“You know,” he said, “if we had a sofa, we could be cuddling on it.”
“Is this a suggestion we go back to your house?”
He shook his head, his blue eyes unwavering. “No. It’s a suggestion that we shuffle things around a little here to make room for my sofa and, hey, a decent-sized TV.”
Momentarily, time seemed to stand still. Neither of them moved or so much as took a breath.
Emily searched his face. “You mean…?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I mean. I was stupid. Of course we can live in your house. For one thing, it’s better than mine. You’ve got the porch, and I haven’t even started refinishing floors or…” He rolled his shoulders. “Plus, your house is full of memories. Of course you don’t want to leave those behind.”
“It’s mostly Cody, you know.”
“Yeah.” He tried to smile. “I figured that out. But it doesn’t matter anyway. They were part of your life. They helped make you who you are. The woman I love.”
The resonance in his voice when he said that seemed to fill her with his power. “Are you sure?” she begged. “This isn’t because you were scared for me?”
“Emily, I knew the first time I set eyes on you. The fact that you kept dodging me frustrated me no end.” He grimaced. “I told myself I’d overcome your resistance. I have to admit, it shook me when I heard old Rumbaugh call you Mrs. Drake.”
“After which you followed me to Misty Beach and persuaded me to run with you. No,” she corrected herself, “to start out with me.”
The curve of his mouth was matched by the smile in his very blue eyes. “We both knew I was sticking with you, didn’t we?”
Of course he wasn’t talking just about the several mile run. In retrospect, Emily suspected she’d known as much then, too.
Would he have worn her down if all this hadn’t happened? If she hadn’t had to turn to him to keep her alive? She shuddered at the fear she might have stayed behind her walls and missed the amazing opportunity to be loved by Sean.
“I knew,” she admitted.
“I love you,” he said again.
She reached out for his hand, which immediately turned over and engulfed hers in a gentle grip. “I love you, too,” she said, past a lump in her throat.
“What if I put my house on the market tomorrow?” he said, his gaze watchful.
She should be wary. This had all happened so fast. Which was probably a really good reason he hadn’t said anything about marriage. But for some reason she wasn’t worried at all, not about this decision. Her heart settled. She had absolute faith in this man.
“The sooner the better,” she agreed.
THREE YEARS LATER…
At the very back of the top shelf of the cupboard, Emily found a red plastic sippy cup. Once upon a time, she must have known it was here. She had a feeling she had put it up here, where she wouldn’t see it unless she climbed on a ladder.
Her heart gave an old, familiar squeeze. Cody.
After a moment, she dropped it into the box she was packing.
She didn’t think back often anymore. She had a family again. That didn’t mean she ever forgot her first child. She never would.
For a moment, she held him close, almost able to feel his small, sturdy body, the faintest brush of the dandelion fluff of his hair against her cheek. Then she breathed again, and let him go.
Thank God she didn’t have to worry about Jason Payne getting out of prison. The police had found blood from four murder victims on the wet suit he’d worn during the assaults and in the tiny crack between blade and guard of his wicked, black-handled knife. He’d kept a print-out of the emails he’d received from Braden, too, as well as some newspaper clippings. Names of people he believed had wronged Braden were highlighted in yellow. Four were dead. It took Rebecca Walker months to recover enough to return to work. Emily had a tiny scar on her throat from his knife. It was barely visible, but her finger knew right where it was.
When she testified at his trial, she had looked straight at him. He had been convicted and given a life sentence. She still had an occasional nightmare, but that was all.
Emily climbed down from the ladder, sealed a cardboard box with packing tape and reached for a black marker. She planned to write “Kitchen – Pans”. But at the strange, ripping sound coming from deeper in the house, she paused, her head turning. She would have been alarmed if Molly had been home, but Sean had dropped their two-year-old daughter off at day care a couple of hours ago. So it had to be him making that noise. But what on earth was he doing?
Still clutching the marker, she stepped into the hall and immediately saw him. He seemed to be positioning a tall board. As she watched, he used his hip to hold it in place and quickly tapped in a nail.
“Sean?”
He smiled. “Hey. How’s it going?”
When he held out an arm, she walked right into his embrace. “It’s going fine.” She kissed his stubbly cheek. “But what what are you doing?”
“Replacing this piece of molding.”
“But there wasn’t anything wrong…” Suddenly understanding, she felt the breath rush out of her.
He was replacing one side of the molding that went around the door to the linen closet. That particular white painted board was the one where they’d recently drawn a line measuring Molly’s height on her second birthday. It had been nearly an inch below Cody’s height on the same birthday.
Emily had known that, if they didn’t paint over those marks, the new homeowners would. The thought had been indescribably painful, but something she had known was coming when she and Sean made the decision to buy a larger house to accommodate the second child she was carrying. Somehow, it had never occurred to her that they could take the whole board with them.
Through blurred eyes, she saw it leaning against the wall a few feet away.
