Here’s my last little teaser of Deserve A Chance.

Catch up on the Prologue and Chapter 1 before you read below.

You can buy Deserve a Chance on Amazon.

Good Catch

 

“Hello.”

“Hey, Mallory. How come you’re answering Nick’s phone?” Zach asked.

“He’s in the middle of painting right now. It’s Zach,” he heard Mallory’s voice whisper. “He says give him a few minutes to finish. Do you want him to call you back, Zach?”

“Nope, I can talk to my second favorite person while I wait.”

“Second, huh? When did I get upgraded? Last time I heard, Rene was your second favorite person. Or is it whoever you’re talking to at the moment that gets that title?” she teased.

He laughed at her. “You’re the wife of my best friend and Rene is his sister, so I guess you’re tied now.”

Nick was more than his best friend. He was the brother he’d never had growing up. Sure, he had a half-sister and half-brother, but they were more than fifteen years his junior and he’d only seen them a handful of times.

Hell, even his own mother was only sixteen years his senior, so she could be considered his sister if he really wanted to think about it. But he didn’t; he never did. The only parents he had in his eyes were his grandparents. They were the only ones worthy of the title of family to him.

“If that’s the best I can get…” she said.

“Oh, you love me, you know it.”

“Everyone loves you, Zach. We have no choice since you tell us it all the time.”

He snorted on the other end of the line. Only Nick was ever straightforward enough to say that to him, and he was glad Mallory felt comfortable enough voicing her thoughts honestly.

“What can I say? Some people just need reminding more than others.”

“Or you run out of things to say and that’s your go-to line.”

“That too.” It was no secret he tended to get on people’s nerves with his tenacity and persistence. “How’s Junior doing?”

“Junior is doing just fine. Still baking along slowly.”

“No name yet?”

“Nothing that we can agree on.”

“Zachery Buchanan has a nice sound to it.”

He heard her giggle. “There is only enough room in my life for one Zach. Sorry.”

“How about as a character in your next book? I’d love to be a hero in a romance. Hell, I’m already the perfect guy now, so you could just mirror it after me and make your job easier.”

“No romance books in the works just yet. I’ve got my hands full finishing up my next mystery. How would you like to be a murder victim? You could drive someone insane with your nonstop chatter. That’s reason enough for murder.”

“Very cute, Mallory. Stop listening to Nick badmouthing me.”

“Dude,” Nick replied through the phone this time. “Stop trying to give Mallory ideas on names. I’ve got one picked out and I’m waiting for the right time to tell her.”

“You have to wait?” Zach asked.

“Yes. If I say it too soon, she’ll have a reason she doesn’t like it…or she’ll love it so much she’ll want it to be a character in her next book. I’ve got to plan it just right.” There was a pause and then Nick said, “You know it’s the truth, Mallory, so, no, I’m not telling you yet. Anyway, Zach. How was the trade show? Sorry I dumped it on you last minute and I haven’t returned your calls. I’ve been swamped with coding and trying to get the house ready for the baby.”

They’d been friends for way too long for Zach to think Nick was purposely ignoring him. At this point in their relationship, if Nick didn’t want to talk to Zach, he’d just tell him to his face. He always had.

Besides, Nick would have gone to Vegas if he could have, but Zach knew he’d never leave Mallory at this point in her pregnancy, especially with her battling a cold last week.

“No problem. I sent you a report. Not sure if you’ve had a chance to look it over yet.”

“Not yet. Maybe later tonight. Anything of interest I need to know right now?”

Zach wanted to tell Nick about Amber but didn’t. Maybe next time they saw each other, he’d bring it up. Or maybe not. It was embarrassing the amount of time he’d spent the last few days trying to track her to no avail. Nick was liable to just bust him about it, and Zach didn’t think anything about this situation was funny.

“There was a lot of interest. I spoke with some hospital administrators who were going to go back and see if it’s a product that they might want to push to the local doctors. Legal angles if any and so on are in the talks. It’s all in my report.”

“Sounds good. Other than that, nothing much going on?” Nick asked again.

It was almost like Nick knew Zach had more to add. “Nope, just trying to catch up here at the office.”

