Julianna Morris - Honor Bound

Kelly met his gaze. “Your uncle taught me self-defense when I was a kid.”

That hadn’t occurred to Ben. On the other hand, it wouldn’t save her from a bullet.

“Show me.”

Kelly stood reluctantly. “I don’t think this is the best idea.”

He grabbed her arm.

The next thing he knew, she’d kneed him in the groin and her hand was flying toward his nose. Ben jerked backward and caught her wrist.

He stared into her determined blue eyes and wondered how many people underestimated Kelly…and if he was one of them.

He broke eye contact, glancing down at her body. Her breasts stood out against her sweater, and the way he held her arms accentuated each curve. The discomfort in his groin turned into a different kind of ache.

Damn.

Dear Reader,

I know a couple who met in high school and have been happily married for thirty-five years. They have three great kids and two beautiful grandchildren. While my friends have grown and changed over the years, they’ve also promised to grow and change together, instead of separately. Imagine being a romantic inspiration to your own family, and you’ll have a good idea of this marriage.

I also know couples who went their separate ways because they were wrong for each other, or because they weren’t ready to make a real commitment. I’ve often wondered what would happen if they met again after the years had changed them. Would they fall in love a second time and be able to make things work out? And how would they make things work? That’s the story I wanted to tell in Honor Bound, though sometimes my characters were reluctant to admit what their hearts were telling them.

Because I love both romance and puzzles, I challenged myself to set Ben and Kelly’s reunion against the backdrop of a mystery. They’ve each experienced some of the worst life has to offer, but maybe they can rediscover the magic that brought them together in the first place.

I hope you enjoy reading about Ben and Kelly as much as I enjoyed telling their story. May you find the magic that’s right for you!

Sincerely,

Julianna Morris

P.S. I enjoy hearing from readers! Please contact me

c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road,

Don Mills, ON, M3B 3K9, Canada.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Julianna Morris has an offbeat sense of humor that frequently gets her in trouble. She has also been accused of being interested in everything. Her interests range from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, painting, walking on the beach and reading (mysteries and most other fiction and nonfiction).

Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes. Her family’s feline companion is named Merlin, and like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—he can transform the house into a disaster in nothing flat. And since he shares the premises with a writer, it’s interesting to note that he is particularly fond of knocking books onto the floor.

For Mom.

You’re always in my heart.

PROLOGUE

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

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Sand Point, Oregon

“LISTEN TO ME, BABY. You gotta quit that job,” Shanna James said, snapping her gum as she navigated the curves of the coastal road. “It’s crappy pay, anyhow. You’ll do better once you get some of that college learning.”

Kelly sighed and stared ahead. “I want to help with the expenses.” That was part of the reason; the other part was that she needed the distraction to keep her mind off Ben and wondering what she’d done wrong.

“I’m making good money. I can handle things.” Her mother took one hand from the wheel and fluffed her hair. Still in her mid-thirties, Shanna was an attractive woman, though Kelly thought she’d be prettier if she wore less makeup. “You know, I’m sure Nate is the one. We’ll probably get married real soon.”

“That’s…nice.” Kelly didn’t say anything else. Her mom was always sure her latest boyfriend was “the one” and that they would get married “real soon.”

But it never lasted.

Shanna’s first broken heart had come courtesy of Kelly’s father. He’d gotten her pregnant at eighteen—the same age Kelly was now—before disappearing from the picture. Kelly didn’t even know his name, though she’d sometimes seen her mother crying over an old high-school yearbook. Shanna claimed they were supposed to get married after he finished his Marine basic training, but she never heard from him again.

Kelly had been so sure it would be different with her, that her first love was real and true and would last forever. But now it seemed the only difference was that she hadn’t ended up pregnant.

“You do good at your classes and don’t worry about working right now. Take that computer stuff,” Shanna continued. “Hell, I don’t frigging care, as long as it ain’t schleppin’ drinks. You got the ass for it, sweetie, but I don’t want you working at a roadhouse the rest of your life. It’s fine for me,” she added quickly, “but not for my baby.”

“Mom, you don’t need to worry, I’m not going to—”

The tires suddenly squealed as Shanna slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid a deer running across the road. Time seemed to slow as the car spun out of control, flipping as it plowed into the guardrail.

Kelly screamed—she thought it was Ben’s name but it could have been just an echo of the tears she’d shed for him over the past few months. She heard her mom scream, too. Then all at once there was silence.

“Momma?” Kelly whispered.

The car was upright again, but it lay at an extreme angle on the steep slope. An overwhelming scent of crushed evergreen filled the air and she gagged.

“Momma?”

Shanna didn’t say anything and Kelly tried to reach out, but her arms wouldn’t stretch that far.

Oh, God.

She tried to squirm free of the seat belt and debris holding her in place. Pain shot through her shoulder and chest, making her head swim. She struggled again and realized her legs were trapped beneath the dashboard.

“Momma, are you okay? Please say something, Momma.”

She was still pleading when a fire engine came shrieking up the road. Other sirens sounded in the distance, and then voices could be heard through the trees and over the crash of ocean waves thundering at the bottom of the hill. The voices shouted back and forth, but the words were indistinct.

“Help is coming, Momma. We’re going to be all right, you’ll see. Oh, please say something.”

“Is someone in there?” She heard a man’s voice call out. A minute later his face appeared through the driver’s window.

“We’re here,” Kelly gasped.

“Take it easy. We’ll get you out.”

“My mother…get my mother first. She’s not saying anything.”

The fireman pressed his fingers against Shanna’s neck. His face went still and Kelly knew he hadn’t found a pulse.

She couldn’t breathe for a moment.

“Er…yes…we’ll get her out, too.” He disappeared and a few moments later had forced Kelly’s door open. “Hey, there. My name is Mitch Lawson. What’s yours?”