Prologue

Taryn Miles was rubbing her hands together. She wasn’t sure if it was anticipation, excitement, or fear. Probably a combination of them all.

Here she was ready to tell her family she was moving to Florida a few short months after graduating from college.

She hadn’t been able to find a job and it was driving her insane. It shouldn’t be this hard, but it’s not like many jobs were flowing around her unless it was in tourism and she was going for accounting. Boring, just like everyone said she was.

But she’d gone to Tampa with a few friends for two weeks and got back to town three days ago. She’d had so much fun there, more than she’d ever had here. She’d looked at her life and realized it was pretty quiet and dull and maybe it was time for a change. An adventure of sorts.

She was young yet. Now or never, she’d been telling herself.

She squared her shoulders and marched out of her bedroom that she’d shared with her sister, Kennedy, growing up. Kennedy was living with friends in an apartment in town and working as a massage therapist. Kennedy had always known what she wanted and had no problem lining up a job when she was ready. She’d own her own place someday because Kennedy said she would and she always followed through.

Her brother, Trevor, was home for another week and then would be going back to God only knows where in the Army where he was a Ranger. At twenty-two years old, Taryn really didn’t want to live home with her father, the chief of police, and her mother who was a nurse.

Being the baby of the group, she always had them hovering over her more than the others. It was time to move onto something better. Something more exciting.

Anything other than Lake Placid where everyone knew and questioned her.

She saw her family was relaxing out back on the deck, and decided to join them. A Sunday dinner like she’d had so much growing up.

“Are you ready to tell us what is going on?” her mother asked. She should have known there was no hiding this, so she just decided to jump right in.

“I got a job.”

“You did?” her father said. “That’s great. I know you’ve been dying to get out there to work, but you’re going to be working your whole life.”

“I know. I just hate sitting around doing nothing. It’s driving me crazy.”

“Why sit around when there is a ton to do here,” Kennedy said. “But you don’t care to be outdoors that much and never did.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “I’m just not so much into nature and hikes or hunting. You like that stuff. I don’t mind swimming and being on the lake, but there is only so much I can do of that too.” She’d always found it calming to sit on the dock and stare at the lake.

“If you want to meet a guy you’ve got to get out of the house,” Kennedy said, winking.

That was another problem here. Slim pickings for men. Not that she dated much, but she wanted to. Most guys in this area had issues dating the chief of police’s daughter.

“Leave your sister alone,” Trevor said. “If she wants to date that’s fine, but he has to pass my test.”

She narrowed her eyes at Trevor. “No, thank you. It’s bad enough being the daughter of the chief of police. I don’t tell many my brother is in the Army.” And very few he was an elite Ranger. And almost no one but family knew he was a sniper.

“So where did you get a job?” her mother asked.

Here goes nothing. “Tampa.”

“There’s a company called Tampa around here?” her father asked, with an odd look. He’d never think she’d leave, she knew that.

“No. In Tampa,” she said. There was dead silence. “One night I was just looking online when we were in the hotel and I decided to apply for kicks and giggles. I never expected to get called in for an interview the next day. Then a second one after that. They called me on my last day and offered me the job.”

“You’re moving to Florida?” Kennedy asked her with a big grin on her face.

“Yes. What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. Good for you. It’s no secret you don’t like being here. I guess I just didn’t think you’d do this. It’s kind of sudden.”

Her mother had tears in her eyes. “It is sudden. Are you sure you’ve decided?”

“You’re not going to try to talk me out of it?” she asked, shocked.

“You’ve always been pretty independent and determined once you set your mind on something,” her mom said. “I’m not sure there is much I can say if this is what you want. Nor do I want you to have regrets if you don’t go, even if you’re my baby and it’d kill me to watch you drive away.”

She didn’t think they’d take this so well. But she looked at her father and saw he was struggling. She was a bit of a Daddy’s girl. “When do you start?”

“In three weeks.”

“Where are you going to live?” her mother asked. “Or did you find a place already?”

“I want to know that it’s safe,” her father said. “I want to know the name of the place to check out myself.”

She expected as much and wouldn’t fight them on it. “I don’t have my own place yet. Jami’s cousin that we were visiting offered to let me stay with her until I got settled and found a place. She’s in a two-bedroom apartment and said she could use the money.”

Her parents were looking at each other. “How much do you know about this person? What’s her name again?”

“Ellen, and you’ve known Jami my whole life. You know her parents. You like Jami and her parents. Ellen is nice. She’s a year older and been on her own about six months. She’s making ends meet but would like some breathing room. It’d be cheaper for me to just split the rent with her too now.”

“Tell us about this job,” Kennedy said.

She was happy Kennedy was changing the subject for the moment. “It’s a staff accountant at a law office. The pay is really good. It might be more than I would have made here and the cost of living isn’t as high there either.”

Her mother started to cry and came forward to hug her. “I know there is no talking you out of something when your mind is set on it, but we’ll support you and help you get set up. If you want, your father and I can help move you.”

She nodded her head. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that. I don’t have much and just figured I’d take a few days to drive my car down there.”

“Your car isn’t in that great of shape,” her father said. “We’ll help you get set up like your mother said, but let me look the car over first.”

“Thanks, guys,” she said, going to her father and hugging him too. “This means the world to me.”

“Just remember,” her mother said. “You can always come home with no questions asked.”

She nodded again and wiped at her tears. She knew that but had no plans on returning. She was getting out of here and couldn’t wait.