Pamela Hearon - Out of the Depths

She isn’t going down that road again

Kyndal Rawlings thought she’d learned her lesson when Chance Brennan left her to pursue his Ivy League dreams. Yet here she is, in Kentucky, falling for him all over again. Maybe it’s being stranded in a cave with him…the same place they first became lovers.

Or maybe there’s still something between them.

Not that anything will change—even after four tense days of depending on each other for their very survival. Chance needs a certain kind of woman to help him with his career. And Kyndal will never be that kind. But something has changed. Something that will force the m to decide what they really want.

Wonder and excitement glowed in Chance’s eyes as he moved toward her

Kyndal wanted to touch him the way she had the first time they’d made love. A lover’s touch. One last time.

The stubble along his jaw deepened in the hazy light. She drew the back of her fingers through it a couple of times, enjoying the way the scratchy texture left a tingle on her skin.

Their gazes locked and she answered the question in his eyes. “You had some dust in your whiskers.”

She read the almost imperceptible movement in his body. The slight bend of his torso toward her in invitation. He was going to try to kiss her, but she couldn’t let that happen.

She’d loved him, and he’d left her. She wouldn’t travel that road again.

Dear Reader,

Perhaps you’ve heard of Mammoth Cave? Kentucky, my native state, is littered with caves. Mammoth Cave is the most famous, but smaller ones honeycomb beneath the surface of much of the land area.

Some of my high school friends happened upon a cave near Kentucky Lake, and four of us set out one day to explore it. Armed with only two flashlights and the mindset of teenage invincibility, we were totally naive to the dangers that might lurk there. We thought it was a cool thing to do. And it was! Stepping into the total blackness of those new surroundings was like stepping into another world. We squeezed through crevices and crawled through passages like giant earthworms, somehow managing to find our way back to the entrance at day’s end.

My memories of that day are vivid and still wildly exciting even these many years later, so when I started pondering a unique setting for a novel, the idea of the cave took over my imagination and wouldn’t let go. Former high school sweethearts Kyndal Rawlings and Chance Brennan needed to get reacquainted. The cave was the perfect place for their reunion.

Whether your preferences lean toward the outdoor recreation region of Kentucky Lake or the rolling hills around Lexington, the Bluegrass State is an enchanting place you’ll want to visit—along with my website, www.pamelahearon.com.

Until next time,

Pamela Hearon

Out of the

Depths

Pamela Hearon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Hearon lived thirty-one years in western Kentucky before love with a handsome Yankee lured her away. She and her husband raised their family of three children and several cats while she taught English to quirky eighth-graders. Life has taught her that, no matter the location, small-town America has a charm all its own—a place where down-to-earth people and heartwarming stories abound. And, although the Midwest is now home, Kentucky still holds a generous piece of Pamela’s heart. When it’s time to tell her stories, the voice in her head has a decidedly Southern drawl.

Don’t miss any of our special offers. Write to us at the following address for information on our newest releases.

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

To my parents, Arnold and Jo Hearon, with love.

Contents

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

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

EPILOGUE

EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE

THEINTERCOMBUZZEDlike a trapped insect, and Chance’s mind immediately shot to items he could use to put the old thing out of its misery. When he became a judge, his gavel would top the list.

“Sorry to bother you again, Mr. Brennan. Sheriff Blaine on line three.” Despite having fielded hundreds of calls during the day, Alice sounded as fresh as she had at eight that morning.

Chance took the opportunity to stretch his back and shoulders as he swallowed the last bite of a turkey club. “Thanks, Alice. Now, please, go on home. It’s late.” Before she could hang up, he added, “I hope your dad’s surgery goes well Monday. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“I will, Mr. Brennan, and thanks again for all your help. Good night.”

“Night, Alice. See you Wednesday.” Chance punched the button to line three, leaving the phone on speaker. “Hey, Buck. What’s going on?”

A frustrated sigh exploded in his ear.

“Caught kids at the cave again, Chance.”

Chance bit back the expletives on the tip of his tongue. He didn’t have time to deal with the teenagers and their nonsense. “How many?”

“Five. These was having an orgy and smokin’ pot. Probably got a stash hidden in there somewhere.”

“Which means they’ll be back. Or somebody’ll be back.” Chance massaged his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger. The constant hassle with kids and the cave was making him doubt his sanity about buying that property, even if it was a prime lakeshore piece. One girl already had stitches from cracking her head on a low overhang. How many more of them getting hurt was it going to take?

“That’s what I figure, too. I’ll have a look-see tomorrow. Maybe I’ll find it or find whoever comes after it.”

The sheriff’s easy manner didn’t fool Chance. If a stash was there, Buck Blaine would find it. His redneck mannerisms conned a lot of people, but underneath the hick exterior beat the heart of a criminal investigator.

“You need me to come to the office?” Chance offered halfheartedly. “I’m still in Paducah, so it’ll take a half hour or so, but if you need me…”

Buck’s customary chewing gum smacked across the phone line. “Nah, no need. Trespassin’s gonna be the least of these kids’ problems. We can hold off on the paperwork till tomorrow.”

Chance rubbed his hand down his face, relieved he wouldn’t have to add a stop at the sheriff’s office to his already late night. “Sounds good to me.”

“We’ve got most of their parents on the way, so I’m gonna make sure these young’uns have had a bad night.” Chance could almost feel Buck’s laugh vibrating the receiver. “They’ll think twice before they visit your place again.”

“I don’t know, Buck. These kids don’t even think about things the first time.” With all the secluded areas around Kentucky Lake, it was beyond Chance’s comprehension why the damn kids insisted on partying on his property. “Can we keep this out of the paper? If the cave gets any media coverage, kids will likely swarm it again.”

“Can do.”

“If that state-of-the-art, handy-dandy security system I’ve ordered ever gets installed, you may be out of a job.”

The sheriff gave a gritty chuckle. “I can only wish, but I doubt it. The Bible promises the ignorant are with us always, you know. Or somethin’ like that.”