“All right. I’ll let you go. You know where to reach me if you need anything.”

Zach hesitated and finally said, “Sure do. You can’t hide from me even if you wanted to.”

“No one can. You always find us and then lecture us for even trying. There’s never been any escaping you.”

Zach hung up the phone grimacing. If that was so true, then why couldn’t he find Amber? The question wasn’t if at this point, but when—and when he did, she’d better be ready for him.

***

Amber grabbed the remote and turned the music on in her office. It was an hour past closing and she still needed to finish up her notes for the day. As far as she knew, everyone was gone but her and Max.

She’d been in surgery at the hospital with Max at six this morning, not finishing until almost two. Then they’d returned to the office only to deal with one emergency after another while Dena and Rene dealt with the scheduled patients for the day.

Days like this made the time fly, and though she loved the thrill and excitement of it all, she was beat.

She hadn’t been sleeping well for the last week. Not through lack of trying. Nope, it had more to do with a dark-haired, brown-eyed man invading her dreams.

The song on the radio switched over and her mind started to drift back to a bar in Vegas just last week.

“I’ll have another one,” Amber said, holding her beer glass up to the bartender. The first day of the convention was done and she was just relaxing at a local bar, then she was going to turn in for the night.

The minute her drink was placed in front of her, she felt a presence at her back and swiveled on her bar stool.

He was tall and thin, handsome even with his short brown hair and light brown piercing eyes. They were almost golden, if she looked long enough.

“I’m Zach Monroe,” he said, reaching his hand out to hers.

“Amber,” she said back, placing her hand in his. He had a nice firm grip. She liked that about a man.

“No last name?” he asked.

She debated and then said, “Dustin.” Better safe than sorry.

He had a nice smooth tone to his voice. “Mind if I join you?”

“The seat is empty,” she said, nodding her head toward the bar stool to her right.

So he sat next to her and they chatted for an hour about the people in the bar. He was funny, with a personality similar to her own. Not everyone appreciated her warped sense of humor, but this stranger not only got her, but enjoyed bantering with her, too.

When the band changed directions and started to play ballads, he pulled her off her stool and onto the dance floor.

She’d fit so nicely in his arms. He wasn’t as tall as she first thought, maybe six foot, but since she was on the tall side for a woman, they fit really well together.

“I’m going to be awfully disappointed if you end up being a high-end call girl,” he whispered in her ear as he held her close, their hips swaying to the music.

She leaned her head back, her lips quirking. “I’m trying not to get insulted that you just said that.”

“I said high end,” he reminded her.

“And you said you’d be disappointed, too. Maybe I’m an undercover officer just waiting to nab some pervert paying for sex.”

He laughed, and the sound sent shockwaves crashing in her belly then traveling up to her chest. “It’s Vegas.”

“Point taken. How about I tell you I’m here for a medical convention?”

“Are you a doctor?” he asked, his eyes looking straight into hers. She could lose herself in him, she could feel it.

“No. Physician assistant.”

“So, just shy of a doctor,” he said, his hand roaming down her back and causing tingles to erupt everywhere.

She was surprised he knew that. Most people didn’t and often felt a physician assistant was below a nurse. “How do you know that?”

“My best friend’s sister is a PA, too. Spent a boatload of years in school and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why she didn’t just continue on.”

“It’s not for everyone,” Amber said. A lot of people said the same to her. “What about you, Zach? Are you from this area just trying to pick up some tourist in a bar for the night?”

“Would you be surprised to hear I’m here for a medical convention, too? Probably the same one you are.”

“Are you a doctor?” she asked, surprised. He seemed confident and cocky, but not enough to be a doctor in her eyes.

He laughed lightly. “Hardly. How about I impress you by saying I’m the Chief Operating Officer for a software firm.”

“Ah, one of those Silicon Valley…people…trying to sell their software.”

“You wanted to say nerd, didn’t you?” he asked quietly in her ear again.

Pushing away the shivers, she said, “Of course, but I caught myself.”

“Good catch. But no, not Silicon Valley.”

“You seem awfully young to have such a big title. Were you one of those people who had a start-up in your parents’ garage?”

