Split Decision

by Traci Hohenstein

  We heard the back door slam and the girl’s voices as they raided the refrigerator.

  “We need to talk to the girls. Allison knows something is up.” Mark ran his hand over the scar on the back of his head.

  “I know,” I whispered. I told him about how she acted toward me while he was in the hospital and about the fiasco with Sawyer. Just as I was wrapping it up, Allison walked in the room. She looked at us suspiciously.

  “What’s up with you guys?” She looked at my hand resting on Mark’s.

  “Just talking,” I answered her.

  Aubrey came up right behind her.

  “What’s for dinner?”

  Mark got off the couch and gave his girls a hug. “I’m taking us all out to eat.”

  That night, after dinner, we had a talk with the girls and told them things were going to be different. I agreed to work less and be at home more. Mark planned a family vacation for us when the girls got out for fall break. Allison was still a little skeptical but I knew she would come around in time.

  I had my family back and that is all that mattered.

  Epilogue

  Blaine Coulter got her twenty-four million dollar settlement. After her divorced, she got remarried to a screenplay writer slash producer who convinced her to invest in his struggling production company. She lost every penny. Last I heard, Blaine was working as a show girl in Vegas in a second-rate casino.

  Sawyer Winston finally got his divorce from Portia. Portia has since moved to the east coast where her new TV drama is filmed. Sawyer got primary custody of the kids and is currently working in Hawaii on a new action-adventure movie. Sawyer invited Mark and I to his beach house in Maui and we accepted. We plan to go there for our 20th wedding anniversary next year.

  Craig Neven hooked up with Missy Chambord when she was hired as a health and fitness correspondent on his online news show. I hear she is working her magic on him. We’ll see how long that lasts.

  Mark and I attended the wedding of the year. Richard and Allie Lee were happily hitched. Allie recovered nicely from her surgery and started her US tour, touting her newly cut CD, “Country Sweet”.

  Hope and Brad are still going strong. Little Finn has taken over the household. Allison is now working for Hope as a part-time nanny while finishing school. Hope told me that she has already hired Candace Lane to plan Finn’s first birthday party.

  Aubrey got a full-time job with fashion designer Jules Tate. She is working under him, designing a new line for teens. She has one semester left of school, and then she will graduate with a degree in fashion design. Mark and I couldn’t be prouder.

  Venus (Goddings) Vanderbilt and her producer-boyfriend sadly broke up. Venus said she just wasn’t ready for another long-term commitment after getting divorced from Mr. V so soon. If you ask me, I think she is ready to test out her cougar status. Stay tuned on that.

  About the Author

  Traci Hohenstein’s educational background includes journalism, real estate, and finance. Since her college days, she has written for both the local and national media. Inspired by the Natalee Holloway case, she wrote Asylum Harbor and Burn Out, novels in a suspense series that features Rachel Scott, who runs a missing persons search and rescue operation. Born in Moultrie, Georgia, the author has lived in California, Hawaii, Alabama, Mississippi, and Atlanta, and now resides in the Florida Panhandle, with her firefighter husband and their three children. In between books, Hohenstein spends time with her family and friends at the beach where she enjoys paddleboarding, swimming, building sandcastles, and soaking up the sun.

  Please visit http://www.tracihohenstein.com for news on upcoming books and author appearances.

  Keep reading for special excerpts of Traci Hohenstein’s other books.

  Special Delivery

  A Hollywood Hills romantic comedy

  Chapter 1

  “Get it out! Get it out of me, now!”

  I could hear the screaming all the way down the hall. I pushed the door open to Room 422 just in time to hear—

  “If you don’t get Dr. Love in here right now to get this thing out of me, I swear I’ll reach down there and pull it out myself!”

  “Good evening, everyone,” I said, snapping on a pair of latex gloves. The maternity nurse, Julie, looked relieved to see me.

  “She’s ten centimeters dilated, been pushing for the last hour and half, and the head is crowning,” Julie updated me.

