Into the Fire Read online

  Carly’s never been so glad to see a friendly face. Gabe’s gallant rescue—and the gentle kiss he bestows upon her at the hospital—resurrect feelings she buried long ago. Having just closed the book on a crumbling marriage, she’s not too keen on opening herself up to hurt again. Not even for the one man who’s always seemed to be there when she needed him most.

  Gabe knows he shouldn’t be falling for Carly, especially since she insists she’s off the market. But the chemistry still simmering between them after all these years is no accident. Now all he has to do is convince her she belongs in the empty space he’s always held open for her. The one next to his heart…

  Warnings: Contents—and paramedic hero—may be too hot to handle!

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Off the Clock:

  Now he had a chance and he didn’t want to ruin it. She was too important for that, too special. He was smart enough to know that she was overwhelmed right now with adjusting to parenthood. Not just being a parent, but a single parent. Now it was Carly who needed time, and he’d give it to her. He stuck the spoon in his mouth, trying to divert his thoughts.

  But it was no use. It was why he’d stayed away the last few times he’d mowed her grass. He knew what he wanted. And it was too important to push. Not now.

  “What are you thinking, Mr. Serious?” Carly opened her eyes. “It looks as though you’re pondering the world’s problems.”

  Not the world’s, just his. He needed to take it slowly. He’d known Carly for so long that the idea of wooing her seemed funny. It also gave him a kind of strange, jumped-up feeling. Some might call it anticipation. He wanted her so much he ached. But it wasn’t a matter of slaking his thirst for her and letting go. It wasn’t anticipation. Gabe called it being scared to death of screwing up.

  “Not much.”

  She laughed a little. “It has to be something. You need to lighten up.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You could start with why you’ve been avoiding me.”

  He put down his gelato cup. “I haven’t.”

  Nathan’s eyes had opened and Carly rocked the carrier seat lightly with her foot. “Sure you have. You haven’t even stopped in to say hello lately.”

  “I was busy,” he said, knowing it sounded like a paltry excuse. Maybe he had been avoiding her, but only because he wanted to be with her, not the opposite. But how could he possibly explain that without putting any pressure on her?

  “It doesn’t matter. I know I’m not the best company these days. I always end up with something on my shirt and my house generally looks like a tornado blew through it. Who knew one tiny baby could cause so much havoc?”

  Even with mystery stains and messy hair she was the most beautiful woman he knew. And again he bit his tongue, knowing his compliment would be unwelcome. “You think I stayed away because of some spit-up and dust bunnies?” He crossed his ankle over his knee and put an arm along the back of the bench. “Believe me, that’s not the reason.”

  “Then what is?”

  Why had he responded at all? Now she was neatly boxing him in to a genuine answer and he wasn’t sure what to say. He looked out over the fields below them and watched an eagle catch a draft of wind, gliding on the current. Maybe the truth was best.

  “To give you space.”

  “Space?”

  “You said it yourself, Carly. You have enough to deal with without me hanging around. I know how much the divorce must have hurt you. I know this isn’t how you expected your life to be. You’re adjusting to a lot. I wanted to give you room to do that. A little yard work—that’s just my way of giving a little helping hand to a friend. No strings.”

  It sounded perfectly reasonable when he put it that way, didn’t it? And it was a complete and utter lie. What he knew for sure was that if he’d gone in to see her—again—he’d end up kissing her. Wanting to take her to bed. And probably ruining everything in the process.

  The first time they broke each others’ hearts. Now they have a second chance…

  Breathe

  © 2010 Donna Alward

  Doing what was expected didn’t get Anna Morelli anything but a bad marriage. Now that her life has fallen apart there’s only one place she can think of to regroup and figure out what comes next. Two Willows, the winery owned by the only man she could ever rely on. Her oldest friend. And her worst mistake.

  Growing up as the poor boy didn’t stop Jace Willow from falling for Anna one hot, sultry summer. Back then, his best efforts to prove himself worthy of the Morelli standard fell just short. While it killed him to see her marry someone else, he made beating the Morellis at their own game his life’s work. And he’s excelled at it.

  When Anna shows up on his doorstep, their painful history pales in the face of her need for a roof over her children’s heads—and some peace. The heat of their renewed passion is healing, but it burns away layers of hard-won emotional distance, reopening old wounds. Threatening their one last chance to rebuild their love on the shattered pieces of their broken hearts…

  Warning: Full-bodied, rich bouquet with sexy overtones. Decant, breathe, and enjoy.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Breathe:

  “Mama, are we there yet?”

