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The Moment of Truth
Tara Taylor Quinn
Dana Harris’s world has turned upside down. She’s learned that her father isn’t her father, and she has no idea who her real dad is.Then she receives the unexpected opportunity to attend Montford University in Shelter Valley, Arizona – a perfect time to start over. Especially when Josh Redmond adopts a puppy she’s rescued. That’s the beginning of an instant friendship between them, even though she senses that he’s holding something back… Still, their friendship culminates in romance – and a night together. A night that has consequences.But at Christmas, a surprise revelation and a baby-to-be bring them both comfort. And joy!
The best things in life are those you don’t expect…
Dana Harris’s world has turned upside down. So when she receives the unexpected opportunity to attend Montford University in Shelter Valley, Arizona, she sees it as the perfect time to start over. Especially when Josh Redmond adopts a puppy she’s rescued. That’s the beginning of an instant friendship between them, even though she senses that he’s holding something back…. Still, their friendship culminates in romance—and a night together. A night that has consequences.
But at Christmas, a surprise revelation and a baby-to-be bring them both comfort. And joy!
He was making her self-conscious
Josh liked knowing he had an effect on her. “You’re a beautiful woman, Dana Harris.” The words came from deep within him. Not the superficial place from which compliments for women usually sprang, but from someplace different.
“I’m just ordinary,” she said, avoiding his gaze. Picking up the puppy, Dana set him on the kitchen counter and opened the tube of ointment. She started rubbing the cream into Little Guy’s skin.
“You’re kidding, right?” he said. “There’s nothing ordinary about you.”
“Don’t, Josh.” She frowned.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t flatter me.”
“You think I’m lying about how attractive I find you?”
She put the puppy back on the floor. “I know I’m nothing special in the looks department,” she said.
From where he was standing, she sure was beautiful. Real. Curvy in the right places. With long hair he could get tangled up in, rather than hair that was perfectly styled to look like he could get tangled up in it.
He took her hand. “I’m not flattering you, Dana,” he said softly. “I think you’re incredible.”
Dear Reader,
I’m so glad you’re back in Shelter Valley with us. Over the years the town has grown and changed, and yet the important things, the love and fellowship, stay the same. When I first created this town I thought I was writing three books and moving on. We’ve got fifteen of them now. Together, we’ve made it more than just a fictional town….
And now we have The Moment of Truth. Will Shelter Valley be enough to sustain the interests of young newcomers? And wealthy socialites? Does the town have what it takes to stand the test of time?
And what about the mysterious scholarships? Where is this money coming from?
I hope you enjoy your visit here. And if you missed any of the previous titles, or just want to revisit them, they’ve all been released as ebooks, ready for you to download and begin reading in minutes. And some exciting news—Shelter Valley Stories are going to be available as audio books! Starting with It’s Never Too Late, you can listen to them, if you’d prefer that.
As always, I love to hear from you! Please like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or email me at
staff@tarataylorquinn.com.
Happy reading!
Tara Taylor Quinn
The Moment of Truth
Tara Taylor Quinn
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With sixty original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She is a winner of the 2008 National Readers’ Choice Award, four-time finalist for the RWA RITA® Award, a finalist for the Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers’ Best Award and the Holt Medallion, and she appears regularly on Amazon bestseller lists. Tara Taylor Quinn is a past president of the Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on its board of directors. She is in demand as a public speaker and has appeared on television and radio shows across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. Tara is a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and she and her husband, Tim, sponsor an annual in-line skating race in Phoenix to benefit the fight against domestic violence. When she’s not at home in Arizona with Tim and their canine owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara spends her time traveling and in-line skating.
For my mother, Penny Gumser, my aunt Phyllis Pawloski, my sister-in-law, Kim Barney, and my husband, Tim Barney, who all understand that my fur babies are family, and love and care for them accordingly.