  I stood at the bedside of my patient, Bethany Burke. Bethany is a famous comedienne with her own reality TV show. She’s also my patient, delivering her first child.

  The words coming out of her mouth now, however, weren’t so funny.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Bethany asked between panting. “I want…this baby…out of me….now!”

  I smiled and pushed a piece of hair out of her eyes.

  “Bethany, you’ll finally get to meet your baby in just a few minutes.”

  I glanced over at her husband, Taylor, who was nervously pacing next to her bed. Her assistant, Camille, sat nearby, texting furiously on her Blackberry. They barely acknowledged my presence.

  I quickly examined Bethany—she was crowning and ready to deliver. Julie had alerted the nursery and they rolled in a crib and stood by to wait.

  Taking my seat at the foot of the bed, I coached her on. “Okay now, Bethany, big push!”

  “Ahhhh!” Bethany screamed while bearing down.

  The baby’s head popped out. “Okay, Bethany a couple more of those pushes and we’re done.”

  This is the part of my job that I love the most. Delivering babies. Bringing precious life into the world. And being a doctor in LA—a doctor to the famous—definitely has its perks. My clients are movie stars, soap opera actresses, pop singers, supermodels, and wives of the Hollywood’s elite. That’s fun, and I have to admit, glamorous. But all the drama that goes along with it—I just tolerate.

  Finally, at eight minutes to midnight, Bethany Burke delivered her baby.

  “It’s a girl!” I exclaimed, while the baby wailed at the top of her lungs. She definitely has her mother’s mouth, I thought, as I handed the surgical scissors to her husband, Taylor, to cut the cord.

  Suddenly, the door swung open and two men walked into the room carrying black leather bags and train cases. Camille popped up out of her chair. “Just in time. Let’s get started, guys. She needs some sprucing up pronto.”

  I turned to Julie in confusion.

  “Bethany’s film crew is here. They’re filming for her show,” she explained.

  As the nurses cleaned up the baby, Bethany’s team of makeup and hair stylists cleaned up the star. I watched in amazement as the makeup guy wiped the sweat off Bethany’s forehead, while the hair guy sprayed something powdery in her hair and pulled it into a high ponytail.

  “Ummmhuh.” I cleared my throat to get Bethany’s attention. “You still have to deliver the placenta.”

  “What?” Bethany said, as the camera man poked his head into the doorway to see if he could come in.

  “You aren’t done,” I said. I explained everything else we had to do, including putting in stitches.

  “How long will that take?” Camille asked, fluffing up her own hair.

  Julie rolled her eyes at me. This delivery had turned into a three-ring circus.

  “About an hour.”

  “Okay. Not a prob,” Camille said. “We’ll film the delivery of the placenta thingy and then we can edit to look like the actual delivery.” She looked at Bethany for approval.

  Bethany just nodded her head.

  The nurse handed the baby to Bethany. She kissed her daughter on the forehead and then handed the baby off to her husband. “Here honey. I don’t want to mess up my makeup.”

  We all—makeup crew, hair crew, and medical crew—finished up at the same time. After eighteen hours of labor, Bethany looked better than I do. I have to get the name of her stylist.

  Asylum Harbor

  The international
best-selling suspense novel, featuring Rachel Scott

  Chapter 1

  Amber Knowles’s story

  My name is Amber Knowles, and I’m one of the thousands of people who go missing every day. The day I disappeared was beautiful, with lots of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. My parents had dropped me and my two best friends off at the Tampa dock. We planned to take a cruise on the SeaStar to the Bahamas. The trip was a high school graduation present from our parents and a chance to let loose before college.

  At first, my parents didn’t want me to go. They were worried—with good cause, I suppose. You see, my dad is the governor of Florida, and he plans to announce his intention to run for president in the next election. He was concerned about sending his only daughter on a trip without any security. The last thing I wanted was to be followed around by men in black suits, sticking out like sore thumbs. Plus, we had two parents chaperoning the trip. So I fought desperately for that freedom, and my dad finally gave in.

