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Born in the Valley
Tara Taylor Quinn
Bonnie Nielson's life looks perfect. She has everything she's always wanted–a husband and child she adores, a successful business, close family and friends, a town she loves. And yet she's not happy.For some unaccountable reason, Bonnie is no longer satisfied with the life she and Keith have created in Shelter Valley.She has to figure out why. And–more important–she has to fix the problem, whatever it is. Whatever it takes. Before she loses everyone and everything she loves.
Their family. This house. This life.
Bonnie wanted so badly to want the same things Keith did, the things they’d always wanted together.
Their family. This house. This life.
Tied up in knots, she lay there beside him. Did she tell him she hadn’t stopped their spontaneous lovemaking because she hadn’t had to? That it was a safe time for her? The admission would hurt him, ruin the best evening they’d had in months. And for what?
Keith wanted another baby; she didn’t know whether she did or not. Even though she loved being a mother. And a wife.
She just had to figure out what she needed to do for Bonnie, the woman, before she committed herself any further. Or figure out how to convince that woman to feel completely fulfilled with the life she had.
But how did she tell her husband that? How could she look into those gorgeous eyes and tell this man that the life he loved, the one they’d built together, wasn’t enough for her?
They could lose everything. And for what?
So maybe they wouldn’t use protection the next time they made love. Or the time after that.
She loved him so much.
And couldn’t hurt him anymore.
Dear Reader,
We’re back in Shelter Valley, and I’m awfully glad to be here. To see familiar faces, spend time with trusted friends—to live for just a while in a place where good usually wins out.
This visit hasn’t been easy, though. What happens when two good, loving people change as they grow, wanting to travel different roads than the ones they set out on when they started their journey together? Who’s right? The person who wants to stay on the same road? Or the person who’s looking for something different?
Is the pursuit of personal happiness selfish and wrong? Or is it the biggest right? And what do you do with the love that refuses to die regardless of the unhappiness it brings?
I found Shelter Valley a secure place to explore some of the possibilities. And then I stumbled into a series of alarming mishaps at Bonnie’s day care….
The old cliché, “when it rains, it pours,” might be apropos—except that Shelter Valley is in the desert and doesn’t get much rain!
Anyway, I know I speak for everyone here when I say welcome! We’re glad you’ve joined us….
I love to hear from readers. You can reach me by mail at P.O. Box 15065, Scottsdale, AZ 86226, or by e-mail at ttquinn@tarataylorquinn.com. And I hope you’ll visit my Web site—www.tarataylorquinn.com.
Tara
Born in the Valley
Tara Taylor Quinn
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Nancy Lynn Miller and Rachel Marie Reames. You jumped in with energy and enthusiasm and made a hard time bearable. I’ll never forget….
THE RESIDENTS OF SHELTER VALLEY
Will Parsons: Dean of Montford University.
Becca Parsons: Wife of Will, active in community.
Bethany Parsons: Daughter of Becca and Will.
Ben Sanders: Former student, father (from previous marriage).
Tory Sanders: Wife of Ben, former abused wife.
Alex Sanders: Daughter of Ben, stepdaughter of Tory.
Phyllis Christine Sanders: Baby daughter of Ben and Tory.
Randi Foster: Sister of Will Parsons, married to Zack Foster. Manages women’s athletic department at Montford.
Zack Foster: Veterinarian. Husband of Randi.
Cassie Montford: Veterinarian. Works with Zack Foster and involved with pet therapy. Married to Sam Montford.
Sam Montford: Descended from the founder of the town. Married to Cassie. Successful comic strip artist.
Mariah Montford: Adopted daughter of Cassie and Sam.
Brian Montford: Son of Cassie and Sam.
Phyllis Sheffield: Psychologist. Prominent in psych department at Montford.
Matt Sheffield: Married to Phyllis. Works in theater at Montford.
Calvin and Clarissa Sheffield: Twin children of Phyllis and Matt.
Beth Richards: Found refuge for herself and her son after escaping abusive ex-husband. Married to Greg Richards.
Greg Richards: Sheriff of Shelter Valley. Married to Beth.
