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A second chance to choose love
Returning to Taylor’s Grove is bittersweet for Audrey Merrill. She’s come home to take care of her ailing mother and finally face her painful past. She just never expected her daughter’s new teacher would be Mark Dublin. As childhood sweethearts, she and Mark were inseparable. Until her sister’s tragic death—an accident Audrey blames on him.
Mark is back to make amends. And, surrounded by memories of happier times, it doesn’t take Audrey long to remember the love they once shared. Now she’s faced with the same dilemma as years ago: hold on to the sorrow or forgive and embrace happiness.
“Audrey.” The last syllable compressed as his air ran out.
“Hello, Mark.” Her blue-gray eyes held none of the warmth that suddenly engulfed him.
He thought he was prepared for this moment...had known it was coming for two weeks now. It was the reason he’d moved back to Taylor’s Grove, the reason he’d taken this job.
He’d prepared for the icy glare and the bitter tone and the eleven years of aging since his last glimpse of her. But he hadn’t prepared for the richness age had added to Audrey’s voice or the deeper beauty that had emerged like a stone from a grit tumbler, polished to perfection by the sands of time.
He wasn’t prepared for the way his heart swelled or how the sight of her made him feel like a thirsty man struggling to reach the far oasis.
He’d prepared for the hatred...not the love.
If you’ve ever had a dog as a pet, you know what it’s like to be loved unconditionally. You can scold them, but at the first kind look or gesture, they’re immediately back at your side, looking at you with adoration shining in their eyes.
We could learn a lot from dogs. Even without the sophistication of human intelligence and logic, they’ve figured out that forgiveness is a powerful force—one that can reshape the spirit and breathe into it new life.
Right Where We Started, Book 4 in my Taylor’s Grove, Kentucky, series, is built around the theme of forgiveness. Unlike the other books in the series, both the hero and heroine of this story grew up in Taylor’s Grove. They were lifelong best friends and childhood sweethearts until tragedy pushed them in different directions.
Audrey Merrill and Mark Dublin might have a second chance at love if only they can learn to forgive. So, of course, there is a dog (well, actually several) to teach them that just because a relationship started as puppy love doesn’t mean it can’t last forever.
Until next time,
Pamela
Right Where We Started
Pamela Hearon
PAMELA HEARON grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, a place that infuses its inhabitants with Southern values and hospitality. Here she finds inspiration for her quirky characters, her stories’ backdrops and her narrative voice. Pamela was a 2013 RITA® Award finalist and a Maggie Award finalist for her first Harlequin Superromance story, Out of the Depths. The Summer Place was a 2014 National Readers’ Choice Award finalist. Visit Pamela at pamelahearon.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.
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To my GNOs—Jackie, Mindy, Cathy, Rita, Debbie, Sharon, Debby, Kathy and Dishona—who bring that kind of love and acceptance to my life that only girlfriends understand...even when my accent scrapes across their eardrums like pieces of Styrofoam rubbed together.
Thanks to my fabulous agent, Jennifer Weltz (Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency), for all the hard work and time she puts in on my behalf.
Thank you to my wonderful editor, Karen Reid, for not being afraid to pull the reins in on me when the journeys in my mind veer too far from the map.
Thanks to my critique group—Angela Campbell, Sandra Jones and Maggie Van Well—who dedicate so many hours to helping me put the perfect word in the perfect place.
Thank you to Cynthia D’Alba who is always ready to talk me through those plot problems and make time for ice cream.
And forever love and thanks to my precious husband, Dick, who makes every day of my life a thing to celebrate.
Contents
Dear Reader
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY