Sara’s
Choice
Book Two In the Romance In the Yukon Series
By
Patty Schramm
©2019 by Patty Schramm
First publication 2019
Flashpoint Publications
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Parts of this work are fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or events is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-949096-18-7
eISBN 978-1-949096-19-4
Cover Design by AcornGraphics
Editors Verda Foster and Nann Dunne
Publisher’s Note:
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author(s)’s rights is appreciated.
Acknowledgments
It really does take a village, especially when writing a book. Thanks to my amazing beta readers, Sharon G. Clark and Brenda Adcock. They used their wonder skills on my book and helped me bring the story to live. Verda Foster and Nann Dunne, my amazing editors without whom I would never get my time-line right and I’d certainly never put commas where they belong.
And to Lori L Lake, my friend and mentor. Thanks for everything!
Dedication
To my dear, sweet friend, Sherry Mills. The best hillbilly a girl could ever know. You've enhanced my life in ways that I can never truly describe. I will love you forever!
Prologue
Sara curled into the warm body next to her. The light from the hallway illuminated Terry’s face. Sara trailed her lips along Terry’s full cheek to her mouth, where Terry rewarded her with a sultry kiss. The prettiest blue eyes she’d ever seen gazed at her, and her breath hitched.
Her tongue sought Terry’s as their kiss deepened. Sara shivered. She brought her hand up to Terry’s neck, steadying them both and keeping their mouths in contact.
Terry smiled against her and moved so she hovered over Sara. One arm propped her up while the other hand slid along Sara’s abdomen and stopped at the apex of her legs. They paused in their kissing and Terry said, “You’re naked.”
“So are you.”
“Hmm. Thought I might do something about that.” Terry’s fingers drew tiny hearts along Sara’s thigh.
“You’ve been doing something most of the night.” Sara nipped her shoulder. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Good to know.” Terry rested her head on Sara’s chest, her breath warm on Sara’s skin. “I’ve been thinking, too.”
“Oh, not good. You’re not supposed to think while having sex.” Sara’s hand absently combed through Terry’s coal-black hair. She enjoyed the feel of the buzz cut at the nape of her neck.
“Call me weird.”
“Weird.”
Terry tapped Sara’s belly playfully and returned to drawing hearts. “I think it’s time you met my kid.”
Sara stopped her movements as her heart nearly leapt into her throat. Meet her kid? Seriously? The timing was strange, but when she looked at where Terry’s head now rested on her chest, Sara’s face was nearly swallowed whole by her smile. Only Terry would think now was a good time to chat about something so important. Did Sara want to meet Felicia? Of course she did. She’d been asking to do so for weeks.
Terry propped herself up again and met Sara’s gaze. Even in the dim lighting, Sara recognized fear in those eyes. “Have I scared you off?”
“No way. Not the topic I expected you to bring up. I’m shocked is all. And excited and scared and amazed and totally up for this.” She cupped the side of Terry’s face, and Terry leaned into her touch.
“You sure?”
“I am. As long as you are.”
Terry shrugged, the fear no longer evident in her eyes. “There’s no point putting it off. I know we haven’t been dating all that long, but I’ve never dated a woman I felt this sure about so quickly. Not even Ann, and I was married to her for five years.” The look in her eyes turned to sadness at the mention of her deceased wife. “I miss her terribly, but you made me realize I can still live my life. I don’t have to hide anymore.” She resettled her head on Sara’s chest.
“I’m glad, honey. I want to get to know Felicia—be part of her life.”
“You’ll love her. She’s a little diva, but she’s a great kid.”
“Of course she is.” Sara brushed a stray lock of hair from Terry’s face. “She’s your kid.”
Terry placed several soft kisses on Sara’s breast and drew the taut nipple into her mouth.
Sara sucked in a breath. “Done talking?”
“Done.” Terry released the nipple and moved to the other breast, tucking one leg between Sara’s thighs. “For now.”
Her warm mouth clamped down on the nipple and Sara gasped. She dug her fingers into Terry’s back as pleasure rolled over her. She bucked her hips a little and rubbed against Terry’s thigh.
She held Terry’s head in place for a time, encouraging her to continue suckling her breast. Terry pulled away, raked her teeth across Sara’s heated skin, and grinned, her eyes dark with passion.
Sara’s world tilted when Terry settled between her legs, one hand on Sara’s abdomen while the other teased along her left thigh. She let out a gasp and licked her lips in anticipation.
Gentle fingers tangled in her wet curls. Sara’s excitement built with every touch, her eyes locked on Terry’s. She didn’t just want this moment; she wanted a lifetime of it. Her heart beat triple time, and she thought she might explode before it was over. Terry continued working her magic with her hand and stretched across Sara’s torso to capture her lips in a hot kiss.
Sara’s heart filled with more love than she ever thought possible. The pressure of Terry’s lips against hers was every bit as electric as their first—maybe more.