“College dorm,” he corrected. “And my best friend—old college roommate—is the brains behind the software.”

“And your job?” she asked.

“My job is to bring in the talent, run the operation, sell the product, and get the job done so that he can continue to be the brains behind the software.”

She could see that. He had a smooth way about him. He’d gotten her on the dance floor when normally she’d just walk away from a stranger in another city. Wild child or not, her momma didn’t raise a fool. The smooth ones were the ones you had to watch the closest.

“So I guess we’re at the same convention, though you are on the other side of the building from me.”

“I am. If it weren’t for our chance meeting here, I might not have seen you.”

She was right, he was a smooth one. “Maybe it’s our lucky night.”

“Is this lucky night going to end here on the dance floor?” he asked.

“And if it did?” she asked back, wondering what his reaction would be. It’d been longer than she cared to admit since she’d had a draw toward a man. Nothing like this. Nothing this strong and this fast before. And nothing this fierce.

“Then I’d suggest we meet here again tomorrow night, same time, same drinks, and hopefully some better music.”

So he wasn’t pressuring her. The angel on her shoulder had always been tainted, so the devil had no problem saying, “We could do that, along with continuing this night, if you’d like.”

“I would,” he said, his lips moving over her neck. “Your hotel or mine?”

“Yours,” she said. Since she’d lied about her last name, she wasn’t about to show him where she was staying.

“Then let’s see where the night goes,” he said, taking her hand and leading her off the dance floor.

“Amber!” Max yelled her name. She turned her head to see Max standing in the doorway staring at her intently. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?” she asked, feeling the heat creep up her neck. She’d been so lost in her memories that she had no clue how long he’d been standing there.

“You’re just staring at the wall in a daze. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep. I came in to say I was leaving, too.”

She shook her head and smiled. “I’m almost done. I’ll lock up soon. Go home and get some action from your wife before she boots you out of bed for knocking her up.”

Max laughed, used to her saying those things. “You’re a piece of work. Have a good night,” he said, then walked out.

Once she knew he was gone, she typed Zach Monroe into a search bar to see what she could find. Unfortunately, there were too many results and she had no clue where he was from, so she couldn’t narrow it down.

They’d spent three wonderful nights together and yet they never exchanged phone numbers. She didn’t realize it until she’d snuck out on Friday morning and left the convention a day early.

What they had those three nights scared her silly. Enough that she ran for the first time in her life. But now that she was home again, she was wishing she didn’t, only she had no way to find him.

It was probably for the best. She’d bet she was nothing more than a fling to him, which was why she never told him her real name. As smooth as he was, she was sure he had a lot of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” experiences. She didn’t need complications like that in her life anymore.

 

 

If you haven’t read the prologue yet, you can catch up here.

You can buy Deserve A Chance on Amazon.

Portrayed

 

“Hey, Mama. How are you feeling?” Amber asked her coworker Rene Buchanan when she walked into the office on Monday morning. “Did you miss me while I was gone last week?”

Rene smiled and pushed herself up from the chair. She wasn’t really that big at seven months’ pregnant, but big enough for her tiny frame to need help getting up. “Like Snow White misses a poison apple.”

Amber laughed. “I love this new you. You’re pretty funny,” she said, walking over and giving Rene a hug, then running her hand over the small watermelon protruding in front of her. “How’s Junior doing?”

“He’s doing good. Eating me out of house and home.”

“You mean you’re eating yourself out of house and home for him. Don’t be blaming the baby for the growth of your butt.”

“Thanks,” Rene said, snorting.

“We’ve got all sorts of equipment here to get you right back in shape after Junior is done wrecking your body.”

Rene shook her head, then grinned. “You’re so cynical. Besides, it’s not all that bad. Ask Cole. He’d tell you he’d keep me pregnant nonstop if he had his way.”

“That’s probably because you’re horny. My sister was the same way and her husband said the same thing.”

Rene blushed sweetly. “Okay, I’m going to leave the room now.”

“No, you aren’t,” Amber said, grinning. “You started it. So when’s the wedding?” Amber asked, glancing down at the large diamond on Rene’s finger. She wasn’t feeling any envy, not really.

