For the first time in her life Morgan knew what it felt like to truly belong. She felt at peace. Something told her that her mother, Cathy Hayes, felt it, too. Destiny had proven stronger than all of them.
Epilogue
California, 1985
“What happened? Where am I?” Cathy Hayes cried out. Her eyes were swollen and her head throbbed beneath the thick bandages. A nurse walked in and Cathy blinked, trying to remember how she came to be here. The walls were bleached white and unadorned. The smell of antiseptics overwhelmed her. Frowning, she hesitated in asking the nurse why she was here, fearing the worst.
The last thing she could remember was her five-year old daughter, Ashley, singing “Old McDonald” in the back seat of their car and her husband’s hand flying across her chest as if he meant to shield her from…from something terrible.
Anguish filled her as she recalled being in a crash. The three of them had been in a terrible accident. Something flew in front of the car and landed on the windshield, blocking her husband’s view of the road. He slammed on the brakes and there was an explosion. Her husband, her daughter…they were dead. She was sure of it. It was written all over the nurse’s face.
“Are they—”
The door to her room came flying open, interrupting her question.
“Daddy! Come quick! Mommy’s awake,” Ashley yelled, running to the bed and into Cathy’s arms. “I knew you would be okay; I just knew it.”
Cathy looked to the door where a shadow appeared. She squinted her eyes, hoping for a clearer image, sure that the man standing there was an apparition. Her husband, Eric, looked just as she’d remembered him all those years ago.
All those years ago?
She frowned, tried to brush the strange thoughts from her head as she touched Ashley’s hair and face, kissing the tip of her daughter’s pug nose. She could hardly breathe. She held both chubby cheeks between her palms and looked deep into her daughter’s eyes. “You’re real, aren’t you?”
Ashley gave her father a perplexed look as he came forward. Then Ashley looked back at her mother and giggled. “Of course I’m real. And daddy’s real, too…see?” Ashley placed her father’s hand within Cathy’s hand.
His hand felt strong, his fingers vibrating with life.
“Your husband’s a hero,” the nurse said. “The hospital is filled with reporters. They all want to interview the man who risked his life to save the driver of a burning truck. And only minutes before it exploded.”
Cathy felt her heart hammering against her chest. What was wrong with her? “What stopped us from going up in flames?” she asked, remembering too vividly a completely different scenario.
Her husband spoke next, the soothing richness of his voice causing Cathy to take a deep breath. “It was the strangest thing,” he said as he went to a closet and withdrew an old blanket.
Chills crawled up Cathy’s spine at the sight of the coverlet. Even from here she knew she’d seen it before.
“This very blanket fell from the sky like an angel with wings. It landed on my windshield, blocking my view completely. Since I couldn’t see, I slammed on the brakes.” He gave Cathy a sorrowful look, obviously blaming himself for the injury to her head. “At that same moment, a truck came barreling out of nowhere, barely missing us as it flew across our path and slammed into a tree. I didn’t try to be the hero…I only knew I had to get that man out before it was too late. Minutes after I dragged his body from the truck it exploded.”
Eric came to her side and slid his warm hand back over hers. “If this blanket hadn’t appeared when it did—” He shook his head. “I hate to think what would have happened.”
Cathy took the blanket from him, her hand trembling as she felt its velvety texture between her fingers. A tear made a path down her cheek.
And the tick of the clock was set right once more.
***
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About the Author
Theresa Ragan is a member of RWA and the Sacramento Chapter of RWA and has garnered six Golden Heart nominations in Romance Writers of America’s ® prestigious Golden Heart ® Competition for her work. She lives with her husband, Joe, and the youngest of her four children in Sacramento, California.
Books by Theresa Ragan
A Knight in Central Park, medieval time travel romance
Finding Kate Huntley, romantic suspense
Taming Mad Max, romantic comedy
Having My Baby, romantic comedy (February, 2012)
Books by T.R. Ragan
Abducted, romantic thriller (#1 Book in Lizzy Gardner Series)
Dead Weight, romantic thriller (#2 Book in Lizzy Gardner Series)
***
I’m delighted to introduce an unusual romantic novel from another award-winning author, Cate Rowan. If you enjoyed the pairing of the modern world and medieval times in Return of the Rose, take a look at The Source of Magic, a fantasy romance set on a medieval world:
When a gorgeous man clasps Jilian Stewart to his chest and yanks her from Scotland into a magical battle, she thinks it must be another of her bizarre dreams. Plagued by unnerving visions of this man, she’s sure they’re brought on by the stress of her mother’s deadly paralysis. Instead, Jilian finds herself ensnared in a world of fantasy, treachery, and family secrets, opposing the one man who can make everything right.
Prince Alvarr, her sexy abductor, offers a cure for her dying mother, but won’t send Jilian home with it until she helps him destroy the evil mage threatening his people—with mystical powers she never knew she had.
Also look for Caroline Fyffe’s sweet, award-winning western romances!
Where the Wind Blows
Montana Dawn
Texas Twilight
Sourdough Creek (February, 2012)
Contents
Prologue
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
Epilogue
About the Author
Return of the Rose Page 30