Bonnie Nielson: Sister of Greg Richards, runs Little Spirits Daycare, married to Keith.
Keith Nielson: Husband of Bonnie, works at Montford.
Katie Nielson: Daughter of Bonnie and Keith.
Lonna Nielson: Keith’s grandmother.
Martha Moore: Friend of Becca Parsons, recently divorced.
Brady Culver: Deputy of Greg’s.
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 ONE
THE STREETS WERE DARK , but she welcomed the darkness. Welcomed the anonymity that wrapped itself around her, allowing her to run as no one in particular, a generic body passing unidentified through the early March night.
Sweating, heart working overtime, Bonnie Nielson concentrated on her rhythm, picking up speed as she reached her stride.
She knew these roads. Knew which houses gleamed bright and clean beneath a noonday sun, which yards grew beautiful flowers, which were the lucky ones with grass, instead of the more common desert landscaping. She knew every neighborhood, every family. In many cases she even knew the families who’d previously occupied these homes. She knew when the street had been paved. When that light went in. She even remembered when the stop sign was erected at the corner of Sage and Thyme.
She knew that an old man had died in that two-story stucco house she’d just passed. His unmarried son had inherited the place and moved in. She knew that the man living next door was divorced. And the one after that, a widower. Sometime during the past couple of years, she’d started thinking of the strip as bachelors’ row.
And she knew that what was now a big looming shadow was actually an old gray house that bucked the stucco tradition with its aluminum siding.
Growing up in Shelter Valley she’d always known the neighborhoods. Had taken comfort in that knowledge.
It was different now, though. Now the familiarity distressed her, a moment-to-moment reminder of how very small her world was—and always had been. How insignificant a role she played in this tiny, sheltered part of a planet that was drowning in need.
Yet this town also housed what was most important to her. Keith. Katie. Greg and Beth and little Ryan. Her friends. Her home.
So she ran. And when the Bonnie Nielson no one knew was hidden far enough inside her, she jogged toward home.
KEITH NIELSON was used to having the sheriff of Shelter Valley in his family room. Sprawling on Keith’s couch, eating Sunday dinner, baby-sitting three-year-old Katie, Sheriff Greg Richards visited regularly.
But not in uniform.
And never before in an official capacity. There’d been a fire, and Sheriff Greg Richards was there to break the news to his sister.
“She always out this late?” He was standing, hands in his pockets, between the kitchen and the family room—keeping watch on the garage door at one end of the kitchen and the sliding glass door in the family room.
Keith appreciated the look of concern on his brother-in-law’s face. Bonnie and Greg were the only living adult members of the Richards family.
Sitting on the edge of the couch, arms resting on his knees, Keith dropped his head, staring at hands that wouldn’t stay still. Staring at the wedding ring that had been a source of joy to him—until recently.
“Not often,” he said. But the truth was only partially revealed in those words. If he measured the number of times Bonnie had been out late at night during their whole marriage, it wasn’t often. If you measured the number of times she’d been out late since Christmas, it was higher. A lot higher.
Greg leaned back against the wall. “I figured this jogging thing would fade quickly.”
Keith thought about that. “Me, too,” he answered slowly. “Just like the aerobics and weight training did.”
Greg nodded. Glanced toward each door. Keith wished Tuesday was a good TV night. At least then they could pretend to be distracted.
“She’s sure looking great.”
“Yeah.” He’d rather see every one of the twenty pounds Bonnie had lost if he could have back the cheerful woman he’d married almost seven years before.
Keith’s head shot up, eyes trained on the garage door.
He thought he’d heard Bonnie come in. He waited, not looking forward to the moments ahead. Little Spirits Daycare had been Bonnie’s dream since her early teens. How badly was Greg’s news going to affect her? She hadn’t been herself for months as it was.
And how much did Greg know about that? Just because Bonnie hadn’t been open with him didn’t mean she hadn’t gone to her brother.
Or maybe Greg hadn’t noticed anything at all.
Keith listened and waited. For nothing.
“Katie’s sleeping soundly.” Greg hadn’t straightened from the wall.
Keith studied the grain in the hardwood floor. “Bonnie put her down before she went out.”
