Dani could feel Lateef’s fear of rejection as his arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have thrown you into the memory. I should’ve given you time to recover before hitting you with something else. I just never imagined the Falgarans would have enough psychic powers to warp your memories. I should have realized your guilt was too deep to be normal.”
Heavy footsteps in the hallway gave her a chance to breathe as Amman stopped the visitors.
“I brought Dani some cookies. The first I made myself.” Pride filled Mandy’s voice as her volume rose to overcome Amman’s hissed objection. “Everyone loves cookies. I used the most popular recipe on the Gourmet Foodie website. They had a video and everything.”
Silence greeted the outburst and Anna and Charlie exchanged wide-eyed glances with Dani.
“We better get out there and help Amman ease onto the information highway.” Anna darted to the door. “With any luck we can throw up some roadblocks for a bit.”
Dani and Lateef watched as the door slammed shut on a rising babble of sound.
“You have some very good friends, Dani. I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to deal with a riled-up Hatti chef.” He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, projecting a calm belied by the pounding of his heart.
Dani took a deep breath, exploring the edges of the old pain in her mind. She was shocked to realize she had known the truth all along, but had ruthlessly suppressed the memory, accepting the imaginary, perfect life that had never existed. She tilted her head to meet Lateef’s anxious face.
“I love you, Lateef.” Her eyes shone with a happiness no longer tainted by any shadow of guilt. “And I intend to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
His lips found hers and he poured all of his own love and relief and happiness into her, both of them forgetting their surroundings as they celebrated being alive and together.
The End
About the Author
Katherine Matzen works in a biomedical research lab by day and has always wanted to meet some nice aliens and maybe stow away on their ship for a vacation. She’ll pass on the bad guys out to destroy the universe, thank you very much. She writes paranormal and science fiction romance, loving the power to make characters dance to her tune. She has a strong sense of hope and optimism. And romance. We all need that happy ending.
So read, enjoy and know that in the end, no matter how dark the journey gets, everything will work out.
When not writing, you’ll find her remodeling the house (the eternal project), making music or chasing down the kids and huskies. One of her favorite activities is to ask her co-workers questions like, “If you were going to kill someone with a car, how would you do it?” Oddly enough, they still give her interesting answers.
Second Chances, hope, and the unexpected. Because life is far more interesting that way.
Visit Katherine at:
KatherineMatzen.com Facebook
Cover design and book layout by Frederick Matzen:FRMPhotography.com
Acknowledgements:
There are so many people I need to thank. Frederick R. Matzen for the cover and book layout. Val and Zac from Scarlet Tie Elite who did an incredible job of editing. Any mistakes left over are mine.
To Linda, Grace, Jodi, Mary, Cheryl, Lesli, Sue, Sandra and Jane – thank you all so much for reading, cheerleading, hand-holding as well as the occasional well-timed threats. They were all needed. All the members of Heart of Denver and Colorado Romance Writers who are so generous with their time and expertise. You’ve all made this possible.
And finally thanks to my family for all of their help and patience with my random questions, requests for advice and absent-mindedness when caught in the middle of a story. Your belief in me pushed me to finish. Love you all!
Copyright © 2019 by Katherine Matzen
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
Cover Design by Frederick Matzen
Editing by Scarlet Tie Elite
Coming Fall 2019
Ambassadorial Betrayal
Sabra Narvi is a junior diplomat for the Beryllian Alliance when she crashes on an unknown, inhabited planet. Her life-pod implodes before she can send a distress message and her telepathy isn’t strong enough to reach her normal contact. To top it all off, she’s caught in a blizzard, and the only mind she can reach belongs to pre-sentient creature.
Rickles, a trained Rottweiler, responds to her call by dragging Evan Stone, his human handler, out in the blizzard. Evan helps her to his family’s nearby Montana ranch. There she learns she’s on Terra and uncovers evidence of sabotage by the Falgarans. She believes someone has poisoned Evan’s uncle. All signs point to a member of the Secretary of Defense’s security team working with her enemies to create chaos on Earth.
Once the enemy’s revealed, Sabra insists they get help. She leads them to an Alliance sanctuary in Folly Springs, Colorado.
Will they learn the truth behind her unexplained accident and the attack on the Secretary of Defense before the Falgaran plot unfolds?
At Night's End Page 26
