The Broken Road

by Melissa Huie

  The Broken Road

  Melissa Huie

  Booktrope Editions

  Seattle WA 2015

  Copyright 2012, 2015 Melissa Huie

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

  Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

  Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

  No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

  Inquiries about additional permissions should be directed to: info@booktrope.com

  Editorial provided by Swift Ink Editorial Services and BookIvy Word Studio: http://bookivyediting.com.

  Cover Design by Robin Harper, Wicked by Design: www.wickedbydesigncovers.com

  Model – William Scott: www.facebook.com/WilliamScott55555

  Model Photography by James Sasser: www.facebook.com/sasserfrazphotography

  Author Photography by Talia D. Photography: www.taliadphotography.com

  Previously published as The Broken Road, Melissa Huie, 2012

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

  Print ISBN 978-1-62015-940-8

  EPUB ISBN 978-1-62015-971-2

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015906284

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  More Great Reads from Booktrope

  To my wonderful and amazing children—

  Always reach for the stars. I know you can do anything you set your mind to.

  I love you.

  To my amazing husband—

  Without your love and support, this wouldn’t have been possible.

  Thank you. I love you.

  This book is dedicated to the memory of my mother. You always knew I would put my imagination to good use. You always believed in me.

  I love you and miss you every day.

  Chapter 1

  I SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN BED. I really should have just stayed in bed.

  The mantra repeated in my mind as I watched the police officer approach my car with his trusty ticket book in hand. After my day from hell, this was the last thing I needed.

  “Ma’am, I clocked you at 66 in a 55 mile per hour zone. License and registration please.”

  I smiled and flipped open my pink leather wallet and found the empty space where my driver’s license should have been. My heart sank. My mind retraced where I’d had it last. Was it at home? At the office? I scrambled through the contents of my black messenger bag, tossing makeup, tissues, change, and other items onto the passenger seat.

  “Excuse me, miss. Is there a problem?” he asked, peering at me.

  No doubt he would rather have been in his warm car instead of on the side of the parkway in the bone-chilling weather. I gave him my most brilliant “I’m cute¸ please don’t be mad at me” smile.

  “I’m sorry. I am not normally this disorganized. It’s here somewhere.”

  Apparently, it didn’t work because he sighed and looked away. My stomach dropped when all I found at the bottom of the bag was a crinkled receipt and a lint covered mint. At my wit’s end, I finally felt around the pocket of my pea coat and exhaled in relief when my fingers wrapped around hard plastic. I handed over my paperwork and with a huff, the officer headed to the warmth of his car.

  I heaved a heavy sigh. This day had been the pits, doomed before the sun came up. I didn’t hear my alarm clock. It took my lab mix, Penny, practically licking my hand off before I raised my head off the pillow and realized the time. In jumping out of bed, I barely missed her brown paw and ended up crashing into my dresser. Somehow, I managed to shower and dress without any major issues, but then I spilled hot coffee on my hand and left my lunch sitting on the kitchen counter.

  Going to work wasn’t the best idea either. I tore a nail, spilled even more coffee on my brand-new shirt, and a junior partner yelled at me because he forgot to put back his file in its proper place. And to top it all off, my period started two days early. I was hungry, tired, and mentally drained. This day needed to end.

  A knock on my window interrupted my pity party.

  “Ms. Connors, here is your paperwork. You have the right to protest this ticket by appearing in court on March 3rd. Please watch your speed.” He handed me my documents and returned to his car. I glanced at the ticket. One hundred dollars. Great. One more thing to subtract from my meager budget.

  * * *

  It took longer than usual to get home, thanks to going the speed limit. Two tickets in one day would have sent me beyond my breaking point. My Volvo was on autopilot and pulled onto Hazelnut Court and into the carport of my half of a 1980’s red brick duplex in the town of Crofton, Maryland. It was small with a backyard barely big enough for Penny, but it suited us just fine. I unlocked the door to the mudroom and forced my way in as Penny tried to rush out.

  “Whoa, Penny! Whoa!”

  Whistling for her, I opened the back door to the fenced-in yard and she scampered through. We usually went on a nice long walk after work, but with the chill in the air and how crappy the day had been, that was the last thing I wanted to do. While Penny ran around outside, I added food to her bowl and checked the contents of the fridge for myself. My New Year’s resolution was the same as everyone’s—to eat healthier and get into better shape. Unfortunately, the workouts had stopped before they even started, so I really had to make an effort with the eating part. However, everything in the fridge required actual cooking. Heck no, I thought. My stomach rumbled, and I didn’t feel like slaving over the stove. I opened up the back door and whistled for Penny. She bounded over, a slobbery ball in her mouth.

  “Aw, Penny. It’s too cold out. Get inside. Come on, baby girl! Where’s your woobie? Let’s get your woobie!”

