Catch Your Breath

Welcome, Kathryn! Thank you so much for stopping by with your latest romantic suspense story. It's wonderful! I don't know how you do it. I can't imagine all the planning that must have gone into this story. You had me in the dark until the very end. Nice job!

Check it out!

Blurb:

Calley Regan only wants to get through her cousin’s bridal shower without anyone discovering her secret—she’s pregnant. Her sanctimonious family would never understand. Then the one person she confides in happens to tell the incredibly handsome, but seriously uptight, sheriff, Riley Owens—who’s just given her a speeding ticket! How can she trust the brooding, inflexible lawman when he’s everything she’s not? Riley Owens is instantly attracted to Calley Regan, but it won’t come to anything. For years, he’s lived mired in guilt, and carefree Calley is his polar opposite. But, when someone attacks Calley, Riley is determined to protect her no matter what it takes, and when her family deserts her, he takes Calley into his home. Years ago, he couldn’t save the woman he loved. He’s not about to let that happen again.

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Excerpt:

A blue Nissan Versa whizzed by. According to the radar it was doing sixty-five in the fifty-mile-per-hour zone. Riley, thankful for the distraction, switched on his lights and siren and pulled out behind it. Less than a mile up, the car jerked into the parking lot of Fred’s Diner, the local greasy spoon. It pulled into a spot at the front of the building. Riley used his car to block the vehicle from backing up. A dark haired woman jumped out of the driver’s side door.

“Stop right there.” Riley placed his hand on his holster holding the Glock he carried as he emerged from his vehicle. The brunette didn’t look dangerous, but you couldn’t be sure.

“I need to use the restroom.”

“You’ll have to hold it until I get finished.”

“I can’t.” Her hands trembled when she wiped her forehead.

“Too bad.” He wrote down her plate number and called it in. The name on the registration information read Calley Regan of Atlanta, Georgia. From the DMV photo, she was the brunette. There were no warrants out for her. Riley figured there was nothing to worry about from the lady, but he’d keep his guard up just in case.

“Good morning, Sheriff. What’s new?” Dolly Swenson strolled up behind him. Dolly, a waitress at Fred’s, must have been arriving for the opening shift. The diner was opened for lunch and dinner during the week. It opened for breakfast on the weekend. She lived just a block down and usually walked to work. “Oh, she’s a pretty one.”

Riley’s jaw tightened. “Doesn’t matter how pretty they are if they’re breaking the law.” He pulled his ticket pad from the console in his car.

“You really need to learn how to have fun, Riley. A smart man would find out if she’s married, and if not, ask her to lunch.” She headed to the woman standing beside the car. “Don’t let the old curmudgeon bother you. He sees everything in black or white.”

Calley Regan nodded her head and glanced to the road she’d been on. The concern on her face redirected Riley’s attention to the street, but no one came or went.

“I need to see your license.” He walked up and joined both women. A glance in the driver’s side door showed a bottle of water in the console and a pack of opened saltines on the passenger seat.

“Can you write the ticket while I go inside?” Calley handed the license to him. “I promise I won’t crawl out the bathroom window.”

“This’ll take just a minute,” he said. Riley wrote up the ticket for speeding. “Sign here.” He passed her license back. Dolly continued to watch, obviously disapproving, if her hands on her hips were any indication.

Callie let out a heavy breath and swallowed hard. Her face was pale and sweat covered her forehead. Her hands shook as she signed her name.

“Are you on something?” That would explain her almost paranoid search of Plaskett Drive.

She rolled her eyes. “Prenatal vitamins. And if you don’t let me go in, I’m going to throw up all over you.”

“I suggest you listen to her, Riley,” Dolly said with a laugh. “I know how bad morning sickness can get, and when you need to hurl, there’s no stopping you.”

Riley looked into Calley’s hazel eyes. “I would think if it were that bad, she’d have stopped sooner. Besides, what kind of a mother drives like a maniac and puts her unborn child at risk?”

Calley took a step toward him. “Why you patronizing son of …” She lurched and turned to the side. Not far enough. She threw up on Riley’s polished black boots.

“She warned you.” Dolly placed an arm around Calley’s shoulder. “Come on, dear. Let’s get you out of this heat.” She paused and turned to Riley. “If you need her, she’ll be inside with me. I can’t imagine at this point you’d have a problem with that.”

Dolly didn’t wait for an answer. She led Calley into the diner out of Riley’s view. He shook his left boot. The smell was rancid. He almost thought she’d gotten sick on purpose. That was fine with him. He tore the hefty ticket from the book and slapped it on her windshield.

Review:

LOL I love it!!! And that's just the beginning, wait till you read the rest! This story is full of wonderful moments that will make you laugh, or smile, or cry. Ms. Bain certainly knows how to wring the emotion out of her characters and make you love or hate them!

Callie is a sweetheart and you'll just want to wrap your arms around her and help her through everything she's dealing with. You can't help but want to protect her from some of the people around her from both the past and present.

And Riley, well, he's a lot more than the strong silent type. Although he's that, too. But Callie certainly brings out the best in him!

I loved the twists and turns in the story - really threw me a couple of curves. Well done!

Buy link: http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/catch-your-breath

Kathryn J. Bain has been writing for over ten years now. She has two daughters, one a professional photographer, the other a student the University of West Florida. She is the President of Florida Sisters in Crime and the Public Relations Director for Ancient City Romance Authors. She enjoys critiquing for the new members of American Christian Fiction Writers. To survive and pay bills, she has been a paralegal for approximately twenty years and works for an attorney who specializes in guardianships, probate, and estate planning. She moved from Idaho to Jacksonville, Florida in 1983 and has lived in the sunshine since.