  She couldn’t help but smile softly at the plaintive question. She slowed the car and peered over her shoulder at Matteo, strapped into a car seat and blinking his round eyes at her.

  “Yes, we’re here. Just a moment, and I promise you can get out and run around.”

  She pulled out of the trees and into a small parking area that held one other vehicle. A shiny, silver Porsche 911 Carerra.

  Jace’s car.

  Leave it to Jace to drive a two-seater bullet. She shouldn’t be surprised. He’d always been one for toys. The flashier the better. It seemed nothing had changed. He had always been hungry for things. Briefly she wondered if all men thought of their value as the sum of their possessions. Certainly Stefano had. She remembered the sailboat he’d bought. In the end it had been his worst mistake. Anna knew better than most that things were just that. Material possessions. Certainly not enough to build a life on. She’d tried explaining that to Jace once, but he hadn’t wanted to listen then either. The memory touched a hollow part within her.

  The parking area was just below a large house, more like a lodge than a regular dwelling, built of reddish-stained logs.

  As she pulled to a stop, Jace stepped out of a line of vines to her right. He halted and stared, his lips flattening with surprise at seeing her behind the wheel. No smile. No wave of greeting. And her stomach tumbled over itself.

  She’d known him for so long she’d nearly forgotten how imposing he could be. His tall frame was lean and muscled, not overly large but exuding a confidence and power she’d always admired. But at this moment, the charming smile and manner she’d come to expect were absent. He almost looked angry now, mingled with surprise at her turning up so unexpectedly. She wrinkled her brow and glanced in the backseat. Matteo was already attempting to undo his seatbelt.

  And with a stroke of perfect timing, Aurelia woke at the sudden lack of motion and started wailing at the top of her tiny lungs.

  Anna unbuckled her seatbelt. She slid out of the car, avoiding Jace’s severe gaze, opened the back door, scooped the crying baby from the seat and reached over and released Matteo from his own restraint.

  She held her daughter close to her shoulder, her son by the hand and wished quite irrationally that she’d had time to do something about her hair before trying to convince Jace to take them all in.

  “Anna.”

  Jace strode over, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that was dirty in several places. His boots were brown with dried mud and there was a smudge of something across one cheek. His hair, however, was perfect, slightly longer than it had been last time she’d seen him, the shaggy tips giving him a sexy, roguish look. She pursed her lips. She hated being at a disadvantage. She’d spent so many years exuding the perfect im
age it was difficult to allow herself to be anything less than perfect now.

  “What on earth are you doing here?”

  That was it for a greeting? No smile? No nothing? She rubbed Aurelia’s back, trying to quiet her, but she knew what was wrong and standing around wasn’t going to fix it.

  “I know I should have called first…”

  Jace frowned. “Called first? It’s not like you live moments away. You’ve come all the way from the Island?”

  Matteo had pulled his fingers away and Anna rested her hand on top of his head. Oh, the man made it sound like she was the dumbest woman in the world. Didn’t he know about Stefano? Didn’t he know what a shambles her life was? Was there really that much distance between them now? He made Vancouver Island sound like it was oceans away.

  “I didn’t have anywhere else to go. And you did say I was always welcome.”

  As soon as she said the words, her eyes stung sharply and her breath caught, painful and thin in her lungs. All through the trip—packing, the flight, even the drive here—she’d been fine, but now it all caught up with her. It was hopeless. She was pathetic, running away from her problems. And knowing it, tears glimmered and slipped down her cheeks.

  “Anna.” Jace’s face softened, his eyes dark with concern. “Anna, what’s happened? Don’t cry. Please.”

  He gripped her upper arms, the fingers strong around her biceps. Suddenly it was all clear. Stefano was gone. Her father was furious. Alex was wrapped up in Melissa and their first pregnancy. She was alone, and she’d made so many mistakes, ending with the latest—coming to Jace.

  “I…I…”

  “Mama?” Matteo stood firm beside her left thigh, and she let her fingers trail along his dark head, attempting to allay the worry she heard in his little voice. Aurelia’s crying increased.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  Little Matteo stepped forward from beneath his mother’s hand, brown eyes blazing. “My sister is hungry and needs to be changed.”

  A smile twitched at the corners of Jace’s mouth as he turned his attention to Matteo. He lifted his brows in a way that said he was clearly indulging the boy. “Is that right?”

