ebook release April 2011
You can always come home.
Second chances come a little harder.
Chase and Zoe were the high school golden couple. Football captain, cheerleader, prom royalty.
After graduation, though, Chase couldn’t resist the urge to experience life outside their small town. He didn’t exactly expect Zoe to wait twelve years for him, but now that he’s back, he finds some small part of him hoping she did.
It’s no big surprise she’s married. The kick in the face is she married his best friend.
Zoe was devastated when Chase left, but she’s filed those bittersweet memories under “Moved On”. She loves her life, and loves her husband. She has all she needs. And Chase keeps an honorable distance.
One cold, wet, miserable day, tragedy turns Zoe’s world upside down. Chase never expected her to simply fall into his arms, but a man can dream. Except his dream doesn’t include the fact that this time, she’s the one hitting the road…and he’s the one left behind.
Apparently working for his dad paid well, Chase thought, pulling up in front of the large, custom-designed brick home.
He’d been by the house a number of times, but the few times he’d been invited, he’d refused.
Going inside that house, seeing where Roger lived with the woman Chase still wanted, that was more torture than he really wanted.
Plus, he wasn’t overly keen on renewing the friendship he’d had with Roger. Maybe it was petty of him, but he didn’t care. Some part of him still felt like Roger had moved in and taken something that had been Chase’s. Until he could get over that, he was better off not pretending or forcing a friendship he didn’t really feel, he figured.
It was definitely better for Zoe and Roger.
Parking to the side of the long, curved drive, he climbed out of the car and came around to the side. When he opened the door, Zoe just sat there.
Swearing, he crouched down and waited for her to look at him.
For the next minute, all she did was stare straight ahead.
Finally, unable to bear the silence, or that look in her eyes, he reached out and touched her arm. “Zoe, what’s wrong?”
Vaguely, Zoe heard Chase’s voice but it didn’t seem real.
She knew she was in his car, and she knew he was talking on his phone, and although part of her understood the words, all they did was bounce around inside her skull, kind of like a ball in pinball machine—none of them connected. Nothing made sense.
Brain tumor.
MRI.
Roger…where in the hell are you? You’re supposed to be here.
Here. With her. Just where he’d always been, for the past fifteen years. Why wasn’t he here now?
She started to shake, barely able to think, hardly able to breathe.
Brilliant light shone in her face and she flinched, hiding away from it. Hard, hot hands caught her arms and she lifted her head, stared dully at Chase.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” she said woodenly.
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