“We don’t have a date yet. Cole wants to be married before the baby comes and I understand why, but I want to be able to dance and have fun at my wedding, not be wearing a mumu.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have gotten knocked up.”

Rene wrinkled her nose. “Very funny.”

“I know, I know,” Amber said. “Those super mutant powers of Cole’s. Bet those little buggers of his can swim through concrete. You better watch it, or before long there will be a little sister in the oven next.”

“Bite your tongue. I want a break between kids regardless of the horny hormones.”

“Ah, but you plan on having more?” Amber asked.

Rene had been so shy when she moved here almost ten months ago. The last thing Rene thought would happen when she started her new job was to get engaged and be expecting a child in the first year. Was Amber jealous of Rene over it? Absolutely.

Amber had never understood how someone could find that connection with another person so quickly.

That is, until this last week when she met Zach Monroe.

She shook those thoughts from her brain. It was best to not let her mind go there right now or she might start crying again. She did what she had to do to protect herself and she wouldn’t second-guess that now. She didn’t need history to repeat itself.

“At some point. Right now, I just want to get through this pregnancy and settle into my new life.”

A few minutes later, her boss, Dr. Max Hamilton, walked into their office. “How was the convention? Are you ready to make me break out the checkbook?”

Max always said she could talk him into anything, and she could. She knew it and enjoyed the thrill of it. Besides, she made his practice a lot of money and was proud of her smooth-talking skills.

“I sure am. I’ll put all the brochures and paperwork together with my notes for you by the end of the week. You could have gone with me and then I would have had you under contract already.”

Max laughed at her. “Which is why I didn’t go with you. Besides, Quinn hasn’t felt well and I didn’t want to leave her alone with the kids for a week.”

“Is she okay?” Amber asked of Max’s wife of just eight months.

“Nothing that another month won’t fix,” he said, smiling brightly.

“Get out! Quinn is pregnant already!” Amber exclaimed, rushing over and hugging him.

“Yeah,” he said, returning her hug. “We told Nick and Mallory at dinner last night, and she’s telling her siblings today, so I wanted to let you guys know. Besides,” Max said, turning to Rene, “I figured you’d hear it from Mallory by the end of the day if I didn’t tell you now.”

Mallory was Rene’s sister-in-law and Quinn’s best friend. “What the heck is in the water here? That is three of you pregnant now. When is Mallory due again?”

“December eighteenth,” Rene said. “Just a month ahead of me. Congrats, Max.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Now let’s get some work done. Amber, you’re in with me. I’ll make sure I tell Dena and the rest of the staff when they come in so they aren’t hurt they didn’t hear it from the source. Rene, you’ve got the office rotation for now.”

Amber watched them both walk out of her office, then pulled her chair out and sat down.

She was happy for Rene and Max. She was happy for anyone that was in a relationship. In general, she was a happy person.

Or at least that’s what she portrayed on the outside.

On the inside, right now, she was wondering what possessed her to sneak away Friday morning without saying goodbye to the one person she’d felt any type of connection with since she was in college.

The one person that might be able to help her move on.

 

 

***

 

 

“Are you okay, Amber?” Dena asked her.

“Yeah, why?”

It was the end of the day and Amber thought she’d done a good job acting like her normal self. She’d been laughing and picking on everyone all day long, just like she always did.

“I don’t know; it seems like your usual shine is dull. Just tired from the trip?”

She didn’t want to think about Vegas, because doing that would remind her of Zach. She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he thinking of her? Did he even miss her?

She’d never even gotten the name of the company he worked for. Just that he was there doing software demos on the other side of the building.

They met up each night for dinner and ended up back in his room. Every evening before it was time to meet him, she’d go back to her hotel around the corner, get a change of clothes for the next day, and then spend the night with him.

She’d never done that before. Gone to a convention and had a fling. And never before had she had a fling that lasted days.

That old saying of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” didn’t seem like it was going to work for her, though. Not when every time she closed her eyes she saw Zach’s light brown eyes glowing with passion as he looked at her. The bright smile of his and his frequent laughter. She’d never laughed as much as she had for those three days.

Nor could she remember the last time she was truly happy. The type of happy that made her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Probably never if she thought hard enough.

