by Leah Atwood
Leah
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About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author Leah Atwood is a small-town girl at heart and currently lives in a rural town in the deep South, though Maryland will always be home. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in International Business but gave up a career in sales and marketing to follow love, a decision she's never regretted.
From the old west to Cajun country, Leah infuses true-to-life characters with small-town charm to invite her readers into a world where faith and love will always prevail. In both her historical and contemporary works, she believes in delivering inspirational stories that will leave her readers with a smile.
When not writing, she's busy raising two kids and corralling three dogs (a three-legged, cancer surviving eighty-four-pound shepherd/lab mix and an eleven-pound rat terrier/jack russell mix, and a recently added pit bull puppy she found left for dead on the road), or participating in a myriad of community and church events.
Other Available Titles
Contemporary Romances
Come to Me Series
Come to Me Alive
Come to Me Free
Come to Me Again
Come to Me Joyful (Bonus Novella)
Modern Conveniences Series
Love In a Fix
Calling Love
Lost in Love
Waiting on Love (Bonus Novella)
Always Faithful Series
That Was Then
This Is Now
When It’s Forever
Jasper Lake Series
Not This Time
Born to Love
A Love This True (spring 2018)
Treasure Harbor
Road to Love
Standalones
Table For One (Novella)
All By Myself (Novella)
A Summer Homecoming (Novella)
An Autumn Stroll (Novella)
Candy Cane Wishes (Novella)
Historical Romances
Brides of Weatherton Novellas
After the Rain
Fire and Ice
Winds of Change
Dancing on Dew
Texas Wildflowers Novelette Series
Free to Love
Free to Heal
Free to Protect
Free to Serve
Free to Roam
Free to Forgive
Mail-Order Short Stories and Novelettes
The Ultimatum Bride
A Man to Be Proud Of
Their First Noelle
The Not Quite Mail-Order Bride
The Mail-Order Bride’s Quilt
Riches of the Heart
The Most Wonderful Bride of the Year
Enjoy this sample from Come to Me Alive, Book One of the Come to Me Series
“Watch out!”
Interrupted from her reading, Sophie Thatcher looked up to see a crazed duck with a bright red beak heading straight toward her. She dropped the latest Gwendolyn Gwen romance novel to the ground, jumped and ran, with no destination in mind except to escape the mad waterfowl. The duck continued after her, relentless in its pursuit. Who knew a duck was able to move with such speed?
The man who’d called out the warning ran up behind her, swinging a clear bag of… bread? The duck retreated, opting to chase food instead of her. She leaned over and tried to catch her breath, her heart beating at an erratic pace. Maybe this was a sign she should exercise on a regular basis. Or it could be that it wasn’t the exertion as much her body’s reaction to the duck’s pursuit.
“Are you okay, miss?” The man with a plastic bag approached her. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” she managed to say through short, choppy breaths. Returning to an upright position, she got her first good look at the man who’d called the warning. He was attractive, even if not her type. He looked to be around her age, or possibly a few years older. Short brown hair matched deep chocolate-hued eyes, which were framed with eyelashes long enough to make any girl jealous. Rugged stubble lined his jaw. A slate blue T-shirt covered a muscular upper body, and she thought she saw a tattoo peeking out from under its sleeve. She didn’t stare long enough to be sure.
His chest shook, and he clamped his lips shut. He looked as if he were torn between being horrified or wanting to burst out laughing.
“Actually, it is.” He flashed a smile full of a sheepish charm. “My daughter and I were feeding the ducks and the rogue one got mad when the others took all the food. Next thing I know, he started running straight toward you.”
Her cheeks hurt from holding back her own laughter. She gave up trying and soon the stranger joined in with her as a little girl walked their way.
“What’s so funny, Daddy?” The little girl tugged on the man’s jeans.
“Nothing, sweetheart.”
“Can we finish feeding the ducks now?”
“I think the ducks are full. How about we swing for a little while before going back to Gram’s house.”
“Okay,” agreed the young girl, with a cheerful temperament.
Sophie wiped away a tear from laughing. “Thanks for the rescue.” She began walking back to the tree where she’d discarded her book.
“Least I could do,” he called out, in a deep, melodious voice that set her skin tingling.
