunch, she happened by the florist shop in his office building. On impulse, she went in to say hello to Janelle Quaster and inquire about her husband.
“He’s home from the hospital,” Janelle said. “However, the doctor warned him about taking it easy. We’re considering selling the shop and moving south where it’s warmer.”
Jamie walked out into the tiny mall in a thoughtful daze, staring vacantly at the holiday decorations, listening to the overhead speakers chiming, Winter Wonderland. She sat down on a bench and watched identically dressed twin girls playing in the courtyard. Their animated giggles blended with the music.
Buying a flower shop had been her dream for as long as she could remember. Making a move like that would be a big change in her lifestyle, but so was marrying Quint. They both wanted children as soon as possible. Nicole’s pregnancy and Corinne’s darling little girl made Jamie realize how much she, too, looked forward to starting a family.
It was her first Christmas to enjoy not only the camaraderie of Quint’s family, but also that of her own father. Two nights ago, he’d told her that if she quit racing he would retire. He’d made it clear he was looking forward to grandchildren, and promised to be a better grandfather than he was a father.
Her true goal in racing had been winning, in hopes of gaining her father’s love, only to learn, ironically, that one had nothing to do with the other.
She was determined not to make that kind of mistake again. With that thought in mind she was certain of one thing; she didn’t want to raise her children on the sidelines of the NASCAR circuit.
It was decidedly time for a change.
About the Author
Born and raised on a North Dakota farm, Jannifer started writing at the age of twelve, creating novels by memory while walking home from a one-room schoolhouse. After moving to Minnesota she began serious writing in 1974 while working full time. She has since retired and spends summers in Minnesota and migrates with the birds to Yuma, Arizona for the winter.
When she’s not writing, she’s sewing for craft shows, painting rocks, and pursuing her favorite pastime—traveling the world on a cruise ship. And, last but not least, spending valuable time with her incredibly awesome family.
She is currently working on her sixth novel, Blood Crystal.
Learn more at: www.janniferhoffman.com
Also Available from Resplendence Publishing:
Secrets of the Heart by Jannifer Hoffman
Nicole Anderson owns a successful costume design business, has a wealth of small town friends and sleeps in a lonely bed haunted by demons from the past. She’s convinced herself her life is exactly the way she wants it and has shot down every marriageable man within a fifty-mile radius.
When Hunter Douglas is assigned the task of delivering a deceased friend’s children to their aunt, he must first convince the belligerent Nicole Anderson that she actually had a sister. Though forced to take his two charges to Minnesota, Hunter fully intents to persuade Ms. Anderson to allow the children to return to New York with him —without sharing his own little secret. The last thing he wants to do is fall in love with a woman who lives in a small Midwest town with neighbors who seem to know every move he makes.
As the heat index between Nicole and Hunter rises, a bizarre puzzle begins to unfold involving false birth certificates, a stolen suitcase, odd pictures, an elusive stalker, and a grandfather’s legacy that could turn deadly.
$6.50 e-book,
Coming Soon to Print
A Perfect Escape by Maddie James
A changed identity. A secluded beach. A sniper…
Megan Thomas is running for her life. From Chicago, from the mob, from her husband. She runs to the only place she feels safe—a secluded cottage on an east coast barrier island.
Smyth Parker is running from life. From work, from society, from a jealous ex-wife—his only consolation the solitude of Newport Island. He doesn’t need to anyone to screw up that plan. And he sure as hell doesn’t need to complicate it with Megan Thomas.
But when Megan fears she’s been found, she runs to the only safe place she knows, and straight into the arms of the one person who might be able to help, Smyth. Her escape might yet still be perfect.
Or is it?
$6.50 e-book
Coming Soon to Print
Brilliant Disguise by JL Wilson
An undercover FBI agent in a tiny Iowa town finds you can't hide anything from a woman who's determined to find out the truth...
Nick Baxter, an undercover FBI agent, thinks his BRILLIANT DISGUISE will fool the hicks in New Providence, Iowa. They won't suspect he's there investigating widow Shannon Delgardie, under suspicion of treason. What Nick doesn't know is that everybody in town is conspiring to protect her and investigate him in return.
Shannon needs help. The men her late husband blackmailed are closing in and the FBI might be involved. When Nick approaches her, can she trust him? With the aid of computer hackers and hair stylists, she uncovers the truth, finding a love she never expected in a tiny Iowa town.
$6.50 e-book
$15.99 print
Project Seduction by Tatiana March
Project Manager: Georgina Coleman, VP at Pacific Bank, 28 years old. Brilliant and determined, but lacking in social skills.
Project background: Transfer from London to San Diego allows Georgina to shed her dowdy image and get a life.
Project objective: Seduce a man and lose her virginity.
Timeline: Seven weeks, starting from the completion of Project Flowchart.
Target: Georgina's downstairs neighbor, a surly cop named Rick Matisse.
Complication: Rick's 12-year-old daughter Angelina, who thinks Georgina would be the perfect girlfriend to keep Dad on his toes.
Distraction: Money laundering investigation which requires Georgina to mingle with a bunch of Colombian thugs who believe that every woman should be owned by a man.
Project evaluation: A project can go wrong despite successful completion, if Project Manager fails to plan for how to deal with the Target after project closure.
$6.50 e-book
$14.99 print
Find Resplendence Titles at the following retailers:
Resplendence Publishing:
www.resplendencepublishing.com
Amazon.com:
www.amazon.com
Target.com:
www.target.com
Fictionwise:
www.fictionwise.com
Mobipocket:
www.mobipocket.com
Secret Sacrifices Page 32