“It was a long couple of days.”

“Out partying?” Dena asked.

Everyone still thought she was this party animal. Sure, she was when she was younger. A bit of a wild one, people would say in describing her. She was more so in college. Until that all changed one night when she woke up and realized she’d been doing everything wrong. That her life—her world—was never going to be the same again.

“Nothing more than the normal. Dinner and a few drinks, then off to bed.”

She wasn’t about to add she didn’t go to bed alone. Or even to her own bed.

“If you say so.”

“I do,” Amber said, smiling. “Wait until you see the stuff I tried last week.”

“That’s the spirit. Did you have anything done on you?”

“Of course. What’s the fun of going there if I didn’t get to try or use it?”

“Nothing looks different on your face, so it can’t be that.”

“Nope. This is for fat pretty much anywhere on the body but the face.” She slid her hands down her outer thighs, always loving her curves, even embracing them. “These babies are going to be slightly slimmer in a few days.”

“A few days?” Dena asked.

“That’s what it boasts. Though I’m sure with just one treatment I won’t see much of a difference. It calls for a few. I’ll get all the information together and get it to Max this week. Just wait until you see what I end up talking him into.”

“Okay, now that is the Amber I haven’t seen today.”

She smiled at Dena, proud of herself for pulling it off.

Maybe in a few days she’d be back to normal. Unfortunately, she was afraid she was just fooling herself.

Are you ready for some more Take A Chance?

If you haven’t had a chance to read the prologue, you can catch up here.

Here is chapter one

No Control

Sixteen Years Later

Rene Buchanan gripped the steering wheel tightly through her wool gloves, not that it was helping any. She felt completely out of control in her new SUV.

What could she have been thinking, moving here? What was wrong with her? And why did she do it in the middle of the winter, no less?

Sure, this new job was a dream come true. She would have been nuts to turn it down, but that didn’t quell the fear she was feeling as the tires started to slip on the road.

She eased off the gas a bit and tapped the brakes. Nope, wrong thing to do, she realized when the rear end fishtailed to the right. Did the salesman lie to her about the traction control?

Barely crawling at this point, she pressed on the gas pedal a fraction and felt the vehicle slip. Braking wasn’t the thing to do either, she’d just learned, so she made a tiny wish and tried a bit more gas, hoping to get somewhere.

As luck would have it, her tires started to grab at something, finally moving her forward at a nice steady clip. She could handle this; it wasn’t that bad. Only three miles left to go to her new office. Piece of cake.

Since she felt a teeny more confident, she pressed the gas down and then wished she hadn’t when the rear end slid to the right again. Wrong choice this time. It seemed she always made the wrong choice. Nothing new there.

When she glanced down, she saw she was barely going twenty miles an hour. It was pretty embarrassing, if she was honest with herself, that she couldn’t go any faster than this without wanting to curl into a ball and cry.

It wasn’t even snowing out. The roads looked fairly clear to her, just some slush, yet she still couldn’t get this thing to drive as steadily as she was told it would when she bought it a month ago before the move.

She was slowly making her way up the hill and knew the turn was coming. Knowing she needed to accelerate now or she’d never make it, she gingerly tapped the gas. More spinning tires, but at the moment she was the little engine that could. Maybe it would have been better if she’d bought something with a little engine instead of this monster she had no control over.

Feeling positive that she was going to make it, she added more gas, then wished she hadn’t when a deer dashed in front of her. She slammed on the brakes, did a complete three-sixty, and ended up off the side of the road facing the wrong direction on the other side.

Great. Just great. Only her third day on the job and she was going to be late. What else could go wrong?

She sat there taking inventory of her body and realized other than her racing heart, everything was good. Of course it’s not like she was going fast enough to really do any damage to anything other than her pride.

Pulling her gloves off her fingers one by one, she fished her phone out of her purse to call her brother, Nick. He’d know what to do. He knew what to do about everything. Unlike her.

She’d bet he’d never slid off the road when he moved here. Nick probably drove twenty miles over the speed limit in a blizzard with one hand on the steering wheel, the other sipping a coffee, and had complete control at all times.

