Title: Why
Now?
Author:
Carey Heywood
Release Date:
March 22, 2016
Find on
Goodreads
He
was my everything.
I loved him.
For over twenty years.
And everyone knew, including him.
But he never loved me back.
Not once.
Not ever.
So I moved on.
Until now.
Now he's back, and wants to make me
his.
He's everything I've ever wanted.
I should be happy.
But there's one problem.
My
fiancé.
Prologue
The puppy, all bones and scruff
trembled in my arms as I shielded him from those horrible boys. It was his
desperate cries that drew me to them. The boys, Marco, Henry, and Nelson had
him cornered. They were taking turns trying to light his tail on fire, patches
of it already burnt by the time I got between them and
him.
Those boys were bullies. On the
bus, they’d trip kids who walked past them and pull the hair of any
girl unlucky enough to be sitting within arms reach. I hated them but since
they were bigger than me I was smart enough to avoid
them.
I wasn’t avoiding
them now. A thought didn’t even enter my brain when I saw them
hurting that puppy. My legs took over and I ran, crossing the street and
knocking the lighter out of Marco’s hand. He tried to push me away
but I managed to avoid his hands and crouch next to the little
dog.
It
was at this moment I realized my mistake. How was I going to stop them from
taking him from me, and beating me up after they had him? I should have gotten
a grown up.
“Move
bitch,” Nelson
growled.
His
words were so harsh I flinched as if struck. Still, I shook my head and shifted
the puppy so he was further away from them. They moved
closer.
“Go away and I
won’t tell,” I shouted, too scared to look at any of
them.
“You won’t
tell after we’re done with you,” Marco grumbled stepping
even closer.
Fear, true fear hit me. Each of
these boys was twice my size. If I was lucky I could get away from one of them
but no way I’d be able to avoid all three.
In vain I kicked out at Nelson.
He stepped to the left, easily avoiding my foot. Pulling my leg back I was
about to try and kick again when his foot connected with my side. The force of
it pushed the air from my chest. I was breathless and weightless, my body
lifting up off of the
ground.
Rocks bit into my knees as I
reconnected with the earth. He kicked me. My mind was still reeling from the
shock of the pain and terror at what his next kick could do when I heard a
shout that almost sounded like a roar from across the
street.
My face turned and I watched in
amazement as Jake Whitmore, the older brother of my classmate Reilly charged
across the street toward us. Nelson paled but didn’t run. Why would
he? There were three of them and only one of Jake. Nelson opened his mouth but
before he could say anything Jake decked him in the face, so hard that his nose
started bleeding.
The pain in my side forgotten I
sat, pulling the puppy into my lap and watched as he took down Marco next.
Henry tried to hit him but missed and Jake hit him so hard he fell down. Nelson
straightened, wiping the blood from his
face.
“You like picking on
little girls?” Jake asked, lifting two hands to push Nelson in the
chest. Nelson didn’t reply, instead he tried to punch him. His fist
connected with the Jake’s chest but it didn’t seem to hurt
him. He returned the punch and Nelson ended up on the
ground.
Once
the three of the bullies stopped fighting back and stayed on the ground Jake
came over to help me up. “You okay Killer?” His grip was
warm and solid around my hand. My lip trembled as I gazed up at him. His chest
rose and fell as he caught his breath. My handsome
hero.
That was when I fell in love
with Jake Whitmore.
New
York Times & USA Today bestselling author with 13 books out and many
more to come. She was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. Ever the
mild-manner citizen, Carey spend her days working in the world of finance, and
at night, she retreats into the lives of her fictional
characters.
Supporting her all the way are
her husband, three sometimes-adorable children, their nine-pound attack Yorkie
and their needy Ninja cat.
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