  The fake enthusiasm worked. Penny dropped her ball and barreled inside. I headed upstairs while she scrounged around in her toy box for her favorite toy. As the old water pipes heated up, I studied myself in the mirror.

  I hadn’t gone on a date since I’d broken up with my fiancé, Tommy Greene, a year ago. Since then, not much had changed. At twenty-six, I was a size twelve with curves. Not overweight, but not going to win any fitness contests, that’s for sure. I could look good when I wanted to, but lately, the effort had been minimal. Up until recently, work had been so hectic that there wasn’t time to meet anyone new. And, well, nor did I really want to. I’d only been in love twice and both relationships ended with being “just friends.”

  Just friends . . . with no benefits.

  After the shower and f
eeling a million times better, I threw on a pair of sweats, pulled my dark brown hair into a messy ponytail, and padded down to the kitchen to address the food issue. Penny was at her food bowl, searching for scraps.

  “Oh, my piglet Penny, what am I going to do with you?”

  She greedily took the butcher’s beef bone I offered her into the living room while I pulled out the takeout menus. I was contemplating the menu for Hunan Express when the phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Megan. What’s going on?”

  The husky voice sent my heart racing. Shane Turner. We’d been really good friends for the last nine years. Well, he thought that we were just friends. I had been, and pretty much still was, completely in love with him. Not that he knew, of course. We were constantly together, whether it was hanging out with our other friends or closing down the bars. But he always caught the eye of the prettier, skinnier girls and I was the insecure idiot. Our relationship cooled after I found him at a restaurant with a strange girl and I treated her rudely. It was pure jealousy; I acted as if I had a claim to him when I really didn’t. After calming down, it mortified me to learn that the girl was an old family friend. He accepted my apology, but our friendship became awkward and strained. The death of my father slowly mended it, but it was never the same. “Just friends” seemed to be where our paths would lead. No matter how many lies I told myself, our friendship was too important. And it didn’t matter anyway. Shane was dating someone else and that someone was not me.

  “Hey, Shane. We’re just hanging out. What’s up?”

  “What are you doing later? I’m thinking about swinging by there and picking up that movie I left last week.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I’m home now, about to order Chinese, so come by whenever. Do you want me to order you something?” Please? I silently begged.

  “No, I’m good. I’m meeting Allison for dinner.” I mentally groaned at the mention of his new girlfriend. Shane and Allison had been dating for the last few months and it seemed to be going well. She appeared nice enough, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on her. She wasn’t good enough for him. Hell, nobody is good enough for him.

  “Oh. Okay. That’s fine. I’m in for the night, so whenever.”

  I tried to play it cool, but inwardly I hoped he would come over alone. Being the third wheel with Shane and his girlfriend? Yeah, no thanks. I’d rather pass.

  “Sounds good,” he replied, sounding rushed. “Hey, I need to go.” And before I realized what had happened, he’d hung up.

  “Stupid Allison,” I grumbled to Penny.

  I shouldn’t get mad at Allison. After all, no one—except for my best friend Jen—had any idea that my feelings for Shane were this strong. Even when Tommy and I were together, Shane always had a piece of my heart, but I had given up on the idea of “us.” We had both grown up and, sadly, apart. It was when I moved back home that we became close again. But no matter how much time passed, Shane always made my heart jump whenever he came near me.

  I threw myself on the oversized brown couch, covered up with a burgundy fleece blanket, and called the restaurant for delivery. My gaze landed on the game console and all the fitness games gathering dust. Some games had never been opened. A twinge of guilt gnawed at me for the money I’d spent and the lack of effort that I’d put forth. I shook away the guilt from my head and stuck out my tongue at the offensive console. I didn’t need a game system to tell me how much weight I’d gained. Not today.

  Penny came over, laid her head on my leg, and immediately put me at ease.

  “That’s my good girl,” I murmured, rubbing her silky ears.

  I rescued Penny right after I moved back to Crofton, saving her from a shelter. In turn, she helped me get through a tough time. The breakup was a total life changer for me. I went from living with someone and planning a life with him to being on my own. Tommy and I were together for three years. We bought a condo in Virginia and were going to get married. As a rising star in the FBI, Tommy’s dream assignment was New York City, which was hard for me to accept. Virginia was close enough to my mom and brother that I didn’t panic, but far enough away that we had our space. For a while, he understood. However, he never stopped chasing his dream. Once it started to become more of a reality, our relationship went downhill.

  Tommy changed; his job became more important than our relationship. Tension began to build. We fought about the everyday mundane things like chores and bills; then the fighting escalated to the lack of trust and the future of us. Then, he decided one day that he was done. He was through with the fighting and he wasn’t happy anymore. A good thing in hindsight; I wasn’t ready to get married. At least not then and not to him, not when we were either fighting or not speaking to each other. We had lost what was important. So, eight months ago we sold our condo in Virginia. He went to New York and I came back to my hometown. We still occasionally exchanged texts, the cordial “hellos” and “how are yous?” I thought about him occasionally but I knew it was for the best. His career was his first priority and I was not willing to leave my family to accommodate it.

