by T. J. Kline
A cheer erupted from the group but Emma tuned it out. Nothing existed right now but the two of them. In this sanctuary, their hearts had found a place of safety and refuge, where they had not only saved one another but become whole again. This was only the beginning for their life together. They had already been through the fire, literally and figuratively, and their love had emerged pure, strong and as unending as the ring Ben slid on her finger.
Acknowledgments
First, I need to thank Tessa Woodward, my editor extraordinaire, who always makes me dig deeper, push harder and step out of my comfort zone. Thank you for reminding me of who I can be when I think I’ve reached my limit.
Suzie Townsend and Sara Stricker, I adore the two of you for getting me. You two have been the best coach, cheerleader, inspiration and champions I could have ever asked for.
I have a special thank you for Captain Matt Picchi of the Roseville Fire Department for answering so many of my oddly specific questions and, to his beautiful wife, my dear, wonderful friend, Marsha, for sharing him with me.
Thank you to my writer friends for keeping me on track and constantly challenging me to work to the bar you set, especially Cody and Kristin, and not letting me use my schedule as an excuse to slow down. Thank you to my reader friends for not only wanting more from me but sharing with others. Amy, Allisia, Monique, Catherine, Elizabeth, Crystal, Misty, Rhonda, Jen and Pauline . . . you ladies make what I do even more fun than it should be.
Finally, to thank my family. There’s nothing I can say that could possibly thank you enough for the encouragement you give me. Honestly, I can only continue to show you my gratitude with all the gifts I’ll shower you with (just kidding!). I love each of you more than you’ll ever understand—“to the moon and back again” infinity.
An Excerpt from Making the Play
Keep reading for an excerpt from the first book in T. J.’s Hidden Falls series,
MAKING THE PLAY
Grant McQuaid has dedicated his entire life to his football career. Now an injury threatens his place on the team and he’s forced to return home to rehabilitate. But when he meets his “biggest fan,” a precocious, blue-eyed, hearing impaired boy named James—and his beautiful mother, Bethany—Grant begins to question whether football is the future he still wants.
Bethany Mills has been doing just fine since her husband walked out on them . . . and she definitely doesn’t need another man to disappoint her—or her son. But when James runs into his hero at the park, Bethany admits there is a void in her son’s life that she just can’t fill. Her attraction to the handsome football star is undeniable, but a man in the limelight is the last thing she wants for herself, or James.
Grant doesn’t want to subject Bethany to the chaos of dating a professional athlete. But the more time he spends with her and James, the harder it is to resist making a play for her heart . . .
Chapter One
Bethany Mills wanted to give in to the normally angelic cherub face in front of her that was now scrunched in anger. “Because we aren’t playing football at recess today. I already explained that to you.”
Like most six-year-olds, her son, James, was prone to throw temper tantrums when he didn’t get his way. Unlike other kids his age, James would refuse to say anything verbally. Instead, his fingers flew in a blur of American Sign Language, letting her know just how angry he was at her explanation. Although he was perfectly capable of speaking, thanks to the cochlear implants her ex-husband’s medical insurance had provided before James’ first birthday, Bethany’s son continued to fall back on signing when he was angry. She understood it was due to the fact that he stuttered and had a hard time pronouncing his words when he was emotional, but she was trying to teach him to continue to use both. Life wasn’t easy and, in spite of what many saw as a disability, she couldn’t allow her son to take the path of least resistance. It was a painful truth she’d been forced to face early on when her husband ran out on both of them twelve months after James’ diagnosis at two months old, just before serving her with divorce papers.
Life as a single mother was hard enough. Life as a single mother at twenty to a child with a disability and no child support would have been impossible if not for her parents’ stepping in and allowing her to move back in until she could finish college and earn her teaching degree.
“Not today, James,” she reiterated. “The other kids are playing T-ball. You should go ask if you can play too.”
She watched as her son pursed his lips and balled his fists before stomping across the playground to pout near the swings. Bethany sighed loudly, knowing this was something every child went through, that every parent went through, but wondering if it would ever get easier. She couldn’t give in to James’ demand but she couldn’t stand the thought of her son being angry at her all day either. Not to mention, it would only cause trouble when they returned to the classroom after recess. There were definite drawbacks to being her son’s kindergarten teacher.
She traced his steps to the swings, trying not to smile when she saw him turn his back on her as he continued to peek over his shoulder to see if she would come to him. Bethany squatted down beside him, her peasant skirt billowing around her, and waited for him to turn and face her.