Fireworks exploded in Sara’s brain and spread a feeling of warmth and completion throughout her body. Nothing—no one—could ever compare to this incredible woman.
Tears filled her eyes as she reached the peak of orgasm, her heart full to bursting, her mind fully blown, and her body spent. She trembled. Her muscles clamped down on Terry’s fingers and held her in place. Sara wanted nothing more than to keep her there forever, but Terry slipped free and wiped the tears from Sara’s cheeks. She kissed her sweetly and said, “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” Sara clasped Terry’s hand and kissed her palm. “It’s…I’ve never felt this way before.”
“What way?”
“It was beautiful. You’re beautiful.” She leaned forward to kiss Terry passionately, making sure there were no doubts about what she felt.
“I’ve never made anyone cry before.” Terry’s voice wavered.
“Well, I’ve never cried before, so there you go. A first for both of us.”
Terry held her gaze. “First of many new things, I hope.”
“I hope so.” Sara smiled as they kissed again.
She was keeping this woman.
Forever.
Chapter One
Three Months Later
Sara heard the damn alarm go off. Both times. Make that three times. She grabbed her cell phone and tapped the snooze button. She could afford another nine minutes
of sleep, right? It wasn’t yet seven in the morning, and she didn’t need to be at Whitehorse International Airport until nine.
Planes never came in on time. Even if they did, the checked baggage needed to be retrieved. She could stretch it to eight-thirty.
She tapped the snooze.
It went off a few seconds later. Or was it minutes? Bleary-eyed, Sara noted the time. Nine-twenty.
“Shit!”
Sara scrambled out of bed and pulled on her jeans and an over-sized sweatshirt, not bothering with a bra or undies. She ran into the living room, grabbed a bright-green wool cap to cover her bedhead, and put on her boots. At the last minute, she realized no socks warmed her feet. Screw it. She didn’t have time and grumbled about it while getting into her coat.
Her stomach complained when she ducked into the kitchen to get her purse. The unopened box of Pop-Tarts called to her. She shoved it into the purse, got her keys, and was in her Jeep Wrangler in record time.
At nine thirty-four, she was on the road to the Whitehorse Airport doing her best impression of a sleigh as she slid and slipped along the icy, snowy, Yukon highway. Had she known it was going to snow last night? She couldn’t remember. Then again, she didn’t remember much about last night.
Except the blue-haired cutie at the bar. She was so obviously into Sara and paid for at least four of the beers Sara consumed. Or was it five?
With a sick feeling in her gut, Sara realized the cutie might still be at her house.
“Shit!”
She looked for a place to turn around. Her cell phone rang. She hit the hands-free button on her steering wheel by rote. Her best friend, Liv Templeton’s, voice filled the air around Sara.
“So, you’re speeding down the highway as we speak.”
“You know me well.” Sara glanced at the speedometer. She wasn’t exactly speeding at sixty kilometers an hour.
“Be careful. No sense crashing before you get here. We can get breakfast while we wait.”
Sara spotted a side road to use as a turn around. “Um, can you make it a longish breakfast?”
“What’d you forget?”
Sara chewed her bottom lip before answering. “I’m not sure what her name is.”
Liv paused for rather a long time before saying, “Not Terry?”
Lots of comments entered Sara’s brain, none of them worth repeating. Liv knew damn well it wouldn’t be Terry. That ship sank three months ago. But Sara caught the sarcasm in Liv’s voice and chose to ignore it. “No. Not unless Terry dyed her hair blue in the last week.”
“Sara—”
“Don’t. I need to make sure she’s not at my house. I don’t remember most of the night. I left the Pot O’ Gold with a cute, blue-haired woman. Lecture me later. I’ll text you when I’m in the cell phone lot at the airport.” She disconnected the call.
No. The woman who might be in her bed was definitely not Terry Alexander, no matter how much Sara wished she was. Blue-haired, short, muscular…that was all she recalled at the moment about the woman. Nothing at all like Terry whose height matched Sara’s five feet eleven inches, arms and legs toned without being too muscular, and hair as dark as night, eyes a startling blue with a warmth behind them that belied the icy coloring. Even when Terry broke her heart, Sara never saw malice in her eyes.
Sara shook her head against the maudlin thoughts. She pulled into her driveway and parked next to a royal-blue Chevy pickup. How did she miss seeing that when she left? Worse, how did she miss the woman in her bed? Sara exited her Jeep as the woman came bouncing out of her house. She looked quite pleased with herself as she came right up to Sara and kissed her solidly.
“Great time last night. I left my number on your pillow. Call me.” She winked, jumped in her truck, and was gone before Sara’s tired brain processed what happened.
It was bad enough she didn’t know the woman’s name. Her cheeks reddened with shame. Her one-night-stand didn’t actually look like she was of legal age.
Could the day get any worse?
****
Sara pulled up to the passenger pickup area and jumped out to help Liv and her fiancée, Grace Kato, load their bags into the back of her Jeep. Liv’s blue eyes glared at her, and though Sara knew she was in for a lecture, she hugged her bestie, ruffled her wavy, brown mop of hair, and got a hug from Grace. Sara had a few inches on Grace, but you’d never know it the way Grace carried herself.
