Diana Gardin [Nelson Island Ever Always (v5.0) (epub)

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.Ever AlwaysA Nelson Island NovellaDiana GardinNew York BostonBegin ReadingTable of ContentsA Preview of Wanting ForeverA Preview of Falling DeepNewslettersCopyright PageIn accordance with the U.S.Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com.Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.To anyone who has been hurt, physically, by someone they loved.I hope this story finds you in a better place.If not, please let Ever’s story give you the strength to keep on going.You are strong, you are capable, and you are loved.AcknowledgmentsI’m blessed.I thank God every day for giving me the drive and the passion to be a writer.When it came to putting words on paper for Ever Always, I had an interesting time, to say the least.I really wanted to redeem Ever from Wanting Forever, and I needed a few readers in order to make sure I actually did it.Thank you to Kate, Annie, and Skillet for being my first sets of eyes on this novella, and for helping me keep Ever and Hunter on the right track.You three were beyond amazing!None of this would be possible had I not entered a pitch contest on Twitter and thus collided with my incredibly beautiful and hilarious pit bull of an agent, Stacey Donaghy.Thank you for being the feisty go-getter you are and for believing in what I do! Support like yours is a pure blessing, and I look forward to many years together.To my fabulous, super-smart editor, Leah Hultenschmidt: Nelson Island is coming into the light because you loved and believed in Sam and Aston! Now you’ve also helped shape Ever and Hunter into something wonderful, and I’m so lucky to have you as an editor.To my love, who has actually started reading my books: Thank you for loving me enough to read romance novels.You’re my hero.Thank you to my amazing little family who lives with my crazy every single day.Our two little wild things are my entire world, and my husband is the sun in our galaxy.Without you all, I wouldn’t have a purpose or a reason to want to make our lives even better with this amazing career.Thank you for being perfect for me.There will be readers who take Ever’s story to heart.If that’s you, I am so sorry you had to go through something painful.Just remember that there is always someone you can turn to in times of struggle and strife, and if you can’t find that person, I’m only a Tweet or a message away.Keep your head up; you are strong and beautiful.OneDaddy, please don’t.”Ever’s voice trembled with fear.Her father had too much to drink.Again.And again, she was going to be the one who paid the price.“Please, Daddy.” She backed up a step, never tearing her gaze away from the man in front of her.Don’t.Please don’t.“If you’d just do it right,” he said, stumbling closer.“I don’t ask for much, Ever.”He didn’t ask for much? She could write three essays—one for each of the colleges she desperately wanted to go to but never had the chance to apply for—on how much he asked of her.She was twenty years old, and it felt like all she did was cook and clean and work at the bakery.She did absolutely everything for her father.Every time she missed a spot of dust or forgot enough salt at dinner, his anger boiled over to a violent level.Last time she hadn’t folded his laundry just right and ended up with a broken rib.“I’m so sick of this shit,” he declared, gesturing around them wildly.“I’ve tried to be patient with you, Ever.But enough is enough.You need to learn some obedience once and for all.”She took another step backward.He lurched toward her.And suddenly, she was running.Flying down the hall and into her room before he registered her escape.She slammed the door behind her and the flimsy walls shuddered in protest.It was a tiny house perched on gray cinder blocks, barely bigger than the trailers across the field.The walls shook when Ever’s father began to pound on her door.It wouldn’t take him long to knock the whole damn thing down.I will huff, I will puff…She would have laughed if not for the paralyzing terror.“No more runnin’!” her father shouted from the other side of the door.“You won’t run from me ever again!”With shaking hands, she grabbed her cell phone.There was only one person she could call.BANG.The wood splintered under his fists, and she screamed into the phone before the words came.“Ever! Ever, sweetheart!”Sam’s deep, familiar voice on the phone cut through her screams.“Sam! I think he’s going to kill me this time.” She’d never been so panicked in her life.The beatings were bad, but there was a sinister new tone to her father’s voice.Instinctively, she knew that if he got to her, she was going to be permanently damaged—or, even more likely, dead.“I’m on my way,” Sam said.“Stay with me.Are you in your room?”Another earsplitting thump on her bedroom door, and she screamed again.“Hurry! He’s trying to break down the door.”“I’m coming,” Sam said, out of breath from running.“But Ever…use it if you have to.”He was talking about the gun.He’d told her it was just in case.At the time he gave it to her, she’d been horrified.Now she was grateful Sam and his brother, Hunter, were always looking out for her.She glanced at her window, the one she always used to get to Sam when she needed him.Shaking her head frantically, she turned back to face the door.She couldn’t run away from this.It wasn’t possible.The threat lived right down the hall.She had to face it.Her hands shook so badly she was unable to hold the phone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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