“James, if you go play ball with the other kids, we’ll go to the park after school today.” She signed as she spoke. His blue eyes sparkled at the thought but he paused.
“Ice cream too?” This time he spoke and she let the smile curve her lips. The little stinker thought he was conning her.
“Yes, I think we can get ice cream too, but only if you are able to read all your sight words for Ms. Julie.”
At least, she prayed that’s what her teacher’s aide had planned for the kids today. Julie was indispensable in her classroom after lunch, when most of the kids were hyper beyond belief, and she hoped they weren’t going to have to change the lesson plans again today to accommodate the kids’ activity level. Bethany couldn’t help but wonder if her students’ parents were feeding their kids straight sugar for lunch.
James pursed his lips and looked toward the sky. It was his “thinking” look and it never failed to make her want to hug him. Before she could, he threw his arms around her neck and ran off to meet up with the group of kids playing on the open lawn. Bethany stood and sighed again just as James stopped to get her attention.
I want chocolate, he signed.
She nodded and signed her approval as he spun on his heel and hurried toward the other kids. Her baby was growing up far too quickly for her liking.
She heard the quiet chuckle from behind her as Steven Carter, the other kindergarten teacher at Hidden Falls Elementary walked toward her. “I don’t know how you do it,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Do what?”
“Teach him just like the other kids.”
Bethany felt herself bristle. She’d dealt with people singling James out because of his disability for years. It never failed to make the mama bear in her rise to the surface. “I’ll have you know, James is just as bright as any normal child, Mr. Carter. In fact, he’s already reading at a second-grade level. Just because he has implants to help him hear doesn’t make him stupid.”
The other teacher took a step back, his eyes widening. “Uh, that’s not what I meant,” he said, holding his hands up in front of him. “I just meant that it’s hard enough to keep twenty kids under control in the classroom and keep my mind on what I’m teaching without trying to sign at the same time.”
“Oh!” Bethany felt the blush rise up her neck and cheeks at the way she’d immediately become defensive. “I’m sorry, I just . . .”
“No, I shouldn’t have said it that way.” He moved to stand at her side, slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks and watched the kids play on the field. “Truce?”
She ducked her head, embarrassed to have jumped to conclusions. “Yes. I am sorry though. I have a tendency to be a bit overprotective.”
He shot he
r a sideways glance. “And I have a tendency to speak before I think,” he admitted. “Maybe I could make it up to you over coffee?” He cleared his throat nervously. “Or dinner?”
Bethany felt blindsided. She hadn’t expected him to ask her out. She’d heard several of the other women talking about the new teacher in the break room, swooning over his tall, lean physique and stormy gray eyes, but she thought it strange to want to date someone you worked with. What if it didn’t go well? What if it did? It was just too much drama either way for the workplace, especially when that workplace was an elementary school in a town as small as Hidden Falls.
“Ah, I really appreciate the offer, Mr. Carter,” she said, trying not to seem too callous. “But I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
She’d been out of the dating pool so long, the refusal slid easily from her lips without her having to struggle with what to say. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been asked out. She had, far too many times for her liking, but she wasn’t about to introduce another man into her life, or James’ life, only to be abandoned again. Her son would be forced to deal with enough adversity in his future. She didn’t see the need to add an emotional tie to someone who wasn’t likely to stick around. It was better that James knew her unconditional reassurance than suffer the added sting of rejection if that was something she had any control over. He’d been hurt enough. They both had.
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About the Author
T. J. KLINE was raised since the age of 14 to compete in rodeos and Rodeo Queen competitions, and she has a thorough knowledge of the sport as well as the culture involved. She writes contemporary western romance for Avon Romance, including the Rodeo series and the Healing Harts series. She has published a nonfiction health book and two inspirational fiction titles under the name Tina Klinesmith. In her very limited spare time, T. J. can be found laughing hysterically with her husband, children and their menagerie of pets in Northern California.
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Also by T. J. Kline
Hidden Falls
Daring to Fall
Making the Play
Healing Harts Novels
Heart’s Desire
Taking Heart
Close to Heart
Wild at Heart
Change of Heart
Rodeo Novels
Rodeo Queen
The Cowboy and the Angel
Learning the Ropes
Runaway Cowboy
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Excerpt from Making the Play copyright © 2016 by Tina Klinesmith.
daring to fall. Copyright © 2017 by Tina Klinesmith. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition JANUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780062651822
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062651839
Avon Impulse and the Avon Impulse logo are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America.
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