Renee Andrews - Her Valentine Family

Jessica’s breath caught in her throat, and she had to replay the words to process them completely.

A daughter.

Jessica’s eyes started to tingle, and she prayed he’d believe the tears were from the cold. “I’m very happy for you,” she said. Then she swallowed, cleared her throat and said exactly what she hadn’t planned to say to him tonight. “I have a son.”

The shock on his face matched hers.

“You have a son?”

Jess smiled and nodded, her cheeks pressing upward and causing that tiny river of tears to spill over. Again, she prayed he thought it was from the cold.

They both stood there for a moment, a bounty of words and explanations tumbling through her thoughts but none spoken.

Then she moved away from Chad Martin, away from the only man she’d ever loved and away from the man whose eyes were identical to the ones she’d see when she returned home…to his son.

spends a lot of time in the gym. No, she isn’t working out. She and her husband, a former all-American gymnast, own an all-star cheerleading gym. She is thankful the talented kids there don’t have a problem when she brings her laptop and writes while they sweat. When she isn’t writing, she’s typically traveling with her husband, bragging about their two sons or spoiling their bulldog. Write to her at Renee@ReneeAndrews.com or visit her website at www.reneeandrews.com.

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As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

—Isaiah 55:9

This novel is dedicated to my parents,

James and Jolaine Bowers.

God blessed me with you.

Special thanks to Dr. Patrick Whitlock for his patience in answering all of my medical questions. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chad Martin left the Math and Science building at Stockville Community College after his last class Thursday evening mentally reviewing the semester’s syllabus, which he’d spent the majority of class time explaining to the students. Sure, he crammed a ton in the Advanced Biology course, but he wanted them, or rather their parents, to get their money’s worth. And he wanted to prove to the university that he could handle higher level courses in spite of his youth, show them that he could make the work challenging for the students but also entice them to enjoy the learning process. No, he hadn’t planned on being a teacher, but if teaching was what he was doing, he wanted to do a good job.

He was so engrossed in calculating what he could cover the first week that he nearly missed the movement to his right, the slight shadow crossing the quad at an angle and heading toward the parking lot. The woman wore a midlength dark coat cinched tight around her waist and jeans. Her hair bounced against her shoulders as she moved, and her arms cradled several books to her chest. Small puffs of wispy smoke escaped her mouth as her warm breath hit the crisp January air. Northern Alabama wasn’t as cold as most of the country at this time of year, but it was cold enough to cause her to huddle into herself as she briskly walked.

It was dark, but the campus lighting cast yellow ovals at sporadic intervals on the quad, and Chad stayed where he was, waiting for her to step inside the next patch of light. There was something so familiar about the way she moved, and he wondered whether he was doing it again—expecting to see Jessica one more time. For six years, he’d occasionally glimpsed someone who looked like her, walked like her, laughed like her. And each and every time, when he garnered the courage to approach the woman in question, he would see that his eyes, his ears had played tricks on him again. Jessica Bowman had walked out of his world six years ago, and he was a fool to think she’d suddenly burst back in.

But something about this woman…

Finally, she stepped completely into the circle of light. Then she paused her pace, flipped open the top book in her arms and then ran a hand in her purse and withdrew a pen. She scribbled something on the page, nodded and then put the pen away.

And he knew. This wasn’t merely another woman who resembled Jessica. After practically every class in high school, when they’d walk to the lockers, her mind would churn over everything that happened in the classroom, and she’d inadvertently remember some little tidbit that the teacher had said, something to do with her homework or any other thing that she didn’t want to forget later. After she made the notation, she’d nod in satisfaction and continue down the hall, the same way this woman did, as she plunked her pen back in her purse and started to walk again.

Thankfully, the light covered her for long enough that Chad, now moving toward her, saw her completely. Her hair was shorter than it’d been back then but still long enough to suit her youth, with honey strands accenting the shiny chocolate hue. What would she be now, twenty-two? No, twenty-three. Have mercy, it’d been a long time.

A pale pink scarf circled her neck, its fuzzy length trailing down her back and the fringed trim dangling below the edge of her coat. Her jeans were cuffed, he now noticed, and she wore tennis shoes. She wasn’t dressed showy, like many of the college kids trying to get attention, and quite often trying to get his attention. In fact, she was dressed comfortably and looked more her age, older than the average college student.

Just two years younger than Chad.

“Jess,” he said and wasn’t surprised when she didn’t turn around. His voice came out barely above a whisper because his heart was lodged in his throat.

But he wasn’t giving up that easily.

“Jessica,” he repeated, maybe a bit too forcefully because she jumped, turned and dropped one of the books from her arms. Arched brows lifted, and those dark, insightful eyes studied him. Obviously startled, her mouth gaped for a moment before she recovered. And smiled.

He had really missed that smile.

“Chad.”

Occasionally, at unique instances in his life, Chad’s medical studies came back to haunt him. Right now ended up being one of those moments. Because he suddenly recalled the result of a surge of epinephrine, or adrenaline. When produced in the body, it increases heart rate, contracts blood vessels and dilates air passages. All of that was happening right now, and even with his med school knowledge, he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“What…what are you doing here?” she asked, scooping up the lost book and tucking it back against her chest.

Her question jolted him back to reality. What was he doing here? He wasn’t the one who’d left town so long ago—six years ago.