  The doorbell interrupted my train of thought and Penny started her happy wiggle. I quickly put her in the mudroom so she wouldn’t charge the delivery guy and grabbed some money from my purse. I was startled when I opened the door. Standing on my front porch was Shane holding my dinner.

  “Trying to steal my dinner? Don’t make me sic Penny on you!” I joked as I let him in.

  As always, he looked gorgeous. Dressed in his usual attire of baggy jeans, a black long sleeve shirt, and motorcycle jacket, my heart hurled into my throat at the sight of him.

  “Oh, what? Death by pooch?” he shot back, following me into the kitchen.

  He shook his head when I offered him money for the dinner. His six-foot-three, 230-pound hockey player frame filled my small kitchen. Shane had this presence about him that always made me feel safe and secure. That same presence made me want to fold myself into his muscular arms. Shane gave fantastic hugs.

  “I thought you were meeting Allison for dinner,” I said, taking the food out of the bag.

  Shane shrugged out of his leather jacket and hung it on the back of the chair then opened the door for Penny.

  “Yeah, we were supposed to meet her brother later on, but she said that she didn’t feel well.”

  He poked his head in my fridge.

  “What’s up with the rabbit food in here?” he asked, taking out a beer and sitting at the table.

  “You know my New Year’s resolution.” I smacked his hand as he inched toward my egg roll. “I’m trying to be healthier.”

  Shane took a swig of beer and laughed. “Right. That’s why you have Chinese food for dinner, beer in your fridge, and a bag full of candy up in the cabinet.”

  “Whatever. That’s my emergency stash. Every woman needs to have her emergency stash,” I said with an indignant huff. “Besides, you can’t complain about the beer, especially since you drink it. Here. You might as well eat this since you can’t find anything else.”

  I tried so hard to not act like a total idiot, but the goofy smile couldn’t be helped as I handed him a plate. Penny’s tail thumped on the wood floor as she looked expectantly at the food. We ate for a few minutes in silence. My heart raced a mile a minute; every time I looked up, his hazel eyes stared straight back at me. It was as if he could hear my heart skipping.

  “So what’s going on tonight?” I dumped my leftover rice into Penny’s bowl and put the plate in the sink.

  Shane tiredly rubbed his face and goatee. His brown hair looked like it had been weeks since it had last seen the barber. He stretched his long legs out in front him and yawned.

  “I’m not sure. I’m beat. Adrian has had me working all night on this special project and then I was running around all morning. I feel like I haven’t sat down all day.”

  “That sucks. So why aren’t you at home sleeping?” I replied, putting away the food.

  Shane stood u
p and silently washed the dishes. As he dried his hands on the dishtowel he turned and looked at me.

  “Honestly, that’s the main reason I’m here. You remember that Ben is getting married to Paige, right?” he asked, mentioning his roommate. “Well, Ben has accepted a job in Baltimore near Paige’s condo. So he’s moving in with her next week. The lease on the apartment is up anyway, and since I’m practically broke I need a place to crash,” he said, his eyes boring holes into mine.

  It took a beat before I fully grasped what he was saying. Holy shit, he wants to move in with me, I thought. The romantic, wishful part of me started doing a happy dance in my head, until the smarter, more realistic side smacked the other one down and told it to shut up.

  “So, you’re asking to move in.” Caution filled my voice as I walked into the living room and sat on the couch.

  Shane sat down at the opposite end facing me. So, that’s why he’s here. I should have known. The word “sucker” must’ve been stamped on my forehead. I could never say no to him and he knew that.

  “It will only be for a little while, until I can get my own place. Please?” He gave me a pleading grin.

  I chuckled and then became curious.

  “What happened? How did things get so screwed up?” I asked casually.

  “It’s been building for a while. I lost my job at the dealership two years ago. At that point, I couldn’t find anything substantial, except for side jobs working with Adrian. I couldn’t keep up with the rent at the old place, so I was evicted and moved in with Ben. Credit cards were maxed out and I depleted my savings. But things are looking up. I’m paying off my debt a little bit at a time and I managed to get a full-time spot at the shop. I’m trying to clean up my act, but I really can’t get a place of my own quite yet,” he said quietly, almost as if he was ashamed.

  I never knew about these problems, but then again, Tommy had kept me removed from most of my friends when we lived in Virginia. My best friend Jen was practically Shane’s sister. She had told me a few times that he was having some issues, and that he was just being a regular pain in the ass, but she never went into detail. I felt a swell of pride for him; it took a lot for him to say that to me.