Stop being childish, she told herself…until she realized there was no reception on her phone. Double great. Now what?

She also knew there were houses set back in the woods, but she wasn’t sure how far away they were since she hadn’t paid much attention to those things while she commuted the last two days.

That was always her biggest problem. She never paid attention to the things around her that she should have. Now here she was stuck on the side of the road in the freezing cold with a vehicle she paid way too much money for that didn’t even want to stay on the pavement to begin with.

She was going to die out here in the cold.

She was going to starve.

No one would ever find her.

Well maybe not starve—she still had a plethora of snacks in her big tote she carried everywhere. And since the engine was running, it was toasty warm, so it wasn’t as dire as her overactive imagination was making it out to be.

Think, think, think. What should she do right now? She was never good in these situations. If directions weren’t in a book or a manual in front of her, she was clueless. She didn’t need people telling her that her whole life, either.

Doubters always doubt, she told herself, and that was the motto she used to get through college. All ten years of it while she kept getting degree after degree until she found her calling.

Laying her forehead against the steering wheel, she tried to do exactly what she did for years. Think. Instead, she started to panic.

When she heard a knock on her window she screamed and jumped, but the darn seatbelt only locked her back in place.

She pushed the beanie back on her forehead, except it fell down to her eyebrows again. Not enough that she couldn’t see a man in uniform tapping on the glass.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice loud through the window.

Thank God. She hit the button and rolled the window down, looking at her own reflection in his sunglasses. She looked a mess, but what else was new?

“Yeah. A deer ran in front of me and I lost control. I seem to be stuck.”

He looked around, and she followed his gaze. Now she was realizing she was just barely off the road, not really in a ditch and not really stuck. Hmm, maybe she should have at least tried to drive away. Why hadn’t that thought occurred to her?

“We’ll try to get you out of here. Shouldn’t be a problem in this vehicle,” he said.

She wished she could see his face. Or maybe not, because he sounded kind of condescending right now. He looked young, not more than a few years older than her. Too young to have a voice that deep. And big, too. She was pretty high up in her SUV and he wasn’t dwarfed by it at all.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he started to lean his head into her vehicle and look around. Did he think she was under the influence? It just went from bad to worse.

“Where are you heading right now?” he asked.

“Work. It’s only my third day and I’m going to be late,” she said, hoping he got the hint to help her get out of this situation. Instead he continued to look around and her pulse started to kick up again. Was he supposed to smell so good? Was she even supposed to notice? Probably not, and wise to keep it to herself.

“Not from around here, are you?” he asked, his lips starting to twitch.

Okay, she knew she was slow at times, but he was definitely making fun of her. “I just moved here from Virginia. I must confess I’m not used to these conditions. I thought buying this SUV would help, but I was all over the road. Must be icier than I thought.”

A smile from him this time, almost a teasing one. She pushed her too-big hat up again and wished she didn’t look like a kid in oversized clothing, but no hat ever fit her head, and headbands and earmuffs just looked sillier than the big hats.

Next thing she knew, he was reaching his long arm across her. She fought back a giggle when “long arm of the law” popped into her head.

“It’d probably drive better if you put it in four-wheel drive. You’ve been driving this big, heavy rear-wheeled drive vehicle in slush, with an engine equally as big. If you don’t know how to handle it, it can get away from you.”

No crap, she wanted to say, but then caught on to something else he’d said. “Four-wheel drive? They told me it’s all-wheel drive. What’s the difference?”

Now he laughed. “The difference is staying on the road, or sitting here talking to me.”

She wrinkled her nose. Okay, he was cute when he smiled, but she really wished she could see more of his face…or maybe not. She was already self-conscious, so it was probably better she didn’t know what he was thinking, or couldn’t figure it out. Especially when he smelled nice and smiled so sweet. None of that went with the timbre of his voice, just confusing her more.

She gathered her wits and said, “So that button you just pointed out. That puts it in four-wheel drive and it would have prevented me from going off the road?”

Now she wanted to kick herself for not reading the manual when she bought the thing.

“Well now, that’s not a guarantee, but it might have helped. It really all comes down to the driver.”