  Anna tried to smile, gathering herself together. Matteo was trying so hard. She hated how her son saw her sad more often than not these days. Jace was as infuriating as ever, though normally he wasn’t mean about it. The friend she knew would have been teasing, or concerned. Instead he was sharp and annoyed. Maybe she’d overestimated the power of their past friendship. Jace didn’t usually do things to be polite, but maybe he’d casually thrown out the offer thinking she’d never take him up on it. She hadn’t thought things through. Again. Somehow she had to make it right, to convince him they should stay. “I don’t want to inconvenience you, Jace. Perhaps you could point me to the guesthouse and we’ll be out of the way.”

  “The guesthouse isn’t equipped for guests. You’ll have to stay at the main house. With me.”

  Anna was in no position to argue. Aurelia was at her limit and from the stubborn set of his chin, Matteo wasn’t far behind. Right now she had to get them settled somewhere. She hadn’t planned on taking over his home. The website Jace had set up for Two Willows had distinctly described the winery as having a main house and a guesthouse. It was on that basis she’d made the decision to come. Doubt flickered once more, but then Aurelia’s wail pierced the air again and she knew she’d have to deal with the rest later.

  “Mama, I have the bag.” Matteo had gone to the car and retrieved the diaper bag, hefting it on his slim shoulders. He glared up at Jace with as much of a withering look a boy of nearly four could muster. Anna’s heart smiled. Her baby boy tried to look after her as much as she looked after him. After Stefano’s funeral, her father had told Matteo to watch over his mama. And here he was, bless his heart, trying to make life easier in the only way a four-year-old knew how. But it wasn’t his responsibility, and it grated that her father had put the responsibility of the family on a child’s shoulders—even figuratively—when it belonged squarely on her own.

  But then—when had her wishes counted?

  Anna lifted her nose at Jace so that he wouldn’t see the glimmer of tears again. She spun away, carrying Aurelia with as much dignity as she could, considering the wails that erupted from the tiny lungs. Matteo trailed slightly behind, tipped a little sideways as he lugged along the bag. “Come, Matteo. We’ll go up to the house.”

  It took Jace a moment to realize what was happening. Then, as he caught sight of her swaying hips, he strode forward, his jaw tight. Who did she think she was, waltzing in here and looking at him as if everything was his fault? He reached the door before she did and wrenched it open, the movement having little to do with chivalry and more to do with the fact that it was his door. And damned if she didn’t sweep by him with her nose still in the air.

  His sweet Anna. They’d gotten off on the wrong foot. That was all. She was used to having a nanny, and now was dealing with her children alone. He wasn’t totally insensitive to what she’d been through. She’d lost her husband. And Jace hadn’t even gone to the funeral. He’d heard about it from his vintner, who had heard it from a fellow vintner at a winery near Morelli’s. He’d felt like a coward ever since. He’d called Alex for the details and then sent flowers. He should have known she’d be struggling. He should have offered her a place. The proud Anna he remembered would never have shown up out of the blue. She wouldn’t have cried either. She’d changed, and he’d been too blind to see it.

  But seeing her now was a blow to the gut. The same way it had been when he’d visited her last in the hospital, when Aurelia had been born. A reminder of what could have been. A reminder that she was untouchable. Just as she was now. This was why he stayed away. Being near her reminded him of too much. He couldn’t take away the hurt of the past.

  Into the Fire

  Donna Alward

  The heat is on...

  First Responders, Book 3

  The last person firefighter Chris Jackson expects to rescue from a burning animal shelter is Ally Gallant—his ex-fiancée. Even though three years have passed since she gave him back his ring, one look at her frightened face in the haze of a smoky building is all it takes for him to realize he’ll still do anything to protect her.

  Ally’s put her heart and soul into the shelter, and she’s devastated when it’s destroyed. What's more, Chris is suddenly there for her in ways she doesn’t expect—ways she’s sure she doesn’t deserve—as she makes decisions about her future. Then there’s the not-so-small matter of the blazing passion between them that refuses to be extinguished.

  But when Chris is injured while on a call, Ally’s reminded of all the reasons she walked away. Now she must look deep within herself to find the courage to put fear on the back burner and step into the fire—into love.

  Warning: Adorable dogs, a hot firefighter and five-alarm passion. Fire extinguisher (or cold shower) highly recommended.

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Into the Fire

  Copyright © 2012 by Donna Alward

  ISBN: 978-1-61921-162-9

  Edited by Heidi Moore

  Cover by Angela Waters

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2012

&
nbsp; www.samhainpublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Look for these titles by Donna Alward

  Also Available from Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  Copyright Page