Sean saw the tears and bent to rest his forehead against hers. “It’s a piece of our past,” he murmured. “It belongs with us.”
Emily found herself smiling even as she cried. “I love you. The day you moved in next door was the luckiest day of my life.”
“Mine, too.” His big hand covered the slight bulge in her belly and gently caressed her before he removed it to pat her butt. “Back to work, sweetheart. We only have another hour before the whirling dervish will be home.”
She laughed, as he’d meant, gave him a convulsive hug, and returned to the kitchen to finish emptying cupboards in preparation for tomorrow’s big move. The porch swing was going with them, and now so was a piece of their home that linked Cody and Molly, that said Cody had lived and been loved and would always be a part of their family. Suddenly excited, she could hardly wait.
A Note from the Author
Thank you so much for purchasing my book. This is my third independently published effort, so if you enjoyed the book, I hope you will take a moment to help me get the word out to others by posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads - or “like” my Author Page on Facebook to see future updates.
I also love to hear from readers, so please contact me on Facebook or via my website at www.JaniceKayJohnson.com.
About The Author
Janice Kay Johnson is the author of more than ninety books for children and adults, including the Cape Trouble novels of romantic suspense. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother Norma Tadlock Johnson, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. ROSAMUND was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her
own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were the historical novels, WINTER OF THE RAVEN and THE ISLAND SNATCHERS, written for Tor/Forge and now available in e-book format for the first time. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian.
Janice raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She spent many years as an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enlivened a household that typically includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to.
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA awards, and she won the 2008 RITA for Best Contemporary Series Romance for SNOWBOUND.
Visit her website at www.JaniceKayJohnson.com.
Also Available from Janice Kay Johnson
Cape Trouble, a tiny Oregon Coast town, was named for the dangerous off-shore reefs. But some of its citizens seek refuge from their own troubles…which have a way of following them.
SHROUD OF FOG (Cape Trouble, Book 1)
The secrets of the past haunt the present…
Sophie Thomsen’s life had a Before and an After – marked by the terrifying morning when she found her mother dead in the foggy sand dunes, an apparent suicide. Now, twenty years later, Sophie returns to Cape Trouble, only to find her aunt brutally murdered. Although she swore never to set foot again on Misty Beach, Sophie takes over her aunt’s crusade to save the falling-down Misty Beach Resort and its wild sand dunes and beach from development. But Sophie’s memories threaten a killer…who doesn’t dare let her remember too much.
Having come to Cape Trouble to heal his own wounds, Police Chief Daniel Colburn investigates the present day murder, but begins to suspect Sophie’s mother was another murder victim, not a suicide. Everything he learns increases his fear for the woman he is coming to love.
Sophie’s fate may be to die in a shroud of fog, just like her mother before her, unless she can trust Daniel to help her uncover her past in time.
SEE HOW SHE RUNS (Cape Trouble, Book 2)
When it’s never safe to stop running…
One night, in her upscale California restaurant, Naomi Kendrick overheard powerful men plotting a political assassination. To save her life, she made a bargain with the devil…and then ran.
Inevitably, she is found. More than one enemy descends on Cape Trouble to learn her secrets…and silence Naomi once and for all.
Detective Adam Rostov suspects she stabbed his partner to death in her restaurant kitchen. Pursuing her to Cape Trouble, he arrives just in time to rescue her from an assault. He conceals his real purpose in Cape Trouble to stay close to her. Because if he can’t keep her alive, he’ll never find out if she’s innocent or guilty.
Naomi’s instincts scream, Run, but too late, because Adam isn’t about to let her go. Not when he has begun to believe she is a victim and not a killer. Not when she is irresistible bait to draw a contract killer, a corrupt U.S. Congressman, and a crooked federal agent. And not when, despite all common sense, he’s falling in love with the mysterious chef.
Once Naomi discovers Adam too has been hunting her, she must decide. Run and keep running, or trust him to keep her safe? Of course, once he knows her darkest secret, he may no longer want to protect her…
WHISPER OF REVENGE (Cape Trouble, Book 4)
Loving the wrong man can be a death sentence…
Gifts from a secret admirer unsettle bookstore owner and single parent Hannah Moss. She finds herself searching every face, wondering what lies behind that smile, that stare. When renowned artist Elias Burton lends her his support, the gifts become threats. By turning to the wrong man, she’s infuriated her secret admirer…and put herself and her young son in danger. But not until her child is kidnapped does she understand the terrifying price she must pay for loving a man so wounded.
A local celebrity and recluse, Elias Burton has lost every woman who has ever mattered. Because of his past, he fears to reach out to Hannah Moss…but he has never been so tempted. In protecting her, he enrages a sick, angry man who will do anything to make Elias pay over and over again for long-ago wrongs. And what better way to wound Elias than to kill the woman and child he’s dared to love?