She ground her teeth. “Thanks for the help. I’ll try to get out now.”

“Not so fast. I know you’ll get out just fine. Can I see your license and registration though?” he asked nicely. Not at all like an officer trying to throw his weight around.

So much for getting on her way. “Of course,” she said, remembering he was law enforcement. She looked closer now and realized he was one of the troopers in the area, not from the sheriff’s office.

She leaned over and pulled her wallet out of her purse, then handed her license to him while she reached in the glove compartment for her registration.

“Rene?” he said, some wonder in his voice.

“Yes. Rene Buchanan,” she said back.

He smiled again, then lifted his sunglasses off his face. That pulse that was beating rapidly when she spun off the road was nothing compared to the rate it was racing now.

She knew when she moved to Lake Placid there was a possibility of running into people she’d met when she was younger. She knew there was a chance she’d see him again. She didn’t expect it to be when she was looking her worst and in a helpless situation.

Of course, she shouldn’t be surprised. Every time she saw him as a kid, she was in some bad predicament. Why should it be different this time?

“Cole McGuire?”

“Yep, that’s me. Wow, little Rene Buchanan. I didn’t know you moved here.”

The “little” comment made her purse her lips. “Last month. Well, I’m with my grandmother right now until I can find a place.”

She had no idea why she was explaining that to him. Years ago, she was always tongue-tied around him. Well, more like tongue-tied around everyone. Losing herself in her studies was so much easier than trying to be an adult.

But she was an adult now. One that was trying to change her life, and to do that, she needed to stop being the shy little dorky girl that felt more comfortable hiding.

In the last few years she’d focused on speaking more, and standing her ground. Thinking first, then explaining herself. No more running and no more hiding when she was nervous.

“I didn’t recognize you without your glasses,” he said.

She bit back the sigh. Figures he would remember that about her. Glasses too big and too thick for her face, always falling down. Part of this move was a transformation for herself. Both physically and mentally, maybe even emotionally, though she’d never admit that to anyone. Still, she wished she’d thought of getting contacts years ago since it ended up being such a big confidence booster.

“It’s me. Sorry to sound rude, but I really do have to get to work.”

He didn’t look like he was in any hurry, though. “Where are you working?”

Small towns. She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. “Dr. Hamilton’s practice. I’m a physician assistant.”

“Get out,” he said.

Wonderful, he was probably just as shocked as everyone else that she chose this field to pursue.

“Nope. I graduated in May. When I came to visit for my brother Nick’s wedding in September, I met Dr. Hamilton and we talked. Next thing I knew, he was offering me a job the first of the year, and here I am.”

Cole waved his hand. “No, not that you’re doing that. I mean, yeah, I am kind of surprised, but you were always smart so I really shouldn’t be surprised. I said that because my sister, Celeste, is business partners with Max. You remember Celeste, right?”

“Of course I remember her. I saw her at Nick’s wedding. I didn’t know she was partners with Dr. Hamilton.”

Why didn’t she ask more questions? Of course, it probably had nothing to do with her job. Then it hit her: the new B&B that Dr. Hamilton opened a few months ago. One for patients to stay at and recover on a mini-vacation after procedures. Celeste owned a B&B, too, so it was making sense.

“Yep. I’m sure you’ll hear all about it soon then. Let’s get you back on the road and off to work. Max is a great guy. He’ll understand if you’re late. Tell him to give me a call to verify if need be, but I doubt it.”

She breathed a sigh of relief that he was going to let her go. And without a ticket, though honestly she didn’t know what she could be ticketed for. Maybe being an idiot for not knowing how to drive her vehicle. Was there a ticket for that?

He stepped back when she hit the button to roll up the window. Instead he reached his hand out and stopped her. “You need to put it in four-wheel drive,” he said, his lips twitching again.

Dang it all. “Sorry. Just press this button, right? I’ve got it,” she said.

The window closed all the way up, she pushed the button like he’d said and gently touched the gas. What do you know? The vehicle took off like it was on dry roads and away she went. She was even going twenty-five miles an hour now and in complete control.

When she looked at the rear-view mirror, she saw him swaggering back to the patrol car. He always did have a mighty fine walk.