  Now, in hindsight, I kind of wish he had sent someone.

  The first day of the cruise we set sail for Key West. My best friends, Nicole and Rowan, were just as excited as me to spend a couple of hours shopping and hitting the famous Duval Street. We even managed to score some margaritas at Sloppy Joes. However, the fun came to an end for me that night.

  After a nice dinner, we decided to check out the ship’s newest nightclub, Aqua. As we approached the club’s door, I saw a cute guy in a white uniform with the SeaStar logo. He introduced himself as Josh McCain and told us he was a VIP host. I remembered seeing him earlier that day when we were lounging by the pool. Up close, he was even more gorgeous, with brilliant green eyes and a nice smile. He walked us to a private room and told us to let him know if we needed anything.

  We hit the dance floor, but after about an hour, I started feeling sick to my stomach. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if I was seasick. Probably a little of both.

  “I’m not feeling well,” I said as I laid my head down on the edge of the sofa in the VIP room. The velvet felt cool against my skin.

  “We’ll get you some water,” Rowan said. My friends got up from the couch. “Stay right here.”

  A few minutes later, Rowan and Nicole came back with Josh, who was carrying a bottle of water. “Rowan said you weren’t feeling well. I thought this might help,” he said sweetly, handing me the ice-cold bottle. “Do you want to go lie down? I can get the ship’s doctor for you.”

  I took a sip and immediately felt my stomach rolling around.

  “Hey, you don’t look so good,” Nicole said.

  “Yeah, you’re a little green. You want us to go back to the cabin with you?” Rowan offered.

  “No, that’s okay,” I protested, covering my stomach with my hand.

  “I can walk back with her. The commissary shop has some medicine for seasickness that I can get,” Josh said to my friends.

  After a few minutes of encouraging me, I finally gave in and let Josh walk me back. The last thing I wanted to do was hurl in front of my friends and a cute guy I just met.

  On the way back to my suite, Josh told me he was from California and had worked with the cruise ship for about eight months. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was flirting with me.

  I told him I had just graduated from high school and would be attending Florida State University in the fall.

  “I plan on becoming a veterinarian, and they have the best program in Florida,” I said. “Plus, it’s close to home, which my parents like.”

  What I didn’t tell him was what it’s like being the daughter of a prominent governor and how it causes me all kinds of stress and problems. A lot of people at my high school were jealous of the life my family leads. If they only knew. It isn’t all glitz and glamour. We have skeletons in our closet just like any other family.

  We finally got to my suite, which I could tell impressed him.

  “Wow, the penthouse suite. You must be someone special,” he said.

  The penthouse suite costs like eight thousand dollars for a four-day cruise. I wasn’t quite ready to let him know who I was, so I ignored that comment for a moment.

  “I’m going to change. Be right back.”

  I went into my room, pulled the pink sundress over my head, and threw it on the bed. A pair of shorts and T-shirt that I’d worn earlier that day were still clean. I put them on with a pair of flip-flops and walked back out to the living area. My stomach was still rolling around, and I now I had a doozy of a headache, too.

  “I think I need to lie down.” I headed for the sofa and rested my head on one of the pillows.

  “Why don’t you rest, and I’ll call the doctor for you.” Josh stood over me, staring at me with those beautiful green eyes.

  “I don’t want all the trouble. Some Pepto or Tums would be nice.”

  “We can manage that.” Josh got a towel from the wet bar and ran it under the water. “I had trouble with seasickness when I first started working.” He put the cool towel on my forehead. “What really helps is fresh air and looking out over the ocean.”

  “Fresh air sounds good.” I followed him out onto the balcony and, stretching out on the chaise lounge, put the cool towel on my forehead. “I’m feeling better already.”

  “Good. I’ll be back in a few minutes with something for your stomach.”