The whisper of revenge is all he has to lead him to his enemy…if it’s not already too late.
What people are saying about the romantic suspense novels of Janice Kay Johnson:
• “If you are in the mood for a wonderful romantic suspense story that will have you so engrossed in it that you lose track of the time, than look no further.”
- Night Owl Reviews (on Shroud of Fog)
• “SHROUD OF FOG will immerse the reader in a world of suspense and intrigue. Elements of romance throughout this captivating read will capture your heart. I kept guessing as to whom the killer was up until the very end. Janice Kay Johnson has penned a deeply satisfying story that is appealing to mystery lovers as well as romance aficionados. If you are looking for a tale that has plenty of plot twists and amazing characters that will remain with you, then you should rush out and get a copy of SHROUD OF FOG!”
- Romance Junkies
• "[G]uaranteed to have you looking over your shoulder more than once in this explosive, fast-paced thriller."
- Linda Silverstein, ROMANTIC TIMES (on Dangerous Waters)
• "Studded with tension and skillfully riveting, [it] will capture you from the first page and won't let go until the end."
- Kay Gragg, AFFAIRE DE COEUR (on Dangerous Waters)
• “I’ve never read Ms. Johnson’s work before and all I can say is I will be finding everything else she’s ever written. This story is so masterful it takes you inside this small town and really makes you think you are there.”
- Sara HJ, HARLEQUIN JUNKIES (on Everywhere She Goes)
Turn the page for a sneak peek at the next book in the series WHISPER OF REVENGE - and find all books available online now.
WHISPER OF REVENGE - EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
He waited with outward patience while that old bat, Mrs. Shoop, pondered her choices, nose almost to the glass of the confectionary case. The damn woman had the sharpest eyes of anybody in town, and could have stood out on the sidewalk and seen what types of fudge were available today instead of holding up other people. Hell, she was probably taking her time in hopes of overhearing some nugget of gossip while she dawdled. Louella Shoop was a notorious gossip.
To complete his irritation, she ended up buying two squares of peanut butter fudge, just like always. But, thank God, Hannah rang her up and it was his turn.
Hannah Moss owned Sweet Ideas: Books ’n Fudge, a thriving store even in a day when bookstores elsewhere were going out of business, surrendering to online competition. Hannah catered to locals, sure, but also to tourists bored when their weekend on the Oregon Coast turned out to be rainy. Those folks who didn’t read much had a sweet tooth.
He wasn’t much of a reader, but he had made sure she would never suspect. He bought books regularly as well as fudge and, usually, a cup of coffee to give himself an excuse to linger at one of the small tables and watch her.
Today she greeted him with the wide, happy smile she saved just for him. He bought a square of Hannah’s special fudge as well as a new kind, pineapple fudge.
“I’ll bet you made this,” he guessed. She’d test any new recipes, he felt confident, although she had hired a couple other women to make many of the truffles and fudge she sold each day.
“Yes! Be sure to tell me what you think about it.”
He glanced over his shoulder. Nobody behind him. He’d both planned well and gotten lucky. June in Cape Trouble was the beginning of the busy season. “Any chance you can take a break and join me for a cup of coffee?” He smiled. “On me, of course.”
> Hannah chuckled. “I’m afraid not, but thank you. Now, if that’ll be all—”
“Maybe later?” he suggested.
Regret showed on her face. “I’m sorry, but I don’t, well, date, if that’s what you had in mind.”
Long practice gave him the ability to hide his frustration and appear casually surprised. “Really? Why not? You’re a beautiful woman, Hannah.”
She blinked. “Thank you. But I have a son, you know. The business takes enough of my time away from him, and he’s more important to me than anyone or anything.”
“I understand.” A good mother; he approved. “If you change your mind, you let me know.”
The bell over the door on this side of the business tinkled. He ignored the newcomers, as did Hannah, who chuckled.
“If I change my mind, I’ll be completely lacking in subtlety, I promise. So lacking, I’ll be shameless.”
Good mood restored, he laughed. “Seeing you shameless will be worth the wait.”
He felt sure she was blushing when he handed over a twenty, accepted his change, the cup of coffee and small bag of fudge. By then, Hannah was smiling at the newcomers, a family who must be out-of-towners. Settling at one of the café-style tables, he examined her smile carefully, satisfied to see that it was merely polite. He was confident in the outcome of his courtship. She was being cautious, that’s all. As the mother of a young child, that was sensible. To his knowledge, she hadn’t once dated in the two and a half years since she moved to Cape Trouble and opened her store. He liked that about her. Burned by a bad marriage, she would be completely his. The boy – well, he’d have to wait and see. Like a male creature in the wild, he didn’t like the idea of leaving another man’s spawn to capture a large percentage of her attention. On the other hand, the boy’s father wasn’t in the picture at all, as far as he could tell, which gave him the opportunity to play the hero.
Twisted Threads (A Cape Trouble Novel Book 3) Page 26
