Nora Prescott’s past has forged her into a hard-core realist. She can’t afford to let sympathies or daydreams influence the path she’d sworn to take in defense of those who cannot help themselves. Romantic fancies, she’s determined, are for the weak, not for one who has survived the unimaginable. Until suddenly, a confrontation with the past has her thinking about that road not traveled . . .
The Excerpt
She wasn’t staying in this desolate stretch of desert and broken dreams. The bitterness of her confrontation with Lu anchored that truth. She wasn’t now nor would she ever be family to the lone wolf ranger. She couldn’t heal the ache in his heart or fill that empty hole. She wasn’t enough. Never would be. For anyone. That realization left only one outcome to be brutally faced.
. . . and a bit more . . .
She’d give the search for Lenna Lupan a few more days, though hope had all but faded. She’d check in on Alopay to make sure she was safely settled. Then, there was no reason for her to remain beyond saying her good-byes. To the best friend who’d gotten her to dream an impossible dream that would never come true. To the man who’d encouraged her to think that maybe, just maybe she might have something in her future beyond that cluttered apartment and the relief of other people’s sorrows. She was a realist and those were false hopes only a fool would cling to.
And she was nobody’s fool. Never again.
At year’s end, I’m tidying up my projects before making deadline resolutions for 2023. I’ll be discussing mine on that first Sunday of the New Year, which is . . . just two weeks away!! It’s hard to believe next weekend is Christmas and the following week the start of a whole new calendar filled with Weekend Writing Warrior Sundays. It’s beginning to look a lot like tying up loose ends and starting new adventures. But more about that next time. Now that the house is all holly jolly, I’m off check in with your projects and finishing gift wrapping with a little help from a friend.
Let it SNOW!!❅❅❅
She is so strong and determined, but I can also sense her sadness and slight vulnerability in this snippet.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes over the holidays!
She's at the lowest of low points but things are about to change!
DeleteI keep wondering what happened to her that she believes she would never be enough for anyone, including the ranger. She seems so resigned to her fate that the only thing she can do is run. I hope he manages to change her mind. Excellent snippet! Great character building. Tweeted.
ReplyDeleteShe has baggage but then, so does he. They can work on that together!
DeleteShe's learned her lesson - be nobody's fool. Tweeted. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteShe certainly has! Happy Holidays to you, Daryl!
DeleteIt seems a rather sad excerpt. The end of her dreams.
ReplyDeleteOr the beginning of bigger, brighter dreams . . .
DeleteHow sad that she feels like she'll never be enough. I hope something happens to keep her from running. Wherever she goes, she'll still have to face herself and her fears, so she might as well face them where she is.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and Happy New Year, Nancy!
And Happy Holidays to you, too, Kate!
DeleteEnjoyed the snippet, very poignant indeed. She's certaily a strong character! I hope she's wrong about the bleak future she envisions. Happy holidays!
ReplyDeleteOf course she's wrong. This IS a romance!
DeleteShe's accepted a harsh truth, but that doesn't mean she's happy about it. I hope things turn around for her soon. Happy Holidays, Nancy!
ReplyDeleteAnd to you, Kate!!
DeleteThat above anonymous was me. Forgot to sign in. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteThe ache there... She's in such pain, even if she's denying it.
ReplyDeleteI'm well acquainted with the sense of discouragement she's feeling. In real life, there isn't much rescue from such a thing.
ReplyDelete