“I love you with my life,” I tell her.
“I love you too. I’ll see you in two weeks. I’ll bring any American man I can find along the way to marry you and bring you back.”
Security attributes my pallor to anxiety and walks me to the gate. Reagan waves behind the liquid curtain of my tears until I can see her no more.
Inside the plane, I stuff my rucksack under the seat and stare out of the window unblinking. I don’t want to miss a glimpse of my American un-dream. In the distance, the sun sets over the West Hills that nestle his home. I wonder if my soul is still on the Rogue. It will never catch up with me in England. It will always float here, keeping tabs on the Solises, Reagan and him. I guess if you travel far enough, the soul splits.
Beneath me, America fades. Perhaps it’s the height or the hollowness inside, but on this flight, I’m not carrying ghosts. I am one. Shivering, I reach for my rucksack to get my scarf. Aiden’s dog tag comes out of my blouse but I ignore it, because as I unzip my pack, on the very top, held with a purple ribbon are the yellowed, sealed envelopes and a folded white note.
I reach for the note, wondering if it can bring me to life. My ghostly fingers make contact with the crisp piece of paper but they no longer touch. They simply work: grip, pick up, unfold. I read the unfamiliar slanted handwriting, one blurry letter at a time.
Elisa,
I’m breaking Mr. Hale’s rules by giving you his letters in hopes that they will lead you to the man you know, not the one you heard today.
Don’t make a mistake you will both regret for life.
Benson
Oh!
About the Author
Ani Keating is an attorney, daughter, sister and wife, living in the City of Roses (Portland, Oregon). When she is not in court or at the office helping clients sort through legal issues (and complaining about the photocopy machine), Keating explores her childhood passion for writing. Her first novel, Thirty Nights, is a sexy and heart-tugging story about love’s power to save and redeem us even at our darkest moments. Read it with a supply of Baci chocolates and English roses by your side.
You can connect with Ani on Twitter: @AniKeating, and learn more about her and the story at www.anikeating.com.
If you loved this book, then you’re sure to love these Samhain favorites as well!
A crush is just a fantasy. The real thing packs some serious heat.
The Donnellys, Book 3
When Cynthia Donnelly lays eyes on her high school crush at her brother’s wedding rehearsal, she regrets her self-imposed, one-year moratorium on dating. If possible, he’s even hotter now than when they were teens.
Back in school, Shane made a point to ignore his best friend’s cute, sassy little sister. Now that she’s grown into an incredibly sexy woman full of Irish spunk, resisting her is out of the question. Besides, in his book, all “hands-off” rules have expired.
One sizzling night together should have been enough. Instead, the heat rises, tempting Cyn to take a chance on a long-distance relationship and making Shane consider pulling up stakes and moving back to L.A.
Cyn’s recently dumped ex, however, has other ideas. His quest to get her back escalates into violence, shattering Cyn’s faith in herself, and in anyone else of the male persuasion, and leaving Shane with his work cut out for him to repair the damage—or lose his shot at a once-in-a-lifetime love.
Warning: This book contains a physical assault. Buckle up for a bumpy emotional journey with the characters as they fall apart and then slowly find their way to healing, and to each other. You might get angry or tearful along the way, you may even get frustrated, but as is with any good love story, it’ll be worth it in the end.
Love always finds a way home.
For two decades, Evelyn Watson’s husband, Mark, protected her from the horrors of military life. Now Mark is dead, his dark world has crashed down around her, and she wants answers. Mark didn’t die in a training accident, and Eve will keep fighting until she unearths the truth.
Corporal Jamie Turner barely survived the mission that claimed the life of his sergeant and mentor. Command can strip his rank, throw his broken body in jail, but there’s no way in hell they’re stopping him from delivering the truth to his best friend’s wife.
As Eve pulls together the shattered remains of her world for the tiny life growing inside her, the young man her husband thought of as a brother rebuilds the only home she’s ever known and shines a light into her darkness.
Yet as she struggles to allow herself to love again, she’s acutely aware of how far—and how hard—she could fall. Especially if fate ensures Jamie isn’t there to catch her.
Warning: Prepare to have your heart stolen by an indestructible protector who’ll stop at nothing to rebuild the heart and soul of the woman he loves.