Her straight, black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and her deep-brown eyes held sympathy for Sara, and a hint of laughter.
In the months since Grace and Liv got together, Sara found she and Grace had a lot in common. Sara counted her as a friend. Especially now as Grace shielded her from Liv, slapping her on the arm when Liv started to speak after they got their luggage stowed in the storage area. They climbed into Sara’s car and headed to Liv’s house.
Sara asked, “How was the trip?”
“Great.” Grace met Sara’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I had no idea Olivia was capable of putting away so much food. She was in a turkey coma before dessert.”
“I was not,” Liv said, her tone playful. “I made it to the second half of the football game, thank you very much. Then I passed out.”
“Turkey coma?” Sara asked. “What’s a turkey coma?”
“Eat too much turkey and you fall asleep,” Grace said. “And Olivia ate too much turkey.”
“Turkey doesn’t make you fall asleep,” Sara said.
“It does.” Grace slapped Liv on the arm. “This one ate almost as much as Matthew, and I didn’t think anyone could eat more than my twin brother. I’ll show you the picture of them snoozing on the couch together when we get to Olivia’s house.”
“Our house,” Liv said. “It’s our house.”
“Not until we’re married,” Grace replied. Their mock-argument was an ongoing thing with them. Grace decided she wasn’t going to move in until after the wedding in April. Liv tried to change the deed on the house to show Grace as half-owner. Sara’s intervention stopped the legal process from going through. She knew Grace would call off the wedding otherwise.
“No fighting while I’m driving on ice,” Sara said as a way to stop them from bickering. She didn’t think they’d seriously argue, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
“So, tell me about Blue Hair,” Liv finally said.
Sara didn’t have to see Liv to know her expression was a mixture of worry and anger. “She left just as I got home. Nothing to tell.”
“You took home a woman you don’t know. There’s lots to tell.”
“She got to my house in her own truck and left in it. I’m sure we had mind-blowing sex all night long, except I can’t remember any of it.”
Liv said, “What’s the point of having mind-blowing sex if you’re not going to remember it?”
“I didn’t start off not wanting to remember it. I’m sure I intended to remember all of it at some point. Maybe I will later today.”
“Doubt it.” Liv crossed her arms over her chest and released an exaggerated sigh.
From the back seat Grace said, “Hold on you two. Liv, we talked about this. You don’t need to ambush Sara while she’s driving. You two can talk this over later. Preferably after Sara has gotten some sleep.”
“How do you know I need sleep?” Sara asked.
“Because I’m not blind, and you hardly ever oversleep like you did this morning. Let’s not talk about this right now, okay? We’ll get to Olivia’s, you’ll drop us off, and since tomorrow is Sunday, we’ll have lunch and talk then.”
Liv opened her mouth to speak, but Grace was quick to shut her up. Sara was grateful for that. She said, “Deal. Talk on Sunday.”
They rode back in silence, Sara cursing herself for wondering if the day could get worse, because it just had.
****
Sara found a note on her pillow, as promised. A cell phone number along with XOX, followed by a signature she c
ouldn’t read. So much for learning Blue Hair’s name. She started to crumple it up but changed her mind and tucked it into the drawer of her bedside table. Maybe next time she’d be sure not to drink anything stronger than soda.
The state of her bedroom dissipated any doubts about the previous night. She spent ten minutes trying to locate the missing half of her favorite pair of shoes, not sure if she wanted to know why it was in the bathtub. Her bra hung from the headboard, her shirt tucked under the mattress. Had they played hide-and-seek with her clothes?
Mortified, Sara stared at the items in her hands. She never did one-night-stands. She wasn’t a prude by any means but at least needed to go out a few times to get to know the woman. She had no idea if the blue-haired girl lived in Whitehorse. Was she a customer at the bank? What if she came in on Monday looking for Sara? What the hell would happen then?
Her job as assistant loan manager was still fairly new. Sara intended to be president of the bank someday. She wouldn’t get there if some bouncy, barely legal girl came in looking for her. She sank onto her bed and covered her face with her hands. What the hell was she thinking?
But it was clear what she’d been thinking and how she’d used alcohol to numb those thoughts. The girl was meant to steer her away from them, and for a while, it worked. Inevitably, though, those thoughts returned to Terry.
Five months of happiness squashed in a single sentence. “I can’t see you anymore.”
Sara would never forget Terry’s eyes, all puppy dog sad, filled with regret. Yet not one word about why. If you regret something doesn’t that mean you don’t really want to do it? Sara stood like a statue and watched Terry literally walk out of her life.
No more texts.
No more phone calls.
Not even a cordial hello on the street.
On the off-chance Sara noticed her come into the bank, Terry went about her business, giving her a slight nod if she acknowledged Sara at all. Which she often didn’t.
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