Stop it, Sophie. He had a daughter, which meant a good chance existed that he was married, which meant she had no business thinking about the silkiness of his voice, or the cute factor earned by bringing his daughter to the park.
Her phone buzzed and sang Come to Me Alive, the latest hit from country music star, Bryce Landry. A glance at the screen told her it was an unknown number. Probably a telemarketer. She hit “ignore” and replaced the phone into her pocket.
“You’re a Bryce fan?”
Startled, she jumped and looked behind her. The man was following her.
She shoved one hand in a side pocket of her shorts. “This song at least. I’m not too familiar with his other music, but the lyrics are beautiful and came to me when I needed them after a breakup.” Good grief, Soph. A simple yes or no would have sufficed. She never spilled her thoughts to a stranger, especially not to a male.
“Sorry to hear. About the breakup, not the song.” He rocked on his heels but maintained eye contact.
She shrugged, giving off the impression the breakup was no longer a big deal. “It was for the best—I see that now.”
Partially because of the song, Come to Me Alive. When she’d first heard the song on the radio two weeks ago, she’d immediately looked it up, and downloaded it as her ringtone. The lyrics and music combined into a beautiful ballad, touching her in a way that made the breakup with Ryan make sense.
Ryan. They’d dated for three years, since the summer before their senior year of college. Last month, he’d broken off their relationship, just when she had thought they were heading toward an engagement.
“I’ll always love you as a friend,” he’d said, “but I don’t feel any passion between us. Staying together wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”
His words still stung, yet they were true. Especially after listening to the lyrics of Come to Me Alive. Was a relationship that didn’t invigorate the right one? With Ryan, she’d been coasting, along for the ride but never looking out the window to enjoy the trip.
“Most of the time, life doesn’t turn out how we plan, does it?” The stranger glanced to his daughter, a peculiar expression crossing his face. “The funny thing is, in hindsight, you can see God’s hand in every moment.”
His words stopped Sophie in her tracks from where she had started back toward the tree again. “You’re a Christian?”
“I’m approaching my one year birthday.”
A smile curled her lips. “Congratulations.” Stranger or not, he was a brother in Christ. She looked
at her watch. “Yikes. I’m going to be late for my tutoring session.”
“You tutor?”
“During the summer and as needed throughout the school year.”
“Let me guess— you’re a kindergarten teacher.”
“First grade,” she corrected.
“I was close. Gracie will be in kindergarten this year.”
“I’m five,” the cherubic girl piped up.
She stooped down, putting herself eye-level with Gracie. “Five is a very special age. You’ll love kindergarten.”
“Mommy was a teacher too, but she’s in Heaven now.” The little girl spoke the words with the innocence of a child, but they broke Sophie’s heart.
“Her mom died last year.” Gracie’s still-nameless dad offered the information that she had been wondering, although it wasn’t her business.
“I’m sorry,” she told the man, unsure what the appropriate response was. She glanced at her watch. “I really have to go. Have a good day and stay away from the ducks,” she added before laughing with a nervous edge.
Something about the incident unsettled her in an indescribable way. With a turn of her feet, she hurried to her economic-but-reliable sedan.
“Wait,” the stranger called as she buckled her seatbelt. “You forgot something.”
He ran toward her car, pulling his daughter along with one hand and holding Sophie’s book in the other. Either he was very thoughtful or a psycho. Intuition told her the former was the truth.
“Thanks.” She took the book from him—his hand lingered on the cover.
“Can I have your name?” He gave her a charming grin. “Years from now, when I tell my grandchildren how I saved a beautiful woman from a raving mad duck, I need to have a name for her.”
With his creative plea, how could she deny his request? “Sophie Thatcher.”
She put the car in reverse and backed out of her spot. Once in her client’s driveway, she realized she didn’t get the stranger’s name in return. Her heart thumped harder and an inexplicable sense of loss came over her. The brief interaction with the man affected her in a strange way.
With a dose of reluctance, she admitted he attracted her. He was comfortable in his own skin, something she’d always wished for herself. He had a sense of humor and enjoyed life, despite his wife passing, leaving him alone as a single dad. Most importantly, he was a Christian, unafraid to bring it into the conversation. On the surface, he was nothing she’d ever looked for in a potential boyfriend, but below the surface— well, the pull was undeniable.
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