I thought I was safe. That I knew what I was doing. But I was wrong, and when everything goes sideways, I dial the first number I think of. The one that belongs to my stepfather. The only man who’s ever made me feel protected.
Years ago, my mother and I blew into his life like a whirlwind. I was ripped away just as abruptly, and I wouldn’t blame him for turning away from me now.
He doesn’t. He comes when I need him, just like he always did. And for a moment, I can breathe. But when he arrives, my stepbrother at his side, I realize that things have changed.
The man in the truck isn’t the warm, charming man I used to know. And my stepbrother isn’t the giggling friend I once relied on. My stepfather’s eyes are heated. Brooding. And my stepbrother’s mouth is turned down in a frown of confusion.
I’m not the gangly teenager they used to know.
And they aren’t the safe haven I thought they were.
Still, I ask for safety, and for a few days, I have it. I find myself back in their house, my hands starting to remember how to chop wood and feed horses. I begin to fit myself into their world again.
And then it all goes wrong. I’m caught in an avalanche and face death in those mountains, and when I survive it, everything changes. The men who were shutting me out have shifted, and I can actually see them.
One is tough and unyielding, full of unspeakable desires.
The other has a tender soul, and a heart that melts in my hands.
And suddenly, Gunner and Gabe become more than the stepfather and stepbrother I thought I’d left behind.
They become everything.
If I’m brave enough to reach out and take them.
Quinn Marlowe is a writer of girls with bad ideas and the men who have to save them. She doesn't believe in simple plots or clean endings... and she loves a good cliffhanger.
She's not sorry for that.
She's a fan of red wine, cheesecake, perfect hash browns, and really good punk rock. She’s also obsessed with everything piratical—though she refuses to acknowledge any actual connection to pirates. She studied English and Film at UCLA and, when forced to choose a career, chose publishing rather than teaching or being a filmmaker. Quinn lives in San Diego with her dogs, the ducks that moved into the front yard, and far too many cats.
When she's not writing, you can find her riding her horse or playing villain in someone else's story. And she's not sorry about that, either.
Follow Quinn Online!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/
BookBub: https://bit.ly/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/
Instagram: http://instagram.
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Web: https://quinnmarlowe.com
No comments:
Post a Comment