Cheryl Douglas Starting Over (epub)

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.Starting OverCheryl DouglasCopyright © by Cheryl DouglasSmashwords EditionAll rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced, including photocopying, graphic, electronic, mechanical, taping, recording, sharing, or by any information retrieval system without the express written permission of the author and / or publisher.Exceptions include brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.Persons, places and other entities represented in this book are deemed to be fictitious.They are not intended to represent actual places or entities currently or previously in existence or any person living or dead.This work is the product of the author’s imagination.Any and all inquiries to the author of this book should be directed to: info@cheryldouglasbooks.comStarting Over © 2013 Cheryl DouglasSmashwords License agreementThis ebook is for your personal enjoyment only.This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase any additional copy for each reader.If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.Starting OverEve Bolton is at a crossroads in her life.After caring for her beloved aunt during a terminal illness and coming to terms with the fact she may never be able to get pregnant, she retreats to her childhood home, where she’s not just the wife of a business tycoon, she’s someone the townspeople know and love.This gives Eve a sense of identity she thought she lost.When her husband asks her to come home, she decides it’s time for her to start over… alone.Alex Bolton has been so preoccupied running his family’s business that he lost sight of what’s important.Eve.He knows she’s been going through a difficult time, between trying to get pregnant and losing the woman who raised her, but he never expects her to tell him she’s leaving him.He knows he has a lot to make up for, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes.The question is, will it be too late to save their marriage?Table of ContentsChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenOther Books by Cheryl DouglasComing SoonChapter OneEve Bolton sat at her aunt’s bedside holding her hand.Her mind tortured and blessed her with every sweet memory they’d shared since she was a little girl.Her aunt was more than a surrogate parent; she was an inspiration.She was an example of how much a woman could accomplish if she believed in herself, even when everyone else failed to recognize her talent.“Eve…”“I’m right here, Aunt Sharon.Can I get you something?”“No.” Her eyes drifted closed again.Sharon had been in and out of sleep for the past four days, when the pain medication served its purpose and allowed her to rest peacefully.Eve knew it wouldn’t be much longer before her spirit left them.Eve had dreaded that day ever since the doctor gave Sharon her grave diagnosis four months ago, but she didn’t want to believe it would happen.She’d wanted to believe her aunt, with her indomitable spirit and passion for life, would defy doctors.Eve wanted Sharon to be one of many who proved to the medical community that their opinions were just that—opinions, not law.Eve’s eyes landed on the framed photo beside the antique iron bed.She was twelve in that picture, wrapped in her aunt’s loving embrace.It was the third summer Eve had spent at the inn, and during those two months of vacation, they decided it was where she belonged.When Eve had asked her aunt if she could live with her instead of returning to her mother’s home, her aunt didn’t even hesitate.She said Eve would always have a home with her.When her parents divorced, Eve’s father had moved across the country to marry his mistress and her mother went from a steadfast and reliable parent to a woman Eve barely recognized.Sharon blamed her sister’s transformation on a mid-life crisis brought on by her husband’s cheating, but Eve couldn’t help but feel abandoned by both of her parents when she needed them most.A soft knock on the door drew Eve back to the present.She didn’t know which was worse: reliving painful memories or facing the grim reality of what the next days and months would bring.She would have a funeral to plan, an inn to learn how to run, and an unimaginable loss to grieve.The latter seemed almost unthinkable.Her life would never be the same without Aunt Sharon.“Come in,” she said quietly, not wanting to disturb her aunt.Dan MacDonald, the Lakeside Inn’s manager, opened the door a fraction of an inch.His gaze drifted to the bed, and he sighed when a grimace passed over Sharon’s face.“How is she?”Eve beckoned for him to enter, craving company to see her through the dark hours ahead.Dan had been her rock for the past three months while she’d helplessly watched cancer steal her aunt’s energy and enthusiasm for life.Dan was Eve’s first love, but since she’d left Richmond to go to college almost twenty years ago, she’d relegated him to the back of her mind so she could focus on building a new life with her husband.Letting go of the past was the only way she could convince herself that leaving home was the right decision.“She’s coping,” Eve said gently, wishing she could do more to ease her aunt’s burden.“And you?” Dan asked.“How are you coping, Evie?”He’d always read her so easily.She often wondered if he was the only person who really understood her, outside of her aunt.“I’m hanging in there.”Picking up Sharon’s frail hand and holding it, Eve tried to transfer some of her strength, wishing she could give Sharon the will to fight for another day.Eve knew wishing her aunt would continue to hold on when she was in so much pain was selfish, but the thought of never speaking to her again left a gaping hole in Eve’s heart that no amount of joy or laughter would ever displace.“Did you call Alex?” Dan asked, sliding his hand into the front pocket of his worn jeans.Her husband and former boyfriend had always tried to be civil to each other—for her sake and because of their mutual respect for her aunt—but it was no secret it was an effort.“He’s in Seattle on business.” Eve pressed her lips to the cool, thin skin on the back of Sharon’s hand.The veins were more pronounced since she’d lost so much weight.The fingers that used to fly across her keyboard as she poured her heart and soul into her next novel had been immobile for too long.Dan scowled.“He should be here with you.What the hell is the matter with him?”“He has a company to run.”Eve knew how Dan felt about her husband’s work ethic, but Alex felt he was doing what he had to do [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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