  The night sky took my breath away. The thousands of stars combined with the twinkling lights from the cruise ship reminded me of Christmastime. I pulled my long blonde hair into a makeshift ponytail and slid off my pink flip-flops, taking a big breath of the salty air.

  A strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and tossed a flip-flop over the railing. I stood up just in time to see the shoe get swallowed up in the foamy wake. Dammit! I’d just bought those shoes in Key West. Tonight is not happening for me. Maybe I should go to bed and try again tomorrow. But I wanted my stomach remedy. Josh had been gone about a half hour and he should have been back by now. When I heard the sliding glass door open behind me, I turned to see Josh standing there.

  “Hey there. I thought you forgot me,” I said. He had a strange look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

  Then someone shoved Josh onto the balcony. I didn’t see that person until Josh stumbled forward.

  I stared in shock at the strange man. He looked familiar, but I was so scared that I couldn’t place him. He pointed a gun at Josh’s head.

  “What are you doing? Are you crazy?” I screamed at this stranger.

  “Move it,” the man said, pushing Josh farther out onto the balcony. The man was short, stocky, and bald, with a chipped front tooth.

  “Leave her alone. She doesn’t know anything,” Josh said.

  “What’s going on?” I asked again. “Josh, who is this man?”

  “Come on, Amber. Join the party.” The man motioned to me with the gun.

  It took me a second to realize what the man said. How does he know my name?

  I stared at him, trying to figure out if I knew him. I pressed my back into the balcony railing, thinking there was no way I was going anywhere with this lunatic.

  “Leave her out of this. She had nothing to do with it,” Josh pleaded.

  “Not my problem. No witnesses.” The man raised the gun and pointed it toward me.

  Now I really started to freak out. It’s silly now to think this, but I couldn’t help but wish my dad had sent security with me. I turned around and could just faintly make out what looked like the lights of a coastline. We must have been near our next stop in the Bahamas. I thought to myself, If I stay, I die. If I jump, maybe I can make it to shore. My hands shook as I climbed the railing and threw my leg over the side. The wind was picking up again, and loose strands of hair blew into my eyes. I looked down at the ten-story drop into the swirling water below.

  “Amber, what are you doing?” Josh asked me as I sat on the railing, leaning toward the water. A look of panic flashed through his eyes.

  “Shut up,” the man said.
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  “Look, we can work this out. I’ll tell you what you want to know if you just let her go inside,” Josh said.

  “Don’t think so, Josh.” The man held the gun steady at me. His intense eyes locked with mine.

  He adjusted his stance. The icy finger of fear gripped my heart as I looked into the water again. A loud shot rang out into the night, and then darkness rushed up to meet me.

  Burn Out

  The best-selling suspense novel, featuring Rachel Scott.

  Chapter One

  Samantha Collins’s story

  Santa Rosa Beach, FL Thursday 6:36 PM

  Just breathe. Stay focused. I repeated the mantra to calm myself. This fire wasn’t my first, but my heart still raced a thousand beats a minute as I made my way through flames so vivid I thought I was in hell.

  I crawled along the hallway, gripping the fire hose. The smoke was thick and I couldn’t see past my gloves. Angry, orange flames danced up the walls. The heat was intense, even through my protective gear.

  Leading my crew through the maze of Campbell’s Farmers Market, I pictured the layout in my head. Now, with flames roaring all around us, it looked completely different. I had to get to the rear of the building where the owner’s son had last been seen in his office.

  My knees throbbed, and my wrists and hands stung, but I knew every second counted when a person’s life was in jeopardy. I dismissed my pains and focused on moving forward.

  Creeping through the dense smoke, I found what I thought was the door to the office. I stopped and felt the door before cautiously pushing it open. The smoke was not as heavy as it had been in the hallway. I slowly made my way around the office and motioned to Kevin and Mack, the guys on my crew, to look around the desk. I felt around the floor and my hand hit on something hard near the back of the door. I called out to Mack and showed him the body.