Contents
Chapter One (#u24c49876-f5bb-5d1c-a86e-6655eba28445)
Chapter Two (#ud5fa1885-4b97-5d3a-a062-8012a487eb94)
Chapter Three (#u745af332-e380-512c-9da2-0943ac8ba3e4)
Chapter Four (#u0edb5e45-b466-5ab9-8de3-517152abaad1)
Chapter Five (#u93a38f10-90b3-5ed3-9274-0f5adc59a56f)
Chapter Six (#u7c6b5f46-59a9-5d34-bb78-b36d6b05812e)
Chapter Seven (#u04b39d61-0095-5ec5-bdf8-b7f5f9837af1)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Excerpt (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE
“COME ON, JOSH, it’s only a few weeks before Thanksgiving, please stay until after the holiday....”
Joshua P. Redmond III, heir to a conglomeration of holdings that spanned the globe, replayed his mother’s words as he stood alone in the elevator of the Rose Garden Residential Resort, watching the floor lights blink their way upward.
Two, three, four.
“My presence is a detriment to Father’s firm, and a source of incredible pain to the Wellingtons.” His stilted response followed his mother’s plea in his replay of that morning’s breakfast table conversation.
“You are our son, Josh. Your father cares more about you than he does about the firm.”
Six, seven, eight.
“And you are more important to us than the Wellingtons, too, you know that.”
And if tradition provided for a small family gathering at the Redmond mansion, Josh might have stayed—to please his mother who’d done nothing but champion him since the day he was born.
Nine, ten, eleven.
But Thanksgiving at the Redmond estate had always been a highly coveted social affair among Boston’s elite. To uninvite the Wellingtons would be in poor taste. Beyond indecent.
It wasn’t anything that would have crossed his mind six months ago.
Twelve, thirteen, fourteen.
“I’m leaving this evening, Mom. It’s for the best.”
She’d nodded then, blinking away tears. He knew she’d given in because his going was for the best. And because she’d already pushed him as far as she could in getting him to agree to relocate to the godforsaken desert town of Shelter Valley.
As godforsaken as he was, he should fit right in there.
Seventeen.
A bell dinged gently, followed by the almost imperceptible glide to a stop that preceded the opening of the doors in front of him.
Plush beige carpet greeted him. Stepping out, he hardly noticed the cream-colored walls with maroon accents, or the expensive-looking paintings adorning them. Michelle Wellington’s suite, one of four on the floor, was to the right. He headed in that direction.
Who would ever have believed, two months ago, when they’d arrived in separate cars for their combined bachelor/bachelorette party, that the vivacious and sexy, gracious and gorgeous twenty-seven-year-old brunette would be reduced to living in a long-term care facility? An expensive and elegant one, to be sure, but still a home for those who couldn’t function on their own.
Michelle should have been lounging on a private beach on an island off the French coast, enjoying her honeymoon—their honeymoon.
“Hi, sweetie.” He announced himself the very same way every time he visited.
Her vacant gaze continued to stare forward.
Approaching the maroon velvet-upholstered chair, he held out the sprig of colorful wildflowers in his hand. Michelle loved natural arrangements, colorful arrangements, not hothouse or professionally raised blooms. Something he’d learned from her mother while they were both sitting in the hospital waiting room two months before.
Dressed in a silk blouse and linen pants, she showed no reaction to the flowers he’d placed in her direct line of vision. The ties holding her upright and in the chair were discreet—and all that he saw.
“I brought flowers,” he said. He’d have brought chocolate, too, if she’d been able to taste it through the feeding tube that administered all of her nourishment these days.
No more decadence for Michelle Wellington.
No more sushi or expensive wine, shopping, traveling or any of the other things she’d loved.
And he, Joshua P. Redmond III, descendent not only of the Boston Redmonds, but also, on his mother’s side, of the even more influential Boston Montfords, was largely to blame.
* * *
“HEY, LITTLE FELLA, where’s your family?”
The soft, feminine voice floated through the balmy Arizona night, seemingly out of nowhere.
Stopping on the path behind the Montford University library, a shortcut to the parking lot where she’d left her car, twenty-five-year-old Dana Harris listened.
“It’s okay, little guy,” Dana heard the woman say. “I won’t hurt you.”
Dana hardly took a breath as she strained to pinpoint the direction the voice came from.
